Method and apparatus for power control of uplink-only transmitting and receiving points (TRPs).

Abstract

A system and method for power control for uplink-only transmit and / or receive points (TRPs) in a wireless network are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by user equipment (UE) for uplink power control in a wireless network including network nodes includes: receiving a power offset associated with the uplink transmit of an uplink channel from a network node; calculating the path loss based on a downlink reference signal; and determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The method further includes transmitting the uplink channel at the determined transmit power. Thus, uplink power control for uplink transmits is provided in a manner suitable for uplink-only TRPs.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Related applications This application claims the interests of Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 582,963, filed on 15 September 2023, the disclosure thereof being incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

[0002] This disclosure relates to cellular communication systems, and more specifically to uplink power control. [Background technology]

[0003] Data scheduling in the New Radio (NR) under the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is typically performed in slot units. Figure 1 shows an example of a 14-symbol slot with a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing. The first two symbols in a slot contain the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the remaining symbols in the slot contain the physical shared data channel, i.e., either the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0004] Downlink (DL) transmissions can be dynamically scheduled on a per-slot basis. Scheduling information, such as resource allocation and modulation order, is included in the Downlink Control Information (DCI) carried by the PDCCH. DL user data is carried by the PDSCH.

[0005] Uplink (UL) data transmission can also be dynamically scheduled using DCI carried by PDCCH. User equipment (UE) first decodes the uplink grant in DCI and then transmits data via PUSCH based on the scheduling information in the uplink grant.

[0006] In addition to dynamic scheduling of pushes, NR also supports quasi-persistent transmission of periodic pushes using configuration permission (CG). In CG type 1, the period and slot offset are configured by radio resource control (RRC). In CG type 2, push transmissions can be dynamically activated or deactivated by DCI.

[0007] For channel estimation purposes, the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) of DL and the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) of UL are also supported.

[0008] Synchronization signals (SS), including primary SS (PSS) and secondary SS (SSS), are used in NR to enable the UE to obtain DL synchronization to the cell and the physical cell identifier (ID) associated with the cell. PSS and SSS are transmitted together with the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which is called the SS / PDCH block, or simply SSB. The PBCH is used to transmit several important pieces of information within the cell so that the UE can obtain system information from other system information blocks (SIBs).

[0009] A gNodeB (gNB) (i.e., an NR base station) may consist of a single transmit and receive point (TRP) or multiple TRPs. In the case of multiple TRPs, the UE may schedule downlink transmissions from one or more TRPs and uplink data transmissions to one or more TRPs, either one TRP at a time or simultaneously.

[0010] Uplink power control in NR consists of two parts: open-loop power control and closed-loop power control. Open-loop power control is used to set the uplink transmit power based on several factors, including the estimated path loss between the UE and TRP in the serving cell, the target receive power, the channel / signal bandwidth, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and the fractional power control coefficient.

[0011] Closed-loop power control is based on power adjustment signaled by power control commands received from the gNB. Power control commands are typically determined based on the difference between the actual received power and the desired received power at the gNB. NR allows for up to two closed-loop power control loops for each UL channel or signal. NR supports either cumulative or non-cumulative closed-loop power adjustment. The closed-loop adjustment at a given point in time is also referred to as the "power control adjustment state."

[0012] A serving cell may consist of one or more TRPs. In the case of multiple TRPs, the UE may schedule downlink transmissions from one or more TRPs and uplink data transmissions to one or more TRPs. Each TRP transmits a DL reference signal (RS), which the UE can use to estimate path loss between the UE and the TRP. Each DL RS has an index. For UL transmissions, power control can be performed individually for each TRP.

[0013] For a UL channel or signal transmitted in UL associated with the path loss RS at index k (e.g., PUSCH, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or SRS), the transmit opportunity i in a slot within the bandwidth portion (BWP) of the carrier frequency of the serving cell and its transmit power at closed-loop index l (l=0,1) can be expressed as follows: TIFF2026534028000002.tif16119 Here, P CMAX (i) is the maximum output power of the UE with respect to the carrier frequency of the serving cell during the transmission opportunity i of the UL channel or signal. open-loop (i,k) is the open-loop transmit power, and P closed-loop (i,l) is a closed-loop power regulation.

[0014] P open-loop (i,k) is given by: P open-loop (i,k=P) O +PRB (i)+αPL(k)+Δ(i) Here, P O is the nominal target received power of a UL channel or signal, and is composed of a cell-specific part P O,cell and a UE-specific part P O,UE . P RB (i) is a power adjustment related to the number of bandwidths or resource blocks (RBs) occupied by the channel or signal at transmission opportunity i. PL(k) is a path loss (PL) estimate based on the DL RS of index k. α (0<α≦1) is a fractional path loss compensation coefficient, and Δ(i) is a power offset determined by the modulation and coding rate of the UL channel or signal.

[0015] P closed-loop (i,l) is given as follows: TIFF2026534028000003.tif21142 Here, δ(i,l) is a power adjustment value associated with the UL channel or signal at transmission opportunity i, and indicated by a transmit power control (TPC) command in DCI configured in closed loop l. Σ m=0 M δ(m,l) is the sum of power adjustment values indicated by TPC commands that the UE has received for that channel or signal since the TPC command at transmission opportunity i-i0.

[0016] The power control parameters P O , P RB (i), α, PL, Δ(i), δ(i,l) are generally configured separately for each UL channel or signal (e.g., PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS), and it should be noted that they may be different for different UL channels or signals. [Summary of the Invention]

[0017] A system and method for power control for uplink-only transmit and / or receive points (TRPs) in a wireless network are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by user equipment (UE) for uplink power control in a wireless network including network nodes includes: receiving a power offset associated with the uplink transmit of an uplink channel from a network node; calculating the path loss based on a downlink reference signal; and determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The method further includes transmitting the uplink channel at the determined transmit power. Thus, uplink power control for uplink transmits is provided in a manner suitable for uplink-only TRPs.

[0018] In one embodiment, the uplink channel is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0019] In one embodiment, the network node includes a first TRP and a second TRP. In one embodiment, the first TRP is an uplink-only TRP, and the second TRP is an anchor TRP. In one embodiment, the second TRP provides full coverage of each cell on both the downlink and uplink. In one embodiment, the downlink reference signal, on which path loss is calculated, is a downlink reference signal transmitted by the second TRP.

