Capability Signaling for Somatosensory Quality Measurement

Abstract

A method for capability signaling for quality of experience (QoE) measurement includes the steps of: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a capability message to a base station (BS) including one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with QoE; receiving, by the UE based on the one or more transmitted capability IEs, one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages from the BS including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting; and transmitting, by the UE, one or more QoE measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 186,267, filed on May 10, 2021 (the “Provisional Application”), the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention is directed to 5G, the fifth generation mobile network, which is a new global wireless standard following 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables networks designed to connect machines, objects, and devices.

[0003] More specifically, the present invention relates to improved Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting in various services and applications, including streaming, virtual / augmented reality (VR / AR), and URLLC applications.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for capacity signaling for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement. The method includes steps of: transmitting, by a User Equipment (UE), a capacity message including one or more capacity Information Elements (IEs) associated with QoE to a Base Station (BS); receiving, by the UE, one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting from the BS based on the one or more transmitted capacity IEs; and transmitting, by the UE, one or more QoE measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters.

[0005] One or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether a user equipment (UE) supports at least one of perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling. The step of receiving one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages is based on whether one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate that the user equipment (UE) supports QoE measurement and QoE-related signaling. The first configuration parameter indicates one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for measurement and reporting by the user equipment (UE). The one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include one or more of end-to-end delay, radio access network (RAN) delay, core network (CN) delay, throughput, and jitter. Alternatively, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) can include application layer KPIs or radio layer KPIs. In one embodiment, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) can include application layer KPIs and radio layer KPIs.

[0006] In one embodiment, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) are for one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type. The step of transmitting one or more QoE measurement reports is based on one or more RRC messages. The one or more RRC messages are associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB). Preferably, the first signaling radio bearer (SRB) is associated with a first priority, and a second priority associated with a second SRB is higher than the first priority. The second signaling radio bearer (SRB) uses a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel or can use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel It is possible. The dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel is used to transmit non-access stratum (NAS) messages. The first signaling radio bearer (SRB) uses the dedicated control channel (DCCH).

[0007] In one form, one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether a user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling. Here, one or more information elements (IEs) indicate that the user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling, and the step of receiving the first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting is performed in response to the UE supporting one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and QoE-related signaling.

[0008] One or more parameters can correspond to one or more key performance indicators (KPIs). One or more parameters can correspond to one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type. One or more parameters can be associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement in the radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. One or more parameters can be associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement in the radio resource control (RRC) idle state. One or more parameters can be associated with signaling-based or management-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement.

[0009] The first configuration parameter indicates a trigger condition for at least one of the quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting. The step of transmitting the QoE measurement report is based on a time pattern. Preferably, the first configuration parameter indicates a time pattern. In that regard, the step of transmitting the QoE measurement report is based on periodicity, and the first configuration parameter preferably indicates periodicity. The first configuration parameter can indicate a geographically based QoE measurement report. In that case, the geographically based QoE measurement report includes QoE measurement reports for one or more tracking areas (TAs).

[0010] Preferably, the capability message is a radio resource control (RRC) message. Further, the step of transmitting the capability message may be performed in response to the user equipment first receiving a capability inquiry message or via a random access process for initial access. Alternatively, the step of transmitting the capability message is performed via a MsgA random access message if the random access process is a two-step random access process, and the step of transmitting the capability message is performed via a Msg3 random access message if the random access process is a four-step random access process. The method may further include the step of receiving scheduling information for the transmission or reception of data associated with a service type that requires QoE measurement and reporting in response to the transmission of one or more QoE measurement reports.

[0011] The present invention also provides a method for capacity signaling for Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement. The method includes steps of: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a capacity message including one or more capacity information elements (IEs) indicating whether the UE can perform area-based QoE measurement and reporting, or whether the UE can determine an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting; receiving, by the UE, one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages including configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting within the area; and transmitting, by the UE, one or more QoE measurement reports associated with the area based on the configuration parameters.

[0012] One or more capacity information elements (IEs) indicate that the UE can perform area-based QoE measurement and reporting, or that the UE can determine an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting. The configuration parameters indicate an area for performing Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and transmitting a corresponding QoE report. The method further includes a step of determining an area for performing Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting. In one form, the area includes one or more cells. In one form, the area is a Tracking Area (TA). In one form, the area is a Radio Access Network (RAN) Notification Area (RNA). Preferably, the area-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting includes measuring one or more Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while the user equipment (UE) is present within the area.

[0013] In response to leaving the area, the User Equipment (UE) stops measuring one or more Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In this regard, the method may further include receiving a command that instructs to start or stop Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement and reporting in response to one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is unable to perform area-based QoE measurement and reporting, or that the UE is unable to determine the area for QoE measurement and reporting. Preferably, the command is received via downlink control information or via one or more Medium Access Control (MAC) control elements (CEs).

Brief Description of Drawings

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] FIG. 1 shows an example of a mobile communication system 100 according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobile communication system 100 may be operated by a wireless communication system operator such as a mobile network operator (MNO), a private network operator, a multi-system operator (MSO), an Internet of Things (IoT) network operator, etc., and may provide services such as voice, data (e.g., wireless Internet access), messaging, vehicle communication services such as vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-road, and road-to-vehicle (V2X) communication services, safety services, mission-critical services, IoT, industrial IoT (IIoT), etc. in residential, commercial, or industrial environments.

[0016] The mobile communication system 100 can enable various types of applications having different requirements regarding latency, reliability, throughput, etc. Examples of supported applications include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC). eMBB can support stable connections with high peak data rates and moderate rates for cell-edge users. URLLC can support applications having strict requirements regarding latency and reliability, as well as moderate requirements regarding data rate. An exemplary mMTC application includes a network of a large number of IoT devices that are active only sporadically and transmit small data payloads.

[0017] The mobile communication system 100 may include a radio access network (RAN) portion and a core network portion. In the example shown in FIG. 1, as an example of the RAN and the core network, Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 105 and 5G Core Network (5GC) 110 are respectively shown. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, other examples of the RAN and the core network can be implemented. Other examples of the RAN are evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN), uni It includes, for example, the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). Other examples of the core network include the evolved packet core (EPC), the UMTS core network (UCN), etc. The RAN implements a radio access technology (RAT) and exists between the user equipment (UE) 125 and the core network. Examples of such RATs include New Radio (NR), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), also known as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), etc. The RAT of the mobile communication system 100 example may be NR. The core network exists between the RAN and one or more external networks (e.g., data networks) and is responsible for functions such as mobility management, authentication, session management, bearer setup, and application of different Quality of Service (QoS). The functional layer between the UE 125 and the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 105) may be referred to as the Access Stratum (AS), and the functional layer between the UE 125 and the core network (e.g., 5GC 110) may be referred to as the Non-Access Stratum (NAS).

[0018] The UE 125 can include radio transmitting and receiving means for communicating with one or more nodes within the RAN, one or more relay nodes, or one or more other UEs, etc. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, in-vehicle wireless transmission and / or reception units, V2X or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) devices, wireless sensors, IoT devices, IIoT devices, etc. Other names such as mobile station (MS), terminal device, terminal node, client device, mobile device, etc. may be used for the UE.

[0019] The RAN may include nodes (e.g., base stations) for communicating with the UE. For example, the NG-RAN 105 of the mobile communication system 100 may include nodes for communicating with the UE 125. For example, depending on the RAT used for the RAN, different names may be used for the RAN nodes. The RAN nodes may be referred to as Node B (NB) in the RAN using the UMTS RAT. The RAN nodes may be referred to as evolved Node B (eNB) in the RAN using the LTE / EUTRA RAT. In the exemplary example of the mobile communication system 100 of FIG. 1, the nodes of the NG-RAN 105 may be either next-generation Node B (gNB) 115 or next-generation evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 120. In this specification, the terms base station, RAN node, gNB, and ng-eNB may be used interchangeably. The gNB 115 can provide NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE 125. The ng-eNB 120 can provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol termination towards the UE 125. The interface between the gNB 115 and the UE 125 or between the ng-eNB 120 and the UE 125 may be referred to as the Uu interface. The Uu interface can be established using the user plane protocol stack and the control plane protocol stack. In the case of the Uu interface, the direction from the base station (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) to the UE 125 may be called the downlink, and the direction from the UE 125 to the base station (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) may be called the uplink.

[0020] gNB 115 and ng-eNB 120 may be interconnected using the Xn interface. The Xn interface can include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The transport network layer of the Xn-U interface may be built on Internet Protocol (IP) transport, and the GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) may be used on User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / IP to carry user plane protocol data units (PDUs). Xn-U can provide unguaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support data transfer and flow control. The transport network layer of the Xn-C interface may be built on the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) over IP. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as XnAP (Xn Application Protocol). The SCTP layer can provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. Point-to-point transmission may be used in the transport IP layer to deliver signaling PDUs. The Xn-C interface can support Xn interface management, context transfer, and UE mobility management including RAN paging, and dual connectivity.

