Semi-Static Scheduling of Multicast and Broadcast Service Traffic

Abstract

A device, method, apparatus and computer readable medium for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast service traffic. In an exemplary embodiment, at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is determined for a device group on a bandwidth portion for multicast broadcast service traffic, and at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is indicated to the device group.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly to devices, methods, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for multicast and broadcast service traffic. [Background technology]

[0002] As part of the Work Item Description (WID) for 5th Generation (5G) / New Radio (NR), the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently working on defining mechanisms for delivering multicast and / or broadcast traffic to multiple User Equipments (UEs). One of the main objectives of the WID is to define a group scheduling mechanism for scheduling multicast and / or broadcast traffic using common data channel resources, while maintaining maximum commonality with currently defined unicast scheduling and operation mechanisms. One of the goals of the WID (not currently considered with high priority) is to support UEs in idle and inactive modes. Idle and inactive UEs are expected to be supported along with UEs in connected mode as part of the Rel-17 WID or as part of a future release. Based on the latest agreement, broadcasting is required to be supported in all RRC states for the Rel-17 Multicast Broadcast Service (MBS). Summary of the Invention

[0003] In examples of the present disclosure, devices, methods, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media are provided for semi-static scheduling of multicast broadcast service traffic.

[0004] In a first aspect, a device is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured to operate with the at least one processor to cause the device to determine enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration for a device group on a band part of a multicast broadcast service traffic, and further, the device is also caused to indicate to the device group the enabling, disabling, or modification of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration on the band part.

[0005] In a second aspect, a device is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured to cause the device, using the at least one processor, to perform a step of determining whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, changed, or disabled for a band part of multicast broadcast service traffic, and if the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, the device further performs a step of receiving the multicast broadcast service traffic for the band part based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided, in which at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is determined for a device group of a bandwidth portion for multicast / broadcast service traffic, and instructing the device group to at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, in which it is determined whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, changed, or disabled in a bandwidth portion for multicast broadcast service traffic, and if it is determined that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, the multicast broadcast service traffic is received in the bandwidth portion based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method of the third or fourth aspect.

[0009] In a sixth aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising a storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for performing the method of the third or fourth aspects, which, when executed by a processing device of a device, cause the device to perform the method of the third or fourth aspects.

[0010] It should be understood that the Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent through the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] Several exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of SPS for different UEs. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example scheduling of MBS traffic across BWPs for multiple UEs. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example environment in which an example embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 shows an example of implicit linking of indices in an SPS configuration with MBS traffic. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 illustrates an example process of reusing current SPS frameworks and configurations to configure SPS for MBS PDSCH, in accordance with certain example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates an example process based on a G-RNTI-based semi-persistent scheduling configuration, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 illustrates an example process for dynamic and semi-persistent scheduling using G-RNTI and GCS-RNTI, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example state transition process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these exemplary embodiments are set forth for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure, to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various manners other than those described below.

[0014] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0015] As used herein, the term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication with each other or with a base station. The communication may include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over the air. In some exemplary embodiments, the UE may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may transmit information to the base station on a predefined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side.

[0016] Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, wireless-enabled tablet computers, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), sensors, measuring instruments, personal wearables such as watches, and / or communications-enabled vehicles. For purposes of discussion, some exemplary embodiments are described with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of this disclosure.

[0017] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing services to terminal devices in a communication network. As an example, the network device may constitute a base station. In this specification, the term "base station" (BS) refers to a network device capable of providing services to terminal devices in a communication network. The base station may constitute any suitable device through which a terminal device or UE can access the communication network. Examples of base stations include repeaters, access points (AP), transmission points (TRP), Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (gNB), remote radio module (RRU), radio header (RH), remote radio head (RRH), and low power nodes such as femto, pico, etc.

[0018] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations using only analog and / or digital circuitry); and (b) combinations of hardware circuitry and software, where applicable, such as (i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry(s) and software / firmware, and (ii) software (including digital signal processor(s)) and any portion of the hardware processor(s), software, and memory(s) working together to cause a device such as a mobile phone or a server to perform various functions, and (c) hardware circuitry and / or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., software for its operation, but that may not be present when not necessary for its operation.

[0019] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers merely a hardware circuit or processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term circuitry also covers, for example and where applicable to certain claim elements, a baseband or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular base station, or other computing or base station.

[0020] The term "including" and variations thereof are intended to be read as an open term meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" is intended to be read as "based at least in part on." The term "in one embodiment" is intended to be read as "at least one embodiment." The term "in another embodiment" is intended to be read as "at least one other embodiment." Other definitions, both explicit and implicit, may be included below.

[0021] In this specification, terms such as "first", "second", etc. may be used to describe various elements, but these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0022] In the fourth generation (4G), group scheduling mechanisms are enabled using semi-static or dynamic broadcast signals of control information pointing to semi-static or dynamic shared data channel resources for evolved Multicast Broadcast Multimedia Services (eMBMS) and Single Cell Point-to-Multipoint (SC-PTM). eMBMS and SC-PTM require supporting UEs in receive-only mode. Therefore, eMBMS and SC-PTM impose many restrictions on the system design, e.g., to support devices that are not registered in the network, to support devices in idle mode, etc. Supporting UEs in receive-only mode has a major impact in terms of using physical channels, e.g., the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or the Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH), to transmit Multicast Data / Traffic Channel (MTCH) and Multicast Control Channel (MCCH) information.

[0023] In addition, LTE (Long Term Evolution) does not have physical layer scheduling concepts such as band division, and 5G / NR does not define logical channels such as SC-MCCH (Single-Cell Multicast Control Channel) / MTCH. Therefore, it may be impossible to redefine LTE-based multicast and broadcast functions for 5G. Furthermore, 5G / NR physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling is significantly different from LTE, making it difficult to adapt LTE-defined parameters for use in 5G.

[0024] Also, the delivery of multicast traffic in 5G NR is currently focused on UEs in RRC_Connected mode, meaning that the UE is connected to a network or base station with active UE context information. However, as mentioned above, previous generations enabled proprietary enhancements to facilitate optimal delivery of multicast traffic. For 5G NR, the enhancements currently under discussion are mainly related to dynamic downlink data traffic scheduling and radio resource optimization, which mainly build on the mechanisms currently defined for unicast.

