Method and system for transmitting user equipment-specific uplink reference signals in a low power state to mitigate interference

Abstract

To provide a method, a user equipment (UE), and a network node for UE-specific uplink (UL) reference signal transmission in a low power state to mitigate interference.SOLUTION: A method (1100) by a user equipment (UE) for uniquely identifying the UE (512) for positioning in a wireless communication system includes transmitting (1102), to a network node (510), an uplink signal using a preamble generated based on a unique identifier associated with the UE or reserved for positioning.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to a system and method for user equipment (UE) specific uplink (UL) reference signal transmission in a low power state to mitigate interference. [Background technology]

[0002] Figure 1 illustrates the New Radio (NR) positioning architecture. More specifically, Figure 1 illustrates the Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) Release 15 (Rel-15) Location Services (LCS) protocol. The Location Management Function (LMF) is the location node in NR. There is also interaction between the location node and gNodeB (gNB) via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol. Interaction between gNodeB and devices (e.g., user equipment (UE)) is supported via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. Note that both a gNB and a Next Generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) do not necessarily have to exist. Furthermore, note that if both a gNB and an ng-eNB exist, a Next Generation Core (NG-C) interface exists for only one of them.

[0003] NR supports the following radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning methods: Downlink Time Arrival Difference (DL-TDOA): DL TDOA positioning methods utilize the downlink (DL) reference signal time difference (RSTD) (and optionally the DL positioning reference signal reference signal received power (PRS RSRP)) of DL signals received at the UE from multiple transmission points (TPs). The UE uses assistance data received from a positioning server to measure the DL RSTD (and optionally the DL PRS RSRP) of the received signals, and the resulting measurements are used together with other configuration information to locate the UE with respect to neighboring TPs. ● Multi-Return Trip Time (Multi-RTT): The multi-RTT positioning method utilizes UE receiver-transmitter (Rx-Tx) measurements and DL PRS RSRP of DL signals received from multiple transmit-receive points (TRPs) measured by the UE, and gNB Rx-Tx measurements and UL SRS-RSRP measured at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from the UE. Uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA): The uplink (UL) TDOA positioning method utilizes UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) at multiple receiver points (RPs) of UL signals transmitted from the UE. The RPs measure the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used together with other configuration information to estimate the UE's location. DL-AoD (Downlink Azimuth of Departure): The DL AoD positioning method utilizes DL PRS RSRP measured for DL ​​signals received at the UE from multiple TPs. The UE measures the DL PRS RSRP of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used together with other configuration information to determine the UE's position relative to neighboring TPs. Uplink Azimuth of Arrival (UL-AoA): The UL AoA positioning method utilizes the measured direction of arrival and zenith at multiple RPs of the UL signal transmitted from the UE. The RPs measure the A-AoA and Z-AoA of the received signal using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used together with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE. ● NR-ECID (New Radio Enhanced Cell Identifier): NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR E CID) positioning refers to a technique that uses additional UE measurements and / or NR radio resources and other measurements to improve UE position estimation.

[0004] Uplink Sounding Reference Signal (UL-SRS) Release 16 (Rel-16) of NR specifies a positioning-specific sounding reference signal (SRS). The LMF recommends the required characteristics for SRS transmission to the gNB, which makes the final decision and provides the SRS configuration to the UE. Recommendations from the LMF may include the required number of resource sets and resources per resource set, the type of SRS (aperiodic, semi-persistent, or periodic), the spatial relationship between the UL SRS and DL positioning reference signal (PRS), and activation time. The Application Management Function (AMF) routes information between the LMF and the gNB (via NRPPa) or between the LMF and the UE (via the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)).

[0005] The following UL SRS-based positioning methods are defined in NR: Uplink TDOA (UTDOA): According to UTDOA, a device (e.g., UE) is requested to transmit specific waveforms that are detected at known locations by multiple location measurement units (e.g., listening devices (reception points), gNB distribution units (gNB-DUs), TRPs, gNBs, etc.). These measurements are forwarded to an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) for multilateration. Multi-RTT: According to Multi-RTT, the device calculates UE Rx-Tx and the gNB calculates gNB Rx-Tx. The calculation results are combined to find the UE's location based on the round trip time calculation. Exemplary definitions of these measurements are disclosed in 3GPP TS38.215 V16.4.0. ●UL-AoA: According to UL-AoA, the gNB calculates the UL AoA based on the UE's UL SRS transmission.

[0006] Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) based timing advance According to the LPP / NRPPa standard, in the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Radio Access Technology (RAT), the eNB / ng-eNB can report the E-UTRA angle of arrival and timing advance type 1 / type 2 in the E-CID to the location server. Timing advance type 2, which is an eNodeB (eNB) Rx-Tx time difference measurement, is based on PRACH, which is considered a normal required measurement that should be signaled by the UE to the gNB to perform communication. For this reason, it must be supported by all networks. Timing advance (T ADV The two types of TA (Transmission Awareness or TA) are described in section 5.2.4 of 3GPP TS36.214 as follows:

[0007] Type 1: Timing Advance (T ADV ) Type 1 is defined as a time lag T ADV =(eNB Rx-Tx time difference) +(UE Rx-Tx time difference) where the eNB Rx-Tx time difference corresponds to the same UE reporting the UE Rx-Tx time difference.

[0008] Type 2: Timing Advance (T ADV ) Type 2 is defined as a time lag T ADV =(eNB Rx-Tx time difference) where the eNB Rx-Tx time difference corresponds to the received uplink radio frame containing the PRACH from the respective UE or similarly the NPRACH from the respective NB-IoT UE.

[0009] Release 17 (Rel-17) positioning focuses on Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) positioning, where Non-Private Network (NPN) based deployments are expected to be widely used. Even in an NPN architecture, the AMF role is necessary to ensure privacy and provide subscription and authentication.

[0010] However, certain challenges currently exist. For example, it is being discussed to support UL SRS transmission even in the inactive state as part of the System Information (SI) in Rel-17. However, one major issue is that in the inactive mode, it is not easy to control the UE UL transmission. What should the direction and power of the transmission be? If the UE is moving, what type of timing advance value should be applied to the UL SRS transmission so that it is synchronized with the base station Reception Point (RP) and does not cause further interference?

[0011] In controlled environments such as factories implementing IIOT, the number of moving devices being tracked may be limited, and interference may, in some cases, be mitigated by some local coordination. In such scenarios, if there are many listening devices, inactive UL SRS transmissions may still be possible. However, if there are fewer listening devices, it may be difficult for the LMF to coordinate with all devices via NRPPa to listen for a UL SRS transmission. Coordination may involve a large amount of signaling.

[0012] FIG. 2 shows an example scenario in which a UE in inactive mode may move within a cell. Here, RPi is a listening node, and RP1 is a serving node serving the UE within the cell. Based on the location of the UE, the optimal listening nodes that need to be configured in location 1 are RP1, RP2, RP3, and RP8. Similarly, if the UE moves to cell location 2, the optimal listening nodes that need to be configured are RP6, RP7, and RP8. If the UE moves to cell location 3, the optimal listening nodes that need to be configured are RP5, RP4, and RP6. However, if the UE is not in connected mode, the LMF cannot dynamically release and assign new listening nodes. Furthermore, if the LMF has to pre-configure and prepare listening nodes, a large amount of signaling may be involved. Therefore, a mechanism is needed to reduce or alleviate the NRPPa / F1AP signaling load. Summary of the Invention

[0013] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these and other problems. For example, some embodiments enable listening devices (RPs) to identify which UE's UL SRS was received based on detecting and measuring the UL SRS. These listening devices may then report measurement reports for specific UEs in an inactive state to the LMF. According to some embodiments, the listening devices may also report the detected Rx power of the UL SRS transmission to the LMF. Based on the reported information, the LMF, serving gNB, or listening gNB may determine whether the UE in inactive mode is causing interference. In such a case, the LMF notifies the AMF to page the UE so that the UE transitions to connected mode, and the UL SRS configuration is reconfigured.

[0014] According to some embodiments, a method by a UE for uniquely identifying the UE for positioning purposes comprises transmitting to a network node an uplink signal that uses a preamble generated based on a unique identifier associated with the UE or reserved for positioning purposes.

[0015] According to some embodiments, the UE for uniquely identifying the UE for positioning purposes is adapted to transmit an uplink signal to the network node using a preamble generated based on a unique identifier associated with the UE or reserved for positioning purposes.

[0016] According to some embodiments, a method by a first network node, including a gNodeB and / or a listening node, includes detecting an uplink signal associated with a UE, the uplink signal including a unique identifier or preamble reserved for positioning purposes, and identifying a UE associated with the uplink signal based on the unique identifier or preamble reserved for positioning purposes. In response to identifying the UE associated with the uplink signal, the first network node performs at least one positioning operation associated with the UE.

[0017] According to some embodiments, a first network node comprising a gNodeB and / or a listening node is adapted to detect an uplink signal associated with a UE, the uplink signal including a unique identifier or preamble reserved for positioning, the first network node is adapted to identify a UE associated with the uplink signal based on the unique identifier or preamble reserved for positioning, and in response to identifying the UE associated with the uplink signal, the first network node is adapted to perform at least one positioning operation associated with the UE.