[0021] gNB 115 and ng-eNB 120 may also be connected to the 5GC 110 via the NG interface, more specifically to the access and mobility management function (AMF) 130 of the 5GC 110 via the NG-C interface, and to the user plane function (UPF) 135 of the 5GC 110 via the NG-U interface. The transport network layer of the NG-U interface can be built on IP transport and use the GTP protocol over UDP / IP to carry user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN node (e.g., gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120) and the UPF 135. NG-U can provide unguaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN node and the UPF. The transport network layer of the NG-C interface may be built on IP transport. SCTP may be added on top of IP for reliable transmission of signaling messages. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as NGAP (NG Application Protocol). The SCTP layer can provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. At the transport layer, IP layer point-to-point transmission may be used to deliver signaling PDUs. The NG-C interface can provide the following functions, namely, NG interface management, UE context management, UE mobility management, NAS message transfer, paging, PDU session management, configuration transfer, and warning message transmission.

[0022] gNB 115 or ng-eNB 120 can host one or more of the following functions: namely, radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, radio resource management functions such as dynamic allocation of resources to the UE in both the uplink and downlink (e.g., scheduling), IP and Ethernet header compression of data, encryption and integrity protection, selection of the AMF in the UE attachment when the routing to the AMF from the information provided by the UE cannot be determined, routing of user plane data to the UPF, routing of control plane information to the AMF, connection setup and release, scheduling and transmission of paging messages, scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (e.g., originating from the AMF), measurement and measurement report configuration for mobility and scheduling, transport level packet marking in the uplink, session management, support for network slicing, QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers, support for UEs in the RRC inactive state, delivery function of NAS messages, radio access network sharing, dual connectivity, tight interaction between NR and E-UTRA, and maintenance of security and radio configuration for user plane 5G System (5GS) Cellular IoT (CIoT) optimization.

[0023] AMF 130 can host one or more of the following functions: namely, NAS signaling termination, NAS signaling security, AS security control, CN node - to - node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, reachability of idle mode UEs (including control and execution of paging re - transmission), registration area management, support for intra - system and inter - system mobility, access authentication, access authorization including verification of roaming rights, mobility management control ( subscription and policy), support for network slicing, selection of the Session Management Function (SMF), selection for 5GS CIoT optimization.

[0024] UPF 135 can host one or more of the following functions, namely, an anchor point for in-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), an external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network, packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and user plane portion of policy rule enforcement, traffic usage reporting, an uplink classifier that supports routing of traffic flows to the data network, a branching point for supporting multi-home PDU sessions, QoS handling for the user plane, e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement, uplink traffic verification (QoS flow mapping from service data flow (SDF)), and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification trigger.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, NG-RAN 105 can support the PC5 interface between two UEs 125 (e.g., UE 125A and UE 125B). In the PC5 interface, the direction of communication between two UEs (e.g., from UE 125A to UE 125B or vice versa) may be referred to as sidelink. Sidelink transmission and reception via the PC5 interface can be supported when the UE 125 is within the NG-RAN 105 coverage, and when the UE is outside the NG-RAN 105 coverage, regardless of which RRC state the UE 125 is in. Support for V2X services via the PC5 interface can be provided by NR sidelink communication and / or V2X sidelink communication.

[0026] PC5-S signaling can be used for unicast link establishment with direct communication request / acceptance messages. The UE can self-assign the source layer-2 ID of the PC5 unicast link, for example, based on the V2X service type. During the unicast link establishment procedure, the UE can send its source layer-2 ID for the PC5 unicast link to a peer UE, for example, the UE whose destination ID is received from the upper layer. The pair of the source layer 2 ID and the destination layer 2 ID can uniquely identify the unicast link. The receiving UE can verify that the destination ID belongs to it and can accept the unicast link establishment request from the source UE. During the PC5 unicast link establishment procedure, the PC5-RRC procedure on the access layer can be invoked for the purpose of UE side-link context establishment and for AS layer configuration, capability exchange, etc. PC5-RRC signaling can enable the exchange of AS layer configurations such as UE capabilities and Sidelink radio bearer configurations between pairs of UEs for which the PC5 unicast link has been established.

[0027] NR side-link communication can support one of three types of transmission modes (e.g., unicast transmission, groupcast transmission, and broadcast transmission) for the pair of the source layer 2 ID and the destination layer 2 ID in the AS. The unicast transmission mode can be characterized by the support of one PC5-RRC connection between peer UEs for the pair, the transmission and reception of control information and user traffic between peer UEs in the side-link, the support of side-link HARQ feedback, the support of side-link transmission power control, the support of the RLC acknowledged mode (AM), and the detection of radio link failure for the PC5-RRC connection. Groupcast transmission can be characterized by the transmission and reception of user traffic between UEs belonging to a group in the side-link and the support of side-link HARQ feedback. Broadcast transmission can be characterized by the transmission and reception of user traffic between UEs in the side-link.

[0028] For NR side-link communication, a source layer-2 ID, a destination layer-2 ID, and a PC5 link identifier may be used. The source layer 2 ID may be link layer identification information that identifies a device or a group of devices that are the recipients of the side-link communication frame. The destination layer 2 ID may be link layer identification information that identifies the device that transmits the side-link communication frame. In some examples, the source layer 2 ID and the destination layer 2 ID may be assigned by a management function within the core network. The source layer-2 ID may identify the source of the data in NR side-link communication. The source layer-2 ID may be 24 bits in length and may be split into two bit sequences at the MAC layer. One bit sequence may be the LSB part (8 bits) of the source layer-2 ID and may be transferred to the physical layer of the transmitter. This can identify the source of the intended data within the side-link control information and can be used for packet filtering at the physical layer of the receiver. The second bit sequence may be the MSB part (16 bits) of the source layer-2 ID and may be carried within the media access control (MAC) header. This can be used for packet filtering at the MAC layer of the receiver. The destination layer 2 ID can identify the target of the data in NR side-link communication. In the case of NR side-link communication, the destination layer 2 ID may be 24 bits in length and may be split into two bit sequences at the MAC layer. One bit sequence may be the LSB part (16 bits) of the destination layer 2 ID and may be transferred to the physical layer of the transmitter. This can identify the target of the intended data within the side-link control information and can be used for packet filtering at the physical layer of the receiver. The second bit sequence can be the MSB part (8 bits) of the destination layer 2 ID and can be carried within the MAC header. This can be used for packet filtering at the MAC layer of the receiver. The PC5 link identifier can uniquely identify the PC5 unicast link within the UE for the duration of the PC5 unicast link's lifetime.The PC5 link identifier can be used to indicate a PC5 unicast link for which a side-link radio link failure (RLF) declaration has been made and the PC5-RRC connection has been released.

[0029] Figures 2A and 2B respectively show examples of radio protocol stacks for the user plane and the control plane according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2A, the protocol stack for the user plane of the Uu interface (between UE125 and gNB115) includes service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) 201 and SDAP211, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) 202 and PDCP212, radio link control (RLC) 203 and RLC213, MAC204 and MAC214, layer 2 sublayers, and physical (PHY) 205 and PHY215 layers (layer 1 is also referred to as L1).

[0030] PHY205 and PHY215 provide transport channel 244 to MAC204 and MAC214 sublayers. MAC204 and MAC214 sublayers provide logical channel 243 to RLC203 and RLC213 sublayers. RLC203 and RLC213 sublayers provide RLC channel 242 to PDCP202 and PCP212 sublayers. PDCP202 and PDCP212 sublayers provide radio bearer 241 to SDAP201 and SDAP211 sublayers. The radio bearer may be classified into two groups: a data radio bearer (DRB) for user-plane data and a signaling radio bearer (SRB) for control-plane data. SDAP201 and SDAP211 sublayers provide QoS flow 240 to 5GC.

[0031] The main services and functions of the MAC204 or MAC214 sublayer are the logical channel Mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing / demultiplexing of MAC service data units (SDUs) belonging to one or different logical channels into / from transport blocks (TBs) that are passed between the physical layer on the transport channel, scheduling information reporting, error correction by hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) (one HARQ entity per cell in the case of carrier aggregation (CA)), priority handling between UEs by dynamic scheduling, priority handling between logical channels of one UE by logical channel prioritization (LCP), priority handling between overlapping resources of one UE, and padding. A single MAC entity may support multiple numerologies, transmission timings, and cells. Mapping restrictions in logical channel prioritization that control the numerologies, cells, and transmission timings available to a logical channel.

[0032] The HARQ function can guarantee delivery between peer entities in layer 1. If the physical layer is not configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process can support one TB, and if the physical layer is configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process can support one or multiple TBs.

