Network configuration options for coexistence of reduced capability devices with legacy and new radio devices

Abstract

To provide an improved network configuration option that allows a reduced capability (Redcap) device to coexist with a legacy device.SOLUTION: A Redcap device ignores cellBarred indications in the Master Information Block (MIB) received within a Synchronization System Block (SSB) by the Redcap device, reads a system information block 1 (SIB1), and determines whether to be connected to a cell defined by the received SSB. When the SIB1 contains a cellBarred indication that targets the Redcap device, the Redcap device considers a cell to be barred. The Redcap device instead explores the alternate SSB indicated by the SIB1 to determine whether to be connected to the cell defined by the alternate SSB.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, including providing network configuration options for coexistence of reduced capability devices (RedCap devices) with legacy devices during wireless communications, e.g., wireless cellular communications such as 5G-NR (NR) communications. [Background technology]

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. Many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices, or UEs) now not only support telephony, but also provide access to the Internet, e-mail, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of running sophisticated applications that utilize these features. In addition, there are many different wireless communication technologies and standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (WCDMA, TDS-CDMA), LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), BLUETOOTH, and others. TM The current telecommunications standard beyond the current International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced) standard is called the 5th Generation Mobile Network or 5th Generation Radio System, 3GGP-NR (also known as 5G-NR or NR-5G for 5G New Radio, or simply NR). NR offers higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users and also supports ultra-reliable and massive device-to-machine communication, as well as lower latency and battery consumption than the LTE standard.

[0003] One aspect of a wireless communication system, including NR cellular wireless communication, involves scheduling communication of devices having different respective capabilities. Some devices are classified as "reduced capability devices" or Redcap devices for short, because the capabilities of the devices are reduced relative to other devices, or relative to legacy devices. For example, managing wireless communication of both Redcap devices and other higher capability devices (e.g., legacy devices) in a network, such as an NR network (or cell), remains difficult. Thus, improvements in this area are desirable. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Presented herein are, inter alia, embodiments of methods and procedures for network configuration options for coexistence of Reduced Capability (Redcap) devices with legacy devices, e.g., in an NR network. Further presented herein are embodiments of a wireless communication system including wireless communication devices or user equipment devices (UEs) and / or base stations, access points (APs), communicating with each other within the wireless communication system.

[0005] To improve the coexistence of Redcap devices with non-Redcap or legacy devices, the initial cell access procedure by a mobile device may be modified. In some embodiments, for example, a device such as a UE may search for and receive a cell-defining first synchronization signal block (SSB), which may include a first information block IB (e.g., master information block, MIB) indicating whether the cell defined by the cell-defining first SSB is barred. The UE may consider the cell to be valid and unbarred for the UE regardless of what is indicated by the first IB, and proceed to read a second IB (e.g., system information block, SIB1) included in the first SSB to determine whether to connect to the cell. The UE may consider the cell to be valid for the device in response to the second IB including information of an initial bandwidth part (BWP) for the Redcap device. Alternatively, the UE may consider the cell to be barred for the UE in response to the second IB not including information of an initial BWP for the Redcap device. The first IB may still indicate, for example, whether the cell is barred to one or more additional devices different from the UE, such as legacy devices. Additionally, the UE may consider the cell to be barred to the UE in response to the second IB indicating that the cell is barred.

[0006] In some embodiments, the UE may search for and locate a second SSB defining the cell indicated by the second IB in response to the second IB indicating that the cell is barred. The UE may receive the second SSB and determine whether to connect to the second cell defined by the second SSB based on the information included in the second SSB. Alternatively, the UE may determine a location of a third SSB defining a third cell that is not on a Global Synchronization Channel Number (GSCN) from the information included in the second IB. The UE may receive the third SSB and determine whether to connect to the third cell based on the information included in the third SSB.

[0007] In some embodiments, the network node may broadcast a first SSB defining a cell for a first device group and may also broadcast a second SSB defining a cell for a second device group that is different from the first device group and does not overlap with the first device group, the first SSB and the second SSB being broadcast in a time multiplexed manner at the same frequency location. The first SSB and the second SSB may define different respective initial downlink BWPs for the first device group and the second device group. The different respective initial downlink BWPs may overlap. The first device group may be Redcap devices, while the second device group may be legacy devices.

[0008] In some embodiments, the UE may receive a first SSB defining a cell at a first frequency location and, in response to the first SSB indicating that the cell defined by the first SSB is barred to the device, search for a second SSB defining a cell at the first frequency location at a different time.

[0009] In some embodiments, the network node may transmit a first SSB including a first information block indicating a set of SSB burst locations corresponding to a certain number of SSB bursts broadcast by the network node. The first information block may additionally indicate which of the certain number of SSB bursts are intended for a first device group (e.g., Redcap devices) and which of the plurality of SSB bursts are intended for a second device group (e.g., legacy devices) that is different from the first device group and does not overlap with the first device group. One or more single SSB bursts of the certain number of SSB bursts may each include a first certain number of SSBs used on a first frequency in a cell defined by the first SSB. The first certain number of SSBs may include a first SSB group and a second SSB group that do not overlap with each other. The first SSB group may include a respective first master information block (MIB) intended for the first device group, and the second SSB group may include a respective second MIB intended for the second device group. The respective first MIB and the respective second MIB indicate whether the cell is barred for devices belonging to the first device group or devices belonging to the second device group. The first MIB and the second MIB may indicate different respective control resource sets for the first device group and the second device group, respectively. In some embodiments, the first number of SSBs may include a respective MIB indicating whether the cell is barred and may also include a respective second information block indicating a frequency location of an information block defining the cell for devices belonging to the first device group but not the second device group.

[0010] It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used in conjunction with many different types of devices, including, but not limited to, base stations, access points, cellular telephones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, head-mounted displays, VR displays, wearable glasses, XR devices, and various other computing devices.

[0011] This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. It should therefore be understood that the above features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates an exemplary base station in communication with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device, according to some embodiments. [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments. [Diagram 5] 1 shows an exemplary simplified diagram illustrating a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of channel bandwidth (CHBW) and bandwidth part (BWP) for initial access to a cell (e.g., via a base station) by a device, such as a wireless communication device or user equipment device (UE), for example. [Figure 7]1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating Synchronous System Block (SSB) transmission using a Global Synchronization Channel Number (GSCN) and the construction of CHBW and BWP. [Figure 8] A simplified diagram illustrating potential challenges when transmitting SSB and configuring CHBW and BWP to operate Reduced Capability (Redcap) and legacy devices simultaneously is shown. [Figure 9] 1 shows a table illustrating a solution to ensure coexistence of Redcap and legacy devices based on cell barring indications, according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of channels CHBW and BWP and SSB transmission(s) for initial access to a cell by a device when the initial downlink bandwidth portion is greater than 20 MHz, according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of channels CHBW and BWP and SSB transmission(s) for initial access to a cell by a device when the initial downlink bandwidth portion is 20 MHz, according to some embodiments. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of SSB transmission(s) and channels CHBW and BWP for initial access to a cell by a device with redirection based on PDCCH-ConfigSIB1, according to some embodiments. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of SSB transmission(s) and channels CHBW and BWP for initial access to a cell by a device with SIB1-based redirection according to some embodiments. [Figure 14] 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating time domain multiplexing of Redcap SSB and non-Redcap SSB transmissions according to some embodiments.

