Mobile device, access network node and method

Abstract

A communication system is disclosed that includes a user equipment (UE) and an access network node. The UE receives information for configuring measurements to be performed by the UE and information for configuring measurement reports that define criteria for triggering measurement reporting events. The UE performs the configured measurements and, when the event trigger criteria are met, transmits a measurement report to the access network node to facilitate L1 / L2-triggered mobility decisions at the access network node. The measurement report can be transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication systems. [Background technology]

[0002] This disclosure has particular, though not exclusive, relevance to wireless communication systems and devices thereof operating in accordance with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) standards or equivalent standards or derivatives thereof (including LTE-Advanced, Next Generation or 5G networks, future generations, and beyond). This disclosure has particular, though not necessarily exclusive, relevance to inter-cell mobility triggered by L1 / L2 signaling.

[0003] Under 3GPP standards, a radio access network (RAN) node (or simply "access node" or "base station") is a communications entity through which communications devices (user equipment or "UE") within a communications cell operated by the RAN node connect to a core network and communicate with other communications devices or remote servers. Different generations of 3GPP technologies use different terms to refer to such nodes (e.g., NodeB, or evolved NodeB (eNodeB / eNB) for LTE, or gNB for 5G). For simplicity, this application uses the terms RAN node or base station to refer to any such access network node.

[0004] In current 5G architectures, for example, a RAN node may be split into two parts known as a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), connected by an F1 interface. This allows for the use of a "split" architecture, whereby the "upper" CU layer (e.g., but not necessarily or exclusively, PDCP) and the "lower" DU layer (e.g., but not necessarily or exclusively, RLC / MAC / PHY) are implemented separately. Thus, for example, in each of the RAN nodes, the upper layer CU functionality of some RAN nodes may be implemented centrally (e.g., by a single processing unit or in a cloud-based or virtualized system), while keeping the lower layer DU functionality local. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] For simplicity, this application uses the terms mobile device, user device, or UE to refer to any communication device that can connect to a core network via one or more base stations. Although this application may refer to mobile devices in the description, it will be understood that the described techniques can be implemented on any communication device (mobile and / or generally fixed) that can connect to a communication network to transmit / receive data, regardless of whether such communication device is controlled by human input or by software instructions stored in memory.

[0006] Historically, mobility between different cells in cellular communications has been based on communication at higher layers, such as Layer 3 (e.g., L3 or radio resource control (RRC) layer) signaling. More recently, with the goal of providing high mobility, consideration has been given to developing and providing support for Layer 1 (e.g., L1 or physical (PHY) layer) and / or Layer 2 (e.g., L2 or media access control (MAC) layer)-centric mobility (also referred to as L1 / L2-centric mobility) rather than higher layers (e.g., RRC layer). Such L1 / L2-centric mobility (also referred to as L1 / L2-triggered mobility or "LTM") promises to improve the mobility of devices operating in both sub-7 GHz and mmWave bands, for example, by supporting lower handover latency and improved robustness.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need to develop communication devices (such as base stations and / or UEs) that support efficient / flexible mechanisms for supporting LTM. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present disclosure aims to provide one or more apparatus and / or one or more associated methods that overcome or at least partially ameliorate the above-mentioned problems.

[0009] In one aspect, there is provided a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from an access network node, first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event; performing the at least one measurement based on the first information; and if the at least one criterion for triggering the at least one measurement report event is met, transmitting, to the access network node, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at the access network node, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for the at least one measurement, wherein the at least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure.

[0010] The first information may indicate a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one measurement signal is transmitted, where the at least one measurement signal includes at least one of at least one periodic signal, at least one semi-persistent signal, and / or at least one aperiodic signal. If the first information indicates a configuration of the at least one resource on which the at least one periodic signal is transmitted, an event-triggered transmission of the at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one periodic signal may be subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. If the first information indicates a configuration of the at least one resource on which the at least one periodic signal is transmitted, an event-triggered transmission of the at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one periodic signal may not be subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. If the first information indicates a configuration of the at least one resource on which the at least one semi-persistent signal is transmitted, an event-triggered transmission of the at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one semi-persistent signal may be subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. If the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one semi-persistent signal is transmitted, event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurement of the at least one semi-persistent signal may not be supported. If the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one aperiodic signal is transmitted, event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurement of the at least one aperiodic signal may be subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. If the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one aperiodic signal is transmitted, event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurement of the at least one aperiodic signal may not be supported.

[0011] If at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, the method may include sending an indication to the access network node that resources are needed for uplink transmission and receiving an allocation of uplink channel resources. At least one measurement report may be transmitted using those resources. The indication may include a scheduling request. The indication may include a dedicated indication for indicating that a measurement report is available. The indication may include a fixed-size indication, and the at least one measurement report may be transmitted using a fixed-size control signal. The indication may be a single-bit indication. The indication may indicate the amount or size of resources needed for transmission of a control signal carrying the available measurement report. The indication may be a multi-bit indication. The indication may be transmitted using dedicated resources of a physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node. The dedicated resources of the physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node may be allocated as scheduling request-type resources dedicated to transmitting the indication. The dedicated resources of the physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node may be allocated as a specific type of resource that may be specifically dedicated to transmitting an indication for indicating that a measurement report is available. The indication may be transmitted using resources of a physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node for transmission of the scheduling request.

[0012] At least one measurement report may be transmitted using a control signaling structure in the form of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) carrying the at least one measurement report. The at least one measurement report may be transmitted on a physical uplink control channel or a physical uplink shared channel using a control signaling structure in the form of uplink control information (UCI). The at least one measurement report may include at least one measurement result in association with at least one of a physical cell identifier and / or an identifier of at least one signal to which the result relates. The at least one measurement report may include at least one measurement result in association with at least one of an indication of whether the at least one measurement result is subject to cell-level filtering or beam-level filtering, a measurement quantity for the at least one measurement result, the number of reported beams if beam-level filtering is applied, an identifier of at least one serving cell and / or candidate cell to which the at least one measurement result applies, and / or an identifier of at least one resource set configured for the measurement report to which the at least one measurement result relates. The at least one measurement result may be included in the measurement report on the condition that the at least one measurement result is equal to or greater than a specified threshold. The at least one measurement result may include a plurality of measurement results, wherein a first measurement result of the plurality of measurement results may be represented in the at least one measurement report by an indication of an absolute value corresponding to the first measurement result, and at least one other measurement result of the plurality of measurement results may be represented in the at least one measurement report by an indication of a difference value relative to the absolute value corresponding to the at least one other measurement result.

[0013] The at least one parameter defined by the second information may include a threshold for triggering at least one measurement reporting event based on a comparison of the at least one measurement result of the cell to the threshold. The at least one parameter defined by the second information may include an offset for triggering at least one measurement reporting event based on a comparison of an offset of a difference between the at least one measurement result of the first cell and the at least one measurement result of the second cell.

[0014] The at least one criterion for triggering the at least one measurement reporting event may be a criterion that is met without reference to the hysteresis parameter.

[0015] The second information may include third information for configuring a filtering or averaging type. The filtering or averaging type may be configured by the third information to be one of no filtering or averaging, time-domain filtering or averaging, cell-level filtering or averaging, or both time-domain and cell-level filtering or averaging. When the filtering or averaging type is configured to include time-domain averaging or filtering or averaging of the filtering or averaging type, the second information may define an averaging window size.

[0016] The second information may include information for configuring a measurement report type to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic type, a semi-persistent type, or an aperiodic type. At least one measurement report may include at least one measurement result of an event-triggered type and at least one measurement result of a periodic type, a semi-persistent type, or an aperiodic type configured by the information for configuring the measurement report type. If the information for configuring the measurement report type configures the measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic or semi-persistent type, transmission of the at least one measurement report may be initiated according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent type measurement report when at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met. If the information for configuring the measurement report type configures the measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic or semi-persistent type, transmission of the at least one measurement report according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent type measurement report may be performed only when at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met. Transmission of at least one measurement report according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent measurement reporting type may be performed according to the periodicity configured by the second information, on the condition that at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement reporting event is satisfied. If the information for configuring the measurement reporting type configures the measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic or semi-persistent type, the second information may define at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the configured periodic or semi-persistent measurement reporting, and transmission of the at least one measurement report according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent measurement type may be started or stopped based on the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the measurement reporting. The at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the measurement reporting may include at least one threshold for Layer 3 measurements. The at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the measurement reporting may include at least one threshold for Layer 1 measurements.

[0017] The at least one measurement may include measurements performed on multiple beams, and the method may include using a selection procedure to select beams whose measurement results are to be included in the measurement report, up to a maximum number of beams. The selection procedure may include ranking the beams based on at least one respective measurement result for each beam, and selecting at least one beam for each of a plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells based on the ranking, until the maximum number of beams is reached. Each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells may have an associated priority, and the order in which the selection of the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells is performed may be based on the associated priority for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells. Selecting the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells may be in accordance with a maximum number of beams per carrier and / or a maximum number of cells. Selecting the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells may be in accordance with a maximum number of beams per cell.

[0018] The method may include receiving, from an access network node, a cell switch command for a mobility procedure, the cell switch command including a transmission configuration indication (TCI) common to a plurality of channels and / or signals, and receiving a respective channel- or signal-specific TCI for each of the plurality of channels and / or signals. The respective channel- or signal-specific TCI for each of the plurality of channels and / or signals may be received separately following the cell switch command. The respective channel- or signal-specific TCI for each of the plurality of channels and / or signals may be included in the cell switch command.

[0019] The mobility procedure may be a mobility procedure triggered at a layer below Layer 3.

[0020] In one aspect, there is provided a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, from an access network node, first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event; means for performing the at least one measurement based on the first information; and means for transmitting, to the access network node, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at the access network node if the at least one criterion for triggering the at least one measurement report event is met, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for the at least one measurement, wherein the at least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure.

[0021] In one aspect, there is provided a method performed by an access network node, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event; receiving, if the at least one criterion for triggering the at least one measurement report event is met, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at the access network node, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for the at least one measurement performed by the UE; and making the mobility decision based on the at least one measurement report, wherein the at least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure.

[0022] In one aspect, there is provided an access network node comprising: means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event; means for receiving, from the UE, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decision at the access network node if the at least one criterion for triggering the at least one measurement report event is met, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for the at least one measurement performed by the UE; and means for making the mobility decision based on the at least one measurement report, wherein the at least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure.

[0023] Aspects of the present disclosure extend to corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products, such as computer-readable storage media having stored thereon instructions, the instructions operable to program a programmable processor to perform the methods according to the aspects and possibilities set out above or set forth in the claims, and / or to program a computer suitably adapted to provide an apparatus set forth in any of the claims.

[0024] Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term includes claims) and / or shown in the drawings may be incorporated into the present disclosure independently of (or in combination with) any other disclosed and / or shown feature, where it is technically feasible to do so. In particular, but not by way of limitation, any feature of a claim dependent on a particular independent claim may be introduced into that independent claim in any combination or individually, provided that doing so does not cause technical incompatibility or result in something that makes no technical sense. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile (“cellular” or “wireless”) telecommunications system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a typical frame structure that may be used in the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating some information elements that may be used for CSI-RS measurement configuration signaling in the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a simplified graph of trigger count versus time illustrating triggering of measurement reporting events. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a portion of a reporting information structure and event configuration that may be used in the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a portion of a reporting information structure and event configuration that may be used in the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the main components of a UE for the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing the main components of a base station for the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating a possible two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting for the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating another possible two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting for the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating another possible two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting for the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating another possible two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting for the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 12A] FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a portion of an information structure and L1 event configuration for L1 reporting that may be used in the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 12B] FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating a portion of an information structure and L1 event configuration for L1 reporting that may be used in the telecommunications system of FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 illustrates a method that may be performed by a UE 3 in the telecommunications system of FIG. 1 to select a subset of measurements to report. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a simplified sequence diagram showing part of the LTM procedure in the telecommunications system of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] overview An exemplary telecommunications system will now be described in general terms, by way of example only, with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile ("cellular" or "wireless") communications system 1 to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable.

[0028] In the communication system 1, user equipment (UE) 3 (3-1, 3-2, 3-3) (e.g., mobile phones and / or other mobile devices) can communicate with each other via corresponding Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes 5-1, 5-2 that operate according to one or more compatible radio access technologies (RATs). In the illustrated example, each RAN node 5 (5-1, 5-2) comprises an NR / 5G base station or "gNB" that operates one or more associated cells 9 (9-1, 9-2). In FIG. 1, one of the RAN nodes 5-1 is shown as providing cellular coverage via multiple transmission / reception points (TRPs) 5-1a through 5-1d, each of which in this example has a different physical layer cell identity (PCI). Nevertheless, it will be understood that different TRPs 5-1a through 5-1d can share a common PCI. While the other RAN node 5-2 is shown providing coverage through a single TRP, it will be understood that coverage may be provided through multiple TRPs. Each TRP may comprise a respective co-located antenna panel or a separate remotely located radio head, etc. In the illustrated communication system 1, the coverage provided by each base station 5 (or its associated TRPs 5-1a through 5-1d) may be through multiple beams B (B1, B2...Br, Br+1...BN). For clarity of explanation, only a possible beam B selection for TRP 5-1a is shown, but it will be understood that the set of beams may include any suitable number of beams, and each TRP / base station 5 may operate its own set of beams or may provide coverage in a non-beamforming manner.

[0029] Communications via each base station 5 are typically routed through a core network 7 (e.g., a 5G core network or an evolved packet core network (EPC)).

[0030] As one skilled in the art will appreciate, although three UEs and two base stations are shown in FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes, the system, when implemented, will typically include other base stations 5 and UEs 3.

[0031] Each base station 5 controls, directly or indirectly via one or more other nodes (e.g., home base stations, repeaters, remote radio heads, distributed units, etc.), one or more associated cells 9. It will be appreciated that the base stations 5 may be configured to support 4G, 5G, 6G, and / or any other 3GPP or non-3GPP communication protocols.

[0032] The UEs 3 and their serving base stations 5 are connected via a suitable air interface (such as, for example, the so-called "Uu" interface). Neighboring base stations 5 may be connected to each other via a suitable inter-base station interface (such as the so-called "X2" interface, "Xn" interface, etc.).

