Physical quality measurement report

Abstract

An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a QoE measurement reporting mechanism. A terminal device receives a message from a first network device indicating that QoE reporting for the first network device is to be suspended. The terminal device then sends a message to the first network device to request an SRB configuration by a second network device. The terminal device then sends a QoE measurement result based on the received SRB configuration to the second network device. Thus, a timely and effective QoE measurement reporting mechanism is provided.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for quality of experience measurement reporting. [Background technology]

[0002] The communications field is constantly evolving to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communications networks. Each new generation brings its own technical challenges to address the different situations and processes required to connect and serve devices connected to wireless networks. To meet the increasing demand for wireless data traffic since the development of the fourth-generation (4G) communications system, efforts are being focused on developing improved fifth-generation (5G) or pre-5G communications systems. The new communications systems can support various types of service applications for terminal devices.

[0003] In a wireless environment, a user's experience with a terminal device is affected by various factors, such as suitability, flexibility, mobility, security, cost, and stability. To evaluate the user's experience, Quality of Experience (QoE) is provided to measure the user's pleasant or unpleasant experience with a service (e.g., web browsing, phone calls, TV broadcasting). Efficient solutions are still desired to improve the user's experience. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for quality of experience measurement reporting.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device in a radio access network is provided, the terminal device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the terminal device, after receiving a suspend indication for QoE measurement reporting, to send an AS measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network or send a request for AS measurement configuration based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, receive an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network, and send the QoE measurement report to the second network device via the established SRB.

[0006] In a second aspect, a first network device in a radio access network is provided, the first network device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured, by the at least one processor, to cause the first network device to: receive an AS measurement report associated with a terminal device in the radio access network or receive a request for an AS measurement configuration enabling QoE measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, where the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration enabling QoE measurement reporting continuity; obtain an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for the terminal device; and send the SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the terminal device.

[0007] In a third aspect, a second network device in a radio access network is provided, the second network device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the second network device to receive, from a first network device in the radio access network, a request to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between a terminal device in the radio access network and the second network device, send an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the first network device or the terminal device, and receive a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method implemented in a terminal device, the method including: after receiving a suspend indication for QoE measurement reporting, in the terminal device in a radio access network, sending an AS measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration enabling QoE measurement reporting continuity, or sending a request for an AS measurement configuration, receiving an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network, and sending the QoE measurement report to the second network device via the established SRB.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method implemented in a network device, the method including: receiving, at a first network device in a radio access network, an AS measurement report associated with a terminal device in the radio access network or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration enabling QoE measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, where the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration enabling QoE measurement reporting continuity; obtaining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for the terminal device; and sending the SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the terminal device.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method implemented in a further network device, the method including: receiving, at a second network device in a radio access network, a request from a first network device in the radio access network to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between a terminal device and the second network device in the radio access network, sending an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the first network device or the terminal device, and receiving a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means, in a terminal device in a radio access network, for sending an AS measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity after receiving an interruption indication for QoE measurement reporting, or sending a request for AS measurement configuration; means for receiving an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network; and means for sending the QoE measurement report to the second network device via the established SRB.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means, at a first network device in a radio access network, for receiving an AS measurement report associated with a terminal device in the radio access network or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, wherein the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity; means for obtaining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for the terminal device; and means for transmitting the SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the terminal device.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means, in a second network device in a radio access network, for receiving a request from a first network device in the radio access network to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between a terminal device and the second network device in the radio access network; means for sending an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the first network device or the terminal device; and means for receiving a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least a method according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects above.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a terminal device in a radio access network is provided, the terminal device comprising: a first transmitting circuit configured to, after receiving an interruption indication for QoE measurement reporting, transmit an AS measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or transmit a request for an AS measurement configuration; a receiving circuit configured to receive an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network; and a second transmitting circuit configured to transmit the QoE measurement report to the second network device via the established SRB.

[0016] It should be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent through the following description.

[0017] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a network device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for practicing embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements.

[0020] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are set forth merely for illustrative purposes to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0021] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0022] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "one embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments necessarily include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with one embodiment, it is believed to be within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such particular feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0023] While the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various embodiments, it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0024] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms "comprise," "comprising," "have," "having," "include," and / or "including," as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, "at least one of: " and "at least one of ," and similar phrases, when a list of two or more elements is connected by "and" or "or," mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0025] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementation (e.g., implementation using only analog and / or digital circuits) (b) Combinations of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): (i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software, and memory that cooperates to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation but may not be present when software is not required for operation.

[0026] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term within this application, including any patent claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuit also extends solely to a hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or portions of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementations. The term circuit also extends, for example, and where applicable to certain claim elements, to baseband or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits within servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0027] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), or Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices within a communication network may be implemented according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will naturally be future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to only the above-mentioned systems.

[0028] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Depending on the applied terminology and technology, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), new radio (NR) NB (also referred to as gNB), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), radio header (RH), remote radio head (RRH), repeater, low-power node such as femto, pico, etc.

[0029] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback equipment, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (loT) devices, watches or other wearables, head-mounted displays (HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain contexts), customer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device,” “communications device,” “terminal,” “user equipment,” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0030] QoE is typically defined for a particular application / service as a parameter used to describe Quality of Service (QoS). QoE measurement reporting is essential to ensure good network service. However, in practice, QoE measurement reporting may need to be handled under RAN overload.

[0031] In view of RAN overload situations, a Pause / Resume mechanism is being standardized for NR Standalone scenarios in Rel-17. To alleviate RAN overload during ongoing QoE sessions, QoE reporting must be able to be temporarily stopped and resumed under the control of the gNB. The mechanism in Rel-17 enables QoE measurement collection control in Standalone deployments (with only the MN). In this manner, the UE must buffer QoE report data to wait for the system overload condition to be resolved, and the UE does not know how long it will receive a resume command. The NR Enhanced QoE WI in Rel-18 aims to extend the QoE measurement capability to NR-Dual Connectivity (DC) scenarios. In one valid use case of the NR-DC scenario, one leg (the MN leg) is suspended by the network node, and another leg (the SN leg originating from the DC) can be used to send QoE measurement report data to maintain reporting continuity.

[0032] Although the NR-DC architecture alleviates the reporting problem under certain RAN overload conditions, a timely and effective QoE measurement reporting mechanism is still desirable for reporting continuity under other RAN overload conditions where reporting cannot be achieved, for example, when both legs (MN leg and SN leg) in the NR-DC scenario cannot be used to send QoE measurement report data.

[0033] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for improved QoE measurement reporting is provided. A terminal device receives a message from a first network device indicating that QoE reporting to the first network device will be suspended. The terminal device then sends a message to the first network device to request an SRB configuration with a second network device. The terminal device then sends a QoE measurement result based on the received SRB configuration to the second network device. As such, a timely and effective QoE measurement reporting mechanism is provided.