[0013] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description of the features are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] acronym

[0015] Various abbreviations are used throughout this application. Provided below are definitions of the most prominently used acronyms that may appear throughout this application. ● AF: Application Functions ● AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function ● AMR: Adaptive Multi-Rate ● AP: Access point ● APN: Access Point Name ● APR: Application Processor ● AS: Access Layer ● BS: Base station ● BSR: Buffer Status Report ● BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier ● CBRS: Citizens Broadband Radio Service ● CBSD: Citizens Broadband Wireless Service Device ● CCA: Clear Channel Assessment ● CCE: Control Channel Element ● CMR: Change Mode Request ● CN: Core network ● CORESET: Control resource set ● CS: Rotating Shift ● DL: Downlink (from BS to UE) ● DMRS: Demodulation Reference Signal ● DN: Data Network ● DRB: Data Radio Bearer ● DSDS: Dual SIM dual standby ● DYN: Dynamic ● EDCF: Extended Distributed Coordination Function ● eSNPN: Standalone equivalent non-public network ● FDD: Frequency Division Duplex ● FT: Frame type ● GAA: General Authorized Access ● GPRS: General Packet Radio Service ● GSCN: Global Synchronization Channel Number ● GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications ● GTP: GPRS Tunneling Protocol ● HPLMN: Home Public Land Mobile Network ● IMS: Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem ● IoT: Internet of Things ● IP: Internet Protocol ● KPI: Key Performance Indicator ● LAN: Local Area Network ● LBT: Listen Before Talk ● LCP: Logical channel priority assignment ● LQM: Link Quality Metrics ● LTE: Long Term Evolution ● MCC: Mobile Country Code ● MIB: Master Information Block ● MNO: Mobile Telecommunications Operator ● MO: Monitoring occasion ● NAS: Non-access layer ● NEF: Network disclosure function ● NF: Network function ● NG-RAN: Next Generation Radio Access Network ● NID: Network Identifier ● NMF: Network Identifier Management Function ● NPN: Non-Public (Cellular) Network ● NRF: Network Repository Function ● NSI: Network Slice Instance ● NSSAI: Network Slice Selection Assistance Information ● OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing ● OOC: Out of Coverage ● PBCH: Physical Broadcast Channel ● PCF: Point coordination function ● PDB: Packet Delay Budget ● PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol ● PDN: Packet Data Network ● PDU: Protocol Data Unit ● PGW: PDN Gateway ● PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network ● PRACH: Physical Random Access Channel ● PRB: Physical Resource Block ● PRI: Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) Resource Indicator ● PSCCH: Physical Sidelink Control Channel ● PSFCH: Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel ● PSSCH: Physical Sidelink Shared Channel ● PSD: Power Spectral Density ● PSS: Primary Synchronization Signal ● PT: Payload type ● PTRS: Phase Tracking Reference Signal ● PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel ● QBSS: QoS Enhanced Basic Service Set ● QFI: QoS flow identifier ● QI: Quality Indicator ● QoE: Quality of Experience ● QoS: Quality of Service ● RA: Registration Acceptance ● RAN: Radio Access Network ● RAR: Random Access Response ● RAT: Radio Access Technology ● RF: Radio Frequency ● ROHC: Robust Header Compression ● RR: Registration Request ● RRC: Radio Resource Control ● RSRP: Reference signal received power ● RTP: Real-time Transport Protocol ● RX: Receive / Receive ● SAS: Spectrum Allocation Server ● SD: Slice Descriptor ● SDAP: Service Data Adaptation Protocol ● SDU: Service Data Unit ● SI: System Information ● SIB: System Information Block ● SID: System Identification Number ● SIM: Subscriber Identity Module ● SGW: Serving Gateway ● SMF: Session Management Facility ● SNPN: Standalone non-public network ● SPS: Semi-persistent scheduling ● SSB: Synchronization signal block ● SSS: Secondary Synchronization Signal ● SUPI: Subscription Permanent Identifier ● TBS: Transport Block Size ● TCP: Transmission Control Protocol ● TDD: Time division duplexing ● TDRA: Time Domain Resource Allocation ● TPC: Transmit Power Control ● TSC: Time-sensitive communication ● TSCAI: Time Sensitive Communications Assistance Information ● TX: Send / Transmit ● UAC: Unified Access Control ● UDM: Unified Data Management ● UDR: User Data Repository ● UE: User Equipment ● UI: User Input ● UL: Uplink (from UE to BS) ● UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ● UPF: User Plane Function ● URLLC: Ultra-reliable low latency communication ● URM: Generic Resource Management ● URSP: UE Route Selection Policy ● USIM: User Subscriber Identity Module ● Wi-Fi: A wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. ● WLAN: Wireless LAN ● XR: Extended Reality term Below is a glossary of terms that may appear in this specification.

[0016] Memory medium - various types of memory or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include, for example, installation media such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape devices, computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, computer internal memory, non-volatile memory such as flash, magnetic media such as hard drives, or optical storage, registers, or other similar types of memory elements. Memory medium may include other types of memory, or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system where the program is executed, or in a second, different computer system that connects to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system can provide the first computer system with program instructions to execute. The term "memory medium" may include more than one memory medium that can be present in different locations, for example, in different computer systems connected via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0017] Carrier Medium - memory media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission medium that carries signals, such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0018] Programmable Hardware Element - includes a variety of hardware devices with multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Object Arrays (FPOAs), and Complex PLDs (CPLDs). Programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic or look-up tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "reconfigurable logic."

[0019] Computer System (or Computer) - Various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network device, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or any other device or combination of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0020] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE Device") - Any type of computer system device that communicates wirelessly. Also referred to as a wireless communication device, many of which are mobile and / or portable. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™ based phones), tablet computers such as iPad™, Samsung Galaxy™, gaming devices (e.g., SONY PlayStation™, Microsoft Xbox™, etc.), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPod™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., Apple Watch™, Google Glass™), PDAs, wearable glasses, head mounted displays, XR devices, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (e.g., drones), unmanned aerial vehicle controllers, etc. Various other types of devices fall into this category if they include Wi-Fi or both cellular and Wi-Fi communication capabilities, and / or other wireless communication capabilities using, for example, a short-range wireless access technology (SRAT) such as BLUETOOTH™. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" may be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) capable of wireless communication and that may also be portable / mobile.

[0021] Wireless Device (or Wireless Communication Device) - various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communication using WLAN communication, SRAT communication, Wi-Fi communication, etc. As used herein, the term "wireless device" may refer to a UE device as defined above, or a stationary device such as a stationary wireless client or a wireless base station. For example, a wireless device may be any type of wireless station of an 802.11 system, such as an access point (AP) or a client station (UE), or any type of wireless station of a cellular communication system, such as a base station or a cellular phone, that communicates according to a cellular radio access technology (e.g., 5G NR, LTE, CDMA, GSM).

[0022] Communications Device - Various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications. Communications can be wired or wireless. Communications devices may be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed to a particular location. A wireless device is one example of a communications device. A UE is another example of a communications device.

[0023] Base Station (BS) - The term "base station" has all of its ordinary meanings and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone or wireless system.

[0024] Processor - refers to various elements or combinations of elements capable of performing functions within a device, e.g., within a user equipment device or within a cellular network device. A processor may include, for example, a processor and associated memory, portions or circuitry of an individual processor core, an entire processor core, a processor array, circuitry such as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), a programmable hardware element such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and various combinations of the above.

[0025] Channel - a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. Note that since the characteristics of a "channel" may differ according to different wireless protocols, as used herein, the term "channel" is deemed to be used consistent with the standard of the type of device with which the term is used in association. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a Bluetooth channel width may be 1 MHz, whereas a WLAN channel width may be 22 MHz. Other protocols and standards may include different channel definitions. Additionally, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink, and / or different channels for different uses of data, control information, etc.