[0025] There are also various mechanisms related to reliability improvement techniques. Dynamic scheduling works very similarly to unicast scheduling with some extensions, but is currently being considered to support both UE-specific and group-common forms of Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signaling, where the term "UE-specific" means that PDCCH information is scheduled individually for all UEs interested in receiving MBS traffic, and the term "group-common" means that PDCCH information is scheduled for a group of UEs.

[0026] Currently, there has been limited attention on semi-static scheduling, which is mostly applied to deterministic traffic and has the potential to significantly reduce the load on control channel signals and ultimately reduce power. Semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) is used for unicast in 5G / NR.

[0027] Figure 1 shows the SPS configurations for different UEs. As shown in Figure 1, currently 5G / NR supports up to eight semi-persistent scheduling configurations per Bandwidth Part (BWP). The configurations mainly include the scheduling periodicity on data channels such as PDSCH, the number of Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) table to be used, the HARQ codebook, and the PDSCH aggregation factor for data repetition. These configurations are signaled to the UE using RRC signaling, and each configuration is identified using an SPS configuration index.

[0028] For example, each SPS configuration is enabled using a Downlink Control Information (DCI), which is scrambled using the configured Scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier (CS-RNTI) and has an SPS configuration index value embedded within the DCI. When the UE receives the SPS configuration from the DCI, the UE calculates the periodicity.

[0029] After the downlink allocation is configured for SPS, the UE may then consider that the Nth downlink allocation occurs in the following slot.

number

[0030] Thus, once the SPS configuration is signaled to the UE and activated, the UE can monitor the PDSCH at the configured periodicity and require no further control signaling from the next generation NodeB (gNB) until the SPS configuration is changed or disabled. This also allows the gNB to configure discontinuous reception (DRX) for the UE to avoid unnecessary monitoring of the PDCCH in the absence of an expected change / disable signal, thereby enabling UE power savings.

[0031] Some agreements have been made so far regarding SPS for MBS. For example, it has been agreed to support SPS group-common PDSCH for MBS for RRC_CONNECTED UE. However, the detailed process is still for further study (FFS). For example, whether to use group-common PDCCH or UE-specific PDCCH for activating / deactivating SPS group-common PDSCH, whether to support multiple SPS group-common PDSCH configurations per UE, how to configure uplink feedback, how to retransmit SPS group-common PDSCH, etc. are still for further study (FFS).

[0032] The currently defined SPS concept applies primarily to unicast traffic, without considering MBS traffic, whose scheduling may overlap with the active BWP for unicast.

[0033] FIG. 2 shows an example of scheduling MBS traffic across BWPs for multiple UEs. As shown in Figure 2, MBS traffic for a group of UEs (e.g., including UE-1, UE-2, and UE-3) is scheduled in BWPs 205 and 210, which are expected to overlap with the active BWPs for unicast to the group of UEs. There may be multiple MBS services scheduled by the gNB for different groups of UEs, and therefore it would be difficult to adapt the SPS functionality to be used more efficiently for MBS. Furthermore, although it is agreed that the BWP concept will be used for MBS, different connected mode UEs will have different active BWP configurations depending on the UEs' traffic profiles and frequency domain resources are allocated within the BWPs. Therefore, it is difficult to broadcast a common configuration to connected mode UEs.

[0034] Also, the DCI for enabling SPS for unicast is scrambled using the CS-RNTI. If the SPS configuration applies to MBS, the PDSCH resources are multicast and therefore scrambled using the Group-RNTI (G-RNTI) or other cell-specific RNTI. However, there is no useful way for the UE to distinguish between these two types of scrambling. Furthermore, the SPS concept is mainly defined for connected mode UEs and requires an extension to support idle / inactive mode UEs.

[0035] The SC-PTM with SC-MCCH / SC-MTCH configuration is defined, for example, in the LTE specification as scheduling as part of System Information Block 30 (SIB20). A significant amount of information provided in LTE, such as MBS frequency resources, scheduling information, PDCCH configuration, etc., may not be necessary in 5G due to physical layer enhancements natively supported in 5G.

[0036] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a scheme for signaling semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) information for, for example, multicast broadcast service (MBS) traffic from a network device (e.g., gNB) to a group of terminal devices (e.g., UEs) interested in receiving the traffic. The scheme determines and instructs at least one of enabling, disabling, and changing an SPS configuration for a plurality of devices on a band part (BWP) for MBS traffic. Thus, the plurality of devices can determine whether an SPS configuration is valid, changed, or invalid on the BWP. If the SPS configuration is determined to be valid, the device receives the MBS traffic on the BWP based on the SPS configuration.

[0037] Here, the bandwidth portion may be an active bandwidth portion that may be defined as a set of frequency resources configured for a device or device group to which data and control information will be scheduled. The bandwidth portion has predefined characteristics such as numerical value, location of control and data channel resources, semi-static or semi-persistent scheduling configuration (e.g., periodicity in the time domain), etc.

[0038] In some exemplary embodiments, existing SPS configurations made per serving cell and BWP may be reused to be mapped to the MBS. In some other exemplary embodiments, the SPS configuration may be determined as part of the G-RNTI configuration. In this way, the SPS configuration may be efficiently used for the MBS.

[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates an example environment 300 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0040] The environment 300, which may be part of a communications network, consists of a network device 305 and a group of terminal devices 310-1...310-N, where N represents any suitable positive integer. For purposes of discussion, the terminal devices 310-1...310-N will be referred to collectively or individually as terminal devices 310.

[0041] Communications between the terminal device 310 and the network device 305, and between the terminal device 310 via the network device 305, may follow any suitable communications standard or protocol already in existence or developed in the future, such as, for example, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), Worldwide Interoperability Standard for WiFi and Microwave Access (WiMAX), and may employ any suitable communications technology, such as, for example, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, Machine Type Communications (MTC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Carrier Aggregation (CA), Dual Connection (DC), New Licensed Spectrum (NR-U) technologies, and the like.

[0042] In the environment 300, the network device 105 may transmit MBS traffic to a group of terminal devices 310-1...310-N on a semi-persistent (or semi-static), dynamic, or statistical basis. In some exemplary embodiments, enabling, disabling, or modifying the SPS configuration per BWP for MBS traffic may include: The network device 105 instructs the terminal device 310 so that the terminal device 110 can perform the corresponding operation.

[0043] It is understood that the network device 105 and the terminal device 310 are shown included in the environment 300 of FIG. 3 for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation. In some exemplary embodiments, MBS traffic may be communicated between multiple terminal devices. Thus, enabling, disabling or changing the SPS configuration per BWP for MBS traffic may be indicated from a transmitting terminal device to a receiving terminal device group. It is also possible to indicate to a terminal device group from a terminal that transmits MBS traffic and relays the corresponding SPS configuration.

