Configure the user device to generate measurement reports.

Abstract

One example provides a method in a user equipment (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting. This method includes receiving a measurement reporting configuration, wherein the configuration is associated with a resource configuration, and the resource configuration is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells. The method also includes reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Examples of the present disclosure relate to, for example, configuring a user equipment (UE) to perform measurement reports on one or more L1 / L2-triggered mobility (LTM) candidate cells.

Background Art

[0002] In 5G New Radio (NR), in order to support beam management operations, the UE is configured by the network with channel state information (CSI) measurement settings, for example, an information element (IE) CSI-MeasConfig received within an RRCReconfiguration message. This is set for each serving cell for which a CSI report should be transmitted (for example, within the ServingCellConfig of the SpCell). The signaling is defined in 3GPP TS38.331 v15.17.0.

[0003] For each CSI report that the UE needs to transmit, the UE receives an instance of a CSI report configuration (IE CSI-ReportConfig) from the network that includes a pointer to a resource configuration ID (CSI-ReportConfigId) and a parameter "carrier" that indicates the serving cell configuration in which the UE needs to find the resources configured by that resource configuration ID. The CSI_ReportConfig IE is shown below. TIFF2026517924000002.tif54170

[0004] Within the serving cell configuration indicated by the parameter "carrier", the UE receives an explicit list of CSI resources (also called a CSI resource configuration) which includes a list of channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) sets (nzp-CSI-RS-ResourceSetList,IE SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetsPerConfig))OF NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetId) and / or SSB sets (csi-SSB-ResourceSetList,IE SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofCSI-SSB-ResourceSetsPerConfig))OF CSI-SSB-ResourceSetId) for a given serving cell, e.g., a SpCell or SCell in a cell group, configured in the UE.

[0005] An instance of the reporting configuration (i.e., an instance of IE CSI-ReportConfig) associated with a given report is included in the serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfig) to which such reports are intended to be sent. In other words, if a UE has several serving cells configured with ServingCellConfig(1), ServingCellConfig(2), and ServingCellConfig(3), and the UE receives a CSI-ReportConfig(k) in ServingCellConfig(2) (i.e., in the CSI-MeasConfig of ServingCellConfig(2)), this tells the UE that the CSI report associated with CSI-ReportConfig(k) should be sent by the serving cell that has ServingCellConfig(2).

[0006] In a central unit (CU) / distributed unit (DU) separation architecture, all serving cells configured in the UE are associated with the same DU, which is called the serving DU (or source DU) and is indicated by the S-DU.

[0007] In Release 18 (Rel-18), 3GPP agreed on a Work Item (WI) concerning further new radio (NR) mobility enhancements, particularly in the technical area entitled L1 / L2 base cell-to-cell mobility. For further details, see MediaTek, “New WID on Further NR mobility enhancements,” 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #94e, RP-213565, Electronic Conference, December 6-17, 2021. According to this Work Item Description (WID), when a UE moves from the coverage area of ​​one cell to another, a serving cell change must be performed at a certain point. Currently, serving cell changes are triggered by L3 measurements and performed by a synchronized RRC signaling-triggered reconfiguration for PCell and PSCell changes, and, when applicable, for SCell release or addition. All instances involve a complete L2 (and L1) reset, which results in longer latency, greater overhead, and longer downtime compared to beam switching mobility. The goal of improving L1 / L2 mobility is to enable serving cell changes via L1 / L2 signaling to reduce latency, overhead, and downtime.

[0008] Figure 1 shows an example of the process for LTM configuration and LTM cell switching in an inter-DU scenario. The process includes the following steps: 1. The UE sends a MeasurementReport message (L3 measurement result FFS) containing measurements of neighboring cells to the source gNB-DU. The source gNB-DU sends a UL RRC message forwarding message to the gNB-CU that propagates the received MeasurementReport message. 2. The gNB-CU decides to activate the L1 / L2 trigger mobility configuration. 3. The gNB-CU sends a UE context setup request message containing the target candidate cell to the candidate gNB-DU. Either a single UE context setup procedure or multiple UE context setup procedures should be used. 4. If a candidate gNB-DU accepts the LTM configuration request, the candidate gNB-DU responds to the gNB-CU with a UE context setup response message containing the generated lower-layer RRC configuration for the accepted target candidate cells (one or more). 5. The gNB-CU sends a DL RRC message forwarding message to the source gNB-DU, which includes the generated RRCReconfiguration message with the L1 / L2 trigger mobility settings. 6. The source gNB-DU forwards the received RRCReconfiguration message to the UE. 7. The UE responds to source gNB-DU with the RRCReconfigurationComplete message. 8. The source gNB-DU forwards the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB-CU via the UL RRC message forwarding message. 9. The UE sends the lower-layer measurement results to the source gNB-DU. 10. The source gNB-DU decides to perform L1 / L2 triggered mobility to the candidate target cell. 11. Source gNB-DU sends an LTM command to UE. Editor's note: LTM commands need to be updated according to the RAN2 discussion. 12. The source gNB-DU signals the gNB-CU to initiate an L1 / L2 trigger mobility command to the UE, including the target cell ID in a new or legacy message. 13. The target gNB-DU detects UE access. 14. The target gNB-DU sends an access success message to the gNB-CU along with the target cell ID. 15. In the case of L1 / L2 triggered mobility between DUs, it is not currently specified whether and how the resources of the source cell / prepared cell in the source gNB-DU should be released.

[0009] As shown in Figure 1, for LTM, it is assumed that the UE will send the lower layer measurement results to the source gNB-DU (also referred to herein as S-DU). The UE needs to be configured to perform these measurements. At the RAN2#121bis meeting, the following was agreed upon regarding these lower layer measurements, in particular how they will be configured: • The location of the RS configuration for SSB-based measurements of candidate cells is outside the ServingCellConfig (one or more) of the current serving cell and outside the configuration of the LTM candidate cell. The RS configuration may include a PCI or logical ID, SMTC location, frequency location, and SCS, according to the RAN1 agreement. RAN2 assumes that the location of the TCI state settings for candidate cells (used before / during cell switching) is outside of the ServingCellConfig (one or more) of the current serving cell and outside of the LTM candidate cell settings (same location as the RS settings). RAN2 assumes that the reporting configuration for L1 measurements of LTM candidate cells is located within the ServingCellConfig of the current serving cell (one or more). RAN2 assumes that filtering, hysteresis, and trigger time are required for LTM-specific L1 measurements, depending on RAN1. Regarding LTM, whether L1 / L2 signaling should be assumed to control or modify L1 measurement / reporting requires further discussion (partially discussed in RAN1). RAN2 assumes that such control will be limited to certain aspects requiring frequent updates and will be constrained by the RRC settings.

[0010] Furthermore, RAN1 was previously agreed upon as detailed in the following documents: R1-2302256, “Final Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #112 v1.0.0”, ETSI MCC, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Conference #112bis-e; R1-2300001, “Final Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #111 v1.0.0”, ETSI MCC, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Conference #112; and R1-2210801, “Final Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #110bis-e v1.0.0”, ETSI MCC, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 Conference #111. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0011] Issues addressed by the examples in this disclosure may include how a UE is configured to perform lower-layer measurements with respect to one or more LTM candidate cells, and how the UE is instructed to report these measurements. In particular, how a CSI reporting configuration (e.g., a CSI-ReportConfig instance for LTMs) is associated with one or more resource configurations associated with one or more LTM candidate cells.

[0012] Examples of this disclosure may also address the problem of determining which node in a CU / DU isolation architecture is responsible for generating the one or more settings necessary to enable a UE to perform measurements on one or more LTM candidate cells and to determine which measurements are associated with which CSI reporting setting instance.

[0013] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, the UE may be able to provide information on which measurement resource in which candidate cell should be used to perform the measurement. The measurement resource may be described with a great degree of flexibility. For example, the frequency location of the measurement resource may be specified. At the same time, the description may be resource-efficient in order to limit the signaling overhead when configuring the UE. Furthermore, examples of the disclosure may specify how the UE will report the measurement to the network and may provide a flexible yet still resource-efficient way for the UE to configure this information. Furthermore, examples of the disclosure may specify how this configuration information may be sent between network nodes, such as candidate distributed units (C-DUs) and serving distributed units (S-DUs), to enable signaling of the configuration to the UE. Inter-node signaling may reuse existing signaling methods to the extent possible, for example, in order to maximize the reuse of current implementation forms.

[0014] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method in a user device (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting. The method includes receiving a measurement reporting configuration, wherein the configuration is associated with a resource configuration, and the resource configuration is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells. The method also includes reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells.

[0015] Another aspect of this disclosure provides a method implemented by a first network node for configuring a user device (UE) for measurement reporting. The method includes sending a measurement reporting configuration to the UE. The measurement reporting configuration is associated with a resource configuration, and the resource configuration is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE.

[0016] Further aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus in a user equipment (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting. The apparatus comprises a processor and memory. The memory includes processor-executable instructions such that the apparatus can operate to receive a measurement reporting setting, wherein the measurement reporting setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells, and to report one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells.

[0017] Further aspects of this disclosure provide a device at a first network node for configuring a user device (UE) for measurement reporting. The device comprises a processor and memory. The memory includes processor-executable instructions such that the device is operable to send a measurement reporting configuration to the UE, wherein the measurement reporting configuration is associated with a resource configuration, and the resource configuration is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE.

[0018] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus in a user equipment (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting. The apparatus is configured to receive measurement reporting settings, wherein the measurement reporting settings are associated with resource settings, and the resource settings are associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells, and to report one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells.

[0019] An additional aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus in a first network node for configuring a user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting. The apparatus is configured to cause the UE to send a measurement reporting configuration, where the measurement reporting configuration is associated with a resource configuration, and the resource configuration is associated with one or more L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE.

[0020] In order to better understand embodiments of the present disclosure and to show how the present disclosure may be implemented, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. shows an example of a process for LTM configuration and LTM cell switching in a DU - to - DU scenario. [Figure 2] It is a flowchart showing a method according to some embodiments. [Figure 3] It is a flowchart showing a method according to some embodiments. [Figure 4] FIG. shows an example of an overall architecture having both NG - RAN and 5GC. [Figure 5] FIG. shows an exemplary deployment of a logical gNB / en - gNB. [Figure 6] FIG. shows an example of an overall architecture for the separation of gNB - CU - CP and gNB - CU - UP. [Figure 7] FIG. shows an example of a signaling flow in a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. shows an example of a communication system according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. shows a UE according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. shows a network node according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] It is a block diagram of a host. [Figure 12] This block diagram shows a virtualization environment where functions implemented by several embodiments can be virtualized. [Figure 13] This is a communication diagram illustrating how a host communicates with a UE via a network node over a partial wireless connection, according to several embodiments. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0022] Next, some of the embodiments intended herein will be described more thoroughly with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject to those skilled in the art.