[0026] Band - The term "band" has the full scope of the usual meaning of band and includes at least a portion of the spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) where channels are used for a certain purpose or set aside for the same purpose. Furthermore, "frequency band" is used to indicate any interval of a frequency domain bounded by a lower frequency and an upper frequency limit. The term may refer to a radio band or some other interval of spectrum. Wireless communication signals can occupy a range of frequencies that are the means (or location) for carrying the signal. Such a frequency range is also called the bandwidth of the signal. Bandwidth thus refers to the difference between the upper and lower frequencies in a continuous band of frequencies. A frequency band may represent one communication channel or may be subdivided into multiple communication channels. The allocation of radio frequency ranges to different uses is a primary function of radio spectrum allocation. For example, in 5G NR, the operating frequency bands are classified into two groups: More specifically, in 3GPP Release 15, the frequency band is designated into different Frequency Ranges (FR), defined as FR1 and FR2, where FR1 encompasses the range from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz, and FR2 encompasses the range from 24250 MHz to 52600 MHz.

[0027] Wi-Fi - The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0028] Automatically - refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or device (e.g., circuit mechanisms, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without user input directly specifying or executing the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation that is manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by a user, but the subsequent actions that are performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually" with the user specifying each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, selecting radio selections, etc.) is considered to be manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user actions. A form may be filled out automatically by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without user input specifying answers to the fields. As noted above, a user can invoke automatic filling of a form, but is not involved in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers in fields, but rather the answers are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0029] Approximately - Refers to a value that is almost exact or precise. For example, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1-10 percent of a precise (or desired) value. Note, however, that the actual threshold (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., as desired or required by the particular application.

[0030] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or performance, in which the execution of tasks, processes, or programs is at least partially overlapping. For example, concurrency may be implemented using "strong" or strict parallelism, in which tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," in which tasks are executed in an interleaved manner, e.g., by time-division multiplexing of execution threads.

[0031] Station (STA) - The term "station" here refers to any device capable of communicating wirelessly, for example, using 802.11 protocols. A station may be a laptop, a desktop PC, a PDA, an access point or a Wi-Fi phone, or any type of device similar to a UE. A STA may be fixed, mobile, portable, or wearable. In wireless network terminology, a station (STA) generally broadly includes any device with wireless communication capabilities, and thus the terms station (STA), wireless client (UE), and node (BS) are often used interchangeably.

[0032] Configured to - Various components may be described as "configured to" perform a task. In such contexts, "configured to" is a broad description that generally means "having a structure" to perform a task(s) during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform this task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" may be a broad description of a structure that generally means "having a circuit" to perform a task(s) during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0033] Transmission Scheduling - refers to the scheduling of transmissions, such as radio transmissions. In some implementations of cellular wireless communication, signal and data transmissions may be organized according to a specified time unit of a particular duration in which the transmissions take place. As used herein, the term "slot" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and refers to at least the smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit of wireless communication. For example, in 3GPP LTE, transmissions are divided into radio frames, each of which has an equal (time) duration (e.g., 10 ms). A 3GPP LTE radio frame may be further divided into a certain number (e.g., 10) of subframes, each of which has an equal time duration, and a subframe is the smallest (minimum) scheduling unit, or specified time unit, for transmission. Thus, in 3GPP LTE embodiments, a "subframe" may be considered an example of a "slot" as defined above. Similarly, the smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit for 5G NR (or NR for short) transmissions is called a "slot". In different communication protocols, the name of the smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit may also be different.

[0034] Resource - The term "resource" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and may refer to frequency and time resources used during wireless communication. As used herein, resource element (RE) refers to a particular amount or number of resources. For example, in the context of time resources, a resource element may be a time interval of a particular length. In the context of frequency resources, a resource element may be a particular frequency bandwidth, or a particular amount of frequency bandwidth that may be centered around a particular frequency. As one specific example, a resource element may refer to a resource unit (for a time resource, e.g., for a time interval of a particular length) per subcarrier (for a frequency resource, e.g., for a particular frequency bandwidth that may be centered around a particular frequency). Resource element group (REG) has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and refers to at least a specified number of contiguous resource elements. In some implementations, a resource element group may not include resource elements reserved for a reference signal. Control channel element (CCE) refers to a group of a specified number of contiguous REGs. Resource block (RB) refers to a specific number of resource elements that are configured with a specified number of subcarriers per specified number of symbols. Each RB may include a specified number of subcarriers. A resource block group (RBG) refers to a unit that includes multiple RBs. The number of RBs in one RBG may vary according to the system bandwidth.

[0035] Bandwidth Part (BWP) - A bandwidth part (BWP) is a contiguous set of physical resource blocks selected from a contiguous subset of a given number of common resource blocks on a given carrier. For the downlink, the UE may be configured to have up to a certain number of carrier BWPs (e.g., according to some specifications, four BWPs), with one BWP active for each carrier at a given time (according to some specifications). For the uplink, the UE may similarly be configured to have up to several (e.g., four) carrier BWPs, with one BWP active for each carrier at a given time (according to some specifications). If the UE is configured with a supplemental uplink, the UE may additionally be configured to have one carrier BWP active at a given time (according to some specifications), up to a specified number (e.g., four) carrier BWPs in the supplemental uplink.

[0036] In case of Multi-Cell Deployment-Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), a master node is defined as a node (radio access node) that provides a control plane connection to the core network. The master node can be, for example, a master eNB (3GPP LTE) or a master gNB (3GPP NR). In case of MR-DC, a secondary node is defined as a radio access node that does not have a control plane connection to the core network and provides additional resources to the UE. A master cell group (MCG) is defined as a group of serving cells associated with a master node, including a primary cell (PCell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCells). A secondary cell group (SCG) is defined as a group of serving cells associated with a secondary node, including a specific cell, i.e., the primary cell of an SCG (PSCell), and optionally including one or more SCells. A UE can typically apply radio link monitoring to a PCell. If the UE is configured with an SCG, the UE can also apply radio link monitoring to a PSCell. Radio link monitoring is typically applied to an active BWP, and the UE does not need to monitor an inactive BWP. The PCell is used to initiate initial access, and the UE can communicate with the PCell and SCell via Carrier Aggregation (CA). The current modified functionality means that the UE can transmit and receive from multiple cells. The UE first connects to the PCell, and one or more SCells can be configured for the UE once the UE is in the connected state.

[0037] Core Network (CN) - The core network (or backbone) is defined as the part of the 3GPP system that is independent of the UE's connectivity technology (e.g., radio access technology, RAT). The UE can connect to the core network through a radio access network, or RAN, where the RAN can be specific. In many cases, the CN can be part of a computer network that interconnects networks and provides a path for the exchange of information between different local area networks (LANs) or sub-networks. The CN can also link diverse networks in the same building, in different buildings in a campus environment, or across a wide area. Typically, the capacity of the CN is greater than the capacity of the networks connected to it.

[0038] Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) - Refers to the use of networks for mission-critical (or essential) applications that require uninterrupted and robust data exchange.

[0039] Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) - Compared to URLLC, TSC has stricter requirements on latency and reliability, and sometimes requires absolute time synchronization and on-time delivery of packets for deterministic and isochronous applications. The success of TSC depends on effective scheduling of TSC traffic flows.

[0040] Extended Reality (XR) - XR is an umbrella term encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) and represents one of the most important media applications for shaping how people interact with media.

