ALLOCATION OF SECOND UE IDENTITY FOR ADJUSTING PAGING TIMING OF UE IN WIRELESS NETWORKS - Patent application

Abstract

Allocation of a second UE identity for adjusting paging timing of a UE in a wireless network. The method includes the steps of: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; and receiving, by the user equipment, a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes, adjusting the paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, the second paging timing being different from the first paging timing. The method includes the steps of receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; and receiving, by the user equipment, a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes, adjusting the paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, the second paging timing being different from the first paging timing.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] [Priority claim] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 814,792, filed March 6, 2019, entitled "Assignment of Two Identities for UE Time Coordination for Wireless Networks," the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] This description relates to wireless communications. [Background technology]

[0003] A communication system may be any facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals may be transmitted over wired or wireless carriers.

[0004] An example of a cellular communication method is the architecture standardized by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). Recent developments in this field are often referred to as LTE (Long Term Evolution of Radio Access Technology) of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). E-UTRA (evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of 3GPP's LTE (Long Term Evolution) upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, base stations or access points (APs), called enhanced nodes APs (eNBs), provide wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, mobile devices or mobile stations are called user equipment (UE). LTE includes many improvements and developments. Aspects of LTE continue to improve.

[0005] 5G New Radio (NR) development is part of the ongoing mobile broadband evolution process to meet the requirements of 5G, similar to the previous evolution of 3G & 4G radio networks. Furthermore, 5G targets new and emerging use cases in addition to mobile broadband. The goal of 5G is to provide significant improvements in radio performance, including new levels of data rates, latency, reliability and security. 5G NR can also be extended to efficiently connect the vast Internet of Things (IoT) and provide new types of mission-critical services. For example, Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLC) devices may require high reliability and very low latency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to one embodiment, the method includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, and receiving, by the user equipment, a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes adjusting a paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, where the second paging timing is different from the first paging timing.

[0007] According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes means for receiving at least a first UE identity assigned by a user equipment (UE) to a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing, and means for receiving by the user equipment a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes, adjusting a paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, where the second paging timing is different from the first paging timing.

[0008] According to one embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the at least one processor being configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least receive, by a user equipment (UE), a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing, and to adjust a paging timing from the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, and to receive by the user equipment a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes, the second paging timing being different from the first paging timing.

[0009] According to an example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computing system to perform a method of receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; and receiving, by the user equipment, a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes, adjusting a paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, the second paging timing being different from the first paging timing.

[0010] According to an example embodiment, the method may include determining that a first paging timing associated with a first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment is inaligned or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment, and transmitting a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing.

[0011] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus may include means for determining that a first paging timing associated with a first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment is inaligned or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment, and means for sending a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, wherein the third UE identity is associated with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing.

[0012] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least determine that a first paging timing associated with a first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment is inaligned or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment, and to send a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing.

[0013] According to an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores instructions configured, when executed by at least one processor, to cause a computing system to perform a method including: determining that a first paging timing associated with a first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment is inconsistent with or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment; and transmitting a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing. Details of one or more example embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, as well as from the claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating two UE identities of a UE having a collision (or alignment) between paging time instants in an example embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating three UE identities with paging time instants distributed in time. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates a distribution of paging timing instants for multiple user equipment according to one embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a user equipment according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the network entity according to the embodiment. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., an AP, BS, gNB, UE, or user device, or other network node) according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 130 according to an embodiment. In the wireless network 130 of FIG. 1, user equipments 131, 132, 133 and 135, also referred to as mobile stations (MS) or user equipment (UE), can be connected to (and communicate with) a base station (BS) 134, also referred to as an access point (AP), enhanced node B (eNB) or network node. At least some of the functionality of an access point (AP), base station (BS) or node B (eNB) can be performed by any node, server or host that may be operatively connected to a transceiver, such as a remote radio head. The BS 134 provides wireless coverage in a cell 136 that includes user equipments 131, 132, 133 and 135. Although only four user equipments (or UEs) are shown as connected or attached to the BS 134, any number of user equipments can be provided. The BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via an S1 interface 151. This is just one simple example of a wireless network and others may be used.

[0016] User equipment (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) can refer to portable computing devices including wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including, by way of example and without limitation, mobile stations (MS), cell phones, mobile phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handsets, devices using wireless modems (such as alarm or measurement devices), laptops and / or touch screen computers, tablets, phablets, game consoles, notebooks, vehicles, sensors, and multimedia devices. It should be understood that user devices can be almost exclusively uplink-only devices, examples of which are devices that load camera or video camera images or video clips onto the network.

[0017] In LTE (as an example), the core network 150 may be referred to as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which may include a mobility management entity that can handle or assist user equipment mobility / handover between BSs, one or more gateways that can forward data and control signals between the BSs and a packet data network or the Internet, and other control functions or blocks.

[0018] Additionally, by way of example, various embodiments or techniques described herein may be applied to various types of user equipment or data service types, or to user equipment on which multiple applications, which may be different data service types, can be executed. New wireless (5G) developments may support many different applications or many different data service types, such as, for example, device type communications (MTC), enhanced device type communications (eMTC), Internet of Things (IoT), and / or narrowband IoT user devices, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLC).

[0019] IoT refers to an ever-growing group of objects that may have Internet or network connectivity, and these objects may send and receive information to other network devices. For example, many sensor-type applications or devices may monitor a physical state or condition and send reports to a server or other network devices, for example, when an event occurs. Device-type communication (MTC, or device-to-device communication), for example, may be characterized by fully automatic data generation, exchange, processing, and actuation between intelligent devices, with or without human intervention. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) has the potential to support much higher data rates than those currently available in LTE.

[0020] URLC (Ultra-reliable and low-latency communications) is a new data service type that may be supported in new wireless (5G) systems. This will enable new applications and services, such as industrial automation, autonomous driving, vehicle safety, and e-health services. 3GPP targets to provide reliability corresponding to a block error rate (BLER) of 10-5 and a U-Plane (user / data plane) latency of up to 1 ms. Thus, for example, a URLC user device / UE may require a significantly lower block error rate, as well as a lower latency (with or without a concurrent high reliability requirement) than other types of user devices / UEs. Thus, for example, a URLC UE (or a URLLC application on a UE) may require a much lower latency compared to an eMBB UE (or an eMBB application running on a UE).

[0021] Various embodiment examples may be applied to a wide variety of wireless technologies or wireless networks, such as LTE, LTE-A, 5G, cmWave, and / or mmWave band networks, IoT, MTC, eMTC, eMBB, URLC, etc., or any other wireless network or wireless technology. These example networks, technologies, or data service types are provided by way of example only.