[0020] In one embodiment, the method further includes transmitting an uplink reference signal by a UE. In one embodiment, the uplink reference signal is SRS. In one embodiment, the power offset represents the difference between the received power of the uplink reference signal in dBm at the second TRP and the received power of the uplink reference signal in decibel-milliwatt (dBm) at the first TRP.

[0021] In one embodiment, determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel includes calculating the path loss between the UE and the second TRP based on the calculated path loss and the received power offset.

[0022] In one embodiment, determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the calculated first path loss, the received power offset, and other parameters included in the power control configuration includes calculating the path loss PL1 as follows: PL1(dB)=PL2(dB)-ΔRSRP(dB) Here, PL2 is the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, ΔRSRP(dB) is the received power offset, and the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel is determined based on the path loss PL1 and other parameters configured for the uplink channel.

[0023] A corresponding UE embodiment is also disclosed. In one embodiment, a UE for uplink power control in a wireless network including a network node is adapted to receive a power offset associated with uplink transmission of an uplink channel from the network node, calculate a path loss based on a downlink reference signal, and determine the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The UE is further adapted to transmit the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

[0024] In one embodiment, a UE for uplink power control in a wireless network including network nodes includes a communication interface including a transmitter and a receiver, and a processing circuit associated with the communication interface. The processing circuit is configured to cause the UE to receive a power offset associated with the uplink transmission of the uplink channel from the network node, calculate the path loss based on a downlink reference signal, and determine the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The processing circuit is further configured to cause the UE to transmit the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

[0025] Embodiments of a method performed by a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node associated with a first TRP and a second TRP for a serving cell includes calculating a received power offset representing the difference between a first received power of the uplink reference signal received from the UE at the first TRP and a second received power of the uplink reference signal received from the UE at the second TRP. The method further includes transmitting the received power offset to the UE.

[0026] Embodiments of corresponding network nodes are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a network node associated with a first TRP and a second TRP for a serving cell is adapted to calculate a received power offset representing the difference between a second received power of the uplink reference signal received from the UE at the second TRP and a first received power of the uplink reference signal received from the UE at the first TRP. The UE is further adapted to transmit the received power difference to the UE.

[0027] In one embodiment, a network node associated with a first TRP and a second TRP for a serving cell includes a processing circuit configured to cause the network node to calculate a received power offset representing the difference between a second received power of the uplink reference signal received from the UE at the second TRP and a first received power of the uplink reference signal received from the UE at the first TRP. The processing circuit is further configured to cause the network node to transmit the received power difference to the UE. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0028] The accompanying drawings incorporated herein and forming part thereof illustrate several aspects of this disclosure and, together with the description, help to illustrate the principles of this disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the time-domain structure of a new radio (NR) with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilohertz (kHz).

[0030] [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of a system that provides, for example, uplink power control for an uplink-only transmit and receive point (TRP) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the operation of the system in Figure 2 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows a user device (UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a host that may be one embodiment of the host of Figure 4, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure described herein.

[0036] [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing a virtualization environment in which the functions implemented by some embodiments of this disclosure may be virtualized.

[0037] [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating with a UE via a network node over a partially wireless connection, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0038] The embodiments described below are intended to provide information that will enable those skilled in the art to implement the embodiments and to represent the best mode of implementation. By reading the following description in reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of this disclosure and recognize the application of these concepts not specifically mentioned herein. These concepts and their applications should be understood to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0039] Several embodiments discussed herein will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject to those skilled in the art.

[0040] Currently, a specific challenge exists. In existing New Radio (NR) multi-transmit and receive point (TRP) operation, each TRP is expected to be usable for both downlink (DL) transmission and uplink (UL) reception. For NR Release 19, the idea has been proposed to place UL-dedicated TRPs within a cell, which can be placed at the cell edge to provide better UL coverage to cell edge UEs. UL-dedicated TRPs only listen and do not transmit any signals. However, one problem with UL-dedicated TRPs is UL power control for transmission to those TRPs, because without DL RS transmission from the TRP, it is impossible to estimate the path loss of that TRP.

[0041] Certain aspects of this disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other problems. Disclosed are a system and method for determining the path loss of the UL-dedicated TRP for UL power control by a user equipment (UE) in a serving cell including a UL-dedicated TRP (which may be referred to herein as the “first TRP”) and an anchor TRP (which may be referred to herein as the “second TRP”), where the second TRP supports both DL and UL. In one embodiment, the methods performed by such a system include one or more of the following: • The UE transmits a sounding reference signal (SRS) to both the first and second TRPs. The first and second TRPs each measure the UL SRS received power (e.g., SRS reference signal received power (SRSRP)). The first TRP, the second TRP, or an associated network node (e.g., a gNB or gNB central unit (CU)) calculates the SRSRP difference between the first and second TRPs. For example, a second TRP may signal its SRSRP to the first TRP, and the first TRP may calculate the SRSRP difference. Alternatively, the first and second TRPs may signal their respective SRSRPs to a central node (e.g., a gNB or gNB-CU). The central node may then calculate the SRSRP difference. • A second TRP or associated network node (e.g., gNB or gNB-CU) signals the SRSRP difference to the UE. The UE calculates the second path loss associated with the second TRP based on the DL RS transmitted from the second TRP. The UE calculates the first path loss associated with the first TRP based on the second path loss and the SRSRP difference. The UE calculates the UL channel or signal transmit power for the first TRP based on the first path loss. The UE transmits the UL channel or signal (to the first TRP) with the calculated transmit power.

[0042] Embodiments of this disclosure may include one or more of the following aspects: • Measure SRS received power using UL-specific TRP and anchor TRP. • Calculate the SRS received power difference between the UL-dedicated TRP and the anchor TRP. • Signaling the power difference to the UE • Calculate the path loss to the UL TRP based on the power difference and the estimated path loss associated with the anchor TRP.

[0043] Certain embodiments may offer one or more of the following technical advantages: Embodiments of the present disclosure enable appropriate UL power control to UL TRPs.