[0033] The RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer can support three transmission modes, namely, transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). The RLC configuration may be per logical channel regardless of numerology and / or transmission time, and automatic repeat request (ARQ) may operate at either the numerology and / or transmission time in which the logical channel is configured.

[0034] The main services and functions of the RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer depend on the transmission mode (e.g., TM, UM, or AM), and include the transfer of upper layer PDUs, sequence numbers independent of the PDCP sequence number (UM and AM), error correction by ARQ (AM only), segmentation (AM and UM) and resegmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs, reassembly of SDUs (AM and UM), duplicate detection (AM only), RLC SDU discard (AM and UM), RLC re-establishment, and protocol error detection (AM only).

[0035] The automatic repeat request within the RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer may have the following characteristics. ARQ retransmits RLC SDUs or RLC SDU segments based on RLC status reports. Polling for RLC status notifications may be used if required by the RLC. The RLC receiver may also trigger an RLC status notification after detecting a missing RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment.

[0036] The main services and functions of the PDCP202 or PDCP212 sublayer include data transfer (user plane or control plane), maintenance of the PDCP sequence number (SN), header compression and decompression using the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) protocol, header compression and decompression using the EHC protocol, encryption and decryption, integrity protection and integrity verification, timer-based SDU discard, routing for split bearers, duplication, reordering and in-order delivery, out-of-order delivery, and duplicate discard.

[0037] The main services and functions of SDAP201 or SDAP211 include mapping between QoS flows and data radio bearers, and marking the QoS flow ID (QFI) in both downlink and uplink packets. A single protocol entity of SDAP may be configured for each individual PDU session.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 2B, the protocol stack of the control plane of the Uu interface (between UE125 and gNB115) includes, as described above, the PHY layer (layer 1), the MAC, RLC, and PDCP sublayers of layer 2, and further, the RRC206 sublayer and the RRC216 sublayer. The main services and functions of the RRC206 sublayer and the RRC216 sublayer on the Uu interface include the broadcast of system information related to AS and NAS, paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN, the establishment, maintenance, and release of the RRC connection between the UE and NG-RAN (including the addition, modification, and release of carrier aggregation, and the addition, modification, and release of dual connectivity between NR or E-UTRA and NR), security functions including key management, the establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of SRBs and DRBs, mobility functions (including handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection, and inter-RAT mobility), QoS management functions, UE measurement reporting and control of reporting, detection and recovery of radio link failures, and transfer of NAS messages between NAS and the UE. The NAS207 and NAS227 layers are control protocols (terminated at the AMF on the network side) that perform functions such as authentication, mobility management, and security control.

[0039] The sidelink-specific services and functions of the RRC sublayer on the Uu interface include the configuration of sidelink resource allocation via system information or dedicated signaling, the reporting of UE sidelink information, the configuration and reporting of measurements related to the sidelink, and the reporting of UE assistance information for the SL traffic pattern.

[0040] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C respectively show exemplary mappings between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Different types of data transfer services may be provided by the MAC. Each logical channel type may be defined by what type of information is transferred. Logical channels may be classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. Control channels may be used only for the transfer of control plane information. The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. The Paging Control Channel (PCCH) is a downlink channel for carrying paging messages. The Common Control Channel (CCCH) is a channel for transmitting control information between the UE and the network. This channel may be used for UEs that do not have an RRC connection to the network. The Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bi-directional channel for transmitting dedicated control information between the UE and the network and may be used by UEs having an RRC connection. Traffic channels may be used only for the transfer of user plane information. The Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point channel dedicated to one UE for transferring user information. The DTCH can exist on both the uplink and the downlink. The Sidelink Control Channel (SCCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting control information (e.g., PC5-RRC messages and PC5-S messages) from one UE to another UE. The Sidelink Traffic Channel (STCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting user information from one UE to another UE. The Sidelink Broadcast Control Channel (SBCCH) is a sidelink channel for broadcasting sidelink system information from one UE to another UE.

[0041] The types of downlink transport channels include Broadcast Channel (BCH), Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH), and Paging Channel (PCH). The BCH can be characterized by a fixed, pre-defined transport format. It needs to be broadcast over the entire coverage area of the cell as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances. The DL-SCH can be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmission power, the possibility of being broadcast over the entire cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving. The DL-SCH can be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmission power, the possibility of being broadcast over the entire cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving. The PCH can be characterized by support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving (the DRX cycle is indicated to the UE by the network), the requirement to be broadcast over the entire coverage area of the cell as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances, and being mapped to physical resources that can also be dynamically used for traffic / other control channels. ーmforming different BCH instances, it needs to be broadcast over the entire coverage area of the cell. The DL-SCH can be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmission power, the possibility of being broadcast over the entire cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving. The DL-SCH can be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmission power, the possibility of being broadcast over the entire cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving. The PCH can be characterized by support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving (the DRX cycle is indicated to the UE by the network), the requirement to be broadcast over the entire coverage area of the cell as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances, and being mapped to physical resources that can also be dynamically used for traffic / other control channels.

[0042] On the downlink, the following connections can exist between logical channels and transport channels. The BCCH may be mapped to the BCH. The BCCH may be mapped to the DL-SCH. The PCCH may be mapped to the PCH. The CCCH may be mapped to the DL-SCH. The DCCH may be mapped to the DL-SCH. The DTCH may be mapped to the DL-SCH.

[0043] The uplink transport channel types include the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) and the random access channel (RACH). The UL-SCH can be characterized by the possibility of using beamforming, changing the transmission power, support for dynamic link adaptation by potentially modulating and coding, support for HARQ, and support for both dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation. The RACH can be characterized by limited control information and a risk of collision.

[0044] In the uplink, the following connections can exist between the logical channel and the transport channel. The CCCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH. The DCCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH. The DTCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH.

[0045] The sidelink transport channel types include the sidelink broadcast channel (SL-BCH) and the sidelink shared channel (SL-SCH). The SL-BCH can be characterized by a pre-defined transport format. The SL-SCH can be characterized by support for unicast transmission, groupcast transmission, and broadcast transmission, support for both UE autonomous resource selection and scheduled resource allocation by the NG-RAN, support for both dynamic resource allocation and semi-static resource allocation when the UE is allocated resources by the NG-RAN, support for HARQ, and support for dynamic link adaptation by changing the transmission power, modulation, and coding.

[0046] In the sidelink, the following connections can exist between the logical channel and the transport channel. That is, the SCCH can be mapped to the SL-SCH, the STCH can be mapped to the SL-SCH, and the SBCCH can be mapped to the SL-BCH.

[0047] Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C respectively show exemplary mappings between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of several exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Down The physical channels in the downlink include a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The PCH and DL-SCH transport channels are mapped to the PDSCH. The BCH transport channel is mapped to the PBCH. No transport channel is mapped to the PDCCH, and downlink control information (DCI) is transmitted via the PDCCH.

[0048] The physical channels in the uplink include a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). The UL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PUSCH, and the RACH transport channel may be mapped to the PRACH. No transport channel is mapped to the PUCCH, and uplink control information (UCI) is transmitted via the PUCCH.

[0049] The physical channels of sidelink include Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). The Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) can indicate the resources and other transmission parameters used by the UE for PSSCH. The Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) can transmit the transport block (TB) of the data itself, as well as control information such as HARQ procedures and CSI feedback triggers. At least 6 OFDM symbols in a slot can be used for PSSCH transmission. The Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) can carry HARQ feedback via sidelink from the UE that is the intended receiver of the PSSCH transmission to the UE that performed the transmission. The PSFCH sequence can be transmitted on one PRB that is repeated over two OFDM symbols near the end of the sidelink resources in a slot. The SL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PSSCH. The SL-BCH may be mapped to the PSBCH. The transport channel is not mapped to the PSFCH, but the sidelink feedback control information (SFCI) may be mapped to the PSFCH. The transport channel is not mapped to the PSCCH, but the sidelink control information (SCI) may be mapped to the PSCCH.

[0050] Figures 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D each show an example of a radio protocol stack for NR side-link communication according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The AS protocol stack for the user plane in the PC5 interface (i.e., in the case of STCH) can be composed of the SDAP, PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers, as well as the physical layer. The protocol stack of the user plane is shown in Figure 5A. The AS protocol stack for the SBCCH in the PC5 interface can be composed of the RRC, RLC, MAC sublayer, and physical layer, as shown below in Figure 5B. To support the PC5-S protocol, as shown in Figure 5C, PC5-S is placed on top of the PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers, as well as the physical layer, in the control plane protocol stack for the SCCH for PC5-S. The AS protocol stack for the control plane for the SCCH for RRC in the PC5 interface consists of the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers, as well as the physical layer. The protocol stack of the control plane for the SCCH for RRC is shown in Figure 5D.