[0034] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are shown by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way.

[0035] Reference is first made to FIG. 1 , which illustrates an exemplary communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1 , system 100 includes two network devices, such as network device 111 (which may be considered herein as a first network device) and network device 112 (which may be considered herein as a second or additional network device). It should be understood that network device 111 and network device 112 may be used synonymously. In other words, network device 111 may be considered as a second or additional network device, and network device 112 may be considered as a first network device. Network devices 111 and 112 may each have one respective group of antenna ports. Network devices 111 and 112 may each operate using different frequency bands in both DL and UL. In a communication system, “UL” refers to a communication link in the direction from the terminal device to the network device, and “DL” refers to a communication link in the direction from the network device to the terminal device.

[0036] System 100 also includes one or more terminal devices, such as terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 can connect to and communicate, e.g., wirelessly, in the UL and DL with either or both network devices 111 and 112 depending on the terminal device's location within the cells of network devices 111 and 112. Terminal device 120 can be configured to communicate with the network via one or more TRPs, e.g., two TRPs. The two TRPs can be located within the same cell (intra-cell TRP) or in different cells (inter-cell TRP).

[0037] 1, the number of network devices and terminal devices is for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation. System 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices configured to implement embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, system 100 may include network device 113 (which may be considered a third network device herein).

[0038] Communications within communication system 100 may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including, but not limited to, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), and fifth-generation (5G) or later cellular communication protocols, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocol now known or to be developed in the future. Furthermore, communications may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including, but not limited to, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology now known or to be developed in the future.

[0039] Reference is now made to Figure 2, which illustrates a process 200 for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, process 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1. Process 200 may involve terminal device 120 and network devices 111, 112 as illustrated in Figure 1. It should be understood that any graphical elements, numerical values, and legends within these figures are for illustration purposes only, without implying any limitation.

[0040] In process 200, after receiving an interruption indication for QoE measurement reporting, the terminal device 120 sends (202) an AS measurement report 203 to a network device 111 in the wireless access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or sends (202) a request for AS measurement configuration.

[0041] In some embodiments, the request for AS measurement configuration may be transmitted via an uplink Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. On the network side, network device 111 may transmit to terminal device 120 an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity. Thus, terminal device 120 may receive from network device 111 the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity. In an example, the AS measurement configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message. The AS measurement configuration includes an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

[0042] As an example, terminal device 120 may receive the AS measurement configuration from network device 112. As another example, terminal device 120 may receive the AS measurement configuration from network device 111 and network device 112.

[0043] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity may include a measurement event having a threshold configured to trigger an AS measurement report within a time period for measurement event execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, a periodic measurement within a time period for periodic measurement execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, or a timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurement results based on expiration of the timer even if the measurement result does not reach the configured threshold, or any combination thereof.

[0044] In some embodiments, on the network side, the network device 111 may send a suspension indication for QoE measurement reporting to the terminal device 120. Thus, based on receiving the suspension indication for QoE measurement reporting, the terminal device 120 performs measurements based on the AS measurement configuration and generates an AS measurement report. Alternatively, the suspension indication may be received from the network device 112.

[0045] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 is in a dual connection mode, with network device 111 being a master node (MN) and network device 112 being a secondary node (SN). The suspend indication may be received from both network device 111 and network device 112. Alternatively, network device 111 is an SN and network device 112 is an MN.

[0046] In some embodiments, in a scenario where terminal device 120 is in dual-connection mode, where terminal device 120 has connections with network device 111 and network device 112, if one network device suspends QoE measurement reporting for terminal device 120, it needs to notify another network device to avoid a suspension in another leg of QoE reporting continuity. Network device 111 may send an indication to network device 112 that QoE measurement reporting through network device 111 is suspended. Alternatively, network device 112 may send an indication to network device 111 that QoE measurement reporting through network device 112 is suspended.

[0047] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit an AS measurement report or request by: determining whether terminal device 120 is configured with an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity based on receiving an interruption indication for QoE measurement reporting; transmitting an AS measurement report based on determining that terminal device 120 is configured with an AS measurement configuration; and transmitting a request for AS measurement configuration based on determining that terminal device 120 is not configured with the measurement configuration.

[0048] Alternatively, terminal device 120 may transmit an AS measurement report or request based on determining that the amount of buffered data for the QoE measurement report is equal to or greater than a threshold. On the network side, network device 111 may configure a threshold for causing terminal device 120 to transmit an AS measurement report based on determining that the amount of buffered data for the QoE measurement report at terminal device 120 is equal to or greater than a threshold.

[0049] Continuing with reference to FIG. 2, on the network side, the network device 111 receives (204) an AS measurement report associated with the terminal device 120 or receives (204) a request for AS measurement configuration to enable QoE measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device 120.

[0050] In some embodiments, in a scenario where terminal device 120 is in dual connectivity mode, where network device 111 is an MN and network device 112 is an SN of terminal device 120, network device 111 may transmit information regarding its overload status to network device 112 to request network device 112 to adjust QoE measurement reporting continuity. Alternatively, network device 112 may transmit information regarding its overload status to network device 111 to request network device 111 to suspend QoE measurement reporting through network device 112.

[0051] In some embodiments, network device 111 may select network device 112 as a target network device from multiple candidate network devices based on the received AS measurement report. As an example, network device 111 may select the target network device based on determining that terminal device 120 is in standalone mode. Network device 111 may initiate a dual connectivity setup procedure with network device 112, and thus network device 112 may be an MN and network device 112 may be an SN. As another example, in a scenario where terminal device 120 is in dual connectivity mode, in which terminal device 120 has connections with network device 111 and network device 112, network device 111 may select a target secondary PSCell for network device 112 and initiate a secondary PSCell change procedure toward network device 112.

[0052] 2, based on receiving the AS measurement report or request from terminal device 120, network device 111 transmits 206 a request 207 to network device 112 to establish an SRB between terminal device 120 and network device 112. In an example, network device 111 may transmit the request to establish an SRB by transmitting an SN add message or an SN modify message to network device 112 that includes an indication to request network device 112 to establish an SRB. Thus, network device 112 may receive the request to establish an SRB by receiving the SN add message or the SN modify message from network device 111.

[0053] As an example, when the UE is in standalone mode, the network device 111 may initiate a dual connectivity setup procedure with the network device 112 by sending an SN addition message to the network 112 to establish an SRB. As another example, in a scenario where the terminal device 120 is in dual connectivity mode, in which the terminal device 120 has connections with the network device 111 and the network device 112, the network device 111 may initiate a secondary PSCell change procedure toward the network device 112 by sending an SN modification message to establish an SRB.