[0044] Figure 2 shows an example of a system 200 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In this example, system 200 includes a serving cell 202 operated by a gNB 204 associated with two TRPs, namely a first TRP 206 and a second TRP 208. Note that in some embodiments, the TRPs are associated with (e.g., controlled by) the gNB 204 but are not part of the gNB 204. The first TRP 206 is preferably a UL-only TRP. The second TRP 208 is also referred to herein as the “anchor TRP”. The second TRP 208 provides full coverage of the serving cell 202 for both DL and UL transmissions. In this example, the first TRP 206 is a UL-only TRP located at the cell edge to improve the UL performance of the cell edge UE. The first TRP 206 and the second TRP 208 are connected to the gNB 204 via their respective backhaul links. All UEs in cell 202 perform initial access and network connectivity via the second TRP208. After initial access and / or network connectivity, for some cell edge UEs close to the first TRP206, the gNB may instruct those UEs to transmit toward the first TRP206. In the illustrated example, UE210 is shown as an example.

[0045] Figure 3 shows the operation of System 200 of Figure 2, which provides UL power control for UL channels / signals transmitted by UE210 toward the first TRP206 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The procedure includes the following steps: Step 300: In response to a request from gNB204, UE210 transmits SRS via UL. Step 302: Both the first TRP206 and the second TRP208 measure the SRS received power (SRSRP) and communicate the measured SRSRP to the gNB204 via their respective backhaul links. Step 304: gNB204 calculates the difference in SRSRP between the first TRP206 and the second TRP208. Step 306: gNB204 signals the SRSRP difference to UE210 via the second TRP208. Step 308: UE210 calculates the first path loss between UE210 and the first TRP206 based on the SRSRP difference and the second path loss estimated between UE210 and the second TRP208. The second path loss estimated between UE210 and the second TRP208 can be estimated by conventional methods (e.g., based on DL RS transmitted by the second TRP208). Step 310: UE210 performs UL power control for the first TRP206 based on the first path loss. In other words, UE210 calculates the UL power for transmitting the UL channel or signal based on the first path loss. Step 312: The UE210 transmits a UL channel or signal using the transmit power obtained by the UL power control performed in Step 310.

[0046] Further details on each step are provided below.

[0047] Step 300: UE210 sends SRS

[0048] The SRS transmitted by the UE210 can be periodic, semi-permanent, or aperiodic. The SRS is configured in an SRS resource of an SRS resource set. An SRS resource may have one or more SRS antenna ports. An SRS resource or resource set consists of a set of power control parameters, including a path loss reference signal index. The path loss RS is associated with / transmitted by an anchor TRP (i.e., a second TRP208).

[0049] Please note that SRS is used as an example here. Other UL RS can be used instead of SRS.

[0050] Step 302: SRS Received Power Measurement

[0051] Both the first TRP206 and the second TRP208 know the SRS configuration. TRP206 and TRP208 each measure the received power of the SRS. The received power of the SRS is SRSRP1 (dBm) for the first TRP206 and SRSRP2 (dBm) for the second TRP208. Measurements can also be performed at each TRP206 and 208 (as shown in steps 302-1 and 302-3 in the example in Figure 3, in which case TRP206 and 208 communicate their SRSRP measurements (i.e., SRSRP1 and SRSRP2) to gNB204 via their respective backhaul links, as shown in steps 302-2 and 302-4 in the example in Figure 3), or at gNB204 (for example, after processing at TRP206, each received signal is communicated to gNB204 via its respective backhaul link, where gNB204 further processes the received signals to obtain the SRSRP measurement).

[0052] Step 304: Calculate the SRS received power difference.

[0053] In one example embodiment, the gNB204 calculates the SRS received power difference as follows: ΔSRSRP(dB)=SRSRP1(dBm)-SRSRP2(dBm) (1)

[0054] Step 306: Signal the SRS received power difference to the UE.

[0055] The SRS received power difference is quantized and signaled to the UE210, for example, dynamically in a DCI or Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), or quasi-statically in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. Quantization can be performed with a predetermined step size and range. For example, 4 bits can be used to cover a range of {-30, -28, ..., -2, 0} dB for ΔSRSRP with a step size of 2 dB. In this example, the SRS received power difference is signaled to the UE210, but other values ​​based on the SRS received power difference may be signaled to the UE210 instead (e.g., a value that the UE210 can derive the SRS received power difference from via a predetermined formula, etc.).

[0056] Step 308: Calculate the first path loss between UE and TRP1.

[0057] In one example embodiment, the first path loss PL1 between UE210 and the first TRP206 can be calculated by UE210 as follows: PL1(dB)=PL2(dB)-ΔSRSRP(dB) (2) Here, PL2 is the second path loss between UE210 and the second TRP208. PL2 can be estimated by UE210 based on the DL RS transmitted from the second TRP208.

[0058] Note that in another example embodiment, ΔSRSRP and PL1(dB) may be calculated as follows. ΔSRSRP(dB)=SRSRP2(dBm)-SRSRP1(dBm) (3) PL1(dB)=PL2(dB)+ΔSRSRP(dB) (4)

[0059] Step 310: Calculate the transmit power of the UL channel / signal for TRP1.

[0060] The UL channel or signal may be PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS. The transmit power is calculated by the UE210 based on the first path loss PL1 and a set of other power control parameters configured for the UL channel, for example, following an existing NR power control procedure described in 3GPP TS 38.213 (see V17.6.0, e.g.).

[0061] Step 312: Send UL channel or signal to TRP1

[0062] The transmit power of the UL channel or signal obtained in step 310 is used by UE210 to transmit the UL channel or signal to the first TRP206.

[0063] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system 400 according to several embodiments.

[0064] In this example, the communication system 400 includes a telecommunications network 402 which includes an access network 404 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network 406 which includes one or more core network nodes 408. The access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes such as network nodes 410A and 410B (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network node 410), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point (AP). Furthermore, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which the radio portion and the baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that a network node includes a subdivided implementation or a part thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 402 includes one or more open RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in a telecommunications network 402 that supports ORAN standards (e.g., standards published by the O-RAN Alliance or any similar organization) and can operate alone or in conjunction with other nodes to implement one or more functions of any node in the telecommunications network 402, including one or more network nodes 410 and / or core network nodes 408.

