Techniques for improving uplink RRC signaling for low memory devices

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) receives a capability inquiry message from a network node, and in response to the capability inquiry message, the UE sends a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of Indian Patent Application No. 202241040634, filed on July 15, 2022, entitled "TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE UPLINK RRC SIGNALING FOR LOW MEMORY DEVICES," which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0003] introduction Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate at city, national, regional, or even global levels. An exemplary telecommunications standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuing mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., for the Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Further improvements are needed in 5G NR technology, and these improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunications standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects, nor is it intended to delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0006] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus may include user equipment (UE). An example apparatus receives a capability inquiry message from a network node. The UE transmits a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message.

[0007] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus may include a network entity such as a base station. An example apparatus transmits a capability inquiry message to a UE and receives a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the UE's reduced capabilities.

[0008] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system and access network. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a first frame, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a DL channel within a subframe, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a second frame, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2D] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an UL channel within a subframe, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a base station and user equipment (UE) in an access network. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example communication flow between a network entity and a UE in accordance with the teachings disclosed herein. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates a timeline associated with a UE configured with a set of one or more fixed capability messages in accordance with the teachings disclosed herein. [Figure 6A] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication in a UE in accordance with the teachings disclosed herein. [Figure 6B] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication in a UE in accordance with the teachings disclosed herein. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary device and / or UE. [Figure 8A] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication in a network entity according to the teachings disclosed herein. [Figure 8B] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication in a network entity according to the teachings disclosed herein. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary network entity. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A user equipment (UE) includes at least a processing unit and a memory. The memory may store instructions that enable the UE to process messages received from another entity. For example, the UE may receive an RRC message from a network entity. The memory may store instructions that enable the UE to interpret the RRC message and encode a response message to be transmitted to the network entity. In some examples, the UE's memory may store information to facilitate encoding the response message. For example, an RRC message may include one or more information elements (IEs), which are structural elements containing a single field or multiple fields. The UE's memory may store information to assist in populating the fields of the IEs when encoding the response message. Communications using NR can support thousands of IEs, including mandatory and optional IEs. However, different UEs may support or not support certain of the IEs.

[0011] An example of an RRC message associated with multiple IEs is a capability inquiry message. A network entity may output (e.g., transmit) the capability inquiry message to request radio access capabilities of the UE. Examples of radio access capabilities include one or more IEs associated with carrier aggregation, non-standalone (NSA) mode, multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), E-UTRA NR dual connectivity (NG E-UTRA NR dual connectivity, (NG)EN-DC), NR E-UTRA dual connectivity (NR E-UTRA dual connectivity, NE-DC), etc.

[0012] In response to the capability inquiry message, the UE may encode a capability information message. For example, the UE may include coding functionality for populating IEs associated with the capability inquiry message. In some examples, a reduced-capability UE may be designed to support limited functionality and may therefore be configured with reduced capabilities. However, the reduced-capability UE may still be configured with coding functionality for supporting encoding / decoding of IEs not supported by the UE, e.g., to avoid stability issues such as security issues.

[0013] Some UEs may have the capability to be configured with large memories, while other UEs may be configured with relatively small memories. For example, reduced capability UEs, such as IoT devices, may be configured with memory that is less than 100 kilobytes (kBs). For such devices with reduced capabilities, it may be beneficial to employ techniques to reduce the size of memory dedicated to interpreting, encoding, and responding to RRC messages.

[0014] Aspects disclosed herein facilitate configuring a UE with a fixed capability message that the UE can access, for example, when responding to a capability query from a network entity. The fixed capability message can be pre-coded to indicate capabilities supported by the UE. Because the fixed capability message is pre-coded (e.g., encoded and stored before receiving the query from the network), memory associated with generating and encoding a response message can be reduced. Additionally, because the fixed capability message is pre-coded, processing time at the UE can be improved by avoiding the need to interpret the capability query and encode the response message.

[0015] For example, a network entity may output (e.g., transmit) a capability inquiry message that is obtained (e.g., received) by the UE. The capability inquiry message may request radio access capabilities of the UE. In some examples, the capability inquiry message may include a filter to identify specific radio access capabilities. In response to the capability inquiry message, the UE may retrieve a fixed capability message from memory and transmit the fixed capability message. The fixed capability message may be configured with capabilities that the UE supports. In addition, the UE may retrieve the fixed capability message regardless of whether the capability inquiry message is filtered or unfiltered. By using a fixed capability message, the UE can reduce memory associated with interpreting the capability inquiry message and encoding the response message. In some examples disclosed herein, reducing the size of the memory may also improve processing time.

[0016] In some examples, the fixed capability message may be modified. For example, the UE may receive a semi-static modification of the fixed capability message. In some examples, the UE may receive a semi-static modification of the fixed capability message as part of a firmware update.

[0017] In some examples, a UE may be configured with a set of one or more fixed capability messages. In some such examples, the UE may determine which fixed capability messages to send to a network entity based in part on information associated with the network entity. For example, the network entity may broadcast system information (SI) that the UE uses to establish a connection with the network entity (e.g., via a random access procedure). In some examples, the SI may include Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identity information, and each fixed capability message in the set of fixed capability messages may be associated with a different PLMN. In some such examples, the UE may determine which fixed capability messages to send to a network entity based on the PLMN identity information.

[0018] In some examples, a UE may indicate to a network entity that it is a reduced capability UE, which may be referred to as a "low memory device," "RedCap" device, or "eRedCap" device. For example, while performing a random access procedure with a network entity, the UE may include an indication of the UE's reduced capability type. The reduced capability type may indicate the level of capability that the UE supports. In examples in which the UE indicates that it is a reduced capability UE, the UE and the network entity may communicate RRC signaling using a reduced format. For example, the reduced format may include a subset of IEs supported by NR. RRC signaling using the reduced format may include capability inquiry messages, messages associated with RRC connection management (e.g., connection establishment procedures, reconfiguration procedures, re-establishment procedures, etc.), etc.

[0019] The Detailed Description, set forth below in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrates various configurations and does not represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The Detailed Description includes specific details intended to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0020] Several aspects of telecommunications systems are presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods are described in the following Detailed Description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0021] By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements, may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0022] Thus, in one or more example aspects, implementations, and / or use cases, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, such computer-readable media may comprise random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0023] Although aspects, implementations, and / or use cases are described in this application by way of example for some examples, additional or different aspects, implementations, and / or use cases may occur in many different configurations and scenarios. The aspects, implementations, and / or use cases described herein may be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging configurations. For example, the aspects, implementations, and / or use cases may occur via integrated chip implementations and other non-modular component-based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communications devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled devices, etc.). While some embodiments may or may not be specifically targeted to a use case or application, a wide variety of combined applicability of the described embodiments may arise. Aspects, implementations, and / or use cases may range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations, and even to centralized, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more techniques herein. In some practical settings, devices incorporating the described aspects and features may also include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described aspects. For example, transmitting and receiving wireless signals necessarily involves several components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processor(s), interleavers, summers / analog summers, etc.). The techniques described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed configurations, centralized or non-centralized components, end-user devices, etc., of various sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0024] The deployment of a communication system, such as a 5G NR system, may be configured in multiple ways using various components or components. In a 5G NR system, or network, one or more units (or one or more components) performing network functions, such as a network node, network entity, network mobility element, radio access network (RAN) node, core network node, network element, or base station (BS), may be implemented in a centralized or disaggregated architecture. For example, a BS (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit receive point (TRP), or cell) may be implemented as a centralized base station (also known as a standalone BS or monolithic BS) or a disaggregated base station.

[0025] A centralized base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (e.g., one or more centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU or alternatively may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0026] Base station operation or network design may take into account the aggregation characteristics of base station functions. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as the network configuration supported by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functions across two or more units in different physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functions for at least one unit, which may allow flexibility in network design. Various units of a disaggregated base station, or a disaggregated RAN architecture, may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network. The illustrated wireless communication system includes a disaggregated base station architecture. The disaggregated base station architecture may include one or more CUs (e.g., CU 110) that may communicate directly with the core network 120 over a backhaul link or indirectly with the core network 120 through one or more disaggregated base station units (e.g., a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., Near-RT RIC 125) over an E2 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 115 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework (e.g., SMO framework 105), or both). The CU 110 may communicate with one or more DUs (e.g., DU 130) over respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 130 may communicate with one or more RUs (e.g., RUs 140) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 140 may communicate with respective UEs (e.g., UEs 104) via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UEs 104 may be served by multiple RUs simultaneously.