[0033] The core network 7 includes several logical nodes (or "functions") for supporting communications in the telecommunications system 1. In this example, the core network 7 comprises a control plane function (CPF) 10 and one or more user plane functions (UPF) 11. The CPF 10 includes one or more Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 10-1, one or more Session Management Functions (SMF), and several other functions 10-n.

[0034] The base stations 5 are connected to core network nodes via appropriate interfaces (or "reference points"), such as the N2 reference point between the base stations 5 and the AMF 10-1 for communication of control signaling, and the N3 reference point between the base stations 5 and each UPF 11 for communication of user data. The UEs 3 are each connected to the AMF 10-1 via a logical non-access stratum (NAS) connection over the N1 reference point (similar to the S1 reference point in LTE). It will be appreciated that N1 communications are transparently routed via the base stations 5.

[0035] The one or more UPFs 11 are connected to an external data network (eg, an IP network such as the Internet) via a reference point N6 for the communication of user data.

[0036] The AMF 10-1 performs mobility management related functions, maintains non-NAS signaling connections with each UE 3, and manages UE registration. The AMF 10-1 is also responsible for managing paging. The SMF 10-2 provides session management functions (forming part of the MME function in LTE) and also combines some control plane functions (provided by the Serving Gateway and Packet Data Network Gateway in LTE). The SMF 10-2 also allocates IP addresses to each UE 3.

[0037] The base station 5 is also configured to transmit control information and user data via several downlink (DL) physical channels and to transmit several physical signals, and the UE 3 is configured to receive control information and user data via several DL physical channels and to transmit several physical signals, where the DL physical channels correspond to resource elements (REs) carrying information originating from higher layers and the DL physical signals correspond to REs used by the physical layer and not carrying information originating from higher layers.

[0038] Physical channels may include, for example, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The PDSCH carries data that shares the capacity of the PDSCH on a time and frequency basis. The PDSCH can carry various data items, including, for example, user data, UE-specific higher-layer control messages mapped down from higher-level channels, system information blocks (SIBs), and paging. The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI) to support several functions, including, for example, scheduling downlink transmissions on the PDSCH and uplink (UL) data transmissions on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PBCH provides a Master Information Block (MIB) to the UE. The PBCH, in conjunction with the PDCCH, also supports time and frequency synchronization, which aids in cell acquisition, selection, and reselection.

[0039] DL physical signals may include, for example, reference signals (RS) and synchronization signals (SS). A reference signal (sometimes known as a pilot signal) is a signal having a predefined special waveform known to both the UE 3 and the base station 5. Reference signals may include, for example, a cell-specific reference signal, a UE-specific reference signal (UE-RS), a downlink demodulation signal (DMRS), and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0040] Similarly, the UE 3 is configured to transmit control information and user data via several uplink (UL) physical channels corresponding to REs carrying information originated from higher layers and UL physical signals corresponding to REs used at the physical layer that do not carry information originated from higher layers, and the base station 5 is configured to receive control information and user data via several UL physical channels corresponding to REs carrying information originated from higher layers and UL physical signals corresponding to REs used at the physical layer that do not carry information originated from higher layers. The physical channels may include, for example, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and / or a physical random-access channel (PRACH). The UL physical signals may include, for example, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) for UL control / data signals and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS) used for UL channel measurement.

[0041] 2, which illustrates a typical frame structure that may be used in telecommunications system 1, base stations 5 and UEs 3 of communication system 1 communicate with each other in the time domain using resources organized into frames of length 10 ms. Each frame comprises 10 equally sized subframes of length 1 ms. Each subframe is divided into one or more slots of 14 Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of equal length.

[0042] As can be seen in FIG. 2, communication system 1 supports multiple different numerologies (subcarrier spacing (SCS), slot length, and thus OFDM symbol length). Specifically, each numerology is identified by a parameter μ, where μ = 0 represents 15 kHz (corresponding to LTE SCS). Currently, SCS for other values ​​of μ can actually be derived from μ = 0 by scaling up by a power of 2 (i.e., SCS = 15 × 2 μ kHz). The relationship between the parameter μ and SCS (Δf) is shown in Table 1. [Table 1]

[0043] Antenna Ports and Quasi Co-Location (QCL) The base stations 5 of the communication system 1 include antennas that may have one or more antenna panels, each typically comprising multiple physical antenna elements. Similarly, each UE 3 may have an antenna with multiple antenna elements. The use of antennas with multiple physical antenna elements allows the base station 5 and UE 3 to perform transmissions (and receptions) using logical antenna ports that are mapped to one or more subsets of the physical antenna elements. Thus, transmissions that share the same antenna port experience the same propagation channel, while transmissions using different antenna ports experience different propagation channels. Nevertheless, there are scenarios in which transmissions using different antenna ports experience radio channels with some common propagation characteristics. In this case, the antenna ports (and associated transmissions) can be said to be quasi-colocated (QCL).

[0044] Radio channel characteristics that may be common to different QCL antenna ports include, for example, Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, delay spread, and / or spatial receiver parameters. Treating an antenna port and associated transmissions (e.g., reference / synchronization signals) as a QCL can aid in channel estimation, synchronization, frequency offset estimation, etc. at the UE 3. For example, if two antenna ports are considered to be QCLs with respect to certain parameters (e.g., Doppler shift and mean delay), the UE 3 can determine those parameters for one antenna port and apply them with respect to both antenna ports.

[0045] The QCL antenna ports need not be geographically co-located (although they may be). For example, physical antennas / antenna elements may belong to different TRPSs 5-1a to 5-1d (e.g., when coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission / multi-TRP transmission is used).

[0046] The communication system 1 supports the following four types of QCLs: - Type A (having common features: Doppler shift; Doppler spread; mean delay; and delay spread); - Type B (has common features: Doppler shift and Doppler spread); - Type C (having common features: Doppler shift and mean delay); - Type D (with common spatial receiver parameters).

[0047] The QCL may be used to support reception of both downlink shared and control physical channels (PDSCH and PDCCH). For example, the serving base station 5 may indicate (e.g., via a combination of RRC and / or MAC signaling) that a particular synchronization signal block (SSB) uses an antenna port that is a QCL with the antenna port used for the PDSCH and / or PDCCH. Similarly, the antenna port used by a particular CSI-RS may be indicated (e.g., via a combination of RRC and / or MAC signaling) to be a QCL with the antenna port used for the PDSCH and / or PDCCH.

[0048] Bandwidth Part (BWP) In communication system 1, the cell bandwidth can be divided into multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs), each starting at a respective common resource block (RB) and each including a set of contiguous RBs on a given carrier with a given numerology (sub-carrier spacing, "SCS" and cyclic prefix, "CP"). Conventionally, it will be understood that the number of downlink symbols, uplink symbols, and flexible symbols in each slot of a (e.g., common or dedicated) slot configuration is common to each configured BWP.

[0049] Thus, the UE 3 and base station 5 of the communication system 1 are configured to operate using BWPs. The base station 5 can configure at least one downlink (DL) BWP (e.g., an initial DL BWP) for each serving cell of the UE 3. The base station 5 can configure the UE 3 with up to a maximum number (typically four) of DL BWPs, with only a single DL BWP active at a given time. The UE 3 is not expected to receive PDSCH, PDCCH, or CSI-RS (except for radio resource management (RRM)) outside the active bandwidth portion. If the serving cell is configured for uplink (UL), the base station 5 can configure at least one UL BWP (e.g., an initial UL BWP). The base station 5 can configure the UE 3 with up to a maximum number (typically four) of UL BWPs, with only one UL BWP active at a given time. The UE 3 does not transmit PUSCH or PUCCH outside the active bandwidth portion. In an active cell, the UE 3 does not transmit SRS outside the active bandwidth portion. It will be appreciated that the slot format indicator (e.g., SFI index field value) of the dynamic slot configuration DCI format may indicate to the UE 3 the slot format of each slot within several slots of each DL BWP or each UL BWP.

[0050] A BWP identifier or index (BWP-ID) is used to reference a BWP (independently in UL and DL), so that various radio resource control (RRC) configuration procedures can use the BWP-ID to associate those procedures with a particular BWP.

[0051] In the case of paired spectrum (FDD), the DL BWP and UL BWP are configured separately, whereas in the case of unpaired spectrum (TDD), the DL BWP is effectively linked (paired) to the UL BWP, and the paired DL and UL BWPs share the same BWP-ID and center frequency (but possibly different bandwidths).

[0052] Specifically, the base station 5 can configure the initial DL BWP (e.g., by the initialDownlinkBWP IE) via system information (e.g., system information block 1, "SIB1") and / or via dedicated (e.g., RRC) signaling (e.g., RRC reconfiguration message, RRC resume message, or RRC setup message). For example, common parameters for the initial DL BWP may be provided via system information, whereas UE-specific parameters may be provided via dedicated signaling (e.g., in a ServingCellConfig IE in an RRC message containing a dedicated UE-specific BWP configuration). The dedicated signaling may also include some cell-specific information that may be useful for specific scenarios (e.g., handover, etc.).

[0053] The base station 5 can configure the initial UL BWP (e.g., by the initialUplinkBWP IE) via system information (e.g., system information block 1, "SIB1") and / or via dedicated (e.g., RRC) signaling (e.g., RRC reconfiguration message, RRC resumption message, or RRC setup message). For example, one or more initial UL BWP common parameters may be provided via system information, whereas UE-specific parameters may be provided via dedicated signaling (e.g., in a ServingCellConfig IE in an RRC message containing a dedicated UE-specific BWP configuration). This provides configuration information for either a so-called special cell (SpCell), which is a PCell of a master cell group (MCG) or a secondary cell group (SCG), or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0054] The initial DL BWP and UL BWP are used at least for initial access before an RRC connection is established. The initial BWP has a BWP identifier (or "index") of 0 and is therefore known as BWP#0. Prior to receiving the system information defining the UE's initial DL BWP, each UE 3's DL BWP has a frequency range and numerology corresponding to a control resource set (CORESET), e.g., CORESET#0, defined by a master information block (MIB) (or possibly dedicated RRC signaling). The CORESET is used to carry downlink control information (DCI), which is transmitted over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to schedule the system information blocks.

[0055] After receiving the system information (e.g., SIB1), the UE 3 configures the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP using the BWP configuration defined by the system information. The configured initial UL BWP is then used to initiate a random access procedure to set up an RRC connection. The base station 5 configures the frequency domain location and bandwidth of the initial DL BWP in the system information so that the initial DL BWP includes the entire CORESET#0 in the frequency domain.

[0056] For each DL BWP in the DL BWP set for the primary cell, the UE 3 can be configured with a CORESET of all types of common search space (CSS) sets and UE-specific search space (USS) sets. For each UL BWP in the UL BWP set of the primary or PUCCH secondary cell, the UE 3 is configured with a resource set for PUCCH transmission.

[0057] The UE 3 is configured to switch its active BWP between its configured BWPs as needed. For example, switching in the UE 3 may be initiated by reception of a scheduling DCI, by expiration of an inactivity timer (e.g., BWPInactivityTimer), and / or by initiation of a random access procedure.

[0058] Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) The base station 5 is also configured to periodically transmit Synchronisation Signal Blocks (SSBs) in one or more cells 9 in which it operates. The SSBs include both synchronization signals (e.g., a primary synchronisation signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronisation signal (SSS)) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying a master information block (MIB) that provides at least part of the minimum system information for accessing the corresponding cell 9 (e.g., parameters needed to obtain system information block 1 (SIB1) that carries other minimum system information).

[0059] When scanning for a cell to camp on, each UE 3 is configured to search for an SSB and decode the associated PBCH before proceeding to decode other system information transmitted on the PDSCH. Each UE 3 is also configured to perform measurements of specific resources configured for the SSB, such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and / or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) measurements.

[0060] Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) The base station 5 is also configured to transmit reference signals (RS) in the cell or cells 9 in which it operates. These reference signals include channel state information RS (CSI-RS) and demodulation RS (DMRS).

[0061] The CSI-RS may be used by the UE 3 for several different purposes, including, for example, CSI reporting, in which the UE 3 derives channel state information including one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs), rank indicators (RIs), and / or precoding matrix indicators (PMIs) from the CSI-RS measurements and reports them to the base station 5 in a CSI report.

[0062] The CSI-RS may also be used by the UE 3 for beam management, including refining the initial beam selection based on the SSB. For example, the base station 5 may use a set of relatively wide beams that may be used for SSB transmissions and a set of narrower (more directional) beams for the CSI-RS. The UE 3 may be configured by the base station 3 to measure each CSI-RS transmission to identify the best CSI-RS beam and report this to the base station 5 (e.g., via a CSI report including a CSI-RS indicator (CRI) that identifies the strongest CSI-RS, and therefore the CSI-RS beam). The UE 3 may also be configured to report the measured layer 1 RSRP (L1-RSRP) and / or layer 1 signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) for the strongest CSI-RS.

[0063] CSI-RS can be either zero power (ZP-CSI-RS) or non-zero power (NZP-CSI-RS). NZP-CSI-RS is used for most procedures including channel measurement, beam management, beam measurement, connected mode mobility, etc. ZP-CSI-RS is a null resource element mainly used for interference measurement.

[0064] There are also several other ways in which CSI-RS can be used, including, for example, connected mode mobility, radio link failure detection, beam failure detection / recovery, and precise timing for time and / or frequency synchronization.

[0065] The DMRS includes a DMRS for the PBCH, a DMRS for the PDCCH, and a DMRS for the PDSCH. The DMRS for the PBCH is used by the UE 3 to estimate the propagation channel experienced by the PBCH for the purpose of demodulating the PBCH and subsequently decoding system information (e.g., carried by the MIB). The DMRS for the PDCCH is used by the UE 3 to estimate the propagation channel experienced by the PDCCH for the purpose of demodulating the PDCCH and subsequently decoding DCI.

[0066] The DMRS for the PDSCH is transmitted in combination with the associated PDSCH using the same precoding and logical antenna port. Therefore, both the DMRS and the associated PDSCH experience the same composite propagation channel. The DMRS is transmitted using a sequence known to the UE 3, so the UE 3 can determine the characteristics of the propagation channel (propagation coefficients) based on a comparison of the received DMRS with the original DMRS transmitted by the base station 5. The UE 3 can then decode the associated PDSCH based on the derived propagation coefficients.

