Early User Equipment Identification and Power Reporting

Abstract

The present disclosure refers to a method implemented by a wireless device, the method comprising: obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message (3) to indicate the wireless device's capability to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message (4) physical uplink control channel; setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message (3) to indicate the wireless device's capability to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message (4) physical uplink control channel; and transmitting the random access procedure message (3) to a network node.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to wireless communications, and more particularly, to early user equipment (UE) identification and power reporting. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, all terms used herein should be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which the term is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. should be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless expressly stated otherwise. The steps of methods disclosed herein need not be performed in the strict order disclosed unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or if it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, whenever appropriate. Similarly, any advantage of any of the embodiments may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the accompanying embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0003] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifies the Evolved Packet System (EPS). EPS is based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio network and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Initially intended to provide voice and mobile broadband (MBB) services, EPS has continuously evolved to expand its capabilities. 3GPP also specifies Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and LTE for Machines (LTE-M) as part of the LTE specification, providing connectivity for Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC) services.

[0004] 3GPP also specifies the fifth-generation (5G) system (5GS), a new generation radio access technology intended to serve use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and mMTC. 5G includes the new radio (NR) access layer interface and the 5G core network (5GC). The NR physical layer and higher layers reuse portions of the LTE specification and add required components as motivated by new use cases. One such component is a high-performance framework for beamforming and beam management to extend support for 3GPP technology beyond 6 GHz.

[0005] In 3GPP Release 15, 3GPP began work to prepare NR for operation in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) (e.g., satellite communications). The work was carried out within the study item "NR for supporting non-terrestrial networks," resulting in TR 38.811. In 3GPP Release 16, the work to prepare NR for operation in NTN networks continued with the study item "Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks." In parallel, there has been growing interest in adapting NB-IoT and LTE-M for operation in NTNs. As a result, 3GPP Release 17 includes both a work item on NR NTNs and a study item on NB-IoT and LTE-M support for NTNs.

[0006] In 3GPP, NTN includes both satellite communications and communications using high altitude platform stations (HAPS). While particular examples herein may focus on satellite communications, the descriptions provided may also apply to HAPS networks.

[0007] A satellite radio access network typically includes the following components: satellites, which refer to spaceborne platforms; earth-based gateways that connect the satellites to base stations or core networks depending on the architecture chosen; feeder links, which refer to the links between the gateways and the satellites; and access links, which refer to the links between the satellites and user equipment (UE).

[0008] Depending on their orbital altitude, satellites can be categorized as low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), or geostationary Earth orbit (GEO). LEOs have typical altitudes ranging from 250 to 1,500 km, with orbital periods ranging from 90 to 120 minutes. MEOs have typical altitudes ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 km, with orbital periods ranging from 3 to 15 hours. GEOs have altitudes of approximately 35,786 km and have orbital periods of 24 hours.

[0009] Communications satellites typically generate several beams over a given area. The beam footprint is usually elliptical in shape, which has traditionally been considered a cell. The beam footprint is often also called a spot beam. The beam footprint may move across the Earth's surface as the satellite moves, or it may be Earth-fixed with some beam-pointing mechanism used by the satellite to compensate for satellite motion. The size of the spot beam depends on the system design and can range from tens of kilometers to thousands of kilometers.

[0010] Two basic architectures are being considered: one is the transparent payload (also called the bent-pipe architecture), in which the gNB is located on the ground and the satellite forwards signals / data between the gNB and the UE; and the other is the regenerative payload, in which the gNB is located in the satellite. In the work item for NR NTN in 3GPP Release 17, only the transparent architecture is being considered.

[0011] Figure 1 shows an example architecture of a satellite network with bent-pipe transponders. The depicted elevation angle of the service link is important because it affects the distance between the satellite and the device and the velocity of the satellite relative to the device. The gNB can be integrated into the gateway or connected to the gateway via a terrestrial connection (wired, fiber optic, or wireless link).

[0012] Before accessing an NR NTN, a UE is required to obtain a system information block (SIB) broadcast by the satellite access node (SAN), i.e., the gNB serving the NTN. SIB19 is specific to the NTN cell and contains an information element (IE) NTN-Config-r17 that provides NTN-specific information required by the UE to access the NTN cell. One example is ephemeris data, which provides the satellite orbit. The UE may use this information, for example, to determine the pointing direction of a directional antenna (or antenna beam) toward the satellite. For example, a UE that knows its location using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) support may also use the ephemeris data to calculate the correct timing advance (TA) and Doppler shift to be used when establishing a link to the satellite. The presence of NTN-Config-r17 in SIB19 informs the UE that it is camped on an NTN cell.

[0013] When a UE accesses an NR cell from a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle or RRC inactive state, the UE must provide the network with its identity (ID). When accessing from an RRC idle state, the UE signals its ID, known as the 5G S Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (5G-S-TMSI), through Message 3 (Msg3) and Message 5 (Msg5) during connection setup.

[0014] When the UE accesses from an RRC inactive mode, the UE uses a shorter UE ID called the Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI), which the UE sends as part of Msg3.

[0015] After the UE identity information is known to the gNB, the gNB can retrieve the UE capabilities from the UE context stored in the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0016] 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an NR random access procedure from RRC idle mode. Not shown is the UE sending a HARQ Ack / Nack over the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) in response to Msg4.

[0017] Msg3 carries, for example, an RRCSetupRequest message from a UE accessing from an RRC idle state, and an RRCResumeRequest for a UE accessing from an RRC inactive state. The following text provides the RRCSetupRequest definition according to TS 38.331 v 17.2.0. One bit is reserved, which means that the bit is reserved for use in a later release. The EstablishmentCause field also contains a reserved codepoint. RRCSetupRequest ::= SEQUENCE { rrcSetupRequest RRCSetupRequest-IEs } RRCSetupRequest-IEs ::= SEQUENCE { ue-Identity InitialUE-Identity, establishmentCause EstablishmentCause, spare BIT STRING (SIZE (1)) } InitialUE-Identity ::= CHOICE { ng-5G-S-TMSI-Part1 BIT STRING (SIZE (39)), randomValue BIT STRING (SIZE (39)) } EstablishmentCause ::= ENUMERATED { emergency, highPriorityAccess, mt-Access, mo-Signalling, mo-Data, mo-VoiceCall, mo-VideoCall, mo-SMS, mps-PriorityAccess, mcs-PriorityAccess, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1}

[0018] In Msg3, the UE also adds a Medium Access Control (MAC) header to the RRC message in accordance with 38.321 v 17.2.0 when forming the MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) to be sent to the UE's physical layer. Since Msg3 contains the logical channel Uplink (UL) Common Control Channel (CCCH), the MAC header contains two reserved bits ("R") and a 6-bit Logical Channel ID (LCID), as shown in Figure 3.

[0019] Figure 3 is a reproduction of Figure 6.1.2-3 from TS 38.321 v 17.2.0, showing the R / LCID / (eLCID) MAC subheader.