[0065] Examples of ORAN network nodes include open central units (O-CUs) including open radio units (O-RUs), open distributed units (O-DUs), 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 plugins 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 ORAN standards). Network nodes can support ORAN standards by supporting interfaces defined by ORAN standards, 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 (described further later) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization 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 nodes 410 facilitate direct or indirect connectivity of user equipment (UEs) by connecting UEs 412A, 412B, 412C, and 412D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE412) to the core network 406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0066] Exemplary wireless communications on a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for carrying information without using wires, cables, or other physical conductors. Furthermore, in various embodiments, the communication system 400 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 wired or wireless. The communication system 400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, wireless network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0067] UE412 may be any of a broad range of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 410 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 410 is arranged, can communicate, is configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE412 and / or other network nodes or devices in telecommunications network 402 in order to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as management within telecommunications network 402.

[0068] In the illustrated example, the core network 406 connects network node 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. These connections may be direct or indirect, via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly connected to hosts. The core network 406 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) structured by hardware and software components. The functions of these components may be substantially the same as those described for the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, and therefore those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of core network node 408. An exemplary core network node includes one or more of the following functions: 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), Subscription Identifier Decryption Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protected Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[0069] Host 416 may be owned by or under the control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 404 and / or the telecommunications network 402, and may be operated by or on behalf of such service provider. Host 416 may host a variety of applications and provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data acquisition services such as acquisition and editing of data on a variety of ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, analytical functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0070] Overall, the communication system 400 in Figure 4 enables connectivity between the UE, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate in accordance with predefined rules or procedures, such as certain standards, including but not limited to: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), LTE (Long Term Evolution), and / or other suitable second, third, fourth, or fifth generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., sixth generation (6G)), WLAN (wireless local area network) standards such as the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard (WiFi), and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, NFC (Near Field Communication), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0071] In some examples, the telecommunications network 402 is a cellular network implementing functions standardized by 3GPP. Therefore, the telecommunications network 402 may support network slicing to provide various logical networks to various devices connected to the telecommunications network 402. For example, the telecommunications network 402 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 provide massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to further UEs.

[0072] In some examples, UE412 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 404 on a predetermined schedule, triggered by internal or external events, or in response to a request from access network 404. Additionally, the UE may be configured to operate with single or multiple radio access technologies (RATs) or in multiple standard modes. For example, the UE may be configured to operate with any one or a combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) such as Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0073] In the above example, hub 414 communicates with access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE412C and / or 412D) and a network node (e.g., network node 410B). In some examples, hub 414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, hub 414 may be a broadband router that enables access to core network 406 for the UE. In another example, hub 414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators within the UE. Commands or instructions may be received from the UE or network node 410, or accepted by executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions within hub 414. In yet another example, hub 414 may be a data collector acting as temporary storage for UE data, which in some embodiments may perform analysis or other processing on that data. In yet another example, hub 414 may be a content source. For example, with respect to a UE that is a virtual reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may acquire media or data related to VR assets, video, audio, or other sensory information via network nodes, in which case the hub 414 provides it to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In another example, the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, in particular when one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0074] Hub 414 may have a steady / permanent or intermittent connection to network node 410B. Hub 414 may also allow different communication methods and / or schedules between Hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE412C and / or 412D), and between Hub 414 and the core network 406. In other examples, Hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Furthermore, Hub 414 may be configured to connect to machine-to-machine (M2M) service providers on the access network 404 and / or to other UEs via direct connections. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with network node 410 while still being connected via Hub 414 via wired or wireless connections. In some embodiments, Hub 414 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communication between UEs and network node 410B. In other embodiments, the hub 414 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device capable of routing communication between the UE and the network node 410B, but also capable of acting as the source and / or destination of communication for some data channel.

[0075] Figure 5 shows UE500 according to several embodiments. As used herein, UE refers to a device that is capable of, configured, deployed, and / or operating wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicles, in-vehicle or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by 3GPP, including Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, Machine Type Communications (MTC) UEs, and / or Enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0076] The UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for side-link communication, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the device in question. Instead, the 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, at least initially. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but may be associated with a user or operated for the benefit of a user.

[0077] The UE500 includes an input / output interface 506, a power supply 508, memory 510, a communication interface 512, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, and processing circuits 502 operably connected via bus 504. A certain UE may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 5. The level of integration between components may vary between one UE and another. Furthermore, a certain UE may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memory, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0078] The processing circuit 502 is configured to process instruction sets and data, and may implement some sequential state machine capable of operating to execute instruction sets stored in memory 510 as machine-readable computer programs. The processing circuit 502 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more stored computer programs, a general-purpose processor such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0079] In the above example, the input / output interface 506 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 UE500. 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, and smart cards. Presence-sensitive displays may include capacitive or resistive touch sensors for sensing user input. Sensors may include, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetic sensors, optical 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.

[0080] In some embodiments, the power supply 508 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 solar power device, or a battery. The power supply 508 may further include power circuits for transmitting power from the power supply 508 itself and / or an external power source to various parts of the UE500 via interfaces such as input circuits or power cables. Power transmission may be, for example, for charging the power supply 508. The power circuits may perform some shaping, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply 508 to suit the power of each component of the UE500 to which the power is supplied.

[0081] The memory 510 may be, or may be configured to include, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrical EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, and flash drive. In one example, the memory 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516.

[0082] Memory 510 may store any of a wide variety of operating systems or combinations of multiple operating systems for use by the UE500. Memory 510 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units such as 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 Disc (HD-DVD), optical disc drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-ray optical disc drives, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drives, external mini Dual In-Line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external microDIMM SDRAM, tamper-resistant modules in the form of Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) such as Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a "SIM card." The memory 510 may enable the UE500 to access instruction sets and application programs stored in temporary or non-temporary storage media to offload or upload data. Product items, such as those utilizing communication systems, may be tangibly embodied as or within the memory 510, which is a device-readable storage medium or may contain one.

[0083] The processing circuit 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 512. The communication interface 512 may include one or more communication subsystems, and may include or be communicatively connected to an antenna 522. The communication interface 512 may include one or more transceivers used to perform communication, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of other wirelessly communicable devices (e.g., other UEs or network nodes in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 518 and / or receiver 520 appropriate for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency-allocated, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be connected to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 522), and they may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, be implemented separately.