[0067] Data communicated on the PDSCH (and associated DMRS) may be transmitted in parallel transmission layers and / or may be beamformed.

[0068] CSI report The base station 5 may configure how the UE 3 measures and reports CSI using appropriate measurement configuration signaling. The CSI report may include a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a SS / PBCH Block Resource indicator (SSBRI), a layer indicator (LI), a rank indicator (RI), a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), a layer 1 signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR), and / or a Capability[Set]Index. The CSI report may be transmitted as uplink control information (UCI) in the UCI portion of the PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0069] The CQI is a (typically 4-bit) index value representing the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR). The CQI value also corresponds to the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used per layer. The RI indicates the number of MIMO transmission layers requested by the UE 3 (although the base station 5 may not use the requested number of MIMO transmission layers). The PMI is used by the UE 3 to report parameters defining a preferred precoding matrix to be applied to downlink transmissions (although the base station 5 may not use the requested precoding). A layer indicator (LI) may be included in the CSI report to identify the strongest layer from the set of layers indicated by the RI.

[0070] The L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR may be measured for an SSB channel measurement resource or a CSI-RS channel measurement resource.

[0071] Figure 3 shows some information elements that may be used for such measurement signaling in a 5G system according to the relevant 3GPP standards, it will be understood that these are shown for illustrative purposes and are purely exemplary, and that other information elements (IEs) may be present in addition to or instead of those shown.

[0072] The base station 5 may, for example, use measurement configuration signaling (e.g., using the CSI-measconfig IE) to configure the UE 3 to measure and report specific resources used for CSI-RS (e.g., using the CSI-ReportConfig IE of Figure 3). Multiple different reporting configurations may be configured and identified by appropriate identifiers (e.g., the CSI-ReportConfigID IE of Figure 3).

[0073] The base station 5 can configure the UE 3 (e.g., using the CSI-ReportConfig IE in FIG. 3 ) to provide different types of CSI reports providing different information according to the requirements of the use case, for example, by appropriately setting a report quantity parameter (e.g., the reportQuantity IE in FIG. 3 ). For example, the report quantity can indicate the number of CSI-related, L1-RSRP-related, or L1-SINR-related reports to be reported. For example, the UE 3 can be configured to report only the RI and CQI for one or more associated CRIs by appropriately setting the report quantity parameter (e.g., to cri-RI-CQI), to report the RI, PMI, and CQI for one or more associated CRIs by appropriately setting the report quantity parameter (e.g., to cri-RI-PMI-CQI), or to report the RI, LI, PMI, and CQI for one or more associated CRIs by appropriately setting the report quantity parameter (e.g., to cri-RI-LI-PMI-CQI). Similarly, for a beam management procedure, UE3 may be configured to report the RSRP or SINR of one or more associated CRIs by setting the report number parameter appropriately (e.g., to cri-RSRP or cri-SINR), and to report the RSRP or SINR of one or more associated SSBs by setting the report number parameter appropriately (e.g., to ssb-Index-RSRP or ssb-Index-SINR).

[0074] The base station 5 can also configure the UE 3 to provide CSI reporting based on different reporting timing configurations (e.g., using the reportConfigType IE in the CSI-ReportConfig IE as shown in FIG. 3). For example, the UE 3 can be configured for persistent reporting, semi-persistent reporting on PUSCH, semi-persistent reporting on PUCCH, or aperiodic reporting. The time-domain behavior of the CSI reporting configuration indicated by the higher layer reporting configuration type parameter has the configured periodicity and slot offset applied to the numerology of the UL BWP for which the CSI report is configured for transmission.

[0075] Aperiodic reporting and semi-persistent reporting in the PUSCH may be triggered using a PUSCH DCI, such as a DCI (e.g., using DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2). For example, a CSI report may be triggered by the content of a CSI request included in the DCI, whose size (number of bits) corresponds to a higher layer trigger size parameter (e.g., reportTriggerSize parameter for DCI format 0_1 ​​or reportTriggerSizeDCI-0-2 for DCI format 0_2). The size of the CSI request field may be configured, for example, to be one of a set of possible bit numbers: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. The CSI request typically has a value indicating a respective index of one or more corresponding aperiodic trigger states (e.g., configured in the CSI-AeriodicTriggerStateList IE shown in FIG. 3). Each of these trigger states is associated with one or more corresponding CSI reporting configurations (e.g., identified by one or more associated CSI-ReportConfig IEs in FIG. 3). The time and frequency resources that can be used by the UE to report CSI are controlled by the base station.

[0076] Semi-persistent reporting on PUSCH may be triggered in a similar manner (e.g., by using a DCI that identifies one or more CSI-ReportConfig IEs of one or more CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStates listed in the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList shown in Figure 3).

[0077] Semi-persistent reporting on the PUCCH may be triggered using a MAC control element (MAC CE) (eg, as shown in FIG. 3).

[0078] Each CSI reporting configuration identifies at least one CSI resource configuration for measurement (e.g., using the CSI-ResourceConfigId IE in FIG. 3). The identified CSI resource configuration is defined by a list of identifiers corresponding to one or more sets of CSI resources (e.g., a list of one or more NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetIDs for a non-zero power CSI-RS as shown in FIG. 3) and a corresponding IE containing related configuration information (e.g., using the CSI-ResourceConfigId IE in FIG. 3). The related configuration information may, for example, identify the related bandwidth portion (e.g., using the BWP ID in FIG. 3) and identify the resource type (e.g., using the resourceType IE in FIG. 3). The identified resource type may, for example, identify the CSI-RS resource as a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic type. Each resource set includes one or more specific CSI resource configurations represented by associated identifiers (e.g., one or more NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceIDs for non-zero power CSI-RS as shown in FIG. 3), each of which points to specific configuration information for that CSI resource configuration (e.g., defined by an NZP-CSI-RS-Resource IE for non-zero power CSI-RS as shown in FIG. 3).

[0079] For CQI, PMI, CRI, SSBRI, LI, RI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, and Capability[Set]Index, the UE is configured by higher layers with one or more CSI reporting configuration settings (e.g., defined in the CSI-ReportConfig IE), one or more CSI resource configuration settings (e.g., defined in the CSI-ReportConfig IE), and one or two lists of trigger states (e.g., given by the higher layer parameter CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList and / or the higher layer parameter CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList). Each trigger state in the list of aperiodic CSI trigger states (e.g., defined by the CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList IE) may define a list of associated CSI reporting configurations that indicate resource set IDs for channel measurements and possibly interference measurements. Each trigger state in the list of semi-persistent CSI trigger states (e.g., defined by the CSI-SemiPersistentOnPUSCH-TriggerStateList IE) may include a single associated CSI reporting configuration.

[0080] Each reporting configuration is associated to a single downlink BWP (e.g., indicated by the higher layer parameter BWP-Id given in the associated CSI-ResourceConfig IE for channel measurements) and includes one or more parameters for one CSI reporting band: measurement limit configuration, and CSI-related quantities to be reported by the UE, such as LI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, CRI, and SSBRI.

[0081] Therefore, a base station can configure multiple CSI reporting configuration instances and CSI resource configuration instances. It will be appreciated that for aperiodic CSI RS resources, multiple resource sets can be configured per CSI resource configuration. The same number of CSI-RS ports is assumed for multiple CSI-RS resources in a given resource set.

[0082] In this way, reporting of a specific CSI resource set for a specific use case can be configured. For example, a CSI-RS resource set containing CSI-RS resources for different beams can be configured for beam management purposes. For channel estimation purposes, a CSI-RS resource set containing a single CSI-RS resource for N ports can be configured.

[0083] In the case of multiple transmission reception points (TRPs), different resource sets may also be configured for each resource configuration. In this scenario, different resource sets may be part of the same CSI resource configuration for aperiodic CSI reporting or may be part of different CSI resource configurations for periodic / semi-persistent CSI reporting. Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that in the case of the same number of ports for all TRPs, it is possible to configure CSI-RS resources belonging to different TRPs in the same resource set.

[0084] In another example, CSI reporting of multiple secondary cells (SCells) can be triggered jointly by including CSI reporting configurations of different SCells in information defining a single CSI aperiodic trigger state.

[0085] The base station 5 can also configure the UE 3 (e.g., using the reportFreqConfiguration IE in the CSI-ReportConfig IE) to provide reporting with either wideband or subband granularity. For example, CQI and / or partial PMI can be reported per subband by setting the corresponding indicators (e.g., the cqi-FormatIndicator IE and / or the pmi-FormatIndicator IE, respectively) appropriately (e.g., to widebandCQI or subbandCQI, and / or to widebandPMI or subbandPMI, respectively).

[0086] The base station 5 may also configure the UE 3 with a time limit for channel measurements (and / or interference measurements). If a time limit is configured, the UE 3 is configured to derive measurements for calculating CSI values ​​based only on the last measured CSI-RS occasion associated with the CSI report.

[0087] It will be appreciated that the UE 3 may need to transmit a significant number of CSI reports (based on the CSI configuration), but the available space in the uplink control UCI portion of the PUCCH or PUSCH may be limited. Furthermore, the CSI report payload size may increase significantly in the presence of subband-based reporting. Therefore, prioritization rules are defined to indicate which CSI report parameters should be transmitted with the highest priority.

[0088] For CSI reporting of RI, CQI, and PMI, the CSI report for a single CSI resource may be divided into two parts: a first part containing RI, CRI, and CQI for the first codeword, and a second part containing PMI and CQI for the second codeword. The first part may be transmitted in its entirety, while part of the second part may be omitted (depending on the allowed size of UCI). For UCI coding, the first part of each CSI report is coded into UCI, and the second part of the CSI report is coded based on the amount of available space.

[0089] L1-RSRP calculation and reporting For L1-RSRP calculation, UE3 may be configured with CSI-RS resources, SSB resources, or (if applicable, resource-wise "Type C" and / or "Type D" quasi-co-located) both CSI-RS and SSB resources.

[0090] A UE 3 may typically be configured with a CSI-RS resource configuration of up to 16 CSI-RS resource sets, with each set typically having up to 64 resources. The total number of different CSI-RS resources across all resource sets is generally 128 or less.

[0091] For the purpose of L1-RSRP reporting, a higher layer parameter may be provided in the CSI reporting configuration to indicate the number (N) of measured RS resources to be reported per reporting configuration in non-group-based reporting (e.g., indicated by the nofReportedRS IE in the CSI-ReportConfig IE). The value of the parameter (N) is less than or equal to a maximum value (N_max), which may be either 2 or 4 depending on the capabilities of the UE 3. If the field is not present, the UE 3 applies a value of 1. If the number of measured RSs is configured to be 1, the reported L1-RSRP value is defined by a 7-bit value (e.g., corresponding to an L1-RSRP value in the range [-140, -44] dBm with a 1 dB step size). If the higher layer parameter is configured to be greater than 1 or if group-based beam reporting is enabled (e.g., if the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting is configured to be "enabled" or if the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting-r17 is configured), the UE 3 uses differential L1-RSRP-based reporting. For differential-based reporting, the maximum measured value of L1-RSRP is quantized to a 7-bit value (e.g., in the range [-140, -44] dBm with a 1 dB step size), and other measured values ​​of L1-RSRP are represented as differential L1-RSRP values ​​relative to the maximum measured value and quantized to 4-bit values. The differential L1-RSRP values ​​are typically calculated with a 2 dB step size relative to the maximum measured L1-RSRP value that is part of the same L1-RSRP reporting instance.

[0092] Furthermore, if group-based beam reporting is enabled (e.g., if the higher layer parameter groupBasedBeamReporting-r17 is set in the CSI-ReportConfig IE), the UE3 may also indicate the CSI resource set associated with the maximum measured value of L1-RSRP, and for each group, the CRI or SSBRI of the indicated CSI resource set may be present first.

[0093] The UE 3 may also be configured with several additional PCIs for L1-RSRP reporting of SSB resources (e.g., using SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI). If one or more additional PCIs are configured, the resource set configured for SSB resource-related L1-RSRP CSI reporting (e.g., defined by the CSI-SSB-ResourceSet IE) may include a set of SSB indices and a set of PCI indices, where each SSB index is associated with a PCI index.

[0094] L1-SINR measurement and reporting If one resource setting is configured (e.g., given by the higher layer parameter resourcesForChannelMeasurement), the resource limiting is for channel and interference measurement on the NZP CSI-RS for L1-SINR calculation. In this case, the UE 3 can assume that one or more NZP CSI-RS resources of the same single port (with a density of 3 REs per RB) are used for both channel and interference measurements.

[0095] When two resource configurations are configured, the first resource configuration (e.g., given by the higher layer parameter resourcesForChannelMeasurement) is for channel measurement on SSB or NZP CSI-RS, and the second resource configuration (e.g., given by either the higher layer parameter csi-IM-ResourcesForInterference or the higher layer parameter nzp-CSI-RS-ResourceForInterference) is for interference measurement performed on CSI-IM or single-port NZP CSI-RS (with a density of 3 REs per RB), where each SSB or NZP CSI-RS resource for channel measurement is associated with one CSI-IM resource or one NZP CSI-RS resource for interference measurement by the ordering of the SSB or NZP CSI-RS resources for channel measurement and the CSI-IM resources or NZP CSI-RS resources for interference measurement in the corresponding resource set. The number of one or more SSB or CSI-RS resources for channel measurement is equal to the number of CSI-IM resources or the number of NZP CSI-RS resources for interference measurement.

[0096] UE3 may apply a "Type D" reference signal configured with SSB or QCL type set to "Type D" of the corresponding NZP CSI-RS resource for channel measurement as a "reference" reference signal for determining a "Type D" hypothesis of the corresponding CSI-IM resource or the corresponding NZP CSI-RS resource for interference measurement configured for one CSI report. UE3 may expect that if there is an NZP CSI-RS resource set for channel measurement and an NZP-CSI-RS resource set for interference measurement, the higher layer "repetition" parameter is configured (set to "ON") indicating that the resources in the resource set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmit filter.

[0097] Triggering / activating CSI reporting for possible CSI-RS configurations As mentioned above, the CSI reporting configuration can be aperiodic (using PUSCH), periodic (using PUCCH), or semi-persistent (using PUCCH or DCI-activated PUSCH). Similarly, the CSI-RS transmissions used to derive CSI measurements can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic (e.g., aperiodic CSI reports can be generated based on periodic CSI-RS transmissions).