[0022] Packet data traffic is often very bursty, e.g., occasional periods of transmission activity followed by longer periods of silence. Rather than the UE continuously monitoring a downlink channel for downlink data, the UE may use discontinuous reception (DRX) to reduce power consumption. According to one embodiment, the monitoring may include receiving downlink control information on the channel and determining whether one or more particular signals are received on the channel. For example, the monitoring may include receiving downlink control information on the channel and determining whether one or more particular signals are received indicating the presence of downlink data on a downlink data channel or the presence of a UL transmission grant for use of an uplink data channel.

[0023] With DRX, the UE monitors downlink control signaling for paging messages (e.g., the paging timing defines or determines the paging time instances at which paging messages can be received by the UE) only at certain time instances (e.g., according to a paging timing for the UE or according to a DRX cycle for the UE), such as every 100 ms or other paging timing. Thus, for example, a paging cycle (or DRX cycle) can be defined for the UE, where the UE can be in a sleep state (e.g., turns off or puts one or more of its circuits, or the UE's receiver and / or transmitter, into a low power state) and wakes up (powers up its circuits, receiver and / or transmitter) for a short period of time to monitor or receive downlink control signaling to determine whether the network (e.g., CN) has downlink data to be transmitted to the UE.

[0024] For example, upon waking up from a sleep or low power state, the UE may monitor (e.g., receive and / or decode) downlink control information (DCI) on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the presence of a paging message, which may be information encrypted by a paging identifier, such as information encrypted with a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI) (as one example). The presence of a paging message (which may be information encrypted with a P-RNTI, for example) indicates that the network may have downlink data to deliver to the UE. For example, if the UE detects a paging message on the DCI (e.g., detects the P-RNTI), the UE may then receive (decode) further control information (e.g., in resources or resource blocks indicated by the paging message) to determine whether its UE identity is indicated or provided in this further control information. If the UE finds its UE identity, this indicates that the core network has downlink data for delivery to the UE. After the UE detects its UE identity, it performs a random access (RA or RACH) procedure with the cell or BS (or eNB / gNB) to establish a connection with the cell (so that the UE transitions to a connected state), and then the UE can receive downlink data from the core network via the cell.After receiving the downlink data (and possibly transmitting / sending the data that needs to be transmitted), the UE can e.g. re-enter or resume into a sleep or low power state (which can illustratively be a DRX sleep state in RRC_CONNECTED, an RRC_IDLE state or an RRC_INACTIVE state (RRC stands for Radio Resource Control)) and remain in this sleep state until the next opportunity (e.g. indicated by a DRX cycle in terms of the UE's paging pattern or PDCCH monitoring pattern) when the UE needs to wake up again (e.g. power up the receiver and other circuitry) and check for downlink control information paging messages or scheduling messages.

[0025] The paging pattern may include or indicate one or more times (time instants) when the UE should wake up from sleep and check for a paging message, and if, for example, a paging message is detected.

[0026] Thus, paging is a network technique that may be used to contact the UE for the case of downlink traffic being delivered or transmitted to the UE. For RRC_Idle and / or RRC_Inactive UEs, this is typically implemented as a paging mechanism where the network and UE have a common understanding of how, when and how the UE should monitor the channel for paging messages from the network (core network). According to one embodiment, in order to have a statistical distribution of UEs in the time domain, the time instances where the UE listens or monitors for paging messages can be distributed through an algorithm that defines a UE paging frame as a combined function of the UE (UE-specific or UE-specific at least in the network) identity and system timing. In the case of LTE, a paging frame can be a radio frame where the UE listens for paging messages and depending on the configuration, the UE may be further assigned subframes within the paging frame (from the UE identity). The eNB / BS can control the amount and / or allocation of UEs in the time / resource domain by configuring paging related DRX parameters. The procedure may be similar for NR / 5G, where an inactive (e.g., RRC_Inactive) UE may listen or monitor a channel for CN paging calculated using the NR equivalent IMSI, called 5G-S-TMSI, and RAN paging using the RRC_Inactive RNTI:I-RNTI. Furthermore, in NR (5G), when multiple beams are used for paging transmission, a paging occasion (PO) may include a set of PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) monitoring cases - one for each beam - and these PDCCH monitoring cases are assigned in time. For these reasons, the table-based PO (paging occasion) configuration mechanism of LTE is replaced in NR / 5G by a mechanism based on paging search space (pagingSearchSpace).These are just examples of how a UE may determine or discover paging timing such as its PF and PO. Also, these are some examples of UE identities that may be used for a UE.

[0027] Thus, according to an example embodiment, a UE may determine its paging timing by determining a paging frame (PF) and one or more paging occasions (POs) within the PF for (when) and where the UE should monitor for paging messages. According to one embodiment, a paging frame (PF) may include one or more POs. According to one embodiment, the paging timing (e.g., may be or include a paging frame (PF) and / or a paging occasion (PO)) may determine an indication of when the UE should monitor downlink control information for paging messages based on the UE identity (e.g., UE identity) of the UE.

[0028] As noted, according to an example embodiment, the UE may use discontinuous reception (DRX) in the RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states to reduce power consumption. The UE may, for example, monitor one or more paging occasions (POs) per DRX cycle (e.g., receive downlink signals to detect paging messages). A PO may include a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions and / or include multiple time slots (e.g., subframes or OFDM symbols) in which paging messages may be transmitted to the UE. Also, for example, a paging frame (PF) may be a radio frame and may include one or more POs or starting points of a PO. The same paging message may be used for both RAN (Radio Access Network or BS) initiated paging and CN initiated paging.

[0029] By way of example, a paging timing, e.g., a paging timing that may include a PF, may be determined based on a UE identity for the UE according to Equation 1. Based on Equation 1, a SFN (System Frame Number) for a PF (Paging Frame) may be determined for the UE. (SFN + PF_offset) mod T = (T div N)*(UE_ID mod N); (Formula 1)

[0030] The index (i_s) indicates the start of the sequence of PDCCH (in case of physical downlink control channel L0 monitoring of paging messages) and is determined as follows: i_s = floor (UE_ID / N) mod Ns

[0031] For default association, Ns can be either 1 or 2. If Ns=1, then only one PO is started in the PF. If Ns=2, then the PO can be either in the first frame (s=0) or in the second frame (i_s=1) of the PF.

[0032] In case of non-default association (ie, when paging-SearchSpace is used), the UE monitors the (i_s+1)th PO where the first PO is initiated in the PF.

[0033] Some example parameters used to determine the PF and PO are: UE's Equation 1. T: DRX cycle, N: number of total paging frames in T, Ns: number of paging occasions for PF, PF_offset: offset used for PF determination, UE_ID: for example, 5G-S-TMSI (Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity) mod 1024.

[0034] The parameters N, Ns, first-PDCCH-MonitoringOccasionOfPO, PF_offset, and the length of the default DRX cycle may be transmitted or signaled by the BS / gNB in ​​the system information, such as in SIB1. Other techniques may also be used to determine the paging timing of the UE.

