Method and apparatus for power saving enhancement of paging procedures in cellular systems

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and systems are disclosed that may be implemented in a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) and / or a wireless access point associated with the WTRU. In one representative method, the WTRU may be in an inactive or idle mode prior to a paging occasion (PO). The WTRU may be configured to detect a transmission of a portion of a synchronization signal block or reference signal associated with an early paging indication (EPI) downlink control information (DCI). Based on the detected transmission, the WTRU may perform blind decoding on the transmitted EPI DCI or sequence set to determine whether the WTRU is being paged at the PO. The blind decoding may use a pattern that relates the detected synchronization signal block or reference signal to the number of transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the PO. The paging of the WTRU may be used to determine the light / deep sleep state of the WTRU.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 147,077, filed February 8, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] FIELD Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to wireless communications, such as methods, apparatus, and systems for early paging indication and paging assistance reference signals for idle and / or inactive user equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0003] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following detailed description, taken by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: The figures in the description are examples; therefore, the figures and detailed description should not be considered limiting, as other equally effective examples are possible and likely. Also, like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements. [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example communication system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 1B] 1B is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communication system shown in FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment. [Figure 1C] 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communication system shown in FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment. [Figure 1D] 1B is a system diagram illustrating a further exemplary RAN and a further exemplary CN that may be used within the communication system shown in FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment. [Figure 2]1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring early paging information (EPI) downlink control information (DCI) that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 3] 10 illustrates another exemplary procedure for configuring early paging information (EPI) downlink control information (DCI) that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring early paging information (EPI) downlink control information (DCI) that may be implemented in a RAN. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates an exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 7] 1 shows a representative diagram of communication between a WTRU and a RAN. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring a paging-specific reference signal (RS) that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a representative EPI transmission scheme using an RS for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme using an RS for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring RS information that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 13] 10 shows another representative diagram of communication between a WTRU and a RAN. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. [Figure 15]10 shows another representative diagram of communication between a WTRU and a RAN in idle and / or inactive mode, and between a WTRU and a RAN in connected mode. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an updated EPI configuration and / or an updated RS configuration. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and an RS configuration including quasi-collocation (QCL) configuration and numerology for the RS. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and availability of an RS configuration including quasi-collocation (QCL) configuration and numerology for the RS. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using EPI configuration and EPI configuration validity. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary procedure for paging using EPI configuration and EPI configuration validity. [Figure 21] 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and first and second RS configurations. [Figure 22] 1 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration, an RS configuration, and the validity of the EPI configuration and / or the RS configuration. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary procedure for paging using an updated EPI configuration and / or an updated RS configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Exemplary Network for Implementation of the Embodiments Certain embodiments may be implemented in autonomous and / or semi-autonomous vehicles, robotic vehicles, cars, IoT gear, any device that moves, or a WTRU or other communications device that may be used in a communications network. The following sections provide descriptions of some example WTRUs and / or other communications devices and networks in which they may be incorporated.

[0005] 1A illustrates an exemplary communication system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Communication system 100 may be a multiple-access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcasts, etc., to multiple wireless users. Communication system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communication system 100 may employ one or more channel access methods such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), etc.

[0006] 1A, communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, RANs 104 / 113, CNs 106 / 115, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, although it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or “STA,” may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include user equipment (UE), mobile stations, fixed or mobile subscriber units, subscription-based units, pagers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, laptops, netbooks, personal computers, wireless sensors, hotspots or Mi-Fi devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearables, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain contexts), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d may be referred to interchangeably as a UE.

[0007] The communications system 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communications networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNodeB(end), a Home NodeB (HNB), a Home eNodeB (HeNB), a gNB, an NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, etc. Although the base stations 114a, 114b are each shown as a single element, it will be understood that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0008] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), a relay node, etc. The base station 114a and / or base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive radio signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide wireless service coverage for a particular geographic area, which may be relatively fixed or may change over time. A cell may be further divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one transceiver for each sector of the cell. In one embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers per sector of the cell, for example, using beamforming to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0009] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0010] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple-access system and may use one or more channel access schemes, such as, for example, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, etc. For example, the base stations 114a of the RANs 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed ​​Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0011] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0012] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR radio access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0013] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may jointly implement LTE radio access and NR radio access, e.g., using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions transmitted to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., end and gNB).

[0014] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a wireless technology such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity, WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMAX), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), or the like.

[0015] 1A may be, for example, a wireless router, a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or an access point and may utilize any suitable RAT to facilitate wireless connectivity in a local area such as a location such as a business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a road, etc. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may establish a picocell or a femtocell using a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.). As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not need to access the Internet 110 through the CN 106 / 115.

[0016] The RAN 104 / 113 may communicate with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, application, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have various quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as different throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, etc. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, prepaid calls, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A , it will be understood that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may communicate directly or indirectly with other RANs employing the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may utilize NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also communicate with another RAN (not shown) employing GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0017] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include a public switched telephone network providing plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and / or the internet protocol (IP) of the TCP / IP Internet protocol suite. The network 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the network 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0018] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links.) For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with a base station 114a that may use a cellular-based wireless technology and a base station 114b that may use an IEEE 802 wireless technology.

[0019] 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include, among other things, a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138. It will be understood that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0020] The processor 118 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuit, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, etc. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be understood that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0021] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to or receive signals from a base station (e.g., base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be understood that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0022] 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may use MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0023] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate signals transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and demodulate signals received by the transmit / receive element 122. As mentioned above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers to enable the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11.

[0024] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to and may receive user-entered data from a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, and / or a display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. Additionally, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in any type of suitable memory, such as non-removable memory 130 and / or removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, etc. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or home computer (not shown).

[0025] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, but may also be configured to distribute and / or control the power to other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, etc.

[0026] The processor 118 may also be coupled to a GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to or instead of information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) over the air interface 116 and / or determine its location based on the timing of signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may obtain location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0027] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an electronic compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photos and / or videos), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, a Bluetooth module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, etc. The peripheral device 138 may include one or more sensors, which may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a Hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, a direction sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor, a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0028] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be in operative communication with various peripherals 138, including, for example, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, a USB port, other communication interfaces / ports, a display, and / or any other visual / audio indicators, to implement the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

[0029] The WTRU 102 may include a full-duplex radio where transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception)) may be parallel and / or simultaneous. The full-duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via hardware (e.g., chokes) or processor-based signal processing (e.g., via a separate processor (not shown) or processor 118). In one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for transmission and reception of either some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0030] 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to one embodiment. As mentioned above, the RAN 104 may communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116 using E-UTRA radio technology. The RAN 104 may also communicate with the CN 106.

[0031] The RAN 104 may include eNodeBs 160a, 160b, and 160c, although it will be understood that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNodeBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNodeBs 160a, 160b, and 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, and 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNodeB 160a may, for example, use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a.

[0032] Each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, user scheduling, etc. in the UL and / or DL. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another via an X2 interface.

[0033] 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. Although each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0034] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may function as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, activating / deactivating bearers, selecting a particular serving gateway during initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, etc. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0035] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to and from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring the user plane during inter-eNode-B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available to the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and managing and storing the context of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0036] The SGW 164 may be connected to a PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0037] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional landline communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include or communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that acts as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. Additionally, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0038] Although the WTRU is depicted in FIGS. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments, such a terminal may use a wired communication interface (e.g., temporarily or permanently) with the communication network.

[0039] In a representative embodiment, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0040] A WLAN in infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) of the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic originating from outside the BSS to a STA may arrive through the AP and be delivered to the STA. Traffic originating from a STA to a destination outside the BSS may be sent to the AP and transmitted to the respective destination. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be transmitted, for example, through the AP; the source STA may send traffic to the AP, which may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. Peer-to-peer traffic may be transmitted between a source STA and a destination STA (e.g., directly between them) in a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use 802.11e DLS or 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and STAs within or using the IBSS (e.g., all of the STAs) may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may be referred to herein as an "ad hoc" communication mode.

[0041] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operation, an AP may transmit beacons on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., a 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a width that is dynamically set via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, for example, in an 802.11 system, Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) with collision avoidance may be implemented. With CSMA / CA, STAs (e.g., all STAs), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0042] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use 40 MHz wide channels for communication, which may be formed, for example, through a combination of a primary 20 MHz channel and adjacent or non-adjacent 20 MHz channels.

[0043] A Very High Throughput (VHT) STA may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz and / or 80 MHz wide channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining eight contiguous 20 MHz channels or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, after channel encoding, the data may pass through a segment parser that may split the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing and time-domain processing may be performed separately on each stream. The streams may be mapped to two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by the transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the operations described above for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be transmitted to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0044] Sub-1 GHz operating modes are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. Channel operating bandwidths and carriers are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah compared to those used in 802.11n and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, while 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to representative embodiments, 802.11ah may support meter-type control / machine-type communications, such as MTC devices within macro coverage areas. MTC devices may have specific capabilities, including, for example, support for (e.g., only for) specific and / or limited bandwidths. MTC devices may include batteries with above-threshold battery life (e.g., to maintain very long battery life).

[0045] WLAN systems that can support multiple channels and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel that can be designated as a primary channel. The primary channel can have a bandwidth equal to the maximum common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel can be configured and / or limited by the STAs among all STAs operating in the BSS that support the minimum bandwidth operating mode. In an 802.11ah example, the primary channel can be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC-type devices) that support (e.g., only) the 1 MHz mode, even if the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) configuration can depend on the condition of the primary channel. For example, if the primary channel is busy due to STAs (that only support 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency band may be considered busy, even though most of the frequency band may remain idle and be available for use.

[0046] In the United States, the available frequency band that can be used by 802.11ah is 902MHz to 928MHz. In South Korea, the available frequency band is 917.5MHz to 923.5MHz. In Japan, the available frequency band is 916.5MHz to 927.5MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6MHz to 26MHz depending on the country code.

[0047] 1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to one embodiment. As mentioned above, the RAN 113 may communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116 using NR radio technology. The RAN 113 may also communicate with the CN 115.

[0048] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c, although it will be understood that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, the gNBs 180a and 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit and / or receive signals to the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a may, for example, transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a using multiple antennas. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on an unlicensed spectrum, and the remaining component carriers may be on a licensed spectrum. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, the WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from the gNBs 180a and 180b (and / or 180c).

[0049] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframes or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of different or scalable lengths (e.g., including different numbers of OFDM symbols and / or lasting different lengths of absolute time).

[0050] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without accessing another RAN (e.g., eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c, etc.). In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as mobility anchor points. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in unlicensed bands. In a non-standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with and connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with and connecting to another RAN, such as eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a DC principle to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In a non-standalone configuration, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may act as mobility anchors for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, while the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for serving the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0051] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support for network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data to User Plane Functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information to Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, etc. As shown in FIG. 1D , the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with each other via an Xn interface.

[0052] 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0053] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may function as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for user authentication of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selection of the SMF 183a, 183b for registration, management of registration areas, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, etc. The network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b to customize the CN support for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the type of service utilizing the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases, such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced mobile (e.g., massive mobile) high capacity (enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies, such as WiFi.

[0054] The SMFs 183a, 183b may be connected to the AMFs 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMFs 183a, 183b may also be connected to the UPFs 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMFs 183a, 183b may select and control the UPFs 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPFs 184a, 184b. The SMFs 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating IP addresses for the WTRUs 102, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notification, etc. The PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP-based, Ethernet-based, etc.

[0055] The UPFs 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks such as the Internet 110 to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPFs 184, 184b may perform other functions such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, etc.

[0056] The CN 115 may facilitate communication with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include or communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that acts as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to local data networks (DNs) 185a, 185b through the UPFs 184a, 184b via an N3 interface to the UPFs 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPFs 184a, 184b and the DNs 185a, 185b.

[0057] 1A-1D , one or more or all of the functions described herein with respect to one or more of the WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a-b, eNodeBs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a-b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other devices described herein may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more or all of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0058] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or an operator network environment. For example, one or more emulation devices may perform one or more or all functions while fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network to test other devices in the communication network. One or more emulation devices may perform one or more or all functions while temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation devices may be directly coupled to another device for testing purposes and / or may perform testing using terrestrial wireless communication.

[0059] One or more emulation devices may perform one or more functions, inclusive, while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in test scenarios in a test lab and / or in an undeployed (e.g., test) wired and / or wireless communication network to implement testing of one or more components. One or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communication via RF circuitry (which may include, e.g., one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0060] The following acronyms may be used in connection with the descriptions provided herein: RRC Radio resource control SSB Synchronization signal block SINR (Signal to interference noise ratio) DCI (Downlink control information) RAN (Radio access network) PDCCH Physical downlink control channel PDSCH Physical downlink shared data channel CORESET Control resource set BWP Bandwidth part EPI Early paging indication RS reference signal CSI-RS Channel state information reference signal TRS Tracking reference signal PO Paging Occasion SIB System Information Block CE Control element QCL Quasi colocation

[0061] In certain representative embodiments, methods, apparatus and systems may be implemented for flexible early paging frequency indication and paging capabilities for idle and / or inactive mode UEs.

[0062] In certain representative embodiments, methods, apparatus and systems may be implemented for flexible early paging frequency indication and paging capabilities for idle and / or inactive mode UEs.

[0063] In certain representative embodiments, the UE may transmit multiple (e.g., a minimum and / or required number) (e.g., consecutive) SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences to obtain full synchronization (otherwise referred to herein as synchronization) with the air interface.

[0064] In certain representative embodiments, the UE may receive any of the following higher or lower layer configurations: EPI downlink control information, validity and / or availability information, indication (e.g., information) of idle and / or inactive paging-specific RS, pattern and / or resource set, and availability duration, and / or any connected mode paging-specific RS, pattern and / or resource set, numerology, QCL information, and / or indication of availability duration.

[0065] In certain representative embodiments, upon determining idle and / or connected RS availability, the UE may perform skip detection and / or sleep for all or part of an SSB burst prior to any (e.g., each) paging occasion.

[0066] In certain representative embodiments, the UE may detect and / or synchronize (e.g., fully synchronize or partially synchronize) with any of the available connected mode RS occasions, idle and / or inactive RS occasions, and / or portions of SSB bursts.

[0067] In certain representative embodiments, the UE may perform monitoring and / or blind decoding of various indicated occasions of the EPI DCI according to the idle and / or inactive RS-specific EPI and / or connected mode EPI frequency information.