[0051] The side-link radio bearer (SLRB) can be classified into two groups: the side-link data radio bearer (SL DRB) for user-plane data and the side-link signaling radio bearer (SL SRB) for control-plane data. Different S Separate SL SRBs using different S-CCHs can be configured for PC5-RRC and PC5-S signaling, respectively.

[0052] The MAC sublayer can provide the following services and functions via the PC5 interface, namely, radio resource selection, packet filtering, prioritization between the uplink transmission and sidelink transmission of a given UE, and sidelink CSI reporting. Due to the limitation of logical channel prioritization in MAC, only sidelink logical channels belonging to the same destination can be multiplexed into the MAC PDU for each unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmission associated with the destination. For packet filtering, an SL-SCH MAC header containing both parts of the source layer 2 ID and the destination layer 2 ID can be added to the MAC PDU. The logical channel identifier (LCID) contained in the MAC subheader can uniquely identify the logical channel within the range of the combination of the source layer-2 ID and the destination layer-2 ID.

[0053] The services and functions of the RLC sublayer can be supported for sidelink. Both the RLC unacknowledged mode (UM) and the acknowledged mode (AM) may be used for unicast transmission, while only UM may be used for groupcast transmission or broadcast transmission. In the case of UM, only one-way transmission can be supported for groupcast and broadcast.

[0054] The services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the Uu interface can be supported for sidelink with some limitations. Out-of-order delivery can be supported only for unicast transmission, and duplication may not be supported via the PC5 interface.

[0055] The SDAP sublayer can provide the following services and functions via the PC5 interface, namely, mapping between QoS flows and sidelink data radio bearers. For one of the unicast, groupcast, and broadcast associated with the destination, one SDAP entity can exist for each destination.

[0056] The RRC sublayer can provide the following services and functions via the PC5 interface, namely, transfer of PC5-RRC messages between peer UEs, maintenance and release of PC5-RRC connections between two UEs, and detection of sidelink radio link failures for PC5-RRC connections based on instructions from MAC or RLC. The PC5-RRC connection can be a logical connection between two UEs for a pair of source layer-2 ID and destination layer-2 ID that can be considered to be established after the corresponding PC5 unicast link is established. There may be a one-to-one correspondence between the PC5-RRC connection and the PC5 unicast link. A UE can have multiple PC5-RRC connections with one or more UEs for different pairs of source layer-2 ID and destination layer-2 ID. Separate PC5-RRC procedures and messages can be used for the UE to transfer UE capabilities including SL-DRB configuration and sidelink configuration to the peer UE. Both peer UEs can exchange their UE capabilities and sidelink configurations using separate two-way procedures in both sidelink directions.

[0057] Figure 6 shows exemplary physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used for channel estimation. The DM-RS is a UE-specific reference signal that can be transmitted together with a physical channel in the downlink, uplink, or sidelink and can be used for channel estimation and coherent detection of the physical channel. The Phase Tracking Reference Signal The signal (PT-RS) can be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, can track phase, and can be used to reduce performance loss due to phase noise. The PT-RS can mainly be used to estimate and minimize the impact of the common phase error (CPE) on system performance. Due to the phase noise characteristics, the PT-RS signal can have low density in the frequency domain and high density in the time domain. The PT-RS can occur in combination with the DM-RS when the PT-RS is configured such that a network exists. The positioning reference signal (PRS) may be used in the downlink to perform positioning using different positioning techniques. The PRS can be used to measure the delay of downlink transmission by correlating the received signal from the base station with a local replica in the receiver. The channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) can be used in the downlink and sidelink. The CSI-RS can be used, among other things, for channel state estimation, for reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements for mobility and beam management, and for time / frequency tracking for demodulation. The CSI-RS may be configured UE-specifically, but multiple users may share the same CSI-RS resource. The UE can determine CSI reports and transmit them in the uplink to the base station using the PUCCH or PUSCH. The CSI report may be carried in the sidelink MAC CE. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) and the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) can be used for radio frame synchronization. The PSS and SSS can be used for the cell search procedure during initial attach or for mobility purposes. The sounding reference signal (SRS) may be used in the uplink for uplink channel estimation. Similar to the CSI-RS, the SRS can function as a QCL reference for other physical channels such that the SRS may be configured to be transmitted in a quasi-collocated manner with the SRS. The sidelink PSS (S-PSS) and the sidelink SSS (S-SSS) can be used in the sidelink for sidelink synchronization.

[0058] Figure 7 illustrates examples of Radio Resource Control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE can be in any one of three RRC states: an RRC connected state 710, an RRC idle state 720, and an RRC inactive state 730. After power-on, the UE can be in the RRC idle state 720, and the UE can use initial access and establish a connection with the network via an RRC connection establishment procedure to perform data transfer and / or make a voice call. When the RRC connection is established, the UE can enter the RRC connected state 710. The UE can transition from the RRC idle state 720 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 using the RRC connection establishment / release procedure 740.

[0059] The RRC inactive state 730 can be used to reduce signaling load and latency resulting from frequent transitions from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 when the UE transmits frequent small data. In the RRC inactive state 730, the AS context can be stored by both the UE and the gNB. This can result in a faster state transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710. The UE can transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC inactive state 730 using the RRC connection resume / inactivation procedure 760. The UE can transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC idle state 720 using the RRC connection release procedure 750.

[0060] Figure 8 shows an exemplary frame structure and physical resources according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Downlink or uplink or sidelink transmissions can be organized into a frame having a duration of 10 ms consisting of 10 1-ms subframes. Each subframe can consist of 1, 2, 4,... slots, and the number of slots per subframe can depend on the subcarrier spacing of the carrier on which the transmission is performed. Slot The symbol duration may be 14 symbols with a normal cyclic prefix (CP) and 12 symbols with an extended CP. And it may be time-scaled according to the subcarrier spacing used so that there are an integer number of slots within a subframe. FIG. 8 shows a resource grid in the time and frequency domains. Each element of the resource grid that contains one symbol in time and one subcarrier in frequency is called a resource element (RE). A resource block (RB) may be defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

[0061] In some examples, using non-slot-based scheduling, packet transmission can be performed between 2, 4, or 7 OFDM symbols, which can also be called mini-slots for example, over a part of a slot. Mini-slots can be used for low-latency applications such as URLLC and operation in unlicensed bands. In some embodiments, mini-slots can also be used for fast flexible scheduling of services (e.g., preemption of URLLC for eMBB).

[0062] FIG. 9 shows examples of component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more component carriers (CCs) may be aggregated. The UE can receive or transmit simultaneously on one or more CCs depending on its capabilities. CA may be supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs in the same band or different bands as illustrated in FIG. 9. The gNB and the UE can communicate using a serving cell. The serving cell can be associated with at least one downlink CC (e.g., can be associated with only one downlink CC or can be associated with a downlink CC and an uplink CC). The serving cell may be a primary cell (PCell) or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0063] The UE can adjust the timing of its uplink transmission using the uplink timing control procedure. The uplink frame timing can be adjusted relative to the downlink frame timing using the Timing Advance (TA). The gNB can determine the desired Timing Advance setting and provide it to the UE. The UE can use the provided TA to determine its uplink transmission timing relative to the observed downlink reception timing of the UE.

[0064] In the RRC connected state, the gNB can play a role in maintaining the Timing Advance to keep L1 synchronized. Serving cells that have an uplink to which the same Timing Advance is applied and use the same timing reference cell are grouped into a Timing Advance Group (TAG). A TAG can include at least one serving cell with a configured uplink. The mapping of a serving cell to a TAG can be configured by the RRC. In the case of the primary TAG, the UE can use the PCell as the timing reference cell, except for shared spectrum channel access where the SCell can also be used as the timing reference cell in some cases. In the secondary TAG, the UE can use any of the activated SCell of this TAG as the timing reference cell and does not need to change it unless necessary.

[0065] The Timing Advance update may be signaled to the UE by the gNB via a MAC CE command. Such a command can restart a TAG-specific timer that can indicate whether L1 can be synchronized. When the timer is running, L1 can be considered synchronized, and otherwise, L1 can be considered asynchronous (in which case, uplink transmission can only be performed on the PRACH).

[0066] A UE with a single timing advance function for CA can simultaneously receive and / or transmit multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into one TAG) that share the same timing advance. A UE with multiple timing advance capabilities for CA can simultaneously receive and / or transmit multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into multiple TAGs) with different timing advances. The NG-RAN may ensure that each TAG contains at least one serving cell. A non-CA capable UE can receive with a single CC and transmit with a single CC corresponding to only one serving cell (one serving cell within one TAG).