[0023] One or more examples in this disclosure refer to the term “L1 / L2 base cell-to-cell mobility” as used in work item descriptions in 3GPP, but this disclosure also uses interchangeably the terms L1 / L2 mobility, L1 mobility, L1 base mobility, L1 / L2 central cell-to-cell mobility, L1 / L2 cell-to-cell mobility, L1 / L2 trigger mobility, lower layer trigger mobility, or LTM. The basic principle in some examples is that a UE receives lower layer signaling from the network instructing the UE to change (or switch or activate) the serving cell of the UE (e.g., a change of PCell from source to target PCell), and the lower layer signaling is a message / signaling of a lower layer protocol, sometimes called an L1 / L2 cell-to-cell mobility execution command or an LTM cell switching command. A change in a serving cell (e.g., a change in a PCell) can also lead to a change in (one or more) Scells for the same cell group, for example, if a command triggers the UE to change to a different cell group setting of the same type (e.g., a different MCG setting). Before the UE receives an LTM cell switching command, the UE may have one or more LTM candidate cell settings configured by the network (e.g., receiving an RRC reconfiguration message with at least one LTM candidate cell setting). The LTM candidate cell settings may include IE CellGroupConfig for the LTM candidate cell and / or embedded RRC reconfiguration parameters for the LTM candidate cell.

[0024] The term LTM cell switching procedure refers to the process by which a UE uses L1 / L2 trigger mobility to switch (or change) a cell in the UE from a source cell to a target cell (which may be referred to here as an LTM candidate cell or neighbor cell). In the context of L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM), an LTM cell switching procedure may also be known as an L1 / L2 base cell-to-cell mobility execution, an LTM execution, a dynamic switch, an LTM switch, an (LTM) cell switch, an (LTM) serving cell change, or an (LTM) cell change. In the context of the examples in this disclosure, switching to an LTM candidate cell setting includes the UE determining that the LTM candidate cell will become its new special cell (SpCell), for example, a PCell in the case of an LTM set up for a master cell group (MCG), and / or a PSCell in the case of an LTM set up for a secondary cell group (SCG), or changing that SpCell from the current PCell to an LTM candidate cell.

[0025] Even when the term "switching or changing a cell" is used, this term may include switching or changing the settings of an entire cell group, which may include changing a SpCell (e.g., changing a PCell or PSCell), changing a SCell in a cell group (e.g., adding, modifying, and / or releasing one or more SCells), or swapping SpCell roles and SCell roles for two cells (e.g., as a result of the switch or change, a first cell that was a SpCell becomes a SCell, and a second cell that was a SCell becomes a new SpCell).

[0026] One or more examples of this disclosure refer to an LTM candidate cell, which is a cell that is set up in a UE when L1 / L2 trigger mobility is configured. An LTM candidate cell is a cell to which a UE can move in the LTM cell switching procedure upon receiving an LTM cell switching command. Such a cell may also be called a (one or more) candidate cell, candidate, mobility candidate, non-serving cell, additional cell, target candidate cell, target candidate, etc. An LTM candidate cell is a cell to which a UE can perform measurements (e.g., CSI measurements), and therefore the UE can report these measurements, and the network can make informed decisions about which beam (e.g., TCI state) and / or cell the UE should switch to. An LTM candidate cell may be a candidate that will become a target PCell or PSCell, or a SCell in a cell group (e.g., an MCG SCell or SCG SCell).

[0027] One or more examples of this disclosure refer to at least one LTM candidate cell configuration and that a UE has received at least one LTM candidate cell configuration. This may also be called an LTM candidate cell configuration and in some examples may be an RRC configuration, such as one encapsulated in an RRC reconfiguration message that the UE receives when L1 / L2 trigger mobility is configured. In some examples, an LTM candidate cell configuration comprises the configuration that the UE needs to begin operating accordingly when it receives an LTM cell switching command to that LTM candidate cell, for example, when it performs an LTM cell switching procedure to that LTM candidate cell, which will be the target cell and the current (new) SpCell, or SCell at the serving frequency. In some examples, an LTM candidate cell configuration comprises parameters for a serving cell (or multiple serving cells, such as a cell group and / or configuration (one or more) contained in a CellGroupConfig IE) and comprises one or more groups of parameters, such as an RRCReconfiguration message, IE CellGroupConfig, or IE SpCellConfig (or, in the case of a secondary cell, IE SCellConfig). An LTM candidate cell configuration may, for example, comprise one or more of the following: i) PCell configuration and (one or more) SCell configurations for a master cell group (MCG), and i) PSCell configuration and (one or more) SCell configurations for a secondary cell group (SCG). The terms (LTM) candidate configuration, LTM configuration, (LTM) candidate target cell configuration, and (LTM) target candidate (cell) configuration may be used interchangeably when referring to an LTM candidate cell configuration.

[0028] The actual LTM candidate cell configuration and its exact content and / or structure in this IE and / or embedded message may, in some examples, be referred to as the RRC model for candidate configuration, or simply the RRC model. The LTM candidate cell configuration includes, in some examples, the configuration that the UE must act upon when it performs (executes) an L1 / L2 base cell-to-cell mobility execution to an LTM candidate cell, upon receiving lower layer signaling (MAC CE) indicating L1 / L2 base cell-to-cell mobility to an LTM candidate cell (which will be the target cell and the current (new) PCell, or SCell at the serving frequency), or upon receiving lower layer signaling (MAC CE) indicating L1 / L2 base cell-to-cell mobility to an LTM candidate cell configuration indicated by a candidate configuration identifier, identification information, or index (which may also be indicated as the candidate configuration ID). A UE may have multiple LTM candidate cell configurations, and therefore, a candidate DU (C-DU) may generate multiple configurations and send them to the CU. The actual LTM candidate cell configuration that the UE receives during LTM configuration may be delta signaling that should be applied on top of the reference configuration, and therefore the actual configuration that the UE will use in the LTM candidate cell when switching LTM cells is a combination of the LTM candidate cell configuration and the reference configuration (e.g., separately signaled to the UE by the network). This combination of the LTM candidate cell configuration and the reference configuration used by the UE is sometimes referred to as the complete LTM candidate cell configuration. In the context of the examples in this disclosure, unless otherwise noted, this complete LTM candidate cell configuration may also be considered as the LTM candidate cell configuration.

[0029] One or more examples of this disclosure refer to a serving cell. A serving cell is a cell configured for a UE, such as a SpCell, PCell, PSCell, or SCell.

[0030] One or more examples of the present disclosure refer to LTM candidate cells that are configured in a UE and may be SpCell, PCell, PSCell, or SCell.

[0031] One or more examples of this disclosure refer to source cells and target cells. A source cell is a cell that has been set as a serving cell for the UE before the execution of the LTM cell switching procedure. A target cell is a cell that has been set as a serving cell for the UE, for example, a SpCell, PCell, PSCell, or SCell, after or as a result of the execution of the LTM cell switching procedure, which may include a cell that is specified in the LTM cell switching command that instructs the UE to perform the LTM cell switching procedure, or a cell that is set as a result of the UE switching to an LTM candidate cell setting provided by an instruction for an LTM candidate cell setting, which may also be known as a candidate setting index, LTM setting index, or LTM candidate cell index. In the context of the LTM cell switching procedure performed by the UE, a given cell may be a source cell, a target cell, both a source cell and a target cell, or neither a source cell nor a target cell.

[0032] One or more examples of this disclosure refer to a source configuration, which may be a UE configuration when it receives an LTM cell switching command that instructs the UE to perform an LTM cell switching procedure.

[0033] One or more examples of this disclosure refer to CSI measurements for LTM, or L1 / L2 measurements or lower-layer measurements to support LTM, which are measurements from which a UE derives information to include in a CSI report for LTM to help a UE decide, for example, whether the network should perform L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility (LTM cell switching). CSI measurements are different from so-called RRM measurements, which are reported in the RRC MeasurementReport message as defined in TS38.331. RRM measurements are configured by the RRC measurement configuration (IE MeasConfig at the first ASN.1 level in the RRCReconfiguration message), are Layer 3 filtered, and are used as input to trigger the RRC measurement report (which is an RRC message), and when reported, are generally used by the network (e.g., CU) to determine whether a UE needs to be handed over to another cell by an RRC procedure called reconfiguration with a synchronization procedure.

[0034] Examples of methods in the UE, - Receiving a message containing the following: 〇 RS settings associated with LTM candidate cells, Resource settings associated with one or more LTM candidate cells, ○ Reporting settings for LTM associated with resource settings, - Perform one or more lower-layer measurements on one or more LTM candidate cells. 〇 RS settings associated with LTM candidate cells, - Based on the information received, send one or more sublayer reports including one or more sublayer measurements. Resource settings associated with one or more LTM candidate cells, ○ Reporting settings for LTM associated with resource settings Includes methods.

[0035] An example of this disclosure is a method in a network node acting as a candidate DU, - Send a message to the CU that includes the following: 〇 RS settings associated with LTM candidate cells Includes methods.

[0036] Figure 2 shows a method in a UE for configuring a user device (UE) to perform measurement reporting according to a particular embodiment of Method 200, for example. Method 200 can be performed by a UE or a wireless device (for example, UE QQ112 or UE QQ200, which will be described later with reference to Figures 8 and 9, respectively). Method 200 begins in step 202, where a measurement reporting setting is received, the measurement reporting setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more LTM candidate cells. Step 204 of Method 200 includes reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells.

[0037] In some examples, method 200 includes determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for a measurement reporting setting. This may include, for example, determining identifiers for associated resource settings from the measurement reporting setting. This may also include, for example, determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for resource settings.

[0038] Reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells in step 204 of Method 200 may, in some examples, include reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to a predetermined maximum number of LTM candidate cells and / or a predetermined maximum number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per LTM candidate cell.

[0039] Method 200 may, in some examples, include determining one or more frequencies of one or more associated LTM candidate cells for a measurement reporting setting. These may be, for example, SSB frequencies. In some examples, these frequencies may be indicated in the reference signal (RS) setting.

[0040] Measurement reporting settings may, in some examples, be received in cell group settings for the UE (e.g., CellGroupConfig) and / or in RRC reconfiguration messages (e.g., RRCReconfiguration). In some examples, resource settings may be LTM-CSI-ResourceConfig. In some examples, measurement reporting settings may be CSI-MeasConfig. In some examples, measurement reporting settings may be channel status information (CSI) reporting settings such as LTM-CSI-ReportConfig. In some examples, method 200 may include receiving resource settings from a first network node, source distribution unit (S-DU), or g-node B (gNB), for example (as described below with reference to method 300 in Figure 3, for example). As an addition or alternative, method 200 may include receiving measurement reporting settings from a first network node, S-DU, or gNB.

[0041] In some examples, step 204 of method 200, reporting one or more measurements performed on one or more associated LTM candidate cells for measurement reporting settings includes sending one or more measurement reports to the S-DU or gNB.

[0042] The measurement reporting settings may, in some examples, identify one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell, for example, one or more resource sets (e.g., one or more ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceSets). Reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells in step 204 of Method 200 may, in some examples, include reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to a reference signal identified by one of the one or more RS settings. The reference signal may include, for example, an SSB.