[0068] In certain representative embodiments, a UE may assume (e.g., determine) that a configured idle-specific RS and / or connected mode-specific CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS occasion is no longer available when the corresponding validity and / or availability indication expires. For example, an idle and / or inactive UE (otherwise used herein to refer to either a UE operating in IDLE mode or an UE operating in INACTIVE mode) may perform monitoring and / or detection of SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences for synchronization and paging DCI before each paging occasion.

[0069] Although specific examples are described herein with respect to UE energy efficiency in the context of cellular communications, it should be understood that similar energy efficiency improvements may be achieved when such examples are applied in other wireless systems, such as WLAN (e.g., IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi) systems.

[0070] Radio Resource Control State The early stages of the 5G NR Release 15 specification include several improvements to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. One of the enhancements is the introduction of the INACTIVE RRC state to minimize power consumption and latency for UEs attempting to access the air interface. There are three (i.e., primary) RRC states: RRC idle: The network RAN ​​and core network are unaware of the UE status and mobility. Neither measurements, reporting nor mobility control may be required. UE context information may not be stored at any gNB in ​​the network. The UE location may only be known to the access and mobility function entity (AMF) at the RAN notification area level, which may include a set of neighboring gNBs in the surrounding geographical area. An idle mode UE may continuously (e.g., periodically) monitor the experienced coverage levels of the currently selected cell as well as neighboring cells, and therefore the idle mode UE may perform cell reselection operations. RRC Inactive: The network RAN ​​part is not fully aware of the UE status and mobility. However, the network core entities maintain UE context information such as their own subscription information, access priorities, encryption keys, etc. The network core is still fully aware of the UE information. Therefore, when an inactive mode UE attempts to transition to a connected state (e.g., for payload transmission and / or reception), only the RAN part needs to be established. In this way, a faster and less energy-consuming transition to a connected state is achieved. The Release 15 specifications define several triggers and methods for the UE to roll back to the RRC inactive state. RRC Connected: The UE full status is fully known and controlled by the network. The exact serving cell of the connected UE is determined, measured, and activated for its ongoing transmission. UE mobility is also fully controlled by the network.

[0071] Paging procedure in 5G NR systems Ideally, UEs in idle and inactive modes should be in a deep sleep state (e.g., shut down their transceiver ends) unless there is incoming traffic for them. However, in order for them to be notified and / or recognize incoming downlink payloads, the network may configure idle and / or inactive UEs with a periodic set of paging occasions within a particular frame (e.g., a set of frames), and the idle and inactive UEs should periodically wake up, monitor, and determine whether there is a paging indication. Specifically, in RRC idle and / or inactive mode, the UE continuously wakes up according to the configured paging cycle to check whether single and / or multiple UEs are being paged in the current paging occasion. Before transitioning to the RRC CONNECTED state to be paged, the UE may follow three steps: 1. Because a UE may not be synchronized with the radio interface due to a long sleep period, the UE may first attempt to resynchronize with the NR radio interface by detecting at least a single synchronization signal block (SSB). Different UEs with different implementations (e.g., from various UE vendors) may require different numbers of SSBs and / or radio sequences before achieving full synchronization with the network. For example, a UE in good signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) conditions may be able to resynchronize with the radio network by detecting a single SSB and / or sequence signal. A UE in poor SINR conditions may require additional SSB instances to resynchronize. 2. After the UE is fully synchronized with the RAN, the UE may attempt to blind decode paging downlink control information (DCI) transmitted on possible physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) occasions (e.g., occasions pre-configured by higher layers). The paging DCI implies an indication to idle and / or inactive UEs that there is at least one UE with incoming traffic in the downlink direction. If no paging DCI is detected on the PDCCH resources, the idle and / or inactive UE may assume that there is no paging on the current paging occasion and may therefore continue to sleep until the next paging occasion. 3. If an idle and / or inactive UE detects the presence of a paging DCI during a paging occasion, the UE can decode the subsequent physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data resource to read the paging record. A paging record is an indication of one or more identities of any idle and / or inactive UE being paged. From the UE's perspective, if the paging record contains its own temporary ID, the corresponding UE can trigger a random access procedure to switch to the RRC CONNECTED state.

[0072] Typically, there may be multiple trade-offs to achieve adequate paging performance. The frequency of paging occasions and paging DCIs may affect paging performance. For example, more frequent paging occasions and paging DCIs may lead to lower packet buffering delays. However, frequent (e.g., more frequent) paging may wake up the UE more frequently, affecting battery performance and / or PDCCH capacity consumption. More frequent paging DCIs may suggest a larger size of the PDCCH CORESET and therefore fewer remaining PDCCH resources for other control and scheduling information, as well as overall fewer bandwidth fractional data resources for data transmission via the PDSCH. A more flexible procedure for delivering paging information may be essential to achieve improved paging performance and power saving gains in the UE, while also avoiding overload (e.g., excessive consumption) of network resources due to DCI. Certain representative embodiments disclosed herein can achieve such advantageous effects.

[0073] Power Saving Enhancements for Idle and / or Inactive UEs Improving the battery consumption performance (e.g., power saving capabilities) of idle and / or inactive UE paging is essential for current and future cellular networks, such as 5G NR and beyond. In certain representative embodiments, improvements may be made that may improve procedures involving early paging indication and / or assisted paging-specific RS. Such improvements may be applicable to 5G NR systems and / or next-generation systems.

[0074] An idle and / or inactive mode UE may wake up during a paging occasion (e.g., always) to detect a paging DCI, such as by blindly decoding possible PDCCH opportunities. If there is no paging indication (e.g., in the DCI), the UE may go back to sleep until the next paging occasion. Such a blind decoding procedure may drain a significant amount of battery life in the UE and / or may be unnecessary if the UE is not actually paged.

[0075] An early paging indication (EPI) DCI may be provided that precedes the paging occasion. The EPI DCI may indicate whether there is a paging DCI (e.g., transmitted) over a PDCCH opportunity. If there is a false EPI and / or no EPI DCI, the UE may assume that at least its paging group is not being paged and may return to sleep (e.g., deep sleep) until the next paging occasion. Described herein are dynamic EPI activation procedures that may advantageously achieve healthy UE-specific and / or paging group-specific battery performance gains (e.g., power savings) and / or may advantageously avoid the transmission of unnecessary and / or excessive control information (e.g., EPI DCI) by the network.

[0076] Idle and / or inactive mode UEs may wake up earlier before each paging occasion to enter full synchronization with the network. Without full synchronization with the RAN, idle and / or inactive mode UEs may not be able to detect any of the EPI DCI, paging DCI, and / or paging records. For example, different UEs (e.g., from different vendors and / or in different SINR conditions) may need to detect different numbers of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) before a paging occasion. SSB transmissions may generally have a fixed, large periodicity (e.g., a minimum of 20 ms). This may cause idle and / or inactive mode UEs to wake up for the duration of multiple SSB periods before each paging occasion, which may result in significant power savings limitations in the UE.

[0077] The network (e.g., a gNB) may transmit an assistance paging-specific RS (sometimes referred to herein as an assistance paging-specific RS) that may be close in time to each of the paging occasions, where idle and / or inactive mode UEs may wake up (e.g., only) a short time before. Semi-static, dynamic, and / or hybrid procedures involving paging-specific reference signals are described herein and may be applicable to 5G NR systems and / or future generation systems.

[0078] First, idle and / or inactive mode UEs (e.g., in IDLE or INACTIVE RRC modes) may have specific requirements for synchronization with the air interface before detecting paging occasions. For high quality UEs and / or UEs in good SINR conditions, a single SSB and / or sequence detection may be sufficient to achieve full synchronization with the network before being able to read subsequent paging occasions. For other low quality UEs and / or UEs in poor SINR conditions, multiple SSB and / or sequence detections may be required before being able to read subsequent paging occasions.

[0079] An early paging indication (EPI) DCI may be transmitted after (e.g., immediately after) each SSB and / or sequence burst. This may improve paging performance at the expense of the default bandwidth portion (BWP) and / or the overwhelmed PDCCH and / or CORESET capacity of the BWP over which the paging indication is being transmitted. Because the default and / or paging BWP capacity is essential for all other idle and / or inactive UEs, as well as connected UEs sharing the same BWP for ongoing transmissions, it may be undesirable to affect the PDCCH and / or CORESET capacity in this manner.

[0080] The early paging indication (EPI) DCI may be transmitted before the paging occasion, after (e.g., immediately after) a single SSB burst, and / or using a fixed pattern of multiple SSB bursts of an SSB group. This can relieve the PDCCH capacity of the associated BWP. However, this may also degrade paging power saving performance for idle and / or inactive UEs, as some low SINR and / or low-quality UEs may not be able to blindly decode the EPI DCI because the UEs are still not synchronized with the air interface. In such cases, those (e.g., not synchronized) UEs may generally assume the worst case and proceed by reading the maximum number of SSB bursts before the paging occasion and therefore reading the paging DCI and / or paging record. Such a procedure may prevent any power saving gains from being realized.

[0081] In summary, a framework with a fixed (e.g., fixed pattern) EPI distribution structure may limit power saving gains in any idle and / or inactive mode UEs and / or may adversely affect the PDCCH and / or CORESET capacity of the BWP used for paging. Therefore, there is a need for a flexible EPI DCI distribution procedure that may allow the network to dynamically trade off between the PDCCH and / or CORESET capacity of the paging BWP and time-varying paging performance for any idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0082] Second, idle and / or inactive mode UEs (e.g., in IDLE or INACTIVE RRC mode) may be required to wake up before each paging DCI occasion, such as to become synchronized with the air interface. Idle and / or inactive mode UEs may generally rely on detecting single or multiple SSB bursts and / or sequences transmitted prior to the paging occasion for that purpose. In such cases, these UEs may be woken up too early before the actual paging occasion to detect periodic SSB signals. For example, an idle UE (e.g., a UE in IDLE RRC mode) that needs to detect three SSBs prior to the paging occasion may wake up 80 ms before the paging DCI occasion, assuming a 20 ms periodicity (e.g., standardized periodicity) of SSB block transmissions. This may prevent idle and / or inactive mode UEs from deep sleeping for extended periods of time. Significant power savings loss can be expected when a low SINR and / or low quality idle UE wakes up for 80 ms (e.g., the duration of three SSBs) but is not actually paged and may skip paging recording. For example, using an 80 ms wake-up period may be unnecessary and provides an opportunity to improve UE power loss in light of the above.

[0083] A connected mode channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and / or another (e.g., general-purpose) reference signal (RS) (sometimes referred to herein as CSI-RS / TRS / RS or CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS) can be considered an alternative to using SSBs to resync (e.g., resynchronize) idle mode UEs and / or inactive mode UEs before a paging occasion. Power saving gains can primarily result from identifying a CSI-RS / TRS / RS occasion that is close in time (e.g., as close as possible) to the actual paging occasion. This can enable idle and / or inactive UEs to avoid waking up prematurely before a paging occasion. However, there can be several considerations that need to be addressed to achieve such a design.

[0084] For example, an idle and / or inactive UE may need to quickly and / or efficiently recognize the presence of a CSI-RS / TRS / RS signal. This may allow the UE to reliably enter deep sleep (e.g., a state) for one or more specific SSBs prior to a paging occasion, assuming that the presence of a CSI-RS / TRS / RS signal can be guaranteed to be transmitted before a paging DCI. Otherwise, from the UE's perspective, if the presence of a CSI-RS / TRS / RS signal is dynamically configured and not necessarily guaranteed, the UE may always assume the worst case scenario because there is no CSI-RS / TRS / RS available. Thus, the UE may wake up for an SSB burst prior to each paging occasion. Such behavior may (e.g.,) limit the power saving gain achievable at the UE, even if the network nevertheless transmits (e.g., notifies) a CSI-RS / TRS / RS occasion for idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0085] Sharing CSI-RS / TRS / RS of connected mode UEs with idle and / or inactive mode UEs may be conditioned primarily on the availability of CSI-RS / TRS / RS signals and / or the configuration alignment of available CSI-RS / TRS / RS signals with the BWP in which paging occurs. For example, the availability of CSI-RS / TRS / RS signals may be when idle and / or inactive UEs are expected to resynchronize with the air interface (e.g., before a paging occasion). For example, available CSI-RS / TRS / RS signals of connected mode UEs may be from a BWP different from the default and / or paging BWP. Therefore, those BWPs may be configured with different numerology settings (e.g., subcarrier spacing configurations) and / or different quasi-co-location (QCL) settings from the default and / or paging BWPs. Therefore, idle and / or inactive UEs may skip such CSI-RS / TRS / RS occasions because the UE may not be able to process multiple signals with different numerologies immediately after each other. This may lead to CSI-RS / TRS / RS sharing being less useful to any idle and / or inactive UEs, and most dangerously, if such knowledge is not passed to the idle and / or inactive UEs with sufficient advance notice (e.g., early enough), the idle and / or inactive UEs may miss subsequent paging occasions entirely, as they may rely on the existence of non-matching CSI-RS / TRS / RS occasions.

[0086] In short, transmitting a fixed pattern and / or periodic (e.g., always-on) paging-specific RS before each paging occasion may impose (e.g., significant) limitations on the PDSCH capacity of the paging BWP. Moreover, sharing connected mode CSI-RS / TRS / RS signals with idle and / or inactive UEs may lead to further challenges and, conversely, to further degradation of UE battery consumption performance, such as when the UE configuration is inconsistent with the paging BWP. Providing flexible procedures for delivering paging-specific RS and / or sharing connected mode CSI-RS / TRS / RS with idle and / or inactive UEs may be important to achieve adequate power saving gains in idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0087] In certain representative embodiments, methods, apparatus, and systems may implement flexible procedures for early paging indication (EPI). These procedures may enable the network to manage (e.g., dynamically trade off) paging performance and / or UE power performance with PDCCH and / or CORESET capabilities of the paging BWP. In certain representative embodiments, methods, apparatus, and systems may implement signaling procedures (e.g., with idle and / or inactive UEs) for paging-specific reference signals. Such reference signals may include, but are not limited to, CSI-RS and / or tracking reference signals (TRS). Such procedures may provide enhancements for achieving power savings in any idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0088] As used herein, a paging bandwidth portion (BWP) may refer to a (e.g., general or specific) radio BWP over which paging procedures and corresponding signaling may be performed (e.g., transmitted and / or received). For example, in 5G NR at this time, a paging BWP may be a configured BWP of the radio interface.

[0089] As used herein, QCL may refer to a QCL configuration that defines how different transmitted signals relate to each other. For example, a first signal may be indicated as QCLed to a second signal, implying that a UE receiving such second signal may be able to infer and / or deduce channel conditions (e.g., channel estimates) from receiving the first signal, knowing their QCL configurations. Without loss of generality, in current 5G NR, QCL may be defined by multiple QCL types, each type indicating that at least two signals are QCLed with respect to channel Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and / or delay spread. For example, a PDCCH control transmission may be QCLed along with a previous SSB signal. The UE can then use a similar channel estimate of the SSB to decode the PDCCH. From the UE's perspective, both the PDCCH and SSB transmissions may be assumed to have been transmitted from the same antenna port at the serving RAN node (e.g., gNB).