[0084] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface 512 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, near-field communication such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) for location determination, other similar communication functions, or any combination thereof. The 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 CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMAX, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0085] Regardless of the sensor type, the UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensor to a network node via a wireless connection through its communication interface 512. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be communicated to a network node via another UE via a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if reporting sensed temperature), random (e.g., to equalize the load from notifications from multiple sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., moisture is detected and an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or as a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0086] Other examples include actuators, motors, or switches associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. The state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change in response to the received wireless input. 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 a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0087] If a UE is in the form of an IoT device, it may be a device for use in one or more application domains, which include, but are not limited to, wearable technology in urban environments, augmented industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-exclusive examples of such IoT devices include, or are incorporated into, devices such as, connected refrigerators or freezers, televisions, connected lighting fixtures, electric meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, moisture detectors (flood / moisture 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 enhancement or sensory improvement, water sprinklers, animal or object tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical device such as heart rate monitors or remotely controlled surgical robots. An IoT device-type UE comprises, in addition to circuitry and / or software that depends on the intended application of the IoT device, other components such as those described in relation to the UE500 shown in Figure 5.

[0088] In another specific example, in an IoT scenario, the 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 other UEs and / or network nodes. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device and may be referred to as an MTC device in the context of 3GPP. In one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle such as a passenger car, bus, truck, ship, or aircraft, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0089] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, the first UE may be a drone or integrated into a drone and provide speed information of the drone (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the drone's throttle (for example, by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UE may include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, the UE may include sensors and actuators and handle data communication for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0090] Figure 6 shows network nodes 600 according to several embodiments. As used herein, a network node is a device that is capable of communicating directly or indirectly with the UE and / or other network nodes or devices in the telecommunications network, and is configured, positioned, and / or operational in such a manner. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, node Bs, evolved node Bs (eNBs), NR node Bs (gNBs)), and O-RAN nodes and components of O-RAN nodes (e.g., O-RUs, O-DUs, O-CUs).

[0091] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level), and therefore may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations, depending on the amount of coverage they provide. A base station may also be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay device. Network nodes may also include one or all of the parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit, a distributed unit (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or a remote radio unit (RRU) sometimes called a remote radio head (RRH). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna, such as in an antenna-integrated radio. Some parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes within a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0092] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmitting point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BS, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or BS controllers (BSCs), base stations (BTSs), transmit points, transmit nodes, multi-cell / multicast cooperative 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). Network node 600 includes processing circuits 602, memory 604, communication interfaces 606, and power supplies 608.

[0093] Network node 600 may consist of multiple physically separate components (e.g., node B component and RNC component, or BTS component and BSC component), each of which may have its own respective components. In a scenario in which network node 600 has multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of these separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node Bs. In such a scenario, each unique pair of node B and RNC may, in some examples, be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 600 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be redundant (e.g., separate memory 604 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 610 may be shared by multiple different RATs). Furthermore, the network node 600 may include multiple sets of diverse exemplary components for various wireless technologies to be integrated into the network node 600, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or sets of chips and other components within the network node 600.

[0094] The processing circuit 602 may include one or more combinations of microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, CPUs, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or other suitable computing devices, resources, or hardware, software, and / or coding logic, which can operate independently or in conjunction with other network node 600 components such as memory 604 to provide the functionality of the network node 600.

[0095] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 602 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit 602 includes one or more of the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 612 and the baseband processing circuit 614. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 612 and the baseband processing circuit 614 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), substrates, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 612 and the baseband processing circuit 614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, substrate, or unit.

[0096] Memory 604 may include, but is not limited to, any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, large storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile non-temporary device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device for storing information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 602. Memory 604 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including applications, and / or other instructions, which can be executed by the processing circuit 602 and are available to the network node 600, including one or more computer programs, software, logic, rules, code, and tables. Memory 604 may also be used to store any calculation results produced by the processing circuit 602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 606. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 602 and the memory 604 are integrated.

[0097] The communication interface 606 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As illustrated, the communication interface 606 includes, for example, a port / terminal 616 for sending and receiving data to and from the network over a wired connection. The communication interface 606 also includes a wireless front-end circuit 618, which is connected to or, in some embodiments, part of the antenna 610. The wireless front-end circuit 618 includes a filter 620 and an amplifier 622. The wireless front-end circuit 618 may be connected to the antenna 610 and the processing circuit 602. The wireless front-end circuit 618 may be configured to adjust signals communicated between the antenna 610 and the processing circuit 602. The wireless front-end circuit 618 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The wireless front-end circuit 618 can convert its digital data into a wireless signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filter 620 and / or the amplifier 622. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 610. Similarly, when data is received, antenna 610 collects the radio signal, which can then be converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuit 618. The digital data can then be passed to the processing circuit 602. In other embodiments, the communication interface 606 may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0098] In one alternative embodiment, the network node 600 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 618; rather, the processing circuit 602 includes the radio front-end circuit and is connected to the antenna 610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuits 612 are part of the communication interface 606. In yet another embodiment, the communication interface 606, as part of a radio unit (not shown), includes one or more ports or terminals 616, a radio front-end circuit 618, and an RF transceiver circuit 612, and the communication interface 606 communicates with a baseband processing circuit 614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0099] Antenna 610 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 610 may be connected to a wireless front-end circuit 618 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In one embodiment, antenna 610 is separate from the network node 600 and can be connected to the network node 600 through an interface or port.

[0100] The antenna 610, communication interface 606, and / or processing circuit 602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or acquisition operations described herein as being performed by the network node 600. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from the UE, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 610, communication interface 606, and / or processing circuit 602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 600. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to the UE, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment.

[0101] Power supply 608 provides power to the various components of network node 600 in a format suitable for each component (for example, at the voltage and current levels required for each component). Power supply 608 may further include, or be connected to, a power management circuit for supplying power to the components of network node 600 to perform the functions described herein. For example, network node 600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid or electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as an electrical cable, thereby allowing the external power source to supply power to the power circuit of power supply 608. As a further example, power supply 608 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 case of failure of the external power source.

[0102] Embodiments of network node 600 may include additional components other than those shown in Figure 6 to provide a functional view of the network node, including any functionality necessary to support any of the functionalities described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 600 may include user interface equipment that enables input of information to and output of information from network node 600. This may enable users to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on network node 600.