[0028] Each of the units, i.e., the CU (e.g., CU 110), DU (e.g., DU 130), RU (e.g., RU 140), and quasi-RT RIC (e.g., quasi-RT RIC 125), non-RT RIC (e.g., non-RT RIC 115), and SMO framework 105, may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as “signals”) over a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the unit's communication interface, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units over a transmission medium. For example, a unit may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units over a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the unit may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver), configured to receive and / or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0029] In some aspects, the CU 110 may host one or more upper layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 110. The CU 110 may be configured to handle user plane functions (i.e., Central Unit - User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (i.e., Central Unit - Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 110 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as an E1 interface. The CU 110 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 130 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0030] The DU 130 may correspond to a logical unit including one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs. In some aspects, the DU 130 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more upper physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, demodulation, etc.), at least in part according to a functional division such as that defined by 3GPP. In some aspects, the DU 130 may further host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 130 or with control functions hosted by the CU 110.

[0031] The lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs. In some deployments, the RU 140 controlled by the DU 130 may correspond to a logical node hosting RF processing functions, or lower PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), inverse FFTs (iFFTs), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a functional division, such as a lower layer functional division. In such an architecture, the RU 140 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs (e.g., the UE 104). In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 140 may be controlled by the corresponding DU. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU(s) and the CU 110 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0032] The SMO framework 105 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 105 may be configured to support deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (e.g., an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 105 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (e.g., an open cloud (O-Cloud) 190) to perform network element lifecycle management (e.g., instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (e.g., an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, a CU, a DU, a RU, and a quasi-RT RIC. In some implementations, the SMO framework 105 may communicate with hardware aspects of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 111, via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 105 may communicate directly with one or more RUs via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 105 may also include a non-RT RIC 115 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 105.

[0033] The non-RT RIC 115 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the quasi-RT RIC 125. The non-RT RIC 115 may be coupled to the quasi-RT RIC 125 or may communicate with the quasi-RT RIC 125 (e.g., via an A1 interface). The quasi-RT RIC 125 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources through data collection and action via interfaces connecting one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or both, and the O-eNB to the quasi-RT RIC 125 (e.g., via an E2 interface).

[0034] In some implementations, the non-RT RIC 115 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server to generate the AI / ML models deployed to the quasi-RT RIC 125. Such information may be utilized by the quasi-RT RIC 125 or may be received at the SMO framework 105 or non-RT RIC 115 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 115 or quasi-RT RIC 125 may be configured to adjust RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 115 may employ AI / ML models to monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and implement corrective actions through the SMO framework 105 (e.g., reconfiguration via O1) or through the creation of RAN management policies (e.g., A1 policies).

[0035] At least one of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 may be referred to as a base station 102. Thus, the base station 102 may include one or more of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 (each component is shown with a dotted line to indicate that the component may or may not be included in the base station 102). The base station 102 provides an access point to the core network 120 for the UE 104. The base station 102 may include macrocells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells. A network including both small cells and macrocells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which may serve restricted groups known as closed subscriber groups (CSGs). The communication link between an RU (e.g., RU 140) and a UE (e.g., UE 104) may include uplink (UL) (also called reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the RU 140 and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmissions from the RU 140 to the UE 104. The communication link may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technologies, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may be over one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) per carrier, allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) in total, used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to one another.The carrier allocation may be asymmetric for DL ​​and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than for UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0036] Certain UEs may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication (e.g., D2D communication link 158). The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL wireless wide area network (WWAN) spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be via various wireless D2D communication systems, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0037] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi AP 150 that communicates with UEs 104 (also referred to as Wi-Fi stations (STAs)) via communication links 154, such as in the 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the UEs 104 / Wi-Fi APs 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) before communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0038] The electromagnetic spectrum is often divided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. For 5G NR, two initial operating bands are identified by the frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz). Although portions of FR1 are above 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and papers. Similar nomenclature issues may arise with respect to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and papers, even though it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz to 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the “millimeter wave” band.

[0039] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as a frequency range designated FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands included within FR3 may inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. Higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR2-2 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (71 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands is included within the EHF band.

[0040] With the above aspects in mind, unless otherwise specified, as used herein, terms such as "sub-6 GHz" may broadly refer to frequencies that may be below 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless otherwise specified, as used herein, terms such as "millimeter wave" may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR2-2, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0041] The base station 102 and the UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays, to facilitate beamforming. The base station 102 may transmit a beamformed signal 182 to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 102 in one or more receive directions. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal 184 to the base station 102 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 102 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 102 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station 102 / UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station 102 may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same.

[0042] The base station 102 may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, NodeB, eNB, access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), transmit receive point (TRP), network node, network entity, network equipment, or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 may be implemented as an aggregated (monolithic) base station having an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, a baseband unit (BBU) (including a CU and a DU) and a RU, or as a disaggregated base station including one or more of a CU, a DU, and / or a RU. A set of base stations, which may include disaggregated base stations and / or aggregated base stations, may be referred to as a next generation RAN (NG-RAN).

[0043] The core network 120 may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) (e.g., AMF 161), a Session Management Function (SMF) (e.g., SMF 162), a User Plane Function (UPF) (e.g., UPF 163), a Unified Data Management (UDM) (e.g., UDM 164), one or more location servers 168, and other functional entities. The AMF 161 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 120. The AMF 161 supports registration management, connection management, mobility management, and other functions. The SMF 162 supports session management and other functions. The UPF 163 supports packet routing, packet forwarding, and other functions. The UDM 164 supports authentication and key agreement (AKA) credential generation, user identity handling, access authorization, and subscription management. The one or more location servers 168 are shown as including a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) (e.g., GMLC 165) and a Location Management Function (LMF) (e.g., LMF 166). However, in general, the one or more location servers 168 may include one or more location / positioning servers, which may include one or more of the GMLC 165, LMF 166, a position determination entity (PDE), a serving mobile location center (SMLC), a mobile positioning center (MPC), etc. The GMLC 165 and LMF 166 support UE location services.The GMLC 165 provides an interface for clients / applications (e.g., emergency services) to access UE positioning information. The LMF 166 receives measurement and assistance information from the NG-RAN and the UE 104 via the AMF 161 to calculate the position of the UE 104. The NG-RAN may utilize one or more positioning methods to determine the position of the UE 104. Positioning the UE 104 may include signal measurements, position estimation, and optional velocity calculations based on these measurements. The signal measurements may be performed by the UE 104 and / or the serving base station (e.g., base station 102). The signals measured may include a satellite positioning system (SPS) 170 (e.g., one or more of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a global position system (GPS), a non-terrestrial network (NTN), or other satellite position / location system), an LTE signal, a wireless local area network (WLAN) signal, a Bluetooth signal, a terrestrial beacon system (TBS), sensor-based information (e.g., barometric pressure sensor, motion sensor), an NR enhanced cell ID (NR E-CID) method, an NR signal (e.g., multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT), DL angle-of-departure (DL-AoD), DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), or a LTE signal (e.g., a LTE signal, a wireless local area network (WLAN) signal, a Bluetooth signal, a terrestrial beacon system (TBS)), sensor-based information (e.g., barometric pressure sensor, motion sensor), an NR enhanced cell ID (NR E-CID) method, an NR signal (e.g., multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT), DL angle-of-departure (DL-AoD), DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), or a LTE signal (e.g., a LTE signal ... The signal may be based on one or more of UL Time Domain Observation (TDOA), UL Angle-of-Arrival (UL-AoA) positioning, and / or other systems / signals / sensors.

[0044] Examples of a UE include a cellular phone, a smartphone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small cooking appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similarly functional device. Some of the UEs may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., a parking meter, a gas pump, a toaster, a vehicle, a heart monitor, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. In some scenarios, the term UE may also apply to one or more companion devices, such as in a device constellation configuration, where one or more of these devices may collectively access the network and / or may individually access the network.

[0045] 1 , in some aspects, a device in communication with a network entity, such as a UE 104 in communication with the base station 102 or a component of the base station (e.g., the CU 110, the DU 130, and / or the RU 140), may be configured to manage one or more aspects of wireless communication. For example, the UE 104 may include a UE RRC signaling component 198 configured to facilitate communication using fixed capability messages. In particular aspects, the UE RRC signaling component 198 may be configured to receive a capability inquiry message from a network node. The example UE RRC signaling component 198 may also be configured to transmit a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message.