[0090] As used herein, PDCCH capacity may refer to the fact that within each BWP, the PDCCH is defined by a control resource set (CORESET), which may consist of various physical resource block (PRB) sizes and durations of one or more OFDM symbols. For example, a BWP may have up to three CORESETs, and the gNB may determine the PDCCH size according to the size of US control information transmitted to the UE, the UE SINR condition (e.g., unknown at the gNB side for idle and / or inactive UEs), and / or the size of the downlink allocation. PDCCH capacity may become a bottleneck in a wireless system. Increasing the number of transmitted control information elements suggests a larger CORESET size within the BWP, correspondingly reducing the CORESET size available for other data allocation information. Furthermore, always utilizing the maximum CORESET size of each BWP suggests that fewer resources are available for data transmission, thus reducing useful spectral efficiency.

[0091] As used herein, blind decoding (e.g., PDCCH blind decoding) may refer to a channel (e.g., PDCCH) being used to indicate to a UE about upcoming downlink or uplink allocations and corresponding radio configurations. PDCCH transmissions, and their respective downlink control information (DCI), have a wide set of bit-wise formats and sizes. For example, in some cases, the network may need to transmit a large number of DCI bits (e.g., long DCI format). In some other cases, the network may need to transmit a small number of DCI bits (e.g., short DCI format). In both cases, the format and / or structure of PDCCH transmissions and the corresponding size may change dynamically over time. However, as a general matter, the UE may be unaware of such dynamic adaptation. Therefore, a UE may be configured (e.g., by high-level signaling) with multiple common and UE-specific resource candidates for PDCCH transmissions, and the UE performs continuous monitoring and blind decoding attempts using their assigned RNTI IDs. Blind decoding implies that the UE does not truly know, at the time of decoding, whether any such PDCCH transmission is intended for it or not. For example, if the UE detects a CRC error after a decoding operation, the UE may skip such PDCCH candidate. Generally, blind decoding is not energy efficient, and therefore, to improve UE battery consumption, the number of UE blind decoding operations may be minimized.

[0092] As used herein, CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS may refer to reference signals (e.g., general or specific) transmitted from a RAN node (e.g., gNB) used in a UE to estimate its channel conditions and / or enter synchronization (e.g., full synchronization) with the network. CSI-RS / TRS / RS may be dynamically scheduled and transmitted in the downlink direction. Reference signal transmission as used herein includes, but is not limited to, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and / or a tracking reference signal (TRS).

[0093] As used herein, idle and / or inactive RS may refer to any connected mode RS and any paging-specific RS, unless otherwise stated.

[0094] As used herein, idle and / or inactive UE may refer to any UE in an idle mode and any UE in an inactive mode.

[0095] As used herein, a timing resource may refer to a contiguous or non-contiguous portion of the time domain.

[0096] As used herein, a frequency resource may refer to a contiguous or non-contiguous portion of the frequency domain.

[0097] Early paging information delivery procedure Dynamic procedures may be implemented for EPI DCI delivery to idle and / or inactive UEs in different SINR conditions. For example, a UE may determine and transmit a minimum number of SSB bursts and / or sequence detections (e.g., required) prior to a paging occasion to fully synchronize with the network. The indication of this information (e.g., number) may be UE-specific and / or depend on UE-specific channel conditions and / or transceiver capabilities. The network (e.g., gNB) may dynamically configure idle and / or inactive UEs with flexible generation and / or signaling frequencies of EPI DCI based on any of the actual paging performance, time-varying paging rate, and / or PDCCH and / or CORESET available capacity of the BWP (e.g., the BWP in which paging is performed). For example, in highly degraded SINR conditions, the network (e.g., gNB) may transmit EPI DCI after each SSB / sequence block (e.g., trading off PDCCH / CORESET capacity for improved paging and power consumption performance). Under good and / or ideal SINR conditions, the EPI DCI may be transmitted (e.g., only transmitted) after a subset of n SSBs / sequences prior to the paging occasion. The network (e.g., gNB) may dynamically configure idle and / or inactive UEs with EPI frequency configurations (e.g., EPI frequency indications). For example, EPI frequency indications may be configured for (e.g., each) paging occasion and / or (e.g., each) set of paging occasions.

[0098] 2 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring early paging information (EPI) downlink control information (DCI) at a WTRU 102 (e.g., a UE). As shown in FIG. 2, this procedure may be implemented at the UE when the UE is in an inactive mode and / or when the UE is in an idle mode (e.g., after receiving an RRC connection release message). The procedure for an idle and / or inactive UE may then proceed at 202 to receiving (e.g., from a gNB) any higher layer configuration (e.g., via system information and / or RRC signaling) of EPI DCI frequency and / or availability / validity information. For example, this information may be received regarding multiple EPI configuration sets, EPI DCI periodicity, default EPI configuration set, and / or configured availability duration. For example, the information may be scrambled using either a common paging RNTI (e.g., a paging ID) and / or a paging group RNTI (e.g., a group-based ID). The UE may then proceed to determine a current (e.g., active) EPI configuration set based on the received (e.g., latest) EPI DCI at 204. The UE may then perform detection of (e.g., any) EPI DCI occasions according to the active EPI DCI configuration set and blind decoding thereof. The UE may then determine whether the active (e.g., current) EPI configuration set is valid (e.g., expired) at 206. If the active (e.g., current) EPI configuration set is still valid (e.g., not expired), the procedure may continue at 208, in which the UE determines whether there is a lower layer (e.g., DCI) EPI configuration update and / or whether there is a complete or partial overwrite of the active EPI configuration. For example, the UE may be reconfigured by lower layer (e.g., DCI) signaling to update the current active EPI DCI configuration. If there is no lower layer EPI configuration, the procedure may return to detecting and blind decoding EPI DCI occasions according to (eg, using) the active EPI configuration set.If the active (e.g., current) EPI configuration set is no longer valid (e.g., has expired), the UE may proceed to activate a default EPI configuration set (e.g., if a default EPI configuration set is configured) at 210 and attempt to detect and decode any EPI DCI occasions corresponding to the default EPI DCI configuration set. If the active (e.g., current) EPI configuration set is no longer valid (e.g., has expired), the UE may additionally or alternatively proceed to decode any paging DCI at any time, such as when it is assumed or determined that no further EPI DCI occasions are available to be detected at 210. The UE may then again revert to receiving any higher layer configuration (e.g., updates via system information and / or RRC signaling) of EPI DCI frequency and / or availability / validity information (e.g., from the gNB) as described herein.

[0099] The UE may be reconfigured by lower layer (e.g., DCI) signaling to update the currently active EPI DCI configuration. As described herein, the UE may be configured with multiple EPI configuration sets, EPI DCI periodicities, default EPI configuration sets, and / or configuration availability durations. For example, the UE may use lower layer signaling to deactivate the current EPI DCI configuration and / or activate another EPI DCI configuration in any configured EPI configuration set.

[0100] FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary procedure for configuring EPI DCI that may be implemented in a WTRU (e.g., a UE). As shown in FIG. 3, this procedure may be implemented in the UE when the UE is in an inactive mode and / or when the UE is in an idle mode. The procedure for an idle and / or inactive UE may then proceed, at 302, to transmitting multiple (e.g., a minimum required number) consecutive SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences to obtain synchronization (e.g., full synchronization) with the air interface. The procedure for an idle and / or inactive UE may then proceed, at 304, to receiving and / or updating any higher layer configuration of the EPI DCI frequency and / or any corresponding availability / validity information from the network (e.g., a gNB) (e.g., via system information and / or RRC signaling). For example, this information may be received regarding multiple EPI configuration sets, an EPI DCI periodicity, a default EPI configuration set, and / or a configured availability duration. For example, the information may be scrambled using either a common paging RNTI (e.g., a paging ID) and / or a paging group RNTI (e.g., a group-based ID). The UE may then wait until the next paging occasion, at 306. The UE may then determine whether the received (e.g., current) EPI DCI frequency information is valid, at 308. On the condition that the current EPI DCI frequency information is not valid, the UE may then assume that there are no further available EPI DCI occasions and / or activate a default EPI configuration set, at 310. For example, the UE may activate a default EPI configuration set on the condition that the default EPI configuration set was previously configured (e.g., pre-configured). The UE may then proceed to perform blind decoding of any paging DCI of the paging occasion (e.g., without sleeping). On the condition that the UE determines that the UE is being paged (e.g., based on the blind decoding result), a RACH procedure may be triggered at (e.g., by) the UE.Otherwise, provided that it is determined that the UE will not be paged, the UE may be triggered to sleep until the next paging occasion, at 312 .

[0101] In FIG. 3 , provided that the current EPI DCI frequency information is determined to be valid at 308, the UE may proceed to perform detection of multiple (e.g., a minimum required number) consecutive SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences before any (e.g., each) paging occasion. The UE may also perform monitoring and blind decoding of any indicated EPI DCI occasions at 314. The monitoring and blind decoding may be performed for the length of the indicated EPI availability duration. The UE may then determine at 316 whether the EPI indication is true. For example, the presence of EPI DCI information resulting from the blind decoding may indicate to the UE that the UE, the UE group to which the UE belongs, and / or all idle and / or inactive UEs are being paged. For example, the presence of EPI DCI information resulting from the blind decoding may indicate to the UE that the UE, the UE group to which the UE belongs, and / or all idle and / or inactive UEs are being paged.

[0102] On the condition that the EPI indication is not true (e.g., not present), the UE may proceed to determine whether any lower layer (e.g., DCI) EPI configuration updates have been received (e.g., by DCI signaling) at 318. The UE may also determine whether the lower layer EPI configuration updates are a full or partial override (e.g., of any of the higher layer configurations) of the EPI frequency indication and / or EPI DCI availability / validity information. On the condition that a lower layer (e.g., DCI) EPI configuration update has not been received by the UE, the procedure may wait (e.g., sleep) until the next paging occasion. On the condition that a lower layer (e.g., DCI) EPI configuration update has been received, the UE may proceed to update any of the higher and / or lower layer configurations of the EPI DCI frequency information and / or corresponding validity / availability information (e.g., a full or partial override of the previous configuration).

[0103] On the condition that the EPI indication is true (e.g., present), the UE may proceed to perform blind decoding of any paging DCI of the paging occasion (e.g., without sleeping). On the condition that the UE determines (e.g., based on the blind decoding result) that the UE is being paged, a RACH procedure may be triggered in (e.g., by) the UE. Otherwise, on the condition that it determines that the UE is not being paged, the UE may be triggered to sleep until the next paging occasion.

[0104] The UE may be reconfigured by lower layer (e.g., DCI) signaling to update the currently active EPI DCI configuration. For example, the UE may use lower layer signaling to deactivate and / or activate an EPI DCI configuration among any configured EPI configuration set.

[0105] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may transmit (e.g., to the RAN) multiple (e.g., a minimum required number) consecutive SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences to fully synchronize with the air interface. Such signaling is in the uplink direction and may be included (e.g., indicated) in an uplink control channel and / or an uplink data channel during, but not limited to, cell camping, connection establishment and / or connection resumption, and / or random access of the air interface.

[0106] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may receive one or more EPI DCI configurations. For example, the UE may be configured by higher layer (e.g., SIB, RRC) and / or lower layer (e.g., DCI) configuration of EPI DCI frequency information and / or corresponding validity / availability information from a network (e.g., gNB) in the downlink direction.

[0107] The EPI frequency information can indicate to idle and / or inactive UEs when to expect to monitor and blindly decode EPI DCI transmissions compared to SSB burst groups prior to each single paging occasion and / or set of paging occasions. As one example, multiple EPI configuration sets can be predefined, such as where each set suggests a particular DCI EPI frequency and / or periodicity prior to each paging occasion. A UE can be configured with an EPI DCI configuration set and / or a default set to activate and / or expect (e.g., for the next paging occasion). As another example, a vector or series of bits of a size corresponding to the number of SSB bursts / sequences to monitor for EPI DCI prior to a paging occasion can be indicated to the UE.

[0108] The validity / availability information can indicate to the UE how long the EPI frequency information (e.g., used in the UE) should be valid for. The validity / availability information can be indicated in terms of the number of future paging occasions, paging frames, system frame numbers, and / or expiration times.

[0109] For example, the EPI DCI, EPI DCI frequency information, and / or corresponding validity / availability information (or an indication thereof) may be scrambled by a paging group-specific RNTI, such that idle and / or inactive UEs may be able to blindly decode such DCI (e.g., without a CRC error) provided (e.g., only) that the scrambled RNTI is the same as the UE's configured paging group. An advantage of such an arrangement is that UEs that fail to decode the EPI DCI information may assume (e.g., determine) that they and / or the paging group UE are not being paged. The UE may then enter deep sleep and may not blindly decode the paging DCI. However, such an arrangement may require additional bits of the EPI DCI to indicate the paging group information.

[0110] As another example, the EPI DCI, EPI DCI frequency information, and / or corresponding validity / availability information (or an indication thereof) may be scrambled with the common paging RNTI so that idle and / or inactive UEs may be able to decode the EPI DCI. An advantage of this configuration is that the size of the EPI DCI is smaller because EPI DCI group information may not be required. In some cases, this arrangement may lead to an increase in the number of false paging alarms.

[0111] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may detect single and / or multiple SSB bursts / downlink sequences until they are fully synchronized with the network.

[0112] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may expect (e.g., determine) to decode paging-common and / or paging-group-specific EPI DCI occasions according to indicated EPI frequency information over an availability period and / or timer, as may be signaled by higher and / or lower layer configurations.

[0113] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs can blind decode available EPI DCI occasions and identify whether they or their respective paging groups are being paged.

[0114] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may skip detecting and / or sleep for some portions of the paging DCI, such as during paging occasions, based on the indicated EPI DCI.

[0115] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may be reconfigured (e.g., may receive another EPI DCI configuration), such as by a lower layer DCI signaling procedure, which may preemptively update and / or overwrite a previous higher layer configuration of EPI frequency indication and / or EPI DCI availability.

[0116] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may allow the availability of a previous EPI DCI frequency configuration to expire. The UE may assume (e.g., determine) that no further EPI DCI occasions are available and / or revert to legacy paging procedures. The UE may then perform monitoring and / or detection for SSB and paging DCI occasions (e.g., without EPI DCI monitoring) before each paging occasion. For example, the UE may be pre-configured to expect (e.g., activate) a default EPI DCI configuration set. The UE may proceed to detect any EPI DCI occasions following the default EPI configuration set.