[0018] According to some embodiments, a method by a core network node acting as an LMF includes receiving a mapping of unique identifiers associated with the UE to sequence identifiers from a second network node acting as a gNodeB or listening node, and transmitting the sequence identifiers to a third network node for use by the UE.

[0019] According to certain embodiments, a core network node acting as an LMF is adapted to receive a mapping of unique identifiers associated with the UE to sequence identifiers from a second network node acting as a gNodeB or listening node, and the core network node is adapted to transmit the sequence identifiers to be used by the UE to a third network node.

[0020] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments may provide the technical advantage of enabling inactive mode positioning. Thus, a UE can transition to an inactive state to save power and still be able to perform positioning. As a result, some embodiments disclosed herein may help reduce UE power while still enabling positioning in inactive mode. As another example, certain embodiments may provide the technical advantage of helping to reduce NRPPa / F1AP signaling load. As yet another example, certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages: ● Enabling efficient positioning measurements in RRC inactive or idle states; Enabling UE ID-specific UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmissions, where the AMF, LMF and gNB coordinate their efforts to enable unique UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmissions; • Enabling interference suppression due to UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmissions in inactive or idle mode; enabling identification of UEs using UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmissions so that the UEs can be paged; and / or • To enable fast reconfiguration of UL SRS.

[0021] Other advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Particular embodiments may have none, some, or all of the enumerated advantages. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments, and their features and advantages, reference is made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] [Figure 1] shows the NR positioning architecture.

[0024] [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an example scenario in which a UE in inactive mode may move within a cell.

[0025] [Figure 3] 1 is a signaling diagram depicting an exemplary method according to certain embodiments.

[0026] [Figure 4] 1 is a signaling diagram depicting another exemplary method according to an embodiment.

[0027] [Figure 5] 1 is a high-level sequence diagram for PRACH-based UE-specific UL transmission in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0028] [Figure 6] 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating that preamble resources for positioning are managed by a secure core network node such as an AMF, according to a particular embodiment.

[0029] [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0030] [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an exemplary UE according to an embodiment.

[0031] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates an exemplary network node according to an embodiment.

[0032] [Figure 10] 1 is a block diagram of a host, according to certain embodiments.

[0033] [Figure 11] 1 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to an embodiment.

[0034] [Figure 12] 1 illustrates a host communicating with a UE via a network node, in part over a wireless connection, in accordance with a particular embodiment.

[0035] [Figure 13] 1 illustrates a method by a UE for uniquely identifying the UE for positioning purposes, according to a particular embodiment.

[0036] [Figure 14] 1 shows a method by a first network node comprising a gNodeB and / or a listening node according to an embodiment.

[0037] [Figure 15] 1 illustrates a method by a core network node acting as an LMF according to a particular embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] Some of the embodiments contemplated by this disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: The embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0039] Rather than providing NRPPa signaling to configure UEs to listen for when they transmit, some embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure enable listening devices, such as RPs, to identify which UEs' UL SRS are received by detecting and measuring the UL SRS. These listening devices can then report measurement reports to the LMF for specific UEs in an inactive state. The listening devices may also include detected Rx power corresponding to the UL SRS transmission in the report to the LMF. According to some embodiments, the LMF, serving gNB, or listening gNB may determine whether a UE in an inactive mode is causing interference. In such a case, the LMF can notify the AMF to page the UE so that the UE transitions to connected mode, and the UL SRS configuration is reconfigured. Alternatively, the AMF can notify the gNB, which can then page the UE. In yet another scenario related to RAN-based paging, the gNB can manage paging directly without the involvement of the AMF.

[0040] According to some embodiments, UE-specific UL SRS-based transmission may be used to allow the RP to identify which UEs are transmitting with less coordination required from the LMF.

[0041] For example, according to an embodiment, a method performed by a wireless device is provided for transmitting a reference signal, such that the reference signal uniquely identifies a temporary UE ID used for positioning in an RRC inactive mode or an idle mode provided by a core network node. According to a particular embodiment, a method performed by a wireless device is provided for obtaining where in a spatial region (cell, radio network area) the ID is valid.

[0042] According to an embodiment, a method performed by a wireless device is provided for notifying a NW node when it changes geographical location (cell) where the positioning ID is invalid.

[0043] According to some embodiments, a method is provided for identifying a UE based on a detected sequence generated ID, performed by a network receiving point, which provides the identified ID together with measurement results to a location server for positioning calculation.

[0044] According to some embodiments, a method performed by a core network node is provided for maintaining an association of a UE positioning ID to a UE IMSI / TMSI (having a mapping table / mapping function).

[0045] In the current specification, UL SRS transmission is based on the following sequence ID and is not UE identifier (UE ID) specific. The current definition from 3GPP TS38.211 v 16.6.0 is given below: The identity of the SRS sequence is given by the higher layer parameter sequenceId in the SRS-Config IE, where n ID SRS ∈{0,1,...,1023}, or given by [SRS-for-positioning]IE, then n ID SRS ∈{0,1,...,65535}. l'∈{0,1,...,Nsymb SRS −1} is the [orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)] symbol number within the SRS resource.

[0046] However, according to some embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, a unique UL SRS generation may be used that enables identification of the UE ID or facilitates / enables mapping of an SRS ID or sequence ID to a UE ID. For this purpose, a separate UL PRS (or alternatively, a UL positioning reference signal) is designed that can be based on the UL SRS. The UL PRS transmission enables unique UE identification so that a listening device (or RP) can decode / identify the UE based on the transmitted reference signal. In the UL, the gNB can identify the UE when the UE transmits a UL reference signal (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS). The proposed UL SRS or UL PRS sequence generation is used when a UE in an inactive state transmits a UL SRS or UL PRS.

[0047] Currently, as disclosed in 3GPP TS38.331 v 16.4.0, the UE ID is as follows: InitialUE-Identity ::= CHOICE { ng-5G-S-TMSI-Part1 BIT STRING (SIZE (39)), randomValue BIT STRING (SIZE (39)) } ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Initial UE Identity Field Description │ ├────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ng-5G-S-TMSI-Part1 │ │Lower 39 bits of 5G-S-TMSI│ ├────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Random numbers │ │Integers in the range from 0 to 2^39 - 1 │ └────────────────────────────────────────┘

[0048] However, such an ID cannot be used for UE positioning purposes as it would violate security and privacy needs.

[0049] Therefore, according to a specific embodiment, the AMF assigns a unique per-UE ID from the current sequence ID (1 to 65535) to each gNB. The gNB uses this ID to assign to the UE for UL SRS (or UL PRS) sequence generation. The AMF maintains a mapping between UE TMSI and sequence ID or SRS ID. For an IIOT environment, these IDs will be sufficient considering that there will be no more than 65535 UEs.

[0050] Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the ID is made cell boundary. That is, the ID is valid as long as the UE is within a cell, and the UE always uses that ID to generate the UL SRS or UL PRS sequence to be used for UL SRS or UL PRS transmission. When the UE performs cell reselection (i.e., selects another cell), the UE then transitions to connected mode and notifies the gNB to release the ID.

[0051] According to some embodiments, the unique ID may be used to mitigate interference. For example, higher layer signaling may be used to coordinate interference suppression for inactive mode UL SRS / UL PRS transmissions. Thus, in a particular embodiment, the listening device (or RP) can report the UE ID (e.g., SRS ID, UL PRS ID, or sequence ID) along with the gNB Rx-Tx and RSRP to the LMF. The LMF then coordinates with the serving and listening gNBs to evaluate the interference. The LMF then notifies the AMF or gNB to page the UE. The serving gNB then operates to reconfigure the UL SRS or redirect the UE to some other cell / frequency.

[0052] According to some embodiments, the network (i.e., a network node such as a gNB) may broadcast an appropriate TA value to be used for UL transmission based on which TRP has the best transmission.

[0053] Although the RRC inactive mode is mentioned in some of the above embodiments, the embodiments are non-limiting and also applicable in the RRC idle mode.

[0054] In some embodiments, the UL resources used for the UL SRS (or UL PRS) in inactive mode and idle mode are predefined in the standard, and a UE transmitting a UL SRS (or UL PRS) in inactive mode or idle mode uses these predefined resources for the UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmission. The preconfigured UL resources may include one or more of the following: one or more slots in which UL resources are defined; one or more symbols in a slot, Comb number to be used for UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmission, where Comb number KTC is K TC th Define UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmission for each subcarrier (see 3GPP TS38.211), and / or • Cyclic shift αi for UL SRS (or UL PRS) as defined in TS 38.211.

[0055] According to some embodiments, when the UE is in active mode, UL resources are configured by the serving gNB t. The UE can then use the configured UL resources for UL SRS (or UL PRS) transmission in inactive or idle mode. For example, the serving gNB transmits the configured UL resources to the LMF. The LMF then transmits the configured UL resources to neighboring gNBs, so that the neighboring gNBs know the UL resources on which the UE transmits the UL SRS or UL PRS. In certain embodiments, the UL resources are associated with an SRS sequence ID and / or a UE ID.

