Physical Random Access Channel Procedure

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may receive a random access channel configuration from a base station indicating one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) formats associated with antenna switching. The UE may transmit a PRACH sequence to the base station using a PRACH format associated with antenna switching from one or more PRACH formats associated with antenna switching. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to Related Applications This patent application claims priority to U.S. Non - Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 148,283, titled "PHYSICAL RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL PROCEDURE", filed on January 13, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and techniques and apparatuses for physical random access channel (PRACH) procedures.

Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. A typical wireless communication system can utilize a multiple - access technology that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (such as bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple - access technologies include code - division multiple - access (CDMA) systems, time - division multiple - access (TDMA) systems, frequency - division multiple - access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency - division multiple - access (OFDMA) systems, single - carrier frequency - division multiple - access (SC - FDMA) systems, time - division synchronous code - division multiple - access (TD - SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE - Advanced is a set of improvements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standards published by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)).

[0004] A wireless network may include several base stations (BS) that can support communication for several user devices (UEs). UEs can communicate with BS via downlink and uplink. Downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from BS to UE, and uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from UE to BS. As described in more detail herein, BS may also be called Node B, gNB, access point (AP), radio head, transmit / receive point (TRP), New Radio (NR) BS, 5G Node B, etc.

[0005] The multiple access technologies described above are employed in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user devices to communicate at the city, national, regional, and even global levels. NR, sometimes called 5G, is a set of improvements over the LTE mobile standard published by 3GPP®. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband internet access by improving spectral efficiency, reducing costs, improving service, utilizing new spectra, and better integrating with other open standards by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with cyclic prefixes (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL) and CP-OFDM and / or SC-FDM (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), for example) on the uplink (UL), as well as supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. As demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, further improvements in LTE, NR, and other wireless access technologies remain valuable. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In some embodiments, user equipment (UE) for wireless communication includes memory and one or more processors operably coupled to the memory, the memory and one or more processors being configured to receive from a base station a random access channel configuration indicating one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) formats related to antenna switching, and to transmit to the base station a PRACH sequence using one of the one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0007] In some embodiments, a base station for wireless communications includes memory and one or more processors operably coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to transmit to a UE a random access channel configuration indicating one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and to receive from the UE a PRACH sequence using one of the one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0008] In some embodiments, a UE for wireless communication includes memory and one or more processors operably coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to receive instructions from a base station regarding resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, that resources reserved by the base station include more resources in the time domain than resources to be used for the PRACH sequence, that determine the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on the estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station, and that transmit the PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing.

[0009] In some embodiments, a base station for wireless communication includes a memory and one or more processors operably coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors determine a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by a UE, determine a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving a PRACH sequence, the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain, transmit instructions to the UE for the first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, and receive the PRACH sequence from the UE using resources included in the second set of resources.

[0010] In some embodiments, a method of wireless communication performed by a UE includes the steps of receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and transmitting to the base station a PRACH sequence that uses one of the one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0011] In some embodiments, a method of wireless communication performed by a base station includes the steps of: transmitting a random access channel configuration to a UE that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching; and receiving from the UE a PRACH sequence that uses one of the one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0012] In some embodiments, a method of wireless communication performed by a UE includes the steps of: receiving instructions from a base station for resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, wherein the resources reserved by the base station include in the time domain more resources than the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence; determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on an estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station; and transmitting the PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing.

[0013] In some embodiments, a method of wireless communication performed by a base station includes the steps of: determining a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by a UE; determining a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving a PRACH sequence, wherein the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain; transmitting instructions to the UE for the first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence; and receiving from the UE a PRACH sequence using resources included in the second set of resources.

[0014] In some embodiments, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, one or more instructions causing the UE to receive from a base station a random access channel configuration indicating one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and to transmit to the base station a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching from one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0015] In some embodiments, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, one or more instructions causing the base station to transmit a random access channel configuration to the UE indicating one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and to receive from the UE a PRACH sequence using one of the PRACH formats related to antenna switching from one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0016] In some embodiments, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, one or more instructions causing the UE to receive instructions from a base station for resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, that the resources reserved by the base station include in the time domain more resources than the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence, that the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence be determined based at least in part on an estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station, and that the base station transmit the PRACH sequence according to the transmission timing.

[0017] In some embodiments, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, includes one or more instructions that cause the base station to determine a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by a UE, to determine a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving a PRACH sequence, the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain, to cause the base station to send instructions to the UE for the first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, and to cause the UE to receive a PRACH sequence using the resources included in the second set of resources.

[0018] In some embodiments, the apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and means for transmitting to the base station a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0019] In some embodiments, the device for wireless communication includes means for transmitting to a UE a random access channel configuration indicating one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and means for receiving from the UE a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0020] In some embodiments, the apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving instructions from a base station regarding resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, wherein the resources reserved by the base station include in the time domain more resources than the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence; means for determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on an estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station; and means for transmitting the PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing.

[0021] In some embodiments, the apparatus for wireless communication includes means for determining a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by a UE, and means for determining a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving a PRACH sequence, wherein the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain; means for transmitting instructions to the UE for the first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence; and means for receiving from the UE a PRACH sequence using resources included in the second set of resources.

[0022] The embodiments are generally described in detail herein with reference to the drawings and herein, and include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-temporary computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, and / or processing systems as shown in the drawings and herein.

[0023] The above provides a fairly broad overview of the features and technical advantages of the examples provided in this disclosure, so that the modes for carrying out the following inventions may be better understood. Additional features and advantages are described below. The concepts and examples disclosed may readily be used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures to accomplish the same objectives of this disclosure. Such equivalent structures will not deviate from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, will be better understood from the following description, along with the relevant advantages, if considered in relation to the appended drawings. Each of the figures is provided for illustrative and explanatory purposes only, and not as a definition of the limitations of the claims.