[0054] Accordingly, network device 112 receives (208) a request from network device 111 to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between terminal device 120 and network device 112. Network device 112 sends (210) an SRB configuration 211 for establishing the SRB to network device 111 or terminal device 120. By way of example, the SRB includes at least one of an existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a new SRB5.

[0055] Thus, network device 111 receives (212) an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB from network device 112. By sending (206) and receiving (212), network device 111 acquires (205) an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for terminal device 120. Network device 111 then transmits (214) the SRB configuration 211 for establishing an SRB to terminal device 120.

[0056] Alternatively, the SRB for the QoE measurement report is between terminal device 120 and network device 111. Network device 111 may acquire the SRB configuration by determining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB between network device 111 and the terminal device based on receiving an AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB from network device 112.

[0057] 2, terminal device 120 receives (216) an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between terminal device 120 and network device 112. In an example, the SRB configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message. The terminal device may receive the SRB configuration from network device 111 or network device 112.

[0058] Terminal device 120 then sends (218) the QoE measurement report to network device 112 via the established SRB. On the network side, network device 112 receives (220) the QoE measurement report from terminal device 120 via the established SRB.

[0059] Alternatively, terminal device 120 may receive an SRB configuration to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between terminal device 120 and network device 111. Terminal device 120 may then send the QoE measurement report to network device 111 via the established SRB. On the network side, network device 111 may receive the QoE measurement report from terminal device 120 via the established SRB.

[0060] Through the above process, a timely and effective QoE measurement reporting mechanism is provided for reporting continuity under various RAN overload conditions. The enhanced QoE measurement reporting continuity may further improve user experience.

[0061] In some embodiments, in a scenario where terminal device 120 is in a dual-connection mode where network device 111 is an MN and network device 113 in the radio access network (as shown in FIG. 1) is an SN of terminal device 120, terminal device 120 may receive a suspend indication by receiving one of a suspend indication from network device 111 and another suspend indication from network device 113 after the other is received first. Alternatively, terminal device 120 may receive a suspend indication by receiving a suspend indication from one of network device 111 and network device 113 that QoE measurement reporting through both network device 111 and network device 113 is suspended.

[0062] In some embodiments, based on determining that an interruption indication from network device 111 is received after an interruption indication from network device 113 is received, terminal device 120 may further send a request for AS measurement configuration to network device 111.

[0063] In some embodiments, based on determining that an interruption indication from network device 113 is received after an interruption indication is received from network device 111, terminal device 120 may further send a request for AS measurement configuration to network device 113.

[0064] In some embodiments, based on receiving a suspension indication that QoE measurement reporting through both network device 111 and network device 113 is suspended, terminal device 120 may further send a request for AS measurement configuration to one of network device 111 and network device 113.

[0065] In some embodiments, on the network side, network device 111 may select a target network device based on determining that terminal device 120 is in dual connection mode, and network device 111 and network device 113 connect to terminal device 120, and QoE measurement reporting through both network device 111 and network device 113 is suspended.

[0066] In some embodiments, network device 111 may select another network device, for example, network device 112, as a target network device and send a request to establish an SRB to network device 112. Accordingly, network device 112 may receive the request to establish an SRB and send an SRB configuration to network device 111 to establish the SRB.

[0067] In some embodiments, in a scenario where terminal device 120 is in a dual-connection mode in which the UE has connections with both network device 111 and network device 112, network device 112 may receive an AS measurement configuration request from terminal device 120 that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity. Network device 112 may then transmit the AS measurement configuration request to network device 111.

[0068] The solution herein will now be described in detail below with reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5 for the purpose of clearer understanding.

[0069] 3 shows an example of a process 300 for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of clarity, the UE having QoE configuration and reporting capability in FIG. 3 may be considered as the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1, the MN in FIG. 3 may be considered as the network device 111 in FIG. 1, and the SN in FIG. 3 may be considered as the network device 112 in FIG. 1. Process 300 may be implemented in a scenario where the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1 is in a standalone mode, e.g., in a scenario where the terminal device 120 has only a connection with the network device 111 for sending QoE measurement report data to the network.

[0070] In Figure 3, the UE may be in a standalone state and may have QoE measurements configured. In process 300, the MN (serving gNB) may configure special Event or periodic measurements for the UE dedicated to reporting continuity. More specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the MN sends an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE for AS measurement configuration, with a special indication added to measConfig (or appLayerMeasConfig) to indicate that it is a special measurement configuration for QoE reporting continuity.

[0071] Furthermore, with the intention of quickly triggering measurement reporting, measConfig may include Events A1 / A3 / A5 / B1 / B2 with low thresholds for AS measurement reporting. In other words, a lower threshold may be configured in Event Ax / Bx measurements dedicated to QoE reporting. It should be understood that instead of a lower threshold, a higher threshold may be used for AS measurement reporting depending on the specific scenario. Alternatively, a shorter period may be configured in periodic measurements compared to the normal measurement configuration. With regard to the Event measurement configuration, the serving gNB may also configure a redundant timer in measConfig for the UE, thereby instructing the UE to report any available measurement results before the timer expires, even if the measurement results cannot reach the configured threshold.

[0072] Next, by way of example, special measurement reports are enabled only after receiving a pause command. As shown in FIG. 3, when a MeasurementReportAppLayler message with a QoE report container is received from the UE, the MN sends an RRCReconfiguration message with a QoE report Pause to the UE. Then, special measurements at the UE side are triggered in response to the acquired Pause command, and the UE may send a Measurement Report message with an AS measurement report (e.g., Event A3 measurement result). Furthermore, as mentioned above, even if the Event measurement result does not meet the configured threshold constraint and cannot be sent, a Measurement Report message with any available measurement result is sent to the MN before the configured QoE reporting timer expires. Alternatively, the UE may send Measurement Report messages periodically according to a periodic measurement configuration.

[0073] As another example, for better network control, special measurement reporting may be enabled when the QoE report data size buffered in the UE AS layer is larger than a NW configured threshold.

[0074] Then, based on the measurement results, the serving gNB sends an Xn / SN Addition Request message to the SN node selected for DC establishment, and adds a new indication to the Xn message to request the SN to establish a split SRB4 or a new SRB5 (which will be used for QoE reporting directly to the SN). In particular, the MN sends an SN Addition Request message with a request to establish a split SRB4 or a new SRB5 to the SN.

[0075] According to the received SN addition request, the SN node configures a split SRB4 or a new SRB5 for the UE accordingly. In particular, the SN sends an SN Addition Request ACK message with the split SRB4 or new SRB5 configuration to the MN. The MN then forwards the split SRB4 or new SRB5 configuration to the UE via an RRCReconfiguration message, which includes the SN addition configuration and the split SRB4 or new SRB5 configuration.

[0076] After receiving the relevant SRB configuration, the UE sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the MN. Thus, RACH access between the UE and the SN can be achieved, and the UE can send QoE measurement reports to the network via the newly established SN leg for QoE measurement reporting continuity.