[0035] In normal UE operation in current networks, the UE will have a "hard-coded" (or static or fixed) UE (UE-specific) identity to the core network. As an example, the UE may be assigned a fixed or static International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or a fixed or static (5G or NR) Temporary Mobile Subscription Identifier (TMSI). The IMSI in LTE and the 5G-S-TMSI (NR) in 5G / New Radio can be used by the UE to determine, for example, a paging timing (e.g., paging frame (PF)) that indicates the exact time at which the UE should monitor network signaling (e.g., downlink control information) for paging messages. For example, the UE identifier can be converted (or used) by the UE via an equation such as, for example, Equation 1, to calculate or determine a paging frame (as an example of paging timing) for the UE. One function of the existing paging mechanism is to distribute all devices connected to the network in a statistically fair manner such that there is an equal probability of having a given load on the available network resources (paging frames as an example). This mechanism provides a simple mapping when considering a UE with a single identity and without the need for network or UE controllers to load the available resources.

[0036] Some examples of a UE (UE specific) identity may include an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), or (5G or NR) a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI). These are some examples of UE specific (e.g., a different UE identity assigned to each UE in a network), and other (UE specific) UE identities may be used.

[0037] Thus, according to an embodiment, the paging timing of a UE may be associated with its UE identity (e.g., IMSI, TMSI, or other UE identity) assigned to the UE. For example, Equation 1 describes an example of a technique that a UE may use to determine a paging timing (e.g., PF) associated with its UE identity. As noted, the paging timing may indicate the time at which the UE monitors or receives (or should monitor or receive) downlink control information for a paging message and / or the paging timing may indicate the time at which a paging message may be transmitted to the UE. In current networks, the paging timing of a UE is fixed or static based on a fixed or static UE identity (e.g., fixed TMSI, IMSI) of the UE.

[0038] However, according to an embodiment, there may be example situations or applications where it is advantageous for the UE to have the paging timing changed or adjusted. Thus, according to an embodiment, the UE may obtain the adjusted or different paging timing through the assignment of an additional or different (or second) UE identity different from the first or initial UE identity assigned to the UE. According to an exemplary embodiment, the UE may be assigned a first UE identity associated with the first paging timing. Then, the UE may be assigned a second UE identity (different from the first UE identity) associated with a second paging timing, where the second paging timing is different from the first paging timing), where the second or additional UE identity may be used at least for paging purposes. Thus, the use of the second or additional UE identity (at least for paging) results in changing the paging timing or the time at which the UE monitors downlink control information for paging messages.

[0039] For example, the UE may detect the need for different paging timing and then send a request to the BS or CN for another (or second) UE identity associated with the different paging timing. For example, the UE may be assigned two UE identities, e.g., each UE identity associated with (or assigned to) a different network or different network operator, having the same (or aligned) paging timing (e.g., the UE may need to monitor or receive downlink signaling from two different networks or network operators for different paging messages that may be transmitted on different frequency resources). However, the UE may not be able to simultaneously monitor and receive downlink control signals for paging messages from different networks (e.g., a first network and a second network) at the same time because the UE typically includes only one receiver. Thus, in the situation of colliding (or aligning) paging time instants for two UE identities, it may be desirable to adjust (e.g., offset or misalign) the UE's paging timing for either of the networks or network operators such that the UE can separately monitor or receive (at different times) downlink control information for the two networks or network operators (e.g., potentially on different frequency resources). Thus, the UE may send a request to one of the networks to request a third UE identity to be assigned to the UE for at least paging purposes, e.g., to adjust the UE's paging timing for the network such that the UE's paging timing for the first and second networks are at least slightly misaligned (non-colliding).

[0040] As another example, it may be advantageous to align (or synchronize) the paging timing (e.g., PF) for each UE of a plurality of UEs or a set of UEs that may have some common application or common feature or characteristic (e.g., a set of UEs receiving a particular type of data, or a set of UEs that are the same UE type or have the same UE / handset make or model). In that case, the CN may transmit a different UE identity to each (or some) of these UEs that may be designed to provide the same paging timing (e.g., the same PF). For example, based on Equation 1, multiple different UE identities may be selected (assigned to UEs in a set of UEs) that result in a mapping or association with the same PF or paging timing, e.g., by a modulus 1024 operation of Equation (1) (multiple UE identities may map to the same PF or paging timing).

[0041] In some cases, while using the second (or other) UE identity for paging purposes, the UE may continue to use the first (or primary) UE identity for one or more other (e.g., non-paging) purposes, such as, for example, requesting or obtaining security keys, authenticating, performing random access or establishing connections, and / or other UE functions.

[0042] These are just a few examples of when the paging timing for a UE may be changed or adjusted through the assignment of a second or another UE identity. Other examples and further details are described herein.

[0043] According to an example embodiment, the method may include at least the steps of receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; and receiving, by the user equipment, a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for paging purposes, adjusting a paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, the second paging timing being different from the first paging timing.

[0044] The method may further include a step of transmitting, by the user equipment, a request to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment to be different from the first paging timing via allocation of a second UE identity to the user equipment, and the method may further include a step of determining, by the user equipment, the second paging timing based on the second UE identity.

[0045] According to an example embodiment, the request may include (or may indicate) timing information on which the second UE identity is based, the timing information may include at least one of: a time of a paging instance requested for the user equipment, a time of a paging instance requested for the user equipment, the time of the requested paging instance indicated as an offset with respect to or relative to a system frame number, a requested UE identity, and a requested UE identity indicated by an offset to the first UE identity.

[0046] The method may further include monitoring a radio channel (which may include, for example, receiving or decoding a signal on the radio channel and / or detecting whether a particular signal is received on the radio channel) based on a second UE identity or based on a second paging timing. For example, the method may further include at least one of the following steps: monitoring a radio channel for paging messages based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity; monitoring a radio channel for paging messages one time based on the second paging timing associated with the second UE identity instead of based on the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity; monitoring, by the user equipment, a radio channel for downlink signals one time based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity; monitoring, by the user equipment, a radio channel for downlink signals one time based on the second paging timing and not based on the first paging timing.

[0047] For example, the monitoring step may include at least one of the following steps: monitoring by the user equipment downlink control information for receiving a paging message indicated by a group paging radio network temporary identifier associated with a cell at a time indicated by the second paging timing associated with the second UE identity; monitoring by the user equipment information indicated or encrypted by a second UE identity U based on the receiving step of the paging message indicated by a group paging radio network temporary identifier associated with a cell; and receiving by the user equipment a power saving control signal or a wake-up signal sent to the user equipment based on the second UE identity to wake up the user equipment from a power saving state.

[0048] The method may further include receiving, by the user equipment, a downlink signal (such as a paging message or other downlink signal) based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity, or receiving, by the user equipment, a paging message based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

[0049] According to an example embodiment, the first paging timing and the second paging timing each include a time of a paging instance when a paging message can be transmitted by a network or received by the user equipment based on the associated UE identity.