[0041] Service Data Unit (SDU) - An SDU is a unit of data passed from an Open Systems Interconnection layer or sublayer to a lower layer that has not yet been encapsulated into a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) by the lower layer.

[0042] Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) - The SDAP handles the handling of QoS flows across the on-air (e.g., NR air) interface. In particular, the SDAP maps a particular QoS flow to a corresponding Data Radio Bearer (DRB) established with an appropriate level of QoS. In NR sidelink communications, the SDAP sublayer maps PC5 (i.e., Sidelink, SL) Quality of Service (QoS) flows to SL Data Radio Bearers (SL-DRBs).

[0043] NR Channel Hierarchy - To group data transmitted over the NR radio access network, the data is organized in a specific way. Since many different functions are associated with the data transmitted over the wireless communication link, they need to be clearly marked and have a defined location and format. Thus, several different forms of data channels are defined and used. Higher level channels are mapped to or contained within other channels until the physical level is reached. The physical channel contains all the data from the higher level channels. This provides a logical and manageable flow of data from the higher level protocol stacks towards the physical layer. Three main types of data channels are used in mobile communication systems, e.g., NR communication systems:

[0044] Logical Channel (LCH) - A logical channel can belong to one of the following: Control Channel and Traffic Channel. The control channel is used for the transfer of data from the control plane, while the traffic channel is used for the transfer of user plane data.

[0045] Transport Channel (TCH) - A Transport Channel represents the physical layer and logical data multiplexing carried by that channel over the radio interface.

[0046] Physical Channel (PCH) - A physical channel is closest to the actual transmission of data over the radio access network / NR radio frequency signals and is used to carry data over the air interface. Often higher level channels are mapped to physical channels to provide specific services. A physical channel carries payload data or details of specific data transmission characteristics such as modulation, reference signal multiplexing, transmit power, RF resources, etc.

[0047] Network Discovery Function (NEF) - The NEF is a function within the 3GPP Core Network Architecture that provides a means to securely disclose functions and events. The NEF stores the information it receives as structured data and discloses it to other network functions.

[0048] Point Coordination Function (PCF) - PCF is a media access control (MAC) technique used to coordinate communications within a communications network.

[0049] User Plane Function (UPF)-UPF is one of the network functions (NFs) in the 5G / NR core network, and performs packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, QoS processing, and external PDU sessions for data network (DN) interconnection in the NR architecture.

[0050] Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC CE) - At least in LTE and NR communications, there are several communication paths at the MAC layer with designated MAC structures that carry specific control information. The designated MAC structures that carry the control information are called "MAC CEs". MAC CEs operate between the UE (MAC) and the base station (MAC) for fast signaling communication exchanges without higher layer involvement. MAC CEs are transmitted as part of a MAC PDU. For NR uplink communications, MAC CEs are typically placed at the end of the MAC PDU. For NR downlink communications, MAC CEs are typically placed at the beginning of the MAC PDU.

[0051] Camping on a cell (or network) - At least in LTE and NR communications, when a device or UE searches for suitable cells of a selected mobile network, selects a cell that provides available services, and monitors its control channel, the UE is said to be "camping on a cell". The UE registers its presence in the registration area of ​​the selected cell, if necessary, by a location registration procedure. If the UE finds a more suitable cell, it can reselect to the more suitable cell and camp on it. If the new cell is in a different registration area, location registration is also performed. The UE can camp on a cell in idle mode, which means that the UE does not have active communication with other UEs, but may monitor certain control channels, periodically check for paging messages, or periodically check for other communications on that cell. Thus, it stays (camps on) in the cell. A UE camping on a cell can receive system information from the mobile network. A UE camping on a cell can initiate a call (when registered on the cell) by first accessing the network on the control channel of the cell on which it is camping. When the mobile network receives a call for a registered UE, the network has access to the registration area of ​​the cell the UE is camped on and can send a "paging" message for the UE on the control channel of all cells in that registration area. The UE can receive the paging message because it is tuned to the control channel of the cell the UE is camped on, and the UE can respond on the control channel. Camping on a cell also means that the UE can receive cell broadcast messages.

[0052] Barring a cell (or network) - At least in LTE and NR communications, a cell (network) is said to be barred when a UE is not allowed to camp on / stay on that cell. According to 3GPP TS 25.304, a "barred cell" is a cell that "does not allow a UE to camp on. A UE is not allowed to camp on a barred cell, even for an emergency call. If the cell on which the UE is currently camped becomes a barred cell, cell reselection is triggered.

[0053] In the description herein, for convenience, various components may be described as performing tasks. Such descriptions should be construed to include the phrase "configured to." It is expressly intended that the description of a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks does not construe the interpretation of that component under 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2—An exemplary communication system

[0054] 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments. It should be noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and that embodiments may be implemented in a variety of systems, as desired.

[0055] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes base stations 102A-102N, also collectively referred to as base station(s) 102 or base stations 102. As shown in FIG. 1, base station 102A communicates with one or more user devices 106A-106N over a transmission medium. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or UE device. Accordingly, user devices 106A-106N are referred to as UEs or UE devices, and also collectively referred to as UE(s) 106 or UEs 106.

[0056] The base station 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs 106A-106N. The base station 102A may also be connected to the network 100 (e.g., a telecommunications network such as a cellular service provider's core network, the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, neutral hosts, or various Citizens Broadband Radio Services, among other possibilities). The base station 102A may be equipped to communicate with a Cellular Radio Resources System (CBRS) deployment. Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devices 106 and / or between the user devices 106 and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A may provide various telecommunication capabilities to the UEs 106, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services. The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station 106 may also be referred to as a "cell." Note that a "cell" may also refer to a logical ID of a given coverage area at a given frequency. In general, any independent cellular radio coverage area may be referred to as a "cell." In such a case, the base station may be located at a particular junction of three cells. In this uniform topology, the base station may be: A base station may serve three areas of 120 degree beam width, referred to as a cell. Also, in case of carrier aggregation, each of the small cells, relays, etc. may represent a cell. Thus, especially in carrier aggregation, there may be a primary cell and a secondary cell that may serve at least partially overlapping coverage areas at different respective frequencies. For example, a base station may serve any number of cells, and the cells served by a base station may or may not be collocated (e.g., remote radio heads). Also, as used herein, from the UE's perspective, a base station may be considered to represent a network as far as the UE's uplink and downlink communications are concerned.Thus, a UE that communicates with one or more base stations in a network may also be interpreted as a UE that communicates with the network, and may further be considered at least a portion of a UE that communicates over or through the network.

[0057] The base station(s) 102 and the user devices 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using various Radio Access Technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as, for example, GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 5G-NR (abbreviated NR), 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc. It should be noted that the base station 102A, if implemented in the context of LTE, may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Similarly, it should be noted that the base station 102A, if implemented in the context of 5G NR, may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB". Depending on a given application or particular considerations, for convenience, some of the various different RATs may be functionally grouped according to their overall defining characteristics. For example, all cellular RATs may be considered collectively as representative of a first (type / form) RAT, while Wi-Fi communications may be considered as representative of a second RAT. In other cases, each cellular RAT may be considered individually as a different RAT. For example, when distinguishing between cellular and Wi-Fi communications, the "first RAT" may collectively refer to all cellular RATs under consideration, while the "second RAT" may refer to Wi-Fi. Similarly, when applicable, different forms of Wi-Fi communications (e.g., above 2.4 GHz and above 5 GHz) may be considered to correspond to different RATs. Furthermore, cellular communications performed according to a given RAT (e.g., LTE or NR) may be distinguished from one another based on the frequency spectrum in which they are performed. For example, LTE or NR communications may be performed on a primary licensed spectrum as well as a secondary spectrum, such as an unlicensed spectrum. Overall, the usage of the various terms and expressions is always clearly expressed with respect to and within the context of the various applications / embodiments under consideration.