[0077] According to process 300, QoE reporting continuity for a UE can be implemented by transitioning from a Standalone state to a Dual Connected (e.g., NR-DC) state. In this case, process 300 uses the UE's connection to the SN in DC for QoE measurement reporting and forwards application layer-based measurements directly to the SN. Such SN addition can be triggered when a UE in a QoE Measurement Suspended state maintains QoE reporting continuity. This novel mechanism requires RRC and Xn signaling to support the standardization.

[0078] FIG. 4 shows an example of a process 400 for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity, the UE having QoE configuration and reporting capability in FIG. 4 may be regarded as the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1, the MN in FIG. 4 may be regarded as the network device 111 in FIG. 1, the T-SN in FIG. 4 may be regarded as the network device 112 in FIG. 1, and the S-SN in FIG. 4 may be regarded as the network device 113 in FIG. 2. Process 400 may be implemented in a scenario where the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1 is in a dual connection mode, e.g., in a scenario where the terminal device 120 has connections with both the network device 111 and the network device 112 to send QoE measurement report data to the network. For simplicity, only the differences between process 400 and process 300 will be described here, and the same or similar details will not be repeated and may refer to each other.

[0079] As shown in Figure 4, the MN may send an RRCReconfiguration message with appLayerMeasConfig to the UE for QoE measurement reporting. The UE may send a MeasurementReportAppLayler message with a QoE report container to at least one of the MN and the S-SN. In response to the MeasurementReportAppLayler message, the MN may send an RRCReconfiguration message with MN QoE Report Pause to the UE, and the S-SN may send an RRCReconfiguration message with SN QoE Report Pause to the UE. If the UE determines that both legs (MN leg and S-SN leg) are suspended and that special measurements are not configured, it may send an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the S-SN with a request for special measurements for QoE reporting continuity. Upon receiving the RRCReconfigurationComplete message, the S-SN forwards the request to configure special measurements to the MN. Thereafter, another connection between the UE and another SN (T-SN leg) may be established for QoE reporting continuity, as illustrated in Figure 3. In addition, the MN may send an S-SN Release Request message to the S-SN, and the S-SN may send an S-SN Release Request ACK message to the MN to optimize the use of network resources.

[0080] In process 400, due to the SN change trigger, the UE is in DC state, but both legs cannot support QoE reporting. If the UE receives suspend commands from both the MN and the SN, the above proposed special measurement mechanism for triggering the SN change procedure for QoE reporting continuity can be applied to keep the QoE reporting continuity.

[0081] By process 400, the UE's QoE reporting continuity can be implemented by SN change. In this case, even if both legs are interrupted at DC, QoE measurement reporting can continue on the new established leg. This new mechanism also requires RRC and Xn signaling to support the standardization.

[0082] It should be understood that when a DC-capable UE receives a QoE Pause command from the network, if the UE already has a measurement configuration for QoE reporting continuity, the UE will enable special measurements and report the measurement results for DC establishment or modification; if the UE does not have special measurement configuration, a new indication will be added to the uplink RRC message, for example, an RRCReconfigureComplete message, to request the serving gNB to configure special measurements for DC establishment or modification.

[0083] FIG. 5 shows an example of a process 500 for QoE measurement reporting continuity according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity, the UE having QoE configuration and reporting capability in FIG. 5 may be regarded as the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1, the MN in FIG. 5 may be regarded as the network device 111 in FIG. 1, and the SN in FIG. 5 may be regarded as the network device 112 in FIG. 1. Process 500 may be implemented in a scenario where the terminal device 120 in FIG. 1 is in a dual connection mode, e.g., where the terminal device 120 has connections with both the network device 111 and the network device 112, but only the connection with the network device 111 has an SRB used to send QoE measurement report data to the network. For simplicity, only the differences between process 500 and processes 300 and 400 will be described here, and the same or similar details will not be repeated and may refer to each other.

[0084] In process 500, due to SN modification, the UE is in a dual-connection state and has configured QoE measurements, but only one connection with the MN or SN has an SRB for sending QoE measurement reports. Both the MN and SN, as serving gNBs, may configure special Event or periodic measurements for the UE dedicated to QoE reporting continuity. A new indication is added to measConfig to indicate the special measurement configuration for QoE reporting continuity (the same conditions may apply for SN addition). The indication may indicate to the UE that it is permitted to report QoE measurement results directly to the SN after receiving a suspend command from the MN that has an SRB for QoE measurement report transmission, or directly to the MN after receiving a suspend command from the SN that has an SRB for QoE measurement report transmission. For example, the MN sends an Xn / SN modification message to the SN for modification with a new indication added to the Xn message to request the SN to establish a split SRB4 (used for QoE reporting to the MN via the SN leg) or a new SRB5 (used for QoE reporting directly to the SN). Alternatively, the UE may be enabled to report QoE measurement reports to the SN through the existing SRB3. For this reason, RRC message (MeasurementReportAppLayer) transfer is enabled via SRB3. For example, the SN sends an Xn / SN message to the MN for modification with a new indication added to the Xn message to request the MN to establish SRB4 (used for QoE reporting to the MN). Upon receiving the new indication and a Pause command (to temporarily suspend QoE reporting), the UE sends the QoE report to the network via the newly established SRB (SRB3 for the SN, split SRB4, or new SRB5, SRB4 for the MN) and the corresponding leg.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 5, when receiving a MeasurementReportAppLayler message with a QoE report container, the MN may send an RRCReconfiguration message with MN QoE report Pause to the UE if the UE is in an overload state. If the MN leg is suspended and the UE is operating in DC, the UE may send an RRCReconfigurationComplete message with a special measurement request for QoE reporting continuity to the MN. The MN may then send an SN Modification Request message to the S-SN with a request to establish an SRB for QoE reporting. In response to the received SN modification request, the SN may send an SN Modification Request ACK message with an SRB3, split SRB4, or new SRB5 configuration to the MN. The MN may then send an RRCReconfiguration message with a special indication for QoE reporting continuity only to the UE. In addition, the MN may send an RRCReconfiguration message with a configuration for QoE reporting and an SRB3, split SRB4, or new SRB5 configuration to the UE. On the terminal device side, if the MN leg is suspended and reporting to the SN leg is allowed, the UE sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the MN. Thus, the connection between the UE and the SN is used for QoE measurement reporting continuity, and a MeasurementReportAppLayler message with a QoE report container can be sent from the UE to the SN via an SRB.

[0086] According to the process 500, the QoE reporting continuity of the UE can be implemented by SN modification or SN change. In this case, when the UE is in DC state, even if the MN leg is interrupted and the SN leg cannot be used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement reporting can continue on a new established SRB with one new SN due to the SN change. This new mechanism similarly requires RRC and Xn signaling to support the standardization.