[0056] In certain embodiments, the UL resource consists of a single symbol per slot, for example, the UL resource may consist of the last symbol in certain embodiments.

[0057] 3 shows a signaling diagram 100 illustrating an example method according to some embodiments. As shown, signaling is performed between a UE 102, a serving gNB 104, a listening gNB 106, an AMF 108, and an LMF 110.

[0058] In step 120, the AMF 108 receives a location request from a client in the UE 102 or from an external client such as a GMLC. GMLC is omitted from Figure 3 for simplicity. In step 122, the AMF 108 checks the cell ID from which the UE 102 sent the request and performs a mapping between the UE ID and the SRS sequence ID. An example mapping is shown in Table 1 below. In this example, an SRS sequence ID is shown, but similar sequence ID mapping rules may be performed between the UE ID and the UL PRS sequence ID.

[0059] [Table 1] ┌───────┬─────────────────┬─────────────┐ │Cell ID A │UE ID (e.g., TMSI, IMSI) │SRS sequence ID │ │ ├─────────────────┼───────────┤ │ │TMSI X │500 │ │ ├─────────────────┼───────────┤ │ │TMSI Y │800 │ │ ├─────────────────┼───────────┤ │ │TMSI Z │911 │ └───────┴─────────────────┴───────────┘

[0060] In step 124, the AMF 108 provides an SRS sequence ID for each UE 102. The SRS sequence ID may be used by the particular UE 102 for UL SRS transmission to the LMF 110. Alternatively, the AMF 108 may also provide the SRS sequence ID directly to the gNB 104, or the LMF 110 may provide this to the gNB 104 via the NRPPa. The mapping of UE-Id to SRS-id is a service within the AMF 108 that is exposed to the serving gNB 104 and listening gNB 106.

[0061] In step 126, the serving gNB 104 configures the UL SRS using the sequence ID. In step 128, the serving gNB 104 notifies the UE 102 of the configured UL SRS configuration and the sequence ID used to the LMF 110. In step 130, the serving gNB 104 provides the UL SRS configuration details, including the cell ID and the UE SRS ID, to the LMF 110.

[0062] In step 132, the LMF 110 notifies the listening gNB 106 that the UE 102 with sequence ID "500" is configured to transmit from cell "A." In step 134a, the UE 102 transmits an UL SRS using the unique signature of sequence ID "500." The listening node 106 decodes the UL SRS, identifies the UE ID, and performs measurements in step 134b.

[0063] In step 136, the listening node 106 provides the measurements to the LMF 110 for location estimation.

[0064] According to some embodiments, step 128 occurs when the UE 102 is in an RRC active mode. Step 134a can occur when the UE 102 is in either an RRC inactive mode or an idle mode.

[0065] One challenge is that in step 134b, the listening node 106 must be able to identify which UE 102 is transmitting. According to current standard specifications, the provided time instance corresponds to when the UE 102 is about to transmit. The LMF 110 provides this and other details to the listening node 106. However, this results in a large amount of signaling. Furthermore, in inactive mode, it is unpredictable which listening node 106 is best. Therefore, the LMF 110 can only notify active UE IDs configured for transmission, especially in cases where, for example, UE transmissions are unknown to the listening node. The listening node 106 performs energy detection to see if the UE 102 is transmitting something on the UL. If such a signal is detected, the UE decodes the signal and identifies the sequence ID.

[0066] After the positioning session ends or if the UE 102 is to select another cell, the mapping between the UE ID and the SRS sequence ID is released by the AMF 108. The AMF 108 may be notified by the LMF 110 or the serving gNB 104 that the UE 102 has changed cells.

[0067] If the UE 102 happens to select a new cell, it can perform an RRC resume and notify the serving gNB 104 to release the current ID and provide a new ID for UL SRS transmission, which also allows for fast reconfiguration of the UL SRS in inactive mode.

[0068] Additionally, according to certain embodiments, the AMF 108 may also provide mapping such that an SRS ID is applicable to multiple cells or a single Radio Network Area (RNA), depending on whether 65,535 IDs are sufficient for the RNA.

[0069] FIG. 4 shows a signaling diagram 200 illustrating another exemplary method according to some embodiments. As shown, the signaling is between a UE 202, a serving gNB / TRP 204, multiple neighbor gNB / TRPs 206, an AMF 308, and an LMF 210. The baseline is the UL UTDOA procedure described in 3GPP TS 38.305 v 16.4.0. Accordingly, the description of steps 220-222 and 228-246 is described in more detail in 3GPP TS 38.305 v 16.4.0. However, new signaling has been added in steps 224 and 226. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, if the LMF 210 determines to invoke a positioning method that includes an UL SRS, the LMF 210 can request the AMF 208 to provide an SRS ID to the UE 202 in step 224.

[0070] The mapping of UE-Id to SRS-id is, according to some embodiments, a service performed in the AMF 208 exposed to the serving and listening gNBs (reception points) 204-206.

[0071] The AMF 208 may then provide the ID to the LMF 210 in step 226. The LMF 210 then provides the ID to the serving node 204 in step 228.

[0072] In step 232, the serving gNB204 configures the UL SRS using the provided ID and confirms with the LMF210.

[0073] Another approach to achieving PRACH-based UE-specific UL transmission is to define positioning-specific preambles. Thus, according to some embodiments, some preambles may be reserved only for positioning purpose(s). In particular embodiments, preamble resource groups may be partitioned such that groups are reserved for positioning.

[0074] In another embodiment, a new PRACH UL signal is defined that is still based on the Zadoff-Chu sequence but is reserved for positioning purposes.

[0075] According to some embodiments, each UE then performs an UL transmission using the UE's preamble. The gNB can uniquely identify the UE based on the preamble used. The LMF can coordinate transmissions with the listening node based on the RA-RNTI.

[0076] 3GPP TS38.32 discloses the following:

[0077] The RA-RNTI associated with the PRACH occasion on which the random access preamble is transmitted is calculated as follows:

[0078] RA-RNTI = 1 + s_id + 14 × t_id + 14 × 80 × f_id + 14 × 80 × 8 × ul_carrier_id

[0079] where s_id is the index of the first OFDM symbol of the PRACH occasion (0≦ s_id < 14). t_id is the index of the first slot of the PRACH occasion in the system frame (0≦ t_id < 80). Here, the subcarrier spacing for determining t_id is based on the value of μ specified in clause 5.3.2 of TS 38.211 [8]. f_id is the index of the PRACH occasion in the frequency domain (0≦ f_id < 8). ul_carrier_id is the UL carrier used for random access preamble transmission (0 for NUL carrier, 1 for SUL carrier).

[0080] The drawback to this is that since there are only 64 preambles, no more than 64 UEs can be configured for PRACH-based positioning from the cell.

[0081] 5 shows a high-level sequence diagram 300 for PRACH-based UE-specific UL transmissions in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, signaling is between a UE 302, a serving gNB 304, a listening gNB 306, an AMF 308, and an LMF 310.

[0082] In step 320, the UE 302 sends an MO-LR location request to the AMF 308. The AMF 308 then, in step 322, maps the UE ID to a preamble ID.

[0083] In step 324, the AMF 308 provides the LMF 310 with the preamble ID to be used.

[0084] In step 326, the LMF 310 provides the preamble ID to the serving gNB 304.

[0085] In step 328, the serving gNB 304 configures the PRACH Tx using the preamble ID provided by the network.

[0086] In step 330, the serving gNB304 provides the RA-RNTI to the LMF310.

[0087] In step 332 , the LMF 310 provides the RA-RNTI to the listening node 306 .

[0088] In step 334a, the UE 302 transmits the PRACH.

[0089] In step 334b, the listening gNB 306 listens to the PRACH and decodes the UE ID / RA-RNTI.

[0090] In step 336, the listening gNB306 reports the measurements along with the RA-RNTI.

[0091] 6 shows a sequence diagram 400 illustrating preamble resources for positioning managed by a secure core network node such as an AMF, according to certain embodiments. However, in some cases, a gNB may also be given such a task. In such cases, the LMF may obtain the RA-RNTI from the gNB. As shown, signaling is between a UE 402, a serving gNB 404, a neighbor gNB / TRP 406, and an LMF 410.

[0092] The baseline for UL TDOA procedures is 3GPP® TS38.305 v16.4.0. Therefore, some of the descriptions of steps 420 to 442 are explained in more detail in 3GPP® TS38.305 v16.4.0. However, new signaling and features have been added in steps 426, 428, 430, 432, 434, 436, and 442.

[0093] Specifically, steps 420-422 include a request from the LMF 408 to enable UL PRACH transmission from the UE 402. In steps 426 and 428, the gNB 404 determines and assigns one of the preambles reserved for positioning to the UE 402, and an RA-RNTI based on the preamble resource is provided to the LMF 408 in step 430. In step 432, the UE 402 transmits on the UL using the provided UL PRACH resource. In step 434, the listening node performs measurements similar to step 436. In certain embodiments, step 434 may be optional. In step 430, the listening node 406 provides the LMF 408 with measurement results for a particular detected UE 402 with a particular RA-RNTI. Upon receiving the deactivation message, the serving gNB 404 can send a "release PRACH resource" message to the UE in step 442.