[0117] On the network side, a network access point (NAP) (e.g., a gNB) can perform procedures to configure idle and / or inactive UEs with EPI information as described herein. In certain representative embodiments, the NAP (e.g., a gNB) can receive from the idle and / or inactive UEs a number (e.g., a UE-specific minimum required number) of SSB bursts and / or sequences required for the UE to synchronize (e.g., fully synchronize) with the network before (e.g., any or each) paging occasion.

[0118] In certain representative embodiments, a NAP (e.g., a gNB) may transmit EPI frequency information in the downlink direction (e.g., to one or more UEs). For example, the EPI frequency information may be transmitted regarding (e.g., including and / or indicating) multiple EPI configuration sets with various (e.g., different) EPI frequencies and / or periodicities, a default EPI configuration set, and / or an indication of the current active EPI configuration set for any inactive and / or idle mode UEs. The EPI frequency information may be transmitted via higher layer signaling, such as, but not limited to, system information or RRC configuration, or by lower layer signaling, such as DCI-based signaling.

[0119] For example, the EPI configuration set may indicate or include an EPI DCI frequency and / or periodicity prior to (e.g., any or each) paging occasion. A particular EPI DCI frequency may indicate or suggest a vector and / or series of bits of a size corresponding to the number of SSB bursts / sequences to be monitored for EPI DCI prior to a paging occasion. For example, an EPI frequency indication of {circumflex over (E)} indicates that the gNB shall be transmitting DCI for EPI immediately after the third and first SSBs / sequences prior to each paging occasion.

[0120] In certain representative embodiments, a NAP (e.g., a gNB) may transmit an EPI DCI validity / availability indication to any idle and / or inactive mode UE. Such information may be transmitted by higher layer signaling, such as, but not limited to, system information or RRC configuration, and / or by lower layer signaling, such as DCI-based signaling. The validity / availability information may indicate a validity period for the current EPI DCI information. The validity period may be configured and / or determined with respect to any of a number of consecutive paging occasions, paging frames, system frame numbers, and / or an expiration timer.

[0121] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring early paging information (EPI) downlink control information (DCI) that may be implemented in a RAN (e.g., a gNB). As shown in FIG. 4, the procedure may begin at 402 with the RAN (e.g., a gNB) receiving multiple (e.g., a minimum required number) consecutive SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences prior to (e.g., any or each) paging occasion. For example, the RAN may receive this information from any idle and / or inactive UEs, and this information may be UE-specific. The RAN can then proceed at 404 to transmit EPI frequency information in the downlink direction (e.g., to any one or more UEs) and / or enable or disable (e.g., activate or deactivate) any previously configured EPI frequency information, such as by using system information, RRC configuration, and / or DCI-based signaling. For example, the EPI frequency information may be transmitted regarding (e.g., including and / or indicating) multiple EPI configuration sets with various (e.g., different) EPI frequencies and / or periodicities, a default EPI configuration set, and / or an indication of a current active EPI configuration set for any inactive and / or idle mode UEs. The RAN may also perform transmission of an EPI DCI validity / availability indication in the downlink direction (e.g., to any one or more UEs), such as by using system information, RRC configuration, and / or DCI-based signaling, at 406. The RAN may then proceed to determine whether the EPI DCI configuration set of any UE needs to be updated, at 408. For example, the RAN may decide to update the (e.g., active and / or default) EPI DCI configuration set of any UE based on either paging performance metrics and / or PDCCH / CORESET capacity metrics.Provided that any EPI DCI configuration set (e.g., for any UE) does not need to be updated, the procedure of FIG. 4 may terminate (e.g., until the next UE-specific number of SSBs and / or sequences are received). Provided that any EPI DCI configuration set (e.g., for any UE) is updated and / or reconfigured, the RAN may proceed to send an updated EPI frequency indication and / or an updated EPI validity / availability indication. For example, the updated information may be sent to any UE using a DCI signaling procedure. As another example, the EPI frequency information may be invalidated by the RAN at any time, and the UE may switch (e.g., fall back) to a legacy paging procedure.

[0122] FIG. 5 illustrates a representative EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. FIG. 5 illustrates a representative example of a WTRU operating according to a first set of conditions (e.g., favorable SINR conditions and / or a high-quality UE). In FIG. 5, assume that an EPI frequency indication (e.g., an EPI pattern) of [1,0,0] is configured in an idle and / or inactive UE (e.g., indicating an EPI DCI occasion 504 following the first SSB 502a of a group of three SSB bursts 502a, 502b, 502c prior to a paging occasion 506). Upon detecting a single SSB burst / sequence 502a, a UE operating according to the first set of conditions can fully synchronize with the network after detecting the single SSB burst / sequence 502a. This suggests either a high-SINR UE and / or a high-quality transceiver end of the UE. For example, the network / gNB transmits a single EPI DCI occasion 504 immediately after the first SSB burst 502a before the paging occasion 506. Any location of the EPI can be indicated to the UE by a proposed EPI frequency indication (e.g., by higher layer signaling or lower layer signaling). The UE can then expect to blindly decode the DCI associated with the EPI after the indicated SSB burst. Provided there is a true EPI indication (e.g., early paging indication bit = 1), the UE can enter a sleep state (e.g., light sleep) until the paging occasion 506 and then wake up to decode the paging DCI. After waking up, the UE can also decode the paging record 508 (e.g., received on a subsequent PDSCH resource). Provided there is a false EPI indication (e.g., early paging indication bit = 0), the UE may assume that it and / or its paging group are not being paged on the current paging occasion and may enter a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep) until the next paging occasion.However, it should be appreciated that SINR conditions and UE capabilities are variable and it may be advantageous to flexibly provide EPI according to SINR conditions and / or UE capabilities.

[0123] FIG. 6 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary WTRU operating according to a second set of conditions (e.g., low SINR conditions and / or low-quality and / or legacy UEs). In FIG. 6, it is assumed that an EPI frequency indication (e.g., an EPI pattern) of {1,1,0} has been configured in an idle and / or inactive UE (e.g., indicating an EPI DCI occasion following first and second SSBs 602a and 602b). In certain cases, it may be necessary for the UE to detect multiple SSBs 602a, 602b, 602c and / or sequences before the EPI DCI can be decoded. As shown in FIG. 6, a UE operating according to the second set of conditions may require multiple (e.g., two) SSB bursts 602a and 602b to be detected so that it can fully synchronize with the network before the paging occasion 606. Because the UE may not be synchronized with the network after detecting the first SSB 602a, the first EPI DCI occasion 604a may not be decoded (indicated by an "X"). After detecting the second SSB 602b, the second EPI DCI occasion 604b may be able to be decoded by the UE as indicated by the EPI procedure described herein. The UE may then expect to blindly decode the DCI associated with the EPI after the second SSB burst 602b. Provided there is a true EPI indication (e.g., early paging indication bit = 1), the UE may enter a sleep state (e.g., light sleep) until the paging occasion 606 and then wake up to decode the paging DCI. After waking, the UE may also decode the paging record 608 (e.g., received on a subsequent PDSCH resource). Provided there is a false EPI indication (e.g., early paging indication bit = 0), the UE may assume that it and / or its paging group are not being paged on the current paging occasion and may enter a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep) until the next paging occasion.Here, the representative UE in FIG. 6 can enter the sleep state for a shorter time than the representative UE in FIG.

[0124] Provided that the DCI EPI occasion is not repeated after the second SSB burst, the UE may assume the worst case scenario (e.g., determine that it is being paged). For example, the UE may wake up to decode the paging DCI as well as the paging record. This behavior may significantly increase the occurrence of false paging alarms; one or more UEs may assume that they will be paged due to the absence of the EPI DCI, wake up for the paging occasion, and decode the paging record. By having the network identify the EPI DCI according to where the UE can decode it, battery performance gains in the UE may be realized and / or false paging alarms may be reduced and / or prevented.

[0125] FIG. 7 shows a representative diagram of communication between a WTRU (e.g., a UE) and a RAN (e.g., a gNB). As described herein, communication in FIG. 7 may begin with a UE in an inactive and / or idle mode at 702. The UE may transmit a number (e.g., a minimum and / or required number) of (e.g., consecutive) SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences to the RAN (e.g., before the next paging occasion) at 704 to achieve synchronization. Thereafter, at 706, the RAN may dynamically configure the UE, such as by transmitting higher layer signaling (e.g., a system information block and / or an RRC message) with one or more EPI DCI configuration sets, an index of a default set, and / or an indication of a currently active EPI DCI configuration set. For example, the RAN may configure one or more idle and / or inactive UEs in this manner. The (e.g., each) idle and / or inactive UE may detect an EPI DCI occasion following the currently activated EPI configuration set. For example, after receiving EPI DCI frequency information and / or EPI DCI validity / availability information at 708, the UE may perform monitoring and blind decoding of any EPI DCI occasions based on the configured EPI DCI frequency information at 710. The UE may monitor and / or blind decode EPI DCI occasions for a length of time (e.g., duration) based on the validity / availability information. Thereafter, an idle and / or inactive UE may be dynamically reconfigured at 712 to update any information in the EPI DCI configuration set at 714, such as by transmitting faster lower layer signaling, such as DCI signaling. After the update (e.g., reconfiguration), the UE may determine whether the active EPI DCI configuration has expired. At 716, on the condition that the active EPI DCI configuration has expired, a default EPI DCI configuration set may be activated, assuming that a default EPI DCI configuration set was configured in the UE.As another example, provided that the active EPI DCI configuration has expired, the UE may switch to always monitoring SSBs (e.g., monitoring each SSB) and decoding (e.g., each) paging DCI.

[0126] Signaling extensions for EPI delivery In certain representative embodiments, signaling extensions may be applied in the uplink direction from the UE to the RAN. For example, the UE may transmit multiple (e.g., a minimum and / or required number) (e.g., consecutive) SSB bursts and / or downlink sequence detections in the uplink direction (e.g., to the gNB) prior to a paging occasion. The number of detected SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences may be a UE-specific parameter and / or may depend on the UE's transceiver design (e.g., capabilities) and / or SINR conditions. In high interference conditions, this parameter may suggest a worst-case scenario (e.g., the UE will need to detect each SSB for synchronization purposes). For example, the number of detections may be transmitted via PUSCH and / or PUCCH transmissions and / or may be included as an information element as part of the RRCSetupRequest message and / or RRCResumeRequest message.

[0127] In certain representative embodiments, signaling extensions may be applied in the downlink direction from the RAN to the UE. For example, the UE may receive EPI information that may include any of: (1) one or more EPI DCI configuration sets; (2) an index of a default EPI configuration set; and / or (3) an indication of the current EPI set (e.g., to be active at least for the next paging occasion). Each EPI set may be represented as a vector of a size corresponding to the number of SSB bursts to be monitored for possible (e.g., presence / absence) EPIs before the paging occasion. For example, an EPI frequency vector of {circumflex over (E)} indicates that the RAN (e.g., gNB) shall or may be transmitting an EPI DCI after (e.g., immediately after) the first and third SSBs before the paging occasion. Other example EPI frequency vectors are shown in Figures 5 and 6.

[0128] As another example, the validity / availability of the current EPI frequency configuration set may be indicated to the UE as any of the following: the number of consecutive paging occasions, the number of paging frames, the system frame number, and / or a timer value (e.g., in milliseconds). The validity / availability information may be transmitted via a PBCH, PDCCH, or PDSCH transmission. The validity / availability information may be included as part of any of the following: (1) system information (e.g., SIB1), (2) RRC Reconfiguration message, (3) RRC Connection Release message, (4) RRC Suspend Indication message, (5) EPI DCI, and / or (6) Paging DCI (e.g., which may apply to the next paging occasion or a group-specific paging occasion for a particular PO), where the number of paging occasions may be indicated, e.g., by a validity IE.

[0129] Paging-specific reference signaling procedures Semi-static idle and / or inactive reference signal procedures One or more patterns of idle and / or inactive RSs can be predefined, where the network (e.g., gNB) can semi-statically adapt the overhead from transmitting idle and / or inactive RSs (e.g., PDSCH capacity of default / paging BWP) and the paging and / or power saving performance of any UE (e.g., idle and / or inactive UE). Improved battery consumption can be achieved by any idle and / or inactive UE by monitoring paging-specific RS occasions. Monitoring paging-specific RS occasions (e.g., instead of SSB bursts) can allow for a larger sleep period before each paging occasion.

[0130] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may receive any of the following higher and / or lower layer configurations: (1) the existence of idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RSs; (2) patterns (e.g., indices) of idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RS occasions; (3) idle and / or inactive RS-specific validity / availability information (e.g., duration) of idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RSs; and / or (4) EPI DCI frequencies.

[0131] For example, a UE may receive an indication of the presence of (e.g., guaranteed) idle and / or inactive paging-specific RSs in the downlink direction. Such indication may be received as part of broadcast system information, lower layer signaling and / or higher layer signaling, and / or using a MAC Control Element (CE), such as when the UE was last connected to the network.

[0132] For example, the UE may receive a pattern indication (e.g., index) of idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RS occasions in the downlink direction from multiple predefined configuration sets of idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RSs. The particular pattern indication may identify a predefined set of timing and / or frequency resources / occasions for the idle and / or inactive RS occasions prior to (e.g., each) paging occasion. As another example, the UE may receive a dynamic resource set (e.g., time and / or frequency resources) for the idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RSs.

[0133] For example, the UE may receive idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RS-specific validity / availability information (e.g., duration) for idle and / or inactive RSs in the downlink direction. The validity / availability information may be indicated (e.g., indicated) to the UE and may relate to any of some future paging occasion paging frame, system frame number, and / or expiration timer (e.g., in milliseconds).

[0134] For example, the UE may receive an EPI DCI frequency indication, which may correspond to the last updated idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RS indication pattern and / or resource set.

[0135] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may implement skipping detection of all or part of an SSB burst prior to each paging occasion, such as after determining idle and / or inactive RS availability. For example, the UE may enter a sleep state for all or part of an SSB burst prior to each paging occasion, such as after determining idle and / or inactive RS availability.

[0136] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may perform detection and synchronization with available idle and / or inactive (eg, paging-specific) RSs.

[0137] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may perform monitoring and / or blind decoding of EPI DCI occasions, eg, according to idle and / or inactive RS-specific EPI frequency information.