[0046] In another configuration, a base station or a component of a base station (e.g., the CU 110, the DU 130, and / or the RU 140), such as the base station 102, may be configured to manage one or more aspects of wireless communications. For example, the base station 102 may include a NW RRC signaling component 199 configured to facilitate communicating using fixed capability messages. In particular aspects, the NW RRC signaling component 199 may be configured to transmit a capability inquiry message to the UE. The example NW RRC signaling component 199 may also be configured to receive a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the UE's reduced capabilities.

[0047] Aspects presented herein may enable UEs to be configured with fixed capability messages, which may facilitate improving communication performance, for example, by reducing processing time associated with interpreting, encoding, and responding to RRC messages.

[0048] The following description provides examples directed to 5G NR, however, the concepts described herein may also be applicable to other similar fields, such as LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, 6G, and / or other wireless technologies.

[0049] Figure 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframe in a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of a DL channel in a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe in a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of a UL channel in a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure may be frequency division duplexed (FDD) where, for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL, or time division duplexed (TDD) where, for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL. In the examples provided by FIGS. 2A and 2C, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 configured (mostly DL) using slot format 28, where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible for DL / UL use, and subframe 3 configured (all UL) using slot format 1. While subframes 3 and 4 are shown using slot formats 1 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured using any of the various available slot formats 0 through 61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are all DL and all UL, respectively. The other slot formats 2 through 61 contain a mix of DL symbols, UL symbols, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with the slot format via a received slot format indicator (SFI) (either dynamically via DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically via radio resource control (RRC) signaling). Note that the following description also applies to TDD 5G NR frame structures.

[0050] 2A-2D illustrate one frame structure, and embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication technologies that may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a minislot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 14 or 12 symbols depending on whether the cyclic prefix (CP) is normal or extended. With a normal CP, each slot may include 14 symbols, and with an extended CP, each slot may include 12 symbols. Symbols on the DL may be CP orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) symbols. Symbols on the UL can be CP-OFDM symbols (for high-throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also called single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-limited scenarios, i.e., when limited to single-stream transmission). The number of slots in a subframe is based on the CP and numerology, which defines the subcarrier spacing (SCS), which effectively defines the symbol length / period equal to 1 / SCS.

[0051] [Table 1]

[0052] For the normal CP (14 symbols / slot), the different numerologies μ0-μ4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For the extended CP, numerology 2 allows 4 slots per subframe. Therefore, for the normal CP and numerology μ, 14 symbols / slot and 2 μ As shown in Table 1, the subcarrier spacing is 2 μ * μ may be equal to 15 kHz, where μ is a numerology between 0 and 4. Therefore, numerology μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and numerology μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely proportional to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A-2D provide an example of a normal CP with 14 symbols per slot and a numerology μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within a set of frames, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) (see Figure 2B), which are frequency-division multiplexed. Each BWP may have a specific numerology and CP (normal or extended).

[0053] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot contains resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)), spanning 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0054] As shown in Figure 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for the UE. The RSs may include demodulation RSs (DM-RSs) (shown as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs) for channel estimation at the UE. The RSs may also include beam measurement RSs (BRSs), beam refinement RSs (BRRSs), and phase tracking RSs (PT-RSs).

[0055] Figure 2B shows an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs), where each CCE includes 6 RE groups (REGs), and each REG includes 12 consecutive REs within an OFDM symbol of an RB. The PDCCHs within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). During a PDCCH monitoring occasion on the CORESET, a UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates within a PDCCH search space (e.g., a common search space, a UE-specific search space), where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be deployed at higher and / or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be present in symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be present in symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the timing of the radio frame. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DM-RS.The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries the master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also called an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 2C , some of the REs carry DM-RS (denoted as R for one particular configuration, although other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short or long PUCCH is transmitted and on the specific PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit sounding reference signals (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have comb configurations, and the UE may transmit the SRS in one of the combs. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0057] 2D shows an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH, in one configuration, may be arranged as shown. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQIs), precoding matrix indicators (PMIs), rank indicators (RIs), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) (i.e., one or more HARQ ACK bits indicating one or more ACKs and / or negative ACKs (NACKs)). The PUSCH carries data and, in addition, may be used to carry buffer status reports (BSRs), power headroom reports (PHRs), and / or UCIs.

[0058] 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a first wireless device configured to exchange wireless communications with a second wireless device. In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the first wireless device may include a base station 310, the second wireless device may include a UE 350, and the base station 310 may communicate with the UE 350 in an access network. As shown in FIG. 3, the base station 310 includes a transmit processor (TX processor 316), a transmitter 318Tx, a receiver 318Rx, an antenna 320, a receive processor (RX processor 370), a channel estimator 374, a controller / processor 375, and a memory 376. The exemplary UE 350 includes an antenna 352, a transmitter 354Tx, a receiver 354Rx, an RX processor 356, a channel estimator 358, a controller / processor 359, a memory 360, and a TX processor 368. In other examples, the base station 310 and / or the UE 350 may include additional or alternative components.

[0059] In the DL, Internet protocol (IP) packets may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and Layer 2 includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 is responsible for RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., MIBs, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with forwarding higher layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and mapping of logical channels to transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), and MAC SDUs from TBs. It provides MAC layer functions associated with demultiplexing of SDUs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0060] The TX processor 316 and RX processor 370 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 processes mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. This OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator 374 can be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme and for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream can then be provided to a different antenna of the antennas 320 via a separate transmitter (e.g., transmitter 318Tx). Each transmitter 318Tx can modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0061] In the UE 350, each receiver 354Rx receives a signal through a corresponding antenna of the antennas 352. Each receiver 354Rx recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, two or more of the multiple spatial streams may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel, which are then provided to a controller / processor 359, which implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0062] The controller / processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 is responsible for demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and / or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0063] Similar to the functionality described in connection with DL transmission by base station 310, controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIBs, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with forwarding upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping of logical channels to transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0064] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas of the antennas 352 via separate transmitters (e.g., transmitters 354Tx). Each transmitter 354Tx may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0065] UL transmissions are processed at base station 310 in a manner similar to that described for the receiver functions at UE 350. Each receiver 318Rx receives a signal through a corresponding antenna in antennas 320. Each receiver 318Rx recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to RX processor 370.

[0066] The controller / processor 375 can be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 is responsible for demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and / or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0067] At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to implement aspects associated with the UE RRC signaling component 198 of FIG.

[0068] At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to implement aspects related to the NW RRC signaling component 199 of FIG.

[0069] In addition to high-capability devices, wireless communications may support reduced-capability devices. Examples of high-capability devices include premium smartphones, V2X devices, URLLC devices, eMBB devices, etc., among others. As other examples, reduced-capability devices may include wearables, industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs), surveillance cameras, low-end smartphones, etc. For example, an NR communication system may support both high-capability devices and reduced-capability devices. Reduced-capability devices may be referred to as NR light devices, low-tier devices, lower-tier devices, etc. Reduced-capability UEs may communicate based on various types of wireless communications. For example, smart wearables may transmit or receive communications based on low power wide area (LPWA) / mMTC, relaxed IoT devices may transmit or receive communications based on URLLC, sensors / cameras may transmit or receive communications based on eMBB, etc.

[0070] In some examples, a reduced-capability UE may have an uplink transmit power that is at least 10 dB lower than a higher-capability UE. As another example, a reduced-capability UE may have a reduced transmit or receive bandwidth than other UEs. For example, a reduced-capability UE may have an operating bandwidth of 5 MHz to 20 MHz for both transmit and receive, as opposed to other UEs that may have a bandwidth of up to 100 MHz. As a further example, a reduced-capability UE may have a reduced number of receive antennas compared to other UEs. For example, a reduced-capability UE may have only a single receive antenna and may experience a lower equivalent receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to a higher-capability UE that may have multiple antennas. A reduced-capability UE may also have reduced computational complexity than other UEs.