[0024] To better understand the features listed above in this disclosure, a more detailed description, briefly summarized above, may be obtained by referring to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, note that this description may admit other equally effective embodiments, so the accompanying drawings show only some typical embodiments of this disclosure and should not be regarded as limiting its scope. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an example of a wireless network. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing an example of a base station communicating with a UE in a wireless network. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing examples of regenerative satellite deployment and transparent satellite deployment in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of a two-step random access procedure. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing an example of a four-step random access procedure. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing examples related to physical random access channel (PRACH) procedures according to various embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing examples related to physical random access channel (PRACH) procedures according to various embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing examples related to physical random access channel (PRACH) procedures according to various embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing examples related to physical random access channel (PRACH) procedures according to various embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing an exemplary process related to PRACH procedures according to various embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 11]This figure shows exemplary processes related to the PRACH procedure according to various aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 12] This figure shows exemplary processes related to the PRACH procedure according to various aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 13] This figure shows exemplary processes related to the PRACH procedure according to various aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 14] This is a block diagram of an exemplary device for wireless communication according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] This is a block diagram of an exemplary device for wireless communication according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] This is a block diagram of an exemplary device for wireless communication according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] This is a block diagram of an exemplary device for wireless communication according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0026] Various aspects of this disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to any particular structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure may be thorough and complete and so as to convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings of this specification, those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of this disclosure is intended to encompass any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of any other aspect of the disclosure or implemented in combination with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of aspects described herein. In addition, the scope of this disclosure shall encompass apparatus or methods that are practiced using other structures, functions, or structures and functions, in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure described herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0027] Next, several embodiments of telecommunications systems are presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques are described in embodiments for carrying out the following inventions and are shown in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0028] While embodiments may be described herein using terms generally associated with 5G or NR radio access technology (RAT), it should be noted that embodiments of this disclosure may apply to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT, and / or post-5G (e.g., 6G) RAT.

[0029] Figure 1 shows an example of a wireless network 100. The wireless network 100 may, in particular, be an element of a 5G (NR) network and / or an LTE network, or may include them. The wireless network 100 may include several base stations 110 (indicated as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UE) and may also be called an NR BS, Node B, gNB, 5G node B (NB), access point, transmit / receive point (TRP), etc. Each BS may provide communication coverage to a specific geographic area. In 3GPP®, the term “cell” can refer to the coverage area of ​​a BS and / or the BS subsystems that serve this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0030] A BS may provide communication coverage to macrocells, picocells, femtocells, and / or other types of cells. A macrocell may cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may enable unrestricted access by UEs subscribing to the service. A picocell may cover a relatively small geographical area and may enable unrestricted access by UEs subscribing to the service. A femtocell may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a home) and may enable limited access by UEs associated with a femtocell (e.g., UEs within a Limited Subscriber Group (CSG)). A BS for a macrocell is sometimes called a macroBS. A BS for a picocell is sometimes called a picoBS. A BS for a femtocell is sometimes called a femtoBS or homeBS. In the example shown in Figure 1, BS110a may be a macroBS for macrocell 102a, BS110b may be a picoBS for picocell 102b, and BS110c may be a femtoBS for femtocell 102c. A BS may support one or more (for example, three) cells. The terms “eNB,” “base station,” “NR BS,” “gNB,” “TRP,” “AP,” “node B,” “5G NB,” and “cell” may be used interchangeably in this specification.

[0031] In some embodiments, cells may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographical area of ​​a cell may move according to the location of the mobile BS. In some embodiments, BSs may be interconnected with each other and / or with one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections or virtual networks, using any suitable transport network.

[0032] The wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive data transmissions from upstream stations (e.g., BS or UE) and transmit that data transmission to downstream stations (e.g., UE or BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in Figure 1, relay BS110d may communicate with macro BS110a and UE120d to facilitate communication between BS110a and UE120d. Relay BS may also be called relay stations, relay base stations, or relays.

[0033] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of BS, such as macro BS, pico BS, femto BS, and relay BS. These different types of BS may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different effects on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, macro BS may have high transmit power levels (e.g., 5-40 watts), while pico BS, femto BS, and relay BS may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1-2 watts).

[0034] The network controller 130 may be coupled to a set of BSs and may coordinate and control these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs via backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with each other directly or indirectly, for example, via wireless or wired backhaul.

[0035] UE120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be distributed throughout the entire wireless network 100, and each UE may be fixed or mobile. UEs may also be referred to as access terminals, terminals, mobile stations, subscriber units, stations, etc. UEs may be mobile phones (e.g., smartphones), personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, tablets, cameras, gaming devices, netbooks, smartbooks, ultrabooks, medical devices or equipment, biosensors / devices, wearable devices (smartwatches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristbands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart rings, smart bracelets)), entertainment devices (e.g., music or video devices, or satellite radios), vehicle components or sensors, smart meters / sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable devices configured to communicate via wireless or wired media.

[0036] Some UEs may be considered machine-type communications (MTC) UEs, or advanced or enhanced machine-type communications (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and / or location tags that can communicate with base stations, other devices (e.g., remote devices), or several other entities. Wireless nodes may provide connectivity or access to a network (e.g., the Internet or a wide area network such as a cellular network) via, for example, a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices and / or implemented as NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) devices. Some UEs may be considered customer premises equipment (CPE). UE120 may be contained within a housing that accommodates components of UE120, such as processor components and / or memory components. In some embodiments, the processor components and memory components may be coupled to each other. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and / or electrically coupled.

[0037] In general, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RATs are sometimes called wireless technologies or air interfaces. Frequencies are sometimes called carriers or frequency channels. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographical area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR networks or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0038] In some embodiments, two or more UE120s (for example, indicated as UE120a and UE120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (for example, without using base station 110 as an intermediary for communication with each other). For example, UE120s may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, etc.), and / or mesh networks. In this case, UE120s may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere in this specification as being performed by base station 110.

[0039] Devices in the wireless network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which can be subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency or wavelength. For example, devices in the wireless network 100 may communicate using an operating band having a first frequency range (FR1) that can range from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and / or using an operating band having a second frequency range (FR2) that can range from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes called intermediate band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to as the “millimeter wave” band, even though it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz to 300 GHz) which is designated as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Therefore, unless otherwise specified, terms such as “sub-6GHz” can broadly refer to frequencies below 6GHz, frequencies within FR1, and / or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125GHz) as used herein. Similarly, unless otherwise specified, terms such as “millimeter wave” can broadly refer to frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2, and / or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25GHz) as used herein. The frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may be modified, and the techniques described herein are intended to be applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0040] As shown above, Figure 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 1.

[0041] Figure 2 shows an example 200 of a base station 110 communicating with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100. The base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a to 234t, and the UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a to 252r, where generally T ≥ 1 and R ≥ 1.

[0042] At base station 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data for one or more UEs from data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQI) received from the UEs, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE, and provide data symbols to all UEs. The transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, authorizations, and / or upper-layer signaling), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulated reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may, where applicable, perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, and provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a-232t. Each modulator 232 may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process the output sample stream (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a-232t may each be transmitted via T antennas 234a-234t.