[0087] In some embodiments, the SN has an SRB for the UE for QoE reporting, but the MN does not. Option 1: The SN configures a special AS measurement configuration for the UE via SRB3 and sends Pause to the UE. Option 2: The SN sends Pause to the UE to notify the MN of the Pause state that UE QoE reporting has been stopped on the SN side. In option 2, the SN does not configure an AS measurement configuration for the UE. In the case of option 1: The SN may receive the AS measurement report from the UE via SRB3 and forward it to the MN via Xn, and the MN may establish an SRB4 between the MN and the UE, or based on the SN's AS measurement report, the MN selects one new SN for QoE continuity between the new SN and the UE (SN change). For option 2: The SN notifies the MN of the Pause state via Xn, and the MN may establish an SRB4 between the MN and the UE, or the MN configures a special AS measurement reconfiguration for the UE, and based on the MN's AS measurement report, the MN selects one new SN for QoE continuity between the new SN and the UE (SN change).

[0088] In some embodiments, in Rel-18, for QoE in a dual connectivity scenario, there are several options for the suspension mechanism of QoE measurement reports applied to the dual connectivity scenario. Option 1 may be that only the MN may send a suspension indication related to the QoE measurement report to the terminal device, and the QoE measurement report may be suspended for both connections between the terminal device and both network nodes (MN and SN), or suspended for the connection between the terminal device and the MN, or suspended for the connection between the terminal device and the SN by one suspension indication. In option 1, there may be several interactions between the MN and the SN. Option 2 may be that the MN and the SN may send a suspension indication related to the QoE measurement report independently. In option 2, there may be several interactions between the MN and the SN.

[0089] More specifically, in option 1, only the MN may suspend the UE reporting QoE measurements by means of a suspend indication. Through the Xn interface, the MN may inform the SN about its overload condition to request that it adjust the QoE measurement reporting continuity. Through the Xn interface, the SN may inform the MN about its overload condition to request that the MN suspend QoE measurement reporting over the connection between the SN and the terminal device. Through the Uu interface between the terminal device and the MN, the suspend indication related to QoE measurement reporting may require an extension where a new indication may be added to indicate on which leg the QoE measurement reporting is suspended - for the MN only, for the SN only, or for both.

[0090] In option 2, the MN and SN may independently send a suspend indication related to the QoE measurement report. Over the Uu interface, an SRB3 may be established via the RRC Reconfiguration procedure to support sending a suspend indication from the SN. Over the Xn interface, if one node suspends the QoE measurement report, it may notify the other node to avoid a suspend on another leg for QoE reporting continuity. The UE may indicate to the network to request recovery when a suspend indication has been received from both the MN and the SN.

[0091] 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 with reference to FIG.

[0092] In block 610, after receiving the suspension indication for QoE measurement reporting, the terminal device 120 sends an AS measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or sends a request for AS measurement configuration. In block 620, the terminal device 120 receives an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network. In block 630, the terminal device 120 sends the QoE measurement report to the second network device via the established SRB.

[0093] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes: based on receiving the suspension indication for the QoE measurement reporting, performing measurements based on the AS measurement configuration to generate an AS measurement report.

[0094] In some embodiments, the suspend indication is received from at least one of the first network device or the second network device.

[0095] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in a dual connection mode, the first network device is a master node (MN), and the second network device is a secondary node (SN).

[0096] In some embodiments, the terminal is in a dual connectivity mode, the first network device is an SN, and the second network device is an MN.

[0097] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes determining whether the terminal device is configured with an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity based on receiving an interruption indication for the QoE measurement report, transmitting an AS measurement report based on determining that the terminal device is configured with the AS measurement configuration, and transmitting an AS measurement report or request by transmitting a request for an AS measurement configuration based on determining that the terminal device is not configured with the measurement configuration.

[0098] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving the interruption indication by one of the following: receiving one of a first interruption indication from the first network device and a second interruption indication from a third network device in the radio access network after the other of the first interruption indication and the second interruption indication has been received earlier, wherein the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode where the first network device is an MN and the third network device is an SN of the terminal device; or receiving an interruption indication from one of the first network device and the third network device that QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is interrupted.

[0099] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes sending a request for AS measurement configuration to the first network device based on determining that a first interruption indication from the first network device is received after a second interruption indication from the third network device is received.

[0100] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes sending a request for AS measurement configuration to the third network device based on determining that a second interruption indication from the third network device is received after the first interruption indication is received from the first network device.

[0101] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes sending a request for AS measurement configuration to one of the first network device and the third network device based on receiving a suspension indication that QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended.

[0102] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 is caused to transmit an AS measurement report or request based on determining that the amount of buffered data for the QoE measurement report is greater than or equal to a threshold.

[0103] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving, from at least one of the first network device or the second network device, an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, wherein the AS measurement configuration includes an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

[0104] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the SRB configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the request for AS measurement configuration is sent via an uplink RRC message.

[0105] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity includes at least one of the following: a measurement event having a threshold configured to trigger an AS measurement report within a time period for measurement event execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, a periodic measurement within a time period for periodic measurement execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, or a timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurement results based on expiration of the timer even if the measurement results do not reach the configured threshold.

[0106] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 receives the SRB configuration by receiving the SRB configuration from the first network device or the second network device.

[0107] In some embodiments, the SRB comprises at least one of a pre-existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a novel SRB5.

[0108] 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the network device 111 or the first network device with reference to FIG. 1.

[0109] In block 710, the network device 111 receives an AS measurement report associated with a terminal device in a radio access network or receives a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, and the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity. In block 720, the network device 111 obtains an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for the terminal device. In block 730, the network device 111 transmits the SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the terminal device.

[0110] In some embodiments, the SRB for QoE measurement reporting is between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network.

[0111] In some embodiments, the SRB for QoE measurement reporting is between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0112] In some embodiments, the network device 111 obtains the SRB configuration by sending a request to a second network device to establish an SRB between the terminal device and the second network device based on receiving an AS measurement report or a request from the terminal device, and receiving an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB from the second network device.

[0113] In some embodiments, the network device 111 obtains the SRB configuration by determining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB between the first network device and the terminal device based on receiving an AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB from the second network device.

[0114] In some embodiments, the network device 111 sends a request to establish an SRB by sending an SN Addition message or an SN Modification message to the second network device that includes an indication to request the second network device to establish an SRB.

[0115] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes selecting a target network device from the plurality of candidate network devices as the second network device based on the received AS measurement report.

[0116] In some embodiments, the network device 111 selects a target network device based on determining that the terminal device is in a standalone mode or determining that the terminal device is in a dual connection mode, and the first network device and the third network device connect to the terminal device, and QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended.

[0117] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes sending, to the terminal device, a suspend indication for the QoE measurement reporting before receiving the AS measurement report.