[0020] The LCID specification according to TS 38.321 v 17.2.0 is presented below and includes seven reserved code points (37-42, 47) as shown. TIFF2026501270000002.tif217170

[0021] Msg4 PUCCH refers to the use of the PUCCH for a UE's transmission of HARQ feedback in response to Msg4 reception, whereby Msg4 PUCCH transmission refers to such HARQ feedback transmission and Msg4 PUCCH repetition refers to the repetition of such HARQ feedback transmission for the purpose of coverage extension.

[0022] To assist the gNB in ​​performing uplink link adaptation, NR UEs support power headroom (PHR) reporting during RRC connected mode. The PHR indicates how much transmit power the UE uses or desires to use according to the UE's uplink power control algorithm relative to the UE's maximum allowed output power. The PHR thus indicates to the network, for example, that the UE does not use its full available transmit power, that the UE uses X dB (e.g., 3 dB) lower transmit power than the UE's full available transmit power, that the UE uses its full power, or that the UE uses its full power and desires to use more.

[0023] When performing uplink adaptation, the NW may use this information to select the uplink transmission bandwidth, to decide whether the UE should repeat the uplink transmission, and to select the best modulation and coding scheme for the uplink transmission.

[0024] Currently, several challenges exist. For example, 3GPP has agreed to improve uplink coverage for NTN UEs during initial access. To this end, the UE may repeat Msg4 PUCCH transmission to improve transmission robustness. However, there are at least three issues that need to be addressed to facilitate the repetition of Msg4 PUCCH transmission.

[0025] One problem is that the UE does not send a PHR to the network before Msg4, which makes it difficult for the network to determine the UE uplink radio conditions to determine whether the UE should use Msg4 PUCCH repetition. Another problem is that the gNB does not know whether the UE supports repeated Msg4 PUCCH transmissions. Without this knowledge, the network would first learn the UE capabilities of a UE accessing from RRC idle state after Msg5 transmission, which is too late for the capabilities related to Msg4 PUCCH transmission. Another problem is that the 3GPP specifications need to be updated to support indication of whether and how many repetitions an NTN UE should use for Msg4 PUCCH transmissions. Msg1 PHR and capability indication could be an option to address these issues, but this comes at a high cost in terms of reduced random access capacity and is therefore not discussed in further detail herein. Summary of the Invention

[0026] As described above, several challenges currently exist with regard to early user equipment (UE) identification and power reporting. Some aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these and other challenges. For example, certain embodiments include early UE capability signaling in Msg3 for support of Msg4 Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) repetition. Some embodiments include early power headroom (PHR) reporting in Msg3. In some embodiments, the number of repetitions to be used when transmitting the Msg4 PUCCH is configurable. Some embodiments may control when the above signaling is applicable.

[0027] Generally, certain embodiments use one or more reserved bits in Msg3 to indicate that the UE supports Msg4 PUCCH repetition and to implement PHR. The reserved bits refer to reserved bit fields in the Msg3 Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols that have not yet been used by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0028] To control the use of these bits, some embodiments use the reserved bits only when the UE is accessing a cell in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Furthermore, the use can be controlled by an indication in the system information, which facilitates other deployment options and features to use the same bits for other purposes.

[0029] According to some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device comprises obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate a capability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel, setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate a capability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel, and transmitting the random access procedure message 3 to a network node.

[0030] In a particular embodiment, obtaining the indication further comprises obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate a capability of the wireless device to report power headroom, and setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further comprises setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate a capability of the wireless device to report power headroom. In a particular embodiment, the one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

[0031] In certain embodiments, obtaining the indication comprises obtaining system information, obtaining a random access response, or a combination of both. In certain embodiments, obtaining the indication comprises obtaining an indication that the wireless device is accessing a non-terrestrial network.

[0032] In a particular embodiment, obtaining the indication further comprises obtaining an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0033] According to some embodiments, a wireless device comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the wireless device methods described above.

[0034] Also disclosed is a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code, the computer readable program code, when executed by a processing circuit, being operable to perform any of the methods performed by the wireless device described above.

[0035] According to some embodiments, a method performed by a network node comprises receiving a random access procedure message 3 from a wireless device. The message 3 comprises one or more bits indicating a capability of the wireless device to perform repetitions when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel. The method further comprises receiving one or more repetitions of the random access procedure message 4 from the wireless device.

[0036] In a particular embodiment, message 3 further comprises an indication that the wireless device may use one or more bits of random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to report power headroom. In a particular embodiment, one or more bits of random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

[0037] In a particular embodiment, the method further comprises transmitting an indication to the wireless device that the wireless device should use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's capability to implement repetition when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel. In a particular embodiment, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting system information, transmitting a random access response, or a combination of both.

[0038] In a particular embodiment, transmitting the indication further comprises transmitting an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0039] According to some embodiments, the network node comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the network node methods described above.

[0040] Also disclosed is a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code, the computer readable program code, when executed by a processing circuit, being operable to perform any of the methods performed by the network node described above.

[0041] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments facilitate signaling for improved Msg4 PUCCH link adaptation, i.e., signaling whether the UE can increase transmit power and whether the UE can use Msg4 PUCCH repetition. After decoding Msg3, the gNB knows the transmit power the UE is using, whether the UE can increase transmit power, and whether the UE can perform Msg4 PUCCH repetition. The signaling uses reserved bits in RRC and / or MAC and may be controlled in system information, thereby enabling use of these reserved bits by other future functions when not needed for PHR / capability indication. Another advantage is that the improved Msg4 PUCCH link adaptation avoids excessive uplink repetition, thereby saving radio resources and UE energy and reducing interference.

[0042] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments, and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0043] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a satellite network with bent-pipe transponders. [Figure 2] 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an NR random access procedure from RRC idle mode. [Figure 3] This is a reproduction of Figure 6.1.2-3 of TS 38.321 v 17.2.0, showing the R / LCID / (eLCID) MAC subheader. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary user equipment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary virtualization environment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communications network connected to a host computer through an intermediate network, according to some embodiments. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary host computer communicating with user equipment via a base station over a partially wireless connection, according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to some embodiments. [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to some embodiments. [Figure 13] Figure 13A is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented by a wireless device, Figure 13B is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented by a first network node, and Figure 13C is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented by a second network node, according to some embodiments. [Figure 14]14 and 15 are flowcharts illustrating another method performed by a first network node and a second network node, respectively, in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0044] As described above, several challenges currently exist with regard to early user equipment (UE) identification and power reporting. Some aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these and other challenges. For example, certain embodiments include early UE capability signaling in Msg3 for support of Msg4 Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) repetition. Some embodiments include early power headroom (PHR) reporting in Msg3.