[0050] According to an example embodiment, the first paging timing and the second paging timing each include at least one of: a time of a paging instance when a paging message is sent to or received by a user equipment based on the associated UE identity; a paging frame indicating a time or location when a paging message is sent to or received by a user equipment; or a combination of 1) a paging frame and 2) a subframe or paging occurring within the paging frame indicating a time or location when a paging message is sent to or received by the user equipment.

[0051] According to an example embodiment, the first UE identity may be associated with a first wireless network operator or associated with a first wireless network identified by or associated with a first public land mobile network, and the second UE identity may be associated with a second wireless network operator different from the first wireless network operator, or associated with a second wireless network identified by or associated with a second public land mobile network and different from the first wireless network.

[0052] According to another example embodiment, a method (e.g., a method that may be performed by a RAN node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB), a core network, and / or other network entity) may include determining that a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment is inaligned or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment, and sending a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing.

[0053] The method may further include transmitting a single paging or control message to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment at one time based on the alignment of the third paging timing with the second paging timing.

[0054] The method may further include a step of transmitting, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, a request to allocate a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, wherein the third UE identity is associated with a third paging timing such that the third paging timing of the first user equipment is aligned or coincident in the time domain with the second paging timing of the second user equipment.

[0055] According to example embodiments, various techniques are described that allow a UE to obtain or be assigned a second (or additional) UE identity to adjust or change the timing of paging. The second UE identity can be used for one or more UE operations, such as receiving paging messages and / or possibly other downlink control information. In some example embodiments, a negotiation mechanism can be provided whereby the UE can request an additional UE identity (e.g., a second UE identity) and provide one or more timing information or timing parameters (e.g., a requested UE identity, or a requested paging timing, which may be indicated by an offset relative to the current UE identity, an offset relative to the current paging timing, ...) to indicate or induce the network to assign the additional UE identity to the UE.

[0056] In another exemplary embodiment, the network (e.g., a core network, a RAN node, or other network entity) may, e.g., without being requested by the UE, transmit an updated or additional UE identity to each of one or more UEs in the network, e.g., to adjust one or more paging timings of those UEs. Thus, by network remapping or reassigning the UE to a different (e.g., additional or second) UE identity, the paging timing of the UE may be adjusted or changed. Also, in some cases, through this assignment of a second or additional UE identity, the UE identity and timing that the UE uses to receive or monitor other types of downlink control signals (e.g., in addition to paging messages) may be changed as well.

[0057] There may be various example situations or example use cases in which allocation of an additional UE identity, or adjusting or modifying the paging timing of a UE via allocation of an additional (or second) UE identity, may be useful or advantageous.

[0058] [Use Case (Example) 1A, 1B: Multiple UE Identities in a Single UE]

[0059] According to an exemplary embodiment, a UE may be assigned multiple UE identities (e.g., multiple IMSIs, or multiple TMSIs). These multiple UE identities may be associated with (or assigned by) the same network or network operator, or may be associated with (or assigned by) different networks or network operators. For example, a UE may have multiple SIM cards active at a time (e.g., with a different UE identity associated with each SIM card and different paging timing for each UE identity). By way of example, a UE may support dual SIM in IDLE mode (e.g., each SIM card may belong to or be associated with a different mobile carrier / network operator). For two SIM cards and two associated UE identities assigned to the UE, this means that the UE should monitor the paging channels of the two networks associated with the different SIM cards (and the different frequency resources of these two different paging channels). This may allow the UE to monitor paging messages from multiple (e.g., two) network (mobile) operators. According to one embodiment, one or more electronic SIM cards (e.g., SIMs that can be assigned to a UE electronically and do not require a physical SIM card to be installed in the UE) may also be assigned to the UE. Other techniques may be provided or used to assign additional UE identities to the UE. For example, the UE may receive a virtual UE identity (e.g., a virtual IMSI) or other assigned UE identities (which may or may not be associated with a SIM card or eSIM). These are just a few examples of how a UE may be assigned multiple UE identities.

[0060] However, the assignment of multiple UE identities to a UE may result in, for example, 1A) collisions in monitoring paging channels of multiple (e.g., two) UE identities when the paging timing (e.g., paging time instance) is the same for the multiple UE identities assigned to the UE, and 1B) significant power consumption when the time between the paging instants (or paging timings) of the two UE identities of the UE is significantly separated, either because the UE needs to remain on or active for a very long period of time (thus delaying the transition to a sleep or low power state) or because the UE needs to power cycle separately to monitor paging messages of both UE identities (additional power consumption as powering on of the UE circuitry is performed for each of the two UE identities). Two example use cases are briefly described below with reference to Figures 2-3. Use case 1A is described with reference to Figure 2, and use case 1B is described with reference to Figure 3 as some illustrative examples.

[0061] With respect to use case 1A, FIG. 2 illustrates two UE identities of a UE with a collision (or alignment) between paging time instants in an example embodiment. The UE may have a first UE identity (IMSI1) and a second UE identity (IMSI2) assigned, for example, by different network (or mobile) operators. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2, the paging time instant (or paging timing) for IMSI1 collides in the time domain with the paging time instant (or paging timing) for IMSI2. Thus, in this example, the paging frame (PF) and paging occasion (PO) or paging message subframes can be aligned (provided simultaneously) for IMSI1 and IMSI2. Typically, a UE can only monitor signals from one network at a time (e.g., because a UE typically has only one radio receiver). Thus, the UE in this example cannot simultaneously monitor channels for paging messages for both IMSI1 and IMSI2 (which may use different frequency resources). It would be better if the paging timing or paging time instants for the first UE identity (IMSI1) and the second UE identity were sufficiently offset or misaligned in time (separate, or orthogonal) to allow the UE to monitor or receive paging messages for both the first UE identity and the second UE identity.

[0062] Thus, to provide a time offset between these two identities, the UE may send a request to one of the network operators to adjust its paging timing via the assignment of an additional or second UE identity. For example, the UE may send a request to the network (e.g., a network entity such as a core network, a RAN node, or a BS) associated with IMSI2 assigned to the UE, via the assignment of an additional or second UE identity (virtual IMSI2, or V-IMSI2), to adjust the UE's paging timing to be different (the UE's paging timing is different) from the paging timing associated with IMESI2. The request may include or indicate one or more timing information or timing parameters that can be used by the network to assign the additional or second UE identity (V-IMSI2) to the UE. Some example timing information or timing parameters that may be included in the request include, for example, a time of a paging instance requested for the UE (paging timing), a time of the requested paging instance (the time of the paging instance indicated by an offset relative to the paging timing instance of the first UE identity (e.g., x ms offset from paging timing instance IMSI2) or as an offset relative to the system frame number (SFN)), a requested UE identity, a requested UE identity indicated by an offset relative to the first UE identity (e.g., offset from IMSI2).