[0058] As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with the network 100 (e.g., a telecommunications network such as a cellular service provider's core network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communications between the user devices 106 and / or between the user devices 106 and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A may provide various telecommunications capabilities to the UE 106, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services. The UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any or all of a 3GPP cellular communication standard (such as LTE or NR) or a 3GPP2 cellular communication standard (such as a cellular communication standard in the CDMA2000 family of cellular communication standards). Thus, base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may be provided as one or more networks of cells that can provide continuous or near-continuous overlapping service to UEs 106 and similar devices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0059] Thus, while the base station 102A serves as a "serving cell" for the UEs 106A-106N as illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE 106 may also receive signals from (or be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be referred to as "neighboring cells") (which may be provided by the base stations 102B-102N and / or any other base stations). Such cells may also facilitate communication between the user devices 106 and / or between the user devices 106 and the network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells providing various other granularities of service area size. For example, the base stations 102A-102B illustrated in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are possible.

[0060] In some embodiments, the base station 102A may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB." In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a conventional Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or an NR Core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs in one or more gNBs.

[0061] The UE 106 may also, or instead, be configured to communicate using WLAN, BLUETOOTH, BLUETOOTH Low-Energy, one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including three or more wireless communication standards) are possible. Furthermore, the UE 106 may also communicate with the network 100 through one or more base stations, or through other devices, stations, or appliances not expressly shown but considered as part of the network 100. Thus, a UE 106 communicating with a network may be interpreted as a UE 106 communicating with one or more network nodes considered as part of the network. Those network nodes may interact with the UE 106 to communicate with the UE 106 and, in some cases, may affect at least some of the UE 106's communication parameters and / or the UE 106's use of communication resources.

[0062] 1, at least some of the UEs, for example UE 106D and UE 106E, may represent vehicles communicating with each other and with base station 102, for example, via cellular communications, such as 3GPP LTE and / or 5G-NR communications. Additionally, UE 106F may represent a pedestrian communicating and / or interacting in a similar manner as the vehicles represented by UE 106D and 106E. Various embodiments of vehicles communicating within the network illustrated in FIG. 1 are disclosed in the context of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, such as, for example, communications specified in particular versions of the 3GPP standards, among others.

[0063] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of UEs 106A-106N) communicating with a base station 122 and an access point 112, according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device with both cellular and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., BLUETOOTH, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 106 may execute method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), configured to execute the method embodiments described herein, or portions of the method embodiments described herein. The UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a number of wireless communication protocols. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a number of wireless communication protocols, such as CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, NR, LTE-N ... It may be configured to communicate using two or more of the following wireless communication standards: WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are possible.

[0064] The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols according to one or more RAT standards. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication standards. A shared radio may include a single antenna or multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Alternatively, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio mechanism components) for each wireless communication protocol that the UE 106 is configured to use for communication. Alternatively, the UE 106 may include one or more radio circuits shared between multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radios dedicated by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include radio circuitry for communicating using either LTE, CDMA2000 1xRTT, or NR, and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH™. Other configurations are possible. Figure 3 - Block diagram of an exemplary UE

[0065] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary UE 106, according to some embodiments. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may include elements / components for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor(s) 302, which may execute program instructions for the UE 106, and a display circuit 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or to locations in other circuits or devices, such as the display circuit 304, the radio circuit 330, the connector I / F 320, and / or the display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor(s) 302 .

[0066] As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (including, for example, NAND flash 310), a connector interface 320 (for example, to interface with a computer system), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry (for example, for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH™, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna (e.g., 335a) and possibly multiple antennas (e.g., exemplified by antennas 335a and 335b) for performing wireless communication with base stations and / or other devices. Antennas 335a and 335b are shown by way of example, and the UE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. Overall, the one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antenna(s) 335. For example, the UE device 106 may use antenna(s) 335 to perform wireless communications using the radio circuitry 330. As noted above, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0067] The processor(s) 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor(s) 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Additionally, the processor(s) 302 may be coupled to or interoperate with other components such that the UE 106 performs communications in accordance with various embodiments disclosed herein, as shown in FIG. 3. In particular, the processor(s) 302 may be coupled to and / or interoperate with other components such as shown in FIG. 3 to facilitate the UE 106 communicating in a manner that seeks to optimize the RAT. The processor(s) 302 may also implement various other applications and / or end user applications that operate on the UE 106.

[0068] In some embodiments, the radio circuitry 330 may include separate controllers dedicated to controlling communication for each of the various corresponding RATs and / or RAT standards. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the radio circuitry 330 may include a Wi-Fi controller 356, a cellular controller (e.g., an LTE controller and / or an NR controller) 352, and a BLUETOOTH™ controller 354, where, according to at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (abbreviated IC or chip) that communicate with each other and with the SOC 300 (more specifically with the processor(s) 302). For example, the Wi-Fi controller 356 may communicate with the cellular controller 352 via a cell-ISM link or WCI interface, and / or the BLUETOOTH™ controller 354 may communicate with the cellular controller 352 via a cell-ISM link, or the like. Although three separate controllers are illustrated within the radio circuitry 330, other embodiments may have fewer or more similar controllers for the various different RATs and / or RAT standards that may be implemented in the UE device 106. For example, at least one example block diagram illustrating some embodiments of the cellular controller 352 is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 - Block diagram of an exemplary base station

[0069] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102, according to some embodiments. It should be noted that the base station of FIG. 4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor(s) 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450) or to locations in other circuits or devices.

[0070] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as the UE device 106, with access to the telephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2. The network port 470 (or additional network ports) may also or instead be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as, for example, a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to the telephone network via the core network and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0071] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434a, and possibly multiple antennas (e.g., exemplified by antennas 434a and 434b), for performing wireless communications with mobile devices and / or other devices. Antennas 434a and 434b are shown as an example, and the base station 102 may include fewer or more antennas. Overall, the one or more antennas, which may include antenna 434a and / or antenna 434b, are collectively referred to as antenna 434 or antenna(s) 434. The antenna(s) 434 may be configured to operate as a radio transceiver and may further be configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio circuitry 430. The antenna(s) 434 communicate with the radio 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio circuitry 430 may be designed to communicate over various wireless telecommunications standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, 5G-NR (NR), WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. The processor(s) 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to execute some or all of the methods described herein, e.g., program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), such that the base station 102 communicates with UE devices as disclosed herein. Alternatively, the processor(s) 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), or as a combination thereof. For a given RAT, e.g., Wi-Fi, the base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case the network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to wide area network(s) and / or local area network(s) and may, for example, include at least one Ethernet port, and the radio 430 may be designed to communicate according to the Wi-Fi standard.The base station 102 can operate according to various methods for communicating with mobile devices, as disclosed herein. FIG. 5 - An exemplary cellular communication circuit.

[0072] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram illustrating the cellular controller 352, according to some embodiments. It should be noted that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry in FIG. 5 is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuitry. There may be other circuits, such as circuits including or coupled to a sufficient number of antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuits including or coupled to a smaller number of antennas that may be shared among multiple RATs, for example. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may be included in a communication device, such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless base station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0073] The cellular communication circuitry 352 may be (e.g., communicatively coupled, directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-b and 336, as shown. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include dedicated receive chains (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) for multiple RATs (including and / or communicatively coupled, e.g., directly or indirectly, to dedicated processors and / or radios). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured to communicate according to a first RAT, such as LTE or LTE-A, and the second modem 520 may be configured to communicate according to a second RAT, such as 5G NR.