[0043] Figure 3 shows a method 300 according to a specific embodiment, for example, a method implemented by a first network node for configuring a user device (UE) for measurement reporting. The first network node may be, for example, a source distribution unit (S-DU) or source gNB for the UE. Method 300 may be implemented by a network node (for example, network node QQ110 or network node QQ300, respectively, as described later with reference to Figures 8 and 10). The method begins in step 302, in which a measurement reporting configuration (e.g., a CSI reporting configuration) is sent to the UE, the measurement reporting configuration is associated with a resource configuration, and the resource configuration is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE. In some examples, Method 300 may also include sending the resource configuration to the UE. In some examples, the UE may implement Method 200 as described above with reference to Figure 2.

[0044] In some examples, method 300 may include receiving information from a second network node (e.g., a central unit (CU)) that identifies one or more LTM candidate cells for the UE.

[0045] In some examples, the measurement reporting setting includes an identifier for the associated resource setting. In some examples, this method includes receiving the associated resource setting from a second network node (e.g., a CU).

[0046] In some examples, Method 300 may include receiving from the UE one or more measurements performed by the UE on up to a predetermined maximum number of LTM candidate cells and / or up to a predetermined maximum number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per LTM candidate cell.

[0047] In some examples, the measurement reporting settings identify one or more measurement frequencies for each of one or more LTM candidate cells. One or more frequencies for each of one or more LTM candidate cells may include, for example, one or more SSB frequencies for each of one or more LTM candidate cells.

[0048] In some examples, the measurement reporting settings may be sent to the UE in step 302 of Method 300, in the cell group settings for the UE, and / or in the RRC reset message. In some examples, the cell group settings for the UE and / or the RRC reset message may be received from a second network node (e.g., a CU). In some examples, Method 300 may also include sending the cell group settings for the UE to the second network node, wherein the cell group settings include information identifying the measurement reporting settings.

[0049] In some examples, the measurement reporting settings identify one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell. This method may therefore, in some examples, include receiving information from a second network node (e.g., CU) that identifies one or more RS settings for each LTM candidate cell.

[0050] In some examples, Method 300 may include receiving from the UE one or more measurements performed by the UE with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells, for example, sent by the UE according to step 204 of Method 200.

[0051] In some examples of this disclosure, the measurement includes a CSI measurement, which includes one or more of the following non-limiting examples: - The synchronization signal (SS) reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell for at least one configured / directed SSB of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. SS-RSRP is measured only between reference signals corresponding to SS / PBCH blocks (SSBs) that have the same SS / PBCH block (SSB) index and the same physical layer cell identification information (PCI) of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. In one embodiment, SS-RSRP can be derived as a linear average over the power contributions (in [W] units) of resource elements carrying the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) between L1 / L2 cell candidate cells. In one embodiment, SS-RSRP determination, in the case of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell, may use the CSI reference signal of the L1 / L2 inter-cell candidate cell in addition to the secondary synchronization signal, if instructed by a higher layer, based on the demodulation reference signal. In one embodiment, SS-RSRP indicates several SS / PBCH blocks for performing an SS-RSRP measurement, and then SS-RSRP is measured only from the indicated set of (one or more) SS / PBCH blocks. In one embodiment, SS-RSRP is used for L1-RSRP which should be included in the CSI report. - SS-RSRQ of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell in the case of at least one configured / instructed SSB of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. - SS signal-to-noise interference ratio (SS-SINR) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell for the case of at least one configured / instructed SSB of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. - CSI reference signal received power (CSI-RSRP) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, for at least one configured / directed CSI-RS resource of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. In one embodiment, for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells, the CSI-RSRP includes a linear average over the power contribution (in [W] units) of resource elements of (one or more) antenna ports carrying the CSI reference signal configured for RSRP measurement within the measurement frequency bandwidth considered in the configured CSI-RS occasion. - CSI reference signal reception quality (CSI-RSRQ) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, for at least one configured / directed CSI-RS resource of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. - CSI signal-to-noise interference ratio (CSI-SINR) of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell, for at least one configured / designated CSI-RS resource of the L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. - Layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) based on at least one SSB of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. - Layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) based on at least one CSI-RS resource of an L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cell. - Layer 1 SINR (L1-SINR) based on at least one SSB of L1 / L2 intercellular mobility candidate cells. - Layer 1 SINR (L1-SINR) based on at least one CSI-RS resource of an L1 / L2 intercellular mobility candidate cell. - Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration. - Precoding matrix indicator (PMI) of candidate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility cells based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration. - CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) for L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration. - SS / PBCH Block Resource Indicator (SSBRI) of L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility candidate cells based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration. - Layer indicator (LI) of candidate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility cells based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration. - Rank indicator (RI) for candidate L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility based on SSB and / or CSI-RS in CSI resource configuration.

[0052] Figure 4 shows an example of an overall architecture having both NG-RAN and 5GC, where the NG-RAN is separated into CUs and DUs connected via an F1 interface, which in this example refer to the CUs and DUs in the radio access network (RAN). In this particular example, the RAN is a next-generation RAN (NG-RAN), sometimes called a 5G RAN, but the method is applicable to any RAN, such as a 6G RAN architecture.

[0053] A RAN (e.g., NG-RAN) consists of a set of RAN nodes (e.g., gNBs) connected to a core network (e.g., 5G core, 5GC) via a RAN / CN interface (e.g., NG interface). In the case of NG-RAN, a RAN may have one or more ng-eNBs, and an ng-eNB may consist of an ng-eNB-CU and one or more ng-eNB-DUs. A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU and gNB-DU are connected via an F1 interface. A gNB-DU may be connected to multiple gNB-CUs by appropriate implementation. This method is presented as an example applicable to NG-RAN, but it is also applicable to any RAN architecture, such as 6G RAN.

[0054] NG, Xn, and F1 are logical interfaces. Furthermore, in the case of NG-RAN, the NG and Xn-C interfaces for the gNB, consisting of gNB-CU and gNB-DU, terminate at gNB-CU. In the case of EN-DC, the S1-U and X2-C interfaces for the gNB, consisting of gNB-CU and gNB-DU, terminate at gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DU appear only as gNBs to other gNBs and 5GCs. Possible deployment scenarios are shown in Figure 5, which illustrates an exemplary deployment of logical gNB / en-gNB. The protocol terminations of the NG and Xn interfaces are shown as ellipses, and the terms “central entity” and “distributed entity” shown in Figure 5 refer to physical network nodes.

[0055] Figure 6 shows an example of an overall architecture for separating gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP. As shown in Figure 6, - A gNB can consist of a gNB-CU-CP, multiple gNB-CU-UPs, and multiple gNB-DUs. - The gNB-CU-CP can be connected to the gNB-DU via the F1-C interface. - The gNB-CU-UP can be connected to the gNB-DU via the F1-U interface. - The gNB-CU-UP can be connected to the gNB-CU-CP via the E1 interface. - One gNB-DU can be connected to only one gNB-CU. - One gNB-CU-UP can only be connected to one gNB-CU-CP. - One gNB-DU can be connected to multiple gNB-CU-UPs under the control of the same gNB-CU-CP. - One gNB-CU-UP can be connected to multiple DUs under the control of the same gNB-CU-CP.

[0056] Therefore, when the examples of this disclosure refer to methods performed by a CU, those methods may, in some examples, include (one or more) actions performed by any entity provided within the CU, such as a CU-CP, gNB-CU-CP.

[0057] Figure 7 shows an example of a signaling flow in an exemplary method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The exemplary method relating to the signaling flow shown in Figure 7 includes the following steps. The exemplary method may be an exemplary implementation of Method 200 and / or Method 300 described above.

[0058] Steps 1, 2, and 3: In one set of embodiments, the UE sends a MeasurementReport message (L3 measurement result) to the S-DU (e.g., source gNB-DU) which includes a cell-by-cell RSRP measurement on a specified frequency in a neighboring cell, e.g., the object being measured (e.g., MeasObjectNR). The S-DU sends a UL RRC message forwarding message to the gNB-CU which carries the received MeasurementReport message. The CU (e.g., gNB-CU in the case of NG-RAN) decides to set the UE to LTM, i.e., to activate the L1 / L2 trigger mobility setting.

[0059] Next, the CU sends a UE context setup request message to the candidate DU (e.g., candidate gNB-DU), designated as C-DU, which is associated with one or more cells that the CU requests to be set as LTM candidate cells in step 3. In one option, the requested cells in the UE context setup request are one of the cells included in the MeasurementReport message (L3 measurement result) reported by the UE.

[0060] In a set of embodiments, the C-DU receives a request to set up an LTM for one or more of its associated cells. In response to the request, the C-DU accepts one or more of the cells requested as LTM candidate cells and, for at least one of the LTM candidate cells, includes a reference signal (RS) setting in a response message to the CU (e.g., a UE context modification response or a UE context setup response) that includes one or more of the following: - Physical cell identifier (PCI), e.g., an integer (0..1007) - SS / PBCH block measurement timing settings (SMTC) including the following: ○ At least one piece of information regarding the periodicity and offset (e.g., periodicityAndOffset) of the measurement window in which the UE will receive SS / PBCH blocks (SSB). The periodicity and offset are given in terms of the number of time-domain units, such as frames, subframes, or time slots. 〇 Duration information for at least one measurement window in which SSB should be received. For example, this may be given as the number of time-domain units such as frames, subframes, or time slots. - Frequency information One option is that it is an SSB frequency, and in some cases it is expressed as an absolute frequency value, such as an absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) and / or NR global frequency raster (as defined in TS38.101, for example). - An SSB pattern that indicates which SSB is assumed to be sent for that cell. One option is that it is one or more SSB indices indicating the SSB that is assumed to be sent; for example, (2, 7, 24) means that the UE assumes the candidate cell is sending an SSB whose SSB indices are 2, 7, and 24. One option is indicated by a bit sequence where the value "1" indicates that an SSB is sent, and the value "0" indicates that an SSB is not sent. For example, the following bit sequence [0 1 0 0 0 1] indicates that an LTM candidate cell is sending two SSBs, and their indices are SSB index 1 and SSB index 5. - Subcarrier spacing in SSB. For example, the UE may receive instructions for values ​​of 15kHz or 30kHz (FR1) and 120kHz or 240kHz (FR2). - One or more groups of (one or more) SSBs One option is that it can be grouped into (one or more) resource sets, for example, SSB set 1 (SSB1, SSB2), SSB set 2 (SSB3, SSB4), etc. One option is a list of (one or more) SSBs for LTM candidate cells. - One or more groups of (one or more) CSI-RS resources One option is that it can be grouped into resource sets (one or more), for example, CSI-RS set 1 (CSI-RS resource 1, CSI-RS resource 2), CSI-RS set 2 (CSI-RS resource 3, CSI-RS resource 4), and so on. One option is a list of (one or more) CSI-RS resources for LTM candidate cells. One option may also provide detailed settings (one or more) for each CSI-RS resource in the RS configuration.

[0061] In one option for that set of embodiments, a request received by the C-DU to set an LTM for one or more of its associated cells corresponds to a UE context setup request or a UE context modification request and includes an instruction for at least a cell (e.g., cell ID) that the CU requests the C-DU to set as an LTM candidate cell.

[0062] In one option for that set of embodiments, the response message to the CU may correspond to the UE context u, at least one cell of the C-DU that has been accepted as an LTM candidate cell.