[0094] 7 illustrates an example of a communications system 500 according to some embodiments. In the example, the communications system 500 includes a telecommunications network 502 including an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 506 including one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510a and 510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connectivity of user equipment (UE) devices (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 506 via one or more wireless connections.

[0095] Exemplary wireless communications over wireless connections include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other data conductors. Additionally, in various embodiments, communications system 500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or be involved in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via wired or wireless connections. Communications system 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communications, telecommunications, data, cellular, wireless networks, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0096] The UE 512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices, arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network node 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network node 510 is arranged, enabled, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UE 512 and / or other network nodes or apparatuses within the telecommunications network 502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as management in the telecommunications network 502.

[0097] In the illustrated embodiment, the core network 506 connects the network node 510 to one or more hosts, such as the host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other embodiments, the network nodes may be directly coupled to the hosts. The core network 506 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., the core network node 508) comprised of hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, and therefore, those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. Exemplary core network nodes include one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Subscription Identifier Unhiding Function (SIDF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), a Network Publishing Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0098] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of, and may be operated by, or on behalf of, a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunications network 502. The host 516 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as searching and compiling data about various ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and monitoring center, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0099] 5 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G), a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi), and / or any other suitable wireless communication standard such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low power wide area network (LPWAN) standard such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0100] In some examples, the telecommunications network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Thus, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunications network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 may provide Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services and / or massive machine-type communications (mMTC) / massive IoT services to other UEs.

[0101] In some examples, the UE 512 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the access network 504. Furthermore, the UE may be configured to operate in a single or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., may be configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0102] In the illustrated example, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 512c and / or 512d) and a network node (e.g., network node 510b). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, a router, a content source and analysis, or any of the other communication devices described in this disclosure with respect to UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router that enables access to the core network 506 for the UE. As another example, the hub 514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators within the UE. The instructions or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 510, or by executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions within the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, in the case of a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media distribution device, the hub 514 can retrieve data related to VR assets, video, audio, or other media or sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides directly to the UE, either after performing local processing and / or adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, particularly if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0103] The hub 514 can have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also enable other communication schemes and / or schedules between the hub 514 and the UEs (e.g., UEs 512c and / or 512d) and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. In other embodiments, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Additionally, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider via the access network 504 and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 510b while still connected through the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communications to and from the network node 510b to the UEs. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that is capable of operating to route communications between the UE and the network node 510b, but that is also capable of operating as a communication origination and / or termination point for particular data channels.

[0104] Figure 8 illustrates a UE 600 according to some embodiments. As used in this disclosure, a UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), in-vehicle or embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE specified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0105] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates an associated device. Instead, a UE may represent a device intended for sale to or operation by a human user, but which may or may not initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller, etc.). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but which may be associated with or operated for a user (e.g., a smart electricity meter, etc.).

[0106] The UE 600 includes a processing circuit 602 operably coupled to an input / output interface 606, a power supply 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, via a bus 604. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 6. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Additionally, some UEs may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0107] The processing circuit 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in the memory 610. The processing circuit 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more stored computer programs such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0108] In this example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may enable a user to obtain information from the UE 600. Examples of input devices include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional keypad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. A presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device can use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0109] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell, can be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power to various portions of the UE 600 from the power source 608 itself and / or from the external power source via an interface, such as an input circuit or a power cable. The power transmission may be for charging the power source 608, for example. The power circuitry may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for each component of the UE 600 being powered.

[0110] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, flash drive, etc. In one embodiment, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 600.

[0111] The memory 610 may be configured to include several physical drives, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory such as a tamper-resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), e.g., a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a "SIM card." The memory 610 may enable the UE 600 to access, offload, or upload data, instructions, application programs, etc. stored on a temporary or non-transitory memory medium. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communications system, may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 610, which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0112] The processing circuit 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other networks using a communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware or may be implemented separately.

[0113] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication capabilities of communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth®, short-range communication, location-based communication such as use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication capability, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented in accordance with one or more communication protocols and / or standards such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0114] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE can provide data output acquired by its sensor via its communication interface 612 to a network node over a wireless connection. Data acquired by a sensor in a UE can be communicated to a network node over a wireless connection via another UE. The output can be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes when reporting a sensed temperature), random (e.g., even without the burden from reporting from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., when moisture is detected, when an alert is sent), upon request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0115] As another example, the UE may include an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communications interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the actuator, motor, or switch may change state. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight in accordance with the received input, or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure in accordance with the received input.

[0116] When a UE forms an Internet of Things (IoT) device, it can be a device for use in one or more application domains, including, but not limited to, urban wearable technology, augmented industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices that are or are embedded in a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, a power meter, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a voice-controlled smartphone speaker, a home surveillance camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electric door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system such as a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitor, an electric vehicle charging station, a smartphone watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), a wearable for haptic or sensory augmentation, a water sprinkler, a sensor for monitoring plants or animals, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and any type of medical device such as a heart rate monitor, a monitor, or a remotely operated surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device, in addition to other components as described in relation to UE 600 shown in FIG. 6.

[0117] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may, in this case, be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the context of 3GPP. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as an automobile, bus, truck, ship, and aircraft, or other equipment that can monitor and / or report its operating state or other functions related to its operation.

[0118] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or may be integrated into a drone and may provide drone speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust a throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UE may also include two or more of the functions described above. For example, a UE may include a sensor and an actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0119] 9 illustrates a network node 700 according to some embodiments. As used in this disclosure, a network node refers to a configured, arranged, and / or operative device in a telecommunications network that can communicate, directly or indirectly, with UEs and / or other network nodes or devices. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0120] Base stations may be classified based on the size of the coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may therefore be referred to as femto, pico, micro, or macro base stations depending on the size of the coverage provided. A base station may also be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes also referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0121] Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device such as an MSR BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a multiple cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS), a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive test (MDT).

[0122] The network node 700 includes processing circuitry 702, memory 704, a communications interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 may be comprised of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own components. In certain situations where the network node 700 includes multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components may be shared among multiple network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs. In such a scenario, each unique Node B and RNC pair may, in some cases, be considered a single, individual network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for various wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification device (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 700.

[0123] The processing circuitry 702 may include one or more combinations of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coded logic, which combination is operable, alone or in conjunction with other network node 700 components, such as memory 704, to provide the network node 700 functionality.

[0124] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 comprises a system-on-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and a baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0125] The memory 704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 702. The memory 704 can store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including applications that include one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any operations performed by the processing circuit 702 and / or any data received via the communications interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 702 and the memory 704 are integrated.

[0126] The communications interface 706 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, the communications interface 706 includes ports / terminals 716 for transmitting and receiving data to and from a network, e.g., via a wired connection. The communications interface 706 also includes a radio front-end circuit 718 that may be coupled to an antenna 710, or in some embodiments, a portion thereof. The radio front-end circuit 718 includes a filter 720 and an amplifier 722. The radio front-end circuit 718 may be connected to the antenna 710 and the processing circuit 702. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 710 and the processing circuit 702. The radio front-end circuit 718 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filter 720 and / or amplifier 722. The wireless signals may then be transmitted via antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 710 may collect wireless signals that are converted to digital data by wireless front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0127] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 700 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 718; instead, processing circuit 702 includes the radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, radio front-end circuitry 718, and RF transceiver circuitry 712 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 706 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 714 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0128] Antenna 710 may include one or more antennas or an antenna array configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 710 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In an embodiment, antenna 710 is separate from network node 700 and may be connectable to network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0129] The antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuit 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or some obtaining operations described in this disclosure as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, the antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuit 702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described in this disclosure as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0130] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of the network node 700 in a form appropriate for each component (e.g., at voltage and current levels required by each component). The power source 708 may further comprise or be coupled to power management circuitry for supplying power to the components of the network node 700 to perform the functions described in this disclosure. For example, the network node 700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as an electrical wire, whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuitry of the power source 708. As a further example, the power source 708 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated into the power circuitry. In the event of a failure of the external power source, the battery may provide backup power.

[0131] Embodiments of network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 7 to provide particular aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described in this disclosure and / or any functionality essential to supporting the subject matter described in this disclosure. For example, network node 700 may include user interface devices that allow for the input of information into network node 700 and the output of information from network node 700. This allows a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on network node 700.

[0132] 10 is a block diagram of a host 800, which may be an embodiment of the host 516 of FIG. 5, in accordance with various aspects described in this disclosure. As used in this disclosure, the host 800 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 800 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0133] Host 800 includes a processing circuit 802 operably coupled to an input / output interface 806, a network interface 808, a power supply 810, and a memory 812 via a bus 804. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 6 and 7, such that the descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 800.