[0045] Certain embodiments are more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to only the embodiments described herein; rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0046] Although the embodiments outlined below are primarily described with respect to NR-based non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), the embodiments are equally applicable in NTNs based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology or any other radio access technology (RAT) in which measurement windows and gaps can be configured. Although the embodiments described herein refer to explicit and implicit network configurations that apply to NTNs, similar configurations may also be applied in terrestrial networks.

[0047] In a first group of embodiments, a UE in an NTN may use one or more bits in Msg3 to report its capability to use repetition on the Msg4 PUCCH and / or to perform PHR. The UE may use receipt of the SIB19 NTN-Config information element as an indication of being in an NTN cell. If only PHR is reported, UE support / capability for Msg4 PUCCH repetition may be implicit either because the UE supports NTN (thereby performing an access attempt in the NTN cell) or because the UE includes the Msg3 PHR report above.

[0048] In some embodiments, whether one or more bits in Msg3 should be used to indicate the Msg4 PUCCH capability indication and / or PHR is set in the system information (SI). For example, a flag indicating whether this feature is on or off may be included in the SI. As another example, a multi-bit indicator may be included in the SI, where the value of the multi-bit indicator indicates one of several different (in the standard) specified uses of one or more bits in Msg3. As one option, the number of repetitions to use when the Msg4 PUCCH is repeated may be set in the SI.

[0049] In some embodiments, the configuration related to the use of one or more Msg3 bits for indicating Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability and / or PHR (and the above-mentioned configuration of the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions) is included in the SI only in NTN cells, e.g., only in cells where SIB19 (containing the NTN-Config-r17 IE) is broadcast (or SIB31 is broadcast in IoT NTN). The absence of such configuration may imply that one or more Msg3 bits are not used for indicating Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability and / or PHR.

[0050] As one option, the above configuration may be included in SIB19 (or SIB31 in the case of IoT NTN). As another option, the above configuration may be included in SIB1.

[0051] In some embodiments, the configuration may be provided in a Random Access Response (RAR) message. The above example described how the usage of one or more Msg3 bits may be configured via SI. An alternative way to configure the usage is to use RA Msg2, in other words, the RAR message.

[0052] In some embodiments, a reserved bit in the MAC RAR may be used, which may signal on / off the use of one or more Msg3 bits for indicating Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability and / or PHR (where "on" may be indicated, for example, by setting the reserved bit to 1).

[0053] In some embodiments, one or two reserved bits in the MAC subheader in the RAR (in other words, in the payload in the RAR PDU) may be used. For example, one or both of the two reserved bits in the MAC subheader containing the back-off indicator may be used. Even if the gNB does not wish to signal a back-off indication, it may still use the reserved bits in this manner by setting the back-off indicator field to one of the reserved codepoints (which are 14 and 15 in Release 17 of the 3GPP standards). Also, in these embodiments, a single reserved bit may signal on / off (where "on" may be indicated, for example, by setting the reserved bit to 1) of the use of one or more Msg3 bits for the indication of Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability and / or PHR.

[0054] If both the reserved bit in the MAC subheader containing the back-off indicator are used, or if both the reserved bit in the MAC RAR and the reserved bit in the MAC subheader containing the back-off indicator are used for this dynamic configuration, they may be combined into a two-bit configuration indication, which may indicate, for example, which of three or four different (in the standard) specified uses of one or more bits in Msg3 the UE should apply, similar to what was described above for configuration via SI. As a further option, both the reserved bit in the MAC RAR and the reserved bit in the MAC subheader containing the back-off indicator may be used for dynamic configuration, thereby constituting a three-bit configuration, which facilitates even more configurability, for example, indicating one out of a set of (in the standard) specified uses of one or more bits in Msg3 the UE should apply, and / or possibly indicating the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions to be used.

[0055] Using RAR to dynamically configure the use (or non-use) of one or more Msg3 bits for Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability and / or PHR indication allows the network to be more flexible and configure this on a case-by-case basis.

[0056] Dynamic configuration via RAR may be used in combination with configuration in SI. In that case, the configuration in SI may be a default configuration, which may be overridden by the configuration signaled in RAR. For example, if the SI indicates (explicitly or implicitly) that the UE should not use one or more Msg3 bits for Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability and / or PHR indication by default, this may be overridden in certain cases by setting the reserved bit (used for configuration as described above) to 1.

[0057] The Msg4 PUCCH capability indication requires only a single bit. Meanwhile, the PHR may consist of one or more bits. The single-bit PHR may indicate whether the UE used full transmit power (e.g., indicated by setting the bit to 1) or less than full transmit power (e.g., indicated by setting the bit to 0) for the transmission of Msg1 and / or Msg3. As another alternative, the single-bit PHR may indicate whether the UE used more than X dB below full transmit power (e.g., indicated by setting the bit to 1) or more than X dB below full transmit power (e.g., indicated by setting the bit to 0) for the transmission of Msg1 and / or Msg3 (where X may be, for example, 3 dB).

[0058] The multi-bit PHR facilitates signaling of more than two ranges for the transmit power to be used for Msg1 and / or Msg3.

[0059] The Msg4 PUCCH capability and PHR may be combined, for example, into a single-bit indicator. Such a single-bit combination indicator may be set, for example, to 1, to indicate that the UE is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and has used full transmit power for transmission of Msg1 and / or Msg3. As another alternative, setting the single-bit combination indicator to 1 may indicate that the UE is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and has used transmit power for Msg1 and / or Msg3 transmission that is higher than X dB below full transmit power (e.g., thereby indicating close to full transmit power).

[0060] When multiple Msg3 bits are used, some embodiments may indicate a preferred number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions, for example, using two bits to indicate one out of four specified or pre-configured (e.g., in the SI) Msg4 PUCCH repetition numbers.

[0061] In some embodiments, the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions is implied by information provided by the UE: The number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions to apply may be indicated in the downlink control information (DCI) that provides the downlink scheduling allocation for Msg4, or may be configured in the system information.

[0062] However, in other embodiments, the number of Msg4 repetitions to apply may be implied by information provided by the UE in one or more Msg3 bits.

[0063] In some embodiments, the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions to use may be derived from the value the UE provides in the PHR (e.g., using two or more of the one or more Msg3 bits for the PHR). If more than one bit is used for the PHR, different Msg4 PUCCH settings may correspond to different signaled PHR values. For example, if a two-bit PHR is used, four different numbers of repetitions for the Msg4 PUCCH corresponding to these PHR values ​​may be indicated in the SI or specified in the standard, and a UE reporting a certain PHR value should apply the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions associated with the reported PHR value (e.g., the corresponding number of repetitions indicated in the system information).

[0064] In some embodiments, the same multi-bit indication principle is used, but based on a multi-bit Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability indication instead of a multi-bit PHR.

[0065] In some embodiments, apart from the PHR and / or Msg4 PUCCH repetition capability indication, one or more of the Msg3 bits may be used to indicate the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions. As noted above, one option is for different bit combinations to be linked to different specified or configured (e.g., in the SI) numbers of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions.