[0063] In one option for that set of embodiments, the reference signal (RS) setting for the LTM candidate cell, which is included in the response message from C-DU to CU (e.g., UE context modification response or UE context setup response), is included in the RRC container, for example, in the internode RRC message as defined in TS38.331.

[0064] In one option for that set of embodiments, the reference signal (RS) setting for an LTM candidate cell, included in a response message from the C-DU to the CU (e.g., a UE context modification response or a UE context setup response), is included in a first RRC container associated with the LTM candidate cell, together with a second RRC container containing lower-layer settings for that LTM candidate cell, such as a CellGroupConfig for the LTM candidate cell.

[0065] Therefore, after step 3, the CU has the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell accepted by the C-DU, which were received in a response message, such as a UE context modification response or a UE context setup response.

[0066] Step 4a: In the set of embodiments, the CU sends the RS settings for the LTM candidate cell to the S-DU.

[0067] In one option relating to the set of embodiments, the RS setting is included by the CU in a UE context setup request or UE context modification request to the S-DU. That message may also instruct the S-DU that one or more LTM candidate cells should be set in the UE. This may be the first message that makes the S-DU aware that an LTM needs to be set in the UE.

[0068] In one sub-option, the S-DU uses that information to set or reset the UE's DRX parameters, the measurement gap parameters, because this indicates the (one or more) LTM candidate cells and / or their respective frequencies that the UE needs to be set to measure and report. This step is more relevant to the network implementation.

[0069] Step 4b: In one sub-option, the S-DU contains an updated version of the UE's current CellGroupConfig, for example, the received RS settings per LTM candidate cell in delta signaling. That CellGroupConfig is then sent from the S-DU to the CU (for example, in the UE context correction response).

[0070] Step 5: The CU then includes its received CellGroupConfig (including the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell) in an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and the generated RRC reconfiguration message is sent from the CU to the S-DU (e.g., in DL RRC message forwarding).

[0071] Step 6: The S-DU receives the RRC reconfiguration message and provides it to the UE.

[0072] The UE receives its RRC reconfiguration message, which includes the CellGroupConfig associated with the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, i.e., the CellGroupConfig described in steps 4b and 5, and the CellGroupConfig includes the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell. The UE applies the CellGroupConfig and uses the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell to perform the lower layer measurement / CSI measurement associated with that LTM candidate cell, such as the SS-RSRP measurement.

[0073] In another option that can be combined with the previous option, the CU sends the RS settings for the LTM candidate cells to the S-DU and associates them with an LTM candidate identifier, for example, an N-bit identifier such as N=3 if the maximum number of candidates is up to 8. In this case, for each cell accepted by the C-DU to become an LTM candidate cell, the CU assigns an LTM candidate ID that can correspond to an integer from 0 to the maximum number of LTM candidates minus 1. For example, if it is specified that the UE can be configured with up to 8 LTM candidate cells, the LTM candidate ID space is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. When the CU sends the RS settings for an LTM candidate cell to the S-DU, the CU also indicates the LTM candidate ID associated with that cell and the corresponding RS settings. For example, the overall information in the RRC container from the CU to the S-DU in a UE context modification request might look like this: LTM Candidate ID=1->RS Config[PCI A*, SSB Frequency, SMTC, SSB Pattern] LTM Candidate ID=2->RS Config[PCI B*, SSB Frequency, SMTC, SSB Pattern] LTM Candidate ID=3->RS Config[PCI C*, SSB Frequency, SMTC, SSB Pattern] LTM Candidate ID=4->RS Config[PCI D*, SSB Frequency, SMTC, SSB Pattern]

[0074] In that case, the UE receives its RRC reconfiguration message containing the CellGroupConfig associated with the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, i.e., the CellGroupConfig described in steps 4b and 5, which contains the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell associated with the LTM candidate ID (e.g., ltm-CandidateId, ie. LTM-CandidateId). The UE applies the CellGroupConfig and uses the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell to perform the lower layer measurement / CSI measurement associated with that LTM candidate cell, e.g., the SS-RSRP measurement.

[0075] An example of an IE that the UE receives for RS configuration is shown below. TIFF2026517924000003.tif168170

[0076] In the example above, the SSB pattern is provided to the UE as ssb-PositionsInBurst, which indicates the time-domain position of the SS block being transmitted in a 1 / 2 frame containing the SS / PBCH block. The first / leftmost bit corresponds to SS / PBCH block index 0, the second bit corresponds to SS / PBCH block index 1, and so on. A value of 0 in the bitmap indicates that the corresponding SS / PBCH block is not transmitted, and a value of 1 indicates that the corresponding SS / PBCH block is transmitted.

[0077] Step 4a (an alternative form of Step 4a described above): In another set of embodiments that may be combined with the previous set of options and embodiments, the CU sends the S-DU an RS setting for the LTM candidate cell and associates it with the LTM candidate identifier, for example, in a UE context modification request. As indicated above, this may be the first message instructing the S-DU that the CU is requesting an LTM setting.

[0078] In one option, in response, the S-DU generates at least one instance of the reporting configuration to be set, for example, a CSI-ResourceConfig IE for LTM (e.g., CSI-ReportConfig or LTM-CSI-ReportConfig), so that the UE knows how to report the measurements for one or more LTM candidate cells to one of the UE's current serving cells, for example, one of the PCell or (one or more) Scell ​​uplink channels configured on the UE.

[0079] Step 4b (an alternative form of Step 4b described above): In one option, the S-DU includes an instance of the CSI-ReportConfig IE for LTMs in the ServingCellConfig of the UE's current configuration for lower-layer reporting about LTMs (e.g., ServingCellConfig in CSI-MeasConfig). It is included in the ServingCellConfig of the ServingCell, in which the UE reports these lower-layer measurements about LTMs. Since the ServingCellConfig is in the UE's current CellGroupConfig, the S-DU sends a delta signaling to the CU with an updated version of the UE's current CellGroupConfig, e.g., a modified ServingCellConfig, which includes the instance of the CSI-ReportConfig for LTMs. That CellGroupConfig is then sent from the S-DU to the CU (e.g., in a modified UE context response). Next, the CU includes its received CellGroupConfig (including the RS settings for each LTM candidate cell) in an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and the generated RRC reconfiguration message is sent from the CU to the S-DU (e.g., in DL RRC message forwarding).

[0080] Step 5 (an alternative form of Step 5 as described above): The CU then includes its received CellGroupConfig (including the CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM) in an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and the generated RRC reconfiguration message is sent from the CU to the S-DU (e.g., in DL RRC message forwarding).

[0081] Step 6 (an alternative form of Step 6 as described above): The S-DU receives and provides its RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. The UE receives its RRC reconfiguration message, which includes a CellGroupConfig associated with the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, i.e., the CellGroupConfig described in Steps 4b and 5, and the CellGroupConfig includes a CSI-ReportConfig for setting up lower-layer measurements for the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, e.g., PCell, which should be reported to the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, e.g., PCell.

[0082] In a set of embodiments, the UE is configured to send a single lower-layer report about an LTM that includes (one or more) LTM candidate cells that are in-frequency and / or inter-frequency. This report is based on the UE receiving a CSI-ReportConfig instance for the LTM that points to a resource configuration that may be either (one or more) in-frequency LTM candidate cells and / or (one or more) inter-frequency LTM candidate cells. In this context, an in-frequency candidate is a candidate whose SSB frequency and subcarrier spacing (SCS) are the same as the SSB frequency and SCS of the UE's current SpCell. And / or an inter-frequency candidate is a candidate whose SSB frequency or subcarrier spacing (SCS) is different from the SSB frequency or SCS of the UE's current SpCell.

[0083] There are at least three alternative forms for specifying such a pointer within the CSI-ReportConfig for LTM to instruct the UE what may be included with respect to (one or more) LTM candidate cells for measurements to be reported according to that CSI-ReportConfig instance for LTM. - Alternative form a) LTM flag - Alternative form b) List of candidate frequencies - Alternative form c) List of (one or more) LTM candidate cells

[0084] Alternative form a) The UE receives a CSI-ReportConfig for LTM that includes an LTM flag or instruction (or field or parameter), indicating that the CSI-ReportConfig instance is for LTM. Based on this, the UE assumes that all configured (one or more) LTM candidate cells and their SSBs can be associated with its report. - One option specifies the maximum number of LTM candidate cells that should be included in each lower-layer report and the maximum number of SSBs (one or more) per LTM candidate cell. Therefore, the fact that the resource setting points to all LTM candidate cells does not, of course, mean that the UE will always measure all LTM candidate cells and include all measured SSBs (one or more) for all LTM candidate cells in each CSI reporting instance for LTM.

[0085] Alternative form b) The UE receives a CSI-ReportConfig instance for the LTM associated with one or more frequencies (e.g., SSB frequencies), and therefore the lower-layer report (or CSI report about the LTM) includes measurements relating to one or more SSBs of one or more LTM candidate cells, the frequency indicated in the CSI-ReportConfig instance. - In one option, the one or more frequencies are indicated as one or more SSB frequencies, each with its own ARFCN value. - In one option, one or more frequencies are indicated as (one or more) measurement target identifiers, and each measurement target is configured in the measurement settings, for example in UE-VarMeasConfig, if previously configured.

[0086] Alternative form c) The UE receives a CSI-ReportConfig instance associated with a set of LTM candidate cells, and therefore the lower-layer report (or CSI report on LTM) includes measurements of (one or more) SSBs of (one or more) LTM candidate cells, which the set is indicated in the CSI-ReportConfig instance. - In one option, each resource setting is associated with one or more LTM candidate IDs determined, for example, by a CU or S-DU. - In one option, each resource setting is associated with one or more PCI+ARFCN combinations.

[0087] Step 4a (Alternative form of Step 4a described above) Regarding network signaling and actions between the S-DU and CU and C-DU to enable the UE to configure an instance of CSI-ReportConfig for an LTM that directs resource configuration (e.g., LTM instruction, set of frequencies or set of (one or more) LTM candidate cells), different alternative forms may exist.

[0088] In a set of embodiments that can be combined with the set of options and embodiments described above, the CU transmits to the S-DU an LTM candidate identifier for each LTM candidate cell, and optionally includes the RS setting for each LTM candidate cell, for example, in a UE context modification request. As indicated above, this may be the first message instructing the S-DU that the CU requests the LTM setting.