[0134] The memory 812 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 814 and data 816, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by the UE for the host 800 or data generated by the host 800 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 800 may utilize only a subset or all of the shown components. The host application programs 814 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UE (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 814 may also provide user authentication and license checks and may periodically report health, route, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or at the edge of the core network. Thus, the host 800 can select and / or indicate different hosts for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application program 814 can support various protocols such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0135] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization refers to creating a virtual version of a device or device by virtualizing the hardware platform, storage, and network resources. As used in this disclosure, virtualization may apply to any device described in this disclosure, or components thereof, and refers to implementations in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described in this disclosure may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 900 hosted by one or more hardware nodes, such as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a hardware computing device acting as a host. Furthermore, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node or a host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0136] An application 902 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) executes in the virtualized environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or advantages of some of the embodiments disclosed in this disclosure.

[0137] The hardware 904 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices described in this disclosure, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 906 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 908a and 908b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 908), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described in this disclosure. The virtualization layer 906 may present a virtual operating platform to the VMs 908 that appears to be networking hardware.

[0138] The VMs 908 may comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be executed by a corresponding virtualization layer 906. Various embodiments of instances of virtual appliances 902 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 908, and the implementation may be done in different ways. Hardware virtualization occurs in some contexts, referred to as network functions virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types with industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located in data centers, as well as customer premises equipment.

[0139] In the context of NFV, vending machine 908 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that executes programs as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of VMs 908, and that portion of hardware 904 on which that VM runs, is hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forming a separate virtual network element. Furthermore, in the context of NFV, virtual network functions run in one or more VMs 908 on hardware 904 and are responsible for handling specific network functions corresponding to applications 902.

[0140] The hardware 904 may be implemented in a standalone network node having generic or specific components. The hardware 904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 904 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via a management and orchestration 910 that oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of the application 902. In some embodiments, the hardware 904 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces or may be used in combination with virtual components to provide wireless functionality, such as a wireless access node or base station, for the virtual node. In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided using a control system 912, which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes and the radio units.

[0141] FIG. 12 illustrates a communication diagram of a host 1002 communicating via a network node 1004 with a UE 1006 over a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments.

[0142] Exemplary embodiments of the UE (such as UE 512a of FIG. 5 and / or UE 600 of FIG. 6), network node (such as network node 510a of FIG. 5 and / or network node 700 of FIG. 7), and host (such as host 516 of FIG. 5 and / or host 800 of FIG. 8) described in the previous paragraph according to various embodiments are described using FIG. 10.

[0143] Similar to host 800, an embodiment of host 1002 includes hardware such as a communications interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 1002 also includes software stored on or accessible by host 1002 and executable by the processing circuitry. This software includes a host application that may be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as UE 1006, connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1050 extending between UE 1006 and host 1002. When providing services to a remote user, the host application may provide user data that is transmitted using OTT connection 1050.

[0144] The network node 1004 includes hardware for communicating with the host 1002 and the UE 1006. The connection 1060 can be direct or pass through one or more other intermediate networks, such as a core network (such as core network 506 in FIG. 5) and / or one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0145] The UE 1006 includes hardware and software stored on or accessible by the UE 1006 and executable by the UE's processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific "app," that may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 1006 with the support of the host 1002. A host application running on the host 1002 can communicate with a client application running on the UE 1006 via an OTT connection 1050 that terminates at the UE 1006 and the host 1002. In providing services to the user, the client application on the UE can receive request data from the host application on the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1050 may carry both the request data and the user data. The client application on the UE can interact with the user and generate user data to provide to the host application via the OTT connection 1050.

[0146] The OTT connection 1050 may extend via a connection 1060 between the host 1002 and a network node 1004 and via a wireless connection 1070 between the network node 1004 and the UE 1006 to provide a connection between the host 1002 and the UE 1006. The connections 1060 and wireless connections 1070 over which the OTT connection 1050 may be provided are depicted abstractly to show communication between the host 1002 and the UE 1006 via the network node 1004, although any intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages through these devices are not explicitly mentioned.

[0147] As an example of transmitting data over the OTT connection 1050, in step 1008, the host 1002 provides user data that may be executed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1006. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1006 that shares data with the host 1002 without explicit human interaction. In step 1010, the host 1002 initiates a transmission carrying user data toward the UE 1006. The host 1002 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by the UE 1006. The request may be triggered by human interaction with the UE 1006 or by the operation of a client application running on the UE 1006. The transmission may pass through the network node 1004 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Thus, in step 1012, the network node 1004 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 1002 to the UE 1006 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1014 , the UE 1006 receives user data carried in the transmission, which may be executed by a client application running on the UE 1006 associated with a host application executed by the host 1002 .

[0148] In some examples, the UE 1006 executes a client application that provides user data to the host 1002. The user data may be provided in reaction to or in response to data received from the host 1002. Thus, in step 1016, the UE 1006 may provide the user data, which may be executed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from a user via an input / output interface of the UE 1006. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE 1006 initiates transmission of the user data to the host 1002 via the network node 1004 in step 1018. In step 1020, in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this invention, the network node 1004 receives the user data from the UE 1006 and initiates transmission of the received user data to the host 1002. In step 1022, the host 1002 receives the user data carried in a transmission initiated by the UE 1006.

[0149] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 1006 using the OTT connection 1050, of which the wireless connection 1070 forms the final leg. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve one or more of, for example, data rate, latency, and / or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as, for example, reduced user latency, relaxed file size constraints, improved content resolution, increased responsiveness, and / or extended battery life.

[0150] In an exemplary scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1002. As another example, the host 1002 may process audio and video data retrieved from UEs for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1002 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1002 may store surveillance video uploaded by UEs. As another example, the host 1002 may store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR, or AR, that can be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1002 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical electrical loads to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams from data collected from remote devices), or any other function that collects, retrieves, stores, analyzes, and / or transmits data.

[0151] In some examples, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. Additionally, there may be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 between the host 1002 and the UE 1006 in response to fluctuations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software or hardware in the host 1002 and / or the UE 1006. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection 1050 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above or other physical quantities from which software can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1050 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not directly change the operation of the network node 1004. Such procedures and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In particular embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by the host 1002. The measurements may be software implemented such that messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, are sent using the OTT connection 1050 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0152] While the computing devices (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) described in this disclosure may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may include computing devices having various combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed in this disclosure. The determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described in this disclosure may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, transforming the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained or transformed information with information stored in a network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained or transformed information, and making a decision as a result of said processing. Furthermore, while components are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, a computing device may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned among the separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described in this disclosure, and / or functionality of a component may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, the computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, while the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0153] In particular embodiments, some or all of the functionality described in this disclosure may be provided by a processing circuit executing instructions stored in a memory, which may in particular embodiments be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored on a separate or distinct device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these particular embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality regardless of whether or not it executes instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to just the processing circuit or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by end users and the wireless network as a whole.

[0154] 13 illustrates a method 1100 by a UE 512 for unique identification of the UE 512 for positioning purposes, according to some embodiments. The method includes, at step 1102, transmitting to a network node 510 an uplink signal that uses a preamble generated based on a unique identifier associated with the UE 512 or reserved for positioning purposes.

[0155] In a particular embodiment, the UE receives a unique identifier from a network node 510 comprising a gNB or AMF and generates an uplink signal based on the unique identifier associated with the UE 512 and / or using a preamble reserved for positioning.

[0156] In a particular embodiment, the unique identifier is mapped to a TMSI or IMSI associated with the UE 512.

[0157] In certain embodiments, the unique identifier comprises a sequence identifier, a sounding reference signal identifier, or a positioning reference signal identifier.

[0158] In a particular embodiment, the uplink signal includes a sounding reference signal or a positioning reference signal.

[0159] In certain embodiments, the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region comprising a cell and / or wireless network area.

[0160] In a particular embodiment, the UE 512 receives a message from the AMF or network node 510 indicating that the UE 512 is moving to another cell or frequency.

[0161] In a particular embodiment, the UE 512 is in a low power state.

[0162] In a particular embodiment, the low power state includes an RRC inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

[0163] In a particular embodiment, the UE 512 performs a connection resumption procedure to transition to an active state and sends a message to the network node 510 indicating that the unique identifier may be released.

[0164] In a particular embodiment, the uplink signal is transmitted using at least one pre-configured uplink resource associated with the unique identifier, the at least one pre-configured uplink resource being received from the network node 510. Further, the at least one pre-configured uplink resource includes at least one of: one or more slots in which the at least one pre-configured uplink resource is defined, one or more symbols within the slot, a Comb number to be used for transmission of the uplink signal, and a cyclic shift α for the uplink signal.

[0165] In a particular embodiment, the uplink signal includes a PRACH uplink signal, and the preamble is reserved for a preamble resource group for positioning purposes.

[0166] 14 illustrates a method 1200 by a first network node 510 comprising a gNodeB and / or a listening node, according to some embodiments. The method includes detecting an uplink signal associated with a UE 512, in step 1202. The uplink signal includes a unique identifier or preamble reserved for positioning. Based on the unique identifier or preamble reserved for positioning, the first network node 510 identifies the UE 512 associated with the uplink signal, in step 1204. In response to identifying the UE 512 associated with the uplink signal, the first network node 510 performs at least one positioning operation associated with the UE 512, in step 1206.