[0044] 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be performed by the network device 305 illustrated in FIG. 3 or other device capable of transmitting MBS traffic.

[0045] At block 405, it is determined to enable, disable, or change the SPS configuration for a device group, such as the terminal device 310 on the BWP for MBS traffic. At block 410, the device group is instructed to enable, disable, or change the SPS configuration.

[0046] In some exemplary embodiments, downlink control information (DCI) may be used to indicate the activation, deactivation, or modification of an SPS configuration. For example, a DCI transmitted using a common frequency resource (CFR) on a BWP may include an index of an SPS configuration to indicate the activation of the SPS configuration. Thus, if a device obtains a DCI for a CFR, the device may determine that the CFR is semi-persistently scheduled and thus the SPS configuration with the index included in the DCI is valid for MBS traffic on the BWP.

[0047] As mentioned above, the resource on the BWP on which the MBS traffic is scheduled is called the CFR. The CFR of the MBS can be identified at the receiving side in any suitable manner, already existing or to be developed in the future. Currently, an SPS configuration may be provided via RRC for each BWP. Each SPS configuration created for a particular BWP can be identified using an index of the SPS configuration. In some exemplary embodiments, one or more indices of the SPS configuration may be provided for the BWP in which the MBS CFR is located. Then, a DCI including the index of the SPS configuration is transmitted via the PDCCH using a control resource set (CORESET) located in the MBS CFR to indicate that the SPS configuration is valid on the MBS CFR for the MBS traffic.

[0048] Based on the current working assumptions in 3GPP RAN1, the GC-PDCCH signaling of the GC-PDSCH is configured in the MBS CFR. Therefore, if the SPS activation message is not placed in the MBS CFR, it would be natural to assume that the DCI is not related to the MBS PDSCH, but is related to unicast traffic. In some exemplary embodiments, a part of the existing SPS configuration can be used or reserved for MBS traffic.

[0049] Therefore, the current or existing SPS configuration created per BWP can be reused for the SPS of the MBS. For example, in a scenario where a PDCCH for activating SPS scrambled with CS-RNTI is scheduled using a CORESET included in the MBS CFR, it may be indicated that the SPS configuration with an index included in the DCI is related to the MBS PDSCH. In other words, if the index of the activated SPS configuration is considered related to MBS traffic, it is suggested that the PDSCH data is scrambled by the Group Common ID (GC-RNTI).

[0050] Whether or not to configure SPS in the MBS BWP is up to the network implementation. In some exemplary embodiments, the possibility that an SPS configuration will be used for MBS traffic over a BWP may be indicated to the receiver in advance. This can be done by adding new fields or reusing existing or reserved fields in signaling messages, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages for signaling SPS configuration.

[0051] In some exemplary embodiments, an index of an SPS configuration associated with a BWP of an MBS traffic may be mapped to a corresponding group common ID, such as a G-RNTI. These SPS configurations should be synchronized among all devices receiving the same MBS traffic. For example, for a BWP, a group common ID associated with the SPS configuration may be determined. In some exemplary embodiments, a type of group common ID may be configured for an SPS of an MBS. For example, when using SPS, a new type of group common ID, such as a group common configuration scheduling-RNTI (GCS-RNTI), may be defined for the BWP where an MBS CFR is scheduled. The configuration of the mapped group common ID may include an index of the corresponding SPS configuration.

[0052] The association of the group common ID with the SPS configuration can be indicated to the device receiving the MBS traffic. As an example, as part of the RRC signaling for the G-RNTI configuration, an additional new field is added or an existing or reserved field is reused to indicate the index of the corresponding SPS configuration. In some exemplary embodiments, when the index of the SPS configuration is provided as part of the G-RNTI configuration, it means that the SPS configuration is enabled or activated for the MBS traffic.

[0053] In some exemplary embodiments, the DCI may be used to indicate the activation, deactivation, or modification of a corresponding SPS configuration. For example, a new or modified field may be included in the DCI to indicate whether the configuration indicated by the DCI relates to dynamic downlink or SPS scheduling of MBS traffic.

[0054] If a predefined GCS-RNTI is used, the DCI format is similar to the CS-RNTI. For example, the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process ID (ID) field can be used to indicate the index of the SPS configuration mapped to the group common ID for MBS traffic. If the DCI contains different indices for different SPS configurations, it can indicate that the SPS configuration for MBS traffic is invalid or has changed.

[0055] Depending on the particular implementation, the DCI may be scrambled using either a dedicated ID such as CS-RNTI, a group common ID such as G-RNTI, or a specific Group Common Configuration Scheduling-RNTI (GCS-RNTI) predefined for SPS of the MBS. In some exemplary embodiments, the CS-RNTI, G-RNTI, or GCS-RNTI may be used for multicast traffic. For broadcast traffic, the G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI may be used. In some exemplary embodiments, the DCI may be scrambled using a dedicated ID such as a UE-specific CS-RNTI when a device joins or leaves an ongoing multicast session, adds or removes a device from a device group receiving MBS traffic, or removes a device from a device group.

[0056] The link between the SPS configuration index and the MBS traffic may be implicit. For example, first the SPS configuration for the BWP where the MBS CFR is located is provided, then the SPS activation message, such as DCI via PDCCH, is sent using the CORESET located in the MBS CFR. If this implicit link between the SPS configuration index and the MBS traffic scheduling is standardized, the standard must specify a new rule that is used to determine the UE behavior. This rule associates the index of the activated SPS configuration with the MBS traffic, meaning that the PDSCH data is scrambled by the Group Common ID or GC-RNTI.

[0057] An example of implicit linking of SPS configuration indices with MBS traffic is described below with reference to Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, if an SPS activation message such as DCI containing an SPS configuration index is received with a CORESET in the MBS CFR, the existing SPS configuration of the BWP is linked to the MBS traffic. Explicit rules related to the RNTI used to decode the SPS activation message can be defined, whereby either the CS-RNTI, G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI can be used depending on the configuration made by the network.