[0071] It may be useful for communications to be scalable and deployable in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. For example, it may be possible to relax or reduce peak throughput, latency, and / or reliability requirements for reduced capability devices. In some examples, reduced power consumption, complexity, production costs, and / or reduced system overhead may be prioritized. As one example, industrial wireless sensors may have an acceptable latency of up to approximately 100 ms. In some safety-related applications, industrial wireless sensor latencies may be acceptable up to 10 ms or up to 5 ms. Data rates may be lower and may include more uplink traffic than downlink traffic. As another example, video surveillance devices may have an acceptable latency of up to approximately 500 ms.

[0072] A user equipment (UE) includes at least a processing unit and a memory. The memory may store instructions that enable the UE to process messages received from another entity. For example, the UE may receive an RRC message from a network entity. The memory may store instructions that enable the UE to interpret the RRC message and encode a response message to be transmitted to the network entity. In some examples, the UE's memory may store information to facilitate encoding the response message. For example, an RRC message may include one or more information elements (IEs), which are structural elements containing a single field or multiple fields. The UE's memory may store information to assist in populating the fields of the IEs when encoding the response message. Communications using NR can support thousands of IEs, including mandatory and optional IEs. However, different UEs may support or not support certain of the IEs.

[0073] An example of an RRC message associated with multiple IEs is a Capability Enquiry message. A network entity may output (e.g., transmit) the Capability Enquiry message to request radio access capabilities of the UE. Examples of radio access capabilities include one or more IEs associated with carrier aggregation, non-standalone (NSA) mode, multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), E-UTRA NR dual connectivity ((NG)EN-DC) where E-UTRA is connected to EPC or 5GC, NR E-UTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC), etc.

[0074] In response to the capability inquiry message, the UE may encode a capability information message. For example, the UE may include coding functionality for populating IEs associated with the capability inquiry message. In some examples, a reduced-capability UE may be designed to support limited functionality and may therefore be configured with reduced capabilities. However, the reduced-capability UE may still be configured with coding functionality for supporting encoding / decoding of IEs not supported by the UE, e.g., to avoid stability issues such as security issues.

[0075] Some UEs may have the capability to be configured with large memories, while other UEs may be configured with relatively small memories. For example, reduced capability UEs, such as IoT devices, may be configured with memories that are less than 100 kilobytes (kBs). For such devices with reduced capabilities, it may be beneficial to employ techniques to reduce the size of memory dedicated to interpreting, encoding, and responding to RRC messages.

[0076] Aspects disclosed herein facilitate configuring a UE with a fixed capability message that the UE can access, for example, when responding to a capability inquiry from a network entity. The fixed capability message can be pre-coded to indicate capabilities supported by the UE. Because the fixed capability message is pre-coded, memory associated with encoding the response message can be reduced. Additionally, because the fixed capability message is pre-coded, processing time at the UE can be improved by avoiding the need to interpret the capability inquiry and encode the response message.

[0077] For example, a network entity may output (e.g., transmit) a capability inquiry message that is obtained (e.g., received) by the UE. The capability inquiry message may request radio access capabilities of the UE. In some examples, the capability inquiry message may include a filter to identify specific radio access capabilities. In response to the capability inquiry message, the UE may retrieve a fixed capability message from memory and transmit the fixed capability message. The fixed capability message may be configured with capabilities that the UE supports. In addition, the UE may retrieve the fixed capability message regardless of whether the capability inquiry message is filtered or unfiltered. By using a fixed capability message, the UE can reduce memory associated with interpreting the capability inquiry message and encoding the response message. In some examples disclosed herein, reducing the size of the memory may also improve processing time.

[0078] In some examples, the fixed capability message may be modified. For example, the UE may receive a semi-static modification of the fixed capability message. In some examples, the UE may receive a semi-static modification of the fixed capability message as part of a firmware update.

[0079] In some examples, a UE may be configured with a set of one or more fixed capability messages. In some such examples, the UE may determine which fixed capability messages to send to a network entity based in part on information associated with the network entity. For example, the network entity may broadcast system information (SI) that the UE uses to establish a connection with the network entity (e.g., via a random access procedure). In some examples, the SI may include public land mobile network (PLMN) identity information, and each fixed capability message in the set of fixed capability messages may be associated with a different PLMN. In some such examples, the UE may determine which fixed capability messages to send to a network entity based on the PLMN identity information.

[0080] In some examples, a UE may indicate to a network entity that it is a reduced capability UE, which may be referred to as a "low memory device," "RedCap" device, or "eRedCap" device. For example, while performing a random access procedure with a network entity, the UE may include an indication of the UE's reduced capability type. The reduced capability type may indicate the level of capability that the UE supports. In examples in which the UE indicates that it is a reduced capability UE, the UE and the network entity may communicate RRC signaling using a reduced format. For example, the reduced format may include a subset of IEs supported by NR. RRC signaling using the reduced format may include capability inquiry messages, messages associated with RRC connection management (e.g., connection establishment procedures, reconfiguration procedures, re-establishment procedures, etc.), etc.

[0081] FIG. 4 illustrates an example communication flow 400 between a network entity 402 and a UE 404 as presented herein. One or more aspects described for the network entity 402 may be performed by a component of a base station or a network entity, such as a CU, DU, and / or RU. Aspects of the network entity 402 may be implemented by the base station 102 of FIG. 1 and / or the base station 310 of FIG. 3. Aspects of the UE 404 may be implemented by the UE 104 of FIG. 1 and / or the UE 350 of FIG. 3. Although not shown in the illustrated example of FIG. 4, it may be understood that in additional or alternative examples, the network entity 402 may communicate with one or more other base stations or UEs, and / or the UE 404 may communicate with one or more other base stations or UEs.

[0082] In the illustrated example, communication flow 400 facilitates UE 404 transmitting a fixed capability message in response to a capability inquiry message. For example, network entity 402 may output (e.g., transmit) a capability inquiry message 420 that is obtained (e.g., received) by UE 404. The capability inquiry message 420, which may be referred to as a "UECapabilityEnquiry" message or by other names, may request radio access capabilities of UE 404. The radio access capabilities may be associated with one or more RATs, such as NR, E-UTRA, and / or other RATs.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 4, the UE 404 performs a retrieval procedure 430 to retrieve a fixed capability message from memory. For example, as shown at 408, the UE 404 may have previously stored (or may be configured with) a fixed capability message. The UE may maintain the fixed capability message in memory for retrieval when the UE receives a capability inquiry from the network. For example, the UE 404 may be configured with a fixed capability message 440 that indicates the radio access capabilities of the UE 404. The fixed capability message 440, which may be referred to as a "UECapabilityInformation" message or any other name, may be pre-coded to indicate the radio access capabilities of the UE 404. In some examples, as described with respect to FIG. 5, the UE 404 may be configured with a fixed capability message set that includes one or more fixed capability messages. In such examples, the UE 404 may perform the retrieval procedure 430 to retrieve the fixed capability message 440 from the set of fixed capability messages.

[0084] The UE 404 may send a fixed capability message 440 that is obtained by the network entity 402. The UE 404 may send the fixed capability message 440 via RRC signaling.

[0085] 4, the UE 404 performs a retrieval procedure 430 to retrieve a fixed capability message 440 in response to a capability query message 420. That is, the UE 404 may avoid encoding a capability information message in response to the capability query message 420. Additionally, because the fixed capability message 440 is pre-coded, processing time at the UE 404 may be improved by avoiding the need to interpret the capability query message 420 and encode a response message (e.g., the fixed capability message 440). Additionally, encoding functionality associated with encoding the capability information message may be removed from the memory of the UE 404, thereby reducing memory at the UE 404 associated with interpreting the capability query message, encoding the capability query message, and responding to the capability query message.

[0086] In some examples, the capability inquiry message 420 may include a filter for requesting radio access capabilities associated with a subset of capabilities. For example, the capability inquiry message 420 may include a filter 422. The filter 422 may limit the request for radio access capabilities to the subset of capabilities. For example, the filter 422 may limit the request for radio access capabilities associated with different frequency bands, such as n38, n41, and n78. In examples in which the UE encodes the capability information message based on the capability inquiry message 420, the UE may include code for identifying the capability inquiry message 420, interpreting the filter 422, and encoding IEs for inclusion in the capability information message.

[0087] 4, however, the UE 404 retrieves and provides the fixed capability message 440 in response to the capability query message 420 regardless of whether the capability query message 420 includes a filter 422. That is, the fixed capability message 440 may be referred to as an unfiltered capability information message because the information included in the fixed capability message 440 is not filtered in view of the filter 422. Thus, it may be understood that the UE 404 transmits the fixed capability message 440 in response to the capability query message 420. Additionally, the information included in the fixed capability message 440 is independent of the capability query message 420 and any filters (e.g., filter 422) that the capability query message 420 may include.