[0167] In certain embodiments, when performing at least one positioning operation, the first network node 510 performs at least one of: sending a measurement report for the UE 512 to the second network node; determining that the UE 512 is associated with and / or causes interference; sending a signal to the UE 512 to trigger the UE 512 to transition to a connected mode; adapting a configuration of the UE 512; and transmitting the adapted configuration to the UE 512.

[0168] In certain embodiments, before receiving the uplink signal, the first network node 510 includes at least one of receiving a unique identifier from the second network node acting as an LMF and transmitting the unique identifier to the UE 512.

[0169] In a particular embodiment, the unique identifier is mapped to a TMSI or IMSI associated with the UE 512.

[0170] In a particular embodiment, the uplink signal includes an SRS or a PRS.

[0171] In certain embodiments, the unique identifier comprises a sequence identifier, an SRS ID, or a PRS ID.

[0172] In certain embodiments, the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region comprising a cell and / or wireless network area.

[0173] In a particular embodiment, when performing at least one positioning operation, the first network node 510 transmits a message to the UE 512 indicating that the UE 512 should move to another cell or frequency.

[0174] In a particular embodiment, the UE 512 is in a low power state.

[0175] In a particular embodiment, the low power state comprises an RRC inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

[0176] In certain embodiments, the uplink signal is received within or associated with at least one preconfigured uplink resource, the at least one preconfigured uplink resource being associated with a unique identifier, the at least one preconfigured uplink resource including at least one of: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined, one or more symbols within the slot, a Comb number used for transmission of the uplink signal by the UE 512, and a cyclic shift α for the uplink signal.

[0177] In a particular embodiment, the first network node 510 transmits at least one pre-configured uplink resource to the UE 512 while the UE 512 is in an active mode.

[0178] In a particular embodiment, the first network node 510 receives a message from the UE 512 indicating that the unique identifier may be released after the UE 512 transitions to a connected state or an active mode.

[0179] In a particular embodiment, the uplink signal comprises a PRACH uplink signal, and the preamble is reserved for a preamble resource group for positioning purposes.

[0180] In a particular embodiment, the first network node 510 maps a unique identifier associated with the UE 12 to a sequence identifier.

[0181] 15 illustrates a method 1300 by a core network node 508 acting as an LMF, according to a particular embodiment. The method includes receiving, from a second network node 512A-512B acting as a gNodeB or listening node, a mapping of unique identifiers to sequence identifiers associated with the UEs 510A-510D, in step 1302. In step 1304, the core network node 508 transmits the sequence identifier to be used by the UEs to a third network node.

[0182] In a particular embodiment, the core network node 508 receives a measurement report for the UE 512 from the second network node (510) or another network node.

[0183] In certain embodiments, the UE 512 is associated with and / or causes interference.

[0184] In certain embodiments, the sequence identifier comprises an SRS ID or a PRS ID.

[0185] In certain embodiments, the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region that includes a cell and / or wireless network area.

[0186] In a particular embodiment, the UE is in a low power state.

[0187] In a particular embodiment, the low power state includes an RRC inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

[0188] In a particular embodiment, the core network node 508 associates at least one pre-configured uplink resource with the UE, the at least one pre-configured uplink resource including at least one of: one or more slots in which the at least one pre-configured uplink resource is defined; one or more symbols within the slot; a Comb number used for transmission of the uplink signal by the UE; and a cyclic shift α for the uplink signal.

[0189] In certain embodiments, at least one pre-configured uplink resource is associated with a unique identifier and / or a sequence identifier.

[0190] Illustrative Embodiments Group A Exemplary Embodiments Exemplary embodiment A1: A method by a user equipment (UE) for uniquely identifying the UE for positioning purposes, said method including any of the user equipment steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0191] Exemplary embodiment A2: The method of the previous embodiment further comprises one or more additional user device steps, features, or functions described above.

[0192] Exemplary embodiment A3: A method according to any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and transferring the user data to the network node via the transmission to a host computer.

[0193] Group B Exemplary Embodiments Exemplary embodiment B1: A method, performed by a network node, for uniquely identifying a UE for positioning purposes, said method comprising any of the steps, features or functions of the network node described above, alone or in combination with other steps, features or functions described above.

[0194] Exemplary Embodiment B2: The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features, or functions as described above.

[0195] Exemplary embodiment B3: The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and transferring the user data to a host or user device.

[0196] Group C Exemplary Embodiments Exemplary embodiment C1: A method by a user equipment (UE) for uniquely identifying a UE for positioning purposes, the method comprising: generating an uplink signal based on a unique identifier associated with the UE and / or using a preamble reserved for positioning; and transmitting the uplink signal based on the unique identifier associated with the UE and / or using the preamble reserved for positioning.

[0197] Exemplary Embodiment C2: The method of exemplary embodiment C1, further comprising: receiving the unique identifier from a network node, such as, for example, a gNodeB or an Application Management Function (AMF).

[0198] Exemplary Embodiment C3: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1-C2, wherein the unique identifier is mapped to a TMSI associated with the UE.

[0199] Exemplary Embodiment C4: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1 to C3, wherein the unique identifier comprises a sequence ID or a sounding reference signal identifier (SRS ID) or a positioning reference signal identifier (PRS ID).

[0200] Exemplary Embodiment C5: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1-C4, wherein the uplink signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0201] Exemplary Embodiment C6: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1-C5, wherein the uplink signal includes a positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0202] Exemplary Embodiment C7: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1-C6, wherein a unique identifier is associated with the spatial region.

[0203] Exemplary Embodiment C8: The method of exemplary embodiment C7, wherein the spatial region includes a cell and / or a wireless network region.

[0204] Exemplary Embodiment C9: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1 to C8, further comprising receiving a message indicating that the UE is moving to another cell or frequency.

[0205] Exemplary embodiment C10: The method of exemplary embodiment C9, wherein the message is a page (call) received from an AMF.

[0206] Exemplary Embodiment C11: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1 to C10, wherein the UE is in a low power state.

[0207] Exemplary Embodiment C12: The method of exemplary embodiment C11, wherein the low power state comprises an RRC inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

[0208] Exemplary embodiment C13: A method according to any one of exemplary embodiments C1 to C12, wherein the uplink signal is transmitted using at least one preconfigured uplink resource, the at least one preconfigured uplink resource including at least one of: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined; one or more symbols within the slot; a Comb number to be used for transmitting the uplink signal; and a cyclic shift αi for the uplink signal.

[0209] Exemplary Embodiment C14: The method of exemplary embodiment C13, further comprising receiving the at least one pre-configured uplink resource from a network node while in an active mode.

[0210] Example Embodiment C15: The method of any one of example embodiments C13 to C14, wherein the at least one pre-configured uplink resource is associated with the unique identifier.

[0211] Exemplary embodiment C16: The method according to any one of exemplary embodiments C1 to C15, further comprising: performing a connection resumption procedure; and sending a message to the network node indicating that the unique identifier may be released.

[0212] Exemplary Embodiment C17: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments C1 to C16, wherein the uplink signal comprises a PRACH uplink signal, and the preamble is reserved in a preamble resource group for positioning purposes.

[0213] Exemplary Embodiment C18: The method of exemplary embodiments C1-C17, further comprising providing user data and forwarding the user data to the host via transmission to a network node.

[0214] Exemplary embodiment C19: A user device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the method according to any of exemplary embodiments C1-C18.

[0215] Exemplary embodiment C20: A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of exemplary embodiments C1-C18.

[0216] Exemplary embodiment C21: A computer program comprising instructions for performing any of the methods of exemplary embodiments C1 to C18 when executed on a computer.

[0217] Exemplary embodiment C22: A computer program product including a computer program, the computer program product including instructions for performing any of the methods of exemplary embodiments C1 to C18 when the computer program product is executed on a computer.

[0218] Exemplary embodiment C23: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method of any of exemplary embodiments C1-C18.

[0219] Group D Exemplary Embodiments Exemplary embodiment D1: A method by a first network node for identifying a user equipment (UE) associated with an uplink signal, the method comprising: detecting an uplink signal associated with the UE; determining the UE associated with the uplink signal based on the uplink signal; and performing at least one positioning operation associated with the UE in response to determining the UE associated with the uplink signal.

[0220] Exemplary Embodiment D2: The method of exemplary embodiment D1, wherein the first network node includes a gNodeB and / or a listening node.

[0221] Exemplary Embodiment D3: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D2, wherein the first network node includes and / or operates as an application management function.

[0222] Exemplary Embodiment D4: A method according to any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D3, wherein the uplink signal includes a unique identifier, and the UE is determined to be associated with the uplink signal based on the unique identifier.

[0223] Exemplary embodiment D5: A method according to any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D4, wherein the uplink signal includes a preamble reserved for positioning, and the UE is determined to be associated with the uplink signal based on the preamble.

[0224] Exemplary Embodiment D6: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D5, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation comprises transmitting a measurement report for the UE to a second network node.

[0225] Exemplary Embodiment D7: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D6, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation comprises determining that the UE is associated with and / or causes interference.