[0103] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a host 700 that may be an embodiment of host 416 in Figure 4, relating to the various perspectives described herein. Where used herein, host 700 may be, or include, a variety of hardware and / or software, including standalone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources within a server farm. Host 700 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0104] The host 700 includes an input / output interface 706, a network interface 708, a power supply 710, and a processing circuit 702 operably connected via a bus 704 to a memory 712. In other embodiments, other components may be included. The functions of these components may be substantially the same as those described for the devices in previous drawings such as Figures 5 and 6, and thus those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 700.

[0105] Memory 712 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host application programs 714, and data 716, which may include user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host 700 or data generated by the host 700 for the UE. Embodiments of the host 700 may utilize only a subset or all of the illustrated components. The host application program 714 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). Furthermore, the host application program 714 may provide user authentication and license checks, and may periodically report health, route, and content availability to central nodes such as devices within or at the edge of the core network. Thus, host 700 may select and / or point to different hosts for over-the-top (OTT) services for the UE. The host application program 714 may support a variety of protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH).

[0106] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment 800 in which functions implemented by several embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means generating a device or a virtual version of a device, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any of the devices or components thereof described herein and relates to implementation examples in which at least some of its 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 within one or more virtualized environments 800 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 as a whole may be virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualized environment 800 includes a set of 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.

[0107] Application 802 (which may alternatively be called a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment 800 to implement some of the features, functions and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0108] Hardware 804 includes a processing circuit, memory for storing software and / or instruction sets executable by the hardware processing circuit, and / or hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces and input / output interfaces. The software is executed by the processing circuit to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 806 (also referred to as a hypervisor or VM monitor (VMM)), provide VM808A and VM808B (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described herein in relation to some of the embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to the VM808 as networking hardware.

[0109] VM808 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by the corresponding virtualization layer 806. Various embodiments of instances of virtual appliance 802 may be implemented in one or more of VM808, and such implementation may be carried out in various 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 into industry-standard, high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that can reside in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0110] In the context of NFV, VM808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs a program as if it were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM808, and the portion of hardware 804 on which the VM runs, whether dedicated hardware for that VM or hardware shared by that VM with other VM808s, forms a separate virtual network element. In the context of NFV, the virtual network function is further responsible for handling the specific network functions running in one or more VM808s operating on hardware 804, and corresponds to application 802.

[0111] Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general-purpose or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., one in a data center or CPE) in which multiple hardware nodes cooperate and are managed via management and orchestration 810, which oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of application 802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces, or they may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes, such as a RAN or base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided in conjunction with the use of a control system 812, which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0112] Figure 9 shows a communication diagram of a host 902 communicating with a UE 906 via a network node 904 over a partially wireless connection, according to several embodiments. Exemplary implementations of various embodiments of the UEs (UE412A in Figure 4 and / or UE500 in Figure 5), network nodes (network node 410A in Figure 4 and / or network node 600 in Figure 6), and hosts (host 416 in Figure 4 and / or host 700 in Figure 7), discussed in the preceding paragraphs, will now be described with reference to Figure 9.

[0113] Similar to host 700, embodiments of host 902 include hardware such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 902 also includes software stored within or accessible by host 902, which is executable by the processing circuitry. This software may include a host application that can operate to provide services to remote users, such as UE906 connected via an OTT connection 950 extending between UE906 and host computer 902. While providing services to remote users, the host application may provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 950.

[0114] Network node 904 includes hardware that enables communication with host 902 and UE 906. Connection 960 is direct or can pass through one or more other intermediate networks, such as a core network (like core network 406 in Figure 4) and / or one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the internet.

[0115] UE906 includes hardware and software stored within or accessible by UE906, which is executable by the UE's processing circuitry. This software may include a client application, such as a web browser or a service provider-specific “app,” which, with the support of host 902, may operate to provide services to human or non-human users via UE906. On host 902, the host application being executed may communicate with the client application being executed via an OTT connection 950 terminating at UE906 and host 902. While providing services to a user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to that request data.

[0116] The OTT connection 950 can transport both request data and user data. The UE's client application can interact with the user to generate user data that it provides to the host application via the OTT connection 950. The OTT connection 950 extends via connection 960 between host 902 and network node 904, and via wireless connection 970 between network node 904 and UE 906, and can provide connectivity between host 902 and UE 906. Connections 960 and wireless connection 970, through which the OTT connection 950 can be provided, are abstractly depicted to illustrate communication between host 902 and UE 906 via network node 904, without any explicit reference to any intermediate devices or the precise routing of messages through those devices.

[0117] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 950, in step 908, host 902 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 906. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE 906 sharing data with host 902 without explicit human interaction. In step 910, host 902 initiates a transmission to UE 906 that carries the user data. Host 902 may initiate such a transmission in response to a request transmitted by UE 906. Such a request may be triggered by human interaction with UE 906 or by the operation of a client application running on UE 906. The transmission may pass through network node 904 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described through this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 912, network node 904 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host 902 to UE 906 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described through this disclosure. In step 914, the UE906 receives the user data carried in the above transmission, which may be done by a client application running on the UE906 that is associated with a host application running on the host 902.

[0118] In some examples, UE906 executes a client application, thereby providing user data destined for host 902. User data may be provided in reaction to or in response to receiving data from host 902. Accordingly, in step 916, UE906 may provide user data, which may be done by executing a client application. While providing user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UE906. Regardless of the specific way in which user data is provided, in step 918, UE906 initiates transmission of user data to host 902 via network node 904. In step 920, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described through this disclosure, network node 904 receives user data from UE906 and initiates transmission of the received user data to host 902. In step 922, host 902 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE906.

[0119] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE906 using the OTT connection 950, with the wireless connection 970 forming the final segment. More precisely, the teaching of these embodiments improves, for example, data rate, latency, and / or power consumption, resulting in benefits such as reduced user latency, relaxed file size limitations, improved content resolution, enhanced responsiveness, and / or extended battery life.