[0074] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may be in communication with a Radio Frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 and transmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 532 may be in communication with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via an antenna 335a.

[0075] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may be in communication with an RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry 544. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 542 may be in communication with a DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via the antenna 335b.

[0076] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuitry 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. Additionally, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuitry 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting wireless signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuitry 352 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported via the first modem 510), the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that enables the first modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes the transmit circuitry 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuitry 352 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported via the second modem 520), the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that enables the second modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuitry 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0077] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing various features and techniques described herein. The processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein together with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0078] Additionally, as described herein, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more components. Thus, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522.

[0079] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may not include the modem 520, the RF front end 540, the DL front end 560, and / or the antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may not include the modem 510, the RF front end 530, the DL front end 550, and / or the antenna 335a. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 352 may also not include the switch 570, and the RF front end 530 or the RF front end 540 may communicate, for example, directly, with the UL front end 572, for example. Reduced Capability (Redcap) Device

[0080] Support for reduced capability NR devices, i.e., devices characterized by lower performance specifications for certain features and parameters, is gaining importance at least in part in the context of industrial wireless sensors, video surveillance, and wearable devices. One objective is to have the 3GPP standard (Rel-15 / 16) reduce the UE bandwidth of 100 MHz or more that is mandatory for “normal” NR devices (also called legacy devices) to 20 MHz for reduced capability devices (also called “Redcap” devices). Thus, support for identifying a maximum bandwidth (BW) of 20 MHz for UEs with a reduced maximum BW of 20 MHz during and after initial access is established. Possible selective support of wider bandwidths up to 40 MHz or even 100 MHz, or conditions related to this, are also under consideration.

[0081] Release 17 of the 3GPP specifications defines various aspects of wireless communication conducted by Redcap devices. One aspect includes specifying an access control mechanism that allows operators to restrict access of Redcap devices (Redcap UEs) to specific (e.g., selected) cells, if desired. This includes providing at least a system information indication of whether a Redcap UE can camp on a cell / frequency, which is assumed to be specific to the number of receive (Rx) branches of the UE. As noted above, Redcap devices feature a reduced maximum UE bandwidth, with FR1 Redcap UEs defined with a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz during and after initial access, and FR2 Redcap UEs defined with a maximum bandwidth of 100 MHz during and after initial access. Redcap devices also feature a minimally reduced number of receive branches. For frequency bands where legacy NR UEs are required to have a minimum of two (2) Rx antenna ports, the 3GPP specifications state that the minimum number of Rx branches supported by a Redcap UE is one (1). The 3GPP specifications also support two (2) Rx branches for Redcap UEs in these bands. For frequency bands where a legacy NR UE (other than a 2-Rx vehicular UE) is required to have a minimum of four (4) Rx antenna ports, the minimum number of Rx branches supported by the 3GPP specifications for a Redcap UE is one (1). The 3GPP specifications also support two (2) Rx branches for Redcap UEs in these bands. Thus, a mechanism is expected to make the base station (e.g., gNB) aware of the number of Rx branches of a UE. Cell operation for initial access Figure 6

[0082] FIG. 6 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of a channel bandwidth (CHBW) and a bandwidth portion (BWP) for initial access (e.g., via a base station) by a device, e.g., a wireless communication device or a user equipment device (UE), to a cell. As shown in FIG. 6, from the perspective of a base station (e.g., a gNB), the CHBW is broadcasted by the base station in a system information block (SIB) and is defined per subcarrier spacing (SCS). The UE applies this CHBW as part of the initial access to the cell using the initial BWP. From the perspective of the UE, the cell-defining SSB 602 includes a primary reference signal that indicates (or provides) the identity of the cell. More specifically, it is the SIB1 ID indicated by the MIB, which is part of the SSB burst (Physical Broadcast Channel, PBCH, part of the MIB). Although the base station (e.g., a gNB) may transmit more SSBs in the cell (e.g., SSB2 and SSB3 illustrated in FIG. 6), these SSBs are not considered as cell-defining SSBs.

[0083] During cell search, the UE searches for or monitors SSBs. To facilitate the UE's cell search procedure, the SSBs are placed on (or transmitted according to) "global synchronization raster channels" that provide the UE with a range of frequencies for an initial search. This is also called the Global Synchronization Channel Number (GSCN). The GSCN can be viewed as a unified division of the available spectrum or the total available frequency bandwidth, such that SSBs intended as cell-defining SSBs are placed only on the GSCN. Figure 7

[0084] FIG. 7 shows a simplified diagram illustrating SSB transmission using GSCN and the configuration of CHBW and BWP. SSBs may also be transmitted outside the GSCN (e.g., SSB4 in FIG. 7), but these SSBs are not intended to be detected by the UE during cell search. As shown in FIG. 7, SSB2, SSB1, and SSB3 are all located on the GSCN. The network (or, for example, the cell via the base station / gNB) can configure such SSBs without any restrictions on the network regarding the location where the SSBs may be placed in the spectrum. Some SSBs may have MIBs that do not indicate the location of SIB1. When this occurs, the base station (gNB) can (optionally) provide the location of the SSB where a valid SIB1 can be found in the associated MIB. Such information is present in the PDCCH-Config-SIB1 information element (IE) in the MIB. Note that the base station can choose not to provide such a reference. In general, SIB1 holds information relevant to evaluating whether the UE is allowed to access the cell and also defines the scheduling of other system information. SIB1 also provides common radio resource configuration information for all UEs, and (cell) barring information required for unified access control.

[0085] The SSB includes a reference signal as well as a PBCH which contains the MIB. The MIB provides, among other things, information elements (IEs) of interest for: ● PDCCH-ConfigSIB1-SSB indicates the time / frequency resources carrying the physical channels (e.g. PDCCH and PDSCH) containing SIB1, if the SSB is a cell-defined SSB. Otherwise, e.g. when the SSB is not a cell-defined SSB, this IE in the MIB (optionally) indicates the location of a cell-defined SSB that can carry a valid SIB1. ● cellBarred--informs the UE whether the UE is allowed to camp on this cell (i.e. on the cell transmitting the SSB containing the MIB). ● intraFreqReselection - informs the UE if there are other cells (that also transmit SSB) in the same frequency band.