[0067] The multi-carrier characteristics of the physical layer in the case of CA may be exposed to the MAC layer, and one HARQ entity may be required for each serving cell. When CA is configured, the UE may have one RRC connection with the network. In RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, one serving cell (e.g., the PCell) may provide NAS mobility information. Depending on the UE's capabilities, the SCell may be configured to form a set of serving cells together with the PCell. The set of serving cells configured for the UE may be composed of one PCell and one or more SCells. The reconfiguration, addition, and deletion of SCells may be performed by the RRC.

[0068] In the dual connectivity scenario, the UE can be composed of multiple cells including a master cell group (MCG) for communicating with the master base station, a secondary cell group (SCG) for communicating with the secondary base station, and two MAC entities, one for the MCG for communicating with the master base station and one for the SCG for communicating with the secondary base station.

[0069] Figure 10 shows the configuration and switching of exemplary bandwidth parts according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be configured using one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) 1010 in a given component carrier. In some examples, one of the one or more bandwidth parts may be active at a time. The active bandwidth part can define the operating bandwidth of the UE within the operating bandwidth of the cell. For initial access, an initial bandwidth part 1020 determined from system information may be used until the configuration of the UE within the cell is received. For example, in bandwidth adaptation (BA) by BWP switching 1040, the receive and transmit bandwidths of the UE may not be as large as the cell bandwidth and may be adjusted. For example, the width may be ordered to change (e.g., shrink during low activity periods to conserve power), the position may be moved in the frequency domain (e.g., to increase scheduling flexibility), and the subcarrier spacing may be ordered to change (e.g., to enable different services). The first active BWP 1020 may be the active BWP at the time of RRC (re)configuration of the PCell or at the activation of the SCell.

[0070] For each downlink BWP or uplink BWP within a set of downlink BWPs or uplink BWPs, the UE may be provided with the following configuration parameters, namely, subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, common RBs and several consecutive RBs, an index within the set of downlink BWPs or uplink BWPs by each BWP-Id, a set of BWP common parameters, and a set of BWP dedicated parameters. A BWP may be associated with an OFDM numerology according to the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix configured for the BWP. For a serving cell, the UE may be provided by the default downlink BWP among the configured downlink BWPs. If the UE is not provided with a default downlink BWP the default downlink BWP may be the initial downlink BWP.

[0071] The downlink BWP can be associated with a BWP inactivity timer. If the BWP inactivity timer associated with the active downlink BWP expires and the default downlink BWP is configured, the UE can perform a BWP switch to the default BWP. If the BWP inactivity timer associated with the active downlink BWP expires and the default downlink BWP is not configured, the UE can perform a BWP switch to the initial downlink BWP.

[0072] FIG. 11 shows exemplary 4-step contention-based and contention-free random access processes according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 shows exemplary 2-step contention-based and contention-free random access processes according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The random access procedure can be triggered by several events, such as initial access from the RRC idle state, RRC connection re-establishment procedure, downlink or uplink data arrival during the RRC connected state when the uplink synchronization state is "asynchronous", uplink data arrival during the RRC connected state when there are no PUCCH resources available for scheduling request (SR), SR failure, RRC request during synchronization reconfiguration (e.g., handover), transition from the RRC inactive state, establishing time alignment of the secondary TAG, other system information (SI) requests, beam failure recovery (BFR), and persistent uplink listen before talk (LBT) failure at the PCell.

[0073] Two types of random access (RA) procedures can be supported. That is, a 4-step RA type with MSG1 and a 2-step RA type with MSGA. Both types of RA procedures can support contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA), as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

[0074] The UE can select the type of random access at the start of the random access procedure based on the network configuration. If the CFRA resource is not configured, the RSRP threshold can be used by the UE to select between the two-step RA type and the four-step RA type. If the CFRA resource for the four-step RA type is configured, the UE can perform random access using the four-step RA type. If the CFRA resource for the two-step RA type is configured, the UE can perform random access using the two-step RA type.

[0075] The MSG1 of the four-step RA type can consist of a preamble in the PRACH. After transmitting MSG1, the UE can monitor the response from the network within the configured window. In the case of CFRA, a dedicated preamble for MSG1 transmission is allocated by the network, and when the UE receives a random access response (RAR) from the network, the UE can complete the random access procedure as illustrated in FIG. 11. In the case of CBRA, upon receiving the random access response, the UE can transmit MSG3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the random access response and can monitor contention resolution as shown in FIG. 11. If contention resolution is not successful after the MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE can return to MSG1 transmission.

[0076] The MSGA of the two-step RA type may include a preamble in the PRACH and a payload in the PUSCH. After transmitting MSGA, the UE can monitor the response from the network within the configured window. In the case of CFRA, a dedicated preamble and PUSCH resources can be configured for MSGA transmission, and the network response Upon receiving it, the UE can complete the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12. In the case of CBRA, if contention resolution is successful upon receiving the network response, the UE can complete the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12. On the other hand, if a fallback indication is received in MSGB, the UE can execute MSG3 transmission using the uplink grant scheduled by the fallback indication and monitor contention resolution. If contention resolution fails after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE can return to MSGA transmission.

[0077] FIG. 13 shows an exemplary time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The SS / PBCH block (SSB) can consist of a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal (PSS, SSS), each occupying one symbol and 127 subcarriers (e.g., subcarrier numbers 56 to 182 in FIG. 13), and a PBCH that spans three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, but as shown in FIG. 13, leaves an unused portion in the center for the SSS on one symbol. The possible time positions of the SSB within a half-frame may be determined by the subcarrier spacing, and the periodicity of the half-frame in which the SSB is transmitted may be configured by the network. Between half-frames, different SSBs can be transmitted in different spatial directions (i.e., using different beams spanning the cell coverage area).

[0078] The PBCH can be used to carry the Master Information Block (MIB) that is used by the UE during cell search and initial access procedures. The UE can first decode the PBCH / MIB to receive other system information. The MIB can provide the UE with the parameters necessary to obtain System Information Block 1 (SIB1), more specifically, the information necessary for monitoring the PDCCH that schedules the PDSCH carrying SIB1. Further, the MIB can indicate cell barred status information. The MIB and SIB1 together may be referred to as minimum system information (SI), and SIB1 may be referred to as the remaining minimum system information (RMSI). Other System Information Blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2, SIB3, ..., SIB10 and SIBpos) may be referred to as other SI. The other SI may be broadcast periodically on the DL-SCH, may be broadcast on demand on the DL-SCH (e.g., in response to a request from a UE in the RRC idle state, RRC inactive state, or RRC connected state), or may be transmitted in a dedicated manner to a UE in the RRC connected state on the DL-SCH (e.g., in response to a request, if configured by the network, from a UE in the RRC connected state, or if the UE has an active BWP for which a common search space is not configured).

[0079] FIG. 14 shows an exemplary SSB burst transmission according to some aspects of several of the various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The SSB burst can include N SSBs, and each SSB of the N SSBs can correspond to a beam. The SSB burst can be transmitted according to a periodicity (e.g., SSB burst period). During a contention-based random access process, the UE can perform a random access resource selection process, where the UE first selects an SSB before selecting a RA preamble. The UE can select an SSB having an RSRP above a set threshold. In some embodiments, the UE can select any SSB if no SSB having an RSRP above the set threshold is available. A set of random access preambles can be associated with the SSB. After selecting the SSB, the UE can select a random access preamble from the set of random access preambles associated with the SSB and transmit the selected random access preamble to initiate the random access process.

[0080] In some embodiments, a beam of the N beams can be associated with a CSI-RS resource. The UE can measure the CSI-RS resource and select a CSI-RS having an RSRP above a set threshold. The UE can select a random access preamble corresponding to the selected CSI-RS and transmit the selected random access preamble to initiate the random access process. If there is no random access preamble associated with the selected CSI-RS, the UE can select a random access preamble corresponding to an SSB quasi-collocated with the selected CSI-RS.

[0081] In some embodiments, based on UE measurements of CSI-RS resources and UE CSI reports, the base station can determine a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, can indicate the TCI state to the UE, and the UE can use the indicated TCI state for receiving downlink control information (e.g., via PDCCH) or data (e.g., via PDSCH). The UE can use the indicated TCI state to use an appropriate beam for receiving data or control information. The indication of the TCI state can be using RRC configuration, or a combination of RRC signaling and dynamic signaling (e.g., via a MAC control element (MAC CE), and / or based on the value of a field within the downlink control information that schedules downlink transmission). The TCI state can indicate a quasi-collocation (QCL) relationship between a downlink reference signal such as CSI-RS and DM-RS associated with a downlink control or data channel (e.g., PDCCH or PDSCH, respectively).