[0088] In some examples, the network entity 402 may perform a filtering procedure 442 to filter the capability information included in the fixed capability message 440. For example, the filtering procedure 442 may enable the network entity 402 to identify the capabilities of the UE 404 that are appropriate for the deployment of the network entity 402. As an example, the capability query message 420 may include a filter 422 to request capability information related to frequency band n38. However, the fixed capability message 440 may be an unfiltered capability information message and include capability information related to all of the capabilities of the UE 404. For example, the fixed capability message 440 may include capability information related to frequency bands n38, n41, and n78. In such examples, the network entity 402 may perform the filtering procedure 442 to filter the capability information included in the fixed capability message 440 and identify capability information of interest. For example, the network entity 402 may perform filtering of the fixed capability message 440 to identify capability information related to frequency band n38.

[0089] In some examples, the network entity 402 may output the capability inquiry message 420 without a filter and then perform the filtering procedure 442 on the unfiltered capability information received from the UE 404. For example, instead of including a filter 422 to request capability information related to frequency band n38, the network entity 402 may perform the filtering procedure 442 on the unfiltered capability information of the fixed capability message 440 to identify capability information related to frequency band n38.

[0090] In some examples, the UE 404 may be configured with a set of one or more fixed capability messages. For example, the UE 404 may be configured with different fixed capability messages. In some examples, each of the different fixed capability messages may be pre-coded based on a different deployment scenario. For example, the UE 404 may be configured with a first fixed capability message associated with a first deployment scenario, a second fixed capability message associated with a second deployment scenario, and so on.

[0091] In some examples where the UE 404 is configured with one or more fixed capability message sets, the UE 404 may determine a fixed capability message to use when responding to a capability inquiry (e.g., capability inquiry message 420) based on a deployment scenario of the UE 404. In some examples, the UE 404 may determine its deployment scenario based on system information received from the network entity 402. For example, the network entity 402 may broadcast system information 410, which is acquired by the UE 404. The system information 410 may include information for connection and synchronization with the network entity 402. For example, the system information 410 may include information related to a common control resource set (CORESET), a system frame number, information relevant when evaluating whether the UE is authorized to access a cell, and scheduling of other system information. In some examples, the system information 410 may indicate a PLMN associated with the network entity 402.

[0092] 4, the UE 404 may perform a selection procedure 412 to select a fixed capability message based on system information 410. For example, the system information 410 may indicate that the UE 404 is in a first deployment scenario and may therefore select a first fixed capability message based on the first deployment scenario. In such an example, when the UE 404 receives a capability inquiry (e.g., a capability inquiry message 420), the UE 404 may retrieve the first fixed capability message (e.g., via a retrieval procedure 430) for transmission via the fixed capability message 440. As described above, the UE 404 may retrieve the first fixed capability message regardless of filters included in the capability inquiry message.

[0093] In some examples, the UE 404 and the network entity 402 may communicate using a reduced format, for example, when the UE 404 is associated with a reduced capability UE. As described above, communication via NR may support thousands of IEs. However, a reduced capability UE may support a subset of thousands of IEs. For example, a non-reduced capability UE may support carrier aggregation, multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), non-standalone (NSA) mode, etc., while a reduced capability UE may support limited aspects of such features, or may not support such features at all. Thus, when a UE indicates that it is a reduced capability UE, the network entity 402 may switch to communicating with the UE using a reduced format. The reduced format may include a subset of IEs that are reduced for non-reduced capability UEs. For example, the reduced format may exclude IEs associated with carrier aggregation, MR-DC, NSA, etc. Thus, the reduced format may reduce memory associated with interpretation, encoding, and response functions.

[0094] In the illustrated example of FIG. 4, the UE 404 and the network entity 402 may perform a random access procedure 414 (“RACH”) to establish an RRC connection. The random access procedure 414 may be a two-step RACH or a four-step RACH. As shown in FIG. 4, the UE 404 may transmit a reduced capability type indicator 416 that is obtained by the network entity 402. The UE 404 may include the reduced capability type indicator 416 with msg1 or msg3 of the four-step RACH, or may include the reduced capability type indicator 416 with msgA of the two-step RACH.

[0095] The reduced capability type indicator 416 may indicate that the UE 404 is a reduced capability type UE or a non-reduced capability type UE. However, other examples may include additional or alternative characteristics of the reduced capability type of the UE. As shown in FIG. 4, the network entity 402 may perform a selection procedure 418 to select a format to use to communicate with the UE 404. For example, if the reduced capability type indicator 416 indicates that the UE 404 is a non-reduced capability type UE, the network entity 402 may select to use a non-reduced format to communicate with the UE 404. A non-limiting example of a non-reduced format includes Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1). In examples where the reduced capability type indicator 416 indicates that the UE 404 is a reduced capability type UE, the network entity 402 may select to use a reduced format to communicate with the UE 404. In some examples, the reduced format may be similar to the non-reduced format but may exclude IEs not supported by the reduced capability type UE.

[0096] In some examples, the network entity 402 may use a reduced format to communicate the capability inquiry message 420. Similarly, the fixed capability message 440 may be pre-encoded using a reduced format.

[0097] However, other examples may use the reduced format to communicate additional or alternative types of RRC messages. For example, the network entity 402 may output a downlink RRC message 450 that is retrieved by the UE 404. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 404 may output an uplink RRC message 452 that is retrieved by the network entity 402. The downlink RRC message 450 and / or the uplink RRC message 452 may be encoded using the reduced format. Examples of the downlink RRC message 450 and / or the uplink RRC message 452 include messages associated with security (e.g., security mode complete messages), messages associated with the RRC connection (e.g., connection establishment messages, connection reconfiguration messages, and / or connection re-establishment messages), etc.

[0098] FIG. 5 illustrates a timeline 500 associated with a UE 504 configured with one or more sets of fixed capability messages as presented herein. In the example of FIG. 5, the UE 504 is configured with a first set 510 of fixed capability messages at time T0. In some examples, the UE 504 may be configured with the first set 510 via an embedded file system. In some examples, the UE 504 may be configured with the first set 510 via modem configuration binary files (MBN). As shown in FIG. 5, the first set 510 includes N fixed capability messages, including a first fixed capability message (“msg1”), a second fixed capability message (“msg2”), ..., and an Nth fixed capability message (“msgN”). Each different fixed capability message may be associated with a different deployment scenario. For example, the first fixed capability message may be associated with a first PLMN, the second fixed capability message may be associated with a second PLMN, etc. For example, the MBN file may include PLMN-specific information. Thus, if the UE 504 is camped on a cell associated with a first PLMN, the UE 504 may determine that it is in a first deployment scenario and may determine to use a first fixed capability message based on the MBN file and the first set 510. Similarly, if the UE 504 is camped on a cell associated with a second PLMN, the UE 504 may determine that it is in a second deployment scenario and may determine to use a second fixed capability message based on the MBN file and the first set 510, and so on.

[0099] In another example, the deployment scenarios may be based on different frequency bands, different network infrastructures, and so on.

[0100] At time T1, the UE 504 may receive a capability inquiry message 520, such as the capability inquiry message 420 of FIG. 4. The capability inquiry message 520 may be a filtered capability inquiry message or an unfiltered capability inquiry message. At time T2, the UE 504 transmits a capability information message 530 in response to the capability inquiry message 520. In the example of FIG. 5, the capability information message 530 includes a second fixed capability message (e.g., “msg2”). The UE 504 may select the second fixed capability message based on a determination that the UE 504 is in a deployment scenario corresponding to the second deployment scenario. In some examples, the UE 504 may determine its deployment scenario based on system information received from a network entity, such as the system information 410 of FIG. 4.

[0101] In some examples, the UE 504 may receive a modification to one or more of the fixed capability messages of the first set 510. The modification may include a semi-static modification. For example, at time T3, the UE 504 may receive a modification 540 that modifies the second fixed capability message. In some examples, the UE 504 may receive the modification 540 when receiving an update to its firmware. For example, a first version of firmware operating on the UE 504 may include the first set 510, and a second version of the firmware may include a modified second fixed capability message (“msg2a”). For example, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the UE 504 may update the firmware of the UE 504 from a first version to a second version. The OEM may update the firmware wirelessly or via a wired connection. In some examples, the UE 504 may receive the modification 540 via an embedded file system (EFS). In some examples, the UE 504 may receive the modifications 540 via a modem configuration binary file (MBN). In some examples, the UE 504 may receive the modifications 540 via network signaling.