[0043] In UE120, antennas 252a to 252r may each receive downlink signals from base station 110 and / or other base stations, and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a to 254r. Each demodulator 254 may adjust the received signal (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) to obtain an input sample. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input sample (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain a received symbol. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain symbols received from all R demodulators 254a to 254r and, where applicable, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols and provide the detected symbols. A receiving processor 258 may process the detected symbols (e.g., demodulate and decode), provide the decoded data for UE120 to the data sink 260, and provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term “controller / processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may, among other things, determine the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) parameter, the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) parameter, the Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) parameter, and / or the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) parameter. In some embodiments, one or more components of UE120 may be contained within the housing 284.

[0044] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in the core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the base station 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0045] An antenna (for example, antennas 234a-234t and / or antennas 252a-252r) may include, among other things, one or more antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and / or antenna arrays, or may be contained within them. An antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, and / or antenna array may include one or more antenna elements. An antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, and / or antenna array may include a set of coplanar antenna elements and / or a set of non-coplanar antenna elements. An antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, and / or antenna array may include antenna elements in a single housing and / or antenna elements in multiple housings. An antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, and / or antenna array may include one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmitting components and / or receiving components, such as one or more components in Figure 2.

[0046] In the uplink, in UE120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from data source 262 and control information (for reporting, including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and / or CQI) from controller / processor 280. The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may, if applicable, be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, further processed by modulators 254a-254r (for example, for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and transmitted to base station 110. In some embodiments, the modulators and demodulators of UE120 (e.g., MOD / DEMOD 254) may be included in the modem of UE120. In some embodiments, UE120 includes transceivers. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modulator and / or demodulator 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receiving processor 258, a transmitting processor 264, and / or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used, for example, with respect to Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and / or 13, by a processor (e.g., a controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform any aspect of the method described herein.

[0047] At base station 110, uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs are received by antenna 234, processed by demodulator 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 where applicable, and further processed by receiving processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 120. The receiving processor 238 may provide the decoded data to data sink 239 and the decoded control information to controller / processor 240. Base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and communicate with network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. Base station 110 may include a scheduler 246 for scheduling UE 120 for downlink and / or uplink communication. In some embodiments, the modulator and demodulator of base station 110 (e.g., MOD / DEMOD 232) may be included in the modem of base station 110. In some embodiments, base station 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 234, a modulator and / or demodulator 232, a MIMO detector 236, a receiving processor 238, a transmitting processor 220, and / or a TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used, for example, with respect to Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and / or 13, by a processor (e.g., a controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform any aspect of the methods described herein.

[0048] The controller / processor 240 of base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or any other components in Figure 2 may perform one or more techniques related to physical random access channel (PRACH) procedures, as will be described in more detail elsewhere in this specification. For example, the controller / processor 240 of base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or any other components in Figure 2 may perform or direct the operation of, for example, process 1000 in Figure 10, process 1100 in Figure 11, process 1200 in Figure 12, process 1300 in Figure 13, and / or other processes described herein. Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program code for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some embodiments, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include non-temporary computer-readable media for storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, when one or more instructions are executed by one or more processors in the base station 110 and / or UE 120 (for example, immediately or after compilation, translation, and / or interpretation), one or more processors, UE 120, and / or base station 110 may be caused to perform or direct the operation of, for example, process 1000 in Figure 10, process 1100 in Figure 11, process 1200 in Figure 12, process 1300 in Figure 13, and / or other processes as described herein. In some embodiments, executing an instruction may include, among other things, executing the instruction, translating the instruction, compiling the instruction, and / or interpreting the instruction.

[0049] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and / or means for transmitting to the base station a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching. The means for the UE120 to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: antenna 252, demodulator 254, MIMO detector 256, receiving processor 258, transmitting processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, modulator 254, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.

[0050] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for transmitting instructions to the base station regarding the UE's antenna switching capability. In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for transmitting instructions regarding whether the UE supports transmit antenna switching. In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for transmitting instructions regarding at least one of the following: the number of antennas supported by the UE for uplink transmit antenna switching, or the antenna switching delay associated with the UE.

[0051] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for transmitting one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence using a first antenna, means for performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna during antenna switching time, and / or means for transmitting one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence using the second antenna.

[0052] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for determining the antenna switching time based at least in part on a stored configuration. In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for the antenna switching time.

[0053] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format indicating that a PRACH sequence should consist of one or more repetitions, and that an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits the PRACH sequence.

[0054] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for one or more PRACH formats, and / or means for receiving instructions on whether an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0055] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0056] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for a random access channel opportunity related to a PRACH sequence, which is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities, and / or means for determining whether to perform an antenna switch when transmitting a PRACH sequence, at least in part on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0057] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format including one or more repetition groups and instructions that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0058] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups.

[0059] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for the start time of each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0060] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for the time interval between each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups.

[0061] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for transmitting a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence using a first antenna, means for performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to a second antenna after transmitting the first iteration group, and / or means for transmitting a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence using a second antenna.

[0062] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting to the UE a random access channel configuration indicating one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and / or means for receiving from the UE a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching. The means for the base station 110 to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: a transmit processor 220, a TX MIMO processor 230, a modulator 232, an antenna 234, a demodulator 232, a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, or a scheduler 246.

[0063] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for receiving instructions from the UE regarding the UE's antenna switching capability. In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for receiving instructions on whether the UE supports transmit antenna switching. In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for receiving instructions on at least one of the following: the number of antennas supported by the UE for uplink transmit antenna switching, or the antenna switching delay associated with the UE.

[0064] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for receiving one or more first iterations of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using the UE's first antenna, and / or means for receiving one or more second iterations of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using the UE's second antenna.

[0065] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions on the time at which the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure from a first antenna to a second antenna.

[0066] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions in one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format indicating that the PRACH sequence should consist of one or more repetitions, and that the UE should perform an antenna switch when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0067] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions for one or more PRACH formats, and / or means for transmitting instructions on whether an antenna switch should be performed when a UE transmits a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0068] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions to the UE of a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0069] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions for random access channel opportunities related to a PRACH sequence, which are included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0070] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions of one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format including one or more repeating groups and instructions that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0071] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups.

[0072] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting an instruction for the start time of each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0073] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions for the time interval between each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups.

[0074] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for receiving a first repetition group of one or more repetition groups of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using a first antenna of the UE, and / or means for receiving a second repetition group of one or more repetition groups of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using a second antenna of the UE.

[0075] In some embodiments, the UE 120 includes means for receiving instructions from a base station regarding resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, wherein the resources reserved by the base station include in the time domain more resources than those to be used for the PRACH sequence; means for determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on an estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station; and / or means for transmitting the PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing. Means for the UE 120 to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: antenna 252, demodulator 254, MIMO detector 256, receiving processor 258, transmitting processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, modulator 254, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.