[0226] Exemplary embodiment D8: A method according to any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D7, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation comprises sending a signal to the wireless device to trigger the UE to transition to a connected mode.

[0227] Exemplary Embodiment D9: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D8, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation comprises adapting a configuration of the UE and transmitting the adapted configuration to the UE.

[0228] Exemplary Embodiment D10: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D9, further comprising transmitting the unique identifier to the UE before receiving the uplink signal.

[0229] Exemplary Embodiment D11: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D10, further comprising receiving the unique identifier from a second network node acting as an LMF before receiving the uplink signal.

[0230] Exemplary Embodiment D12: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D11, wherein the unique identifier is mapped to a TMSI associated with the UE.

[0231] Exemplary Embodiment D13: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D12, wherein the uplink signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0232] Exemplary Embodiment D14: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D13, wherein the uplink signal includes a positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0233] Exemplary Embodiment D15: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D14, wherein the uplink signal includes a unique identifier associated with the UE.

[0234] Exemplary Embodiment D16: The method of exemplary embodiment D15, wherein the unique identifier comprises a sequence ID or a sounding reference signal identifier (SRS ID) or a positioning reference signal identifier (PRS ID).

[0235] Exemplary Embodiment D17: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D15-D16, wherein the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region.

[0236] Exemplary Embodiment D18: The method of exemplary embodiment D17, wherein the spatial region includes a cell and / or a wireless network area.

[0237] Exemplary embodiment D19: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D18, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation comprises transmitting a message to the UE indicating that the UE is moving to another cell or frequency.

[0238] Exemplary Embodiment D20: The method of any one of Exemplary Embodiment D19, wherein the message is a page.

[0239] Exemplary Embodiment D21: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1-D20, wherein the UE is in a low power state.

[0240] Example Embodiment D22: The method of example embodiment D21, wherein the low power state includes an RRC inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

[0241] Exemplary Embodiment D23: A method according to any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D22, wherein the uplink signal is received on or associated with at least one preconfigured uplink resource, the at least one preconfigured uplink resource including at least one of: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined; one or more symbols within the slot; a Comb number used for transmission of the uplink signal by the UE; and a cyclic shift αi for the uplink signal.

[0242] Exemplary Embodiment D24: The method of exemplary embodiment D23, further comprising transmitting the at least one pre-configured uplink resource to the UE while the UE is in an active mode.

[0243] Example Embodiment D25: The method of any one of example embodiments D23-D24, wherein the at least one pre-configured uplink resource is associated with the unique identifier.

[0244] Exemplary embodiment D26: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D25, further comprising receiving a message from the UE indicating that the unique identifier may be released after the UE transitions to a connected state or an active mode.

[0245] Exemplary Embodiment D27: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D1 to D26, wherein the uplink signal comprises a PRACH uplink signal, and the preamble is reserved in a preamble resource group for positioning purposes.

[0246] Example Embodiment D28: The method of any one of example embodiments D1 to D27, further comprising mapping a unique identifier associated with the UE to a sequence identifier.

[0247] Exemplary Embodiment D29: The method of exemplary embodiment D28, wherein the unique identifier associated with the UE includes a TMSI, and the sequence identifier includes at least one of an SRS Sequence ID and a PRS Sequence ID.

[0248] Exemplary Embodiment D30: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments D28-D29, further comprising transmitting the mapping to a second network node acting as an LMF.

[0249] Exemplary Embodiment D31: The method of exemplary embodiments D1-D30, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to the host via transmission to the network node.

[0250] Exemplary embodiment D32: A user device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the method of any of exemplary embodiments D1-D31.

[0251] Exemplary Embodiment D33: A wireless device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the method of any of the exemplary embodiments D1-D31.

[0252] Exemplary embodiment D34: A computer program comprising instructions for performing any of the methods of exemplary embodiments D1 to D31 when the computer program is executed on a computer.

[0253] Exemplary embodiment D35: A computer program product comprising a computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for performing any of the methods of exemplary embodiments D1 to D31 when said computer program is executed on a computer.

[0254] Exemplary embodiment D36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method of any of exemplary embodiments D1-D31.

[0255] Group E Exemplary Embodiments Exemplary embodiment E1: A method by a first network node for identifying a UE (User Equipment) associated with an uplink signal, the method comprising: receiving, from a second network node, a mapping of unique identifiers associated with the UE to sequence identifiers; and transmitting, to a third network node, the sequence identifier to be used by the UE.

[0256] Exemplary Embodiment E2: The method of exemplary embodiment E1, wherein the first network node comprises a core network node.

[0257] Exemplary Embodiment E3: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E2, wherein the first network node includes and / or operates as an LMF.

[0258] Exemplary Embodiment E4: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E3, further comprising receiving a measurement report for the UE from the second network node or another network node.

[0259] Exemplary Embodiment E5: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E4, wherein the UE is associated with and / or causes interference.

[0260] Example Embodiment E6: The method of any one of example embodiments E1 to E5, further comprising transmitting a signal to trigger the UE to transition to a connected mode.

[0261] Exemplary Embodiment E7: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E6, further comprising transmitting a signal for triggering an adaptation of the UE's configuration.

[0262] Exemplary Embodiment E8: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E7, wherein the uplink signal includes a unique identifier associated with the UE.

[0263] Exemplary Embodiment E9: The method of exemplary embodiment E8, wherein the sequence identifier comprises a sounding reference signal identifier (SRS ID) or a positioning reference signal identifier (PRS ID).

[0264] Exemplary Embodiment E10: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E8, wherein the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region.

[0265] Exemplary Embodiment E11: The method of embodiment E10, wherein the spatial region comprises a cell and / or a wireless network region.

[0266] Exemplary Embodiment E12: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1-E11, wherein transmitting a signal to trigger the UE to move to another cell or frequency.

[0267] Exemplary Embodiment E13: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1 to E12, wherein the UE is in a low power state.

[0268] Example Embodiment E14: The method as in example of example embodiment E13, wherein the low power state comprises an RRC inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

[0269] Exemplary Embodiment E15: A method according to any one of exemplary embodiments E1 to E16, comprising associating at least one preconfigured uplink resource with the UE, the at least one preconfigured uplink resource comprising at least one of: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined; one or more symbols within the slot; a Comb number used for transmission of an uplink signal by the UE; and a cyclic shift αi for the uplink signal.

[0270] Exemplary Embodiment E16: The method of exemplary embodiment E15, further comprising transmitting the at least one pre-configured uplink resource to the UE while the UE is in an active mode.

[0271] Example Embodiment E17: The method of any one of example embodiments E15 to E16, wherein the at least one pre-configured uplink resource is associated with the unique identifier and / or the sequence ID.

[0272] Exemplary embodiment E18: The method of any one of exemplary embodiments E1 to E17, further comprising receiving a message from the UE indicating that the unique identifier may be released after the UE transitions to a connected state or an active mode.

[0273] Exemplary Embodiment E19: The method of exemplary embodiments E1-E18, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding said user data to a host via transmission to said network node.

[0274] Exemplary Embodiment E20: A user device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the method of any of the exemplary embodiments E1 to E19.

[0275] Exemplary Embodiment E21: A wireless device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the method of any of the exemplary embodiments E1 to E19.

[0276] Exemplary embodiment E22: A computer program comprising instructions for performing, when executed on a computer, any of the methods of exemplary embodiments E1 to E19.

[0277] Exemplary embodiment E23: A computer program product comprising a computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for performing any of the methods of exemplary embodiments E1 to E19 when said computer program is executed on a computer.

[0278] Exemplary embodiment E24: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method of any of exemplary embodiments E1-E19.

[0279] Group F Exemplary Embodiments Exemplary embodiment F1: A user device comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of the exemplary embodiments of any of groups A and C; and a power supply circuit configured to provide power to the processing circuit.

[0280] Exemplary embodiment F2: A network node comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps in any of the exemplary embodiments of groups B, D and E; and a power supply circuit configured to provide power to the processing circuit.

[0281] Exemplary embodiment F3: A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to transmit and receive radio signals; a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and a processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; the processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps in any of the exemplary embodiments of groups A and C; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to allow input of information to the UE to be processed by the processing circuit; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuit; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to provide power to the UE.

[0282] Exemplary embodiment F4: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the UE comprising a communications interface and processing circuitry, the communications interface and the processing circuitry of the UE configured to perform any of the steps of any of the exemplary embodiments of groups A and C to receive the user data from the host.

[0283] Exemplary Embodiment F5: The host of any preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0284] Exemplary embodiment F6: The host of the two preceding embodiments, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to thereby provide the user data, and the host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0285] Exemplary Embodiment F7: A method performed by a host operating in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, the UE performing any of the operations of any of the embodiments of Groups A and C to receive the user data from the host.

[0286] Exemplary Embodiment F8: The method of any preceding exemplary embodiment, further comprising: executing, at the host, a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0287] Exemplary Embodiment F9: The method of the preceding exemplary embodiment, further comprising: at the host, sending input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, and the user data being provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0288] Exemplary embodiment F10: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the UE comprising a communication interface and a processing circuit, the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE configured to perform any of the steps of any of the exemplary embodiments of groups A and C to transmit the user data to the host.