[0102] As shown in Figure 5, at time T4, the UE 504 may be configured with a second set 550 of fixed capability messages. Similar to the first set 510, the second set 550 of Figure 5 includes N fixed capability messages, including a first fixed capability message ("msgl"), a modified second fixed capability message ("msg2a"), ..., and an Nth fixed capability message ("msgN"). The different fixed capability messages of the second set 550 may be associated with the same or different deployment scenarios as the different fixed capability messages of the first set 510.

[0103] At time T5, the UE 504 may receive a capability query message 560, such as the capability query message 420 of FIG. 4. The capability query message 560 may be a filtered capability query message or an unfiltered capability query message. At time T6, the UE 504 transmits a capability information message 570 in response to the capability query message 560. In the example of FIG. 5, the capability information message 570 includes a modified second fixed capability message (e.g., "msg2a"). The UE 504 may select the modified second fixed capability message based on a determination that the UE 504 is in a deployment scenario corresponding to the second deployment scenario.

[0104] 6A is a flowchart 600 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, 350, device 704). The method may enable a UE, such as a reduced capability UE, to provide a capability response message to the network using reduced processing at the UE. The reduced processing may enable modem memory savings at the UE, reduced processing time, and reduced power usage at the UE.

[0105] At 606, the UE receives a capability inquiry message (e.g., a capability query message) from the network node. The reception may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198, the transceiver 722, and / or one or more antennas 780. Figure 4 illustrates an example of a communication flow between the UE and a base station showing the UE receiving the capability inquiry message from the base station.

[0106] At 612, the UE transmits a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message. The fixed capability message may be, for example, a pre-coded or pre-configured message that the UE retrieves from memory rather than generating and encoding a new capability message based on an inquiry from the network. The transmission may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198, the transceiver 722, and / or one or more antennas 780. FIG. 4 illustrates the UE retrieving and transmitting the fixed capability message. The fixed capability message may be referred to as a pre-coded message (e.g., coded before receiving an inquiry from the network) or a pre-configured message (e.g., configured before receiving an inquiry from the network).

[0107] 6B is a flowchart 650 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, 350, device 704). The method may enable a UE, such as a reduced capability UE, to provide a capability response message to the network using reduced processing at the UE. The reduced processing may enable modem memory savings at the UE, reduced processing time, and reduced power usage at the UE.

[0108] At 606, the UE receives a capability inquiry message from the network node. Reception may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198, the transceiver 722, and / or one or more antennas 780. Figure 4 illustrates an example of a communication flow between the UE and a base station showing the UE receiving the capability inquiry message from the base station.

[0109] At 612, the UE transmits a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message. The fixed capability message may be, for example, a pre-coded message or a pre-configured message that the UE retrieves from memory rather than generating and encoding a new capability message based on an inquiry from the network. The transmission may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198, the transceiver 722, and / or one or more antennas 780. FIG. 4 illustrates the UE retrieving and transmitting the fixed capability message. The fixed capability message may be referred to as a pre-coded message (e.g., coded before receiving an inquiry from the network) or a pre-configured message (e.g., configured before receiving an inquiry from the network). FIG. 4 illustrates the UE retrieving and transmitting the fixed capability message. The fixed capability message may be referred to as a pre-coded message (e.g., coded before receiving an inquiry from the network) or a pre-configured message (e.g., configured before receiving an inquiry from the network). In some aspects, the UE may retrieve the fixed capability message from memory, as shown at 610.

[0110] As shown in 604, the UE may indicate its reduced capability type during random access. In some aspects, the capability inquiry message received by the UE at 606 may be filterless based on the UE's reduced capability type. In other aspects, the capability inquiry message received by the UE at 606 may include one or more filters, and the fixed capability message transmitted by the UE at 612 may include unfiltered capability information. In some aspects, the capability inquiry message may have a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type. The reduced format may include a reduced subset of information elements relative to a larger capability inquiry message for the UE's non-reduced capability type.

[0111] In some aspects, the UE may also receive at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type, the reduced format including a subset of information elements that is reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE. Reception may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198, the transceiver 722, and / or one or more antennas 780.

[0112] As shown in 602, the UE may receive a semi-static modification of a fixed capability message. The reception may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198, the transceiver 722, and / or one or more antennas 780. As an example, the fixed capability message may be a semi-statically fixed message that the UE stores and uses to send capability messages in response to capability inquiries until the UE receives a replacement capability message (or an adjustment or modification of a previous fixed message) for use as the fixed capability message.

[0113] As shown at 608, the UE may select a fixed capability message from a set of multiple fixed capability messages based on at least one of the public land mobile network, the frequency band, or the network infrastructure. For example, the UE may store a set of fixed capability messages, e.g., each message corresponding to a different PLMN, frequency band, etc., and may select and transmit the corresponding fixed / stored message based on the PLMN to which the message is being sent, the frequency band over which the message is being sent, etc. The selection may be performed, for example, by the UE RRC signaling component 198. FIG. 5 illustrates an example aspect of a selecting method.

[0114] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 704. The apparatus 704 may be a UE, a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects, the apparatus 704 may include a cellular baseband processor 724 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to one or more transceivers (e.g., cellular RF transceivers). The cellular baseband processor 724 may include on-chip memory 724′. In some aspects, the apparatus 704 may further include an application processor 706 coupled to one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 720, a secure digital (SD) card 708, and a screen 710. The application processor 706 may include on-chip memory 706′. In some aspects, the device 704 may further include a Bluetooth module 712, a WLAN module 714, an SPS module 716 (e.g., a GNSS module), one or more sensor modules 718 (e.g., a barometric pressure sensor / altimeter, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a motion sensor such as a gyroscope and / or accelerometer(s), light detection and ranging (LIDAR), radio assisted detection and ranging (RADAR), sound navigation and ranging (SONAR), a magnetometer, audio, and / or other technologies used for positioning), an additional memory module 726, a power source 730, and / or a camera 732. The Bluetooth module 712, the WLAN module 714, and the SPS module 716 may include an on-chip transceiver (TRX) (or in some cases, simply a receiver (RX)).The Bluetooth module 712, the WLAN module 714, and the SPS module 716 may include their own dedicated antennas and / or may utilize one or more antennas 780 for communications. The cellular baseband processor 724 communicates with the UE 104 and / or RUs associated with the network entity 702 via transceiver(s) (e.g., a cellular RF transceiver that may include the transceiver 722) via one or more antennas 780. The cellular baseband processor 724 and the application processor 706 may each include computer-readable media / memory, such as on-chip memory 724′ and on-chip memory 706′, respectively. The additional memory module 726 may also be considered a computer-readable medium / memory. Each computer-readable medium / memory (e.g., the on-chip memory 724′, the on-chip memory 706′, and / or the additional memory module 726) may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor 724 and the application processor 706 are each responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored in a computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 724 / application processor 706, causes the cellular baseband processor 724 / application processor 706 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 724 / application processor 706 when executing the software. The cellular baseband processor 724 / application processor 706 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and / or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359.In one configuration, the device 704 may be a processor chip (modem and / or application) and may include only the cellular baseband processor 724 and / or the application processor 706, while in another configuration, the device 704 may be an entire UE (e.g., see UE 350 in FIG. 3) and may include additional modules of the device 704.

[0115] As described above, the UE RRC signaling component 198 may be configured to receive a capability inquiry message from a network node and to transmit a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be further configured to retrieve the fixed capability message from memory. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be further configured to indicate a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, and the capability inquiry message may be filterless (e.g., does not include a filter) based on the reduced capability type of the UE. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be further configured to indicate a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, and the capability inquiry message may have a reduced format based on the reduced capability type of the UE. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be further configured to receive at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on a reduced capability type of the UE, the reduced format including a subset of information elements, the subset being reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be further configured to receive a semi-static modification of the fixed capability message. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be further configured to select a fixed capability message from a set of multiple fixed capability messages based on at least one of a public land mobile network, a frequency band, or a network infrastructure.

[0116] The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be within the cellular baseband processor 724, within the application processor 706, or within both the cellular baseband processor 724 and the application processor 706. The UE RRC signaling component 198 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to implement the described processes / algorithms, may be implemented by one or more processors configured to execute the described processes / algorithms, may be stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or some combination thereof.