[0076] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for receiving instructions for a timing offset value and / or means for determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the timing offset value.

[0077] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for determining a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of the PRACH sequence, and / or means for obtaining a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient, and / or means for transmitting the PRACH sequence together with a cyclic prefix having the second cyclic prefix duration.

[0078] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for identifying a timing offset value based at least in part on a second cyclic prefix duration, and means for determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the timing offset value.

[0079] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for determining a first timing value based on resources to be used for the PRACH sequence, means for obtaining a second timing value by subtracting an estimated propagation delay from the first timing value, and / or means for obtaining a third timing value by adding a timing offset value to the second timing value.

[0080] In some embodiments, the UE120 includes means for transmitting a PRACH sequence at a third timing value.

[0081] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for determining a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by the UE, means for determining a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving the PRACH sequence, wherein the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain, means for transmitting instructions to the UE for the first set of resources to be used for the PRACH sequence, and / or means for receiving the PRACH sequence from the UE using resources included in the second set of resources. Means for the base station 110 to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: a transmit processor 220, a TX MIMO processor 230, a modulator 232, an antenna 234, a demodulator 232, a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, or a scheduler 246.

[0082] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for determining that the second set of resources should include time-domain resources that occur before the time-domain resources of the first set of resources and time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources of the first set of resources.

[0083] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for determining that a second set of resources should include time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources of the first set of resources.

[0084] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for determining that a second set of resources should include additional time-domain resources other than the time-domain resources of the first set of resources, the amount of additional time-domain resources being based at least in part on at least one of the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence, a negative propagation delay estimated by the UE, or a positive propagation delay estimated by the UE.

[0085] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for transmitting instructions for timing offset values ​​to be used by the UE for the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence.

[0086] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for determining a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of the PRACH sequence, means for obtaining a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient, and / or means for transmitting to the UE an instruction for a second cyclic prefix duration to be used by the UE for the PRACH sequence.

[0087] In some embodiments, the base station 110 includes means for determining a timing offset value based at least in part on a second cyclic prefix duration, and / or means for transmitting an instruction for the timing offset value to the UE.

[0088] Although the blocks in Figure 2 are shown as individual components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component, or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0089] As shown above, Figure 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 2.

[0090] Figure 3 shows examples 300 of regenerative satellite deployment and 310 of transparent satellite deployment in a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0091] Example 300 illustrates a regenerative satellite deployment. In Example 300, UE120 is serviced by satellite 320 via service link 330. For example, satellite 320 may include base station 110 (e.g., base station 110a) or gNB. In some embodiments, satellite 320 may be referred to as a non-terrestrial base station, regenerative repeater, or onboard processing repeater. In some embodiments, satellite 320 may demodulate the uplink radio frequency signal and modulate the baseband signal derived from the uplink radio signal to produce a downlink radio frequency transmission. Satellite 320 may transmit the downlink radio frequency signal over service link 330. Satellite 320 may provide a cell covering UE120.

[0092] Example 310 illustrates a transparent satellite deployment, sometimes called a vent-pipe satellite deployment. In Example 310, UE120 is serviced by satellite 340 via service link 330. Satellite 340 may be a transparent satellite. Satellite 340 may relay signals received from gateway 350 via feeder link 360. For example, the satellite may receive an uplink radio frequency transmission and transmit a downlink radio frequency transmission without demodulating the uplink radio frequency transmission. In some embodiments, the satellite may frequency convert the uplink radio frequency transmission received on service link 330 to the frequency of the uplink radio frequency transmission on feeder link 360, and may amplify and / or filter the uplink radio frequency transmission.

[0093] In some embodiments, the UE120 shown in Examples 300 and 310 may relate to Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) capabilities or Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities, although not all UEs possess such capabilities. Satellite 340 may provide cells covering the UE120.

[0094] Service link 330 may include a link between satellite 340 and UE120, and may include one or more uplinks or downlinks. Feeder link 360 may include a link between satellite 340 and gateway 350, and may include one or more uplinks (for example, from UE120 to gateway 350) or downlinks (for example, from gateway 350 to UE120). The uplink of service link 330 may be indicated by reference number 330-U (not shown in Figure 3), and the downlink of service link 330 may be indicated by reference number 330-D (not shown in Figure 3). Similarly, the uplink of feeder link 360 may be indicated by reference number 360-U (not shown in Figure 3), and the downlink of feeder link 360 may be indicated by reference number 360-D (not shown in Figure 3).

[0095] Feeder link 360 and service link 330 may be subject to Doppler effects due to the movement of satellites 320 and 340, and possibly UE120. These Doppler effects can be considerably larger than those in terrestrial networks. While Doppler effects on feeder link 360 can be compensated to some extent, they may still be associated with some uncompensated frequency error. Furthermore, gateway 350 may be associated with residual frequency error, and / or satellites 320 / 340 may be associated with onboard frequency error. These sources of frequency error may cause the downlink frequency received at UE120 to deviate from the target downlink frequency.

[0096] As shown above, Figure 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 3.

[0097] Figure 4 shows an example of a two-step random access procedure 400. As shown in Figure 4, base station 110 and UE 120 can communicate with each other to perform the two-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, the two-step random access procedure can be performed in an NTN, such as the NTN described above in relation to Figure 3 (for example, base station 110 may be a satellite, or the satellite may include base station 110).

[0098] As indicated by reference no. 405, one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) and random access configuration information may be transmitted by the base station 110 and received by the UE 120. In some embodiments, the random access configuration information may be transmitted and / or indicated in the system information and / or SSBs (for example, in one or more system information blocks (SIBs)) for contention-based random access, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the random access configuration information may be transmitted in radio resource control (RRC) messages and / or physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sequence messages that trigger a random access channel (RACH) procedure, etc. The random access configuration information may include one or more parameters to be used in a two-step random access procedure, such as one or more parameters for transmitting a random access message (RAM) and / or one or more parameters for receiving a random access response (RAR) to the RAM.

[0099] As shown by reference number 410, UE120 may transmit a RAM preamble and base station 110 may receive it. As shown by reference number 415, UE120 may transmit a RAM payload and base station 110 may receive it. As shown, UE120 may transmit the RAM preamble and RAM payload to base station 110 as part of the initial (or first) step of a two-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, the RAM may be referred to as message A, msgA, first message, or initial message in a two-step random access procedure. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the RAM preamble may be referred to as message A preamble, sequence, msgA preamble, preamble, physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble, or PRACH sequence, and the RAM payload may be referred to as message A payload, msgA payload, or payload. In some embodiments, the RAM may contain some or all of the contents of message 1 (msg1) and message 3 (msg3) of the four-step random access procedure, which will be discussed in more detail below. For example, the RAM preamble may contain some or all of the contents of message 1 (e.g., the PRACH preamble), and the RAM payload may contain some or all of the contents of message 3 (e.g., the UE identifier, uplink control information (UCI), and / or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission).