[0098] Periodic CSI reporting requires periodic CSI-RS transmission, both of which are configured and initiated by higher layer (eg, RRC) signaling.

[0099] Semi-persistent CSI reporting on PUCCH is activated / deactivated by an activation command using an appropriate MAC control element (MAC CE) (e.g., "Semi-persistent CSI reporting on PUCCH activation / deactivation" MAC CE) for both semi-persistent and periodic CSI-RS transmissions. Semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions are also activated / deactivated by an activation command using an appropriate MAC CE (e.g., "Semi-persistent CSI-RS / CSI IM resource set activation / deactivation" MAC CE).

[0100] In contrast, for both semi-persistent and periodic CSI-RS transmissions, semi-persistent CSI reporting on the PUSCH is triggered using a CSI request field, as described above, in a DCI (e.g., using DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2) with cyclic redundancy bits appropriately scrambled (e.g., using a semi-persistent CSI radio network temporary identifier—SP-CSI-RNTI). However, semi-persistent CSI reporting is not supported for aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions.

[0101] Aperiodic CSI reporting for periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions is also all triggered using the CSI request field in the DCI (e.g., using DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2) for semi-persistent, periodic, or aperiodic CSI-RS transmission.

[0102] Aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions are also triggered using the CSI request field in the DCI (e.g., using DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2).

[0103] The supported combinations of CSI reporting configurations and CSI-RS resource configurations, and how CSI reporting is triggered for each CSI-RS resource configuration, are summarized in Table 2 below. [Table 2]

[0104] L3 measurement report The base station 5 can configure the UE 3 in RRC connected mode to perform and report measurements using dedicated higher layer (Layer 3 - "L3" / RRC) signaling. These measurements can be intra-frequency or inter-frequency measurements performed on SSBs or CSI-RS resources. Measurements can be either "beam" or "cell" level, where each beam-level measurement is recorded for an SSB with a specific index or from a CSI-RS resource with a specific identity. Cell-level measurements can be derived from beam-level measurements.

[0105] A measurement configuration typically includes one or more measurement identities. Each measurement identity links a reporting configuration to a measurement object (e.g., by including a pointer to the reporting configuration and a pointer to the measurement object). Multiple measurement identities can be used in a many-to-one manner to link multiple reporting configurations to the same measurement object and / or to link a single reporting configuration to multiple measurement objects. Each measurement identity is used by the UE 3 to identify which configured measurement a particular measurement result / set of measurement results relates to when reporting to the base station 5 (e.g., in a Layer 3 (RRC) Measurement Report message). Therefore, there is no need to explicitly indicate the measurement object or reporting configuration.

[0106] A measurement object defines the object of a measurement by identifying the time and frequency location of the SSB and / or CSI-RS resources to be measured. It also specifies the corresponding subcarrier spacing. A single measurement object can specify both SSB and CSI-RS information. Reporting configurations are used to distinguish between these two types of measurement resources. A measurement object can also specify a set of cell-specific measurement offsets to make individual cells appear more or less attractive for mobility purposes.

[0107] The report type indication in the reporting configuration provided by the base station 5 configures the measurement report to be of a particular type (e.g., periodic type, cell global identity (CGI), event triggered type, conditional event triggered type, etc.).

[0108] For periodic reporting, the reporting configuration typically specifies the reference signal type (SSB or CSI reference signal), the reporting interval (the timing between reports), and the number of reports (number of reports). Optionally, a continuous stream of reports can be configured by setting the reporting quantity to "infinite." The configuration also specifies the "cell-level" and "beam-level" measurements to be included, as well as the maximum number of cells and beams to be reported. The specified "cell-level" and "beam-level" measurements can be any combination of RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR, as appropriate.

[0109] For CGI type reporting, the reporting configuration typically specifies the set of PCIs required for the UE 3 to decode and report the CGI. This type of reporting configuration can be used for neighbor addition and neighbor verification within the context of UE-based Automatic Neighbor Relations (ANR).

[0110] For event-triggered reporting, the configuration information typically includes the parameters of the particular measurement reporting event, the reference signal type (SSB or CSI-RS) used to trigger the event, the number of reports to be sent after the event is triggered, and the time interval to wait between those reports. The configuration may also specify the "cell-level" / "beam-level" measurement quantities to be included in each report and the maximum number of cells / beams to be reported. The specified "cell-level" and "beam-level" measurement quantities may be any combination of RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR, as desired.

[0111] These L3 measurement reporting events include six core events, and may use one or more absolute thresholds and / or offset values ​​as follows: -Event A1: Service becomes better than the absolute threshold; -Event A2: Service deteriorates below the absolute threshold; Event A3: The neighbor has a better offset amount than the primary cell (PCell) / special cell (PSCell), which may be the primary cell of the master cell group or the secondary cell group; -Event A4: the neighborhood becomes better than the absolute threshold; - Event A5: PCell / PSCell becomes worse than an absolute threshold (threshold 1) and a neighbor / secondary cell (Scell) becomes better than another absolute threshold (threshold 2); Event A6: The neighbor has a better offset than the SCell. Each event is defined by at least one condition for initially triggering the event (called an "entry" condition) and at least one condition for triggering cancellation of the event (called a "leave" condition).

[0112] As an example, Figure 4 is a graph of measured (trigger) counts versus time showing the triggering of event A5. In Figure 4 (and for other events), the trigger count can be configured to be RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR. In addition to one or more absolute threshold or offset values, as seen in Figure 4, events are also characterized by a time-to-trigger value (which specifies the period following the event to wait before a measurement report is sent) and one or more hysteresis values ​​(which effectively define the delay or lag after the measurement exceeds (or falls below) the threshold before the corresponding entry or departure event condition is triggered). The hysteresis values ​​help to counter repeated cycles in which the entry conditions for an event are met, followed shortly thereafter by the departure conditions for the same event, which can result in an undesirable "ping-pong" type effect.

[0113] The reporting events also include several so-called "conditional" events to support reporting of "conditional" event types (which are variations on a number of core events) to support conditional reconfiguration, such as: Conditional event A3: the conditional reconfiguration candidate has a better offset than the PCell / PSCell; Conditional event A4: the conditional reconstruction candidate becomes better than the absolute threshold; and Conditional event A5: PCell / PSCell becomes worse than an absolute threshold (threshold 1) and the conditional reconfiguration candidate becomes better than another absolute threshold (threshold 2).

[0114] Conditional reconfiguration is a procedure in which the UE 3, rather than the network, can make the decision to perform a handover when certain conditions are met. One such procedure may, for example, be a conditional handover (CHO) procedure in which a handover is performed by the UE 3 if one or more handover execution conditions are met. The UE 3 starts evaluating one or more execution conditions when it receives a CHO configuration, and the UE 3 stops evaluating the execution conditions when a handover (CHO or another network-triggered handover) is performed.

[0115] The report type indication provided to UE 3 in the reporting configuration may use any suitable information structure / element, for example, in accordance with standards defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Selected portions of one such information structure / element are shown (for illustrative purposes only) in FIGS. 5A and 5B. As seen in box (a) of FIG. 5A, the reporting configuration (ReportConfigNR IE) includes, for each report type, a report type indication (reportType IE) that includes a respective IE (which may include one or more sets of further IEs) for configuring that type of report. As an example, a portion of an IE (CondTriggerConfig-r16 IE) for configuring a “conditional” event-triggered reporting type is shown in box (b) of FIG. 5B. As seen in box (b) of FIG. 5B, the illustrated portion of the IE configuring the conditional event-triggered reporting type includes IEs for configuring parameters of two conditional events, conditional event A3 (condEventA3 IE) and conditional event A4 (condEventA4 IE), reflecting event A3 and event A4, respectively. The IEs that make up conditional event A3 (condEventA3 IE) define the offset, hysteresis, and time to trigger values ​​that will be used (a3-Offset, hysteresis, and timeToTrigger IEs), and the IEs that make up conditional event A4 (condEventA4 IE) define the threshold, hysteresis, and time to trigger values ​​that will be used, and an indication of whether only cells in the allowed cell list are applicable (a4-threshold-r17, hysteresis-r17, timeToTrigger-r17, and useAllowedCellList-r17 IEs).

[0116] Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) Framework The communication system 1 employs the so-called transmission configuration indication (TCI) signaling framework.

[0117] The communication system 1 supports a separate TCI framework for each channel / signal, in which the TCI can indicate the beam for a target channel / signal (e.g., PDSCH, PDCCH, CSI-RS, etc.) to be received by the UE 3. The per-channel TCI consists of, for example, a source reference signal and the intended QCL type to be applied. For example, the base station 5 may schedule resources on the PDSCH to the UE 3 using a DCI indicating the TCI to be used for receiving the PDSCH. The UE 3 can then configure its beamforming parameters based on the indicated TCI and receive the PDSCH accordingly. For the PDCCH (or CSI-RS), a separate signal can be used for the TCI (independent of the PDSCH).

[0118] While the individual channel-by-channel beam direction framework has the advantage that the base station 5 can configure and signal any independent beam reference for each channel, the overall signaling overhead for controlling all target channels with TCI can be significant. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a unified TCI framework employing common beam indication (TCI) across multiple channels / signals for DL ​​and / or UL has been standardized in the Release 17 (Rel-17) 3GPP standard. The communication system 1 also supports this unified TCI framework. Specifically, the base station 5 and the UE 3 are configured to employ a beam direction mechanism for LTM in the communication system 1 based on the unified TCI framework when both the serving cell and the candidate cell support the unified TCI framework. However, beneficially, the beam direction mechanism in the communication system 1 also supports a situation where at least one of the serving cell and the candidate cell supports only an older (e.g., Release 15) TCI framework.

[0119] Beneficially, communication system 1 supports L1 inter-frequency measurements and associated L1 / L2 triggered measurement reporting, e.g., to support LTM. The enhancements used in communication system 1 can help reduce associated handover delays / disruptions, e.g., compared to handover procedures associated with conventional L3 triggered measurement reporting. Some enhancements support the possibility of downlink synchronization with one or more candidate cells (here, a "candidate cell" is a candidate to be the target cell for an LTM cell switch procedure, etc.) based on SSBs transmitted in one or more candidate cells before a cell switch command is received (here, the term "cell switch" refers to the procedure of triggering a cell change via LTM).

[0120] The mechanisms / features for supporting LTM take into account many aspects, including, for example, the definition of one or more UE events for triggering L1 measurement reports; the content / nature of the report / report container; the allocation / assignment of resources for such measurement reports when triggered (and / or transmitted periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically); the possibility of providing an indication to the base station 5 of when the condition for triggering a UE event is met (and how such an indication can be provided); the possibility of defining one or more conditions for starting / stopping reporting; the content / report format of the measurement report (e.g., inclusion of PCI, one or more reference signal (set) identifiers, one or more measurement results, etc.); the possibility of using / interacting with filtered L1 measurement results; the possibility of supporting the simultaneous configuration of both UE event-triggered and / or periodic / semi-persistent / aperiodic measurement reporting for LTM purposes and how L1 measurement reporting for LTM proceeds when event-triggered reporting is configured in conjunction with periodic / semi-persistent / aperiodic reporting; and / or the potential benefits of utilizing L3 measurements.

[0121] The mechanisms / features for supporting LTM also consider the possibility of supporting SSB-based L1-RSRP measurements for intra-frequency measurements and SSB-based L1-RSRP measurements for inter-frequency measurements for candidate cell measurements for LTM. The mechanisms / features for supporting LTM also consider the possibility of supporting L1-SINR SSB / CSI-RS-based measurements and / or CSI-RS-based L1-RSRP measurements.

[0122] L1 measurement reports for L1 / L2 mobility, which will be described in more detail later, may be reported via the MAC control element. Furthermore, L1 measurement reports may be base station scheduled and / or UE initiated (if supported). Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that L1 measurements for LTM may alternatively or additionally be reported via the UCI portion of the PUCCH and / or the UCI portion of the PUSCH. For example, periodic reports may be sent on the PUCCH, semi-persistent reports may be sent on the PUCCH or PUSCH, and aperiodic reports may be sent on the PUSCH.

[0123] The mechanisms / features for supporting LTM described herein also include potential enhancements (e.g., enhancements to ICBM reporting formats) to support inter-cell beam management (ICBM), for example, to accommodate reduced reporting overhead through appropriate selection of beams / cells per (or across) frequencies to report on.

[0124] User Equipment FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the main components of a UE 3 for the telecommunications system of FIG.

[0125] As shown, the UE 3 includes transceiver circuitry 31 operable to transmit signals to and receive signals from a base station 5 via one or more antennas 33 (e.g., comprising one or more antenna elements). The UE 3 includes a controller 37 that controls the operation of the UE 3. The controller 37 is associated with a memory 39 and is coupled to the transceiver circuitry 31. Although not necessary for its operation, the UE 3 may, of course, include all the usual functionality of a conventional UE 3 (e.g., a user interface 35, such as a touchscreen / keypad / microphone / speaker, for enabling direct user control and interaction), which may be provided by any one or any combination of hardware, software, and firmware, as appropriate. Software may be pre-installed in the memory 39 and / or downloaded, for example, via a telecommunications network or from a removable data storage device (RMD).

[0126] Controller 37, in this example, is configured to control the overall operation of UE 3 by means of program or software instructions stored in memory 39. As shown, these software instructions include, among other things, an operating system 41, a communications control module 43, a measurement management module 45, and a measurement reporting module 47.

[0127] The communications control module 43 is operable to control communications between the UE 3 and its one or more serving base stations 5 (and other communications devices connected to the base stations 5, such as additional UEs and / or core network nodes). The communications control module 43 is configured to generally handle uplink communications over associated uplink channels (e.g., over a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a random access channel (RACH), and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), including both dynamic and semi-static signaling (e.g., SRS). The communications control module 43 is also configured to generally handle reception of downlink communications over associated downlink channels (e.g., over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)), including both dynamic and semi-static signaling (e.g., CSI-RS, SSBs, etc.). The communications control module 43 is responsible for, for example, determining the resources to be used by the UE 3, determining how the slots / symbols are configured (e.g., for UL, DL, flexible, full-duplex communications, etc.), determining which bandwidth portion or portions are configured for the UE 3, determining how uplink transmissions should be coded, etc.