[0117] As shown, the device 704 may include various components configured for various functions. For example, the UE RRC signaling component 198 may include one or more hardware components that implement each of the algorithmic blocks in the flowcharts of Figures 6A and / or 6B.

[0118] In one configuration, the apparatus 704, particularly the cellular baseband processor 724 and / or the application processor 706, includes means for receiving a capability inquiry message from a network node and means for transmitting a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message. The apparatus 704 may further include means for indicating a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, where the capability inquiry message is filterless based on the reduced capability type of the UE. The apparatus 704 may further include means for indicating a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, where the capability inquiry message has a reduced format based on the reduced capability type of the UE. The apparatus 704 may further include means for receiving at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the reduced capability type of the UE, where the reduced format includes a subset of information elements, the subset being reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE. The apparatus 704 may further include means for receiving a semi-static modification of the fixed capability message. The apparatus 704 may further include means for selecting a fixed capability message from a set of a plurality of fixed capability messages based on at least one of a public land mobile network, a frequency band, or a network infrastructure.

[0119] The means may be the UE RRC signaling component 198 of the apparatus 704 configured to perform the recited functions by the means. As described above, the apparatus 704 may include the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and / or the controller / processor 359 configured to perform the recited functions by the means.

[0120] 8A is a flowchart 800 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a network node, such as a base station or a component of a base station (e.g., base station 102, 310, CU 110, DU 130, RU 140, network entity 702). The method may enable the network node to receive and process fixed capability messages from a UE, such as a reduced capability UE, thereby enabling reduced processing at the UE. The reduced processing may enable modem memory savings at the UE, reduced processing time, and reduced power usage at the UE.

[0121] At 804, the network node transmits a capability inquiry message to the UE. In some aspects, the network node may output the capability inquiry message for transmission to the UE. The outputting and / or transmission may be performed, for example, by the NW RRC signaling component 199. Figure 4 illustrates a base station transmitting a capability inquiry message to a UE.

[0122] 8B is a flowchart 850 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a network node, such as a base station or a component of a base station (e.g., base station 102, 310, CU 110, DU 130, RU 140, network entity 702). The method may enable the network node to receive and process fixed capability messages from a UE, such as a reduced capability UE, thereby enabling reduced processing at the UE. The reduced processing may enable modem memory savings at the UE, reduced processing time, and reduced power usage at the UE.

[0123] At 804, the network node transmits a capability inquiry message to the UE. In some aspects, the network node may output the capability inquiry message for transmission to the UE. The outputting and / or transmission may be performed, for example, by the NW RRC signaling component 199. Figure 4 illustrates a base station transmitting a capability inquiry message to a UE.

[0124] At 806, the network node receives a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the UE's reduced capabilities. The reception may be performed, for example, by NW RRC signaling component 199. Figure 4 shows the base station receiving the fixed capability message from the UE. The fixed capability message may be referred to as a pre-coded message (e.g., coded before receiving an inquiry from the network) or a pre-configured message (e.g., configured before receiving an inquiry from the network).

[0125] At 806, the network node receives a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the UE's reduced capabilities. The reception may be performed, for example, by NW RRC signaling component 199. Figure 4 shows the base station receiving the fixed capability message from the UE. The fixed capability message may be referred to as a pre-coded message (e.g., coded before receiving an inquiry from the network) or a pre-configured message (e.g., configured before receiving an inquiry from the network).

[0126] In some aspects, as shown in 802, the network node may receive an indication of the UE's reduced capability type during random access. The reception may be performed, for example, by the NW RRC signaling component 199. The capability inquiry message may be filterless based on the UE's reduced capability type. The capability inquiry message may have a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type. The reduced format may include a reduced subset of information elements relative to a larger capability inquiry message for the UE's non-reduced capability type. The capability inquiry message may include one or more filters, and the fixed capability message may include unfiltered capability information.

[0127] In some aspects, at 808, the network node may transmit (or output for transmission) at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type, the reduced format including a subset of information elements that is reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a UE's non-reduced capability type. The outputting and / or transmitting may be performed, for example, by NW RRC signaling component 199.

[0128] FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a network entity 902. The network entity 902 may be a BS, a component of a BS, or may implement BS functionality. The network entity 902 may include at least one of a CU 910, a DU 930, or an RU 940. For example, depending on the layer functions processed by the NW RRC signaling component 199, the network entity 902 may include the CU 910, both the CU 910 and the DU 930, each of the CU 910, the DU 930, and the RU 940, both the DU 930, the DU 930, and the RU 940, or the RU 940. The CU 910 may include a CU processor 912. The CU processor 912 may include an on-chip memory 912′. In some aspects, the CU 910 may further include an additional memory module 914 and a communication interface 918. The CU 910 communicates with the DU 930 via a midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 930 may include a DU processor 932. The DU processor 932 may include an on-chip memory 932′. In some aspects, the DU 930 may further include an additional memory module 934 and a communication interface 938. The DU 930 communicates with the RU 940 via a fronthaul link. The RU 940 may include an RU processor 942. The RU processor 942 may include an on-chip memory 942′. In some aspects, the RU 940 may further include an additional memory module 944, one or more transceivers 946, an antenna 980, and a communication interface 948. The RU 940 communicates with the UE 104. On-chip memory (e.g., on-chip memory 912′, on-chip memory 932′, and / or on-chip memory 942′) and / or additional memory modules (e.g., additional memory module 914, additional memory module 934, and / or additional memory module 944) may each be considered a computer-readable medium / memory. Each computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transitory.Each of the CU processor 912, DU processor 932, and RU processor 942 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored in a computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the corresponding processor(s), causes the processor(s) to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data that is manipulated by the processor(s) when executing the software.

[0129] As described above, the NW RRC signaling component 199 may be configured to send a capability inquiry message to the UE and to receive a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the UE's reduced capability. The NW RRC signaling component 199 may be further configured to receive an indication of the UE's reduced capability type during random access, where the capability inquiry message is filterless based on the UE's reduced capability type. The NW RRC signaling component 199 may be further configured to receive an indication of the UE's reduced capability type during random access, where the capability inquiry message has a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type. The NW RRC signaling component 199 may be further configured to transmit or output at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type, where the reduced format includes a subset of information elements, the subset being reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE.

[0130] The NW RRC signaling component 199 may reside within one or more processors of one or more of the CU 910, DU 930, and RU 940. The NW RRC signaling component 199 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the described processes / algorithms, may be implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the described processes / algorithms, may be stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or some combination thereof.

[0131] The network entity 902 may include various components configured for various functions, for example, the NW RRC signaling component 199 may include one or more hardware components that implement each of the algorithmic blocks in the flowcharts of Figures 8A and / or 8B.

[0132] In one configuration, the network entity 902 includes means for transmitting a capability inquiry message to the UE and means for receiving a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the UE's reduced capabilities. The network entity 902 may further include means for receiving an indication of a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, where the capability inquiry message is filterless based on the UE's reduced capability type. The network entity 902 may further include means for receiving an indication of a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, where the capability inquiry message has a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type. The network entity 902 may further include means for transmitting at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the UE's reduced capability type, where the reduced format includes a subset of information elements, the subset being reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE.

[0133] The means may be the NW RRC signaling component 199 of the network entity 902 configured to perform the recited functions by the means. As described above, the network entity 902 may include the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375. Thus, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and / or the controller / processor 375 configured to perform the recited functions by the means.

[0134] Aspects presented herein may enable UEs to be configured with fixed capability messages, which may facilitate improving communication performance, for example, by reducing processing time associated with interpreting, encoding, and responding to RRC messages.

[0135] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the disclosed processes / flowcharts is an example of an example approach. Based on design preferences, it should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in those processes / flowcharts can be rearranged. Furthermore, some blocks can be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in an example order and are not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0136] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not limited to the aspects described herein but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. Reference to an element in the singular does not mean "one and only one," unless so expressly stated, but rather "one or more." Terms such as "if," "when," and "while" do not imply an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, such as "when," do not imply immediate action in response to or during the occurrence of an action; they simply mean that if a condition is met, an action will occur, but that the action does not require any specific or immediate time constraints for its occurrence. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" are inclusive of any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple As, multiple Bs, or multiple Cs.Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" can be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, and any such combination may include one or more elements of A, B, or C. A set should be interpreted as a set of elements, the number of elements being one or more. Thus, with respect to a set of X, X will include one or more elements. When a first device receives data from or transmits data to a second device, the data can be received / transmitted directly between the first and second devices or indirectly between the first and second devices via a set of devices. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later become known to those skilled in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and encompassed by the claims. Furthermore, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be made available to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. Terms such as "module," "mechanism," "element," "device," and the like may not be substitutes for the word "means." Therefore, no element of a claim should be construed as a means-plus-function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for."