[0118] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes configuring a threshold for causing the terminal device to transmit the AS measurement report based on determining that an amount of buffered data for the QoE measurement report at the terminal device is greater than or equal to the threshold.

[0119] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes transmitting, to the terminal device, an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, the AS measurement configuration including an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

[0120] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration is transmitted to the terminal device via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the SRB configuration is transmitted via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the request for AS measurement configuration is received via an uplink RRC message.

[0121] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity includes at least one of the following: a measurement event having a threshold configured to trigger measurement event enablement and measurement reporting within a time period determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, a periodic measurement configured to trigger periodic measurement enablement within a time period determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, or a timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurement results based on expiration of the timer even if the measurement results do not reach the configured threshold.

[0122] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes transmitting information regarding an overload condition of the first network device to the second network device to request the second network device to adjust the QoE measurement reporting continuity, and the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode, where the first network device is an MN and the second network device is an SN of the terminal device.

[0123] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes sending an indication to the second network device that QoE measurement reporting through the first network device is suspended.

[0124] In some embodiments, the SRB comprises at least one of a pre-existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a novel SRB5.

[0125] 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the network device 112 or a second network device with reference to FIG.

[0126] In block 810, the network device 112 receives a request from a first network device in the radio access network to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between a terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network. In block 820, the network device 112 sends an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the first network device or the terminal device. In block 830, the network device 112 receives a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB.

[0127] In some embodiments, the method 800 further includes receiving a request for AS measurement configuration from the terminal device that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, and sending the request for AS measurement configuration to the first network device.

[0128] In some embodiments, the method 800 further includes receiving, from the terminal device, an AS measurement report based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, and sending, to the first network device, the AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0129] In some embodiments, the network device 112 receives the request to establish an SRB by receiving an SN addition message or an SN modification message from the first network device that includes an indication to request the second network device to establish an SRB.

[0130] In some embodiments, the method 800 further includes transmitting information regarding an overload condition of the second network device to the first network device to request the first network device to suspend QoE measurement reporting through the second network device, and the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode in which the first network device is an MN and the second network device is an SN of the terminal device.

[0131] In some embodiments, the method 800 further includes sending an indication to the first network device that QoE measurement reporting through the second network device is suspended.

[0132] In some embodiments, the SRB comprises at least one of a pre-existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a novel SRB5.

[0133] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 600 (e.g., terminal device 120) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0134] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means, at a terminal device in a radio access network, after receiving an interruption indication for QoE measurement reporting, for sending an AS measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or for sending a request for an AS measurement configuration; means for receiving an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network; and means for sending the QoE measurement report to the second network device via the established SRB.

[0135] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing measurements based on the AS measurement configuration and generating an AS measurement report based on receiving a suspension indication for QoE measurement reporting.

[0136] In some embodiments, the suspend indication is received from at least one of the first network device or the second network device.

[0137] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in a dual connection mode, the first network device is a master node (MN), and the second network device is a secondary node (SN).

[0138] In some embodiments, the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode, the first network device is an SN, and the second network device is an MN.

[0139] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the AS measurement report or request further comprises means for transmitting the AS measurement report or request by determining whether the terminal device is configured with an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement report continuity based on receiving a QoE measurement report interruption indication, transmitting the AS measurement report based on determining that the terminal device is configured with the AS measurement configuration, and transmitting a request for the AS measurement configuration based on determining that the terminal device is not configured with the measurement configuration.

[0140] In some embodiments, the means for receiving the interruption indication further comprises means for receiving the interruption indication by one of the following: receiving one of a first interruption indication from the first network device and a second interruption indication from a third network device in the radio access network after the other of the first interruption indication and the second interruption indication has been received earlier, and the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode where the first network device is an MN and the third network device is an SN of the terminal device; or receiving an interruption indication from one of the first network device and the third network device that QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is interrupted.

[0141] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting a request for AS measurement configuration to the first network device based on determining that a first interruption indication from the first network device is received after a second interruption indication from the third network device is received.

[0142] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting a request for AS measurement configuration to the third network device based on determining that a second interruption indication from the third network device is received after the first interruption indication is received from the first network device.

[0143] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending a request for AS measurement configuration to one of the first network device and the third network device based on a suspension indication that QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended.

[0144] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the AS measurement report or request comprises means for transmitting the AS measurement report or request based on determining that the amount of buffered data for the QoE measurement report is greater than or equal to a threshold.

[0145] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving, from at least one of the first network device or the second network device, an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, the AS measurement configuration including an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

[0146] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the SRB configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the request for AS measurement configuration is sent via an uplink RRC message.

[0147] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity includes at least one of the following: a measurement event having a threshold configured to trigger an AS measurement report within a time period for measurement event execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, a periodic measurement within a time period for periodic measurement execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, or a timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurement results based on expiration of the timer even if the measurement results do not reach the configured threshold.

[0148] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving the SRB configuration by receiving the SRB configuration from the first network device or the second network device.

[0149] In some embodiments, the SRB comprises at least one of a pre-existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a novel SRB5.

[0150] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 600. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause, by the at least one processor, to perform the apparatus.

[0151] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 700 (e.g., network device 111) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0152] In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a first network device in a radio access network, an AS measurement report associated with a terminal device in the radio access network or a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, wherein the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity; means for obtaining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for the terminal device; and means for transmitting the SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the terminal device.

[0153] In some embodiments, the SRB for QoE measurement reporting is between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network.

[0154] In some embodiments, the SRB for QoE measurement reporting is between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the means for obtaining the SRB configuration comprises means for obtaining the SRB configuration by: sending a request to a second network device to establish an SRB between the terminal device and the second network device based on receiving an AS measurement report or a request from the terminal device, and receiving an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB from the second network device.

[0156] In some embodiments, the means for obtaining the SRB configuration comprises means for obtaining the SRB configuration by: determining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB between the first network device and the terminal device based on receiving an AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB from the second network device.

[0157] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the request to establish an SRB comprises means for transmitting the request to establish an SRB by transmitting an SN addition message or an SN modification message to the second network device including an indication to request the second network device to establish an SRB.

[0158] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for selecting a target network device from the plurality of candidate network devices as the second network device based on the received AS measurement report.

[0159] In some embodiments, the means for selecting a target network device comprises means for selecting a target network device based on determining that the terminal device is in a standalone mode or determining that the terminal device is in a dual connection mode, wherein the first network device and the third network device connect to the terminal device, and QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended.

[0160] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending, to the terminal device, a suspend indication for the QoE measurement reporting before receiving the AS measurement report.

[0161] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for configuring a threshold for causing the terminal device to transmit an AS measurement report based on determining that an amount of buffered data of the QoE measurement report at the terminal device is greater than or equal to the threshold.