[0058] In some exemplary embodiments, the SPS configuration for MBS traffic may be determined as a configuration of a group common ID. For example, the SPS configuration may be defined as part of the G-RNTI configuration. The defined SPS configuration may exclude an index of the SPS configuration because the G-RNTI is typically linked to the BWP over which the MBS traffic is scheduled.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the SPS configuration as a configuration of the group common ID may be broadcast in a predefined system information block (SIB). For example, a newly defined SIB may be used to indicate the SPS configuration so that all receivers are aware of the SPS configuration. It is also possible to reuse an existing SIB to broadcast the SPS configuration as a configuration of the group common ID.

[0060] This SPS configuration is enabled or activated using a PDCCH scrambled with a group common ID such as G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI. For example, a DCI is scrambled with a group common ID to indicate the activation or activation of the SPS configuration. Either an existing DCI format such as DCI format 1_x or a newly defined DCI format can be used to signal this information. Since no index for the SPS configuration is required, the number of SPS configurations for unicast is not limited, which can improve the utilization rate of the SPS configurations for unicast.

[0061] In this way, the SPS framework can be embedded in the G-RNTI configuration, for example via RRC signaling. Thus, the network has the flexibility to decide whether to use dynamic or semi-persistent scheduling for a particular MBS traffic. For example, a static association between the G-RNTI and the SPS configuration can be defined. In this case, it is assumed that if the G-RNTI configuration is mapped to an SPS configuration, the network will always use the SPS configuration for scheduling the MBS traffic associated with the G-RNTI. The association can also be changed dynamically.

[0062] An example of an SPS configuration is described below. In this example, the SC-PTM RRC configuration (including G-RNTI) created in Rel-13 is extended to define an SPS configuration for MBS traffic.

number

[0063] The G-RNTI configuration in the RRC message may include SPS configuration details. - nrofHARQ-Processes: number of HARQ processes configured in SPS; - harq-ProcID-Offset: offset of the HARQ process in the SPS; - periodicity: the periodicity of the downlink allocation configured for SPS. - Possible GCS-RNTI configurations It is.

[0064] This allows the receiver to understand that this particular G-RNTI utilizes SPS rather than dynamic scheduling, and reception of a GC-PDCCH that is Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) scrambled by this particular G-RNTI indicates the activation of the SPS configuration provided as part of the G-RNTI RRC configuration.

[0065] Different implementation options of the SPS configuration for MBS traffic may be switched depending on the traffic profile and / or the state of the device receiving the particular MBS traffic, for example, depending on the state of the receiver (e.g., either in connected or idle or inactive mode), the unicast traffic received by the receiver, and the type of MBS traffic (either multicast or broadcast traffic).

[0066] In some example embodiments, an indication of SPS configuration activation, deactivation, or modification may be received when the device is in a connected mode. When the device enters an idle or inactive mode, the device may maintain the SPS configuration. The device may continue to monitor the PDCCH for possible SPS configuration changes and / or deactivation. For example, a device in an idle or inactive mode may monitor the PDCCH based on an appropriate CS-RNTI, G-RNTI, or GCS-RNTI to receive SPS activation, modification, and deactivation messages.

[0067] In some exemplary embodiments, as part of the SPS configuration, the network may also indicate to the MSB receiver whether to use the SPS configuration after a transition from a connected mode (e.g., RRC connected mode) to an idle or inactive mode. For example, a new flag in the configuration may be used to indicate to the device the validity of the SPS configuration after a transition to an idle or inactive mode. If the device is only receiving SPS MBS traffic, the device may transition to an idle or inactive mode. In the idle / active state, the device may maintain the scheduling information received in the connected state and receive MBS traffic accordingly. A device receiving multicast traffic may: A UE that receives broadcast traffic is required to monitor the G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI, while a UE that receives broadcast traffic is required to monitor only the G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI.

[0068] In the current release, UEs in receive-only mode (ROM) are not supported in 5G or NR, but UEs in idle or inactive modes may be able to receive MBS configuration information after they become connected. If ROM UEs are supported in a future release, the SPS configuration for connected UEs may be extended directly to such UEs as well. This extension is provided by: (a) using pre-configuration of an SPS and associated RNTI; or (b) This may be implemented using broadcast signaling of RRC configuration so that the UE can receive SPS activation, modification, and deactivation messages over the DCI.

[0069] 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented by the terminal device 310 illustrated in FIG. 3 or other device capable of receiving MBS traffic.

[0070] In block 605, it is determined whether the SPS configuration is enabled, changed, or disabled on the BWP for MBS traffic. In some exemplary embodiments, the enabling, disabling, or changing of the SPS configuration may be determined based on the DCI. For example, the device may perform blind decoding of the DCI on the BWP using at least one of a dedicated ID (e.g., CS-RNTI) or a group common ID (e.g., G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI). If the DCI is decoded, it may be determined based on the DCI whether the SPS configuration is enabled, changed, or disabled. As an example, if the DCI is received on the CFR on the BWP, it may be determined that the SPS configuration is enabled. That is, the CFR is semi-statically or semi-persistently scheduled.

[0071] In some example embodiments, the possibility that the SPS configuration will be used for MBS traffic over BWP can be received in advance. This possibility can be indicated by a new field in the RRC message for signaling the SPS configuration or an existing or reserved field can be reused. Thus, the UE can set a rule, e.g. as part of the G-RNTI configuration, to assume that this SPS configuration is related to the MBS PDSCH.

[0072] In some exemplary embodiments, an association between an SPS configuration and a group common ID of a BWP may be predefined or pre-established. Thus, a device may decide to enable, disable, or modify an SPS configuration based on the association. For example, an index of an SPS configuration associated with a BWP of MBS traffic may be mapped to a corresponding group common ID, such as a G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI. If an index of an SPS configuration is provided as part of a G-RNTI configuration, the device may assume that the SPS configuration is enabled or activated using the G-RNTI.

[0073] In some demonstrative embodiments, if a device decodes a DCI that includes an index of an SPS configuration, the device can determine that the SPS configuration is valid. If the decoded DCI includes different indexes of different SPS configurations, the device can determine that the SPS configuration is invalid or has been changed.

[0074] As an example, when a device receives a CS-RNTI, an SPS configuration, and a G-RNTI with an optional index of the SPS configuration mapped to it, on an MBS BWP where SPS is configured and linked to the G-RNTI, the device may have the option to both use DCI format 1_x scrambled by the CS-RNTI or the G-RNTI to determine the enablement or activation of the SPS configuration. This means that the device must use either the CS-RNTI or the G-RNTI to perform blind decoding of format 1_x. The DCI may contain new, modified, or reused fields to indicate whether the configuration is related to dynamic downlink scheduling or SPS scheduling of MBS traffic.