[0138] In certain representative embodiments, such as upon expiration of a validity / availability duration, an idle and / or inactive UE may determine that no further idle and / or inactive RSs are available and may switch to detecting any (e.g., each) SSB burst and paging DCI. As another example, given a default, the idle and / or inactive UE may activate a default idle and / or inactive RS configuration set and continue monitoring and blind detection using the default idle and / or inactive RS configuration set.

[0139] Dynamic Idle and / or Inactive Reference Signal Procedures The network (e.g., gNB) can signal any available connected mode CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS ​​occasions with any idle and / or inactive UEs. The connected mode CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS ​​occasions can be signaled along with any corresponding numerology and / or any QCL configuration of the connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS). The idle and / or inactive UEs can determine whether to process the available connected mode CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS, respectively, prior to the paging occasion. The procedure for using CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS ​​can reduce and / or eliminate radio overhead associated with transmitting paging-specific (e.g., idle and / or inactive-specific) RSs.

[0140] Hybrid idle and / or inactive reference signals A network (e.g., a gNB) can dynamically switch between semi-static (e.g., paging-specific) RS procedures and dynamic RS procedures. The hybrid procedure scheme can provide additional radio flexibility, such as in cases where connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS) occasions are not available at the time of each paging occasion. Idle and / or inactive UEs can be informed of available paging RS types and information.

[0141] As described herein, idle and / or inactive RSs may include any paging-specific RSs and / or connected mode RSs (eg, CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs).

[0142] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may receive one or more of the following higher layer and / or lower layer configurations: (1) presence of connected mode RS, (2) resource sets (e.g., resource set information) for any available connected mode RS, (3) numerology information, (4) QCL information, (5) validity / availability information, and / or (6) EPI DCI frequency.

[0143] For example, the UE may receive an indication of the presence of connected mode RSs (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs) in the downlink direction. Such an indication may be received as part of broadcast system information, lower layer signaling, and / or higher layer signaling, and / or using MAC CE.

[0144] For example, a UE may receive resource sets (e.g., time and / or frequency domain resources) for any available connected mode RSs (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs). Such information may be provided as a standardized resource set formulation for connected mode UEs and may be dynamically relayed (e.g., transmitted) to any idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0145] For example, a UE may receive numerology information for connected mode RSs (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs) that may be available for an idle and / or inactive mode UE. The numerology may include or indicate a subcarrier configuration. For example, if the numerology configuration of available connected mode RSs may differ from the numerology configuration of a default (e.g., paging) BWP, the UE may determine whether to process multiple signals of different numerologies.

[0146] For example, the UE may receive QCL information for connected mode RSs (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs) that may be available for idle and / or inactive mode UEs. For example, if the QCL settings of any available connected mode RSs may differ from the QCL configuration of the default (e.g., paging) BWP, the UE may determine whether to process multiple signals with different QCL configurations.

[0147] For example, the UE may receive a validity / availability duration of an available connected mode RS in the downlink direction. The connected mode validity / availability duration may be indicated (e.g., indicated) to the UE and may be given in terms of either some future paging occasion paging frame, a system frame number, and / or an expiration timer (e.g., in milliseconds).

[0148] For example, the UE may receive an EPI DCI frequency indication, which may correspond to connected mode available connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS and / or other RS) occasions, and / or may be shared with any inactive and / or idle mode UEs.

[0149] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may implement skipping detection of all or part of an SSB burst prior to each paging occasion, such as after determining idle and / or inactive RS availability. For example, the UE may enter a sleep state for all or part of an SSB burst prior to each paging occasion, such as after determining idle and / or inactive RS availability.

[0150] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may perform detection and synchronization (e.g., fully or partially) with any available connected mode RS occasions, and / or any idle and / or inactive RS occasions, and / or any portion of an SSB burst.

[0151] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may perform monitoring and / or blind decoding of various indicated occasions of EPI DCIs according to idle and / or inactive RS-specific EPI and / or connected mode EPI frequency information, etc.

[0152] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may be dynamically reconfigured, such as by higher and / or lower layer signaling, for the hybrid presence of idle and / or inactive-specific RS occasions and connected mode-specific RS occasions prior to any paging occasion and / or set of paging occasions. For example, the UE may be informed of the type of each available RS occasion for paging (e.g., paging-specific RS or connected mode shared RS). Sending RS type information may be used to indicate to the UE that any connected mode RS is configured with a different numerology and / or QCL setting than the paging BWP. In certain representative embodiments, the UE may decide to skip processing of RS occasions different from the paging BWP and / or count for their presence for synchronization prior to each paging occasion. For example, the RAN may provision (e.g., transmit) shared RSs for use in signaling EPI DCI to idle and / or inactive UEs, and any provided RS may have a different numerology configuration than the paging BWP. Based on this difference, the UE may skip processing the shared RS and / or may assume that the shared RS is not transmitted by the RAN (e.g., fall back to legacy paging procedures and / or monitor for each SSB burst). As another example, the UE may determine that there is a numerology difference but that the shared RS can be processed, and may use the shared RS to monitor EPI DCI occasions rather than skip processing the shared RS.

[0153] In certain representative embodiments, an idle and / or inactive UE may determine (e.g., assume) that any configured idle-specific RS and / or any connected-mode-specific RS occasions are no longer available when the corresponding validity / availability indication expires. Provided that the validity / availability information expires, the UE may switch to detecting any (e.g., each) SSB burst and paging DCI before each paging occasion. As another example, given a default, an idle and / or inactive UE may activate a default idle and / or inactive RS configuration set and proceed with monitoring and blind detection using the default idle and / or inactive RS configuration set.

[0154] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring paging-specific reference signals (RSs) that may be implemented in a WTRU. This procedure may be performed by an inactive and / or idle UE. As shown in FIG. 8, the UE may perform 802 receiving any higher layer configuration and / or lower layer configuration of any connected mode RSs and / or paging-specific RSs. The UE may then wait 804 until the next paging occasion. The UE may then determine 806 whether the active (e.g., current) RS configuration is valid. If the active (e.g., current) RS configuration is not valid, the UE may then assume that there are no further available paging-assisted RS occasions and / or activate a default RS configuration 810. For example, the UE may activate a default RS configuration provided that the default RS configuration was previously configured (e.g., pre-configured). The UE may then proceed to monitor and / or perform blind decoding of any paging DCI for the paging occasion (e.g., without sleeping) 812. A RACH procedure may be triggered at (e.g., by) the UE on condition that the UE determines that it is being paged (e.g., based on a blind decoding result). Otherwise, on condition that it determines that it is not being paged, the UE may be triggered to sleep until the next paging occasion.

[0155] 8, provided that the active (e.g., current) RS configuration is valid at 806, the UE may proceed to perform skipping detection of all or some of the SSB bursts prior to each paging occasion, such as after determining idle and / or inactive RS availability, at 814. The UE may perform detection of any connected mode RS and / or paging-specific RS (e.g., for available occasions) at 816. The UE may also proceed to perform monitoring and blind decoding of any indicated EPI DCI occasions at 818. Monitoring and blind decoding of any indicated EPI DCI occasions. Monitoring and blind decoding may be performed for any (e.g., each) connected mode RS and / or paging-specific RS.

[0156] The procedure may continue at 820 with the UE determining whether any RS configuration updates (e.g., lower layer configuration updates, such as via DCI signaling) have been received. If not, the UE may proceed to wait (e.g., sleep) until the next paging occasion by returning to 804. For example, the RS configuration update may deactivate and / or activate another RS ​​configuration.

[0157] In certain representative embodiments, a RAN (e.g., a gNB) may transmit information related to either connected mode RS and / or paging-specific RS configurations as IEs in one or more information objects to any idle and / or inactive UEs (e.g., in the downlink direction). For example, the information may be transmitted in a single configuration block (e.g., SIB1), an EPI DCI, a paging DCI, etc.

[0158] For example, the RAN may send any paging-specific RS presence indication, which may be sent by slower, higher layer signaling such as SIB and RRC, or faster, lower layer signaling such as DCI.

[0159] For example, the RAN may transmit a pattern indication and / or a time / frequency resource set for any paging-specific RS.

[0160] For example, the RAN may transmit corresponding validity and / or availability information for any paging-specific RS, where such information may be given in terms of a specific number of paging occasions, a number of paging frames, a system frame number, a radio slot, and / or an expiration timer.

[0161] For example, the RAN may transmit a group-specific EPI DCI frequency indication, which may be in accordance with an indicated paging-specific RS pattern and / or paging-specific RS resource set.

[0162] For example, the RAN may send a presence indication of any connected mode RS that may be shared and / or available for any inactive and / or idle mode UE. Such indication may be sent by slower, higher layer signaling such as SIB and RRC, or by faster, lower layer signaling such as DCI.

[0163] For example, the RAN may transmit a resource set for the connected mode RS to any inactive and / or idle mode UEs.

[0164] For example, the RAN may transmit numerology and / or QCL information of connected mode RSs that should be shared and / or available to any inactive and / or idle mode UEs.

[0165] For example, the RAN may send an indication of availability / availability of connected mode RSs that should be shared and / or available to any inactive and / or idle mode UEs.

[0166] For example, the RAN may transmit the group-specific EPI DCI frequency following the indicated connected mode RS resource set.

[0167] FIG. 9 illustrates a representative EPI transmission scheme using RS for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. FIG. 9 illustrates a representative example of a WTRU configured with an RS configuration that may include three idle and / or inactive RS occasions 902 and time and / or frequency resources associated with the RS occasions 902. The RS configuration may also be associated with an EPI frequency (e.g., an EPI pattern) of [1,1,1]. The associated EPI frequency indication may be configured such that there is an EPI DCI opportunity 904 transmitted after each idle and / or inactive RS occasion 902. This may achieve reliable paging power saving gains in idle and / or inactive UEs. In FIG. 9, idle and / or inactive UEs may skip any (e.g., all) SSB burst occasions 906 prior to the paging occasion 908. For example, the UE may remain in a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep 910 for the SSB duration and / or until the first RS occasion indicated by the EPI frequency). The UE may wake from a sleep state prior to the paging occasion 908 and may monitor and detect idle and / or inactive RSs for any of the configured RS occasions. Following detection of the idle and / or inactive RS 902, the UE may proceed to blindly decode the EPI DCI transmission 904 as may be described herein. Provided there is a true EPI indication (e.g., early paging indication bit = 1), the UE may enter a sleep state (e.g., light sleep) until the paging occasion 506 and then wake to decode the paging DCI. After waking, the UE may also decode the paging record 912 (e.g., received on a subsequent PDSCH resource). Such a paging scheme may improve power consumption performance at the UE.As another example, a UE may receive information indicating the offset of idle and / or inactive RS occasions from paging occasions in addition to, or as an alternative to, explicit time and / or frequency resources associated with RS occasions.

[0168] FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme using RS for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. FIG. 10 illustrates a representative example of a WTRU configured with an RS configuration that may include three RS occasions 1002 (e.g., idle and / or inactive RS occasions) and time and / or frequency resources associated with the RS occasions 1002. The transmission and processing associated with the scheme illustrated in FIG. 10 may provide further flexibility. The RAN (e.g., gNB) may initially configure an idle and / or inactive UE with a paging-specific RS set of three RS occasions 1002 and the corresponding EPI DCI frequency (e.g., [1,0,1]) and availability / validity information in the EPI 1004. The EPI 1004 may indicate a paging in a paging occasion (PO) 1006 associated with a paging record 1008. For example, following an increase in traffic volume on a paging BWP, the RAN may dynamically and / or preemptively configure (e.g., reconfigure, update, or activate) any idle and / or inactive UEs to another RS ​​pattern with fewer available RS occasions 1010 and / or fewer EPI DCI frequencies. The RAN may send a release indication in the paging DCI associated with the first paging occasion 1006 of FIG. 10. As another example, the RAN may indicate to the UE to dynamically and / or preemptively revert to SSB-based paging synchronization; thus, the RAN may not transmit any idle and / or inactive RSs over the next paging occasion 1014 or set of paging occasions, and the UE may not monitor any idle and / or inactive RSs. The new (e.g., other RS ​​pattern) configuration may be forward-looking, and the UE may expect the current paging occasion to follow the old (e.g., pre-update) configuration for paging stability. The EPI 1012 may indicate a page in the PO 1014 associated with the paging record 101016.In certain representative embodiments, the network may have the option to pre-define RS pattern configurations and may dynamically indicate to any UE to revert to a typical (e.g., legacy) SSB-based paging procedure and / or to change (e.g., relax) the time and / or frequency resources for idle and / or inactive RSs, such as to control (e.g., always control) the PDSCH capacity of the paging BWP.

[0169] 11 illustrates an exemplary procedure for configuring RS information that may be implemented in a WTRU. The procedure of FIG. 11 may begin in any idle and / or inactive UE, where the UE may receive and / or update one or more higher layer configurations (e.g., via system information and / or RRC signaling) of one or more predefined idle and / or inactive RS configuration sets for idle and / or inactive RSs, any corresponding validity / availability information (e.g., duration), and any idle and / or inactive RS EPI DCI frequency information at 1102. The UE may detect any idle RS occasions in the current active RS configuration set at 1104 and proceed to blindly decode any signaled EPI DCI occasions associated therewith. For example, monitoring and / or blind decoding may be performed during an indicated validity period. At 1106, on the condition that the active idle and / or inactive RS configuration set is no longer valid (e.g., has expired), the UE may proceed to use (e.g., activate) a default RS configuration set at 1108 and perform monitoring and blind decoding of any RS occasions according to the default RS configuration set, and / or the UE may assume that no further idle and / or inactive RS occasions are available. On the condition that the active idle and / or inactive RS configuration set is valid (e.g., has not expired), the idle and / or inactive UE may receive a configuration update (e.g., reconfigured by lower layer (DCI) signaling) at 1110 to update the active idle-RS configuration set. For example, the configuration update may be a complete or partial overwrite of either the idle and / or inactive RS configuration set. On the condition that a configuration update is not received, the procedure may continue with the UE performing detection and decoding as described herein using the active RS configuration set.Provided that a configuration update is received, the UE may proceed to update (e.g., partially or completely overwrite) the higher layer RS ​​configuration set and / or any associated information before continuing to perform detection and decoding as described herein using the active RS configuration set.

[0170] 12 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. For example, an idle and / or inactive UE may require at least three consecutive SSBs 1202 to fully synchronize with the air interface before the paging occasion. For the first paging occasion 1204, there may be no CSI-RS transmission available for connected mode UEs, and the idle and / or inactive UEs use (e.g., rely on) the SSB burst 1202 prior to the paging occasion 1204 to synchronize or resynchronize with the air interface. Here, the idle and / or inactive UEs wake up for at least three SSB periods. For the second (e.g., upcoming) paging occasion, the RAN (e.g., gNB) may transmit any CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS for (e.g., new) connected mode UEs. The RAN may also preemptively indicate the future presence of any CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS transmissions that may be utilized by inactive and / or idle UEs over the next paging occasion 1206. The EPI 1208 may be transmitted using a first periodicity prior to the paging occasion 1204 associated with the paging record 1210.