[0100] As indicated by reference number 420, base station 110 may receive the RAM preamble transmitted by UE 120. If base station 110 successfully receives and decodes the RAM preamble, base station 110 may then receive and decode the RAM payload.

[0101] As shown by reference number 425, base station 110 may transmit a RAR (sometimes called a RAR message). As shown, base station 110 may transmit a RAR message as part of the second step of a two-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, a RAR message may be called message B, msgB, or second message in a two-step random access procedure. A RAR message may contain some or all of the contents of message 2 (msg2) and message 4 (msg4) of a four-step random access procedure. For example, a RAR message may contain a detected PRACH preamble identifier, a detected UE identifier, a timing advance value, and / or contention resolution information.

[0102] As shown by reference number 430, as part of the second step of a two-step random access procedure, base station 110 may transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) communication for RAR. The PDCCH communication may schedule physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication, which includes RAR. For example, the PDCCH communication may indicate resource allocation for PDSCH communication (e.g., in downlink control information (DCI)).

[0103] As indicated by reference number 435, as part of the second step of a two-step random access procedure, base station 110 may transmit a PDSCH communication for the RAR, as scheduled by the PDCCH communication. The RAR may be contained in the Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) of the PDSCH communication. As indicated by reference number 440, if UE 120 successfully receives the RAR, UE 120 may transmit a Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Request (HARQ) Acknowledgment (ACK).

[0104] As shown above, Figure 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 4.

[0105] Figure 5 shows an example of a four-step random access procedure 500. As shown in Figure 5, base station 110 and UE 120 may communicate with each other to perform the four-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, the four-step random access procedure may be performed in an NTN, such as the NTN described above in relation to Figure 3 (for example, base station 110 may be a satellite, or the satellite may include base station 110).

[0106] As indicated by reference no. 505, base station 110 may transmit and UE 120 may receive one or more SSB and random access configuration information. In some embodiments, random access configuration information may be transmitted and / or indicated in system information and / or SSBs (for example, in one or more system information blocks (SIBs)) for contention-based random access, etc. Additional or alternative, random access configuration information may be transmitted in radio resource control (RRC) messages and / or physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sequence messages that trigger a RACH procedure, etc. Random access configuration information may include one or more parameters to be used in a random access procedure, such as one or more parameters for transmitting RAM and / or one or more parameters for receiving RAR.

[0107] As indicated by reference number 510, UE120 may send RAM, which may contain a preamble (sometimes called a sequence, random access preamble, PRACH preamble, PRACH sequence, or RAM preamble). A message containing a preamble may be called message 1, msg1, MSG1, the first message, or initial message in a four-step random access procedure. A random access message may contain a random access preamble identifier.

[0108] As indicated by reference number 515, base station 110 may transmit a RAR in response to a preamble. The message containing the RAR may be referred to as message 2, msg2, MSG2, or the second message in a four-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, the RAR may indicate a detected random access preamble identifier (for example, received from UE 120 in msg1). Additionally or alternatively, the RAR may indicate a resource allocation to be used by UE 120 to transmit message 3 (msg3).

[0109] In some embodiments, as part of the second step of a four-step random access procedure, base station 110 may transmit a PDCCH communication for the RAR. The PDCCH communication may schedule a PDSCH communication that includes the RAR. For example, the PDCCH communication may indicate resource allocation for the PDSCH communication. Alternatively, as part of the second step of a four-step random access procedure, base station 110 may transmit a PDSCH communication for the RAR as scheduled by the PDCCH communication. The RAR may be included in the MAC PDU of the PDSCH communication.

[0110] As indicated by reference number 520, UE120 may send an RRC connection request message. The RRC connection request message may be referred to as message 3, msg3, MSG3, or third message in the 4-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, the RRC connection request may include a UE identifier, UCI, and / or PUSCH communication (e.g., RRC connection request).

[0111] As indicated by reference number 525, base station 110 may send an RRC connection setup message. The RRC connection setup message may be referred to as message 4, msg4, MSG4, or the fourth message of the four-step random access procedure. In some embodiments, the RRC connection setup message may include the detected UE identifier, timing advance value, and / or contention resolution information. As indicated by reference number 530, if UE 120 successfully receives the RRC connection setup message, UE 120 may send a HARQ ACK.

[0112] As shown above, Figure 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 5.

[0113] As explained above in relation to Figure 3, non-terrestrial networks may refer to wireless access networks to which access is provided via aerial base stations 110 (for example, non-terrestrial base stations 110 sometimes called non-terrestrial access points), such as base stations 110 located on vehicles in orbit, such as aircraft or satellites, and / or stratospheric platform stations (e.g., aerial stations such as balloons, aircraft, and / or unmanned aerial vehicles). Since such vehicles are less affected by natural disasters than ground base stations 110 located on the ground, non-terrestrial base stations 110 can provide emergency network access. Furthermore, such non-terrestrial base stations 110 may provide wider service coverage than ground base stations 110. However, non-terrestrial networks have different technical challenges than terrestrial networks.

[0114] For example, due to the long distance between the UE120 and the non-terrestrial base station 110, non-terrestrial networks are typically associated with much longer delays (e.g., longer latency) than terrestrial networks, such as round-trip delays of up to 600 milliseconds. Furthermore, since some non-terrestrial base stations 110 (e.g., those located on satellites) are not stationary and may move at high speeds (compared to terrestrial base stations 110 which may be stationary), non-terrestrial networks often experience large Doppler shifts. A Doppler shift can refer to a change in the frequency or wavelength of a radio wave due to the relative movement between the radio wave transmitter and the radio wave receiver. For initial network access (for random access procedures, such as the two-step random access procedure and / or the four-step random access procedure described above), a PRACH sequence (also called a PRACH preamble or PRACH preamble sequence) may be used to account for timing delays and / or Doppler shifts in order to distinguish between different UE120s.