[0075] In some example embodiments, one or more SPS configurations may be defined as part of the G-RNTI configuration. The SPS configuration may be received in a predefined SIB. The enablement or activation of this SPS configuration may be indicated using a PDCCH scrambled with the G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI. Thus, if the UE is configured with this information, the device should monitor the MBS-related DCI format on the configured monitoring occasions, assuming that the CRC of the DCI is scrambled with the G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI. Either DCI format 1_x or the newly defined MBS DCI format may be used for signaling this information. Furthermore, the device may expect an appropriate format of the DCI, including a size estimation, based on the configured RNTI and depending on whether the device expects dynamic or semi-persistent scheduling of the MBS traffic. Once the device receives the DCI, the device may enable or disable the SPS configuration with any suitable procedure, already existing or to be developed in the future.

[0076] If the SPS configuration is determined to be valid at block 605, then MBS traffic is received on the bandwidth parts based on the SPS configuration at block 610. In some exemplary embodiments, the device may determine a periodicity of the MBS traffic based on the SPS configuration and then receive the MBS traffic using CFR on the bandwidth parts at the periodicity. Detection of the MBS traffic may use a dedicated ID, such as a CS-RNTI, or a group common ID, such as a G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI.

[0077] Some exemplary embodiments for receiving MBS traffic are described below with reference to Figures 7-9, in which the UE acts as a device interest for receiving MBS traffic and the gNB acts as a device scheduling SPS for the MBS traffic.

[0078] FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for reusing current SPS framework and configuration to configure an SPS for MBS PDSCH, in accordance with certain example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 7, process 700 starts at block 705. At block 710, the UE determines whether the CS-RNTI is configured as part of the physical cell group configuration. If no, process 700 proceeds to block 715 where process 700 follows a dynamic scheduling procedure after which process 700 stops at block 720. If it is determined at block 710 that the CS-RNTI is configured as part of the physical cell group configuration, process 700 proceeds to block 725 where the UE determines whether an SPS configuration is available for the current or active BWP. If no, process 700 proceeds to block 715 where the dynamic scheduling procedure is followed. If yes, at block 730, it is determined whether the SPS configuration index "n" in the BWP is linked to the G-RNTI. If no, process 700 proceeds to block 715. If 'Yes', then in block 735, the UE attempts to perform blind decoding of DCI format 1_x using the CS-RNTI and the G-RNTI.

[0080] Next, in block 740, it is determined whether the DCI is received CRC scrambled by the CS-RNTI or G-RNTI. If no, the process 700 follows the dynamic scheduling procedure in block 715. If yes, the process 700 proceeds to block 745, where it is determined whether the DCI enables SPS with configuration index "n". If yes, in block 750, the UE starts monitoring the MBS PDSCH with CRC scrambled by the cell-RNTI or G-RNTI with the periodicity set in the SPS configuration with index n and resources based on the DCI. The process 700 then stops in block 720. If it is determined in block 745 that the DCI does not enable SPS with configuration index "n", the process 700 proceeds to block 755, where the UE disables PDSCH monitoring for the SPS configuration with index n based on the DCI, and the process 700 then stops in block 720.

[0081] If the UE is configured with CS-RNTI as part of cell group configuration, MBS CFR is scheduled by the gNB for BWP. A new configuration parameter is proposed as part of G-RNTI RRC configuration and is used to map a specific SPS configuration index to G-RNTI. Based on this mapping, the UE can interpret that the SPS configuration is related to the MBS PDSCH. The PDSCH is scrambled using a group common ID (e.g. G-RNTI). SPS configuration can also be enabled using a PDCCH scrambled with a group common ID (e.g. G-RNTI, also called GC-PDCCH). If GC-PDCCH is used, it is expected that the format of the DCI will be changed to indicate to the UE that the DCI is related to SPS activation compared to dynamic scheduling. Even if a group common RNTI is an option to be used for SPS activation, using the CS-RNTI for UE specific changes may be beneficial, especially in scenarios where a new UE joins a group.

[0082] 8 illustrates an example process 800 based on a G-RNTI-based semi-persistent scheduling configuration in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the process 800, a static association between a G-RNTI and an SPS configuration is considered, such that if a G-RNTI is mapped to an SPS configuration, the network is assumed to always use SPS to schedule MBS traffic associated with the G-RNTI.

[0083] As shown in Figure 8, process 800 begins at block 805. At block 810, the UE is configured with a G-RNTI and an associated SPS configuration. At block 815, it is determined whether an SPS configuration is available for the current or active BWP. If no, process 800 follows a dynamic scheduling procedure at block 820 and then stops at block 825. If yes, at block 830, the UE attempts to perform blind decoding of DCI format 1_x using the G-RNTI.

[0084] Next, in block 835, it is determined whether the DCI is received CRC scrambled by the CS-RNTI or G-RNTI. If no, the process 800 proceeds to block 820 and follows the dynamic scheduling procedure. If yes, the process 800 proceeds to block 840 and determines whether the DCI enables SPS associated with the G-RNTI. If yes, in block 845, the UE starts monitoring the MBS PDSCH with CRC scrambled by the cell-RNTI or G-RNTI with a periodicity set in the SPS configuration with index n and resources based on the DCI. The process 800 then stops in block 825. If no, the process 800 proceeds to block 850 and the UE disables PDSCH monitoring of the SPS configuration with index n based on the DCI, and the process 800 then stops in block 825.

[0085] The utilization of GCS-RNTI and G-RNTI for dynamic and semi-persistent scheduling of MBS traffic can follow process 900 as shown in FIG. 9, where the network can configure both scheduling types based on the RNTI used.

[0086] FIG. 9 illustrates an example process 900 for dynamic and semi-persistent scheduling using G-RNTI and GCS-RNTI in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0087] As shown in Figure 9, process 900 starts at block 905. At block 910, it is determined whether the G-RNTI and GCS-RNTI are configured. If yes, at block 915, the UE attempts to perform blind decoding of format 1_x using the G-RNTI and GCS-RNTI to enable SPS configuration when DCI scrambled with the GCS-RNTI is received. Process 900 then stops at block 920.

[0088] If it is determined in block 910 that the G-RNTI and GCS-RNTI are not configured, then in block 925 the UE determines whether an SPS configuration is available for the current or active BWP. If no, then in block 930 the process 900 follows the dynamic scheduling procedure and then stops in block 920. If yes, then in block 935 the UE attempts to perform blind decoding of format 1_x using the G-RNTI and looks for activation of the SPS configuration using the DCI. In block 940, the UE starts monitoring the MBS PDSCH with CRC scrambled by the cell-RNTI or G-RNTI with the periodicity set in the SPS configuration with index n and resources based on the DCI. Then the process 900 stops in block 920.