[0086] The interpretation of PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 is as specified in Tables 13-1 to 13-15 of the 3GPP TS38.213 specification. The Redcap UE expects the initial BWP configuration for the Redcap UE to be equal to or less than the BW supported by the Redcap UE, e.g., 20 MHz or less. The Redcap UE also expects to find a cell-defining SSB that contains a reference signal interpreted by the UE as the reference signal of the serving cell. Finally, the cell-defining SSB is also expected to carry SIB1 information for the Redcap UE. The challenge of coexistence of Redcap and legacy devices

[0087] In certain scenarios, a Redcap UE may need to perform downlink (DL) communication over an initial DL bandwidth portion (BWP) shared with other UEs, which has a higher bandwidth than the BW supported by the Redcap UE for other UEs. However, when an existing base station (e.g., a base station such as a gNB of a cell) is intended to support Redcap devices, but the base station is operating on a cell with a channel bandwidth (CHBW) larger (e.g., greater than 20 MHz) than the BW supported by the Redcap device, and the initial DL BWP is also larger (e.g., greater than 20 MHz) than the BW supported by the Redcap, the base station cannot use the existing configuration currently outlined in the current 3GPP standard. Furthermore, if the base station creates a separate initial DL BWP only for Redcap devices, legacy devices may also start camping on the cell by relying on the existing configuration. Figure 8

[0088] The aforementioned problem is illustrated in FIG. 8, which shows a simplified diagram of SSB transmission and CHBW and BWP configuration related to the current 3GPP standard, when the initial DL BWP is larger than the specified BWP size supported by the Redcap device, for example, larger than 20 MHz. As shown in FIG. 8, when the initial DL BWP has a bandwidth that exceeds the bandwidth supported by the Redcap UE (for example, the bandwidth is larger than 20 MHz for the FR1 Redcap device), the Redcap device cannot use the initial DL BWP as the initial DL BWP for the Redcap device. Meanwhile, the SSB 802 immediately created by the base station for the Redcap device may also be interpreted as another cell-defining SSB by the legacy device, and the legacy device may also start camping on the corresponding cell even though it was not intended to camp on the cell (for example, if the legacy UE was indicated that the cell was barred). Successful coexistence of Redcap and legacy devices

[0089] To address at least some of the challenges outlined above, a process may be implemented that enables coexistence of both device groups, Redcap devices and non-Redcap devices (e.g., legacy devices), without either of them accessing and / or detecting information that is not intended for them. Figure 9

[0090] FIG. 9 shows a table illustrating a procedure for ensuring coexistence of Redcap devices and legacy devices based on cellBarred indication.

[0091] According to the first option, when a Redcap UE detects the cellBarred IE set to TRUE (e.g., set to "barred") in a given SSB, it can ignore the cellBarred indication being TRUE. The Redcap UE can ignore this IE without considering the cell to be barred. This can be applicable to all Redcap UEs. In other words, unless the SSB is specific to a Redcap UE, the Redcap UE can totally ignore the indication provided by the cellBarred IE when it is set to TRUE (e.g., set to "barred"). As shown in FIG. 9, even when cellBarred in the MIB is set to TRUE, the Redcap UE can consider the cell to be valid (not barred) and proceed to read SIB1. A non-Redcap (e.g., legacy) UE can skip this cell (considering it to be barred based on the indication being TRUE) and not read SIB1. When cellBarred in the MIB is set to FALSE (not barred), both Redcap UEs and legacy UEs (or non-Redcap UEs) can proceed to read SIB1.

[0092] According to the second option, which builds on the first option in some way, the network (or cell) may provide Redcap UE specific barring in SIB1 when it actually intends to barr the Redcap UE. In other words, a new IE, specifically cellBarred IE, may be introduced and included in SIB1 to provide cell barring information to Redcap UE in SIB1. As shown in FIG. 9, when cellBarred in SIB1 is set to TRUE (barred), Redcap UE may read this IE and consider this cell as barred. When cellBarred in SIB1 is set to FALSE (not barred), Redcap UE may consider this cell as not barred.

[0093] According to the third option, a new cell barring information element (new cellBarred IE) may be included in SIB1 for Redcap UEs only and may be ignored by non-Redcap or legacy UEs. As shown in Figure 9, when a legacy UE reads SIB1, it can completely ignore it, regardless of whether the cellBarred IE in SIB1 is set to TRUE or FALSE. Specifically, if the MIB's cellBarred is set to TRUE, the legacy / non-Redcap UE will not even read SIB1. If the MIB's cellBarred is set to FALSE, the legacy / non-Redcap UE will proceed to read SIB1 but simply ignore the cellBarred IE in SIB1. Figure 10

[0094] FIG. 10 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of the first proposed SSB transmission(s) and channel bandwidth (CHBW) and bandwidth portion (BWP) for initial access to a cell (e.g., via a base station) by a device, e.g., a wireless communication device or UE, according to the options presented with respect to FIG. 9, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 10, in this example, the initial DL BWP has a BW greater than 20 MHz. A Redcap UE can camp on a cell only if SIB1 of the SSB contains Redcap configuration information and / or explicitly sets the new cellBarred IE in SIB1 to FALSE. If the cellBarred IE is missing in SIB1, the Redcap UE can consider this cell to be a cell that does not support Redcap devices, and therefore, it can be assumed that the cell is barred for Redcap devices. Figure 11

[0095] FIG. 11 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of the second proposed SSB transmission(s) and channel bandwidth (CHBW) and bandwidth portion (BWP) for initial access to a cell (e.g., via a base station) by a device, e.g., a wireless communication device or UE, according to the previously indicated options, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 11, in this example, the initial DL BWP has a BW of 20 MHz, or more generally, the DL BWP is a BW supported by the Redcap device. In such a case, the presence of an explicit initial BWP configuration for the Redcap UE can be used as an indicator of the cell's support of the Redcap device, instead of the Redcap UE using an explicit cellBarred IE to determine whether the cell is barred to the Redcap UE. In other words, when the UE detects the initial BWP information for the Redcap UE in SIB1, it may be interpreted as an indication that the cell is allowing the Redcap device / UE. On the other hand, the absence of the initial BWP for the Redcap UE in SIB1 can be interpreted by the UE as the cell being barred to the Redcap device / UE. Figure 12

[0096] FIG. 12 shows a simplified diagram illustrating a third proposed SSB transmission(s) for initial access to a cell (e.g., via a base station) by a device, e.g., a wireless communication device or UE, according to the previously indicated options, according to some embodiments, and the configuration of a channel bandwidth (CHBW) and a bandwidth portion (BWP). FIG. 12 shows a method of assisting a Redcap UE to identify / locate the location of a Redcap support cell(s) located within a frequency spectrum / band. As shown in FIG. 12, even when a cell is barred in the MIB and SIB1 explicitly states that the Redcap UE is barred, the Redcap UE can still read the PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 of this barred cell to determine the location of the next SSB that contains the assistance information for the Redcap UE. Thus, as further shown in FIG. 12, the initial DL BWP corresponding to SSB1 is not used by the Redcap UE when SIB1 in SSB1 does not contain an initial BWP configuration for the Redcap device. However, the Redcap UE can still read the PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 even if the cell is barred, which can indicate to the Redcap UE the location of the SSB 1202, which may contain assistance information for the Redcap UE. Figure 13

[0097] FIG. 13 shows a simplified diagram illustrating the configuration of the fourth proposed SSB transmission(s) and channel bandwidth (CHBW) and bandwidth portion (BWP) for initial access to a cell (e.g., via a base station) by a device, e.g., a wireless communication device or UE, according to the previously shown options, according to some embodiments. If Redcap-specific SSBs are placed in a non-GSCN raster, the Redcap UE may not be able to find these SSBs during cell search. To assist the Redcap UE to identify / locate the location of the Redcap supporting cell(s) located in the frequency spectrum / band, the network may not include the initial BWP for the legacy device in SIB1 and may explicitly provide information of the cell supporting the Redcap device / UE. This information may include the location of the next non-GSCN location of the SSB that includes the information supporting the Redcap device. Thus, the network may place the Redcap-specific SSB in a non-GSCN location. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 13, when the network defines a separate initial DL BWP for the Redcap device / UE, the initial DL BWP corresponding to SSB1 is not used by the Redcap UE as the initial BWP. However, when a Redcap-specific SSB, such as SSB1302 shown in Figure 13, is in a non-GSNC location (in the frequency domain), the network may include information in SIB1 of SSB1 to indicate the location of SSB1302 to the Redcap UE. The Redcap UE is then redirected to SSB1302 as the cell-defined SSB of the Redcap device based on the information included in SIB1 of SSB1. Figure 14