[0115] UE120 may initiate a random access procedure by transmitting a PRACH sequence to base station 110. In some systems (e.g., non-terrestrial networks or other networks), UE120 may track system timing for the network (e.g., using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or some other mechanism). Additionally or alternatively, UE120 may estimate propagation delay between the UE and base station 110 (e.g., based on information for base station 110). Using the system timing and estimated propagation delay, the UE may determine the timing of transmitting the PRACH sequence to pre-compensate for the propagation delay between UE120 and base station 110. Thus, to transmit a PRACH sequence message in a particular slot (e.g., between resources reserved for the PRACH sequence), UE120 may transmit the PRACH sequence message before the boundary of the leading slot, so that the propagation delay between UE120 and base station 110 causes the PRACH sequence message to be received by base station 110 at or near the beginning of the slot.

[0116] However, in some cases, the system timing tracked in UE120, the propagation delay estimated in UE120, or both may be slightly inaccurate. In some cases, such inaccuracies may cause PRACH sequence messages to arrive at base station 110 before the boundary of the leading slot, potentially interfering with communications performed in the previous slot (e.g., uplink transmissions) (referred to herein as a negative delay scenario). In some cases, such inaccuracies may cause PRACH sequence messages to arrive at base station 110 after the boundary of the trailing slot, potentially interfering with communications performed in the next slot (e.g., uplink transmissions) (referred to herein as a positive delay scenario).

[0117] Several techniques and apparatus described herein enable improved PRACH procedures for networks associated with long delays (e.g., longer latency or propagation delay) and / or large Doppler shifts, such as non-terrestrial networks. In some embodiments, the PRACH procedure may include the UE 120 transmitting a PRACH sequence using antenna switching (e.g., using two or more antennas of the UE 120). For example, base station 110 may transmit to the UE 120 instructions for a PRACH format that can be used by the UE 120 (e.g., in a system information message and / or in a random access channel configuration). The PRACH format may include one or more PRACH formats associated with antenna switching and one or more PRACH formats not associated with antenna switching. For example, some PRACH formats may include one or more repetitions of a PRACH sequence. UE120 may be enabled to transmit a first PRACH sequence iteration (e.g., one or more first PRACH sequence iterations) using UE120's first antenna and a second PRACH sequence iteration (e.g., one or more second PRACH sequence iterations) using UE120's second antenna. By using antenna switching when transmitting PRACH sequences, PRACH sequence messages may receive diversity gain through the use of multiple transmitting antennas in UE120. Diversity gain may enable improved channel estimation at base station 110. In addition, diversity gain may enable base station 110 to make improved decisions to account for timing delays and / or Doppler shifts.

[0118] Several techniques and apparatus described herein enable the UE 120 and base station 110 to mitigate the effects of inaccuracies in system timing and propagation delay estimations. In some embodiments, base station 110 may reserve network resources different from those reserved for the UE 120 to transmit PRACH sequence messages (e.g., network resource reservations). For example, in some embodiments, base station 110 may extend the resources reserved for the UE 120 to transmit PRACH sequence messages to account for inaccuracies in system timing and propagation delay estimations. Network resource reservations may include all time-domain resources reserved for the UE 120 to transmit PRACH sequence messages (e.g., PRACH sequence time-domain resources), time-domain resources occurring before the PRACH sequence time-domain resources, and / or time-domain resources occurring after the PRACH sequence time-domain resources. Thus, base station 110 may reserve network resources to account for inaccuracies in system timing and propagation delay estimations and to mitigate potential interference caused by such inaccuracies.

[0119] Figure 6 shows an example 600 relating to the PRACH procedure according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the example 600 includes communication between a base station 110 and a UE 120. In some embodiments, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may be part of a wireless network, such as a wireless network 100. The base station 110 and the UE 120 may communicate via a wireless access link, which may include uplinks and downlinks. In some embodiments, the PRACH procedure may be performed in an NTN, such as the NTN described above in relation to Figure 3 (for example, the base station 110 may be a satellite, or the satellite may include the base station 110). In some embodiments, the PRACH procedure may include steps or operations similar to the random access procedure described above in relation to Figures 4 and / or 5.

[0120] As indicated by reference no. 605, UE120 may transmit an instruction to base station 110 indicating UE120's antenna switching capability. In some embodiments, UE120 may transmit an instruction to base station 110 indicating UE120's antenna switching capability after successfully completing a random access procedure with base station 110 (for example, after msgB of a two-step random access procedure, or after msg4 of a four-step random access procedure). In some embodiments, UE120 may not transmit UE120's antenna switching capability before receiving an antenna switching configuration for a PRACH procedure (for example, as described in more detail below in relation to reference no. 610).

[0121] The antenna switching capability instruction may include an instruction on whether the UE120 supports transmit antenna switching. In some embodiments, antenna switching capability may include an instruction on the number of antennas supported by the UE120 for uplink transmit antenna switching (e.g., two antennas, three antennas, four antennas, six antennas, and / or eight antennas), and / or antenna switching delay associated with the UE120. Antenna switching delay may refer to the length of time required for the UE120 to change or correct the transmit path from one antenna of the UE120 to another UE120. For example, the UE120 may be unable to transmit communications while switching antennas. Antenna switching delay may refer to the length of time during which the UE120 is unable to transmit communications due to the execution of the antenna switching procedure.

[0122] Base station 110 may use an antenna switching capability instruction to configure the MCS for UE120. For example, a higher-order MCS may be used for a UE120 that supports antenna switching compared to a UE120 that does not support antenna switching. Additionally or alternatively, base station 110 may use an antenna switching capability instruction to determine the channel estimation technique that should be used by base station 110. Since a UE120 that supports antenna switching may transmit PRACH sequences using different antennas (e.g., on different channels), some channel estimation techniques may result in inaccurate channel estimations. For example, it may be impossible for base station 110 to use a DMRS bundling channel estimation technique for a UE120 that uses antenna switching (for example, because DMRS transmitted before and after antenna switching may travel on different channels, and it can be difficult to consistently combine the two DMRS to estimate the channel). Therefore, base station 110 may improve uplink channel estimation by avoiding the use of channel estimation techniques that result in inaccurate channel estimations when antenna switching is used by UE120.

[0123] In some embodiments, base station 110 may use an indication of antenna switching capability to determine the timing for detecting and / or decoding uplink transmissions (e.g., PRACH sequences) from UE 120. For example, base station 110 may identify that UE 120 supports and / or should use antenna switching for PRACH sequence messages. Base station 110 may determine the timing or position of the FFT window to be used to decode the PRACH sequence message (for example, to avoid placing the FFT window during the time when UE 120 is not transmitting due to antenna switching).