[0063] The network (e.g., a core network, or other network entity) may receive a request from the UE to adjust paging timing for the UE via assignment of a second or additional UE identity, and may determine the second or additional UE identity (V-IMSI2 in FIG. 2) based on indicated timing information or timing parameters that may have been provided in or with the request, e.g., based on Equation 1, or using other techniques. The network may then send a message to the UE indicating the additional or second UE identity (V-IMSI2) assigned to the UE, which may be used by the UE for at least paging purposes. The UE may, for example, power on (transition from a sleep or low power state to an on or active state), monitor for paging signals (e.g., monitor for paging signals on a channel for the first UE identity (IMSI1), e.g., receive a signal on a downlink control channel, determine whether a particular signal has been received or is present on the channel, such as a paging message such as P RNTI, then monitor for paging signals on a channel for a new or additional UE identity (V-IMSI2) that has a paging time instance that is at least slightly offset or misaligned in time (orthogonal) from the paging time instance of the first UE identity (IMSI1), and then transition back to a sleep or low power state. In this manner, by obtaining the additional UE identity, the UE may monitor the channel for paging messages for both (or multiple) UE identities.

[0064] The UE may use the additional or second UE identity (V-IMSI2) for all UE functions, or the UE may use the additional or second UE identity (V-IMSI2) for a limited set of functions (including at least for paging purposes) and continue to use the first (or primary) identity (IMSI2) for other (non-paging) purposes, such as requesting or obtaining security keys, performing authentication, performing random access or establishing connections, and / or other UE functions.

[0065] With respect to use case 1B, FIG. 3 illustrates three UE identities with paging timing instances distributed in time. As shown in FIG. 3, according to one embodiment, IMSI1, IMSI2, and IMSI3 (as examples of UE identities) may be assigned to a UE by network (or network operator) 1, network 2, and network 3 (for example), respectively. As shown, the paging time instants for these three US identities are distributed (or separated) in time (e.g., greater than a threshold). Due to this significant distribution or separation in time of the paging time instances for these three UE identities, each of these UE identities (IMSI1, IMSI2, and IMSI3) has (or is required to have) its own warm-up period before its respective paging time instance. According to one embodiment, the warm-up period may be a period during which circuitry in the UE is turned on to allow the UE to transition from a sleep or inactive state to an on or active state, which requires time and power to turn on the UE circuitry. For example, because of this separation in paging time instants, IMSI1 may have a warm-up period 312 before paging time instant 314, IMSI2 may have a warm-up period 322 before paging time instant 324, and IMSI3 may have a warm-up period 332 before paging time instant 334. This is therefore considered to be power inefficient because the UE has three separate warm-up periods to monitor paging messages for these three UE identities (IMSI1, IMSI2, and IMSI3). Thus, although the paging time instants of these three UE identities assigned to the UE do not collide (are misaligned in time or separated), the separation or misalignment of these three paging time instants is greater than a threshold and is therefore considered to be power inefficient.

[0066] Thus, according to one embodiment, the UE may request additional UE identities from network 2 and / or network 3 assigned as IMSI2 and IMSI3 to change the UE's paging timing with respect to network 2 and network 3. For example, the UE may provide, as part of its request for new or additional UE identities, one or more timing parameters to obtain additional UE identities V-IMSI2, V-IMSI3 from network 2 and network 3, respectively, to more closely align the UE's paging timing for IMSI1, V-IMSI2, and V-IMSI-3, e.g., to enable more power-efficient UE operation. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the paging timing for IMSI1, V-IMSI2, and V-IMSI3 may currently include a common warm-up period 342 (for all three UE identities), and a paging monitoring period 344. The paging monitoring period may include a period during which the UE continuously monitors (at 352, 354, and 356) channels for paging messages for each of the three UE identities, e.g., the UE tuning or tuning a receiver to a channel for network 1 at 352 and monitoring for paging messages from network 1 (e.g., receiving a signal and detecting the presence or absence of a paging message), tuning or tuning a receiver to receive signals on a channel for network 2 at 354 and monitoring for paging messages from network 2, and tuning or tuning a receiver to receive signals on a channel for network 3 at 356 and monitoring for paging messages from network 3. Thus, obtaining additional UE identities (e.g., V-IMSI2, and V-IMSI3) having paging time instants closer to the paging instance associated with IMSI1 may result in more power efficient operation of the UE.For example, the UE may use a common warm-up period and then serially monitor for paging messages on the channels for each of the UE identities (IMSI1, V-IMSI2, and V-IMSI3) before transitioning back to a sleep or inactive state. Thus, according to one embodiment, the paging timing bands for IMSI1, V-IMSI2, and V-IMSI3 may be slightly misaligned to occur within a threshold period (e.g., misaligned or occurring at separate times such as 352, 354, 356, but occurring within the threshold period) to enable power-efficient operation of the UE. This approach therefore allows the UE to transition from an inactive or sleep state once to an on or active state (including the circuit warm-up period 342), then continuously monitor the channels for paging messages for each of these multiple UE identities, before returning to an inactive or sleep state until the next common warm-up period 360, three paging timing instances prior.

[0067] [Use case (or example) 2: Time alignment of paging for multiple UEs] With respect to use case 2, Figure 4 illustrates a distribution of paging timing instants for multiple user equipment according to one embodiment. In some cases, the network may operate to ensure a statistically even distribution of UEs over available system resources, such as over available paging message resources or other resources.

[0068] However, in some situations, it may be beneficial to introduce some control (e.g., by the network core network, RAN nodes, or other network entities) that allows for randomized control of paging resource allocation. This control can be relevant for a number of scenarios or situations, such as when it is attractive for the radio access network to have a specific set of UEs aligned to have a shared instance where the radio access network is monitoring a specific system broadcast signal or trying to access the system. One implementation related to the first aspect is when the network is using specially designed broadcast information (specifically aligned system information is only available for a given time instance to reduce system / network overhead). The latter aspect may cover a situation where the base station is listening to a specific signal on a dedicated resource (e.g., random access attempt on a specific beam). Regardless of the specific cause of the need for time alignment of the "access instances," the idea here is that in this use case 2 example, "the network can coordinate the timing (or reallocation of resources to one or more UEs) through the assignment of different UE identities to the UEs."

[0069] As another example, it may be advantageous to align (or synchronize) paging timing (e.g., PF) for each of multiple UEs having some common application or common features or characteristics (e.g., UE configurations receiving a particular type of data, or UE configurations of the same UE type, or the same UE / handset manufacturer or model). In that case, the CN may transmit a different UE identity to each (or some) of these UEs that may be designed to provide the same paging timing (e.g., the same PF), or other timing of a common resource (e.g., to receive some broadcast control information from the network). For example, based on Equation 1, multiple different UE identities may be selected (assigned to UEs in a set of UEs) that result in a mapping or association with the same PF or paging timing due to, for example, the modulus 1024 operation of Equation 1 (multiple UE identities may map to the same PF or paging timing due to the modulus operation of Equation 1).