[0082] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured using a list of up to M TCI-State configurations using physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration parameters to decode the PDSCH according to the detected PDCCH with UE-specific DCI and a given serving cell, where M may depend on the UE capabilities. Each TCI-State may include parameters for configuring the QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and the DM-RS ports of the PDSCH, the DM-RS ports of the PDCCH, or the CSI-RS ports of the CSI-RS resources. The quasi-collocation relationship may be configured by one or more RRC parameters. The quasi-collocation type corresponding to each DL RS may take one of the following values: "QCL-TypeA": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}, "QCL-TypeB": {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}, "QCL-TypeC": {Doppler shift, average delay}, "QCL-TypeD": {spatial Rx parameters}. The UE may receive an activation command (e.g., MAC CE) used to map the TCI state to the code point of the DCI field.

[0083] Figure 15 shows exemplary components of a user equipment and a base station for transmission and / or reception according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. All or subsets of the blocks and functions in Figure 15 may be in the base station 1505 and the user equipment 1500, or may be performed by the user equipment 1500 and the base station 1505. The antenna 1510 can be used for transmitting or receiving electromagnetic signals. The antenna 1510 can include one or more antenna elements and can enable different input / output antenna configurations including multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configurations, multiple-input single-output (MISO) configurations, and single-input multiple-output (SIMO) configurations. In some embodiments, the antenna 150 can enable a massive MIMO configuration having dozens or hundreds of antenna elements. The antenna 1510 can enable other multi-antenna technologies such as beamforming. In some examples, depending on the capabilities of the UE 1500 or the type of the UE 1500 (e.g., a low-complexity UE), the UE 1500 can support only a single antenna. - It can support.

[0084] The transceiver 1520 can communicate the wireless link described herein bidirectionally via the antenna 1510. For example, the transceiver 1520 may represent a wireless transceiver in a UE, may communicate bidirectionally with a wireless transceiver in a base station, or vice versa. The transceiver 1520 can include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to the antenna 1510 for transmission and demodulating the packets received from the antenna 1510.

[0085] Memory 1530 can include RAM and ROM. When executed, memory 1530 can store computer-readable computer-executable code 1535 that includes instructions to cause a processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some examples, memory 1530 can include, among other things, a basic input / output system (BIOS) that can control basic hardware or software operations, such as interactions with peripheral components or devices.

[0086] Processor 1540 can include a hardware device having processing capabilities (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some examples, processor 1540 may be configured to operate memory using a memory controller. In other examples, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1540. Processor 1540 can be configured to execute a set of computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1530) to cause various functions to be performed by UE 1500 or base station 1505.

[0087] Central processing unit (CPU) 1550 can perform basic arithmetic, logical, control, and input / output (I / O) operations specified by computer instructions in memory 1530. User equipment 1500 and / or base station 1505 can include additional peripheral components such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1560 and a global positioning system (GPS) 1570. GPU 1560 is a dedicated circuit for rapid operation and modification of memory 1530 to accelerate the processing performance of user equipment 1500 and / or base station 1505. GPS 1570 can be used to enable location-based services or other services, for example, based on the geographical location of user equipment 1500.

[0088] Exemplary embodiments can enable the collection of perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurements for different services, including streaming services. Exemplary QoE management can collect experience parameters for streaming services as well as extended reality / virtual reality (AR / VR) and URLLC services.

[0089] In some exemplary embodiments, QoE measurements can enable the collection of user KPI information, such as end-to-end (E2E) reliability statistical indicators.

[0090] In some examples, different types of UEs may have different QoE requirements. In some examples, QoE parameters may be defined as UE-specific service-related. In some examples, QoE can be used as a criterion for evaluating network quality. Conventionally, metrics such as throughput, capacity, and coverage have typically been used for performance evaluation of network solutions. Exemplary embodiments enable a trigger , configuration, and reporting mechanism for QoE measurement value collection, including related entities (e.g., UEs, network entities).

[0091] In some examples, signaling-based and management-based mechanisms may be used for QoE-related signaling. In some examples, the application layer measurement configuration received from OAM or the CN may be encapsulated in a transparent container that can be transferred to the UE in a downlink RRC message. The application layer measurement values received from the upper layer of the UE may be encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message.

[0092] In some examples, the RAN may release the ongoing QoE measurement / reporting configuration, for example, when handing over to a network that does not support it.

[0093] In some examples, the area may be defined and / or configured for QoE measurement and / or reporting. In some examples, for area handling, the network can track whether the UE is inside or outside the area and configure / release the configuration accordingly. In some examples, the network may track whether the UE is inside or outside the area, and the UE may manage the start / stop of QoE accordingly. In some examples, the UE may perform an area check (the UE may have an area configuration) and manage the start / stop of QoE accordingly.

[0094] In some examples, for MBS, QoE measurement in the RRC INACTIVE state may be supported. In some examples, for MBS, QoE measurement in the RRC IDLE state may be supported.

[0095] In some examples, the management-based QoE configuration may not override the signaling-based QoE configuration.

[0096] In some examples, the QoE report may be sent via another SRB within NR (different from the current SRB) because this report may have a lower priority than other SRB transmissions.

[0097] In some examples, configuration and reporting for multiple simultaneous QoE measurements for the UE may be supported.

[0098] In some examples, RRC signaling may be used by the gNB to instruct the UE to suspend or resume QoE reporting.

[0099] In some examples, the suspension / resumption may be for all QoE reports or for each QoE configuration.

[0100] In some examples, the application layer measurement collection function can enable the collection of application layer measurements from the UE. Examples of supported service types may include the collection of QoE measurements for services such as streaming services. Both signaling-based start cases and management-based start cases may be used. In the case of signaling-based, the application layer measurement collection may be initiated from the CN node towards a specific UE, and in the case of management-based, the application layer measurement collection may be initiated from the OAM targeting an area (e.g., without targeting a specific UE).

[0101] In some examples, the application layer measurement configuration received from the OAM or the CN may be encapsulated in a transparent container that can be transferred to the UE in a downlink RRC message may be. The application layer measurements received from the upper layer of the UE may be encapsulated in a transparent container and transmitted to the network in an uplink RRC message. The network can release the application layer measurement configuration towards the UE at any time.

[0102] In some examples, for URLLC services, end-to-end delay is important and the operator can monitor and guarantee delay measurements.

[0103] In some examples, the QoE management framework may exist in two flavors: signaling-based QoE and management-based QoE. In signaling-based QoE, the QoE measurement configuration (QMC) can be distributed to the RAN node. The QMC can specify the area scope for measurement, and the area scope can be defined via a list or cell / TA / TAI / PLMN. In management-based QoE, the OAM can distribute the QMC to the RAN node.

[0104] In some examples, a mechanism based on thresholds that trigger the start and stop of QoE measurement collection may be used. In some examples, time-based events can be used to activate QoE measurements, enabling flexibility in the activation of QoE measurements within a predefined period.

[0105] In some examples, the tracking area may be a logical concept of an area where a user can move without updating the AMF. The network can assign a list with one or more TAs to the user.

[0106] In one example, the UE and the network / gNB can initiate the UE capability transfer procedure. An exemplary procedure is shown in FIG. 16. In one example, when the UE receives a UECapabilityEnquiry from the network, it can compile and transfer its UE capability information. In one example, the network can initiate a procedure to the UE in RRC_CONNECTED when UE radio access capability information is required (e.g., additional). The network can obtain the UE capability after the activation of access stratum (AS) security. In one example, the network may not need to transfer the UE capability obtained before the activation of AS security to the CN.

[0107] In one example, the UE can set the content of the UECapabilityInformation message as follows. If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request with the rat-Type set to nr, the UE can include a UE-CapabilityRAT-Container of type UE-NR-Capability in the ue-CapabilityRAT-ContainerList, the rat-Type is set to nr, and the UE may include the corresponding supportedBandCombinationList, featureSet, and featureSetCombinations. If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request having a rat-Type set to eutra-nr and the UE supports (NG)EN-DC or NE-DC, the UE can include a UE-CapabilityRAT-Container of type UE-MRDC-Capability in the ue-CapabilityRAT-ContainerList, the rat-Type is set to eutra-nr, and the UE may include the corresponding supportedBandCombinationList and featureSetCombinations. If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request having a rat-Type set to eutra, the UE It can support E-UTRA. When received, the UE can include a ue-CapabilityRAT-Container of the UE-EUTRA-Capability type in the ue-CapabilityRAT-ContainerList according to the capabilityRequestFilter, and the rat-Type is set to eutra. If the ue-CapabilityRAT-RequestList includes a UE-CapabilityRAT-Request with the rat-Type set to utra-fdd, when the UE supports UTRA-FDD, the UE can include the UE radio access capabilities for UTRA-FDD in the ue-CapabilityRAT-Container, and the rat-Type is set to utra-fdd. Based on the received field rrc-SegAllowed, RRC message segmentation is enabled. If the encoded RRC message is larger than the maximum supported size of the specified PDCP SDU, the UE can initiate the UL message segment transfer procedure. Otherwise, the UE can present the UECapabilityInformation message to the lower layer for transmission, and the procedure can end at that point.