[0124] As indicated by reference number 610, base station 110 may transmit an antenna switching configuration to UE 120. In some embodiments, the antenna switching configuration may be included in a system information message related to the PRACH procedure. For example, base station 110 may include the antenna switching configuration in system information transmitted before the first message in the random access channel procedure (for example, before msgA or msg1 of the random access channel procedure) (for example, in one or more SIBs). In some embodiments, the antenna switching configuration may be included in the random access channel configuration. In some embodiments, the random access channel configuration (for example, and / or the antenna switching configuration) may be at least in part based on an indication of the antenna switching capability of UE 120.

[0125] The antenna switching configuration may indicate one or more PRACH formats associated with antenna switching. The antenna switching configuration may indicate that UE120 should perform antenna switching when transmitting a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats. In some embodiments, the antenna switching configuration may indicate one or more PRACH formats not associated with antenna switching.

[0126] The PRACH format may indicate a set of PRACH format parameters and / or transmit properties for a PRACH sequence that should be used to determine the PRACH sequence. PRACH format parameters (sometimes called PRACH parameters) may refer to parameters that define the set of allowed PRACH sequences for a random access procedure (for example, the set of allowed sequences of the PRACH preamble sent by UE120 in a random access message, such as message 1 (MSG1) of the RACH procedure) and / or transmit properties for the PRACH sequence. PRACH format parameters may include, among other things, the PRACH sequence length, the subcarrier interval to be used for transmitting the PRACH sequence, the cyclic prefix length for the PRACH sequence, the number of transmit iterations for the PRACH sequence, and / or the guard period for transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0127] In some embodiments, one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching may include one or more repetitions of a PRACH format (for example, to enable UE120 to transmit at least one repetition of a PRACH sequence using a first antenna and at least one repetition of a PRACH sequence using a second antenna). One or more PRACH formats may include, among other examples, PRACH formats 0, 1, 2, 3, A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, B4, and / or C2 (for example, as defined by wireless communication standards such as 3GPP® specifications, or as otherwise specified).

[0128] In some embodiments, the antenna switching configuration may indicate, at least in part, that the PRACH format should be used with antenna switching, based on the instructions of the PRACH format. For example, the PRACH format may be Xa, where X represents the PRACH format (e.g., PRACH format X), and a indicates that UE120 should use antenna switching with the PRACH format.

[0129] In some embodiments, the PRACH format and the indication that the PRACH format should be used by the UE120 with antenna switching are indicated separately by the base station. For example, the antenna switching configuration may indicate the PRACH format in a first bit (e.g., one or more first bits) and indicate in a second bit (e.g., one or more second bits) whether the PRACH format should be used by the UE120 with antenna switching.

[0130] In some embodiments, the base station 110 may indicate, at least in part, on random access channel opportunities associated with the PRACH sequence, whether the PRACH format should be used by the UE 120 in conjunction with antenna switching. For example, the base station 110 may configure the UE 120 with one or more random access channel opportunities in which the UE 120 should perform antenna switching when transmitting the PRACH sequence (e.g., antenna-switching random access channel opportunities), and / or one or more random access channel opportunities in which the UE 120 should not perform antenna switching when transmitting the PRACH sequence (e.g., ordinary random access channel opportunities or non-antenna-switching random access channel opportunities). The base station 110 may indicate, at least in part, on random access channel opportunities to be used to transmit the PRACH sequence, that the UE 120 should perform antenna switching when transmitting the PRACH sequence (e.g., using the PRACH format). For example, if the UE 120 should perform antenna switching, the UE 120 may transmit the PRACH sequence in an antenna-switching random access channel opportunity. If UE120 should not perform an antenna switch, UE120 may transmit a PRACH sequence during a normal random access channel opportunity.

[0131] As indicated by reference no. 615, UE120 may identify and / or determine that antenna switching should be used for a PRACH sequence (for example, when transmitting a PRACH sequence). For example, UE120 may identify that antenna switching should be used for a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the antenna switching configuration (for example, based at least in part on the PRACH format or instructions from base station 110). In some embodiments, UE120 may identify that antenna switching should be used for a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the antenna switching capability of UE120. For example, if UE120 supports antenna switching, UE120 may select a PRACH format and / or random access channel opportunity associated with antenna switching. If UE120 does not support antenna switching, UE120 may select a PRACH format and / or random access channel opportunity not associated with antenna switching.

[0132] As indicated by reference no. 620, UE120 may identify the PRACH format to be used to transmit the PRACH sequence. As described above, the PRACH format may be shown in a random access channel configuration (for example, in an antenna switching configuration). In some embodiments, UE120 may select a PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats associated with antenna switching (for example, shown and / or configured by base station 110 as described above). Exemplary PRACH formats associated with antenna switching are described in more detail below in relation to Figure 7.

[0133] As shown by reference number 625, UE120 may transmit a PRACH sequence to base station 110 using antenna switching. For example, UE120 may transmit one or more iterations of the PRACH sequence using UE120's first antenna. During antenna switching time (e.g., a time point between PRACH sequences), UE120 may perform an antenna switching procedure to switch UE120's operating transmit antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna. UE120 may transmit one or more iterations of the PRACH sequence using UE120's second antenna. UE120 may switch to additional transmit antennas (e.g., a third antenna and / or a fourth antenna) in a manner similar to that described above. As described above, the PRACH sequence may be msgA or msg1 of the random access channel procedure.

[0134] Antenna switching time can be a point in time during the entire transmission of the PRACH sequence. The entire transmission of the PRACH sequence includes the duration of one or more iterations of the PRACH sequence and the cyclic prefix associated with the PRACH sequence. In some embodiments, antenna switching time can be the midpoint or middle of the entire transmission of the PRACH sequence. In some embodiments, antenna switching time can be based at least in part on the number of antennas to be used by the UE120. For example, if the UE120 should use two antennas, the antenna switching time can be the midpoint or middle of the entire transmission of the PRACH sequence. If the UE120 should use three antennas, there may be a first antenna switching time after the first third of the entire transmission of the PRACH sequence, and a second antenna switching time after the second third of the entire transmission of the PRACH sequence.

[0135] In some embodiments, the antenna switching time may be a point during the last iteration to be transmitted using the first antenna of the UE120. In other words, the UE120 may perform an antenna switching procedure (e.g., antenna switching time) before the start of the first iteration to be transmitted using the second antenna of the UE120. Thus, the UE120 can ensure that the transmission using the second antenna contains a cyclic signal structure so that the first N data samples and the last N data samples of the transmission are identical (e.g., a cyclic prefix). For example, a cyclic prefix for a PRACH sequence may be obtained by appending a copy of the last N data samples from the end of the PRACH sequence to the beginning of the PRACH sequence. Thus, this symbol structure can result in a cyclic signal structure so that the first N data samples and the last N data samples of the symbol are identical. Cyclic prefixes may be used for communication to avoid intersymbol interference (ISI) between adjacent symbols in a multipath channel environment.