[0128] It will be appreciated that communication control module 43 may include several sub-modules (or "layers") that support specific functions. For example, communication control module 63 may include a PHY sub-module, a MAC sub-module, an RLC sub-module, a PDCP sub-module, an SDAP sub-module, an IP sub-module, an RRC sub-module, etc.

[0129] The measurement management module 45 is responsible for managing tasks related to the reception and measurement of downlink signals for measurement at the UE 3, such as reference signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, etc.) and / or synchronization signals, under the overall control of the communication control module 43. Measurements are performed according to measurement configuration information received from the base station 3 (e.g., information defining one or more CSI reporting configurations in conjunction with information configuring one or more CSI resources or sets of CSI resources). The measurement management module 45 is responsible for managing measurements for various purposes, including, but not limited to, CSI reporting, L3 reporting, L1 event-triggered L1 / L2 reporting, periodic and / or semi-persistent reporting, etc. The measurement signal management module 45 is also responsible for deriving propagation channel parameters (e.g., from the DMRS) for the purpose of accurately decoding the PDSCH.

[0130] The measurement reporting module 47 is responsible for generating and transmitting appropriate reports based on measurements (e.g., CSI reports carrying appropriate information such as CQI, PMI, RI, LI, CRI, SSBRI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, cri-RSRP, cri-SINR, L3 measurement reports, L1 event-triggered, periodic, and / or semi-persistent measurement reports, depending on appropriate configuration from the base station 5). The measurement reporting module 47 is also responsible for determining when activation / deactivation / triggering of measurement reports related to base station initiated measurement signals (e.g., semi-persistent / aperiodic CSI-RS reports) has occurred and when entry / de-activation conditions have been met for event-triggered reports.

[0131] base station FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the main components of a base station 5 for the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the base station 5 includes transceiver circuitry 51 for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from communication devices (such as UE 3) via one or more antennas 53 (e.g., single or multi-panel antenna arrays / large-scale antennas), and a core network interface 55 (e.g., comprising N2, N3, and other reference points / interfaces) for transmitting signals to and receiving signals from network nodes within the core network 7. Although not shown, the base station 5 may also be coupled to other base stations via appropriate interfaces (e.g., the so-called "Xn" interface in NR). The base station 5 includes a controller 57 that controls the operation of the base station 5. The controller 57 is associated with a memory 59. Software may be pre-installed in the memory 59 and / or downloaded, for example, via the communication system 1 or from a removable data storage device (RMD). The controller 57 is arranged in this example to control the overall operation of the base station 5 by means of programmed or software instructions stored in a memory 59 .

[0132] As shown, these software instructions include, among other things, an operating system 61, a communications control module 63, a measurement configuration management module 65, and a measurement report management module 67.

[0133] The communication control module 63 is operable to control communications between the base station 5, the UE 3, and other network entities connected to the base station 5. The communication control module 63 is configured to generally control the reception and decoding of uplink communications over associated uplink channels (e.g., over the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), random-access channel (RACH), and / or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), including both dynamic and semi-static signaling (e.g., SRS). The communication control module 63 is also configured to generally handle the transmission of downlink communications over associated downlink channels (e.g., over the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)), including both dynamic and semi-static signaling (e.g., CSI-RS, SSBs, etc.). The communications control module 63 is also responsible for determining and scheduling resources to be used by the UE 3, for example, for receiving on the DL / transmitting on the UL, appropriately configuring slots / symbols (e.g., for UL, DL, flexible, full-duplex communications, etc.), configuring one or more bandwidth portions for the UE 3, and providing related configuration signaling to the UE 3.

[0134] It will be appreciated that the communication control module 63 may include several sub-modules (or "layers") that support specific functions. For example, the communication control module 63 may include a PHY sub-module, a MAC sub-module, an RLC sub-module, a PDCP sub-module, an SDAP sub-module, an IP sub-module, an RRC sub-module, etc.

[0135] The measurement configuration management module 65, under the overall control of the communication control module 63, is responsible for managing tasks related to the transmission of downlink signals for measurement at the UE 3, such as reference signals and / or synchronization signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, DMRS, etc.), and the reception and measurement of uplink signals for measurement at the base station 5 (e.g., SRS, etc.). The measurement configuration management module 65 is also responsible for configuring appropriate resources for such measurement signals (e.g., CSI-RS resources, etc.), and for configuring UE reports related to the measurement signals (e.g., CSI reports carrying appropriate information such as CQI, PMI, RI, LI, CRI, SSBRI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, cri-RSRP, cri-SINR, L3 measurement reports, L1 event-triggered, periodic, and / or semi-persistent measurement reports, etc.). The measurement configuration management module 65 is also responsible for activating / deactivating / triggering reports related to measurement signals (e.g., semi-persistent / aperiodic CSI-RS reports, etc.), when appropriate.

[0136] The measurement report management module 67 is responsible for receiving and processing measurement-based reports (e.g., CSI reports carrying appropriate information such as CQI, PMI, RI, LI, CRI, SSBRI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, cri-RSRP, cri-SINR, L3 measurement reports, L1 event-triggered, periodic, and / or semi-persistent measurement reports).

[0137] L1 UE event triggered reporting resource configuration and activation Possible mechanisms for activation / triggering of L1 event-based reporting in the communication system 1 of FIG. 1 will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to Tables 3 and 4.

[0138] As explained above, CSI-RS transmissions can be configured as periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic, while SSB transmissions are configured as periodic transmissions. On the other hand, L1 event-based reporting can be solely event-based or based on a combination of event triggers and periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic reporting. L1 event-based measurement reports can be sent as UCI in either the PUCCH or the UCI portion of the PUSCH.

[0139] For one possible mechanism for activating / triggering L1 event-based reporting, the supported combinations of L1 measurement reporting configurations and SSB / CSI-RS configurations, and how L1 measurement reporting (e.g., for LTM) is activated / triggered for each SSB / CSI-RS configuration, are summarized in Table 3 below. [Table 3]

[0140] In the example of Table 3, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions, measurement reporting triggered by L1 events only (on either PUCCH or PUSCH) is configured and initiated by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC) (without dynamic activation / deactivation). However, measurement reporting triggered by L1 events only is not supported for semi-persistent or aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions.

[0141] Similarly, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions, event-triggered periodic L1 measurement reporting is configured and initiated by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC) (without dynamic activation / deactivation). However, event-triggered periodic L1 measurement reporting is not supported for semi-persistent or aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions.

[0142] In contrast, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions and semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, event-triggered semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting on the PUCCH is activated / deactivated by an activation command using an appropriate MAC CE. Semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions can also be activated / deactivated by an activation command using an appropriate MAC CE. On the other hand, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions and semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, event-triggered semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting on the PUSCH is triggered using a DCI. However, event-triggered semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting is not supported for aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions.

[0143] Event-triggered aperiodic L1 measurement reporting is triggered using DCI for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions, semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, and aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions. Aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions may also be triggered using DCI.

[0144] It will be appreciated that the activation / deactivation MAC CE and trigger DCI used may be similar to those described for CSI reporting, however, dedicated L1 measurement activation / deactivation MAC CE and trigger DCI used may be used.

[0145] Regarding different possible mechanisms for activating / triggering L1 event-based reporting, the supported combinations of L1 measurement reporting configurations and SSB / CSI-RS configurations, and how L1 measurement reporting (e.g., for LTM) is activated / triggered for each SSB / CSI-RS configuration, are summarized in Table 4 below. [Table 4]

[0146] In the example of Table 4, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions, semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, and aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions, measurement reports triggered only by L1 events on the PUCCH are activated / deactivated by activation commands using the appropriate MAC CE, while measurement reports triggered only by L1 events on the PUSCH are triggered using DCI.

[0147] For periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions, event-triggered periodic L1 measurement reporting is configured and initiated by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC) (without dynamic activation / deactivation). However, event-triggered periodic L1 measurement reporting is not supported for semi-persistent or aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions.

[0148] In contrast, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions and semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, event-triggered semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting on the PUCCH is activated / deactivated by an activation command using an appropriate MAC CE. Semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions can also be activated / deactivated by an activation command using an appropriate MAC CE. On the other hand, for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions and semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, event-triggered semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting on the PUSCH is triggered using a DCI. However, event-triggered semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting is not supported for aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions.

[0149] Event-triggered aperiodic L1 measurement reporting is triggered using DCI for periodic CSI-RS / SSB transmissions, semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions, and aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions. Aperiodic CSI-RS transmissions may also be triggered using DCI.

[0150] It will be appreciated that the activation / deactivation MAC CE and trigger DCI used may be similar to those described for CSI reporting, however, dedicated L1 measurement activation / deactivation MAC CE and trigger DCI used may be used.

[0151] Two-stage event-triggered measurement reporting Other possible mechanisms and mechanism variations for L1 event-based reporting in the communication system 1 of Figure 1 will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to Figures 7 to 10. It will be understood that the described "two-stage" mechanism may be implemented as an alternative to, but not mutually exclusive from, the mechanisms described above with reference to Tables 3 and 4.

[0152] Generalized two-stage event-triggered measurement reporting FIG. 8 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating a possible generalized two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting, and each of FIGS. 9 to 11 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating a more specific two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting based on the general mechanism shown in FIG. 8.

[0153] 8, the base station 5 determines a measurement configuration for L1 measurements for LTM. The measurement configuration may include, for example, a resource configuration, a reporting configuration for L1 measurements, and information defining one or more L1 events (at S810). The configuration may include, for example, a configuration of one or more resources or sets of resources used for transmitting signals (e.g., CSI-RS and / or SSB) for measurements and associated triggers of one or more L1 events, a configuration of the quantity / quantities to be reported, a configuration of L1 parameters defining one or more L1 event conditions, and possible other measurement reporting parameters (described elsewhere in this document).

[0154] The base station 5 also determines (at S812) one or more allocations of PUCCH resources to be used by the UE for transmission on the UL. The allocations may include PUCCH resources for transmission of one or more scheduling requests (SRs) and / or may include one or more dedicated periodic PUCCH resources for transmission of an indication that L1 measurements are available.

[0155] It will be appreciated that although the decisions made at S810 and S812 are shown in a particular sequential order, they may be made in any order or simultaneously.

[0156] The base station 5 sends configuration signaling to the UE 3 at S814. The configuration signaling includes information identifying the one or more PUCCH resource allocations determined at S812 and information identifying the measurement configuration determined at S810. The configuration signaling may use any suitable signaling protocol, for example an RRC protocol (e.g., RRC setup, (re)configuration, and / or resumption signaling), and may include one or more messages.

[0157] UE3 (at S816) performs configured L1 measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR) on signals (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS) transmitted using one or more resources / resource sets configured for the measurements and monitors for triggering of L1 events.

[0158] If an L1 event is triggered (at S816) and a measurement report is prepared (at S819), the UE3 sends (at S820) an initial indication that an L1 measurement report is available using one or more allocated PUCCH resources (e.g., a PUCCH resource for SR or a periodic PUCCH resource dedicated to sending such an indication).

[0159] Upon receiving the initial instruction, the base station 5 schedules (at S822) one or more dynamic PUSCH resources for the UE to send L1 measurement reports on the UL. The base station 5 signals (at S824) the scheduled dynamic UL resource(s) (e.g., PUSCH) to the UE 3 using appropriate signaling (e.g., DCI transmitted on the PDCCH using DCI format 0_0 / 0_1, etc.).

[0160] The UE 3 then transmits (at S826) a measurement report to the base station 5 on the UL (eg, PUSCH) using one or more scheduled resources.

[0161] This allows the base station 5 to decide whether to initiate an LTM mobility procedure (eg, change of cell) based on the content of the measurement report.

[0162] As will be explained in more detail below, the content of the measurement report may be provided, for example, by a dedicated L1 measurement report MAC CE (such as, for example, an "L1 Measurement Report" MAC CE). The L1 Measurement Report MAC Control Element may be identified, for example, by a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) subheader with a specific logical channel identifier (LCID). As will be explained in more detail below, the MAC CE may have a fixed size or a dynamic size depending on the content within the L1 measurement report. Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that while the use of a MAC CE provides some advantages, it may alternatively or additionally be provided to report L1 measurements using UCI in the UCI portion of the PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0163] Old SR-based two-stage event-triggered measurement reporting Figure 9 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating a possible scheduling request-based two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting. This procedure is similar to the generalized mechanism shown in Figure 8, but takes advantage of many of the older features.

[0164] Although not shown in Figure 9 for simplicity, as in the procedure of Figure 8, the base station 5 may first determine a measurement configuration for L1 measurements for LTM. The measurement configuration may include, for example, a resource configuration, a reporting configuration for L1 measurements, and information defining one or more L1 events. The configuration may include, for example, a configuration of one or more resources or sets of resources used to transmit signals (e.g., CSI-RS and / or SSB) for measurements and associated triggers of one or more L1 events, a configuration of the quantity / quantities to be reported, a configuration of L1 parameters defining one or more L1 event conditions, and possible other measurement reporting parameters (described elsewhere in this document).

[0165] Similarly, as in the procedure of Figure 8, the base station 5 of Figure 9 may also determine one or more allocations of PUCCH resources to be used by the UE for transmission in the UL, which in this example may include old SR PUCCH resources for transmission of one or more scheduling requests.

[0166] The base station 5 sends configuration signaling to the UE 3 at S914. The configuration signaling includes information identifying one or more PUCCH resource allocations and information identifying a measurement configuration. The configuration signaling may use any suitable signaling protocol, for example an RRC protocol (e.g., RRC setup, (re)configuration, and / or resumption signaling), and may include one or more messages.

[0167] UE3 (at S916) performs configured L1 measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR) on signals (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS) transmitted using one or more resources / resource sets configured for the measurements and monitors for triggering of L1 events.

[0168] If an L1 event is triggered (at S916) and a measurement report MAC CE is prepared (at S919), the UE 3 determines (at S921) whether there are any PUSCH resources available.

[0169] If no PUSCH resources are available at S921, the UE 3 triggers (at S923) a scheduling request procedure and determines (at S925) whether there are any PUCCH resources available for SR PUCCH transmission.

[0170] If SR PUCCH resources are available at S925, the UE 3 sends a scheduling request (at S920) using one or more of the available SR PUCCH resources. If SR PUCCH resources are not available at S925, the UE 3 triggers a random access channel (RACH) procedure (at S920) to obtain resource grants for transmission in the uplink.