[0066] In a variation of any of the above embodiments, the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions indicated by the information provided by the UE in the Msg3 bits is the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions preferred by the UE. The gNB may take this indicated UE preference into account when determining the number of Msg4 PUCCH repetitions to configure the UE to apply, for example in a DCI providing a downlink scheduling allocation for Msg4.

[0067] In some embodiments, the UE uses reserved bits in the RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1 and / or RRCReestablishmentRequest messages to indicate to the network that the UE is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and has used full or close to full power when transmitting Msg1 and / or Msg3, or that it is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and has used full or close to full power when transmitting Msg1 and / or Msg3.

[0068] As used herein, close to full power means that the UE transmitted at a power that is X dB below the UE's maximum transmit power, and that the network sets the value X in the UE, or the value X is captured in the technical specification or set by the network in the system information.

[0069] In some embodiments, one or more new EstablishmentCauses are used to indicate any of the above to the network instead of using the reserved bits.

[0070] In some embodiments, the semantics of the use of the reserved bit depend on the establishmentCause (in the RRCSetupRequest message), the resumeCause (in the RRCResumeRequest message and / or the RRCResumeRequest1 message), and / or the reestablishmentCause (in the RRCReestablishmentRequest message). For example, the above-described indication provided by the reserved bit may only be valid if the establishmentCause has one or more specific values. Other establishmentCause values ​​may imply that the reserved bit has no significance (in other words, that the reserved bit should still be considered a reserved bit), or, as another option, that the reserved bit is used to indicate something else.

[0071] In some embodiments, the UE uses one reserved bit in the MAC subheader (see the R bit in FIG. 3) to indicate to the network that the UE is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and has used full or close to full power when transmitting Msg1 and / or Msg3, or that it is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and has used full or close to full power when transmitting Msg1 and / or Msg3.

[0072] In some embodiments, the UE uses two reserved bits in the MAC subheader to indicate to the network that the UE is capable of implementing Msg4 PUCCH repetition and will implement PHR, in other words, to inform the network how much power the UE will use relative to its maximum power.

[0073] In one example, the following signaling may be specified for four different combinations of the two reserved bits: - 00: Msg4 PUCCH repetition is supported, Msg3 PHR is not supported. - 01: Msg4 PUCCH repetition is supported and the UE full ) to use. - 10: Msg4 PUCCH repetition is supported and the UE full -3dB≦P trans <P full The transmission power (P trans ) to use. - 11:Msg4 PUCCH repetition is supported and the UE trans <P full -3dB, the transmit power (P trans ) to use.

[0074] In some embodiments, the UE uses one or more reserved LCID codepoints to indicate that the UE is capable of performing Msg4 PUCCH repetitions and has used full or near full power when transmitting Msg1 and / or Msg3, as indicated in the table below. TIFF2026501270000003.tif255167TIFF2026501270000004.tif69170

[0075] In the above table, the UE report that "full power was used for Msg1 and / or Msg3", i.e., one or several PHR bits, can be replaced with a UE indication to request Msg4 PUCCH repetition, which may include an indication of a preferred repetition factor.

[0076] 4 illustrates an exemplary wireless network, according to some embodiments. The wireless network may comprise and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and / or wireless network, or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to particular standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards, wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as the IEEE 802.11 standard, and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0077] The network 106 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks for enabling communication between devices.

[0078] Network node 160 and WD 110 comprise various components, which are described in more detail below. These components cooperate to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In different embodiments, a wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via wired or wireless connections.

[0079] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to communicate, directly or indirectly, with wireless devices and / or other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to wireless devices and / or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network.

[0080] 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)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level), in which case they may also be referred to as femto, pico, micro, or macro base stations.

[0081] A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also 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 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). Still further examples of network nodes include MSR equipment such as a multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), and / or an MDT.

[0082] As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. More generally, however, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to enable and / or provide wireless devices with access to a wireless network or to provide some service to wireless devices that have accessed the wireless network.

[0083] 4, network node 160 includes processing circuitry 170, device-readable medium 180, interface 190, ancillary equipment 184, power supply 186, power circuitry 187, and antenna 162. Although network node 160 illustrated in the exemplary wireless network of FIG. 4 may represent a device including the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components.

[0084] It should be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 160 are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality the network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up the single illustrated component (e.g., device-readable medium 180 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

[0085] Similarly, network node 160 may be composed 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 their own respective components. In some scenarios in which network node 160 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique Node B and RNC pair may, in some instances, be considered a single separate network node.

[0086] In some embodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into network node 160. These wireless technologies may be integrated in the same or different chips or sets of chips and other components within network node 160.

[0087] Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any decision, computation, or similar operations (e.g., some acquisition operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 may include processing information acquired by processing circuitry 170, for example, by transforming the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or transformed information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or transformed information and as a result of said processing making a decision.

[0088] Processing circuitry 170 may comprise 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 operable to provide network node 160 functionality, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components, such as device-readable medium 180.

[0089] For example, processing circuit 170 may execute instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuit 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuit 170 may include a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0090] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or set of chips, board, or unit.

[0091] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 180, or in memory within processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or distinct device-readable medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform the described functionality, regardless of whether it executes instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. Benefits provided by such functionality are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks generally, and not by processing circuitry 170 alone or by other components of network node 160.

[0092] Device-readable medium 180 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 may be used by processing circuit 170. Device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including applications including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions that can be executed by processing circuit 170 and utilized by network node 160. Device-readable medium 180 may be used to store computations performed by processing circuit 170 and / or data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device-readable medium 180 may be considered to be integrated.

[0093] Interface 190 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 160, network 106, and / or WD 110. As shown, interface 190 includes a port / terminal 194 for transmitting and receiving data to and from network 106, for example, over a wired connection. Interface 190 also includes radio front-end circuitry 192, which is coupled to antenna 162 or, in some embodiments, may be part of antenna 162.

[0094] Radio front-end circuit 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. Radio front-end circuit 192 may be connected to antenna 162 and processing circuit 170. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 162 and processing circuit 170. Radio front-end circuit 192 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuit 192 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filter 198 and / or amplifier 196. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 may collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuit 192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0095] In some alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 192; instead, processing circuit 170 may comprise radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 162 without a separate radio front-end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or a portion of RF transceiver circuitry 172 may be considered part of interface 190. In still other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front-end circuitry 192, and RF transceiver circuitry 172 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 174 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0096] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may comprise one or more omnidirectional, sector, or panel antennas operable to transmit / receive wireless signals, for example, between 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omnidirectional antenna may be used to transmit / receive wireless signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit / receive wireless signals from devices within a specific area, and a panel antenna may be a line-of-sight antenna used to transmit / receive wireless signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of two or more antennas may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and connectable to network node 160 through an interface or port.