[0171] As shown in FIG. 12, a RAN (e.g., a gNB) may transmit a paging DCI at the first paging occasion 1204. The paging DCI may include information indicating to the UE to activate an idle and / or inactive RS configuration, as described herein. For example, the RAN may transmit information indicating any of idle and / or inactive RS (e.g., connected mode CSI-RS and / or TRS) availability, numerology setting, QCL setting, and / or corresponding EPI DCI frequency indicator. In FIG. 12, for purposes of illustration, it is assumed that there are (e.g., only) two connected mode CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS occasions indicated as available. For example, a particular UE (e.g., a UE experiencing poor SINR conditions) may require at least three downlink sequences for downlink synchronization before paging DCI detection. Thus, an idle and / or inactive UE can wake up from a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep 1212) for (e.g., only) one SSB burst 1202 and two consecutive connected mode CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS occasions 1214. As can be seen from Figure 12, the wake-up time period is clearly reduced compared to legacy SSB-based paging synchronization. In Figure 12, the UE can decode an EPI 1208 transmitted along with the connected mode CSI-RS, TRS, and / or RS occasion 1214. The EPI 1208 can indicate whether the UE is being paged on the paging occasion 1206 associated with a paging record 1216.

[0172] 13 shows another representative diagram for communication between a WTRU and a RAN. As shown in FIG. 13, communication is shown to begin with the WTRU 102 (e.g., UE) transitioning to an RRC idle and / or inactive mode at 1302. The WTRU 102 can then proceed to transmit a portion (e.g., a minimum and / or required number) of (e.g., consecutive) SSB bursts and / or downlink sequences to obtain full synchronization (otherwise referred to herein as synchronization) with the RAN 113 (e.g., gNB 180) at 1304. The RAN can transmit one or more higher layer RS ​​configurations to the UE indicating that idle and / or inactive RSs are not available (e.g., no paging-specific RSs will be transmitted for the duration of the validity / availability information for the active configuration, etc.). The idle and / or inactive UE can then proceed to perform detection for the n SSBs at 1308 before each paging occasion and can always decode the paging DCI for each paging occasion. After some time, the RAN may send a lower layer configuration update (e.g., an EPI DCI frequency information update and / or a validity / availability information update) at 1310. The configuration update may indicate that one or more idle and / or inactive RSs are available (e.g., to be transmitted for at least the next paging occasion). For example, the lower layer configuration update may be received by DCI signaling and may indicate any of the presence of connected mode RSs, corresponding numerology information, corresponding QCL information, connected mode RS EPI DCI frequency information, and / or respective validity / availability. Any idle and / or inactive UEs may then proceed to perform connected mode paging RS detection on the signaled resource set prior to each paging occasion.

[0173] As shown in FIG. 13, the UE may proceed to perform detection for idle and / or inactive RSs, such as connected mode paging RSs, at 1312 using time and / or frequency resources that may have been provided in either higher or lower layer configurations. The UE may then attempt blind decoding on EPI DCI information (e.g., following the detected and / or inactive RSs) at 1314 to make an early determination as to whether the UE will be paged. For example, blind decoding may be performed on the first available EPI DCI occasion after the UE synchronizes with the RAN. The blind decoding may use signaled connected mode RS EPI DCI frequency information. In certain representative embodiments, one or more idle and / or inactive UEs may be reconfigured by lower layer DCI signaling with a hybrid set of idle RS availability and connected RS availability.

[0174] If the UE determines, based on the EPI DCI information, that it or its paging group is paged, at 1316, the UE may proceed to decode the paging DCI (e.g., transmitted during the paging occasion). If the UE determines that it or its paging group is not paged, the UE may enter a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep) as shown in FIG. 12, which may lead to improved battery consumption in the UE, as described herein. When the availability of the idle and / or inactive RS configuration expires, the UE may assume, at 1318, that no further idle and / or inactive RSs (e.g., connected mode RSs) are available. Additionally or alternatively, when the availability of the idle and / or inactive RS configuration expires, the UE may switch to detecting idle and / or inactive RS (e.g., paging-specific RS) occasions belonging to a default idle and / or inactive RS configuration set (e.g., a default idle RS configuration set).

[0175] In certain representative embodiments, a UE may switch between semi-static (e.g., dedicated) idle and / or inactive RS transmission procedures and connected mode CSI-RS, TRS and / or RS procedures (e.g., sharing connected mode CSI-RS, TRS and / or RS transmissions with any idle and / or inactive UEs). In certain representative embodiments, a UE may switch between semi-static (e.g., dedicated) idle and / or inactive RS paging procedures, connected mode CSI-RS, TRS and / or RS paging procedures (e.g., sharing connected mode CSI-RS, TRS and / or RS transmissions with any idle and / or inactive UEs), and / or legacy SSB-based paging procedures, as described herein. For example, the network (e.g., gNB) may trigger a switch (e.g., dynamic switch) between such procedures in any idle and / or inactive UE using higher layer signaling and / or lower layer signaling and / or by making idle and / or inactive RS transmissions available to any idle and / or inactive UE. An advantage of such a switch may be to provide extended sleep state durations for idle and / or inactive UEs, which may improve battery consumption in the idle and / or inactive UEs. Another advantage of such a switch may be to dynamically control channel capacity by controlling the presence of (e.g., dedicated) idle and / or inactive RSs.

[0176] 14 illustrates another exemplary EPI transmission scheme for paging occasions that may be implemented in a WTRU. As shown in FIG. 14, the RAN 113 may configure idle and / or inactive UEs to detect any connected mode RS 1402 (e.g., the CSI-RS in FIG. 14 at configured time and / or frequency locations) in some (e.g., three) RS occasions preceding the first EPI DCI transmission 1404 for the first paging occasion 1406 associated with the first paging record 1408. For example, the previously available connected mode RS 1402 may not all be made available for the next (e.g., second) paging occasion 1410 associated with the second paging record 1412, such as when one or more connected UEs have terminated communication with the RAN. To achieve power saving gains in any idle and / or inactive UEs, the RAN may preemptively configure and / or indicate in the paging DCI of the first paging occasion 1406 that any idle and / or inactive UEs switch to utilizing the combined presence of any remaining connected mode RSs 1402 (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs) along with some additional (e.g., dedicated) idle and / or inactive RSs 1414 (e.g., paging-specific RSs) prior to the second paging occasion. As can be seen in FIG. 14, the idle and / or inactive UEs may remain in a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep 1416) during the SSB burst 1418 and wake up to perform RS detection during the configured idle and / or inactive RS occasions and connected mode RS occasions that precede the transmission of the EPI DCI 1420 related to the second paging occasion 1410.

[0177] 15 shows another representative diagram of communication between a WTRU 102a in idle and / or inactive mode and a WTRU 102b in connected mode and the RAN 113. As shown in FIG. 15, communication is shown beginning with the WTRU 102a (e.g., a UE) transitioning to RRC idle and / or inactive mode at 1502, after which the idle and / or inactive UE receives higher layer configuration at 1504. For example, the higher layer configuration may configure the idle and / or inactive UE with one or more RS configuration sets, which may include any of idle and / or inactive RS presence information, idle and / or inactive RS pattern information, idle and / or inactive RS availability / validity information, and / or idle and / or inactive RS EPI frequency information. The idle and / or inactive UE may then perform idle and / or inactive RS (e.g., RS sequence) detection on the configured idle and / or inactive RS resources corresponding to the current (e.g., active) RS configuration set at 1506. The idle and / or inactive UEs may proceed to perform blind decoding of the EPI DCI according to the idle and / or inactive RS EPI-frequency information corresponding to the current (e.g., active) RS configuration set at 1508. As shown in FIG. 15, the RAN 113 (e.g., gNB 180) may transmit the idle and / or inactive RSs and corresponding EPI DCI at 1510 for the current paging occasion 1512. As described herein, the RAN may then transmit lower layer signaling to the idle and / or inactive UEs that may reconfigure and / or update the UEs with the connected mode RS resource set at 1514 during the current paging occasion 1516. The connected mode RS resource set may include any of a numerology configuration, a QCL configuration, connected mode RS availability / validity information, and / or connected mode RS EPI-frequency information.For example, the connected mode RS resource set may be provided to idle and / or inactive UEs in the paging DCI for the current paging occasion, as shown in FIG. 14. Meanwhile, the WTRU 102b may transition to an RRC connection at 1518, and the RAN may perform one or more PDSCH and / or PDCCH transmissions with one or more connected UEs (e.g., WTRU 102b) at 1520. The RAN may transmit the connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS) occasion resource set to the one or more connected UEs at 1522. For example, some or all of the connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS) occasion resource set may be provided to the idle and / or inactive UEs via lower layers signaling a connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS) configuration set at 1514. After the idle and / or inactive UEs are configured with the connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS) configuration set, the idle and / or inactive UEs may perform connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS sequence) detection 1524 on the configured connected mode RS resources corresponding to the connected mode RS configuration set transmitted 1526. The idle and / or inactive UEs may proceed to perform blind decoding 1528 of the EPI DCI transmitted 1530 according to the connected mode RS EPI frequency information (e.g., EPI pattern) corresponding to the current (e.g., active) RS configuration set. As shown in FIG. 15, the RAN (e.g., gNB) may transmit a connected mode RS for the current paging occasion. The connected mode RS transmission (e.g., CSI-RS) may be received by both connected and idle and / or inactive UEs prior to the current (e.g., third) paging occasion 1532.

[0178] In certain representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may perform detection for connected mode RSs, as shown in Figure 15. In certain other representative embodiments, idle and / or inactive UEs may perform detection for connected mode RSs in addition to the idle and / or inactive (e.g., paging-specific) RSs shown in Figure 14.

[0179] Signaling Extensions for Idle and / or Inactive RSs In certain representative embodiments, the network may transmit any of the following information elements regarding idle RSs and / or inactive RSs to the UE (e.g., from the gNB to the idle UE and / or inactive UE) in the downlink direction:

[0180] For example, the UE may receive information (e.g., an indication) of the presence of (e.g., guaranteed) idle and / or inactive RSs (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RSs). This information may indicate and / or inform the UE that such RS transmissions are guaranteed (e.g., by the gNB). Based on this information, the UE may avoid performing the procedures described herein as if there were no EPI paging RSs for the idle and / or inactive mode UE.

[0181] For example, a UE may receive information (e.g., indexes) of any (e.g., guaranteed) idle and / or inactive RS (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS) patterns. This information may indicate and / or inform the UE to expect a particular pattern of corresponding idle and / or inactive RSs. The pattern may relate to a timing offset (e.g., timing resource) before a paging occasion and / or frequency resource on which the idle and / or inactive RSs are to be transmitted.

[0182] For example, the UE may receive information (e.g., an indication) of the validity / availability of the corresponding idle and / or inactive RS, which may relate to the number of subsequent paging occasions, the number of subsequent paging frames, and / or a timer (e.g., in milliseconds) for which the corresponding idle and / or inactive RS (e.g., pattern) is expected.

[0183] For example, the UE may receive information (e.g., an indication) of idle and / or inactive RS EPI frequencies. The idle and / or inactive RS EPI frequencies may be represented by a vector related to the repetition order of the EPI DCI and may be associated with idle and / or inactive RS (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS) occasions. The idle and / or inactive RS EPI frequencies may be configured for any (e.g., each) idle and / or inactive RS pattern and / or idle and / or inactive RS configuration set, respectively.

[0184] For example, the above may be received in an information element (IE) as part of any of the following: (1) system information (e.g., SIB1 via PBCH), (2) an RRCReconfiguration message (e.g., via PDCCH / PDSCH), (3) an RRCConnectionRelease message (e.g., via PDCCH / PDSCH), (4) an RRC Suspend Indication message (e.g., via PDCCH / PDSCH), (5) an EPI DCI (e.g., via PDCCH channel), and / or (6) a paging DCI, such as that applicable for a specific PO and / or for the next group-specific paging occasion (e.g., via PDCCH channel and / or where the number of paging occasions can be indicated by validity / availability information).

[0185] In certain representative embodiments, the network may transmit any of the following to the UE (e.g., from a gNB to an idle and / or inactive UE) in the downlink direction as information elements regarding sharing connected mode RS (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, and / or other RS):

[0186] For example, the UE may receive information (eg, an indication) of connected mode RS presence for idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0187] For example, the UE may receive information (e.g., an indication) of connected mode RS numerology configuration for idle and / or inactive UEs.

[0188] For example, the UE may receive information (eg, an indication) of a connected mode RS QCL configuration (eg, type).

[0189] For example, the UE may receive information (e.g., an indication) of the availability / validity of the corresponding connected mode RS, which may be in terms of the number of subsequent paging occasions, the number of subsequent paging frames, and / or a timer (e.g., in milliseconds) for which the corresponding connected mode RS is expected.

[0190] For example, the UE may receive information (e.g., an indication) of a connected mode RS EPI frequency. The connected mode EPI frequency may be represented by a vector related to the repetition order of the EPI DCI and may be associated with a connected mode RS occasion. The connected mode RS EPI frequency may be configured for any (e.g., each) connected mode RS pattern and / or connected mode RS configuration set, respectively.

[0191] For example, the above (e.g., as a connected mode RS resource set) may be received in an information element (IE) as part of any of the following: (1) system information (e.g., SIB1 via PBCH), (2) an RRCReconfiguration message (e.g., via PDCCH / PDSCH), (3) an RRCConnectionRelease message (e.g., via PDCCH / PDSCH), (4) an RRC Suspend Indication message (e.g., via PDCCH / PDSCH), (5) an EPI DCI (e.g., via PDCCH channel), and / or (6) a paging DCI, such as that applicable for a specific PO and / or for the next group-specific paging occasion (e.g., via PDCCH channel and / or if the number of paging occasions can be indicated by validity / availability information).

[0192] 16 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an updated EPI configuration and / or an updated RS configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 16. At 1602, the WTRU 102 may proceed to receive (1) information indicating an EPI configuration including a first pattern of EPI downlink control information (DCI) or an EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating an RS configuration including first time / frequency resources for an RS associated with the EPI DCI. After 1602, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC connection release message at 1604. At 1606, the WTRU 102 may proceed to receive (1) information indicating an updated EPI configuration including a second pattern of EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence, and / or (2) information indicating an updated RS configuration including second time / frequency resources for an RS associated with the EPI DCI. After 1606, the WTRU 102 may detect 1608 for one or more transmissions of the RS using the second time / frequency resources before the first paging occasion (PO). The WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the first PO using the one or more detected transmissions of the RS and / or the second pattern at 1610. The WTRU 102 may receive paging DCI during the first PO at 1612, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the first PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU 102.