[0171] Upon receiving the scheduling request, or as part of the RACH procedure, the base station 5 determines (at S922) one or more uplink (e.g. PUSCH) resources for the UE to transmit the L1 measurement report on the UL. The base station 5 signals (at S924) the scheduled UL resource(s) to the UE 3 using appropriate signaling (e.g. DCI transmitted on the PDCCH using DCI format 0_0 / 0_1 in the case of a scheduling request, a random access response (RAR) message in the case of a RACH procedure, etc.).

[0172] After receiving the UL grant at S924 or if PUSCH resources are found to be available at S921, the UE 3 sends a measurement report to the base station 5 (at S926) on the UL (e.g., PUSCH) using one or more scheduled / available resources.

[0173] This allows the base station 5 to decide whether to initiate an LTM mobility procedure (eg, change of cell) based on the content of the measurement report.

[0174] As mentioned above and explained in more detail below, the content of the measurement report may, for example, be provided by a dedicated L1 measurement report MAC CE (such as, for example, an "L1 Measurement Report" MAC CE). Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that L1 measurements may be provided to be reported using UCI in the UCI part of the PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0175] Dedicated SR PUCCH resource-based two-stage event-triggered measurement reporting Figure 10 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating another possible two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting. Similar to the procedure in Figure 9, this procedure uses SR PUCCH resources, but in this case the base station 5 allocates dedicated SR-type periodic PUCCH resources for L1 event-triggered measurement reporting.

[0176] 10, the base station 5 determines a measurement configuration for L1 measurements for LTM. The measurement configuration may include, for example, a resource configuration, a reporting configuration for L1 measurements, and information defining one or more L1 events (at S1010). The configuration may include, for example, a configuration of one or more resources or sets of resources used for transmitting signals (e.g., CSI-RS and / or SSB) for measurements and associated triggers of one or more L1 events, a configuration of the quantity / quantities to be reported, a configuration of L1 parameters defining one or more L1 event conditions, and possible other measurement reporting parameters (described elsewhere in this document).

[0177] The base station 5 also determines (at S1012) one or more allocations of L1 measurement report dedicated SR type PUCCH resources to be used by the UE to send L1 measurement report indications on the UL, in this example this allocation is in addition to any allocation of PUCCH resources allocated for SR to support the old SR procedure.

[0178] It will be appreciated that although the decisions made in S1010 and S1012 are shown in a particular sequential order, they may be made in any order or simultaneously.

[0179] The base station 5 sends configuration signaling to the UE 3 at S1014. The configuration signaling includes information identifying one or more PUCCH resource allocations determined at S1012 and information identifying the measurement configuration determined at S1010. The configuration signaling may use any suitable signaling protocol, for example an RRC protocol (e.g., RRC setup, (re)configuration, and / or resumption signaling), and may include one or more messages.

[0180] UE3 performs (at S1016) configured L1 measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR) on signals (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS) transmitted using one or more resources / resource sets configured for the measurements and monitors for triggering of L1 events.

[0181] If an L1 event is triggered (at S1016) and measurement reporting is ready (at S1019), the UE 3 sends (at S1020) an initial indication that L1 measurement reporting is available using one or more allocated SR-type PUCCH resources dedicated to L1 measurement reporting. This indication can be, for example, a single bit-based indication (such as a flag) to use one of the allocated PUCCH resources at a given transmission opportunity.

[0182] Upon receiving the initial instruction, the base station 5 schedules (at S1022) appropriate resources (e.g., PUSCH) for the UE to send L1 measurement reports on the UL. The base station 5 signals (at S1024) the one or more scheduled resources to the UE 3 using appropriate signaling (e.g., DCI transmitted on the PDCCH using DCI format 0_0 / 0_1, etc.).

[0183] The UE 3 then transmits (at S1026) the measurement report to the base station 5 on the UL (e.g., PUSCH) using one or more scheduled resources. As will be explained in more detail below, the content of the measurement report may be provided, for example, by a dedicated L1 measurement report MAC CE (e.g., an "L1 Measurement Report" MAC CE). In this example, the size of the MAC CE used to carry the L1 measurement report is fixed, so the scheduled resources are selected to be sufficient (i.e., of sufficient capacity / size) to match (or exceed) the fixed size of the MAC CE used to carry the L1 measurement report. However, it will be appreciated that the size of the MAC CE may be variable, and the L1 measurement indication may be configured to indicate the size of the MAC CE / measurement report to be sent (or the amount of resources required to send the measurement report), as will be explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. 11.

[0184] Dedicated PUCCH resource-based two-stage event-triggered measurement reporting Figure 11 is a simplified sequence diagram illustrating another possible two-stage mechanism for L1 event-based measurement reporting. In this example, rather than using a dedicated SR-type PUCCH resource, the procedure uses a new type of periodic PUCCH resource dedicated for L1 event-triggered measurement reporting.

[0185] 11, the base station 5 determines a measurement configuration for L1 measurements for LTM. The measurement configuration may include, for example, a resource configuration, a reporting configuration for L1 measurements, and information defining one or more L1 events (at S1110). The configuration may include, for example, a configuration of one or more resources or sets of resources used for transmitting signals (e.g., CSI-RS and / or SSB) for measurements and associated triggers of one or more L1 events, a configuration of the quantity / quantities to be reported, a configuration of L1 parameters defining one or more L1 event conditions, and possible other measurement reporting parameters (described elsewhere in this document).

[0186] The base station 5 also determines (at S1112) one or more allocations of PUCCH resources of type dedicated to L1 measurement reports to be used specifically by the UE 3 for transmitting L1 measurement report indications on the UL.

[0187] It will be appreciated that although the decisions made at S1110 and S1112 are shown in a particular sequential order, they may be made in any order or simultaneously.

[0188] The base station 5 sends configuration signaling to the UE 3 in S1114. The configuration signaling includes information identifying one or more PUCCH resource allocations determined in S1112 and information identifying the measurement configuration determined in S1110. The configuration signaling may use any suitable signaling protocol, for example an RRC protocol (e.g., RRC setup, (re)configuration, and / or resumption signaling), and may include one or more messages.

[0189] UE3 (at S1116) performs configured L1 measurements (e.g., L1-RSRP and / or L1-SINR) on signals (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS) transmitted using one or more resources / resource sets configured for the measurements and monitors for triggering of L1 events.

[0190] If an L1 event is triggered (at S1116) and a measurement report is prepared (at S1119), the UE 3 sends (at S1120) an initial indication that an L1 measurement report is available using one or more allocated PUCCH resources of a type dedicated to L1 measurement reports. This indication may include multiple bits (e.g., two bits) using, for example, PUCCH resources allocated by the network. For example, in the case of a two-bit indication, each different combination of the two bits (00, 01, 10, 11) can represent a different possible MAC CE / measurement report size to be sent (or the amount of resources required to send the measurement report). Specifically, if there is an available measurement report, the UE 3 calculates the size of the L1 measurement report / MAC CE required to carry the L1 measurement report and transmits a corresponding indication (i.e., a multiple-bit-based indication) via one of the allocated PUCCH resources for a given transmission opportunity.

[0191] It will be appreciated that a table mapping the multi-bit based indication to actual MAC CE / L1 measurement report sizes can be defined and stored at the UE 3 / base station 5. This mapping table may be fixed and pre-configured, or may be (re)configurable (e.g. to represent different possible ranges of MAC CE sizes).

[0192] Upon receiving the initial instruction, the base station 5 schedules (at S1122) appropriate resources (e.g., PUSCH) for the UE to send L1 measurement reports on the UL. The base station 5 signals (at S1124) the one or more scheduled resources to the UE 3 using appropriate signaling (e.g., DCI transmitted on the PDCCH using DCI format 0_0 / 0_1, etc.).

[0193] The UE 3 then transmits (at S1126) the measurement report to the base station 5 on the UL (e.g., PUSCH) using one or more scheduled resources. As will be explained in more detail below, the content of the measurement report may be provided, for example, by a dedicated L1 measurement report MAC CE (e.g., an "L1 Measurement Report" MAC CE). In this example, since the size of the MAC CE used to carry the L1 measurement report is variable, the scheduled resources are selected to be sufficient (i.e., of sufficient capacity / size) to match (or exceed) the variable size of the MAC CE used to carry the L1 measurement report (and as indicated by the indication that an L1 measurement report is available). However, it will be appreciated that the size of the MAC CE / measurement report may be fixed and the L1 measurement indication may be a fixed (unchanging) indication (e.g., a single bit / flag), as discussed in more detail above with reference to FIG. 10.

[0194] MAC-CE based L1 measurement reporting As mentioned above, the L1 measurement report may be transmitted using the MAC CE.

[0195] In one example, the L1 Measurement Report MAC CE includes, for each reported measurement result, an identifier associated with the target of the measurement (e.g., PCI associated with the TRP / cell / beam to which the result relates), information identifying the reference signal to which the result relates (e.g., RS ID), and the measurement report.

[0196] For each serving cell and / or candidate cell to which one or more reported measurements relate, the MAC CE may include, for example, one or more of the following (as appropriate): - an indication of whether each reported result / set of results is at the cell level or at the beam level (e.g., if results of both types of beam-level and cell-level filtering exist) (the appropriate length of this cell-level / beam-level indicator field may be, for example, 1 bit); - Measurement quantity for each measurement result (e.g., whether the measurement quantity was L1-RSRP or L1-SINR); - an indication of the number of beams reported (e.g., for any measurement result for beam level reporting) (a suitable length of this field may be, for example, 2 bits); - a cell identity for each measurement result / set of measurement results indicating the identity (such as serving cell identity or candidate cell identity) of the serving cell or candidate cell to which the measurement result applies (a suitable length of this cell identity field may be, for example, 5 bits for each cell ID); - a resource set identifier (e.g., for an SSB / CSI-RS resource set) of the / each measured resource set configured for L1 mobility measurement reporting in the identified cell (a suitable length of this field may be, for example, 6 bits); -One or more sets of measurements for each cell: One or more sets of measurements for each cell: Each reported L1-RSRP value may, for example, be an absolute value (e.g., 7 bits), or differential reporting may be used in which one or more L1-RSRP values ​​are reported as a differential value (e.g., 4 bits) relative to another reported "base" absolute value (e.g., 7 bits) of L1-RSRP (e.g., the base value may be the highest (or lowest) reported L1-RSRP). --Furthermore, each reported L1-SINR value may, for example, be an absolute value (e.g., 7 bits), or differential reporting may be used in which one or more L1-SINR values ​​are reported as a differential value (e.g., 4 bits) relative to another reported "reference" absolute value (e.g., 7 bits) of L1-SINR (e.g., the reference value may be the highest (or lowest) reported L1-SINR). - a respective measurement identifier for each reported measurement result / set of measurements (a suitable length of this field may be, for example, 6 bits); and / or - An indication of the number of reported candidate cells (a suitable length of this field may be, for example, 3 bits).

[0197] Definition of one or more L1 events to trigger L1 measurement reporting Events for triggering L1 measurement reports can be configured to closely correspond to L3 measurement report events, but LTM has the advantage of supporting a reduced number of event types (compared to L3 measurement report events) with simplified event trigger conditions (e.g., without specifying hysteresis).

[0198] For example, in one embodiment, to support LTM, the following dedicated reporting events can be configured for L1 measurement reporting: Event type 1: The candidate cell becomes better than (exceeds) the threshold value. Event type 2: The candidate cell has a better (larger) offset than the serving cell

[0199] The events may be configured by the base station 5, for example, as part of a CSI reporting configuration (e.g., similar to that described above for CSI reporting), but via a reporting configuration sent to the UE 3, in which the L1 reporting events are defined (e.g., in a similar manner as described above for L3 measurement reporting).

[0200] Measurements may be configured for time domain and / or cell level filtering (e.g., L1 filtering) to introduce a certain amount of averaging, in which case the reporting configuration may include an IE / field to indicate the type of filtering to be applied. For example, a 2-bit (e.g., 00, 01, 10, 11) or enumerated IE / field (e.g., Filtering Type{None, Time domain, Cell level, Time domain&Cell level}) may be used to indicate four different possibilities. For time domain filtering / averaging, an averaging window (period) size may be specified / configured in the UE 3.

[0201] As mentioned above, the base station 5 can provide simultaneous configuration of both UE event triggers and either periodic, semi-persistent, and / or aperiodic reporting to the UE 3. In the event of such configuration, measurement reporting can proceed in several different ways.

[0202] For example, periodic, semi-persistent, and / or aperiodic measurement reports according to the associated reporting configuration may include both periodic, semi-persistent, and / or aperiodic type measurement results and any measurement results for which an event trigger has been met.

[0203] In another example, only measurements for which a specified trigger event threshold is met (e.g., according to the periodic / semi-persistent reporting configuration) are sent in periodic / semi-persistent reports with the periodicity specified in the periodic reporting configuration.

[0204] In another example, when the measurement results meet a specified event trigger, any periodic / semi-persistent reports according to the reporting configuration will begin to be sent (e.g., until the event trigger is no longer met, or until reporting is stopped as a result of another condition being met, or according to some other mechanism). For example, one or more measurement thresholds can be configured for events for starting and / or stopping periodic / semi-persistent L1 measurement reporting.

[0205] These start / stop thresholds can be based on L3-type measurement results (e.g., L3-filtered measurement results of RSRP / RSRQ / SINR) for LTM events corresponding to L3-type events (e.g., Type A3 and Type A4 or Type Condition A3 and Type Condition A4). Alternatively, the start / stop thresholds can be based on L1-type measurement results (without L3 filtering, but which may be L1 / L2-filtered measurement results) for specifically defined (e.g., Type 1 / Type 2) L1 measurement reporting events.

[0206] The threshold may be configured as part of a report type configuration provided to UE 3 (e.g., in a CSI reporting configuration), and any suitable information structure / element may be used. Selected portions of one such information structure / element are shown (for illustrative purposes only) in Figures 12A and 12B. As seen in box (a) of Figure 12A, for a periodic reporting configuration (using the "periodic" IE), there is shown a reporting configuration type indication (reportConfigType IE) that defines the periodicity and slot offset of the reporting slot configuration (reportSlotConfig IE defined by the CSI-ReportPeriodicityAndOffset IE), and an associated list (pucch-CSI-ResourceList) that indicates, for each BWP (1...maxNrofBWPs), which PUCCH resource (pucch-CSI-Resource) to use for reporting on the PUCCH. In this example, the configuration also includes information for configuring event triggering (eventTriggeredL1 / EventTriggerConfigL1).