[0097] Antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or some obtaining operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0098] Power circuitry 187 may comprise or be coupled to power management circuitry and is configured to supply power to the components of network node 160 for performing the functions described herein. Power circuitry 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186 and / or power circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 160 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at voltage and current levels required for each respective component). Power source 186 may either be included in power circuitry 187 and / or network node 160 or may be external to power circuitry 187 and / or network node 160.

[0099] For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source provides power to power circuit 187. As a further example, power source 186 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated within power circuit 187. The battery may provide backup power in the event of a failure of the external power source. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0100] 4 that may serve to provide some aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 160 may include user interface devices to enable input of information into network node 160 and output of information from network node 160. This may enable a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 160.

[0101] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) herein. Communicating wirelessly may involve sending and / or receiving radio signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over the air.

[0102] In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD may be designed to send information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network.

[0103] Examples of WDs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell 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 appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded equipment (LEEs), laptop mounted equipment (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case may be referred to as a D2D communications device.

[0104] As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD 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 WD and / or network node. The WD, in this case, may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in a 3GPP context. As an example, the WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).

[0105] In other scenarios, the WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions related to its operation. The WD described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Moreover, the WD described above may be mobile, in which case the WD may be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0106] As shown, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuitry 120, device-readable medium 130, user interface equipment 132, auxiliary equipment 134, power source 136, and power circuitry 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name just a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated on the same or different chip or set of chips as other components within WD 110.

[0107] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 114. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from WD 110 and connectable to WD 110 through an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and / or processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, the wireless front-end circuit and / or antenna 111 may be considered an interface.

[0108] As shown, interface 114 includes radio front-end circuitry 112 and antenna 111. Radio front-end circuitry 112 includes one or more filters 118 and amplifiers 116. Radio front-end circuitry 112 is connected to antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120 and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120. Radio front-end circuitry 112 may be coupled to or part of antenna 111. In some embodiments, WD 110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 112; instead, processing circuitry 120 may include radio front-end circuitry and be connected to antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be considered part of interface 114.

[0109] The radio front-end circuit 112 may receive digital data to be sent to another network node or WD via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 112 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of a filter 118 and / or an amplifier 116. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 may collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 112. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuit 120. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0110] Processing circuitry 120 may comprise 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 operable to provide WD 110 functionality, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 110 components, such as device-readable medium 130. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 120 may execute instructions stored on device-readable medium 130 or in memory within processing circuitry 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0111] As shown, the processing circuitry 120 includes one or more of an RF transceiver circuitry 122, a baseband processing circuitry 124, and an application processing circuitry 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 120 of the WD 110 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on separate chips or sets of chips.

[0112] In alternative embodiments, some or all of the baseband processing circuitry 124 and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In further alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 and the baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still other alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of the interface 114. The RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals for the processing circuitry 120.

[0113] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 130, which in some embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or distinct device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner.

[0114] In any of those embodiments, processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform the described functions, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, and the benefits provided by such functions are enjoyed by WD 110, but not limited to processing circuitry 120 alone or other components of WD 110, and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0115] Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any of the decision, calculation, or similar operations (e.g., some acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations as performed by processing circuitry 120 may include processing information acquired by processing circuitry 120, for example, by transforming the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or transformed information with information stored by WD 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or transformed information and as a result of said processing making a decision.

[0116] The device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store applications, including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 120. The device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disks), removable storage media (e.g., compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs)), 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 120. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 and the device-readable medium 130 may be integrated.

[0117] The user interface devices 132 may provide components that allow a human user to interact with the WD 110. Such interaction may be in many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface devices 132 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to the WD 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface devices 132 installed on the WD 110. For example, if the WD 110 is a smartphone, the interaction may be via a touchscreen; if the WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected).

[0118] The user interface device 132 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuits, as well as output interfaces, devices, and circuits. The user interface device 132 is configured to allow input of information to the WD 110 and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to allow the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity sensor or other sensors, keys / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. The user interface device 132 is also configured to allow output of information from the WD 110 and to allow the processing circuit 120 to output information from the WD 110. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface device 132, the WD 110 may communicate with end users and / or wireless networks, allowing the end users and / or wireless networks to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0119] Ancillary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality that may not typically be performed by a WD. It may include specialized sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication, such as wired communication, etc. The inclusion of components of ancillary device 134 and the types of components of ancillary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0120] The power source 136, in some embodiments, may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The WD 110 may further include a power circuit 137 for delivering power from the power source 136 to various portions of the WD 110 that require power from the power source 136 to perform any of the functions described or indicated herein. The power circuit 137, in some embodiments, may include a power management circuit.

[0121] Power circuitry 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source, in which case WD 110 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as a power cable. Power circuitry 137 may also, in some embodiments, be operable to deliver power from the external power source to power source 136. This may be for charging power source 136, for example. Power circuitry 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from power source 136 to make it suitable for the respective components of WD 110 being powered.

[0122] Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described with reference to a wireless network, such as the exemplary wireless network illustrated in FIG. 4. For simplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 4 depicts only network 106, network nodes 160 and 160b, and WDs 110, 110b, and 110c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the components shown, network node 160 and wireless device (WD) 110 are depicted with additional detail. A wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate their access to the wireless network and / or use of services offered by or via the wireless network.

[0123] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments. User equipment or UE, as used herein, 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 (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user, but that may not be associated with or may not initially be associated with a particular human user. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but that may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user. The UE 200 may be a UE as identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including an NB-IoT UE, a machine-type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. The UE 200 illustrated in Figure 5 is an example of a WD configured for communication according to one or more communications standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as the 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards. As mentioned above, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Thus, while Figure 5 illustrates a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice versa.

[0124] In FIG. 5, UE 200 includes processing circuitry 201 operatively coupled to input / output interface 205, radio frequency (RF) interface 209, network connection interface 211, memory 215, such as random access memory (RAM) 217, read-only memory (ROM) 219, and storage medium 221, communication subsystem 231, power source 213, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 includes operating system 223, application programs 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use all of the components shown in FIG. 5 or only a subset of those components. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Additionally, some UEs may include multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0125] 5, processing circuit 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuit 201 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more pre-programmed general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, or any combination of the above. For example, processing circuit 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0126] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or an input / output device. The UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205.

[0127] An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from the UE 200. An output device may be 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.

[0128] The UE 200 may be configured to use input devices via the input / output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information into the UE 200. The input devices may 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 pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for detecting input from the 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, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and a light sensor.

[0129] In FIG. 5 , RF interface 209 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components, such as a transmitter, receiver, and antenna. Network connection interface 211 may be configured to provide a communication interface to network 243a. Network 243a may encompass wired and / or wireless networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a communications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, network 243a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 211 may be configured to include receiver and transmitter interfaces used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communications network according to one or more communications protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc. Network connection interface 211 may implement receiver and transmitter functions appropriate for a communications network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, may be implemented separately.