[0089] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication related to the SPC configuration for MBS traffic is received by the device in connected mode. For example, the device may receive the configuration in connected mode while maintaining the configuration in idle or inactive mode. In some exemplary embodiments, the SPS configuration may include an indication of whether semi-persistent scheduling configuration is used after transition from connected mode to idle or inactive mode. For example, the network may use a new flag in the configuration to indicate to the device whether semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid after transition from RRC connected mode to idle or inactive mode when the device is receiving only SPS traffic.

[0090] In idle or inactive modes, the device should continue to monitor the PDCCH for possible SPS configuration changes and / or disablement. For example, the device may monitor the PDCCH based on the appropriate CS-RNTI, G-RNTI, or GCS-RNTI to receive SPS activation, modification, and disablement messages. As an example, if the device is receiving multicast traffic, the device may need to monitor the CS-RNTI, G-RNTI, or GCS-RNTI. If the device is receiving broadcast traffic, the device may only need to monitor the G-RNTI or GCS-RNTI. In some example embodiments, the device may perform blind decoding of the DCI over the BWP using the CS-RNTI, G-RNTI, or GCS-RNTI. If the DCI is decoded, the device may determine whether the SPS configuration is changed or disabled.

[0091] 10 illustrates an example state transition process 1000 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, the UE serves as a device interest receiving MBS traffic, and the gNB serves as a device scheduling SPS for the MBS traffic.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 10, process 1000 starts at block 1005. At block 1010, it is determined whether an SPS configuration is available for the current or active BWP. If no, process 1000 follows a dynamic scheduling procedure at block 1015 and then stops at block 1020. If yes, it is determined at block 1030 whether a validity flag after state transition is valid. If no, process 1000 follows a dynamic scheduling procedure at block 1015. If yes, at block 1035, the UE saves the MBS SPS configuration while maintaining the configuration in idle mode or inactive mode. Process 1000 then stops at block 1020.

[0093] The state transition procedure as shown in Figure 10 may enable the UE to store the SPS scheduling information received in the connected state. After transitioning to the idle or inactive state, the UE can continue to receive MBS traffic using the stored scheduling information.

[0094] All operations and features as described above with reference to Figures 3-5 are equally applicable to method 600 and steps 700-1000 with similar effect, and details are omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0095] 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 suitable for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1100 can be implemented at the sender or receiver of MBS traffic. As an example, the device 1100 can be implemented in or as part of the network device 305 or the terminal device 310 as shown in FIG.

[0096] As shown, the device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a communication module 1130 coupled to the processor 1110, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 1130. The memory 1120 stores at least a program 1140. The communication module 1130 is for bidirectional communication, for example, via multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication.

[0097] The program 1140 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 3-10. The exemplary embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to perform various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0098] The memory 1120 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. Although only one memory 1120 is shown in the device 1100, there may be multiple physically distinct memory modules in the device 1100. The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are slaved in time to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0099] When the device 1100 functions as a network device 305 or a part of a network device 305, the processor 1110 and the communication module 1130 may cooperate to implement the method 400 described above with reference to Figures 3-5. When the device 1100 functions as a terminal device 310 or a part of a terminal device 310, the processor 1110 and the communication module 1130 may cooperate to implement the method 600 described above with reference to Figures 6-10. All operations and features as described above with reference to Figures 3-10 are equally applicable to the device 1100 and have the same effect. Details are omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0100] In general, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or some other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0101] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module, that execute on a target real or virtual processor device to perform the method 400 or 600 described above with reference to Figures 3-10. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various exemplary embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0102] The program codes for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are performed. The program codes can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0103] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals and computer readable media.

[0104] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0105] Furthermore, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or to perform all of the operations depicted, to achieve desired results. In certain circumstances, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to certain exemplary embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate exemplary embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple exemplary embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0106] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0107] Various example embodiments of the present technology have been described. In addition to or as an alternative to the above, the following examples are described. Features described in any of the following examples may be utilized with any of the other examples described herein.

[0108] In some aspects, a device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured to, in cooperation with the at least one processor, cause the device to: determine at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration for a device group in a bandwidth portion of multicast broadcast service traffic; and instruct the device group to at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the bandwidth portion.

[0109] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration by transmitting downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth.

[0110] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to transmit downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration by transmitting downlink control information using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion, the downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to indicate enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0111] In some demonstrative embodiments, the multicast broadcast service traffic comprises multicast traffic, and the device is configured to transmit the downlink control information by scrambling the downlink control information using a dedicated ID to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration, and transmitting the scrambled downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth.

[0112] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is further configured to send an indication to a device group indicating that a semi-persistent scheduling configuration may be used for multicast broadcast service traffic for the bandwidth portion.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the device is further configured to determine a group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration for the bandwidth portion, and indicate to the devices of the device group the association of the group common ID with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0114] In some exemplary embodiments, the group common ID is a type of group common ID configured for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast services.

[0115] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to indicate an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration by sending an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of a device group in the configuration of the group common ID to indicate the association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0116] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to transmit downlink control information to at least one device of the device group on a bandwidth to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration by transmitting downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to indicate enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0117] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to transmit downlink control information to at least one device of the device group on a bandwidth, the downlink control information including different indices of different semi-persistent scheduling configurations to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0118] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to determine a group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration such that the device determines the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as the configuration for the group common ID.

[0119] In some example embodiments, a device is configured to indicate the association of a group common ID with a semi-persistent scheduling configuration by broadcasting the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to a device group as a configuration of the group common ID in a predefined system information block.

[0120] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to transmit the downlink control information by: scrambling the downlink control information using a group common ID to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration; and transmitting the scrambled downlink control information indicating enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling setting to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth.

[0121] In some exemplary embodiments, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes an indication of a transition from a connected mode to an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0122] In some embodiments, the device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, by the at least one processor, to cause the device to perform the steps of determining whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid for a bandwidth portion of multicast broadcast service traffic, and receiving the multicast broadcast service traffic on the bandwidth portion based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration pursuant to a determination that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid.

[0123] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to determine whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid by performing blind decoding of downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of the dedicated ID or the group common ID, and in response to the downlink control information being decoded, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information.