[0108] In one example, the UECapabilityEnquiry message can be used to request the UE radio access capabilities of NR and other RATs.

[0109] In one example, the IE UECapabilityInformation message can be used to transfer the UE radio access capabilities requested by the network.

[0110] Sensory quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting is an important function for various services and applications, including streaming, virtual / augmented reality (VR / AR), and URLLC applications. Existing capability signaling and corresponding RRC configurations may not support parameters associated with QoE measurement and reporting. Existing capability signaling may need to be enhanced for QoE measurement and reporting and its related parameters (e.g., region-based QoE measurement and reporting). Exemplary embodiments enhance capability signaling associated with QoE measurement and reporting.

[0111] In an exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 17, the UE may transmit a capability message to the base station. The transmission of the capability message may be performed via the RRC layer. In some examples, the transmission of the capability message to the base station may be based on the capability transfer procedure shown in FIG. 16, and the UE may be in the RRC_CONNECTED state. The UE may transmit a capability message in response to a capability inquiry message. In some examples, the transmission of the capability message may be via, for example, a random access process for transitioning the UE from the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state during the initial access procedure. The transmission of the capability message may be via Msg3 of the 4-step random access process or via MsgA of the 2-step random access process. An example of the transmission of the capability message based on the random access process is shown in FIG. 20.

[0112] The capability message can include one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and / or QoE reporting and / or signaling for QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting. For example, one or more IEs can indicate whether the UE supports at least one of the signaling for QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting and / or QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting. The one or more capability IEs may have one or more values. Based on the one or more values of the one or more capability IEs, the UE can receive one or more RRC messages including a first set of configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting. For example, the one or more values of the one or more IEs may indicate that the UE supports QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling.

[0113] In some examples, one or more IEs may be used to indicate whether a UE supports one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, one or more values of the one or more IEs may indicate that the UE supports one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. Reception of the first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting may be performed in response to the UE supporting one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, the one or more parameters may correspond to one or more KPIs. In some examples, the one or more parameters may correspond to one or more service types. The one or more service types can correspond to at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual / augmented reality (VR / AR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with QoE measurement in the RRC_INACTIVE state. In some examples, the one or more parameters may be associated with QoE measurement in the RRC_IDLE state. In some examples, the one or more parameters can be associated with one of multiple QoE configuration methods, such as signaling-based or management-based QoE management (e.g., QoE measurement / reporting and corresponding signaling).

[0114] The UE may receive one or more RRC messages based on one or more values of one or more IEs indicating that the UE supports QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. The UE may utilize first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting, and may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports based on the first configuration parameters. In some examples, the transmission of the QoE measurement report may be based on a time pattern, e.g., a pre-configured time pattern or a configurable time pattern (e.g., the time pattern indicated by the first configuration parameters). In some examples, the transmission of the QoE measurement report may be based on periodicity, e.g., a pre-configured periodicity or a configurable periodicity (e.g., the periodicity indicated by the first configuration parameters). In some examples, the transmission of the QoE measurement report may be based on geography, e.g., a pre-configured geography (e.g., one or more cells, e.g., a tracking area (TA), a radio access network (RAN) notification area (RNA), etc.) or a configurable geography (e.g., one or more cells, e.g., indicated by the first configuration parameters, e.g., a tracking area (TA), a radio access network (RAN) notification area (RNA), etc.).

[0115] In some examples, the transmission of one or more QoE measurement reports may be via one or more first RRC messages. The one or more first RRC messages used for the transmission of one or more QoE measurement reports may be associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB). In some examples, the first SRB may be able to use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel. In some examples, the first SRB may be associated with a first priority. The first priority associated with the first SRB may be lower than the second priority associated with a second SRB. In some examples, the second SRB may be able to use a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel. In some examples, the second SRB may also use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel and may be used for the transmission of non-access stratum (NAS) messages.

[0116] In some examples, a first configuration received via one or more RRC messages. The parameters may include one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for the UE to measure and report. The one or more KPIs may include one or more of delay (e.g., end-to-end (E2E) delay, core network (CN) delay, or radio access network (RAN) delay), throughput, jitter, etc. The one or more measurement reports transmitted by the UE may include measurement information associated with the one or more KPIs. In some examples, the one or more KPIs may include application layer KPIs and / or radio layer KPIs. In some examples, the one or more KPIs may include at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, a URLLC service type.

[0117] In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a triggering condition for a QoE measurement. In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a triggering condition for a QoE report. In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a triggering condition for a QoE measurement and / or a QoE measurement report.

[0118] In some examples, in response to transmitting the QoE measurement report, the base station may determine scheduling information for one or more services associated with the QoE measurement (e.g., VR / AR service type, streaming service type, URLLC service type, etc.). The UE may receive the scheduling information (e.g., downlink control information including the scheduling information) for receiving data associated with the QoE measurement and report.

[0119] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 18A, performing QoE measurement and / or transmitting QoE measurement reports may be based on a region, for example, for a region configured for QoE measurement and / or QoE reporting, and / or may be associated therewith. In some examples, the region may include one or more cells (e.g., a tracking area (TA), a RAN notification area (RNA), etc.). In some examples, the UE may receive configuration parameters indicating a region for QoE measurement and / or reporting.

[0120] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 18B, the UE may receive a first command (e.g., a first DCI or a first MAC CE) instructing the start of QoE measurement and / or reporting. The UE can start QoE measurement and / or reporting in response to receiving the command. The UE may receive a second command (e.g., a second DCI or a second MAC CE) instructing the stop of QoE measurement and / or reporting. The UE can stop QoE measurement and / or reporting in response to receiving the second command. In some examples, the start of QoE measurement / reporting (e.g., based on the reception of the first command) may correspond to the UE entering the region where the UE performs QoE measurement and reporting, and the stop of QoE measurement / reporting (e.g., based on the reception of the second command) may correspond to the UE exiting the region where the UE performs QoE measurement and reporting.

[0121] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the UE can send a capability message to the base station. The transmission of the capability message may be performed via the RRC layer. In some examples, the transmission of the capability message to the base station may be based on the capability transfer procedure shown in FIG. 16, and the UE may be in the RRC_CONNECTED state. The UE can send a capability message in response to a capability inquiry message. In some examples, the transmission of the capability message may be via, for example, the random access process for transitioning the UE from the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state during the initial access procedure. The transmission of the capability message may be via Msg3 of the 4-step random access process or via MsgA of the 2-step random access process. An example of the transmission of the capability message based on the random access process is shown in FIG. 20. - The transmission of the message is shown in FIG. 20.

[0122] The capability message can include one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating whether the UE is capable of area-based QoE measurement / reporting or indicating that the UE is capable of determining an area for QoE measurement and / or reporting. The UE can receive one or more RRC messages including configuration parameters for QoE measurement / reporting within the area. In some examples, the configuration parameters may indicate the area in which the UE can perform QoE measurement / reporting. In some examples, the UE may determine an area for QoE measurement / reporting based on the configuration parameters. In some examples, the area for QoE measurement and reporting may include one or more cells (e.g., TA or RNA). The UE may perform QoE measurement based on the configuration parameters, and the UE may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports based on the configuration parameters. One or more QoE measurement reports may include measuring one or more KPIs. In some examples, the UE may transmit one or more QoE measurement reports while the UE is within an area (e.g., an area configured by the configuration parameters). In some examples, the UE may stop measuring and / or reporting QoE when the UE leaves an area (e.g., an area configured by the configuration parameters).

[0123] In some examples, one or more capability information elements (IEs) may indicate that the UE is not capable of performing area-based QoE measurement / reporting or indicate that the UE is not capable of determining an area for QoE measurement and / or reporting. In response to one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is not capable of performing area-based QoE measurement / reporting or indicating that the UE is not capable of determining an area for QoE measurement and / or reporting, the UE can receive one or more commands (e.g., one or more DCI or one or more MAC CE) indicating the start or stop of QoE measurement or QoE reporting.

[0124] In an exemplary embodiment, a user equipment (UE) can transmit a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) to a base station (BS). Based on one or more values of the one or more capability IEs, the UE can receive from the BS one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting. The UE can transmit one or more measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters.

[0125] In some examples, one or more information elements indicate whether a wireless device supports at least one of QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, receiving one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages is based on one or more values of the one or more capability IEs, which indicate that the UE supports QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling.

[0126] In some examples, the first configuration parameters can indicate one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for the user equipment (UE) to measure and report. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) can include one or more of end-to-end delay, radio access network (RAN) delay, core network (CN) delay, throughput, and jitter. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) can include application layer KPIs. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) can include radio layer KPIs. In some examples, the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) can be for one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type may also be the case.