[0162] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting, to the terminal device, an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, the AS measurement configuration including an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

[0163] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration is transmitted to the terminal device via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the SRB configuration is transmitted via an RRC reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the request for AS measurement configuration is received via an uplink RRC message.

[0164] In some embodiments, the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity includes at least one of the following: a measurement event having a threshold configured to trigger measurement event enablement and measurement reporting within a time period determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, a periodic measurement configured to trigger periodic measurement enablement within a time period determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, or a timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurement results based on expiration of the timer even if the measurement results do not reach the configured threshold.

[0165] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting information regarding an overload condition of the first network device to the second network device to request the second network device to adjust QoE measurement reporting continuity, and the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode, where the first network device is an MN and the second network device is an SN of the terminal device.

[0166] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending an indication to the second network device that QoE measurement reporting through the first network device is suspended.

[0167] In some embodiments, the SRB comprises at least one of a pre-existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a novel SRB5.

[0168] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 700. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause, by the at least one processor, to perform the apparatus.

[0169] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 800 (e.g., network device 112) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0170] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means, at a second network device in a radio access network, for receiving a request from a first network device in the radio access network to establish an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between a terminal device and the second network device in the radio access network, means for sending an SRB configuration for establishing the SRB to the first network device or the terminal device, and means for receiving a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB.

[0171] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving a request for AS measurement configuration from the terminal device that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, and means for sending the request for AS measurement configuration to the first network device.

[0172] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving, from the terminal device, an AS measurement report based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, and means for sending, to the first network device, the AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0173] In some embodiments, the means for receiving a request to establish an SRB comprises means for receiving a request to establish an SRB by receiving from the first network device an SN addition message or an SN modification message including an indication to request the second network device to establish an SRB.

[0174] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting information regarding an overload condition of the second network device to the first network device to request the first network device to suspend QoE measurement reporting through the second network device, and the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode in which the first network device is an MN and the second network device is an SN of the terminal device.

[0175] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending an indication to the first network device that QoE measurement reporting through the second network device is suspended.

[0176] In some embodiments, the SRB comprises at least one of a pre-existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a novel SRB5.

[0177] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 800. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause, by the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to be implemented.

[0178] 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as the terminal device 120, the network device 111, or the network device 112 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 940 coupled to the processors 910, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 940 coupled to the processors 910.

[0179] The TX / RX 940 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0180] Processor 910 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of the following: a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0181] The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM) 924, Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memory that does not persist through power-off periods.

[0182] The computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in ROM 1020. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 930 into RAM 1020.

[0183] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using a program 930 such that the device 900 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure, such as those discussed with reference to Figures 2 to 8. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0184] In some embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 900 (such as memory 920) or other storage device accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. Figure 10 shows an example of a computer-readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer-readable medium has the program 930 stored thereon.

[0185] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0186] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that execute within a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform methods 600, 700, and 800, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 7, or FIG. 8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0187] Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that, when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0188] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, and the like.

[0189] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term "non-transitory," as used herein, refers to a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible and not a signal), as opposed to a limitation on data storage permanence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0190] Furthermore, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order or sequential order shown, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above description, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0191] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device in a radio access network, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: After receiving a discontinuation indication for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reporting, sending an Access Stratum (AS) measurement report to a first network device in a radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or sending a request for AS measurement configuration; receiving a signaling radio bearer (SRB) configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in a radio access network; sending a QoE measurement report to a second network device via the established SRB; Let the terminal device.

2. The terminal device is The terminal device of claim 1 , further being caused to perform measurements based on an AS measurement configuration and generate an AS measurement report based on receiving a suspension indication for QoE measurement reporting.

3. The terminal device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the suspend indication is received from at least one of the first network device or the second network device.

4. 4. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is in a dual connection mode, the first network device being a master node (MN) and the second network device being a secondary node (SN).

5. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is in a dual connection mode, the first network device being an SN and the second network device being an MN.

6. The terminal device is determining whether the terminal device is configured with an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity based on receiving an interruption indication for QoE measurement reporting; transmitting an AS measurement report based on determining that the terminal device is configured with an AS measurement configuration; transmitting a request for AS measurement configuration based on determining that the terminal device is not configured in the measurement configuration; 6. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to transmit an AS measurement report or request by

7. The terminal device is one of the following: receiving one of a first suspension indication from a first network device and a second suspension indication from a third network device in a radio access network after the other of the first suspension indication and the second suspension indication has been received earlier, wherein the terminal device is in a dual connectivity mode, where the first network device is a MN and the third network device is a SN of the terminal device; or receiving a suspend indication from one of the first network device and the third network device that QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended; 7. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is adapted to receive a suspend indication by:

8. The terminal device is 8. The terminal device of claim 7, further configured to send a request for AS measurement configuration to the first network device based on determining that a first interruption indication from the first network device is received after a second interruption indication from a third network device is received.

9. The terminal device is 8. The terminal device of claim 7, further configured to send a request for AS measurement configuration to the third network device based on determining that a second interruption indication from the third network device is received after the first interruption indication is received from the first network device.

10. The terminal device is 8. The terminal device of claim 7, further configured to send a request for AS measurement configuration to one of the first network device and the third network device based on receiving a suspension indication that QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended.

11. The terminal device is 11. A terminal device according to claim 1, which is caused to transmit an AS measurement report or request based on determining that an amount of buffered data for QoE measurement reporting is greater than or equal to a threshold.

12. The terminal device is 12. The terminal device of claim 1, further configured to receive, from at least one of the first network device or the second network device, an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, wherein the AS measurement configuration includes an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

13. The AS measurement configuration is received via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message; The SRB configuration is received via an RRC reconfiguration message, or The request for AS measurement configuration is sent via an uplink RRC message.

13. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is at least one of:

14. The AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity comprises at least one of the following: a measurement event having a threshold configured to trigger an AS measurement report within a time period for the measurement event execution determined based on a requirement for QoE measurement report continuity; periodic measurements within a time period for periodic measurement execution determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity, or A timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurements upon expiration of the timer, even if the measurements do not reach the configured threshold. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising:

15. The terminal device is 15. A terminal device according to any preceding claim, which is caused to receive the SRB configuration by receiving the SRB configuration from the first network device or the second network device.

16. 16. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the SRB comprises at least one of an existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a new SRB5.

17. A first network device in a radio access network, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first network device to: receiving an access stratum (AS) measurement report associated with a terminal device in a radio access network or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, wherein the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity; Obtaining a signaling radio bearer (SRB) configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for a terminal device; sending an SRB configuration to a terminal device to establish an SRB; A first network device.

18. The first network device of claim 17, wherein the SRB for QoE measurement reporting is between the terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network.