[0124] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to determine, based on the downlink control information, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid by determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to the downlink control information being received on a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion.

[0125] In some exemplary embodiments, the device is further configured to receive an indication that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration may be used for multicast broadcast service traffic of a bandwidth portion.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the device is further configured to receive an indication of an association between the group common ID of the bandwidth portion and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0127] In some exemplary embodiments, the group common ID is a type of group common ID configured for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast services.

[0128] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to receive an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration by receiving an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the configuration of the group common ID.

[0129] In some exemplary embodiments, the device is configured to determine, based on the downlink control information, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, has been changed, or is invalid by determining, in response to decoded downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration, that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the device is configured to determine, based on the downlink control information, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid, by determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is invalid or changed in response to decoded downlink control information including different indices of different semi-persistent scheduling configurations.

[0131] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to receive an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration by receiving the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as a configuration of the group common ID in a predefined system information block.

[0132] In some exemplary embodiments, the device determines whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information, in response to the downlink control information being decoded using the group common ID: The method is configured to determine that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid.

[0133] In some exemplary embodiments, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes instructions for transitioning from a connected mode to an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0134] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to receive multicast broadcast service traffic in a bandwidth portion by determining a periodicity of the multicast broadcast service traffic based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration, and receiving the multicast broadcast service traffic in the periodicity using common frequency resources of the bandwidth portion.

[0135] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is configured to receive multicast broadcast service traffic using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion by detecting multicast broadcast service traffic using the common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion in a periodic manner using at least one of a dedicated ID or a group common ID.

[0136] In some exemplary embodiments, the device is in a connected mode.

[0137] In some demonstrative embodiments, the device is further configured to, in an idle mode or an inactive mode, perform blind decoding of downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of the dedicated ID or the group common ID, and in response to the downlink control information being decoded, determine whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is changed or disabled based on the downlink control information.

[0138] In some aspects, the method includes determining at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration for a device group in a bandwidth portion for multicast broadcast service traffic, and instructing the device group to at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the bandwidth portion.

[0139] In some demonstrative embodiments, indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes transmitting downlink control information to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0140] In some demonstrative embodiments, transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes transmitting downlink control information using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion, the downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration, indicating enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0141] In some demonstrative embodiments, the multicast broadcast service traffic comprises multicast traffic, and transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes scrambling the downlink control information using a dedicated ID and transmitting the scrambled downlink control information to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0142] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method further includes transmitting an indication to the device group indicating that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration may be used for multicast broadcast service traffic for the bandwidth portion.

[0143] In some demonstrative embodiments, the method further includes determining a group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration for the bandwidth portion and indicating to devices of the device group an association of the group common ID with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0144] In some exemplary embodiments, the group common ID is a type of group common ID configured for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast services.

[0145] In some demonstrative embodiments, indicating the association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is configured to send, to at least one device of the device group in the configuration of the group common ID, an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration indicating the association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0146] In some demonstrative embodiments, transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes transmitting downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth to indicate enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0147] In some demonstrative embodiments, transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes transmitting downlink control information including different indices of different semi-persistent scheduling configurations to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth to indicate the disabling or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0148] In some exemplary embodiments, determining the group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes determining the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as a configuration for the group common ID.

[0149] In some demonstrative embodiments, indicating the association of the group common ID with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes broadcasting the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to the device group as a configuration of the group common ID in a predefined system information block.

[0150] In some demonstrative embodiments, transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes scrambling the downlink control information using a group common ID and transmitting the scrambled downlink control information indicating the enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth.

[0151] In some exemplary embodiments, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes an indication of a transition from a connected mode to an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0152] In some aspects, the method includes determining whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid for a bandwidth portion of multicast broadcast service traffic, and receiving the multicast broadcast service traffic for the bandwidth portion based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration pursuant to a determination that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid.

[0153] In some exemplary embodiments, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, modified, or invalid includes performing blind decoding of downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of the dedicated ID or the group common ID, and in response to the downlink control information being decoded, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, modified, or invalid based on the downlink control information.

[0154] In some demonstrative embodiments, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information includes determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to the downlink control information being received on common frequency resources of the bandwidth portion.

[0155] In some exemplary embodiments, the method further includes receiving an indication that a semi-persistent scheduling configuration may be used for multicast broadcast service traffic of the bandwidth portion.

[0156] In some exemplary embodiments, the method further includes receiving an indication of an association between the group common ID of the bandwidth portion and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0157] In some exemplary embodiments, the group common ID is a type of group common ID configured for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast services.

[0158] In some demonstrative embodiments, receiving an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes receiving an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the configuration of the group common ID.

[0159] In some exemplary embodiments, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information includes determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to decoded downlink control information that includes an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0160] In some exemplary embodiments, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information includes determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is invalid or changed in response to the decoded downlink control information including different indices of the different semi-persistent scheduling configurations.

[0161] In some demonstrative embodiments, receiving an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes receiving the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as a configuration for the group common ID in a predefined system information block.

[0162] In some exemplary embodiments, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information includes determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to the downlink control information being decoded using the group common ID.

[0163] In some exemplary embodiments, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes an indication of a transition from a connected mode to an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0164] In some exemplary embodiments, receiving multicast broadcast service traffic in the bandwidth portion includes determining a periodicity of the multicast broadcast service traffic based on a semi-persistent scheduling configuration, and receiving the multicast broadcast service traffic in the periodicity using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion.

[0165] In some exemplary embodiments, receiving multicast broadcast service traffic using the common frequency resources of the bandwidth portion includes detecting multicast broadcast service traffic using the common frequency resources of the bandwidth portion in a periodic manner using at least one of a dedicated ID or a group common ID.

[0166] In some exemplary embodiments, the method is performed by a device in connected mode.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the method further includes, in an idle mode or an inactive mode, performing blind decoding of downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of the dedicated ID or the group common ID, and in response to the downlink control information being decoded, determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is changed or disabled based on the downlink control information.

[0168] In some aspects, the apparatus comprises means for determining at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration for a device group in a bandwidth portion for multicast broadcast service traffic, and means for instructing the device group to at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying a semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the bandwidth portion.