[0127] In some examples, transmitting one or more quality of experience (QoE) measurement reports is based on one or more first radio resource control (RRC) messages. In some examples, one or more RRC messages for transmitting one or more QoE measurement reports may be associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB). In some examples, the first SRB may be associated with a first priority, and a second priority associated with a second SRB is higher than the first priority. In some examples, the second SRB may use a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel. In some examples, the second SRB may use a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel and may be for transmitting non-access stratum (NAS) messages. In some examples, the first SRB may use a dedicated control channel (DCCH).

[0128] In some examples, one or more information elements (IEs) may be used to indicate whether a user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with QoE measurements and one or more QoE-related signaling.

[0129] In some examples, one or more values of one or more information elements (IEs) can indicate that a user equipment (UE) supports one or more parameters associated with quality of experience (QoE) measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. Receiving a first configuration parameter for QoE measurement and reporting may be in response to the UE supporting one or more parameters associated with QoE measurement and one or more QoE-related signaling. In some examples, one or more parameters can correspond to one or more key performance indicators (KPIs). In some examples, one or more parameters can correspond to one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type. In some examples, one or more parameters can be associated with QoE measurement values in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. In some examples, one or more parameters can be associated with QoE measurement values in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state. In some examples, one or more parameters can be associated with signaling-based or management-based QoE measurement.

[0130] In some examples, the first configuration parameter can indicate at least one trigger condition for QoE measurement and reporting.

[0131] In some examples, the step of transmitting a QoE measurement report may be based on a time pattern. In some examples, the first configuration parameter can indicate a time pattern.

[0132] In some examples, the step of transmitting a QoE measurement report may be based on periodicity. In some examples, the first configuration parameter can indicate periodicity.

[0133] In some examples, the first configuration parameter may indicate a geographically-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement report. In some examples, the geographically-based quality of experience (QoE) measurement report may include QoE measurement reports for one or more tracking areas (TAs).

[0134] In some examples, the capability message may be a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0135] In some examples, sending the capability message may be in response to a capability inquiry message.

[0136] In some examples, the step of sending the capability message may be via a random access process for initial access. In some examples, the step of sending the capability message may be via a MsgA random access message if the random access process is a two-step random access process, and the step of sending the capability message may be via a Msg3 random access message if the random access process is a four-step random access process.

[0137] In some examples, in response to the transmission of one or more quality of experience (QoE) measurement reports, the UE may receive scheduling information for the transmission or reception of data associated with a service type that requires QoE measurement and reporting.

[0138] In an exemplary embodiment, a user equipment (UE) can transmit a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating whether the UE can perform area-based QoE measurement and reporting, or whether the UE can determine an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting. The UE can receive one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages including configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting within the area. The UE can transmit one or more QoE measurement reports associated with the area based on the configuration parameters.

[0139] In some examples, one or more capability information elements (IEs) can indicate that the UE can perform area-based QoE measurement and reporting, or that the UE can determine an area for performing QoE measurement and reporting.

[0140] In some examples, the configuration parameters can indicate an area for performing quality of experience (QoE) measurement and transmitting a corresponding QoE report.

[0141] In some examples, the UE can determine an area for performing quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting.

[0142] In some examples, the area may include one or more cells. In some examples, the area may be a tracking area (TA). In some examples, the area may be a radio access network (RAN) notification area (RNA).

[0143] In some examples, the quality of experience (QoE) based on the area can include measuring one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) while the user equipment (UE) is present within the area. In some examples, the user equipment (UE) can stop measuring one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) in response to leaving that area.

[0144] In some examples, the UE may receive a command to start or stop QoE measurement and reporting in response to one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicating that the UE is unable to perform area-based perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting or is unable to determine an area for QoE measurement and reporting. In some examples, the reception of the command may be via downlink control information. In some examples, the command may be via one or more medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs).

[0145] The exemplary blocks and modules described in this disclosure with respect to various exemplary embodiments may be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Examples of general-purpose processors include, but are not limited to, microprocessors, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some examples, the processor may be implemented using a combination of devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0146] The functions described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Instructions or code may be stored or transmitted to a computer-readable medium for implementing the functions. Other examples for implementing the functions disclosed herein are also within the scope of this disclosure. The implementation of the functions may be via elements (e.g., at various locations) arranged at physically the same location or distributed such that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0147] Computer-readable media includes, but is not limited to, non-transitory computer storage media. The non-transitory storage media may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. Examples of non-transitory storage media include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices. The non-transitory media may be used to carry or store desired program code means (e.g., instructions and / or data structures) and may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. In some examples, software / program code may be transmitted from a remote source (e.g., a website, a server, etc.) using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave. In such examples, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave are within the scope of the definition of media. Combinations of the above examples are also within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0148] As used in this disclosure, the use of the term "or" in a list of items indicates an inclusive list. The list of items can begin with phrases such as "at least one" or "one or more". For example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C includes A or B or C or AB (i.e., A and B) or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used in this disclosure, attaching the phrase "based on" before a list of conditions should not be construed as "based only on" a set of conditions, but rather should be construed as "based at least in part on" a set of conditions. For example, a result described as "based on condition A" can, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, be based on both condition A and condition B.

[0149] As used herein, the terms "comprise", "include", or "contain" may be used interchangeably and have the same meaning, and should be construed as inclusive and open-ended. The terms "comprise", "include", or "contain" may be used before a list of elements and indicate that at least all of the listed elements in the list are present, but that other elements not in the list may also exist. For example, if A comprises B and C, then both {B, C} and {B, C, D} are within the scope of A.

[0150] This disclosure describes exemplary configurations that, in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrate all examples that can be implemented or examples that are not representative of all configurations within the scope of the disclosure. The term "exemplary" should not be construed as "preferred" or "advantageous compared to other examples", but rather as "an example, instance, or illustration". By reading this disclosure, including the description of the embodiments and the drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the techniques disclosed herein can be implemented using alternative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will also understand that they can reach still other embodiments for implementing the techniques described in this disclosure by combining the embodiments or specific features of the embodiments described herein. Therefore, this disclosure should not be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method of capability signaling for measuring quality of experience (QoE), comprising: transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with QoE to a base station (BS); receiving, by the UE, one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages including first configuration parameters for QoE measurement and reporting from the BS based on the one or more transmitted capability IEs; transmitting, by the UE, one or more RRC messages including one or more QoE measurement reports to the BS based on the first configuration parameters, wherein the RRC messages are associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB) using a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and transmission of the one or more RRC messages by the first SRB is performed after activation of access stratum (AS) security, and the priority of the first SRB is lower than the priority of a second SRB for transmitting non-access stratum (NAS) messages using DCCH; wherein the start and stop of transmission of the one or more QoE measurement reports are performed according to an instruction to start the one or more QoE measurement reports or an instruction to stop the one or more QoE measurement reports received by the UE from the BS. A method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate whether the user equipment (UE) supports at least one of quality of experience (QoE) measurement and QoE-related signaling.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of receiving the one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages is based on whether the one or more capability information elements (IEs) indicate that the user equipment (UE) supports the quality of experience (QoE) measurement and the QoE-related signaling.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration parameters indicate one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) for the user equipment (UE) to measure and report.

5. ​ ​ The method according to claim 4, wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include one or more of end-to-end delay, radio access network (RAN) delay, core network (CN) delay, throughput, and jitter.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include application layer KPIs.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) include radio layer KPIs.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the one or more key performance indicators (KPIs) are for one or more service types including at least one of a streaming service type, a virtual reality (VR) service type, and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service type.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration parameter indicates a trigger condition for at least one of the perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement and reporting.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement report is based on a time pattern.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first configuration parameter indicates the time pattern.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement report is based on periodicity.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first configuration parameter indicates the periodicity.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration parameter indicates a geographically based perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement report.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the geographically based perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement report includes QoE measurement reports for one or more tracking areas (TAs).

16. A method for perceived quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting, comprising: receiving, by a base station (BS), from a user equipment (UE), a capability message including one or more capability information elements (IEs) associated with QoE; transmitting, by the BS based on the one or more received capability IEs, one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages including a first configuration parameter for QoE measurement and reporting in the UE to the UE; The step of receiving, by the BS, from the UE, one or more RRC messages including one or more QoE measurement reports based on the first configuration parameter, wherein the RRC message is associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB) using a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and the transmission of the one or more RRC messages by the first SRB is performed after activation of access stratum (AS) security, and the priority of the first SRB is lower than the priority of a second SRB for transmitting non-access stratum (NAS) messages using the DCCH, including the step of: The start and stop of the reception of the one or more QoE measurement reports are performed according to an instruction to start the one or more QoE measurement reports or an instruction to stop the one or more QoE measurement reports, which are transmitted by the BS to the UE. Method. ​

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