[0130] RAM 217 may be configured to interface to processing circuit 201 via bus 202 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs, such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions, such as basic input / output (I / O), booting, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard, that is stored in non-volatile memory.

[0131] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory, such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, or flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 221 may be configured to include an operating system 223, an application program 225, such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application, and data files 227. The storage medium 221 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 200.

[0132] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include several physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a 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 disk (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical disk drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disk 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 subscriber identity module or removable user identity module (SIM / RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 may enable the UE 200 to access, offload data, or upload data to, computer-executable instructions, application programs, etc. stored on a temporary or non-transitory memory medium. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 221, which may comprise a device-readable medium.

[0133] 5, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with network 243b using a communications subsystem 231. Network 243a and network 243b may be the same network or networks or different networks or networks. The communications subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 243b. For example, the communications subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication, such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN), according to one or more communications protocols, such as IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 for implementing transmitter or receiver functions, respectively, appropriate for the RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter 233 and receiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, may be implemented separately.

[0134] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication capabilities of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication capability, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 243b may encompass wired and / or wireless networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a communications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power source 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) power or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0135] The features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of the UE 200 or split across multiple components of the UE 200. Furthermore, the features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Furthermore, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components via the bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processing circuit 201, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functions of any of such components may be split between the processing circuit 201 and the communication subsystem 231. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0136] 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 300 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualizing means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualizing a hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. Virtualization, as used herein, may apply to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or component of that device, and relates to implementations in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0137] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes 330. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not wireless access nodes or do not require wireless connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0138] The functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 320 are run in a virtualization environment 300, which provides hardware 330 comprising processing circuitry 360 and memory 390. The memory 390 includes instructions 395 executable by the processing circuitry 360, thereby enabling the applications 320 to operate to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0139] The virtualization environment 300 includes general-purpose or dedicated network hardware devices 330 that include one or more sets of processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry, including digital or analog hardware components or dedicated processors. Each hardware device may include memory 390-1, which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interfaces 380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage medium 390-2 that stores software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuitry 360. Software 395 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also called hypervisors), software for running virtual machines 340, and software that enables it to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein.

[0140] The virtual machines 340 may comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the virtual appliance 320 instance may be implemented on one or more of the virtual machines 340, and the implementation may be done in different ways.

[0141] During operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which is sometimes referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 350 may present to virtual machine 340 a virtual operating platform that appears to be networking hardware.

[0142] 6, hardware 330 may be a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 330 may include antenna 3225 and may implement some functionality through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 330 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., as in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via a management and orchestration (MANO) 3100 that, among other things, oversees the lifecycle management of application 320.

[0143] Hardware virtualization is referred to in some contexts as network functions virtualization (NFV), which can be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0144] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if the programs were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 340 and the portion of hardware 330 on which it runs, whether hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine with other ones of virtual machines 340, form a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0145] Further in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to application 320 in FIG. 18.

[0146] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio units 3200 may communicate directly with the hardware node 330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with virtualization components to provide a virtual node with wireless capabilities, such as a wireless access node or base station.

[0147] In some embodiments, some signaling may be accomplished using a control system 3230 that may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 330 and the radio unit 3200.

[0148] Referring to Figure 7, according to an embodiment, a communication system includes a communication network 410, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, comprising an access network 411, such as a wireless access network, and a core network 414. The access network 411 includes multiple base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c can be connected to the core network 414 via a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in the coverage area 413c wirelessly connects to or is configured to be paged by the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 in the coverage area 413a can be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 412a. Although multiple UEs 491, 492 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one UE is in the coverage area or where only one UE is connected to the corresponding base station 412.

[0149] The communications network 410 is itself connected to a host computer 430, which may be embodied in hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 430 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 421 and 422 between the communications network 410 and the host computer 430 may extend directly from the core network 414 to the host computer 430 or may proceed through an optional intermediate network 420. The intermediate network 420 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a hosted network, or a combination of two or more of them; the intermediate network 420 may be a backbone network or the Internet, if any; in particular, the intermediate network 420 may comprise two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0150] The communication system of FIG. 7 as a whole enables connectivity between connected UEs 491, 492 and a host computer 430. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and connected UEs 491, 492 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 450, using the access network 411, the core network 414, any intermediate networks 420, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 450 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 412 may not, or need not, be informed about the past routing of incoming downlink communications involving data originating from the host computer 430 that is to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, base station 412 does not need to be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from UE 491 towards host computer 430.

[0151] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary host computer that communicates with user equipment via a base station over a partially wireless connection, according to some embodiments. An exemplary implementation according to the UE, base station, and host computer embodiments discussed in the previous paragraph will now be described with reference to FIG. 8. In communication system 500, host computer 510 comprises hardware 515 including a communication interface 516 configured to set up and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of communication system 500. Host computer 510 further comprises processing circuitry 518, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 518 may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 510 further comprises software 511 stored on or accessible by host computer 510 and executable by processing circuitry 518. Software 511 includes a host application 512. The host application 512 may be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 530 connecting via an OTT connection 550 that terminates at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 512 may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 550.

[0152] The communications system 500 further includes a base station 520 provided in the communications system, the base station 520 comprising hardware 525 that enables the base station 520 to communicate with the host computer 510 and the UE 530. The hardware 525 may include a communications interface 526 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communications devices of the communications system 500, as well as a wireless interface 527 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 570 with a UE 530 located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 8) served by the base station 520. The communications interface 526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 560 to the host computer 510. The connection 560 may be direct, or the connection 560 may pass through a core network (not shown in FIG. 8) of the communications system and / or one or more intermediate networks outside the communications system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 525 of the base station 520 further includes processing circuitry 528, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 520 further has software 521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0153] The communication system 500 further includes the previously mentioned UE 530. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 may include a wireless interface 537 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 570 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 530 is currently located. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 further includes a processing circuit 538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 530 further includes software 531 stored on or accessible by the UE 530 and executable by the processing circuit 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532. The client application 532, with the support of the host computer 510, may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 530. At the host computer 510, a running host application 512 may communicate with a running client application 532 via an OTT connection 550 that terminates at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. In providing services to a user, the client application 532 may receive request data from the host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 550 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 532 may interact with the user to generate the user data that the client application 532 provides.

[0154] It should be noted that the host computer 510, base station 520, and UE 530 illustrated in Figure 8 may be similar to or equivalent to the host computer 430, one of the base stations 412a, 412b, and 412c, and one of the UEs 491 and 492, respectively, of Figure 4. That is, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 8, and separately, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 4.

[0155] 8, the OTT connection 550 is depicted abstractly to illustrate communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520, without explicit reference to intermediary devices and the exact routing of messages through those devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, and the network infrastructure may be configured to hide the routing from the UE 530, or from the service provider operating the host computer 510, or both. While the OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure may also make decisions to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0156] The wireless connection 570 between the UE 530 and the base station 520 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 530 using the OTT connection 550 of which the wireless connection 570 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve signaling overhead and reduce latency, which may provide faster Internet access for the user.