[0207] A portion of the possible IEs (CondTriggerConfigL1-r18 IE) for configuring a "conditional" event-triggered reporting type for an L1 event (e.g., to support LTM) is shown in box (b) of Figure 12B. As seen in box (b) of Figure 12B, the depicted portion of the IEs for configuring the conditional event-triggered reporting type includes IEs for configuring the parameters of two conditional L1 events for supporting LTM: a conditional A3-like event (condL1EventA3-r18 IE) and a conditional A4-like event (condL1EventA4-r18 IE), which reflect events A3 and A4, respectively. The IEs configuring a conditional L1 event such as A3 (condL1EventA3-r18 IE) define the offset and time to trigger values ​​to be used (a3-Offset-L1 IE and timeToTriggerL1-r18 IE), while the IEs configuring a conditional L1 event such as A4 (condL1EventA4-r18 IE) define the threshold and time to trigger values ​​to be used (a4-thresholdL1-r18 IE and timeToTrigger-L1-r18 IE).

[0208] Inter-cell beam management (ICBM) Some enhancements to support inter-cell beam management (ICBM) will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to Figure 13, which shows a method that may be performed by UE3 to select a subset of measurement results to report.

[0209] 13, UE3 (at S1310) ranks the beams / cells (e.g., from highest to lowest) based on, for example, measurements. It will be appreciated that in the case of event-triggered reporting, the ordered measurement results may include only those measurement results that meet the reporting criteria defined for the corresponding event.

[0210] The UE 3 then selects one beam per frequency and per cell for reporting until all beams have been reported or the maximum number of reportable beams has been reached.

[0211] Therefore, beneficially, this technique helps reduce reporting overhead by appropriate beam / cell selection per frequency or across frequencies for reporting.

[0212] It will be appreciated that the reporting of measurements may be subject to certain thresholds (which may be configured by the network) and only measurements above the certain thresholds will be reported.

[0213] It will be understood that the selection order can be based on a cell / carrier prioritization. Alternatively or additionally, the maximum number of beams to be reported per carrier and / or the number of cells to be reported can be (pre-)configured (the selection of beams to report can follow the maximum number of beams per carrier and / or the maximum number of cells). Alternatively or additionally, the maximum number of beams to be reported per cell may be (pre-)configured (the selection of beams to report can follow the maximum number of beams to be reported per cell). Furthermore, only a subset of measurement results may be reported, for example, only those measurements above a specified threshold may be reported.

[0214] Beneficially, the report may include a flexible size beam report. For example, the flexible size report may be sent using two-part uplink control information (e.g., in which a first part indicates results for one or more optimal beams / cells and indicates the total number of reported beams / cells (e.g., Nbeam), and a second part includes results for the remaining beams / cells).

[0215] Beneficially, the maximum number of reported beams may be augmented to increase the maximum number of reported beams (previously four for ICBMs). For example, in a communication system where the maximum number of reported beams in a measurement report is increased from four, the maximum number may be configurable. For example, the maximum number may be configured to be an integer multiple of four (i.e., N×4), or another suitable integer value, where N is configurable. N may have a default value (e.g., N=1 or N=2, so that four beams for each of two cells / carriers or two beams for each of four cells / carriers can be reported).

[0216] It will also be appreciated that measurement reports in ICBM reporting format (or other reporting formats) may include measurement results resulting from inter-frequency measurements.

[0217] Beam indication for LTM in the context of serving / candidate cells supporting the old TCI framework. As described above, the beam pointing mechanism for LTM used in communication system 1 is based on the unified TCI framework, but the beam pointing mechanism within communication system 1 also supports situations where at least one of the serving cell and candidate cells only supports an older (e.g., Release 15) TCI framework.

[0218] Specifically, referring to Figure 14, which is a simplified sequence diagram of a portion of the procedure for LTM, when indicating a TCI state in a cell switch command for LTM, the TCI state indicated in the cell switch command defaults to that for an SSB beam.

[0219] However, in one example, support for the old framework may be provided by further beam instructions (e.g., for CSI-RS, CORESET, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH) that may be sent after the cell switch command for any candidate cells that only support the old TCI framework, as shown in S1410.

[0220] In another example, in addition to the TCI state of the target cell, the separate TCI state of each channel may also be included in the cell switch command, as shown in S1412.

[0221] Modifications and Alternatives Detailed embodiments have been described above. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, multiple modifications and alternatives can be made to the above embodiments while still benefiting from the disclosure embodied therein.

[0222] For example, terms specific to a cellular communication generation (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, etc.) may be used to refer to a particular communication entity for clarity, but it will be understood that technical features described for a given entity are not limited to devices of that particular communication generation. The technical features may be implemented in any functionally equivalent communication entity regardless of the terms used to refer to them.

[0223] In the above description, the UE and base station have been described for ease of understanding as having several separate functional components or modules. While these modules may be provided in this manner in certain applications, for example, where an existing system is modified to implement the present disclosure, in other applications, for example, in systems designed from the beginning with the features of the present invention in mind, these modules may be incorporated into the overall operating system or code and therefore may not be identifiable as separate entities.

[0224] In the above embodiments, several software modules have been described. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the software modules may be provided in compiled or uncompiled form and may be supplied to the base station or UE as a signal over a computer network or on a recording medium. Furthermore, the functions performed by some or all of this software may be performed using one or more dedicated hardware circuits. However, the use of software modules is preferred because it facilitates updating the base station or UE to update its functionality.

[0225] Each controller may comprise any suitable form of processing circuitry, including, for example, but not limited to, one or more hardware-implemented computer processors, microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), arithmetic logic units (ALUs), input / output (IO) circuitry, internal memory / cache (program and / or data), processing registers, communication buses (such as, for example, a control bus, a data bus, and / or an address bus), direct memory access (DMA) facilities, hardware or software-implemented counters, pointers, and / or timers, etc. Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will not be described in further detail herein.

[0226] The base station may comprise a "distributed" base station having a central unit "CU" and one or more individual distributed units (DUs).

[0227] User equipment (or "UE," "mobile station," "mobile device," or "wireless device") in this disclosure is an entity that connects to a network via a wireless interface.

[0228] It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to dedicated communication devices, but can be applied to any device having communication capabilities as described in the following paragraphs.

[0229] The terms "user equipment" or "UE" (as this term is used by 3GPP), "mobile station," "mobile device," and "wireless device" are generally intended to be synonymous with each other and include standalone mobile stations such as terminals, cell phones, smartphones, tablets, cellular IoT devices, IoT devices, and machines. It will be understood that the terms "mobile station" and "mobile device" also encompass devices that remain stationary for extended periods of time.

[0230] The UE may be, for example, an item of equipment for production or manufacturing and / or an item of energy-related machinery (such as, for example, equipment or machinery such as boilers, engines, turbines, solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric generators, thermal generators, nuclear generators, batteries, nuclear systems and / or related equipment, heavy electrical machinery, pumps including vacuum pumps, compressors, fans, blowers, hydraulic equipment, pneumatic equipment, metalworking machinery, manipulators, robots and / or application systems thereof, tools, dies or molds, rolls, conveying equipment, elevators, material handling equipment, textile machinery, sewing machinery, printing and / or related machinery, paper converting machinery, chemical machinery, mining machinery and / or construction machinery and / or related equipment, machinery and / or implements for the agricultural, forestry, and / or fisheries industries, safety and / or environmental protection equipment, tractors, precision bearings, chains, gears, power transmission equipment, lubrication equipment, valves, pipe fittings, and / or application systems for any of the foregoing equipment or machinery, etc.).

[0231] A UE may be, for example, an item of transportation equipment (e.g., rail cars, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, trains, buses, carts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, aircraft, rockets, satellites, drones, balloons, etc.).

[0232] A UE may be, for example, an item of information and communications equipment (eg, information and communications equipment such as electronic computers and related equipment, communications and related equipment, electronic components, etc.).

[0233] The UE may be, for example, a refrigerator, a refrigerator application product, an item of trade and / or service industry equipment, a vending machine, an automated service machine, an office machine or equipment, a home appliance or electronic device (e.g., household appliances such as audio equipment, video equipment, loudspeakers, radios, televisions, microwave ovens, rice cookers, coffee machines, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, electric fans or related equipment, vacuum cleaners, etc.).

[0234] The UE may be, for example, an electrical application system or device (such as, for example, an electrical application system or device, such as an x-ray system, a particle accelerator, a radioisotope device, a sonic device, an electromagnetic application device, a power application device, etc.).

[0235] The UE may be, for example, an electronic lamp, a lighting fixture, a measuring instrument, an analyzer, a tester, or a surveying or detecting device (such as, for example, a smoke alarm, a human alarm sensor, a motion sensor, a radio tag, or other surveying or detecting device), a watch or clock, laboratory equipment, optical equipment, medical equipment and / or systems, a weapon, an edged item, a hand tool, etc.

[0236] The UE may be, for example, a wirelessly equipped personal digital assistant or related equipment (such as a wireless card or module designed to be attached to or inserted into another electronic device (e.g., a personal computer, an electrical measuring machine, etc.)).

[0237] The UE may be part of a device or system that uses various wired and / or wireless communication technologies to provide the applications, services, and solutions described below with respect to the "internet of things (IoT)."

[0238] Internet of Things devices (or "Things") may be equipped with appropriate electronics, software, sensors, network connections, etc. that enable these devices to collect and exchange data with each other and other communicating devices. IoT devices may comprise automated machines that follow software instructions stored in internal memory. IoT devices may operate without the need for human supervision or interaction. IoT devices may also remain stationary and / or inactive for extended periods of time. IoT devices may be implemented as part of (typically) stationary equipment. IoT devices may also be incorporated into non-stationary equipment (e.g., vehicles) or attached to animals or people being monitored / tracked.

[0239] It will be appreciated that IoT technologies may be implemented on any communication device that can connect to a communication network to send / receive data, whether such communication device is controlled by human input or by software instructions stored in memory.

[0240] It will be appreciated that IoT devices may also be referred to as Machine-Type Communication (MTC) devices or Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication devices. It will be appreciated that a UE may support one or more IoT or MTC applications. Some examples of MTC applications are listed in the table below. This list is not exhaustive and is intended to indicate some examples of machine-type communication applications.

[0241] The applications, services, and solutions may include MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) services, emergency wireless communication systems, PBX (Private Branch eXchange) systems, PHS / digital cordless telecommunications systems, POS (Point of sale) systems, incoming advertising systems, MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service), V2X (Vehicle to Everything) systems, train radio systems, location-related services, disaster / emergency wireless communication services, community services, video streaming services, femtocell application services, VoLTE (Voice over LTE) services, billing services, wireless on-demand services, roaming services, activity monitoring services, telecommunications carrier / communication NW selection services, function restriction services, PoC (Proof of Concept) services, personal information management services, ad hoc networks / DTN (Delay Tolerant Networking) services, etc.

[0242] Furthermore, the above-mentioned UE categories are merely examples of applications of the concepts and exemplary embodiments described herein, and it should be understood that these concepts and embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned UEs and may be subject to various modifications.

[0243] Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will not be described in further detail here.