[0098] In some embodiments, the SSBs for Redcap and non-Redcap devices / UEs may be time domain multiplexed, as illustrated in FIG. 14. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the network may broadcast Redcap specific cell defining SSBs and legacy cell defining SSBs in the same frequency location, but with time multiplexing. When a Redcap UE detects that cellBarred is set to TRUE, it may search for SSBs in the same frequency location, but at different times, to check if the network is broadcasting another SSB for Redcap devices / UEs. These SSBs may indicate different (possibly overlapping) initial DL BWPs for legacy UEs and Redcap UEs, respectively. Using SSB-PositionsInBurst

[0099] In some embodiments, the network, cell, or base station can use a dedicated IE in SIB1, SSB-PositionsInBurst, to provide information about the set of SSB burst positions that the network is broadcasting. Each burst can be assumed to be broadcast on up to a specified number of different beams, for example up to 64. The network may reserve some of these SSB burst positions for Redcap devices / UEs and reserve other SSB burst positions for non-Redcap devices / UEs. Redcap UEs are provided with additional SSB positions / locations (in the frequency domain) that are only for Redcap UEs. When a Redcap UE reads SIB1 and this additional configuration information is present in SIB1, the Redcap UE can determine the SSB bursts intended for Redcap operation or determine their location.

[0100] For example, if a first number (X) of SSBs are used in one SSB burst on the same frequency in a cell, the following options may be implemented. ● Option 1: A second majority (Y number) of SSBs (out of X number of SSBs) may contain MIB A for legacy UEs and a third majority (Z number) of SSBs (out of number X number of SSBs) may contain MIB B for Redcap UEs. MIB A and MIB B may each clearly indicate which type of UE is being barred (e.g., a new bit may be added to the MIB to distinguish between Redcap and legacy devices / UEs). MIB A and MIB B may each contain different respective PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 values ​​to direct different UEs to different CORESETs of SIB1. ● Option 2: A second majority (Y) of SSBs (out of number X of SSBs) may include MIB A for legacy UEs, and a third majority (Z) of SSBs (out of number X of SSBs) may include MIB B for Redcap UEs. MIB A and MIB B may each include their own respective barring settings (e.g., different cellBarred settings), but Redcap UEs can simply proceed to read SIB1 regardless of the value of the barring settings. MIB A and MIB B may each include different respective PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 values ​​to direct different UEs to different CORESETs of SIBs. The network, cell, or base station may indicate in SIB1 whether the current SIB1 is for a Redcap UE or a legacy UE, and may further indicate (in the SSB-PositionsInBurst IE) which SSBs are for Redcap UEs and which are for legacy UEs. ● Option 3: The SSB includes the same MIB for all types of UE, and if legacy UE and Redcap UE are not barred in the MIB, the network, cell, or base station can indicate the location of SIB1 for Redcap UE in SIB1. The above options may be implemented, for example, by modifying and / or altering the relevant code portions provided in 3GPP TS 38.331 v.16.5.0, page 298, section 6.2.2, and pages 628-29, section 6.3.2.

[0101] It is understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of permitted uses should be clearly indicated to users.

[0102] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more custom designed hardware devices, such as an ASIC. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA.

[0103] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may store program instructions and / or data that, when executed by a computer system, may be configured to cause the computer system to perform a method, such as a method embodiment described herein, or a combination of the method embodiments described herein, or a subset of the method embodiments described herein, or a combination of such subsets.

[0104] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or set of processors) and a memory medium (or memory element), where the memory medium stores program instructions and the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement various method embodiments described herein (or a combination of the method embodiments described herein, or a subset of the method embodiments described herein, or a combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in various forms.

[0105] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated, and it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A cell-defining first synchronization signal block (SSB), an indication of whether a first cell defined by the SSB is barred; and a first information block (IB) including: first information associated with a second SSB defining a second cell, the first information enabling a device to identify and receive a location of the second SSB and determine, based on at least the second information included in the second SSB, whether to connect to the second cell when the first cell is barred to the device; Initiating the transmission of a first SSB to the device; causing transmission to the device of a second IB associated with the first IB and providing an indication of whether the first cell is barred to the device; A processor that is configured to:

2. The processor of claim 1 , wherein the device is a Redcap (reduced capability) device.

3. 3. The processor of claim 2, wherein the second IB includes third information regarding an initial bandwidth portion for a Redcap device, the third information indicating that the first cell is valid for the Redcap device when the second IB indicates that the first cell is not barred for the Redcap device.

4. The processor of claim 1 , wherein the indication further corresponds to one or more additional devices different from the device.

5. The processor of claim 4 , wherein the one or more additional devices are not reduce capability devices.

6. 2. The processor of claim 1, wherein the first information further enables the device to determine a location of the second SSB to identify a location of the second SSB, the location of the second SSB being not on a global synchronization channel number.

7. 2. The processor of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the first SSB and the transmitting of the second IB are performed by a base station.

8. radio circuitry configured to enable wireless communication of the base station; 1. A processor comprising: A cell-defining first synchronization signal block (SSB), an indication of whether a first cell defined by the SSB is barred; and a first information block (IB) including: first information associated with a second SSB defining a second cell, the first information enabling a device to identify and receive a location of the second SSB and determine, based on at least the second information included in the second SSB, whether to connect to the second cell when the first cell is barred to the device; Transmitting a first SSB to the device; a processor configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to transmit to the device a second IB associated with the first IB and providing an indication of whether the first cell is barred to the device; and A base station comprising:

9. The base station of claim 8 , wherein the device is a Redcap (reduced capability) device.

10. 10. The base station of claim 9, wherein the second IB includes third information regarding an initial bandwidth portion for a Redcap device, the third information indicating that the first cell is valid for the Redcap device when the second IB indicates that the first cell is not barred for the Redcap device.

11. The base station of claim 8 , wherein the indication further corresponds to one or more additional devices different from the device.

12. The base station of claim 11 , wherein the one or more additional devices are not reduce capability devices.

13. 9. The base station of claim 8, wherein the first information further enables the device to determine a location of the second SSB to identify a location of the second SSB, and the location of the second SSB is not on a global synchronization channel number.

14. A cell-defining first synchronization signal block (SSB), an indication of whether a first cell defined by the SSB is barred; and a first information block (IB) including: first information associated with a second SSB defining a second cell, the first information enabling a device to identify and receive a location of the second SSB and determine, based on at least the second information included in the second SSB, whether to connect to the second cell when the first cell is barred to the device; Initiating the transmission of a first SSB to the device; instructions executable by a processor to cause transmission to the device of a second IB associated with the first IB and providing an indication of whether the first cell is barred to the device; A non-transient memory element that remembers

15. The non-transitory memory element of claim 14 , wherein the device is a reduced capability device.

16. 16. The non-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the second IB includes third information regarding an initial bandwidth portion for a Redcap device, the third information indicating that the first cell is valid for the Redcap device when the second IB indicates that the first cell is not barred for the Redcap device.

17. The non-transitory memory element of claim 14 , wherein the indication further corresponds to one or more additional devices distinct from the device.

18. 20. The non-transitory memory element of claim 17, wherein the one or more additional devices are not reduce capability devices.

19. 14. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the first information further enables the device to determine a location of the second SSB to identify a location of the second SSB, and the location of the second SSB is not on a global synchronization channel number.

20. 14. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the transmission of the first SSB and the transmission of the second IB are performed by a base station.

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