19. The first network device of claim 17, wherein the SRB for QoE measurement reporting is between the terminal device and the first network device.

20. a first network device; Based on receiving the AS measurement report or the request from the terminal device, sending to the second network device a request to establish an SRB between the terminal device and the second network device; receiving an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB from a second network device; The first network device of claim 18 , adapted to obtain an SRB configuration by

21. a first network device; determining an SRB configuration for establishing an SRB between the first network device and the terminal device based on receiving an AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB from the second network device; 20. The first network device of claim 19, wherein the first network device is caused to obtain an SRB configuration by

22. a first network device; sending, to the second network device, an SN addition message or an SN modification message including an indication to request the second network device to establish an SRB; 21. The first network device of claim 20, wherein the first network device is caused to send a request to establish an SRB by

23. a first network device; The first network device of claim 17 , further configured to select a target network device from a plurality of candidate network devices as the second network device based on the received AS measurement report.

24. a first network device; Determining that the terminal device is in standalone mode, or Determining that the terminal device is in dual connection mode 24. The first network device of claim 23, wherein the first network device and the third network device connect to the terminal device, and QoE measurement reporting through both the first network device and the third network device is suspended.

25. a first network device; The first network device according to any of claims 17 to 24, further caused to send, to the terminal device, a suspend indication for QoE measurement reporting before receiving the AS measurement report.

26. a first network device; 26. The first network device of claim 17, further configured to configure a threshold for causing the terminal device to send an AS measurement report based on determining that an amount of buffered data of QoE measurement reports at the terminal device is greater than or equal to a threshold.

27. a first network device; 27. The first network device of claim 17, further configured to send to the terminal device an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, the AS measurement configuration including an indication that the AS measurement configuration is configured to support QoE measurement reporting continuity.

28. The AS measurement configuration is sent to the terminal device via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message; The SRB configuration is sent via an RRC reconfiguration message, or A request for AS measurement configuration is received via an uplink RRC message.

28. The first network device according to claim 17, wherein the first network device is at least one of:

29. The AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity comprises at least one of the following: measurement events with thresholds configured to trigger measurement event enablement and measurement reporting within a time period determined based on a requirement for QoE measurement reporting continuity; periodic measurements configured to trigger periodic measurement activation within a time period determined based on the requirements for QoE measurement reporting continuity; or A timer that causes the terminal device to report available measurements upon expiration of the timer, even if the measurements do not reach the configured threshold.

29. The first network device of claim 17, comprising:

30. a first network device; 30. The first network device of any of claims 17 to 29, further configured to transmit information regarding an overload state of the first network device to the second network device to request the second network device to adjust QoE measurement reporting continuity, and wherein the terminal device is in a dual connection mode in which the first network device is a MN and the second network device is a SN of the terminal device.

31. a first network device; 31. The first network device of claim 30, further caused to send an indication to the second network device that QoE measurement reporting through the first network device is suspended.

32. 32. The first network device of claim 17, wherein the SRB comprises at least one of an existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a new SRB5.

33. a second network device in a radio access network, at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second network device to: receiving a request from a first network device in a radio access network to establish a signaling radio bearer (SRB) for quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting between a terminal device and a second network device in the radio access network; Sending an SRB configuration to a first network device or a terminal device to establish an SRB; receiving a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB; a second network device.

34. a second network device; receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration from a terminal device, the AS measurement configuration enabling QoE measurement reporting continuity; sending a request for AS measurement configuration to a first network device; 34. The second network device of claim 33, further caused to:

35. a second network device; receiving, from a terminal device, an AS measurement report based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity; sending, to the first network device, an AS measurement report or a request to establish an SRB between the terminal device and the first network device; 35. The second network device of claim 33 or 34, further adapted to:

36. a second network device; 36. The second network device of claim 33, wherein the second network device is caused to receive a request to establish an SRB by receiving, from the first network device, an SN Add message or an SN Modify message including an indication to request the second network device to establish an SRB.

37. a second network device; 37. The second network device of any of claims 33 to 36, further configured to transmit information regarding an overload state of the second network device to the first network device to request the first network device to suspend QoE measurement reporting through the second network device, wherein the terminal device is in a dual connection mode in which the first network device is a MN and the second network device is a SN of the terminal device.

38. a second network device; 38. The second network device of any of claims 33 to 37, further caused to send an indication to the first network device that QoE measurement reporting through the second network device is suspended.

39. 39. The second network device of claim 33, wherein the SRB comprises at least one of an existing SRB3, a split SRB4, or a new SRB5.

40. 1. A method comprising: After receiving a suspension indication for quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting, in a terminal device in a radio access network, sending an access stratum (AS) measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or sending a request for AS measurement configuration; receiving a signaling radio bearer (SRB) configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in a radio access network; sending a QoE measurement report to a second network device via the established SRB; A method comprising:

41. 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a first network device in a radio access network, an access stratum (AS) measurement report associated with a terminal device in the radio access network or receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, wherein the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity; Obtaining a signaling radio bearer (SRB) configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for a terminal device; sending an SRB configuration to a terminal device to establish an SRB; A method comprising:

42. 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a second network device in the radio access network, a request from a first network device in the radio access network to establish a signaling radio bearer (SRB) for quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting between the terminal device and the second network device in the radio access network; Sending an SRB configuration to a first network device or a terminal device to establish an SRB; receiving a QoE measurement report from the terminal device via the established SRB; A method comprising:

43. 1. An apparatus comprising: means for, in a terminal device in a radio access network, after receiving a suspension indication for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reporting, sending an Access Stratum (AS) measurement report to a first network device in the radio access network based on an AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity, or sending a request for AS measurement configuration; means for receiving a signaling radio bearer (SRB) configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting between the terminal device and a second network device in a radio access network; means for transmitting a QoE measurement report to a second network device via the established SRB; An apparatus comprising:

44. 1. An apparatus comprising: means, in a first network device in a radio access network, for receiving an access stratum (AS) measurement report associated with a terminal device in the radio access network or for receiving a request for an AS measurement configuration that enables quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting continuity for the terminal device, wherein the AS measurement report is generated based on the AS measurement configuration that enables QoE measurement reporting continuity; means for obtaining a signaling radio bearer (SRB) configuration for establishing an SRB for QoE measurement reporting for a terminal device; means for transmitting an SRB configuration to a terminal device to establish an SRB; An apparatus comprising:

45. 1. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, in a second network device in the radio access network, a request from a first network device in the radio access network to establish a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement reporting between a terminal device and the second network device in the radio access network; means for transmitting an SRB configuration to a first network device or a terminal device to establish an SRB; means for receiving a QoE measurement report from a terminal device via the established SRB; An apparatus comprising:

46. 43. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon program instructions for performing at least the method of claim 40, 41, or 42.

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