[0157] Measurement procedures may be provided for monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve upon. There may further be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 in response to fluctuations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510 or in the software 531 and hardware 535 of the UE 530, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with communication devices through which the OTT connection 550 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 the software 511, 531 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 520, and the reconfiguration may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 520. Such procedures and functions are known and may be practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host computer 510's measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in software 511 and 531 causing messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, to be sent using the OTT connection 550 while the software 511 and 531 monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

[0158] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. To simplify this disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 9 are included in this section.

[0159] In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 611 of step 610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 630 (which may be optional), the base station transmits the user data carried in the host computer initiated transmission to the UE, according to the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0160] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. To simplify this disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 10 are included in this section.

[0161] In step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may go through a base station in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0162] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. To simplify this disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 11 are included in this section.

[0163] In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 821 (which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 (which may be optional) of step 810, the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 830 (which may be optional). In method step 840, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0164] 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. To simplify this disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 12 are included in this section.

[0165] In step 910 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0166] In the examples and embodiments described herein, when a message is sent to a wireless device or to a network node, the message may be sent directly or indirectly via one or more intermediate network nodes or wireless devices. Similarly, when a message is received from a wireless device or from a network node, the message may be received directly or indirectly via one or more intermediate network nodes or wireless devices.

[0167] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 performed by a wireless device according to some embodiments. In a particular embodiment, one or more steps of FIG. 13 may be performed by the wireless device 110 described with respect to FIG.

[0168] The method begins in step 1312, where a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 110) obtains an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0169] In particular embodiments, obtaining the indication comprises obtaining system information (e.g., SIB1, SIB19, SIB31, etc.), obtaining a random access response (e.g., a MAC RAR and / or a MAC subheader), or a combination of both. For example, default settings may be signaled by system information, and override information, when needed, may be signaled using an RAR.

[0170] In particular embodiments, obtaining the indication comprises obtaining an indication that the wireless device is accessing a non-terrestrial network, for example, the presence of SIB19 or any other indicator explicitly or implicitly indicating that the wireless device is accessing a non-terrestrial network.

[0171] In a particular embodiment, obtaining the indication further comprises obtaining an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0172] Some embodiments also include capabilities related to power headroom. In particular embodiments, obtaining an indication further comprises obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's capability to report power headroom. In particular embodiments, the one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

[0173] The specific bits or bit combinations used for signaling are described in more detail with respect to the embodiments and examples described herein. In a particular embodiment, the wireless device obtains the indication according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0174] In step 1314, the wireless device sets one or more bits in the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to implement repetition when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0175] In some embodiments, the wireless device sets one or more bits in the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to report power headroom.

[0176] In a particular embodiment, the wireless device sets one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0177] In step 1316, the wireless device transmits to the network node a random access procedure message 3. The wireless device may then subsequently transmit a random access procedure message 4 according to the capabilities indicated in message 3, or the network node may configure the wireless device to transmit a random access procedure message 4 according to a subset of the capabilities indicated in message 3 (e.g., with fewer repetitions).

[0178] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method 1300 of Figure 13. Additionally, one or more steps in the method of Figure 13 may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0179] 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 performed by a network node according to some embodiments. In a particular embodiment, one or more steps of FIG. 14 may be performed by the network node 162 described with respect to FIG.

[0180] The method may begin at step 1412, in which a network node (e.g., network node 160) transmits an indication to a wireless device that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's capability to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel. In particular embodiments, transmitting the indication comprises transmitting system information, transmitting a random access response, or a combination of both, as described in more detail above.

[0181] In a particular embodiment, transmitting the indication further comprises transmitting an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0182] In a particular embodiment, the network node sends the indication according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0183] In step 1414, the network node receives a random access procedure message 3 from the wireless device. Message 3 comprises one or more bits indicating the capability of the wireless device to implement repetition when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0184] In a particular embodiment, message 3 further comprises an indication that the wireless device may use one or more bits of random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to report power headroom. In a particular embodiment, one or more bits of random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

[0185] In a particular embodiment, the network receives the random access message 3 according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0186] In step 1416, the network node receives one or more repetitions of the random access procedure message 4 from the wireless device.

[0187] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method 1400 of Figure 14. Additionally, one or more steps in the method of Figure 14 may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0188] The term unit may have its conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices, and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions, etc., for performing a respective task, procedure, calculation, output, and / or display of functionality, such as those described herein.

[0189] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and devices disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the present invention. Components of the systems and devices may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed using any suitable logic, including software, hardware, and / or other logic. As used herein, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

[0190] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. Methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0191] The above description sets forth numerous specific details. However, it should be understood that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. Those skilled in the art will be able to use the included description to implement the appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

[0192] References herein to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described with respect to an embodiment, it should be understood that it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic with respect to other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0193] Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to several embodiments, modifications and substitutions of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description of the embodiments does not constrain the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined by the following claims.

[0194] Some exemplary embodiments are presented below.

[0195] Illustrative Embodiments Group A Embodiments 1. A method implemented by a wireless device, the method comprising: a. obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; and b. setting one or more bits in the Random Access Procedure Message 3 to indicate the capability of the wireless device to implement repetition when transmitting the Random Access Procedure Message 4 physical uplink control channel; c. sending a random access procedure message 3 to the network node; A method comprising:

[0196] 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein obtaining the instruction comprises obtaining system information.

[0197] 3. The method of embodiment 1, wherein obtaining the indication comprises obtaining a random access response.

[0198] 4. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, further comprising the wireless device receiving an indication of a number of repetitions to use when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

[0199] 5. A method implemented by a wireless device, the method comprising: a. obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to report power headroom; b. setting one or more bits in a random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's ability to report power headroom; c. sending a random access procedure message 3 to the network node; A method comprising:

[0200] 6. The method of embodiment 5, wherein obtaining the instruction comprises obtaining system information.

[0201] 7. The method of embodiment 5, wherein obtaining the indication comprises obtaining a random access response.

[0202] 8. The method of embodiment 5, wherein one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

[0203] 9. A method implemented by a wireless device, the method comprising: a. Any of the steps, features, or functions of the wireless device described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above. How to prepare.

[0204] 10. The method according to the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional wireless device steps, features or functions described above.

[0205] 11. - providing user data; - forwarding user data to a host computer via transmission to a base station; 10. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:

[0206] Group B Embodiments 12. A method implemented by a base station, the method comprising: a. receiving a random access procedure message 3 comprising one or more bits indicating a capability of the wireless device to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; b. receiving one or more repetitions of a random access procedure message 4 from the wireless device; A method comprising:

[0207] 13. The method according to the previous embodiment, wherein the random access procedure message 3 further comprises one or more bits indicating the capability of the wireless device to report power headroom.

[0208] 14. A method implemented by a base station, the method comprising: a. Any of the base station steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above. How to prepare.