[0070] Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, initially, IMSI1 is assigned to UE1, IMSI2 is assigned to UE2, and IMSI3 is assigned to UE3, and the access instances (for monitoring or receiving some control information from the network, such as paging messages, or even other control information) are misaligned or separated in time. Thus, for example, access instances 410A (for IMSI1), 412 (for IMSI2), and 414 (for IMSI3) occur at different times (and thus are misaligned). The network (core network, RAN nodes, and / or other network entities) may detect the misalignment of the access instances (410A, 412, 414) of these three UEs. To align the access instants (paging time instants, other time instants for monitoring or receiving control information from the network, etc.) of UE1, UE2, and UE3, the network may assign a new UE identity to UE2 (V-IMSI2) and a new UE identity to UE3 (V-IMSI3). The network may select V-IMSI2 and V-IMSI3 such that UE identity selection may be performed by the network (see Equation 1 for an illustrative example) such that access instants (e.g., paging timing instants, etc.) of IMSI1 (at 410B), V-IMSI2 (at 422), and V-IMSI3 (at 424) are all aligned or occur simultaneously. By aligning access instances for UE1, UE2, and UE3 in this manner, this may enable one or more UE operations to be performed simultaneously with respect to the network, such as conveying broadcast control information, conveying paging messages, etc.

[0071] Note that this new identity is, from the network side, a remapping of the UE's identity. It is therefore different from a group RNTI (G-RNTI) that can be used by a single eNB or gNB to address multiple UEs using the same scheduling grant (from a single transmission point to multiple reception points). The V-IMSI is therefore different from the G-RNTI on some parameters. The UE may be able to negotiate values ​​towards the core network. The UE may maintain an understanding of the newly obtained identity even when it enters IDLE or inactive mode and may be assigned one V-IMSI at a time (UE uniqueness). Thus, even for other use cases or applications described herein, the assignment of a new or additional UE identity may be, for example, a UE-specific UE identity (one UE identity such as a V-IMSI that is assigned to only one UE) and is not associated with a group of UEs.

[0072] As another use case, a RAN node, BS or cell may determine that a set of UEs (e.g., all 10 UEs) have the same access instant or paging instant (e.g., same paging timing), e.g., based on the mod 1024 operation from Equation 1. The core network or other network entity may reassign some of these 10 UEs to a different paging timing, e.g., via allocation of new UE identities, limited paging resources, or improved paging capacity, or improved paging resource usage, etc.

[0073] Some further embodiments will now be described.

[0074] Example 1. Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a user equipment according to an exemplary embodiment. Operation 510 includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing. And operation 520 includes receiving, by the user equipment, a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for paging purposes adjusting a paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, the second paging timing being different from the first paging timing.

[0075] Example 2. The method of Example 1, further comprising transmitting, by the user equipment, a request to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment to be different from the first paging timing via allocation of a second UE identity to the user equipment.

[0076] Example 3. The method of example 1 or 2, further comprising determining, by the user equipment, the second paging timing based on the second UE identity.

[0077] Example 4. The method of Example 2 or 3, wherein the request includes timing information based on the second UE identity, the timing information including at least one of: a time of a paging instance requested for the user equipment, a time of a paging instance requested for the user equipment, where the time of the requested paging instance is indicated as an offset with respect to or relative to a system frame number, a time of a paging instance requested for the user equipment, where the time of the requested paging instance is indicated as an offset with respect to the first UE identity, the requested UE identity, and the time of a paging instance of a requested UE identity indicated by an offset with respect to the first UE identity.

[0078] Example 5. The method of any one of Examples 2 to 4, wherein the step of transmitting the request is performed based on determining that the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity is inconsistent with a third paging timing associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment by more than a threshold value.

[0079] Example 6. The method of any one of Examples 2 to 4, wherein the step of transmitting the request is performed based on determining that the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity is aligned with a third paging timing associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment.

[0080] Example 7. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 6, further comprising monitoring a radio channel for a paging message based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

[0081] Example 8. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 7, further comprising monitoring a radio channel for paging messages at a time based on the second paging timing associated with the second UE identity instead of based on the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity.

[0082] Example 9. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 8, further comprising monitoring, by the user equipment, a radio channel for downlink signals based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

[0083] Example 10. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 9, further comprising monitoring, by the user equipment, a radio channel for a downlink signal at a time based on the second paging timing and not based on the first paging timing.

[0084] Example 11. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 10, further comprising receiving, by the user equipment, a downlink signal based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

[0085] Example 12. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 11, further comprising receiving, by the user equipment, a paging message based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

[0086] Example 13. The method according to any one of Examples 7 to 12, wherein the monitoring step includes at least one of the following steps: monitoring by the user equipment downlink control information for receiving a paging message indicated by a group paging radio network temporary identifier associated with a cell at a time indicated by the second paging timing associated with the second UE identity; monitoring by the user equipment information indicated or encrypted by a second UE identity U based on the receiving step of the paging message indicated by a group paging radio network temporary identifier associated with a cell; and receiving by the user equipment a power saving control signal or a wake-up signal sent to the user equipment to wake up the user equipment from a power saving state based on the second UE identity.

[0087] Example 14. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the first paging timing and the second paging timing each include a time of a paging instance when a paging message can be transmitted by a network or received by the user equipment based on the associated UE identity.

[0088] Example 15. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 14, wherein the first paging timing and the second paging timing each include at least one of: a time of a paging instance when a paging message is sent to or received by a user equipment based on the associated UE identity; a paging frame indicating a time or location when a paging message is sent to or received by the user equipment; and a combination of 1) a paging frame and 2) a subframe or paging occurring within the paging frame indicating a time or location when a paging message is sent to or received by the user equipment.

[0089] Example 16. The method of Example 5 or 6, wherein the first UE identity is associated with a first wireless network operator or is identified by or associated with a first public land mobile network, and the third UE identity is associated with a second wireless network operator or is identified by or associated with a second public land mobile network.

[0090] Example 17. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 16, further comprising receiving a request from a network, via assignment by the user equipment of a different UE identity to the user equipment, to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment to be different from the first paging timing.

[0091] Example 18. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 17, wherein the step of receiving at least a first UE identity by a user equipment (UE) includes the steps of receiving by the user equipment (UE) the first UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing, and receiving by the user equipment a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing, wherein the step of determining by the user equipment that at least one of the first paging timing and the third paging timing needs to be adjusted based on a time domain relationship between the first paging timing and the third paging timing, and the step of transmitting by the user equipment a request to adjust the first paging timing to the user equipment via assignment of a second UE identity to the user equipment in response to the determination.

[0092] Example 19. The step of receiving at least a first UE identity by a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving, by the user equipment (UE), the first UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; receiving, by the user equipment, a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing; determining, by the user equipment, that the first paging timing is aligned with the second paging timing; wherein the step of transmitting the request includes a step of transmitting a request including timing information by the user equipment to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment via allocation of a second UE identity such that the second paging timing is inaligned in the time domain with the third paging timing or occurs at a different time than the third paging timing. The method according to any one of Examples 1 to 17.