[0089] In response, S-DU associates one or more LTM candidate cells with an instance of CSI-ReportConfig for LTM. - In one option, the S-DU generates one or more resource settings, each associated with a resource setting ID that has one or more LTM candidate cell IDs. The S-DU includes a pointer to the resource settings (e.g., resource setting ID) in an instance of CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM. For example, the S-DU may receive the following from the CU in a UE context correction request: - LTM candidate ID=1->RS Config[PCI A*, SSB frequency, SMTC] - LTM candidate ID=2->RS Config[PCI B*, SSB frequency, SMTC] - LTM candidate ID=3->RS Config[PCI C*, SSB frequency, SMTC] - LTM candidate ID=4->RS Config[PCI D*, SSB frequency, SMTC]

[0090] Next, in response, the S-DU generates the following (one or more) resource settings and (one or more) associated resource setting IDs 1 and 2. - LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=1->LTM Candidate ID=1, LTM Candidate ID=2, - LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=2->LTM candidate ID=3, LTM candidate ID=4,

[0091] As shown above, after generating one or more resource settings for one or more LTM candidate cells and / or combinations, the S-DU includes, for example, a pointer to the following resource settings in the instance of CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM: - CSI-ReportConfig ID=1->LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=1, - CSI-ReportConfig ID=2->LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=2,

[0092] When a UE receives a CSI-ReportConfig for an LTM that includes a resource configuration ID, the UE knows which (one or more) LTM candidate cells should have lower-layer measurements included for that CSI-ReportConfig instance for the LTM. For example, in the case of a CSI-ReportConfig with ID=2 that includes LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=2, the UE is instructed that the resource configuration for the LTM with ID=2 should include the LTM candidate cell with ID=3 and the LTM candidate cell with ID=4. - Another option is for the S-DU to include one or more LTM candidate cell IDs in the instance of CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM in order to instruct resource configuration, i.e., to indicate that it is not necessary to specify resource configuration IDs in that option. - CSI-ReportConfig ID=1->LTM Candidate ID=1, LTM Candidate ID=2, - CSI-ReportConfig ID=2->LTM Candidate ID=3, LTM Candidate ID=4,

[0093] Step 4b (an alternative form of Step 4b described above): In response, after the S-DU has associated one or more LTM candidate cells with an instance of CSI-ReportConfig for LTM, the S-DU includes an instance of CSI-ReportConfig IE for LTM in the UE's current configuration serving cell configuration (e.g., ServingCellConfig in CSI-MeasConfig) for lower-layer reporting about LTM. It is included in the serving cell configuration of the serving cell, in which the UE reports these lower-layer measurements about LTM. Since the serving cell configuration is in the UE's current CellGroupConfig, the S-DU sends delta signaling to the CU with an updated version of the UE's current CellGroupConfig, e.g., a modified ServingCellConfig, which includes the instance of CSI-ReportConfig for LTM.

[0094] In addition, the S-DU includes one or more resource settings in the current CellGroupConfig of the UE to be updated, where one or more LTM candidate cells are specified for each resource setting.

[0095] The CellGroupConfig is then sent from the S-DU to the CU (for example, in a UE context correction response). The CU then includes the received CellGroupConfig (including the CSI-ReportConfig and one or more resource settings) in an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and the generated RRC reconfiguration message is sent from the CU to the S-DU (for example, in DL RRC message forwarding).

[0096] Step 5 (an alternative form of Step 5 as described above): The CU then includes its received CellGroupConfig (including the CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM and one or more resource settings) in an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and the generated RRC reconfiguration message is sent from the CU to the S-DU (e.g., in DL RRC message forwarding).

[0097] Step 6 (an alternative form of Step 6 as described above): The S-DU receives and provides its RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. The UE receives its RRC reconfiguration message, which includes a CellGroupConfig associated with the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, i.e., the CellGroupConfig as described in Steps 4b and 5, the CellGroupConfig which includes a CSI-ReportConfig for setting up lower-layer measurements for (one or more) LTM candidate cells to be reported to the UE's (one or more) current serving cells, e.g., PCell, the CSI-ReportConfig which is associated with a resource configuration (e.g., by including a resource configuration ID in the CSI-ReportConfig for LTM), and each of the one or more LTM candidate cells is associated with a resource configuration (one or more).

[0098] When the UE receives an RRC reconfiguration, it determines, for each CSI-ReportConfig for LTM, what the associated resource configuration is, as indicated by the included resource configuration ID. Then, for the resource configuration also received by the UE, it determines, for the corresponding ID, which (one or more) LTM candidate cells and / or the frequencies of (one or more) LTM candidate cells are associated with that resource configuration ID and, as a result, should be included in the lower-layer report configured by that CSI-ReportConfig instance for LTM.

[0099] Step 4a (an alternative form of Step 4a described above): In a set of embodiments that can be combined with the previous set of options and embodiments, the CU sends the S-DU an LTM candidate identifier for each LTM candidate cell and, optionally, the RS setting for each LTM candidate cell, for example, in the UE context modification request. As indicated above, this may be the first message instructing the S-DU that the CU is requesting the LTM setting.

[0100] Furthermore, the CU specifies a set of LTM candidate cells, enabling the S-DU to generate one or more resource settings associated with these groups. For example, the CU needs to specify one or more groups of cells and / or frequencies, which serve as input for the S-DU to define the association of one or more resource settings and CSI-ReportConfig instances for LTM, for example, as follows: - Group 1 -> LTM candidate ID=1, LTM candidate ID=2, - Group 2 -> LTM candidate ID=3, LTM candidate ID=4,

[0101] In response, the S-DU associates the designated group or set of LTM candidate cells with an instance of CSI-ReportConfig for LTM. - In one option, the S-DU generates one or more resource settings, each associated with a resource setting ID containing one or more LTM candidate cell IDs, based on the received group information. The S-DU includes a pointer to the resource settings (e.g., resource setting ID) in an instance of CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM. For example, the S-DU may receive the following from the CU in a UE context correction request: - LTM candidate ID=1->RS Config[PCI A*, SSB frequency, SMTC] - LTM candidate ID=2->RS Config[PCI B*, SSB frequency, SMTC] - LTM candidate ID=3->RS Config[PCI C*, SSB frequency, SMTC] - LTM candidate ID=4->RS Config[PCI D*, SSB frequency, SMTC]

[0102] Next, in response, the S-DU generates the following (one or more) resource settings and (one or more) associated resource setting IDs 1 and 2 based on the information determined by the CU. - LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=1->LTM Candidate ID=1, LTM Candidate ID=2, - LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=2->LTM candidate ID=3, LTM candidate ID=4,

[0103] As shown above, after generating one or more resource settings for one or more LTM candidate cells and / or combinations, the S-DU, based on the group information received from the CU, includes, for example, a pointer to the following resource settings in the instance of CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM: - CSI-ReportConfig ID=1->LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=1, - CSI-ReportConfig ID=2->LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=2,

[0104] When a UE receives a CSI-ReportConfig for an LTM that includes a resource configuration ID, the UE knows which (one or more) LTM candidate cells should have lower-layer measurements included for that CSI-ReportConfig instance for the LTM. For example, in the case of a CSI-ReportConfig with ID=2 that includes LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId ID=2, the UE is instructed that the resource configuration for the LTM with ID=2 should include the LTM candidate cell with ID=3 and the LTM candidate cell with ID=4. - Another option is for the S-DU to include one or more LTM candidate cell IDs in the instance of CSI-ReportConfig for the LTM in order to instruct resource configuration, i.e., to indicate that it is not necessary to specify resource configuration IDs in that option. - CSI-ReportConfig ID=1->LTM Candidate ID=1, LTM Candidate ID=2, - CSI-ReportConfig ID=2->LTM Candidate ID=3, LTM Candidate ID=4,

[0105] Figure 8 shows an example of the QQ100 communication system according to several embodiments.

[0106] In this example, the communication system QQ100 includes a communication network QQ102 which includes an access network QQ104 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network QQ106 which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes (one or more of which are commonly referred to as network nodes QQ110), such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b, or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Furthermore, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, network nodes are not necessarily limited to implementations in which the radio and baseband portions are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. That is, network nodes will be understood to include separate implementations or parts thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the communication network QQ102 includes one or more open RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the communications network QQ102 that supports the ORAN specification (for example, a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance or any similar organization), and can operate alone or with other nodes to implement one or more functions of any node in the communications network QQ102, including one or more network nodes QQ110 and / or core network node QQ108.

[0107] Examples of ORAN network nodes include O-CUs (including open radio units (O-RUs), open distributed units (O-DUs), open central unit (O-CU) control planes (O-CU-CPs) or O-CU user planes (O-CU-UPs), RAN intelligent controllers (near-real-time or non-real-time) hosting software or software plug-ins such as quasi-real-time control applications (e.g., xApps) or non-real-time control applications (e.g., rApps), or any combination thereof (the adjective "open" specifies support for the ORAN specification). Network nodes may support the specification by supporting interfaces defined by the ORAN specification, such as A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interfaces, open fronthaul user plane interfaces, or open fronthaul management plane interfaces. Furthermore, ORAN access nodes may be logical nodes within physical nodes. In addition, ORAN network nodes may be implemented in a virtualized environment where one or more network functions are virtualized (as further described below). For example, a virtualized environment may include an O-cloud computing platform organized by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or equivalent technology. Network node QQ110 facilitates direct or indirect connectivity of user equipment (UEs), such as by connecting UEs QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which are commonly referred to as UE QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0108] Exemplary wireless communication over a wireless connection involves transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without using wires, cables, or other material conductors. Furthermore, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via a wired or wireless connection. The communication system QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, wireless network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0109] UE QQ112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including a wireless device configured, set up, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node QQ110 may be configured, capable, set up, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE QQ112 and / or with other network nodes or devices in communication network QQ102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in communication network QQ102.

[0110] In the illustrated example, the core network QQ106 connects network node QQ110 to one or more hosts, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect, via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network QQ106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) structured with hardware and software components. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described for the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, and therefore their descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of core network node QQ108. An exemplary core network node includes one or more functions from among the following: Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscriber Identifier Decryption Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protected Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[0111] Host QQ116 may be owned or controlled by a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and / or the communication network QQ102, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include providing live and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services, analytical functions, social media, functions for controlling or, in some cases, interacting with remote devices, functions for alarms and surveillance centers, or any other such functions performed by the server.

[0112] Overall, the QQ100 communication system in Figure 8 enables connectivity between the UE, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, including, but not limited to, any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future-generation standard (e.g., 6G), wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as the IEEE 802.11 standard (WiFi), and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as global interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, near-field communications (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or LoRa and Sigfox, or any low-power wide area network (LPWAN) standards.

[0113] In some examples, the communication network QQ102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, the communication network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the communication network QQ102. For example, the communication network QQ102 may provide ultra-high reliability low latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs while providing extended mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or also provide massive machine-type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to further UEs.

[0114] In some examples, UE QQ112 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from access network QQ104. Furthermore, the UE may be configured to operate in single, multi-RAT, or multi-standard modes. For example, the UE may operate with one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Enhanced UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0115] In the example shown in Figure 8, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d) and a network node (e.g., network node QQ110b). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, a router, a content source and analysis node, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router that enables access to the core network QQ106 for the UE. In another example, the hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node QQ110, or by executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in the hub QQ114. In yet another example, the hub QQ114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, can perform data analysis or other processing. As another example, the Hub QQ114 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media distribution device, the Hub QQ114 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via network nodes, which the Hub QQ114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the Hub QQ114 can act as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, especially if one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0116] Hub QQ114 may have always-on / persistent or intermittent connections to network node QQ110b. Hub QQ114 may also enable different communication methods and / or schedules between Hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d), and between Hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, Hub QQ114 connects to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Furthermore, Hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider on the access network QQ104 and / or another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE may establish a wireless connection with network node QQ110 while still being connected via wired or wireless connections through Hub QQ114. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communication from the UE to the network node QQ110b and from the network node QQ110b to the UE. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that can operate to route communication between the UE and the network node QQ110b, but can also operate as a communication start point and / or end point for several data channels.