[0120] In an exemplary scenario, Host 902 may collect and analyze factory status information. In another example, Host 902 may process audio and video data, which may be acquired from the UE, for use in generating maps. In yet another example, Host 902 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., traffic light control). In yet another example, Host 902 may store surveillance video uploaded by the UE. In yet another example, Host 902 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR that can be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. In yet another example, Host 902 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads for balancing power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as editing diagrams from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, acquiring, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0121] In some examples, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that may be improved by one or more embodiments. Further network functionality may exist as an option for reconfiguring the OTT connection 950 between host 902 and UE 906 in response to variations in the measurement results. The above measurement procedures and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 950 may be implemented in the software and hardware of host 902 and / or UE 906. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection 950 passes, and these sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by supplying numerical values ​​of the monitored results exemplified above or numerical values ​​of other physical quantities from which the monitored quantities may be calculated or estimated by software. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 950 may include message formatting, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and such reconfiguration does not need to directly change the operation of network node 904. Such procedures and functionality may be known or in practice in the art. In one embodiment, the measurement may include proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the measurement of throughput, propagation time, and latency by the host 902. The measurement may be implemented by the software monitoring propagation time, errors, etc., while sending messages that are specifically empty or "dummy" messages using the OTT connection 950.

[0122] While the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include combinations of illustrated hardware components, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The decisions, calculations, acquisitions, 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 with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making decisions as a result of the processing. Furthermore, while components are depicted as single boxes located within larger boxes or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may include multiple different physical components that make up the illustrated single component, and functionality may be separated between distinct components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and the functionality of those components may be separated between the processing circuit and the communication interface. In other examples, computationally intensive functions of any of these components may be implemented in software or firmware, while computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0123] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionalities described herein may be provided by a processing circuit executing a set of instructions stored in memory, which 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 functionalities may be provided by the processing circuit, such as in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored in separate or discrete device-readable storage mediums. In any of these specific embodiments, the processing circuit can be configured to perform the functionalities described, whether or not it executes instructions stored in a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionalities are not limited to the processing circuit alone or other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by the end user and the wireless network in general.

[0124] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are deemed to fall within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0125] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are as follows: Group A Embodiment

[0126] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) (210) for uplink power control, the method comprising: transmitting an uplink reference signal (300) on a serving cell (202) operated by a network node (204) associated with a first transmit and receive point (TRP) (206) and a second TRP (208); and receiving a reference signal received power (RSRP) difference (300) from the network node (204) representing the difference between a first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP (206) and a second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP (208). 6) including one or more of the following: calculating a first path loss between the UE(210) and the first TRP(206) based on a second path loss between the UE(210) and the second TRP(208) and the RSRP difference (308); performing uplink power control for the uplink channel or signal to the first TRP(206) based on the first path loss (310); and transmitting the uplink channel or signal with the transmit power obtained by performing the uplink power control for the first TRP(206) based on the first path loss (310) (312).

[0127] Embodiment 2: The method according to Embodiment 1, wherein the uplink reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0128] Embodiment 3: The method according to Embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the first TRP(206) is an uplink-dedicated TRP.

[0129] Embodiment 4: The method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the second TRP(208) is an anchor TRP (i.e., a TRP used by all UEs in each cell for initial access and network connectivity).

[0130] Embodiment 5: The method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the second TRP(208) provides complete coverage of each cell in both the downlink and uplink.

[0131] Embodiment 6: The RSRP difference is, ΔSRSRP(dB)=SRSRP1(dBm)-SRSRP2(dBm), The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein ΔSRSRP is defined as the RSRP difference, SRSRP is the first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP(206), and SRSRP2 is the second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP(208).

[0132] Embodiment 7: Calculating the first path loss (308) is performed by determining the first path loss PL1(dB)=PL2(dB)-ΔSRSRP(dB), The method according to Embodiment 6, which includes calculating, where PL1 is the first path loss and PL2 is the second path loss.

[0133] Embodiment 8: The method of any of the above embodiments, further comprising providing user data and transferring the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node (204). Group B Embodiment

[0134] Embodiment 9: A method performed by a network node (204) associated with a first transmit and receive point (TRP) (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), the method comprising: (304) calculating a reference signal received power (RSRP) difference representing the difference between a first RSRP of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP (206) from a user device (UE) (210) and a second RSRP of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP (208) from the UE (210); and (306) transmitting the RSRP difference to the UE (210).

[0135] Embodiment 10: The method according to Embodiment 9, wherein the uplink reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0136] Embodiment 11: The method according to Embodiment 9 or 10, wherein the first TRP(206) is an uplink-dedicated TRP.

[0137] Embodiment 12: The method according to any one of Embodiments 9 to 11, wherein the second TRP(208) is an anchor TRP (i.e., a TRP used by all UEs in each cell for initial access and network connectivity).

[0138] Embodiment 13: The method according to any one of Embodiments 9 to 12, wherein the second TRP(208) provides complete coverage of each cell in both the downlink and uplink.

[0139] Embodiment 14: The RSRP difference is, ΔSRSRP(dB)=SRSRP1(dBm)-SRSRP2(dBm) The method according to any one of embodiments 9 to 13, wherein ΔSRSRP is defined as the RSRP difference, SRSRP1 is the first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP(206), and SRSRP2 is the second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP(208).

[0140] Embodiment 15: The method according to any one of Embodiments 9 to 14, further comprising receiving the first RSRP from the first TRP(206) (302-2) and receiving the second RSRP from the second TRP(208) (302-4).

[0141] Embodiment 16: The method of any of the above embodiments, further comprising acquiring user data and transferring the user data to a host or user device. Group C Embodiment

[0142] Embodiment 17: User equipment comprising a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment of Group A, and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0143] Embodiment 18: A network node comprising a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment of Group B, and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0144] Embodiment 19: Includes an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a wireless front-end circuit connected to the antenna and a processing circuit and configured to adjust signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment of Group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to allow information processed by the processing circuit to be input to the UE; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information processed by the processing circuit from the UE; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0145] Embodiment 20: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: a processing circuit configured to initiate the reception of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any of the operations of any embodiment of Group B to receive the user data from a user device (UE) for the host.

[0146] Embodiment 21: A host according to either of the two embodiments described above, wherein the processing circuit of the host is configured to run a host application that receives the 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.

[0147] Embodiment 22: A host according to either of the two embodiments described above, wherein the commencement of receiving the user data includes requesting the user data.