[0209] 15. A method implemented by a base station, the method comprising: a. Any of the base station steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above. How to prepare.

[0210] 16. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional base station steps, features or functions described above.

[0211] 17. - Obtaining user data; - Forwarding user data to a host computer or wireless device 10. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:

[0212] Group C Embodiments 18. A wireless device, - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group A; and - a power supply circuit configured to supply power to a wireless device; A wireless device comprising:

[0213] 19. A base station, - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group B; - a power supply circuit configured to supply power to a wireless device; A base station comprising:

[0214] 20. A user equipment (UE), comprising: - an antenna configured to transmit and receive radio signals; - a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and the processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group A; and - an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to enable input of information to the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; - an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuit; - a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to power the UE; A user equipment (UE) comprising:

[0215] 21. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer: - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; - a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE); Equipped with - wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station configured to perform any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group B; Communication system.

[0216] 22. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising a base station.

[0217] 23. The communication system of the previous two embodiments, further including a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0218] twenty four. - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide user data; - the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application; 10. The communication system according to any one of the previous three embodiments.

[0219] 25. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: - providing user data at the host computer; initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying user data to the UE over a cellular network comprising a base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group B; A method comprising:

[0220] 26. The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting user data.

[0221] 27. The method according to the previous two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided by executing a host application at the host computer, and the method further comprises executing, at the UE, a client application associated with the host application.

[0222] 28. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to implement any one of the previous three embodiments.

[0223] 29. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer: - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; - a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE); Equipped with - wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit, the components of the UE configured to perform any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of group A; Communication system.

[0224] 30. The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0225] 31. - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and thereby provide user data; - processing circuitry of the UE configured to execute a client application associated with the host application; 10. The communication system according to any one of the previous two embodiments.

[0226] 32. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: - providing user data at the host computer; initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying user data to the UE over a cellular network comprising a base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of group A; A method comprising:

[0227] 33. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising receiving, at the UE, user data from the base station.

[0228] 34. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer: - a communications interface configured to receive user data resulting from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station; Equipped with - wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the UE configured to perform any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of group A; Communication system.

[0229] 35. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including a UE.

[0230] 36. The communication system according to the previous two embodiments, further comprising a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by transmissions from the UE to the base station to a host computer.

[0231] 37. - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; - processing circuitry of the UE configured to execute a client application associated with the host application and thereby provide user data; 10. The communication system according to any one of the previous three embodiments.

[0232] 38. - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute the host application and thereby provide the requested data; - processing circuitry of the UE configured to execute a client application associated with the host application and thereby provide user data in response to request data; 10. The communication system according to any of the previous four embodiments.

[0233] 39. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, at the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group A. A method comprising:

[0234] 40. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, in the UE, providing user data to the base station.

[0235] 41. - running, in the UE, a client application thereby providing user data to be transmitted; and - executing, on the host computer, a host application associated with the client application; 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

[0236] 42. - running, in the UE, a client application; receiving, at the UE, input data for the client application, the input data being provided by executing, at the host computer, a host application associated with the client application; Furthermore, - wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by a client application in response to input data; 3. The method according to the previous three embodiments.

[0237] 43. A communications system including a host computer having a communications interface configured to receive user data resulting from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a wireless interface and processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry of the base station is configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the Group B embodiments.

[0238] 44. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising a base station.

[0239] 45. The communication system of the previous two embodiments, further including a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0240] 46. - processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; - the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer; 10. The communication system according to any one of the previous three embodiments.

[0241] 47. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, at the host computer, from the base station, user data resulting from a transmission received by the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps recited in any one of the embodiments of Group A. A method comprising:

[0242] 48. The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising receiving, at the base station, user data from the UE.

[0243] 49. The method of any two previous embodiments, further comprising initiating, at the base station, transmission of received user data to the host computer.

Claims

1. 1. A method implemented by a wireless device, the method comprising: obtaining 1312 an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate the wireless device's capability to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; setting 1314 one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the capability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; sending said random access procedure message 3 to a network node (1316); A method comprising:

2. obtaining an indication further comprising obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate an ability of the wireless device to report power headroom; setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further comprises setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the capability of the wireless device to report power headroom. The method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the indication comprises obtaining system information.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the indication comprises obtaining a random access response.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the indication comprises obtaining an indication that the wireless device is accessing a non-terrestrial network.

7. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the indication further comprises obtaining an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

8. A wireless device (110) comprising a processing circuit (120), the processing circuit (120) comprising: obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate an ability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the capability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting the random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; sending said random access procedure message 3 to a network node; a wireless device (110) operable to:

9. the processing circuitry is further operable to obtain the indication by obtaining an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate an ability of the wireless device to report power headroom; the processing circuitry is further operable to set one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate the capability of the wireless device to report power headroom by setting one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3. The wireless device of claim 8.

10. The wireless device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

11. A wireless device according to claim 8 , wherein the processing circuitry is operable to obtain the indication by obtaining system information.

12. 12. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to obtain the indication by obtaining a random access response.

13. 13. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to obtain the indication by obtaining an indication that the wireless device is accessing a non-terrestrial network.

14. 14. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to obtain the indication by obtaining an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

15. 1. A method implemented by a network node, the method comprising: receiving 1414 a random access procedure message 3 from a wireless device, the message 3 comprising one or more bits indicating an ability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; receiving 1416 one or more repetitions of said random access procedure message 4 from said wireless device; A method comprising:

16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the message 3 further comprises an indication that the wireless device may use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate an ability of the wireless device to report power headroom.

17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

18. 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting (1412) to the wireless device an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate an ability of the wireless device to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting system information.

20. 20. The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein transmitting the indication comprises transmitting a random access response.

21. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the indication further comprises transmitting an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

22. A network node (160) comprising a processing circuit (170), said processing circuit (170) comprising: receiving a random access procedure message 3 from a wireless device, the message 3 comprising one or more bits indicating an ability of the wireless device to perform repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel; receiving one or more repetitions of said random access procedure message 4 from said wireless device; a network node (160) operable to:

23. 23. The network node of claim 22, wherein the message 3 further comprises an indication that the wireless device may use one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 to indicate an ability of the wireless device to report power headroom.

24. 24. The network node of claim 23, wherein the one or more bits of the random access procedure message 3 further indicate a power headroom measurement performed by the wireless device.

25. 25. The network node of claim 22, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to transmit to the wireless device an indication that the wireless device should use one or more bits of a random access procedure message 3 to indicate a capability of the wireless device to implement repetition when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

26. 26. The network node of claim 25, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to transmit the indication by transmitting system information.

27. 27. A network node according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to send the indication by transmitting a random access response.

28. 28. The network node of claim 25, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to transmit the indication by transmitting an indication of a number of repetitions that the wireless device should use when transmitting a random access procedure message 4 physical uplink control channel.

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