[0117] Figure 9 shows the UE QQ200 in several embodiments. As used herein, UE refers to a device that is capable of, configured, and / or operable of communicating wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicles, vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine-type communications (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0118] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but may not be associated with a particular human user, or may not be initially associated with a particular human user. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart electricity meter) that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but may be associated with a user or may operate for the user's benefit.

[0119] UE QQ200 includes a processing circuit QQ202 operably coupled via bus QQ204 to an input / output interface QQ206, a power supply QQ208, a memory QQ210, a communication interface QQ212, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 9. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Furthermore, some UEs may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, and receivers.

[0120] The processing circuit QQ202 may be configured to process instructions and data and to implement any sequential state machine capable of executing instructions stored in memory QQ210 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit QQ202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, one or more stored computer programs, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuit QQ202 may be capable of providing UE QQ200 functionality either on its own or in conjunction with other UE QQ200 components, such as memory QQ210. For example, the processing circuit QQ202 may be configured to cause UE QQ202 to perform the method described with reference to Figure 2.

[0121] In this example, the input / output interface QQ206 may be configured to provide an input device, an output device, or one or more interfaces to one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, emitters, smart cards, other output devices, or any combination thereof. Input devices may allow a user to capture information to the UE QQ200. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional pads, trackpads, scroll wheels, smart cards, etc. Presence-sensitive displays may include capacitive or resistive touch sensors for detecting user input. Sensors may include, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetometers, light sensors, proximity sensors, biosensors, or any combination thereof. Output devices may use the same type of interface port as input devices. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide input and output devices.

[0122] In some embodiments, the power supply QQ208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power supply QQ208 may further include a power circuit for distributing power from the power supply QQ208 itself and / or from an external power source via an interface such as an input circuit or power cable. Distributing power may, for example, be for charging the power supply QQ208. The power circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications to the power from the power supply QQ208 to make that power suitable for each component of the UE QQ200 to which it is supplied.

[0123] Memory QQ210 may be memory, or configured to contain memory, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. For example, memory QQ210 may contain one or more application programs QQ214, such as an operating system, web browser application, widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ216. Memory QQ210 may store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE QQ200.

[0124] The QQ210 memory can be configured to include several physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard disk drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-ray optical drives, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drives, external mini dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external microDIMM SDRAM, smart card memory such as a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) containing one or more subscriber identification modules (SIMs) such as USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a "SIM card". Memory QQ210 may enable UE QQ200 to access instructions, application programs, etc., stored in temporary or non-temporary memory media, to offload data, or to upload data. Products such as products utilizing communication systems may be tangibly embodied as or within memory QQ210, and memory QQ210 may be a device-readable storage medium or may contain a device-readable storage medium.

[0125] The processing circuit QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other networks using the communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems, including or communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ218 and / or a receiver QQ220 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency-allocated, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222), and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, may be implemented separately.

[0126] In some embodiments, the communication functions of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, other similar communication functions, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented in accordance with one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMAX, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0127] Regardless of the sensor type, a UE may provide the output of data captured by its sensors to network nodes via a wireless connection through the UE's communication interface QQ212. The data captured by the UE's sensors may be communicated to network nodes via another UE through a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if reporting detected temperature), in response to a triggering event (e.g., an alarm is sent when humidity is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), random (e.g., to equalize the load from reports from several sensors), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0128] As another example, the UE may include an actuator, motor, or switch relating to a communication interface configured to receive radio input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received radio input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts the control surface or rotor of a drone in flight according to the received input, or controls a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0129] A UE, in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, can be a device for use in one or more application areas, which include, but are not limited to, urban wearable technology, augmented industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices that are connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, energy meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electric door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearables for haptic augmentation or perceptual augmentation, water sprinklers, animal or product tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device such as a heart rate monitor or remotely controlled surgical robot, or devices embedded in them. The UE in the form of an IoT device includes, in addition to the other components described with respect to the UE QQ200 shown in Figure 9, circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0130] In another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or network node. In this case, the UE could be an M2M device, which is sometimes called an MTC device in a 3GPP context. In one specific example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring its operational status and / or reporting on its operational status, or other functions associated with its operation.

[0131] In practice, any number of UEs can be used together for a single use case. For example, the first UE may be the drone itself, or integrated within the drone, providing the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to the second UE, which is the remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (for example, by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UEs may also include two or more of the functions described above. For example, the UE may have sensors and actuators and handle the communication of data about both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0132] Figure 10 shows a network node QQ300 according to several embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is configured, set up, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs in a communication network and / or with other network nodes or devices. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, node B, evolved node B (eNB), and NR node B (gNB)), O-RAN nodes, or components of O-RAN nodes (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0133] Base stations can be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, the base station's transmit power level), and are therefore sometimes called femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations, depending on the amount of coverage they provide. A base station can be a relay node or relay donor node that controls relays. Network nodes may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit, a distributed unit (e.g., one in an O-RAN access node), and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes called a remote radio head (RRH). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station are sometimes called nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0134] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmit point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, MSR equipment such as multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base station transceiver stations (BTSs), transmit points, transmit nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordinated entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operation support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., evolved serving mobile location centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or drive test minimization (MDTs).

[0135] Network node QQ300 includes a processing circuit QQ302, memory QQ304, communication interface QQ306, and power supply QQ308, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Network node QQ300 can be assembled from multiple physically distinct components (e.g., node B components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components), each of which may have its own respective components. In some scenarios where network node QQ300 has multiple distinct components (e.g., BTS components and BSC components), one or more of the distinct components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node Bs. In such a scenario, each unique node B-RNC pair may, in some cases, be considered a single distinct network node. In some embodiments, network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). Network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of various shown components for different radio technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth radio technologies, integrated into network node QQ300. These radio technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or sets of chips, and other components within network node QQ300.

[0136] The processing circuit QQ302 may comprise one or more combinations of microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, central processing units, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or any other suitable computing devices, resources, or combinations of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, capable of operating either alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components such as memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality. For example, the processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to cause a network node to implement the method described with reference to Figure 3.

[0137] In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 includes one or more of the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units such as radio and digital units. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, board, or unit.

[0138] Memory QQ304 may include, but is not limited to, any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including persistent storage, solid memory, remote-mount memory, magnetic media, optical media, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disks), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs), or digital video discs (DVDs)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-temporary device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit QQ302. Memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including other instructions, that can be executed by the processing circuit QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300, including applications that include one or more computer programs, software, logic, rules, code, and tables. Memory QQ304 may be used to store calculations performed by the processing circuit QQ302 and / or data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 and memory QQ304 are integrated.

[0139] The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface QQ306 includes (one or more) ports / (one or more) terminals QQ316 for sending and receiving data to and from the network, for example, over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes a wireless front-end circuit QQ318, which is coupled to or, in some embodiments, may be part of the antenna QQ310. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 includes a filter QQ320 and an amplifier QQ322. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 may be connected to the antenna QQ310 and the processing circuit QQ302. The wireless front-end circuit may be configured to adjust signals communicated between the antenna QQ310 and the processing circuit QQ302. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via the wireless connection. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 can convert digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filter QQ320 and / or amplifier QQ322. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna QQ310 can collect a radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the wireless front-end circuit QQ318. The digital data can then be passed to processing circuit QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0140] In some alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit QQ318; instead, the processing circuit QQ302 includes the radio front-end circuit and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In yet another embodiment, the communication interface QQ306, as part of a radio unit (not shown), includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front-end circuit QQ318, and the RF transceiver circuit QQ312, and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with a baseband processing circuit QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0141] Antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive radio signals. Antenna QQ310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuit QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and can be connected to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

[0142] The antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain acquisition operations as described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from the UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations as described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to the UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0143] Power supply QQ308 provides power to the various components of network node QQ300 in a form suitable for each component (for example, at the voltage and current levels required for each respective component). Power supply QQ308 may further include, or be coupled to, a power management circuit for supplying power to the components of network node QQ300 to perform the functions described herein. For example, network node QQ300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as an electrical cable, thereby the external power source powers the power circuit of power supply QQ308. As a further example, power supply QQ308 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack, connected to or integrated into the power circuit. The battery may provide backup power in the event of an external power failure.

[0144] Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include additional components other than those shown in Figure 10 to provide several aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functions described herein and / or functions necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment for enabling the input of information to and output of information from the network node QQ300. This may enable a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ300.

[0145] Figure 11 is a block diagram of host QQ400, which may be one embodiment of host QQ116 in Figure 8, according to various aspects described herein. Host QQ400 as used herein may be a variety of combinations of hardware and / or software, including standalone servers, blade servers, cloud implementation servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources in a server farm. Host QQ400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0146] The host QQ400 includes a processing circuit QQ402 operably coupled to an input / output interface QQ406, a network interface QQ408, a power supply QQ410, and memory QQ412 via a bus QQ404. Other embodiments may include other components. The characteristics of these components may be substantially the same as those described with respect to the devices in previous figures, such as Figures 9 and 10, and therefore their descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host QQ400.

[0147] Memory QQ412 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host application programs QQ414 and data QQ416, where data QQ416 may include user data, for example, data generated by the UE for host QQ400, or data generated by host QQ400 for the UE. Embodiments of host QQ400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. Host application program QQ414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Multipurpose Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementation forms of the UE (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application program QQ414 can also provide user authentication and license checks, and can periodically report health, root, and content availability to a central node, such as devices in the core network or devices at the edge of the core network. Thus, the host QQ400 can select and / or direct different hosts for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application program QQ414 can support various protocols, including HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH).

[0148] Figure 12 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by several embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. The virtualization used herein may apply to any device or its components described herein and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components, executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtualized environments QQ500 hosted by one or more hardware nodes, such as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hardware computing devices acting as hosts. Furthermore, in embodiments in which the virtual nodes do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes or hosts), the nodes may be fully virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualized environment QQ500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-cloud environment organized by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface.

[0149] Application QQ502 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in the virtualized environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0150] Hardware QQ504 includes processing circuits, memory for storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuits, and / or other hardware devices described herein, such as network interfaces and input / output interfaces. The software is executed by the processing circuits to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also called a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), providing VM QQ508a and QQ508b (one or more of which may commonly be referred to as VM QQ508), and / or may implement any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present VM QQ508 with a virtual operating platform that appears to be networking hardware.

[0151] VM QQ508 features virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be powered by the corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more VM QQ508s, and the implementation may be carried out in different ways. Hardware virtualization is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) in several contexts. NFV can be used to consolidate many types of network equipment onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which may reside in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0152] In the context of NFV, a VM QQ508 can be a software implementation of a physical machine, where programs run as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM QQ508 and its portion of the hardware QQ504 on which it runs, whether dedicated hardware for that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other VMs in the VM, form a separate virtual network element. Furthermore, in the context of NFV, the virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more VM QQ508s on the hardware QQ504, and corresponds to the application QQ502.