[0193] In certain representative embodiments, after receiving the RRC connection release message at 1604 and before receiving (1) information indicating an updated EPI configuration and / or (2) information indicating an updated RS configuration at 1606, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of an RS using the first time / frequency resources prior to the second PO (e.g., prior to the first PO at 1608). Further, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the second PO using the one or more detected transmissions of the RS and the first pattern. As an example, the EPI DCI associated with the second PO may include (1) information indicating an updated EPI configuration and / or (2) information indicating an updated RS configuration.

[0194] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive a paging DCI during the second PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the second PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU 102. For example, the paging DCI received during the second PO includes (1) information indicating an updated EPI configuration and / or (2) information indicating an updated RS configuration.

[0195] In certain representative embodiments, (1) information indicating an updated EPI configuration and / or (2) information indicating an updated RS configuration may be received in system information (e.g., from a SIB).

[0196] In certain representative embodiments, (1) the information indicating the updated EPI configuration and / or (2) the information indicating the updated RS configuration may be received in an RRC message.

[0197] In certain representative embodiments, the second pattern may relate one or more transmissions of EPI DCI associated with the first (e.g., later) PO to one or more transmissions of RS using second time / frequency resources.

[0198] In certain representative embodiments, the first pattern may relate one or more transmissions of EPI DCI associated with a second (e.g., earlier) PO to one or more transmissions of RS using a first time / frequency resource.

[0199] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating a validity interval of the EPI configuration and / or an activation time of the EPI configuration. For example, the activation time may be specified in units of transmission time intervals.

[0200] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating a validity interval of the updated EPI configuration and / or an activation time of the updated EPI configuration. For example, the activation time may be specified in units of transmission time intervals.

[0201] In certain representative embodiments, receiving (1) information indicating an EPI configuration and (2) information indicating an RS configuration may further include receiving (3) information indicating a default EPI configuration including a default pattern for the EPI DCI, and / or (4) information indicating a default RS configuration including default time / frequency resources for the RS associated with the EPI DCI, and / or numerology and QCL information associated with the RS.

[0202] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may transmit (1) information indicating the EPI configuration and (2) information indicating a minimum number of synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions or RS transmissions to maintain network synchronization before receiving information indicating the RS configuration.

[0203] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an RS configuration including an EPI configuration and a quasi-co-location (QCL) configuration and numerology for the RS. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 17. At 1702, the WTRU 102 may proceed to receive (1) information indicating an EPI configuration including an EPI DCI or a first pattern of an EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating an RS configuration including a QCL configuration for an RS associated with the EPI DCI and a numerology of time / frequency resources for the RS. After 1702, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the RS using the QCL configuration and the first time / frequency resource numerology before the first PO at 1704. At 1706, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the first PO using the one or more detected transmissions of the RS and the first pattern. After 1706, the WTRU 102 may proceed to receive a paging DCI during the first PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the first PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU 102.

[0204] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC message (e.g., an RRC connection release message), such as before 1702 or between 1702 and 1704. For example, the EPI configuration and / or RS configuration may be received via system information, RRC signaling, EPI DCI, and / or paging DCI.

[0205] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration and / or RS configuration may be received in (eg, during) a previous PO (eg, a second PO that precedes the first PO).

[0206] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration and / or RS configuration may be received using (e.g., a second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or that has or is associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. For example, the information received in 1702 may use resources associated with a BWP that is different from the BWP in which the RS is transmitted.

[0207] In certain representative embodiments, one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI may be received using a (e.g., second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or has or is associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. By way of example, the EPI DCI decoded in 1706 may use resources associated with a first BWP (e.g., a paging BWP) that is different from a second BWP (e.g., an active BWP of another WTRU) in which the RS is transmitted. The first BWP and second BWP may overlap in frequency.

[0208] In certain representative embodiments, an EPI configuration and / or an RS configuration may include or be associated with a validity period during which the configuration may apply (e.g., be active). For example, the EPI configuration may be used to decode EPI DCI transmissions during the validity period. For example, the RS configuration may be used to detect RS transmissions during the validity period. As another example, a default EPI configuration and / or a default RS configuration may be used outside of the validity period.

[0209] FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and RS configuration validity, including a quasi-co-location (QCL) setting and numerology for the RS. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 18. At 1802, the WTRU 102 may proceed to receive (1) information indicating an EPI configuration, including an EPI DCI or a first pattern of an EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating an RS configuration, including a QCL setting for a first RS associated with the EPI DCI and numerology of time / frequency resources for the first RS. After 1802, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC connection release message at 1804. At 1806, provided that the RS configuration validity has expired, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of a second RS using default time / frequency resources for the second RS before the PO. At 1808, the WTRU 102 may proceed to decode one or more detected transmissions of the second RS and / or one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the PO using a default pattern of the EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence. For example, the WTRU 102 may use the first pattern after the validity of the RS configuration expires. For example, the WTRU 102 may use the default pattern after the validity of the RS configuration or the EPI configuration expires. At 1810, the WTRU 102 may proceed to receive a paging DCI during the PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU 102.

[0210] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration and / or RS configuration may be received in a system information block and / or RRC signaling.

[0211] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration and / or RS configuration may be received using (e.g., second) time / frequency resources that have or are associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or that have or are associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. For example, the information received in 1702 may use resources associated with a BWP that is different from the BWP in which the first RS and / or second RS are transmitted.

[0212] In certain representative embodiments, one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI may be received using a (e.g., second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a QCL setting different from the QCL setting for the first and / or second RS and / or has or is associated with a numerology different from the numerology for the first and / or second RS. By way of example, the EPI DCI decoded in 1706 may use resources associated with a first BWP (e.g., a paging BWP) that is different from a second BWP (e.g., an active BWP of another WTRU) in which the first and / or second RS are transmitted. For example, the second RS may be a default RS associated with paging. The first BWP and second BWP may overlap in frequency.

[0213] In certain representative embodiments, an EPI configuration and / or an RS configuration may include or be associated with a validity period during which the configuration may apply (e.g., be active). For example, the EPI configuration may be used to decode EPI DCI transmissions during the validity period. For example, the RS configuration may be used to detect transmissions of the first RS during the validity period. As another example, a default EPI configuration and / or a default RS configuration (e.g., default time / frequency resources) may be used outside the validity period.

[0214] FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and the validity of the EPI configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 19. At 1902, the WTRU 102 may receive (1) information indicating an EPI configuration including a first pattern of an EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating the validity of the EPI configuration. After 1902, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC connection release message at 1904. At 1906, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of an RS before a paging occasion (PO), provided that the validity of the EPI configuration has expired. At 1908, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the PO using the one or more detected transmissions of the RS and the default pattern of the EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence. After 1908, at 1910, a paging DCI is received during the PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

[0215] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive the EPI configuration via system information or RRC signaling, or via an EPI DCI or paging DCI if an RRC connection release message is received before 1902.

[0216] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration may be received at (eg, during) a previous PO.

[0217] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration may include information indicating the validity of the EPI configuration.

[0218] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration may be received using a (e.g., second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or that has or is associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. For example, the information received in 2002 may use a resource associated with a BWP that is different from the BWP in which the RS is transmitted.

[0219] In certain representative embodiments, one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI may be received using a (e.g., second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or has or is associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. By way of example, the EPI DCI decoded in 1706 may use resources associated with a first BWP (e.g., a paging BWP) that is different from a second BWP (e.g., an active BWP of another WTRU) in which the RS is transmitted. The first BWP and second BWP may overlap in frequency.

[0220] In certain representative embodiments, the first pattern may be used to decode EPI DCI transmissions during the validity period (e.g., before the validity of the EPI configuration expires).

[0221] FIG. 20 illustrates another exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and EPI configuration validity. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 20. At 2002, the WTRU 102 may receive (1) information indicating an EPI configuration including a first pattern of an EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating the validity of the EPI configuration. After 2002, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC connection release message at 2004. At 2006, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of SSBs before a paging occasion (PO), provided that the validity of the EPI configuration has expired. At 2008, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of EPI DCI associated with the PO using the one or more detected transmissions of SSBs and the default pattern of the EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence. After 2008, at 2010, a paging DCI is received during the PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

[0222] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive the EPI configuration via system information or RRC signaling, or via an EPI DCI or paging DCI if an RRC connection release message was received before 2002.

[0223] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration may be received at (eg, during) a previous PO.

[0224] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration may include information indicating the validity of the EPI configuration.

[0225] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI configuration may be received using a (e.g., second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or that has or is associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. For example, the information received in 2002 may use a resource associated with a BWP that is different from the BWP in which the RS is transmitted.

[0226] In certain representative embodiments, one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI may be received using a (e.g., second) time / frequency resource that has or is associated with a different QCL setting than the QCL setting for the RS and / or has or is associated with a different numerology than the numerology for the RS. By way of example, the EPI DCI decoded in 1706 may use resources associated with a first BWP (e.g., a paging BWP) that is different from a second BWP (e.g., an active BWP of another WTRU) in which the RS is transmitted. The first BWP and second BWP may overlap in frequency.

[0227] In certain representative embodiments, the first pattern may be used to decode EPI DCI transmissions during the validity period (e.g., before the validity of the EPI configuration expires).

[0228] 21 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration and first and second RS configurations. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 21. At 2102, the WTRU 102 may receive (1) information indicating an early paging indication (EPI) configuration including a first pattern of EPI downlink control information (DCI) or EPI DL sequence, (2) information indicating a first reference signal (RS) configuration including first time / frequency resources for a first RS associated with the EPI DCI, and (3) information indicating a second RS configuration including second time / frequency resources for a second RS. At 2104, the WTRU may receive an RRC connection release message. After 2104, the WTRU 102 may detect, at 2106, one or more transmissions of the first RS using the first time / frequency resources and one or more transmissions of the second RS using the second time / frequency resources before the first PO. At 2108, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the first PO using the detected transmissions of the first and second RSs and the first pattern. At 2110, the WTRU 102 may receive a paging DCI during the first PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the first PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

[0229] In certain representative embodiments, the (1) information indicating the EPI configuration, (2) information indicating the first RS configuration, and / or (3) information indicating the second RS configuration is received in either a system information block (SIB), a radio resource control (RRC) message, an EPI DCI associated with a second PO that precedes the first PO, and / or a paging DCI in the second PO.

[0230] In certain representative embodiments, the first pattern may relate one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the first PO to or indicate an association between transmissions of the first RS and the second RS.

[0231] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating the validity of the EPI configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the first PO using a first pattern, provided that the validity (e.g., validity interval) has not expired. As another example, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the first PO using a default pattern for the EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence, provided that the validity (e.g., validity interval) has expired.

[0232] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating activation of an EPI configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with a first PO using a first pattern, provided that activation of the EPI configuration has been received.

[0233] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating the validity of the first RS configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the first RS using the first time / frequency resource before the first PO, provided that the validity interval has not elapsed. As another example, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the default RS using the default time / frequency resource before the first PO, provided that the validity interval has elapsed.

[0234] In certain representative embodiments, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating activation of the first RS configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the first RS using the first time / frequency resource, provided that activation of the first RS configuration was received before the first PO.

[0235] In certain representative embodiments, similar processing may be applied with respect to the second RS configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the second RS using the second time / frequency resources before the first PO, provided that the validity interval has not elapsed. As another example, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the default RS using the default time / frequency resources before the first PO, provided that the validity interval has elapsed. As another example, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the second RS using the second time / frequency resources before the first PO, provided that an activation of the second RS configuration has been received.

[0236] In certain representative embodiments, the first time / frequency resource may be associated with a paging BWP, hi certain representative embodiments, the second time / frequency resource may be associated with a BWP that is different from the paging BWP.

[0237] In certain representative embodiments, WTRU 102 detection of one or more transmissions of a first RS using a first time / frequency resource and / or one or more transmissions of a second RS using a second time / frequency resource may be based on WTRU capabilities and / or a minimum wake-up period associated with the first PO (e.g., associated with paging of WTRU 102).

[0238] FIG. 22 illustrates an exemplary procedure for paging using an EPI configuration, an RS configuration, and the validity of the EPI configuration and / or the RS configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 22. At 2202, the WTRU 102 may receive information indicating (1) an EPI configuration including an EPI DCI or a first pattern of an EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating an RS configuration including a first time / frequency resource for an RS associated with the EPI DCI. After 2202, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC connection release message at 2204. At 2206, the WTRU may detect one or more transmissions of a default RS using default time / frequency resources before the PO, provided that the validity of the EPI configuration and / or the RS configuration has expired. At 2208, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more detected transmissions of the default RS and / or one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the PO using the one or more detected transmissions of the default RS and / or the default pattern of the EPI DCI or the EPI DL sequence. At 2210, the WTRU 102 may receive a paging DCI in the PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

[0239] 23 illustrates another exemplary procedure for paging using an updated EPI configuration and / or an updated RS configuration. For example, the WTRU 102 may implement the procedure shown in FIG. 23. At 2302, the WTRU 102 may receive (1) information indicating a default EPI configuration including a default pattern of the EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence, and (2) information indicating an RS configuration including time / frequency resources for the default RS associated with the EPI DCI. At 2304, the WTRU 102 may receive an RRC connection release message. After 2304, the WTRU 102 may receive (1) information indicating an updated EPI configuration including an updated pattern of the EPI DCI or EPI DL sequence, and / or (2) information indicating an updated RS configuration including a second time / frequency resource for the RS associated with the EPI DCI. At 2308, the WTRU 102 may detect one or more transmissions of the default RS using time / frequency resources for the default RS before the PO, provided that the validity of the updated EPI configuration and / or the updated RS configuration has expired. After 2308, the WTRU 102 may decode one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI associated with the PO using one or more detected transmissions of the default RS and / or default patterns at 2310. At 2312, the WTRU 102 may receive a paging DCI during the PO, provided that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

[0240] In certain representative embodiments, the validity of the updated EPI configuration and / or the updated RS configuration may not have expired (e.g., are valid and / or activated). For example, the WTRU 102 may detect 2308 one or more transmissions of the RS using the second time / frequency resource before the PO, provided that the validity of the updated EPI configuration and / or the updated RS configuration has not expired (e.g., are valid and / or activated). As another example, the WTRU 102 may decode 2310 one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the PO using the one or more detected transmissions of the RS and / or the updated pattern.