[0137] As used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of information, one or more conditions, one or more factors, etc. In other words, the phrase "based on A" (where "A" can be information, a condition, a factor, etc.) shall be construed as "based on at least A," unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0138] The following aspects are exemplary only and may be combined with other aspects or teachings described herein without limitation.

[0139] Aspect 1 is a method of wireless communication in a UE, the method including receiving a capability inquiry message from a network node and transmitting a fixed capability message from a set of one or more capability messages in response to the capability inquiry message.

[0140] Aspect 2 is the method of aspect 1, further comprising the fixed capability message being pre-encoded, the method further comprising retrieving the fixed capability message from a memory.

[0141] Aspect 3 is the method of any of aspects 1 and 2, further comprising indicating a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, wherein the capability inquiry message is filterless based on the reduced capability type of the UE.

[0142] Aspect 4 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 3, further comprising: the capability query message including one or more filters; and the fixed capability message including unfiltered capability information.

[0143] Aspect 5 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 4, further comprising indicating a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, wherein the capability inquiry message has a reduced format based on the reduced capability type of the UE.

[0144] Example 6 is the method of any of Examples 1 to 5, further comprising: the reduced format including a subset of reduced information elements for a larger capability inquiry message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE.

[0145] Aspect 7 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 6, further comprising receiving at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on a reduced capability type of the UE, the reduced format including a subset of information elements, the subset being reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE.

[0146] Example 8 is the method of any of Examples 1 to 7, further comprising receiving a semi-static modification of the fixed capabilities message.

[0147] Example 9 is the method of any of Examples 1 to 8, further comprising selecting a fixed capability message from a set of multiple fixed capability messages based on at least one of a public land mobile network, a frequency band, or a network infrastructure.

[0148] Aspect 10 is an apparatus for wireless communication in a UE, including at least one processor, coupled to a memory, configured to perform the method of any of aspects 1-9.

[0149] In example 11, the apparatus of example 10 further includes at least one antenna coupled to the at least one processor.

[0150] In example 12, the apparatus of example 10 or example 11 further includes a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor.

[0151] Aspect 13 is an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing any of aspects 1 to 9.

[0152] In Example 14, the apparatus of Example 13 further includes at least one antenna coupled to the means for performing the method of any of Examples 1-9.

[0153] In an embodiment 15, the apparatus of any of embodiments 13 or 14 further includes a transceiver coupled to the means for performing the method of any of embodiments 1-9.

[0154] Aspect 16 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable code that, when executed, causes a processor to perform any of aspects 1 through 9.

[0155] Aspect 17 is a method of wireless communication in a network node, the method including: transmitting a capability inquiry message to a UE; and receiving a fixed capability message from the UE in response to the capability inquiry message and based on the reduced capabilities of the UE.

[0156] Example 18 is the method of example 17, further comprising receiving an indication of a reduced capability type of the UE during random access, wherein the capability inquiry message is filterless based on the reduced capability type of the UE.

[0157] Example 19 is the method of any of Examples 17 and 18, further comprising: the capability query message includes one or more filters; and the fixed capability message includes unfiltered capability information.

[0158] Example 20 is the method of any of Examples 17 to 19, further comprising receiving, during random access, an indication of a reduced capability type of the UE, wherein the capability inquiry message has a reduced format based on the reduced capability type of the UE.

[0159] Example 21 is the method of any of Examples 17 to 20, further comprising: the reduced format including a subset of reduced information elements for a larger capability inquiry message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE.

[0160] Example 22 is the method of any of Examples 17 to 21, further comprising transmitting at least one of an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message having a reduced format based on a reduced capability type of the UE, the reduced format including a subset of information elements, the subset being reduced relative to an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC setup message for a non-reduced capability type of the UE.

[0161]

[0031] Aspect 23 is an apparatus for wireless communication in a network node, including at least one processor, coupled to a memory, configured to perform any of aspects 17-22.

[0162] In example 24, the apparatus of example 23 further includes at least one antenna coupled to the at least one processor.

[0163] In example 25, the apparatus of example 23 or 24 further includes a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor.

[0164] Aspect 26 is an apparatus for wireless communication including means for implementing any of aspects 17 to 22.

[0165] In Example 27, the apparatus of Example 26 further includes at least one antenna coupled to the means for performing the method of any of Examples 17-22.

[0166] In example 28, the apparatus of example 26 or 27 further comprises a transceiver coupled to the means for performing the method of any of examples 17-22.

[0167] Aspect 29 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-executable code that, when executed, causes a processor to perform any of aspects 17 to 22.

Claims

1. A device for wireless communication in user equipment (UE), Memory and At least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor operates based at least partially on the information stored in the memory. Receive capability query messages from network nodes, In response to the aforementioned capability inquiry message, a fixed capability message is sent from one or more sets of capability messages. A system comprising at least one processor configured as follows: At least one transceiver coupled to the at least one processor and The fixed capability message is pre-encoded, and the at least one processor is The fixed capability message is retrieved from the memory. It is further structured in such a way. Device.

2. The aforementioned at least one processor, During random access, the reduction capability type of the UE is indicated, and the capability query message is filterless based on the reduction capability type of the UE. The apparatus according to claim 1, further configured as follows.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the capability inquiry message includes one or more filters, and the fixed capability message includes unfiltered capability information.

4. The aforementioned at least one processor, During random access, the reduction capability type of the UE is indicated, and the capability query message has a reduced format based on the reduction capability type of the UE. The apparatus according to claim 1, further configured as follows.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reduced format includes a subset of reduced information elements for larger capability query messages for non-reduced capability types of UE.

6. The aforementioned at least one processor, Receiving at least one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message or RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the reduction capability type of the UE, wherein the reduced format includes a subset of information elements, and the subset is reduced compared to the RRC reconfiguration message or RRC setup message for the non-reduction capability type of the UE, The apparatus according to claim 1, further configured as follows.

7. The aforementioned at least one processor, The semi-static modification of the aforementioned fixed capability message is received. The apparatus according to claim 1, further configured as follows.

8. The aforementioned at least one processor, Selecting a fixed capability message from a set of multiple fixed capability messages based on at least one of a public land mobile communication network, a frequency band, or a network infrastructure. The apparatus according to claim 1, further configured as follows.

9. A method of wireless communication in user equipment (UE), Receiving capability query messages from network nodes, In response to the aforementioned capability inquiry message, a fixed capability message is sent from one or more sets of capability messages. Includes, The fixed capability message is pre-encoded, and the method is Retrieving the aforementioned fixed capability message from memory, Methods that further include the above.

10. A device for wireless communication at a network node, Memory and At least one processor coupled to the memory, The system comprises, and based at least partially on the information stored in the memory, the at least one processor, A capability inquiry message is sent to the user equipment (UE). In response to the capability inquiry message, and based on the reduced capability of the UE, a precoded fixed capability message is received from the UE. A device configured in such a way.

11. The at least one processor further comprises at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, During random access, the UE receives an instruction for its reduction capability type, and the capability query message is filterless based on the UE's reduction capability type. The apparatus according to claim 10, further configured as follows.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the capability inquiry message includes one or more filters, and the fixed capability message includes unfiltered capability information.

13. The aforementioned at least one processor, During random access, the UE receives an instruction for its reduction capability type, and the capability query message has a reduced format based on the UE's reduction capability type. The apparatus according to claim 10, further configured as follows.

14. The aforementioned at least one processor, Transmits at least one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message or RRC setup message having a reduced format based on the reduced capability type of the UE, wherein the reduced format includes a subset of information elements, and the subset is reduced compared to the RRC reconfiguration message or RRC setup message for the non-reduced capability type of the UE. The apparatus according to claim 10, further configured as follows.

15. A method of wireless communication at a network node, Sending capability inquiry messages to user equipment (UE), In response to the capability inquiry message, and based on the reduced capability of the UE, a precoded fixed capability message is received from the UE. Methods that include...

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