[0148] Embodiment 23: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UEs), the method comprising the host initiating the reception of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission received by the network node from the UE, and the network node receiving the user data from the UE for the host by performing any of the steps of any embodiment of Group B.

[0149] Embodiment 24: The method according to the above embodiment, further comprising transmitting the received user data to the host at the network node.

[0150] Embodiment 25: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, wherein the host includes processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user device (UE), the UE including a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to transmit the user data to the host by performing any of the steps of any embodiment of Group A.

[0151] Embodiment 26: The host according to the above embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes network nodes configured to communicate with the UE in order to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0152] Embodiment 27: A host according to either of the two embodiments described above, wherein the processing circuit of the host is configured to provide the user data by executing a host application, 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.

[0153] Embodiment 28: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UEs), the method comprising the host receiving user data transmitted to the host by the UE via the network nodes, the UE transmitting the user data to the host by performing any of the steps of any embodiment of Group A.

[0154] Embodiment 29: The method of the above embodiment, further comprising running a host application associated with a client application running on the UE in order to receive the user data from the UE on the host.

[0155] Embodiment 30: The method of any of the two embodiments described above, further comprising the host transmitting input data to the client application running on the UE, wherein the input data is provided by running the host application, and the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user device (UE) (210) for uplink power control in a wireless network including network nodes, wherein the method is: The network node (204) receives the power offset associated with the uplink transmission of the uplink channel (306), Calculating path loss based on the downlink reference signal, Determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel (308-310), A method comprising (312) transmitting the uplink channel with the determined transmission power.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the uplink channel is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the network node includes a first transmit and / or receive point (TRP) and a second TRP.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first TRP is an uplink-dedicated TRP and the second TRP is an anchor TRP.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the second TRP(208) provides complete coverage of each cell in both the downlink and uplink.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the downlink reference signal is a downlink reference signal transmitted by the second TRP, based on which the path loss is calculated.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising transmitting an uplink reference signal by the UE.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the uplink reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the power offset represents the difference between the received power in dBm units of the uplink reference signal in the second TRP (208) and the received power in decibel-milliwatts (dBm) units of the uplink reference signal in the first TRP (206).

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel (308-310) includes calculating the path loss between the UE and the second TRP based on the calculated path loss and the received power offset (308).

11. Based on the calculated first path loss, the received power offset, and other parameters included in the power control configuration, the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel is determined. Path Loss PL 1 of, PL 1 (dB) = PL ２ The calculation is done as (dB) - ΔRSRP(dB), and PL 2 is the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, and ΔRSRP(dB) is the received power offset, and The aforementioned pass loss PL 1 The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the other parameters configured for the uplink channel.

12. A user device (UE) (210) for uplink power control in a wireless network including network nodes, wherein the UE (210) is The network node (204) receives the power offset associated with the uplink transmission of the uplink channel (306), Calculating path loss based on the downlink reference signal, Determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel (308-310), A UE (210) is adapted to transmit the uplink channel with the determined transmit power (312).

13. The UE (210) according to claim 12, further adapted to carry out the method according to any one of claims 2 to 11.

14. User equipment (UE) (210, 500) for uplink power control in a wireless network including network nodes, wherein the UE (210, 500) is A communication interface (512) including a transmitter (518) and a receiver (520), A processing circuit (502) associated with the communication interface (512), wherein the processing circuit (502) provides to the UE (210, 500), The network node (204) receives the power offset associated with the uplink transmission of the uplink channel (306), Calculating path loss based on the downlink reference signal, Determining the uplink transmit power of the uplink channel based on the path loss calculated based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel (308-310), UE(210, 500) is configured to perform the following: transmitting the uplink channel with the determined transmission power (312).

15. The UE (210, 500) according to claim 14, wherein the processing circuit (502) is configured to cause the UE (210, 500) to further perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 11.

16. A method performed by a network node (204) associated with a first transmit and receive point (TRP) (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), wherein the method is Calculating a received power offset (304) which represents the difference between a first received power of the uplink reference signal received by the first TRP (206) from the user equipment (UE) (210) and a second received power of the uplink reference signal received by the second TRP (208) from the UE (210), A method comprising transmitting the received power offset to the UE (210) (306).

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first received power is the first reference signal received power (RSRP), the second received power is the second RSRP, and the difference in received power is the RSRP difference.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the uplink reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the first TRP (206) is an uplink-dedicated TRP.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the second TRP (208) is an anchor TRP used by all UEs within each cell for initial access and network connectivity.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein the second TRP (208) provides complete coverage of each cell in both the downlink and uplink.

22. The first received power is the first reference signal received power (RSRP), the second received power is the second RSRP, and the received power offset is ΔRSRP (dB) = RSRP1 (dBm) - RSRP2 (dBm), The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein the RSRP difference is defined as, ΔRSRP is the received power offset in terms of the RSRP difference, RSRP1 is the first RSRP of the uplink reference signal in the first TRP(206), and RSRP2 is the second RSRP of the uplink reference signal in the second TRP(208).

23. Receiving the first received power from the first TRP (206) (302-2), The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, further comprising receiving the second received power from the second TRP (208) (302-4).

24. A network node (204) associated with a first transmit and receive point (TRP) (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), wherein the network node (204) is Calculating a received power offset (304) which represents the difference between the second received power of the uplink reference signal received by the second TRP (208) from the user equipment (UE) (210) and the first received power of the uplink reference signal received by the first TRP (206) from the UE, A network node (204) adapted to transmit the received power difference to the UE (210) (306).

25. A network node (204) according to claim 24, further adapted to perform the method described in any one of claims 17 to 23.

26. Network nodes (204, 600) associated with a first transmit and receive point (TRP) (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), wherein the network nodes (204, 600) are connected to the network nodes (204, 600), The system calculates a received power offset (304) which represents the difference between the second received power of the uplink reference signal received by the second TRP (208) from the user equipment (UE) (210) and the first received power of the uplink reference signal received by the first TRP (206) from the UE. Network nodes (204, 600) including a processing circuit (602) configured to cause the received power offset to be transmitted (306) to the UE (210).

27. The network node (204, 600) according to claim 26, wherein the processing circuit (602) is configured to cause the network node (204, 600) to further perform the method described in any one of claims 17 to 23.

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