[0244] For example, all or part of the exemplary embodiments disclosed above can be described as follows, but are not limited to the following: (Appendix 1) 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from an access network node, first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement reporting event; performing at least one measurement based on the first information; transmitting, to the access network node, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at the access network node if at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for the at least one measurement; At least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure; method. (Appendix 2) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource over which at least one measurement signal is transmitted, and the at least one measurement signal includes at least one of at least one periodic signal, at least one semi-persistent signal, and / or at least one aperiodic signal. (Appendix 3) 3. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which the at least one periodic signal is transmitted, the event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one periodic signal is subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. (Appendix 4) 3. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which the at least one periodic signal is transmitted, the event-triggered transmission of the at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one periodic signal is not subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. (Appendix 5) 5. The method of claim 2, 3, or 4, wherein if the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which the at least one semi-persistent signal is transmitted, the event-triggered transmission of the at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one semi-persistent signal is subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. (Appendix 6) 5. The method of claim 2, 3, or 4, wherein if the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one semi-persistent signal is transmitted, event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurement of the at least one semi-persistent signal is not supported. (Appendix 7) 7. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 2 to 6, wherein if the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one aperiodic signal is transmitted, the event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurements of the at least one aperiodic signal is subject to dynamic activation or triggering by the base station. (Appendix 8) 7. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 2 to 6, wherein if the first information indicates a configuration of at least one resource on which at least one aperiodic signal is transmitted, event-triggered transmission of at least one measurement report based on measurement of at least one aperiodic signal is not supported. (Appendix 9) 9. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 8, wherein if at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, the method comprises sending an indication to an access network node that resources are required for uplink transmission, and receiving an allocation of resources for an uplink channel, wherein at least one measurement report is transmitted using those resources. (Appendix 10) 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the instructions include a scheduling request. (Appendix 11) 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the instructions include a dedicated instruction to indicate that a measurement report is available. (Appendix 12) 12. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 9 to 11, wherein the indication comprises a fixed size indication and the at least one measurement report is transmitted using a fixed size control signal. (Appendix 13) 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the instruction comprises a single-bit instruction. (Appendix 14) 12. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 9 to 11, wherein the indication indicates the amount or size of resources required for transmission of control signals carrying available measurement reports. (Appendix 15) 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the instruction comprises a multi-bit instruction. (Appendix 16) 16. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 9 to 15, wherein the indication is sent using dedicated resources of a physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node. (Appendix 17) 17. The method of claim 16, wherein dedicated resources of a physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node are allocated as scheduling request type resources dedicated to transmitting the indication. (Appendix 18) 17. The method of claim 16, wherein dedicated resources of a physical uplink control channel allocated by an access network node are allocated as a specific type of resource that is specifically dedicated to transmitting an indication to indicate that a measurement report is available. (Appendix 19) 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication is sent using resources of a physical uplink control channel allocated by the access network node for transmission of the scheduling request. (Appendix 20) 20. A method according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 19, wherein the at least one measurement report is transmitted using a control signalling structure in the form of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) carrying the at least one measurement report. (Appendix 21) 21. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 20, wherein at least one measurement report is transmitted on a physical uplink control channel or a physical uplink shared channel using a control signaling structure in the form of uplink control information (UCI). (Appendix 22) 22. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 21, wherein at least one measurement report includes at least one measurement result associated with at least one of a physical cell identifier and / or an identifier of at least one signal to which the result relates. (Appendix 23) 23. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 22, wherein at least one measurement report includes at least one measurement result in association with at least one of: an indication of whether at least one measurement result is subject to cell level filtering or beam level filtering; a measurement quantity for the at least one measurement result; the number of reported beams if beam level filtering is applied; an identifier of at least one serving cell and / or candidate cell to which the at least one measurement result applies; and / or an identifier of at least one resource set configured for the measurement report to which the at least one measurement result relates. (Appendix 24) 24. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 23, wherein at least one measurement result is included in the measurement report on the condition that at least one measurement result is greater than or equal to a specified threshold. (Appendix 25) 20. The method of claim 20 or any claim dependent thereon, wherein the at least one measurement result comprises a plurality of measurement results, a first measurement result of the plurality of measurement results being represented in the at least one measurement report by an indication of an absolute value corresponding to the first measurement result, and at least one other measurement result of the plurality of measurement results being represented in the at least one measurement report by an indication of a difference value relative to the absolute value corresponding to the at least one other measurement result. (Appendix 26) 26. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 25, wherein the at least one parameter defined by the second information includes a threshold for triggering at least one measurement reporting event based on a comparison of at least one measurement result of the cell with a threshold. (Appendix 27) 27. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 26, wherein the at least one parameter defined by the second information includes an offset for triggering at least one measurement reporting event based on a comparison of the offset of a difference between at least one measurement result of the first cell and at least one measurement result of the second cell. (Appendix 28) 28. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 27, wherein at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement reporting event is a criterion that is met without reference to a hysteresis parameter. (Appendix 29) 29. The method of any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein the second information includes third information for configuring a filtering or averaging type. (Appendix 30) 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the third information configures the filtering or averaging type to be one of no filtering or averaging, time domain filtering or averaging, cell level filtering or averaging, or both time domain and cell level filtering or averaging. (Appendix 31) 31. The method of claim 30, wherein if the filtering or averaging type is configured to include time domain averaging or filtering type filtering or averaging, the second information defines an averaging window size. (Appendix 32) 32. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 31, wherein the second information includes information for configuring the measurement report type to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic type, a semi-persistent type, or an aperiodic type. (Appendix 33) 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the at least one measurement report includes at least one measurement result of an event-triggered type and at least one measurement result of a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic type configured by information for configuring the measurement report type. (Appendix 34) 34. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 32 or 33, wherein if the information for configuring a measurement report type configures the measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic or semi-persistent type, when at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, transmission of at least one measurement report starts according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent type of measurement report. (Appendix 35) 35. The method of claim 32, 33 or 34, wherein, if the information for configuring a measurement report type configures the measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic or semi-persistent type, transmission of at least one measurement report according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent type measurement report is performed when at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met. (Appendix 36) 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the transmission of at least one measurement report of the configured periodic or semi-persistent measurement report type is performed according to the periodicity configured by the second information, on the condition that at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met. (Appendix 37) 37. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 32 to 36, wherein, when the information for configuring a measurement report type configures the measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic or semi-persistent type, the second information defines at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the configured periodic or semi-persistent type measurement report, and transmission of the at least one measurement report according to the configured periodic or semi-persistent type measurement is started or stopped based on the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the measurement report. (Appendix 38) 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping measurement reporting includes at least one threshold for Layer 3 measurements. (Appendix 39) 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping measurement reporting includes at least one threshold for Layer 1 measurements. (Appendix 40) 40. The method of any one of claims 1 to 39, wherein at least one measurement includes measurements performed on a plurality of beams, and the method includes using a selection procedure to select beams whose measurement results are to be included in the measurement report, up to a maximum number of beams. (Appendix 41) 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the selection procedure includes ranking the beams based on at least one respective measurement result for each beam, and selecting at least one beam for each of a plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells based on the ranking, until a maximum number of beams is reached. (Appendix 42) 42. The method of claim 40 or 41, wherein each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells has an associated priority, and the order in which the selection of the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells is made is based on the associated priority for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells. (Appendix 43) 43. The method of claim 40, 41, or 42, wherein the selection of at least one beam for each of a plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells is in accordance with a maximum number of beams and / or a maximum number of cells per carrier. (Appendix 44) 44. The method of any one of claims 40 to 43, wherein the selection of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or at least one beam for each of the plurality of cells is in accordance with a maximum number of beams per cell. (Appendix 45) 45. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving, from an access network node, a cell switch command for a mobility procedure, the cell switch command comprising a transmission configuration indication (TCI) common to a plurality of channels and / or signals; and receiving, for each of the plurality of channels and / or signals, a respective channel-specific or signal-specific TCI. (Appendix 46) 46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein a respective channel-specific or signal-specific TCI for each of a plurality of channels and / or signals is received separately following a cell switch command. (Appendix 47) 46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein a respective channel-specific or signal-specific TCI for each of a plurality of channels and / or signals is included in the cell switch command. (Appendix 48) 48. The method of any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 47, wherein the mobility procedure is a mobility procedure triggered at a layer below Layer 3. (Appendix 49) A user equipment (UE), means for receiving, from an access network node, first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement reporting event; means for performing at least one measurement based on the first information; means for transmitting, to an access network node, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at the access network node if at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for the at least one measurement; At least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure; user equipment (UE). (Appendix 50) 1. A method performed by an access network node, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event; receiving, from the UE, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at the access network node if at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for at least one measurement performed by the UE; making a mobility decision based on the at least one measurement report; At least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure; method. (Appendix 51) an access network node, means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), first information for configuring at least one measurement to be performed by the UE, the first information including second information for configuring a measurement report, the second information defining at least one parameter for at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event; means for receiving, from the UE, at least one measurement report for facilitating mobility decisions at an access network node when at least one criterion for triggering at least one measurement report event is met, the at least one measurement report including at least one measurement result for at least one measurement performed by the UE; means for making a mobility decision based on the at least one measurement report; At least one measurement report is transmitted using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure; Access network node.

[0245] This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from UK Patent Application No. 2300921.0, filed January 20, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [Explanation of symbols]

[0246] 1. Communication Systems 3. User Equipment 5 base station 7 Core Network 9 cells 10 Control Plane Functions 11 User Plane Functions 31 Transceiver Circuit 33 Antenna 35 User Interface 37 Controller 39 Memory 41 Operating Systems 43 Communication Control Module 45 Measurement Management Module 47 Measurement Reporting Module 51 Transceiver circuit 53 Antenna 55 Core Network Interface 57 Controller 59 Memory 61 Operating Systems 63 Communication Control Module 65 Measurement Configuration Management Module 67 Measurement Report Management Module

Claims

1. receiving, from an access network node, first information for a configuration for measurement reporting and second information for defining at least one parameter for at least one event for triggering Layer 1 measurement reporting; performing layer 1 measurements; and initiating a procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report when one or more of the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs; the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report includes transmitting the Layer 1 measurement report using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure. A method performed by a user equipment (UE).

2. the first information indicates resources for transmitting the Layer 1 measurement report; the Layer 1 measurement report is transmitted using the resource indicated by the first information. The method of claim 1.

3. receiving information to activate the Layer 1 measurement reporting; the initiating the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement reporting occurs after the activating the Layer 1 measurement reporting.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the first information indicates resources for transmitting the indication for the Layer 1 measurement report; the initiating the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report is performed by transmitting the indication using the resource indicated by the first information; the method including receiving third information regarding resources for transmitting the Layer 1 measurement report; the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report includes transmitting the Layer 1 measurement report using the resource indicated by the third information. The method of claim 1.

5. the resources are allocated to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for scheduling requests; The method of claim 4.

6. the resources are allocated to a periodic PUCCH dedicated to transmitting the indication; 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5.

7. the instruction comprises one bit of information; the indication indicating that the size of the Layer 1 measurement report is a fixed size.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

8. the instruction comprises multiple bits of information; the indication indicates a size of the Layer 1 measurement report by the multiple bits of information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

9. the Layer 1 measurement report is transmitted using a control signaling structure in the form of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) that carries the Layer 1 measurement report; 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. the Layer 1 measurement report is transmitted on a physical uplink control channel or a physical uplink shared channel using a control signaling structure in the form of uplink control information (UCI); 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. The Layer 1 measurement report: Physical cell identifier, an identifier of at least one signal to which said at least one measurement result relates; an indication of whether the at least one measurement is subject to cell-level filtering or beam-level filtering; a measurand for said at least one measurement; the number of reported beams when beam-level filtering is applied, an identity of at least one serving cell and / or candidate cell to which said at least one measurement result applies; and / or an indication of at least one resource configured for the Layer 1 measurement report to which the at least one measurement result relates; and at least one measurement result relating to at least one of 11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. the at least one measurement result includes a plurality of measurements; a first measurement result of the plurality of measurement results is represented in the Layer 1 measurement report by an indication of an absolute value corresponding to the first measurement result; at least one other measurement result of the plurality of measurement results is represented in the Layer 1 measurement report by an indication of a difference value relative to the absolute value corresponding to the at least one other measurement result. The method of claim 11.

13. The absolute value is represented by 7-bit information, The difference value is represented by 4-bit information. The method of claim 12.

14. the Layer 1 measurement report includes at least one measurement result; the at least one measurement includes measurements performed on multiple beams; the method comprising selecting beams, up to a maximum number of beams, for which measurement results are to be included in the Layer 1 measurement report.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. The selection is ranking the beams based on at least one respective measurement of each beam; selecting at least one beam for each of a plurality of carrier frequencies and / or a plurality of cells based on the ranking until the maximum number of beams is reached; To be carried out by 15. The method of claim 14.

16. each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells having an associated priority; an order in which the selection of the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells is performed based on the associated priority for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells; 16. The method of claim 14 or 15.

17. the selection of the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells is subject to a maximum number of beams and / or a maximum number of cells per carrier.

17. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16.

18. the selection of the at least one beam for each of the plurality of carrier frequencies and / or the plurality of cells is subject to a maximum number of beams per cell.

18. The method of any one of claims 14 to 17.

19. the maximum number of beams is expressed as the product of the number of beams per cell and the number of cells; 19. The method of any one of claims 14 to 18.

20. the at least one parameter includes a threshold or offset for determining that one of the at least one events for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report has occurred.

20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. the second information includes fourth information for configuring a filtering or averaging type; The filtering or averaging type is: No filtering or averaging; time domain filtering or averaging, cell-level filtering or averaging, or Both time domain and cell level filtering or averaging configured to be one of 21. The method of any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. If the filtering or averaging type is configured to include time domain averaging or filtering type filtering or averaging, the second information defines an averaging window size.

22. The method of claim 21.

23. the second information includes fifth information for configuring the type of the Layer 1 measurement report to be both an event-triggered type and one of a periodic type, a semi-persistent type, or an aperiodic type.

23. The method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

24. the Layer 1 measurement report includes at least one measurement result of the event-triggered type and at least one measurement result of the periodic type, semi-persistent type, or aperiodic type configured by the fifth information; 24. The method of claim 23.

25. the fifth information configures the Layer 1 measurement report to be both the event-triggered type and one of the periodic and semi-persistent types, and when the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs, transmission of the Layer 1 measurement report is started according to the configuration for the periodic or semi-persistent type of the Layer 1 measurement report.

25. The method of claim 23 or 24.

26. If the fifth information configures the Layer 1 measurement report to be both the event-triggered type and one of the periodic or semi-persistent type, when the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs, transmission of the Layer 1 measurement report according to the configuration for the periodic or semi-persistent type of the Layer 1 measurement report occurs.

26. The method of any one of claims 23 to 25.

27. the transmission of the Layer 1 measurement report according to the configuration for the periodic or semi-persistent type of the Layer 1 measurement report occurs according to the periodicity configured by the second information on the condition that the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs.

27. The method of claim 26.

28. When the fifth information configures the Layer 1 measurement report to be both the event-triggered type and one of the periodic or semi-persistent type, the second information defines at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping the periodic or semi-persistent type of Layer 1 measurement report, and transmission of the Layer 1 measurement report according to the periodic or semi-persistent type of Layer 1 measurement is started or stopped based on the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping measurement reporting.

28. The method of any one of claims 23 to 27.

29. the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping measurement reporting includes at least one threshold for Layer 3 measurements.

29. The method of claim 28.

30. the at least one threshold for starting and / or stopping measurement reporting comprises at least one threshold for Layer 1 measurements.

29. The method of claim 28.

31. receiving, from the access network node, a cell switch command for a mobility procedure, the cell switch command including a transmission configuration indication (TCI) common to multiple channels and / or signals; receiving a respective channel-specific or signal-specific TCI for each of a plurality of channels and / or signals; 31. The method of any one of claims 1 to 30.

32. the respective channel-specific or signal-specific TCI for each of a plurality of channels and / or signals is received separately following the cell switch command.

32. The method of claim 31 .

33. the respective channel-specific or signal-specific TCI for each of a plurality of channels and / or signals is included in the cell switch command; 32. The method of claim 31 .

34. the mobility procedure is a mobility procedure triggered at a layer below Layer 3; 32. The method of claim 31 .

35. means for receiving, from an access network node, first information for configuration for measurement reporting and second information for defining at least one parameter for at least one event for triggering Layer 1 measurement reporting; means for performing layer 1 measurements; means for initiating a procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report when one or more of the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs; the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report includes transmitting the Layer 1 measurement report using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure. User equipment (UE).

36. transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), first information for a configuration for measurement reporting and second information for defining at least one parameter for at least one event for triggering Layer 1 measurement reporting; and initiating, by the UE, a procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report when one or more of the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs; the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report includes receiving a Layer 1 measurement report using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure. A method performed by an access network node.

37. means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), first information for a configuration for measurement reporting and second information for defining at least one parameter for at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement reporting; means for receiving, by the UE, when one or more of the at least one event for triggering the Layer 1 measurement report occurs, to initiate a procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report; the procedure for the Layer 1 measurement report includes receiving a Layer 1 measurement report using a Layer 1 or Layer 2 control signaling structure. Access network node.

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