[0093] Example 20. The method of any one of Examples 2 to 19, wherein the step of sending a request includes at least one of the following steps: sending a request including timing information by the user equipment to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment via allocation of a second UE identity such that the second paging timing is inconsistent in time with or occurs at a different time than a third paging timing, the third paging timing being associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment; and sending a request including timing information by the user equipment to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment via allocation of a second UE identity such that the second paging timing is at least aligned in time with a third paging timing or occurs closer in time to the third paging timing than the first paging timing is aligned with the third paging timing, the third paging timing being associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment.

[0094] Example 21. An apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of examples 1 to 20.

[0095] Example 22. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions configured, when executed by at least one processor, to cause a computer system to perform the method of any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0096] Example 23. A method according to any one of Examples 1 to 17, comprising an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the apparatus, using the at least one processor, to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

[0097] Example 24. An apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least receive, by a user equipment (UE), a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing, and to receive, by the user equipment, a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment for at least paging purposes, adjusting a paging timing from a first paging timing associated with the first UE identity to a second paging timing associated with the second UE identity, where the second paging timing is different from the first paging timing.

[0098] Example 25. Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a network entity according to an example embodiment. Operation 610 includes determining that a first paging timing associated with a first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment is inconsistent with or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment. And operation 620 includes transmitting a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, associating the third UE identity with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing.

[0099] Example 26. The method of Example 25, further comprising transmitting a single paging or control message to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment at one time based on the alignment of the third paging timing with the second paging timing.

[0100] Example 27. The method of Example 25 or 26, further comprising the step of transmitting, by a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, a request to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes, and associating the third UE identity with a third paging timing such that the third paging timing of the first user equipment is aligned or coincident in the time domain with the second paging timing of the second user equipment.

[0101] Example 28. An apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of Examples 25 to 27.

[0102] Example 29. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computer system to perform the method of any one of Examples 25 to 27.

[0103] Example 30. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of Examples 25 to 27.

[0104] Example 31. An apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to determine at least a first paging timing associated with a first UE identity assigned to a first user equipment that is inaligned or occurs at a different time than a second paging timing associated with a second UE identity assigned to a second user equipment, and to send a message to the first user equipment to assign a third UE identity to the first user equipment for at least paging or control purposes. The method of Example 25 or 26 further including: the third UE identity is associated with a third paging timing, the third paging timing being aligned with or occurring simultaneously with the second paging timing.

[0105] Example 32. The method of Example 5 or 6, wherein the first UE identity is associated with a first wireless network operator or is identified by a first public land mobile network or is associated with a first wireless network associated with the first public land mobile network, and the third UE identity is associated with a first wireless network operator or is identified by the first public land mobile network or is associated with the first wireless network associated with the first public land mobile network.

[0106] Example 33. A method comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; and transmitting, by the user equipment, a request to adjust the paging timing of the user equipment to be different from the first paging timing via assigning a second UE identity to the user equipment, the request including the requested UE identity.

[0107] Example 34. The method of Example 33, further comprising receiving, by the user equipment, a message indicating the second UE identity assigned to the user equipment that can be used by the UE for at least paging purposes.

[0108] Example 35. A method comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; and transmitting, by the user equipment, an indication of a second UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the second UE identity being associated with a second paging timing that is different from the first paging timing.

[0109] Example 36. An apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of Examples 33 to 35.

[0110] Example 37. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computer system to perform a method according to any one of Examples 33 to 35.

[0111] Example 38. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of Examples 33 to 35.

[0112] 7 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., an AP, a BS or a user device, or other network node) 1000 according to an embodiment. The wireless station 1000 may include, for example, one or two RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 1002A, 1002B, where each wireless transceiver includes a transmitter for transmitting signals and a receiver for receiving signals. The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit / entity (controller) 1004 that executes instructions or software and controls the transmission and reception of signals, and a memory 1006 that stores data and / or instructions.

[0113] The processor 1004 may also make decisions or determinations, generate frames, generate packets or messages for transmission, decode received frames or messages for further processing, and perform other tasks or functions described herein. For example, the processor 1004, which may be a baseband processor, may generate messages, packets, frames, or other signals for transmission via the wireless transceiver 1002 (1002A or 1002B). The processor 1004 may control transmission of signals or messages over a wireless network, and may control reception of signals or messages, etc. over a wireless network (e.g., after being downconverted by the wireless transceiver 1002). The processor 1004 may be programmable and may execute software or other instructions stored in memory or other computer media to perform various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. The processor 1004 may be (or may include), for example, hardware, programmable logic, a programmable processor executing software or firmware, and / or any combination thereof. Using other terminology, the processor 1004 and the transceiver 1002 together may be considered, for example, as a wireless transmit / receive system.

[0114] Further, with reference to FIG. 7, controller (or processor) 1008 may execute software and instructions and may provide overall control for station 1000, may provide control over other systems not shown in FIG. 7, such as controlling input / output devices (e.g., display, keypad), and / or may execute software for one or more applications that may be provided on wireless station 1000, such as, for example, an email program, an audio / video application, a word processor, a Voice over IP application, or other applications or software.

[0115] Additionally, a storage medium may be provided containing stored instructions that, when executed by a controller or processor, cause the processor 1004, or other controller or processor, to perform one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[0116] According to other embodiments, the RF or wireless transceiver(s) 1002A / 1002B may receive signals or data and / or transmit and receive signals or data. The processor 1004 (and possibly the transceiver 1002A / 1002B) may control the RF or wireless transceiver 1002A or 1002B to receive, transmit, broadcast or transmit signals or data.

[0117] However, the embodiments are not limited to the system given as an example, but the skilled person can apply the solution to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communication system is the 5G concept. It is assumed that the network architecture in 5G will be quite similar to that of LTE-advanced. 5G will likely use multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept). This includes macro sites operating in cooperation with smaller stations, possibly also employing diverse radio technologies for better coverage and enhanced data rates.

[0118] It should be understood that future networks will likely utilize network function virtualization (NFV). Network function virtualization (NFV) is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that may be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may include one or more virtual machines that run computer program code using standard or generic type servers instead of customized hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In wireless communications, this may mean that node operations are performed, at least in part, in a server, host, or node that is operatively coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations may be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may be different from that of LTE or may even be nonexistent.

[0119] The various embodiments of the techniques described herein may be realized in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations thereof. The embodiments may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., a machine-readable memory, or a propagated signal, for execution of, or to control the operation of, a data processing device, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. The embodiments may be provided on a computer-readable medium or a computer-readable storage medium, which may be a non-transitory medium. The various embodiments of the techniques may also include embodiments provided via a transitory signal or medium, and / or program and / or software embodiments downloadable via the Internet or other networks, wired and / or wireless networks. Furthermore, the embodiments may be provided via machine type communication (MTC) and via the Internet of Things (IOT).