[0153] Hardware QQ504 can be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware QQ504 can implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, Hardware QQ504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes cooperate and are managed via management and orchestration QQ510, which oversees the lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, Hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station. In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided using a control system QQ512, which may be used alternatively for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0154] Figure 13 shows a communication diagram of host QQ602 communicating with UE QQ606 via network node QQ604 over a partial wireless connection, according to several embodiments. Next, exemplary implementations of various embodiments of the UE (such as UE QQ112a in Figure 8 and / or UE QQ200 in Figure 9), network nodes (such as network node QQ110a in Figure 8 and / or network node QQ300 in Figure 10), and hosts (such as host QQ116 in Figure 8 and / or host QQ400 in Figure 11), as described in the previous paragraph, will be described with reference to Figure 13.

[0155] Similar to the host QQ400, embodiments of the host QQ602 include hardware such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host QQ602 also includes software that is stored in or accessible by the host QQ602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be capable of operating to serve a remote user, such as a UE QQ606 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection QQ650 extending between the UE QQ606 and the host QQ602. When serving a remote user, the host application may provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection QQ650.

[0156] Network node QQ604 includes hardware that enables network node QQ604 to communicate with host QQ602 and UE QQ606. Connectivity QQ660 can be direct or traverse one or more other intermediate networks, such as a core network (similar to core network QQ106 in Figure 8) and / or one or more public networks, private networks, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network could be a backbone network or the internet.

[0157] The UE QQ606 includes hardware and software that is stored in or accessible by the UE QQ606 and executable by the UE's processing circuitry. The software includes client applications, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app,” which may be capable of operating to serve human or non-human users through the UE QQ606, with the support of the host QQ602. On the host QQ602, the running host application may communicate with the running client application via the UE QQ606 and the OTT connection QQ650, which terminates on the host QQ602. When serving a user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection QQ650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate user data that the UE's client application provides to the host application via the OTT connection QQ650.

[0158] The OTT connection QQ650 may extend via connection QQ660 between host QQ602 and network node QQ604, and via radio connection QQ670 between network node QQ604 and UE QQ606, in order to provide connectivity between host QQ602 and UE QQ606. The connections QQ660 and radio connection QQ670, which the OTT connection QQ650 may provide, are depicted abstractly to illustrate communication between host QQ602 and UE QQ606 via network node QQ604, without explicit reference to the intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices.

[0159] As an example of transmitting data via an OTT connection QQ650, in step QQ608, host QQ602 provides user data, which may be done by running a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with UE QQ606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE QQ606 sharing data with host QQ602 without explicit human interaction. In step QQ610, host QQ602 initiates a transmission to carry the user data toward UE QQ606. Host QQ602 may initiate a transmission in response to a request sent by UE QQ606. The request may be triggered by human interaction with UE QQ606 or by the operation of a client application running on UE QQ606. The transmission may proceed through network node QQ604, as taught in the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step QQ612, network node QQ604 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host QQ602 to UE QQ606, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step QQ614, UE QQ606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be done by a client application running on UE QQ606 associated with a host application run by host QQ602.

[0160] In some examples, UE QQ606 runs a client application that provides user data to host QQ602. User data may be provided in response to or in reaction to data received from host QQ602. Thus, in step QQ616, UE QQ606 may provide user data, which may be done by running a client application. When providing user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE QQ606. Regardless of the particular format in which the user data is provided, UE QQ606 initiates the transmission of the user data to host QQ602 via network node QQ604 in step QQ618. In step QQ620, in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node QQ604 receives user data from UE QQ606 and initiates the transmission of the received user data to host QQ602. In step QQ622, host QQ602 receives user data carried in a transmission initiated by UE QQ606.

[0161] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE QQ606 by using OTT connectivity QQ650, in which wireless connectivity QQ670 forms the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the LTM candidate cell measurement setup procedure.

[0162] In an exemplary scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host QQ602. As another example, the host QQ602 may process audio and video data that may be extracted from the UE for use in creating maps. As yet another example, the host QQ602 may collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic signals). As yet another example, the host QQ602 may store surveillance video uploaded by the UE. As yet another example, the host QQ602 may store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which the host QQ602 can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As yet another example, the host QQ602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-constrained electrical loads to balance generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, extracting, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0163] In some embodiments, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors, which are improved by one or more embodiments. Further optional network functions may be provided to reconfigure the OTT connection QQ650 between host QQ602 and UE QQ606 in response to variations in measurement results. Measurement procedures and / or network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of host QQ602 and / or UE QQ606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in relation to other devices through which the OTT connection QQ650 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values ​​for the monitored quantities exemplified above, or values ​​for other physical quantities that the software can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities for. Reconfiguring the OTT connection QQ650 may include message formatting, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration does not require direct modification of the operation of network node QQ604. Such procedures and functions are known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling by the host QQ602 to facilitate measurements such as throughput, propagation time, and latency. The measurements may be implemented in which software uses an OTT-connected QQ650 to cause messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, to be sent while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0164] This disclosure also includes the following exemplary embodiments. Embodiment Group A Embodiment 1. A method in a user equipment (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting, the method being: Receiving one or more measurement report settings, For each of one or more measurement reporting settings, determine one or more associated L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells, For each of the one or more measurement reporting settings, report one or more measurements performed on one or more associated LTM candidate cells. Methods that include... 2. The method according to Embodiment 1, wherein determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes determining identifiers for one or more associated LTM candidate cells from each of one or more measurement reporting settings. 3. The method according to Embodiment 1, wherein determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes determining identifiers for one or more associated resource settings from each of one or more measurement reporting settings. 4. The method according to Embodiment 3, comprising determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each resource setting. 5. The method according to Embodiment 1, wherein determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes determining that one or more measurement reporting settings indicate that one or more measurement reporting settings apply to all LTM candidate cells for the UE. 6. The method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to a predetermined maximum number of LTM candidate cells and / or a predetermined maximum number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per LTM candidate cell for each of one or more measurement reporting settings. 7. The method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 6, wherein determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings comprises determining one or more frequencies of the associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings. 8. The method according to Embodiment 7, wherein determining one or more frequencies includes determining one or more synchronous signal block (SSB) frequencies. 9. One or more measurement reporting settings, In cell group settings for UE, and / or In the RRC reset message The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 8, which is received. 10. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings are received from a source distribution unit (S-DU). 11. The method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 10, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings include one or more Channel Status Information (CSI) reporting settings. 12. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes sending one or more measurement reports to a source distribution unit (S-DU). 13. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings identify one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell. 14. The method according to Embodiment 13, wherein reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings is further comprising reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to a reference signal identified by one or more RS settings for each of one or more measurement reporting settings. 15. Providing user data, Forwarding user data to a host via transmission to a network node and The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 14, further comprising: Group B Embodiment 16. A method performed by a first network node for configuring a user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting, the method being: Sending one or more measurement reporting settings to a UE, each of which identifies one or more associated L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE. Methods that include... 17. The method according to Embodiment 16, wherein each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes an identifier for one or more associated LTM candidate cells. 18. The method according to Embodiment 17, comprising receiving information from a second network node that identifies one or more LTM candidate cells for a UE. 19. The method according to Embodiment 17 or 18, comprising receiving information from a second network node that identifies an identifier for each LTM candidate cell. 20. The method according to Embodiment 16, wherein each of one or more measurement reporting settings includes an identifier for one or more associated resource settings. twenty one. Each identifier in the resource settings is associated with an LTM candidate cell for the UE, and / or Each of the one or more measurement reporting settings includes an identifier for identifying the association between the resource setting and the LTM candidate cell for UE. The method described in Embodiment 19. twenty two. For each of one or more measurement reporting settings, generate one or more associated resource settings, or The second network node receives one or more associated resource settings for each of one or more measurement reporting settings. The method according to embodiment 18 or 19, including the method described in embodiment 18 or 19. 23. The method according to Embodiment 20, wherein for each of one or more measurement reporting settings, one or more associated resource settings are generated based on one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell for the UE. 24. The method according to Embodiment 16, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings indicate that one or more measurement reporting settings are applied for all LTM candidate cells for the UE. 25. The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 24, comprising receiving from the UE one or more measurements performed by the UE for each of one or more of one or more measurement reporting settings, for up to a predetermined maximum number of LTM candidate cells and / or up to a predetermined maximum number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per LTM candidate cell. 26. The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 25, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings identify one or more measurement frequencies for each of the LTM candidate cells. 27. The method according to Embodiment 26, wherein one or more frequencies for each LTM candidate cell include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) frequencies for each LTM candidate cell. 28. One or more measurement reporting settings, In cell group settings for UE, and / or In the RRC reset message A method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 27, which is sent to the UE. 29. The method according to embodiment 28, wherein a cell group configuration and / or RRC reconfiguration message for the UE is received from a second network node. 30. The method according to Embodiment 28 or 29, comprising sending a cell group configuration for a UE to a second network node, wherein the cell group configuration includes information identifying one or more measurement reporting configurations. 31. The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 30, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings include one or more Channel Status Information (CSI) reporting settings. 32. The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 31, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings identify one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell. 33. The method according to Embodiment 32, comprising receiving information from a second network node that identifies one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell. 34. The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 33, comprising receiving from the UE one or more measurements performed by the UE with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells for each of one or more measurement reporting settings. 35. The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 34, wherein a first network node comprises a source distribution unit (S-DU) for the UE, and / or a second network node comprises a central unit (CU). 36. A method performed by a second network node for configuring a user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting, wherein the method is: For each of the one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE, determine one or more reference signal (RS) settings, Sending information to the first network node that identifies one or more reference signal settings for each of one or more LTM candidate cells for the UE Methods that include... 37. The method according to embodiment 36, wherein information identifying one or more reference signal settings for each of one or more LTM candidate cells for UE is received from at least one third network node. 38. The method according to Embodiment 37, wherein for each of one or more LTM candidate cells for a UE, information identifying one or more reference signal settings for that LTM candidate cell is received from a candidate distribution unit (C-DU) associated with that LTM candidate cell. 39. The method according to embodiment 38, wherein information identifying one or more reference signal settings for each of one or more LTM candidate cells for a UE is received from each C-DU in response to a UE context setup request sent to each C-DU. 40. The method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 39, comprising receiving information from a second network node that identifies one or more LTM candidate cells for a UE. 41. The method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 40, comprising sending information to a first network node that identifies an identifier for each LTM candidate cell. 42. To generate one or more resource settings based on one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell for the UE, Sending one or more resource configurations to a first network node, wherein each of the one or more resource configurations identifies one or more reference signal configurations for one or more LTM candidate cells for a UE; The method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 41, including the method described above. 43. The method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 42, comprising sending one or more measurement reporting settings to a first network node. 44. One or more measurement reporting settings, In cell group settings for UE, and / or In the RRC reconfiguration message for UE The method according to embodiment 43, which is sent to the first network node. 45. The method according to embodiment 43 or 44, wherein the cell group configuration for the UE is received from the first network node. 46. ​​The method according to Embodiment 44 or 45, wherein the cell group setting includes information that identifies one or more measurement reporting settings. 47. The method according to any one of embodiments 43 to 46, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings include one or more channel status information (CSI) reporting settings. 48. The method according to any one of embodiments 43 to 47, wherein one or more measurement reporting settings identify one or more of one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell. 49. The method according to any one of embodiments 36 to 48, wherein a first network node comprises a source distribution unit (S-DU) for a UE, and / or a second network node comprises a central unit (CU). 50. Obtaining user data, Forwarding user data to a host or user device and The method according to any one of embodiments 16 to 49, further comprising: Group C Embodiment 51. User equipment for performing a cell switching procedure, A processing circuit configured to cause a user device to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A, A power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit and User equipment equipped with these features. 52. A network node that causes a user device (UE) to execute a cell switching procedure, wherein the network node is A processing circuit configured to cause a network node to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B, A power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit and A network node equipped with these features. 53. User equipment (UE) for performing a cell switching procedure, wherein the UE is An antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals, A wireless front-end circuit connected to an antenna and a processing circuit, configured to adjust the signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit, The processing circuit is configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A. Wireless front-end circuit and An input interface connected to a processing circuit and configured to allow information input to the UE to be processed by the processing circuit, An output interface connected to a processing circuit and configured to output information from the UE processed by the processing circuit, A battery and a processing circuit connected to the UE, configured to supply power to the UE. User equipment (UE) equipped with these features. 54. A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, wherein the host is A processing circuit configured to provide user data, A network interface configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user device (UE), wherein the network node has a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the network node is configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B in order to transmit user data from a host to a UE, and A host equipped with these features. 55. The host processing circuit is configured to run a host application that provides user data. The UE includes processing circuitry configured to run a client application associated with the host application in order to receive user data transmitted from the host. The host described in Embodiment 54. 56. A method implemented on a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method being: To provide user data for UE, Initiating a transmission to transport user data to a UE via a cellular network comprising network nodes, wherein the network nodes perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B in order to transmit user data from a host to a UE. Methods that include... 57. The method according to embodiment 56, further comprising transmitting user data provided by the host for the UE at a network node. 58. The method according to embodiment 56 or 57, wherein user data is provided on the host by running a host application that interacts with a client application running on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application. 59. A communication system configured to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, wherein the communication system is Being a host, A processing circuit configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), wherein the user data is associated with an over-the-top service, A network interface configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a cellular network node for transmission to a UE, wherein the network node has a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the network node is configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B in order to transmit user data from the host to the UE. A communication system that includes a host. 60. Network nodes, and / or UE The communication system according to embodiment 59, further comprising the above. 61. A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, wherein the host is A processing circuit configured to initiate the reception of user data, A network interface configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, wherein the network node has a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the network node is configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group B in order to receive user data from a user equipment (UE) on behalf of a host, and A host equipped with these features. 62. The host processing circuit is configured to run a host application that receives user data. The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application. The host described in Embodiment 61. 63. A host according to embodiment 61 or 62, wherein initiating the reception of user data includes requesting user data. 64. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method being: Initiating reception of user data from the UE on the host, wherein the user data originates from a transmission received by the network node from the UE, and the network node initiates reception by performing one of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group B in order to receive user data from the UE for the host. Methods that include... 65. The method according to embodiment 64, further comprising transmitting the received user data to a host at a network node. 66. A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, wherein the host is A processing circuit configured to provide user data, A network interface configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user device (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the UE's communication interface and processing circuit are configured to perform any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group A in order to receive user data from a host. A host equipped with these features. 67. The host according to embodiment 66, further comprising a cellular network, network nodes configured to communicate with the UE in order to transmit user data from the host to the UE. 68. The host's processing circuitry is configured to execute the host application and thereby provide user data. The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application. A host according to embodiment 66 or 67. 69. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method being: To provide user data for UE, Initiating a transmission to transport user data to a UE via a cellular network comprising network nodes, wherein the UE performs any of the operations described in any one of the embodiments of Group A in order to receive user data from a host. Methods that include... 70. On the host, the host application associated with the client application running on the UE is executed in order to receive user data from the host application. The method according to embodiment 69, further including the method described in embodiment 69. 71. On the host, sending input data to a client application running on the UE, wherein the input data is provided by running the host application. It further includes, The method according to Embodiment 70, wherein user data is provided by a client application in response to input data from a host application. 72. A host configured to operate in a communication system for providing over-the-top (OTT) services, wherein the host is A processing circuit configured to provide user data, A network interface configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user device (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the UE's communication interface and processing circuit are configured to perform any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A in order to transmit user data to a host. A host equipped with these features. 73. The host according to embodiment 72, further comprising a cellular network, which includes network nodes configured to communicate with the UE in order to transmit user data from the UE to the host. 74. The host's processing circuitry is configured to execute the host application and thereby provide user data. The host application is configured to interact with a client application running on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application. A host according to embodiment 72 or 73. 75. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method being: Receiving user data on a host, wherein the UE receives user data transmitted to the host via a network node, and the UE performs any of the steps described in any one of the embodiments of Group A in order to transmit user data to the host. Methods that include... 76. On the host, in order to receive user data from the UE, the host application associated with the client application running on the UE is executed. The method according to embodiment 75, further including the method described in embodiment 75. 77. On the host, sending input data to a client application running on the UE, wherein the input data is provided by running the host application. It further includes, The method according to embodiment 75 or 76, wherein user data is provided by a client application in response to input data from.