[0289] Exemplary Embodiment F11: The host of any of the preceding exemplary embodiments, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0290] Exemplary embodiment F12: The host of embodiment 2 above, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to thereby provide the user data, and the host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0291] Exemplary embodiment F13: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising receiving, at the host, user data transmitted by the UE to the host via the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of the exemplary embodiments of any of groups A and C to transmit the user data to the host.

[0292] Example Embodiment F14: The method of any preceding example embodiment, further comprising: executing, at the host, a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0293] Exemplary embodiment F15: The method of the preceding exemplary embodiment, further comprising: at the host, sending input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing a host application, and the user data being provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0294] Exemplary embodiment F16: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node comprising a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node configured to perform any of the operations in any of the exemplary embodiments of groups B, D, and E to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0295] Exemplary embodiment F17: The host of any preceding exemplary embodiment, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive transmissions of the user data from the host.

[0296] Exemplary embodiment E18: A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, the network node performing any of the operations in any of the exemplary embodiments of groups B, D and E to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0297] Example Embodiment F19: The method of any preceding example embodiment, further comprising: transmitting, at the network node, the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0298] Exemplary embodiment F20: A method according to any of the two preceding exemplary embodiments, wherein the user data is provided in the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0299] Exemplary embodiment F21: A communication system configured to provide over-the-top services, the communication system having a host, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data to a user equipment (UE), wherein the user data is associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations in any of the exemplary embodiments of groups B, D, and E to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0300] Exemplary embodiment F22: The communication system of any of the preceding exemplary embodiments, further comprising: said network node and / or said user equipment.

[0301] Exemplary embodiment F23: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to initiate reception of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node comprising a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the exemplary embodiments of groups B, D, and E to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0302] Exemplary embodiment F24: The host of the two preceding embodiments, wherein the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide the user data, and the host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0303] Exemplary Embodiment F25: The host according to either of the two preceding exemplary embodiments, wherein initiating the reception of the user data includes requesting the user data.

[0304] Exemplary embodiment F26: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: initiating, at the host, reception of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission received by the network node from the UE; and the network node performing any of the steps in any of the exemplary embodiments of groups B, D, and E to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0305] Exemplary embodiment F27: The method of the foregoing exemplary embodiment further includes:

Claims

1. 1. A method (1100) by a user equipment (UE) for uniquely identifying the UE (512) for positioning purposes, the method comprising:

11. A method comprising: transmitting, to a network node (510), an uplink signal that is generated based on a unique identifier associated with the UE or that uses a preamble reserved for positioning.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, receiving said unique identifier from a gNodeB or a network node (512) comprising an application management function; generating an uplink signal based on the unique identifier associated with the UE and / or using a preamble reserved for positioning; A method comprising:

3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is mapped to a temporary mobile subscriber identity or an international mobile subscriber identity associated with the UE.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the unique identifier comprises a sequence identifier, a sounding reference signal identifier, or a positioning reference signal identifier.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uplink signal comprises a sounding reference signal or a positioning reference signal.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region comprising a cell and / or a wireless network area.

7. 7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising receiving a message from an application management function or a network node (512) indicating that the UE will move to another cell or frequency.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the UE is in a low power state.

9. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the low power state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

10. 10. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, performing a connection resumption procedure to transition to an active state; sending a message to a network node (512) indicating that the unique identifier may be released; A method comprising:

11. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink signal is transmitted using at least one pre-configured uplink resource associated with the unique identifier, the at least one pre-configured uplink resource being received from the network node, the at least one pre-configured uplink resource being associated with: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined; and one or more symbols in a slot; a Comb number used for transmitting the uplink signal; and a cyclic shift αi of the uplink signal; The method includes at least one of the following:

12. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink signal comprises a physical random access channel uplink signal, and the preamble is reserved in a preamble resource group for positioning purposes.

13. A method (1200) by a first network node (510) comprising a gNode B and / or a listening node, said method comprising: Detecting (1202) an uplink signal associated with a user equipment (UE) (512), the uplink signal including a unique identifier or a preamble reserved for positioning; Identifying the UE associated with the uplink signal based on the unique identifier or the preamble reserved for positioning (1204); In response to identifying the UE associated with the uplink signal, performing at least one positioning operation associated with the UE (1206); A method comprising:

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation comprises: sending a measurement report for the UE to a second network node; and determining whether the UE is associated with and / or causing interference; and sending a signal to the UE to trigger the UE to transition to a connected mode; adapting a configuration of the UE and transmitting the adapted configuration to the UE; The method includes at least one of the following:

15. 15. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 14, wherein the method comprises: receiving said unique identifier from a second network node (512) acting as a location management function prior to receiving said uplink signal; transmitting the unique identifier to the UE; The method includes at least one of the following:

16. 16. The method of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the unique identifier is mapped to a temporary mobile subscriber identity or an international mobile subscriber identity associated with the UE.

17. 17. The method of any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the uplink signal comprises a sounding reference signal or a positioning reference signal.

18. 18. The method of any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the unique identifier comprises a sequence identifier, a sounding reference signal identifier, or a positioning reference signal identifier.

19. 19. The method of any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region comprising a cell and / or a wireless network area.

20. 120. The method of any one of claims 13 to 119, wherein performing the at least one positioning operation includes sending a message to the UE indicating that the UE should move to another cell or frequency.

21. The method of any one of claims 13 to 20, wherein the UE is in a low power state.

22. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the low power state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

23. 23. The method of any one of claims 13 to 22, wherein the uplink signal is received within or associated with at least one preconfigured uplink resource, the at least one preconfigured uplink resource being associated with the unique identifier, and the at least one preconfigured uplink resource comprising: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined; and one or more symbols in a slot; A Comb number used for uplink signal transmission by the UE; and a cyclic shift α for the uplink signal; and The method includes at least one of the following:

24. 24. The method of claim 23, comprising transmitting the at least one pre-configured uplink resource to the UE while the UE is in an active mode.

25. 25. The method of any one of claims 13 to 24, comprising receiving a message from the UE indicating that the unique identifier may be released after the UE transitions to a connected state or an active mode.

26. 26. The method of any one of claims 13 to 25, wherein the uplink signal comprises a physical random access channel uplink signal, and the preamble is reserved in a preamble resource group for positioning purposes.

27. 27. The method of any one of claims 13 to 26, comprising mapping the unique identifier associated with the UE to a sequence identifier.

28. A method (1300) by a core network node (508) acting as a Location Management Function (LMF), said method comprising: receiving (1302) from a second network node (510) acting as a gNodeB or listening node, a mapping of unique identifiers to sequence identifiers associated with a user equipment (UE) (512); transmitting (1304) to a third network node (512) a sequence identifier used by the UE; A method comprising:

29. 29. A method according to claim 28, comprising receiving a measurement report for the user equipment from the second network node or another network node.

30. 30. The method of any one of claims 28 to 29, wherein the UE is associated with and / or causes interference.

31. 31. The method of any one of claims 28 to 30, wherein the sequence identifier comprises a sounding reference signal identifier or a positioning reference signal identifier.

32. 32. The method of any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the unique identifier is associated with a spatial region comprising a cell and / or a wireless network area.

33. 33. The method of any one of claims 28 to 32, wherein the UE is in a low power state.

34. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the low power state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) inactive mode or an RRC idle mode.

35. 35. The method of any one of claims 28 to 34, comprising associating at least one pre-configured uplink resource with the UE, wherein the at least one pre-configured uplink resource comprises: one or more slots in which the at least one preconfigured uplink resource is defined; and one or more symbols in a slot; A Comb number used for uplink signal transmission by the UE; and cyclic shift αi for the uplink signal; The method includes at least one of the following:

36. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the at least one pre-configured uplink resource is associated with the unique identifier and / or the sequence identifier.

37. A user equipment (UE) (512) for uniquely identifying a UE for positioning purposes, the UE comprising: transmitting an uplink signal generated based on a unique identifier associated with the UE and / or using a preamble reserved for positioning purposes; The UE is adapted to

38. 38. The UE of claim 37, further adapted to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 12.

39. A first network node (510) comprising a gNodeB and / or a listening node, said first network node comprising: Detecting an uplink signal associated with a user equipment (UE) (512), the uplink signal including a unique identifier and / or a preamble reserved for positioning; Identifying the UE associated with the uplink signal based on the unique identifier and / or the preamble reserved for positioning; performing at least one positioning operation associated with the UE in response to identifying the UE associated with the uplink signal; a first network node adapted to:

40. A first network node according to claim 39, further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 14 to 29.

41. A core network node (508) acting as a Location Management Function (LMF), said core network node comprising: receiving, from a second network node (510) acting as a gNodeB or listening node, a mapping of unique identifiers associated with a user equipment (UE) (512) to sequence identifiers; transmitting the sequence identifier to be used by the UE to a third network node (512); A core network node that is adapted to

42. 44. A core network node according to claim 43, further adapted to perform a method according to any one of claims 29 to 36.

Images