[0120] The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or any intermediate form, and may be stored on any kind of carrier, distribution medium, or computer-readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying a program. Such carriers include, for example, recording media, computer memory, read-only memory, optical-electrical and / or electrical carrier signals, telecommunications signals, and software distribution packages. Depending on the processing power required, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or distributed among many computers.

[0121] Furthermore, various embodiments of the technology described herein may use Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) (systems of cooperating computational elements that control physical entities). CPS may enable the implementation and utilization of a large amount of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, ...) embedded in physical objects in different locations. Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems, where the physical system of interest has inherent mobility, are a subcategory of Cyber-Physical Systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals. The growing popularity of smartphones has led to increased interest in the field of mobile Cyber-Physical Systems. Thus, various embodiments of the technology described herein may be provided via one or more of these technologies.

[0122] A computer program such as the one described above can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or portion thereof suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer, or on multiple computers at one site, or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0123] The method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing computer programs or computer program portions to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The method steps may also be performed by special purpose logic circuitry, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and implemented as an apparatus.

[0124] Processors suitable for executing a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Typically, a processor receives instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory, or both. Elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data. Typically, a computer may also be operatively coupled to receive or transfer data from or to one or more mass memories for storing data, such as magnetic, photomagnetic, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROMs, EEPROMs, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

[0125] To provide for user interaction, embodiments can be implemented on a computer having a user interface, such as a display device, e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, for displaying information to the user, and a keyboard and pointing device, e.g., a mouse or trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices can be used to provide user interaction as well. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback, and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic input, speech input, or tactile input.

[0126] The embodiments may be implemented in a computing system that includes back-end components, such as data servers, or middleware components, such as application servers, or front-end components, such as client computers having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user may interact with the embodiments, or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as a communications network. Examples of communications networks include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs), such as the Internet.

[0127] While certain features of the embodiments described herein have been illustrated, many modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is therefore to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the various aspects.

Claims

1. receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity assigned to the user equipment for a wireless network, the first UE identity being associated with a first paging timing; transmitting, by the user equipment, a request to adjust a second paging timing of the user equipment to be different from the first paging timing via assigning a second UE identity to the user equipment; the request includes a requested UE identity that is a candidate for the second UE identity; the requested UE identity is indicated by an offset relative to the first UE identity. Steps and A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the user equipment, a message indicating the second UE identity assigned to the user equipment that can be used by the user equipment at least for paging purposes.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising determining, by the user equipment, the second paging timing based on the second UE identity.

4. the request further includes timing information based on the second UE identity; The timing information is the time of a paging instance requested by said user equipment; a time of a requested paging instance for the user equipment, the time of the requested paging instance being indicated as an offset with respect to a system frame number or an offset relative to a system frame number; a time of a requested paging instance for the user equipment, the time of the requested paging instance being indicated as an offset relative to the time of a paging instance of the first UE identity; 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising one of the steps:

5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the request is performed based on determining that the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity is inconsistent with a third paging timing associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment by more than a threshold value.

6. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the request is performed based on determining that the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity is aligned with a third paging timing associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring a radio channel for paging messages based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

8. 8. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of monitoring a radio channel for paging messages at one time based on the second paging timing associated with the second UE identity instead of based on the first paging timing associated with the first UE identity.

9. 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of monitoring, by the user equipment, a radio channel for downlink signals based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

10. 10. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of monitoring, by the user equipment, a radio channel for a downlink signal at one time based on the second paging timing and not based on the first paging timing.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of receiving, by the user equipment, downlink signals based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of receiving, by the user equipment, a paging message based on the second UE identity instead of based on the first UE identity.

13. The monitoring step includes: monitoring, by the user equipment, downlink control information for receiving a paging message indicated by a group paging radio network temporary identifier associated with a cell at a time indicated by the second paging timing associated with the second UE identity; monitoring by the user equipment information indicated or encrypted by a second UE identity U based on the receiving step of the paging message indicated by a group paging radio network temporary identifier associated with a cell; receiving, by the user equipment, a power saving control signal or a wake-up signal sent to the user equipment based on the second UE identity, to wake up the user equipment from a power saving state; 11. The method according to claim 7, further comprising at least one of the following steps:

14. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first paging timing and the second paging timing respectively comprise a time of a paging instance when a paging message can be transmitted by a network or received by the user equipment based on an associated UE identity.

15. the first paging timing and the second paging timing are each based on an associated UE identity, a time of a paging instance when a paging message may be sent to or received by said user equipment; a paging frame indicating a time or location when a paging message is to be transmitted to or received by the user equipment; A combination of 1) a paging frame and 2) a subframe or page occurring within the paging frame, indicating a time or location when a paging message is transmitted to or received by the user equipment; At least one of:

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. the first UE identity is associated with a first wireless network operator or is associated with a first wireless network identified by or associated with a first public land mobile network; the third UE identity is associated with a second wireless network operator or is associated with a second wireless network identified by or associated with a second public land mobile network; The method according to claim 5 or 6.

17. 17. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request from a network via allocation by the user equipment of another UE identity to the user equipment to adjust a paging timing of the user equipment to be different from the first paging timing.

18. The step of receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity, further comprising: receiving, by the user equipment (UE), the first UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the first UE identity associated with a first paging timing; receiving, by the user equipment, a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing; determining, by the user equipment, that at least one of a first paging timing and a third paging timing needs to be adjusted based on a time domain relationship between the first paging timing and the third paging timing; and sending, by the user equipment in response to the determining, a request to adjust the first paging timing to the user equipment via allocating a second UE identity to the user equipment; 18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, comprising:

19. The step of receiving, by a user equipment (UE), at least a first UE identity, further comprising: receiving, by the user equipment (UE), the first UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the first UE identity associated with a first paging timing; receiving, by the user equipment, a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment, the third UE identity being associated with a third paging timing; Including, The method further includes determining, by the user equipment, that the first paging timing is aligned with the second paging timing; wherein the step of transmitting the request comprises transmitting, by the user equipment, a request including timing information to adjust paging timing for the user equipment via assignment of a second UE identity such that the second paging timing is inaligned in the time domain with the third paging timing or occurs at a different time than the third paging timing.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

20. The step of sending a request comprises: sending, by the user equipment, a request including timing information to adjust paging timing to the user equipment via assignment of a second UE identity such that the second paging timing is misaligned in time with or occurs at a different time than a third paging timing, the third paging timing being associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment; transmitting, by the user equipment, a request including timing information to adjust the paging timing of the user equipment via assignment of a second UE identity such that the second paging timing is at least aligned in time with a third paging timing or occurs closer in time to a third paging timing than the first paging timing is aligned with the third paging timing, the third paging timing being associated with a third UE identity assigned to the user equipment; At least one of:

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

21. Apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. 21. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computer system to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. 21. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the apparatus, using the at least one processor, to perform at least a method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

Images