[0165] The computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the shown combinations of hardware components, but other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determining, calculating, acquiring, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuits, which may process information by, for example, converting acquired information to other information, comparing acquired or converted information to information stored in a network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information and as a result of the processing making decisions. Furthermore, although components are shown as a single box located within a larger box, or as a single box nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that constitute a single shown component, and functions may be separated between the distinct components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functions of those components may be separated between the processing circuit and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computation-intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, while the computation-intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0166] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by a processing circuit without executing instructions stored in a separate or individual device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether or not it executes instructions stored in a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the functions described. The benefits provided by such functions are enjoyed by the processing circuit alone, or by the computing device as a whole, but not limited to other components of the computing device, and / or generally by the end user and the wireless network.

Claims

1. A method (200) in a user device (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting, wherein the method is: Receiving a measurement report setting (202), wherein the measurement report setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells, (204) To report one or more measurements performed with respect to the one or more associated LTM candidate cells Method (200), including the method (200).

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining the LTM candidate cells associated with the measurement report setting.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining one or more associated LTM candidate cells for one or more measurement reporting settings includes determining an identifier for the associated resource setting from the measurement reporting setting.

4. The method according to claim 3, comprising determining the one or more associated LTM candidate cells for the resource setting.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells (204) includes reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to a predetermined maximum number of LTM candidate cells and / or a predetermined maximum number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per LTM candidate cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising determining one or more frequencies of the one or more associated LTM candidate cells for the measurement reporting setting.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein determining one or more frequencies includes determining one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) frequencies.

8. The aforementioned measurement reporting settings are In the cell group settings for the aforementioned UE, and / or In the RRC reset message The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is received.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising receiving the resource settings.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the measurement report setting is received from a source distribution unit (S-DU).

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the measurement reporting setting includes a channel status information (CSI) reporting setting.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein reporting (204) one or more measurements performed with respect to one or more associated LTM candidate cells with respect to the measurement reporting setting includes sending one or more measurement reports to a source distribution unit (S-DU).

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the measurement reporting setting identifies one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to the one or more associated LTM candidate cells (204) includes reporting one or more measurements performed with respect to a reference signal identified by one of the one or more RS settings.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the reference signal includes a synchronization signal block (SSB).

16. A method (300) performed by a first network node for setting up a user device (UE) for measurement reporting, wherein the method is: Sending a measurement report setting to the UE (302), wherein the measurement report setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE (302) Method (300), including the method (300).

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising receiving information from a second network node that identifies the one or more LTM candidate cells for the UE.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the measurement reporting setting includes an identifier for the associated resource setting.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, comprising receiving the associated resource configuration from the second network node.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the second network node comprises a central unit (CU).

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, comprising receiving from the UE one or more measurements performed by the UE for up to a predetermined maximum number of LTM candidate cells and / or up to a predetermined maximum number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) for each LTM candidate cell.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein the measurement reporting setting identifies one or more measurement frequencies for each of the one or more LTM candidate cells.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the one or more frequencies for each of the one or more LTM candidate cells include one or more synchronization signal block (SSB) frequencies for each of the one or more LTM candidate cells.

24. The aforementioned measurement reporting settings are In the cell group settings for the aforementioned UE, and / or In the RRC reset message The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, which is sent to the aforementioned UE.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the cell group configuration and / or RRC reconfiguration message for the UE is received from the second network node.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, comprising sending the cell group configuration for the UE to the second network node, wherein the cell group configuration includes information identifying the measurement reporting configuration.

27. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 26, comprising sending the resource settings to the UE.

28. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 27, wherein the measurement reporting setting includes a channel status information (CSI) reporting setting.

29. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 28, wherein the measurement reporting setting identifies one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell.

30. The method according to claim 29, comprising receiving information from the second network node that identifies the one or more reference signal (RS) settings for each LTM candidate cell.

31. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 30, comprising receiving from the UE one or more measurements performed by the UE with respect to the one or more associated LTM candidate cells.

32. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 31, wherein the first network node comprises a source distribution unit (S-DU) for the UE.

33. A computer program that, when executed on at least one processor, includes instructions to cause the at least one processor to execute the method (200, 300) according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

34. A carrier comprising the computer program described in claim 33, wherein the carrier comprises one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a wireless signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

35. A computer program product comprising a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing the computer program described in claim 33.

36. An apparatus in a user equipment (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting, wherein the apparatus comprises a processor and memory, and the memory is configured such that the apparatus Receiving a measurement report setting (202), wherein the measurement report setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells, (204) To report one or more measurements performed with respect to the one or more associated LTM candidate cells A device comprising instructions executable by the processor, such that it is operable to perform the following:

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus can be operated to carry out the method (200) described in any one of claims 2 to 15.

38. A device at a first network node for configuring user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting, wherein the device comprises a processor and memory, and the memory is provided by the device, Sending a measurement report setting to the UE (302), wherein the measurement report setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE (302) A device comprising instructions executable by the processor, such that it is operable to perform the following:

39. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus can operate to carry out the method (300) described in any one of claims 17 to 32.

40. A device in a user equipment (UE) for configuring the UE to perform measurement reporting, wherein the device is Receiving a measurement report setting (202), wherein the measurement report setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells, (204) To report one or more measurements performed with respect to the one or more associated LTM candidate cells A device configured to perform a certain action.

41. The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the apparatus is configured to carry out the method (200) described in any one of claims 2 to 15.

42. A device at a first network node for configuring user equipment (UE) for measurement reporting, wherein the device is Sending a measurement report setting to the UE (302), wherein the measurement report setting is associated with a resource setting, and the resource setting is associated with one or more L1 / L2 trigger mobility (LTM) candidate cells for the UE (302) A device configured to perform a certain action.

43. The apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the apparatus is configured to carry out the method (300) described in any one of claims 17 to 32.

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