[0241] 16-23, the WTRU 102 may transmit information indicating its WTRU capabilities associated with paging before receiving the EPI configuration. For example, the WTRU capabilities may be information indicating a minimum number of SSB bursts and / or DL ​​sequences (e.g., consecutive RS transmissions) required to maintain RAN synchronization. For example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may transmit the EPI configuration to the WTRU 102, where the EPI DCI pattern may be selected by the network (e.g., a base station) based on the WTRU capabilities.

[0242] In certain representative embodiments, the EPI DL sequence may indicate an association between the transmission of the EPI DCI and the transmission of the RS preceding the paging occasion.

[0243] In a particular representative embodiment, the method may be implemented by a WTRU 102 that is in (e.g., after transitioning to) an inactive mode or an idle mode, and may include receiving one or more transmissions of one or more SSBs or one or more reference signals (RSs) associated with a paging occasion (PO), and receiving one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI preceding the PO based on the received one or more transmissions of the one or more SSBs or one or more RSs. The WTRU 102 may proceed to determine whether the WTRU is being paged in the PO based on the EPI DCI. The WTRU 102 may proceed to switch to a first sleep state until at least after the PO ends based on whether the WTRU is being paged in the PO.

[0244] In a particular representative embodiment, the method may be implemented by a WTRU 102 that is in (e.g., after transitioning to) an inactive mode or an idle mode, and may include receiving one or more transmissions of one or more SSBs or one or more reference signals (RSs) associated with a paging occasion (PO), and receiving one or more transmissions of an EPI DCI preceding the PO based on the received one or more transmissions of the one or more SSBs or one or more RSs. The WTRU 102 may proceed to determine whether the WTRU is being paged at the PO based on the EPI DCI. The WTRU 102 may proceed to switch to a second sleep state until the PO begins based on whether the WTRU is being paged at the PO.

[0245] In certain representative embodiments, the method may include the WTRU waking from a second sleep state when the PO begins, and after waking from the second sleep state, receiving a transmission of a paging DCI in the PO and / or a transmission of a paging record following the PO.

[0246] In an exemplary embodiment, the EPI may be received in a transmission of the DCI. For example, the EPI may be a single-bit field within the DCI.

[0247] In a representative embodiment, the WTRU may also receive information indicating an active configuration set related to paging the WTRU in a PO. For example, the configuration set may include any of: a correspondence between the number of transmissions of one or more SSBs or one or more RSs and the number of transmissions of an EPI; a duration for which the configuration set should be applied; numerology information for the transmissions of the RSs; quasi-co-location (QCL) information for the transmissions of the RSs; a default configuration set index; and / or resource sets for one or more RSs. As an example, the duration may be any of: a number of consecutive POs, a number of paging frames, a number of system frame numbers, a number of slots, and / or expiration timer information.

[0248] In a representative embodiment, provided that the duration has elapsed, the WTRU may activate a default configuration set related to paging the WTRU and / or deactivate the active configuration set.

[0249] In a representative embodiment, provided that the duration has not elapsed, the WTRU may receive information indicating an update regarding the active configuration set. For example, the active configuration set may be received via one or more information elements in system information and / or radio resource control messaging. For example, the update for the active configuration set may be received via one or more information elements in DCI signaling.

[0250] In a representative embodiment, the one or more reference signals (RS) associated with the PO may include at least one RS for another WTRU.

[0251] In a representative embodiment, the WTRU may receive information indicating that the number of RSs to be transmitted in a later (eg, next) PO will be increased and / or decreased.

[0252] In a representative embodiment, the WTRU may receive information indicating that there are no RSs to be transmitted in the next PO.

[0253] Systems and methods for processing data according to exemplary embodiments may be performed by one or more processors executing sequences of instructions contained in a memory device. Such instructions may be loaded into the memory device from another computer-readable medium, such as a secondary data storage device. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the memory device causes the processor to operate, for example, as described above. In alternative embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention. Such software may be executed on a processor housed remotely within a vehicle and / or another mobile device. In the latter case, data may be transferred between the vehicle or other mobile device via wires or wirelessly.

[0254] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that each feature or element may be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. Furthermore, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware embodied in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

[0255] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices including processors are described. These devices may include at least one central processing unit ("CPU") and memory. In accordance with the practices of those skilled in the art of computer programming, references to acts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations or instructions may be referred to as being "executed," "executed by a computer," or "executed by a CPU."

[0256] Those skilled in the art will understand that the operations and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by a CPU. The electrical system represents data bits that can cause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electrical signals, and maintains the data bits in memory locations in a memory system, thereby reconfiguring or otherwise altering the operation of the CPU and the processing of other signals. The memory locations in which the data bits are maintained are physical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties that correspond to or represent the data bits. It should be understood that exemplary embodiments are not limited to the platforms or CPUs described above, and that other platforms and CPUs may support the provided methods.

[0257] Data bits may also be maintained on computer-readable media, including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., random access memory ("RAM")) or non-volatile (e.g., read-only memory ("ROM")) mass storage system readable by a CPU. The computer-readable media may include cooperative or interconnected computer-readable media that reside exclusively on a processing system or that are distributed among multiple interconnected processing systems, which may be local or remote to a processing system. It is understood that exemplary embodiments are not limited to the memories described above, and that other platforms and memories may support the described methods. It is understood that exemplary embodiments are not limited to the platforms or CPUs described above, and that other platforms and CPUs may support the provided methods.

[0258] In an example embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented as computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, which may be executed by a processor of a mobile, a network element, and / or any other computing device.

[0259] There is little distinction between hardware and software implementations of aspects of the system. The use of hardware or software is generally a design choice that implies a cost vs. efficiency trade-off (although not always, in certain circumstances, the choice between hardware and software may be significant). There may be a variety of vehicles (e.g., hardware, software, and / or firmware) in which the processes and / or systems and / or other technologies described herein may be affected, and the preferred vehicle may vary depending on the context in which the processes and / or systems and / or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may select a primarily hardware and / or firmware vehicle. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may select a primarily software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may select some combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0260] The foregoing detailed description has illustrated various embodiments of devices and / or processes through the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples. To the extent that such block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples include one or more functions and / or operations, those skilled in the art will appreciate that each function and / or operation in such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be individually and / or collectively implemented by a wide variety of hardware, software, firmware, or substantially any combination thereof. Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and / or a state machine.

[0261] While features and elements are provided above in specific combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with other features and elements. The present disclosure is not limited in terms of the specific embodiments described herein; these embodiments are intended as illustrations of various aspects. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly stated as such. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the present disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to any particular method or system.

[0262] It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, when referred to herein, "station" and its abbreviation "STA," "user equipment" and its abbreviation "UE" may mean (i) a wireless transmit and / or receive unit (WTRU), such as the described infrastructure, (ii) any of several embodiments of a WTRU, such as the described infrastructure, (iii) a wireless-enabled and / or wired (e.g., tethered) device configured with some or all of the structure and functionality of a WTRU, such as the described infrastructure, among others, (iii) a wireless-enabled and / or wired device configured with less than all of the structure and functionality of a WTRU, such as the described infrastructure, or (iv) the like. Details of an exemplary WTRU that may represent any of the UEs enumerated herein are provided below with respect to FIGS. 1A-1D.

[0263] In certain exemplary embodiments, portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), and / or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that certain aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein may be equivalently implemented in an integrated circuit, in whole or in part, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as substantially any combination thereof, and that designing circuitry and / or writing software and / or firmware code is within the skill of those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. Additionally, those skilled in the art will understand that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein may be distributed as program products in various forms, and that the exemplary embodiments of the subject matter described herein apply regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually effect the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to, recordable media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CDs, DVDs, digital tape, computer memory, and transmission media such as digital and / or analog communications media (e.g., fiber optic cables, wave guides, wired communications links, wireless communications links, etc.).

[0264] The subject matter described herein may, in some cases, depict different components that are contained within or connected to different other components. It should be understood that such illustrated architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures that achieve the same functionality may be implemented. Conceptually, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality may be achieved. Thus, any two components combined herein to achieve a particular function can be viewed as “associated” with each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components. Similarly, any two components so associated can also be considered to be “operably connected” or “operably coupled” to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components so associated can also be considered to be “operably coupleable” to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Examples of operably coupleable include, but are not limited to, components that are physically matable and / or physically interacting, and / or components that are wirelessly interacting and / or wirelessly interacting, and / or components that logically interact and / or logically interacting.

[0265] With respect to the use of virtually any plural and / or singular term herein, those skilled in the art can convert from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate to the context and / or application. Various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for purposes of clarity.

[0266] In general, those skilled in the art will understand that the terms used in this specification, and particularly in the appended claims (e.g., the body of the appended claims), are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," and the term "comprises" should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to"). Those skilled in the art will further understand that where a specific number of recitations of an introduced claim are intended, such intention will be explicitly set forth in the claim; in the absence of such recitation, no such intention exists. For example, where only one item is intended, the term "single" or similar language may be used. To assist in understanding, the following appended claims and / or description of this specification may include the use of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed as meaning that the introduction of a claim recitation with the indefinite article "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such an introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even if the same claim contains the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same applies to the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. Additionally, those skilled in the art will recognize that even when a specific number of introduced claim recitations is explicitly recited, such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the simple recitation "two recitations" without other modifiers means at least two recitations, or more than two recitations).Furthermore, when notation similar to "at least one of A, B, and C" is used, such structure is generally intended as the meaning that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the notation (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" includes, but is not limited to, a system having A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together). When notation similar to "at least one of A, B, or C" is used, such structure is generally intended as the meaning that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the notation (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" includes, but is not limited to, a system having A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together). Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibility of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B." Furthermore, as used herein, the term "any of," followed by a list of items and / or a list of categories of items, is intended to include "any of," "any combination of," "any plurality of," and / or "any combination of" of the items and / or categories of items, individually or in combination with other items and / or other categories of items. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms "set" or "group" are intended to include any number of items, including zero. Additionally, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero.

[0267] Additionally, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of a Markush group, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

[0268] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, for all purposes, including in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein encompass any possible subranges and combinations of subranges. Any recited range can be readily recognized as fully descriptive, allowing the same range to be broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be easily broken down into a lower third, middle third, upper third, etc. Also, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, all terms such as "up to," "at least," "greater than," "less than," etc., refer to ranges that are inclusive of the recited number and that can be further broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, ranges include each individual element. Thus, for example, a group having 1 to 3 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1 to 5 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so on.

[0269] Furthermore, the claims should not be read as limited to the provided order or to the provided elements unless specifically so stated. Additionally, the use of the term "means for" in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6, or means-plus-function claim format, and any claim without the term "means for" is not so intended.

[0270] Software and associated processors may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), user equipment (UE), terminal, base station, mobility management entity (MME), or evolved packet core (EPC), or any host computer. The WTRU may be used in conjunction with modules implemented in hardware and / or software, such as, for example, a software defined radio (SDR), and may also be implemented in other components, such as a camera, a video camera module, a video phone, a speaker phone, a vibration device, a speaker, a microphone, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, a keyboard, a Bluetooth module, a frequency modulation (FM) radio unit, a near field communication (NFC) module, an LCD display unit, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an internet browser, and / or a wireless local area network (WLAN) or ultra wide band (UWB) module.

[0271] Throughout this disclosure, those skilled in the art will understand that certain exemplary embodiments may be used alternatively or in combination with other exemplary embodiments.

[0272] Furthermore, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware embodied in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

1. 1. A method implemented by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving information indicating an early paging indication (EPI) configuration including a first pattern of EPI downlink control information (DCI); After receiving the RRC connection release message, receiving information indicating an updated EPI configuration including a second pattern of the EPI DCI; decoding, prior to a first paging occasion (PO), one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the first PO using the second pattern of the EPI DCI; receiving a paging DCI during the first PO on the condition that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the first PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

2. after receiving the RRC connection release message and before receiving the information indicating the updated EPI configuration; decoding, prior to a second PO occurring before the first PO, one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the second PO using the first pattern of the EPI DCI; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the EPI DCI associated with the second PO includes the information indicating the updated EPI configuration.

4. receiving a paging DCI during the second PO on the condition that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the second PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU; the paging DCI received during the second PO includes the information indicating the updated EPI configuration; The method of claim 2.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information indicating the updated EPI configuration is received in system information, a paging DCI, or an RRC message.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second pattern indicates time / frequency resources for the one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the first PO.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first pattern indicates time / frequency resources for the one or more transmissions of the EPIDCI associated with the second PO.

8. receiving information indicating a validity interval of the updated EPI configuration and / or an activation timing of the updated EPI configuration; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

9. transmitting information indicating a minimum number of synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions or reference signal (RS) transmissions to maintain network synchronization before receiving the information indicating the EPI configuration; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

10. 1. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), comprising: a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, wherein the processor, the memory, and the transceiver: receiving information indicating an early paging indication (EPI) configuration including a first pattern of EPI downlink control information (DCI); After receiving the RRC connection release message, receiving information indicating an updated EPI configuration including a second pattern of the EPI DCI; prior to a first paging occasion (PO), decoding one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the first PO using the second pattern of the EPI DCI; and The WTRU is configured to receive a paging DCI during the first PO on condition that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the first PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

11. the processor, the memory, and the transceiver; after receiving the RRC connection release message and before receiving the information indicating the updated EPI configuration; 11. The WTRU of claim 10, configured to decode, prior to a second PO that occurs before the first PO, one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the second PO using the first pattern of the EPI DCI.

12. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the EPI DCI associated with the second PO includes the information indicating the updated EPI configuration.

13. the processor, the memory, and the transceiver; 12. The WTRU of claim 11, configured to receive a paging DCI during the second PO on the condition that the decoded EPI DCI associated with the second PO includes information indicating paging of the WTRU.

14. The WTRU of claim 13 , wherein the information indicating the updated EPI configuration is received in the paging DCI.

15. The WTRU of claim 10 , wherein the information indicating the updated EPI configuration is received in a system information or RRC message.

16. The WTRU of claim 10 , wherein the second pattern indicates time / frequency resources of the one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the first PO.

17. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the first pattern indicates time / frequency resources of the one or more transmissions of the EPI DCI associated with the second PO.

18. the processor, the memory, and the transceiver; The WTRU of claim 10 , configured to receive information indicating a validity interval of the updated EPI configuration and / or an activation timing of the updated EPI configuration.

19. the processor, the memory, and the transceiver; 11. The WTRU of claim 10, configured to transmit information indicating a minimum number of synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions or reference signal (RS) transmissions for maintaining network synchronization before receiving the information indicating the EPI configuration.

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