[0169] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting downlink control information to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0170] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting, using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion, downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to indicate enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0171] In some demonstrative embodiments, the multicast broadcast service traffic comprises multicast traffic, and the means for transmitting downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for scrambling the downlink control information using a dedicated ID, and means for transmitting the scrambled downlink control information to at least one device of the device group on a bandwidth to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0172] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting an indication to the device group indicating that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration may be used for multicast broadcast service traffic of the bandwidth portion.

[0173] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration for the bandwidth portion, and means for indicating, to devices of the device group, an association of the group common ID with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0174] In some exemplary embodiments, the group common ID is a type of group common ID configured for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast services.

[0175] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for indicating an association of the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least devices of the device group in the configuration of the group common ID to indicate the association of the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0176] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for transmitting downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth to indicate enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0177] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for transmitting downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting downlink control information including different indices of different semi-persistent scheduling configurations to at least one device of the device group on the bandwidth to indicate the disabling or changing of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0178] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for determining a group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for determining the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as a configuration for the group common ID.

[0179] In some example embodiments, the means for indicating an association of the group common ID with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for broadcasting the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to the device group as a configuration of the group common ID in a predefined system information block.

[0180] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for transmitting downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for scrambling the downlink control information using a group common ID and means for transmitting the scrambled downlink control information indicating the enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to at least one device of the device group on a bandwidth.

[0181] In some exemplary embodiments, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes an indication of a transition from a connected mode to an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0182] In some aspects, the apparatus comprises means for determining whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid for a bandwidth portion of multicast broadcast service traffic, and means for receiving multicast broadcast service traffic for the bandwidth portion based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration pursuant to a determination that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid.

[0183] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, modified, or disabled comprises means for performing blind decoding of downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of the dedicated ID or the group common ID, and means for determining, in response to the downlink control information being decoded, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, modified, or disabled based on the downlink control information.

[0184] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information comprises means for determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to the downlink control information being received on a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion.

[0185] In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: Means for receiving an indication of a portion of bandwidth that may be used for multicast broadcast service traffic.

[0186] In some exemplary embodiments, the device further comprises: a group common ID of the bandwidth portion; Means are provided for receiving an indication of association with a semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0187] In some exemplary embodiments, the group common ID is a type of group common ID configured for semi-persistent scheduling of multicast broadcast services.

[0188] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for receiving an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for receiving an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the configuration of the group common ID.

[0189] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information comprises means for determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to decoded downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

[0190] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information comprises means for determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration has been disabled or changed in response to decoded downlink control information including different indices of different semi-persistent scheduling configurations.

[0191] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for receiving an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for receiving the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as a configuration of the group common ID in a predefined system information block.

[0192] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information comprises, in response to the downlink control information being decoded using the group common ID, Means are provided for determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid.

[0193] In some exemplary embodiments, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration includes instructions for transitioning from a connected mode to an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0194] In some demonstrative embodiments, the means for receiving multicast broadcast service traffic in a bandwidth portion comprises means for determining a periodicity of the multicast broadcast service traffic based on a semi-persistent scheduling configuration, and means for receiving the multicast broadcast service traffic in the periodicity using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion.

[0195] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for receiving multicast broadcast service traffic using common frequency resources on the bandwidth portion comprises means for periodically detecting multicast broadcast service traffic using common frequency resources of the bandwidth portion using at least one of a dedicated ID or a group common ID.

[0196] In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus is implemented by a connected mode device.

[0197] In some demonstrative embodiments, the apparatus, in the idle mode or inactive mode, further comprises means for performing blind decoding of downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of the dedicated ID or the group common ID, and means for determining, in response to the downlink control information being decoded, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is changed or disabled based on the downlink control information.

[0198] In some aspects, a computer-readable storage medium comprises program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform methods according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. means for determining at least one of enabling, disabling, or changing a semi-persistent scheduling configuration of a device group for a bandwidth portion of a multicast broadcast service traffic; means for instructing the device group to at least one of enable, disable, or change the semi-persistent scheduling configuration for the bandwidth portion; means for transmitting to the device group an indication that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration may be used for the multicast / broadcast service traffic of the bandwidth portion; An apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the means for indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting downlink control information to at least one device of the device group over the bandwidth portion, the downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

3. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for transmitting downlink control information to indicate at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for transmitting, using a common frequency resource of the bandwidth portion, downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration indicating enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

4. Means for determining a group common ID associated with the semi-persistent scheduling configuration for the bandwidth portion; means for indicating an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration to devices in the device group; The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

5. means for determining whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, has changed, or is invalid for a bandwidth portion of the multicast / broadcast service traffic; means for receiving an indication of the likelihood that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration will be used for the multicast / broadcast service traffic of the bandwidth portion; means for receiving multicast / broadcast service traffic for the bandwidth portion based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration and the indication of feasibility if the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is determined to be valid; An apparatus comprising:

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising: means for receiving downlink control information indicating the at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

7. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the means for receiving downlink control information indicating at least one of enabling, disabling, or modifying the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for receiving the downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration, indicating enabling of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration in a common frequency resource over the bandwidth portion.

8. The means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, modified or disabled comprises: means for performing blind decoding of the downlink control information of the bandwidth portion using at least one of a dedicated ID or a group common ID; means for determining, in response to the downlink control information being decoded, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid based on the downlink control information; 8. The apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, comprising:

9. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising: means for receiving an indication of an association between a group common ID for the bandwidth portion and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

10. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for receiving an indication of an association between the group common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises means for receiving an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration in the group common ID configuration.

11. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid comprises means for determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to decoded downlink control information including an index of the semi-persistent scheduling configuration.

12. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for determining whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, changed, or invalid comprises means for determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is invalid or modified in response to decoded downlink control information including different indices of different semi-persistent scheduling configurations.

13. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for receiving an indication of an association between the group-common ID and the semi-persistent scheduling configuration comprises: means for receiving the semi-persistent scheduling configuration as a configuration of the group-common ID in a predefined system information block.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the device is configured to determine, based on downlink control information, whether the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid, has been changed, or is invalid, by determining that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is valid in response to the downlink control information decoded using the group common ID.

15. determining whether a semi-persistent scheduling configuration is enabled, modified or disabled for a bandwidth portion of the multicast broadcast service traffic; receiving an indication of the likelihood that the semi-persistent scheduling configuration will be used for the multicast / broadcast service traffic of the bandwidth portion; if the semi-persistent scheduling configuration is determined to be valid, receiving multicast / broadcast service traffic for the bandwidth portion based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration and the indication of availability; The method includes:

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