[0136] By performing an antenna switching procedure (for example, during antenna switching time) before the start of the first iteration to be transmitted using the second antenna of the UE120, the UE120 can ensure that some data symbols of the last iteration to be transmitted using the first antenna of the UE120 are actually transmitted using the second antenna. Since the iterations are identical copies, the data symbols of the last iteration to be transmitted using the first antenna of the UE120 are identical to the corresponding data symbols of the first iteration to be transmitted using the second antenna. As a result, the data symbols of the first iteration transmitted using the second antenna can create a virtual cyclic prefix for the transmission using the second antenna. Thus, the transmission using the second antenna can contain a cyclic signal structure and gain the benefits of a cyclic prefix for the transmission using the second antenna.

[0137] Furthermore, since different UEs 120 transmitting to base station 110 may have different propagation delays (for example, so that the transmissions arrive at base station 110 at different times, as will be explained in more detail below in relation to Figures 8 and / or 9), base station 110 may still be able to receive the full sequence correlation using a cyclic prefix of the PRACH sequence. For example, base station 110 may use an internal buffer of the cyclic prefix to place or position the FFT window of the PRACH sequence within the cyclic prefix (for example, at or near the end of the antenna switching time) to enable base station 110 to receive the PRACH sequence and other transmissions that may arrive at slightly different times. In addition, the length of time required for UE 120 to perform the antenna switching procedure is usually short (for example, less than 10 microseconds). This length of time can be absorbed by some of the PRACH sequence iterations that occur after the antenna switching procedure has been performed (for example, in a virtual cyclic prefix). As a result, the communication performance between UE120 and base station 110 is not degraded by UE120 performing the antenna switching procedure during the PRACH sequence iteration.

[0138] The UE120 may determine the antenna switching time based at least in part on a configuration (for example, from the base station 110). For example, the UE120 may receive instructions from the base station for the antenna switching time (for example, related to, or at least in part on, the PRACH format). In some embodiments, the UE120 may determine the antenna switching time based at least in part on a stored configuration or preconfiguration. For example, the antenna switching time may be defined or otherwise specified by a wireless communication standard such as a 3GPP® specification (for example, for the PRACH format).

[0139] As indicated by reference no. 630, UE120 and base station 110 may communicate to perform and / or complete a random access channel procedure, at least in part, on the transmission of a PRACH sequence by UE120. For example, UE120 and base station 110 may communicate to perform and / or complete a two-step random access procedure (e.g., as described above in relation to Figure 4) and / or a four-step random access channel procedure (e.g., as described above in relation to Figure 5). By using antenna switching when transmitting the PRACH sequence, the PRACH sequence message may receive diversity gain through the use of multiple transmitting antennas in UE120. Diversity gain may enable improved channel estimation at base station 110 during the random access channel procedure. In addition, diversity gain may enable base station 110 to make improved decisions to account for timing delays and / or Doppler shifts during the random access channel procedure.

[0140] As shown above, Figure 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 6.

[0141] Figure 7 shows examples 700 and 705 relating to the PRACH procedure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, examples 700 and 705 illustrate exemplary PRACH formats that use antenna switching by the UE120 when transmitting a PRACH sequence (for example, as described above in relation to Figure 6).

[0142] A first PRACH format with antenna switching is illustrated, as shown in Figure 7 and Example 700. The first PRACH format may be PRACH format 2 (for example, as defined by a wireless communication standard). PRACH format 2 may include a cyclic prefix (CP) and four PRACH sequence repetitions. As shown by reference number 710, UE120 may identify the antenna switching time associated with PRACH format 2. As described above in relation to Figure 6, the antenna switching time may be based at least in part on the overall duration of the PRACH sequence (e.g., including the duration of the cyclic prefix and the duration of the four PRACH sequence repetitions). The antenna switching time may be defined, among other things, according to the end of the second PRACH sequence, the start of the second PRACH sequence, and / or the start of PRACH sequence transmission (e.g., the start of the cyclic prefix or the start of the first PRACH repetition).

[0143] In some embodiments, the length of time between the antenna switching time and the end of a PRACH sequence iteration including the antenna switching time (e.g., a second PRACH sequence iteration as shown in Example 700) may be based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix. For example, the length of time between the antenna switching time and the end of a PRACH sequence iteration may be a coefficient of the duration of the cyclic prefix (e.g., between 0 and 1) (e.g., 0.5 times the duration of the cyclic prefix, 0.25 times the duration of the cyclic prefix, and / or 0.75 times the duration of the cyclic prefix). As discussed above, the antenna switching time may be configured (e.g., by base station 110) and / or defined or otherwise determined by a wireless communication standard such as a 3GPP® specification.

[0144] When transmitting a PRACH sequence, UE120 may transmit a cyclic prefix, a first PRACH sequence iteration, and a second PRACH sequence iteration until the antenna switching time. During the antenna switching time, UE120 may perform an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna UE120 is operating on from the first antenna to the second antenna. As shown by reference no. 715, there may be a gap in transmission by UE120 while the antenna switching procedure is being performed. UE120 may use the second antenna to transmit a portion of the second PRACH sequence after the end of the gap. In addition, UE120 may use the second antenna to transmit a third and a fourth PRACH sequence. This allows for transmission using the second antenna to maintain a cyclic signal structure (as described above, for example, in relation to Figure 6). In addition, the gap shown by reference no. 715 can be absorbed into the duration of the cyclic prefix so that base station 110 can obtain a complete sequence iteration for each iteration. For example, base station 110 can obtain data samples from cyclic prefixes corresponding to data samples that were not transmitted during the interval.

[0145] A second PRACH format with antenna switching is illustrated, as shown in Figure 7 and Example 705. In Example 705 and as shown by reference no. 720, the second PRACH format may include one or more iteration groups. An iteration group may include a cyclic prefix and one or more PRACH sequence iterations (for example, Example 705 illustrates an iteration group each containing two PRACH sequence iterations). One or more antenna switching times may be defined or configured for the second PRACH format, as shown by reference no. 725. The antenna switching times may be set at the end of the iteration group. As shown by reference no. 730, the second PRACH format may include time intervals between each iteration group. This time interval may be used by UE120 to perform an antenna switching procedure (for example, UE120 may perform an antenna switching procedure during the time interval). In some embodiments, the length of time associated with each time interval may be expressed or configured using the PRACH format (for example, by base station 110) and / or defined by the wireless communication standard. In some embodiments, as indicated by reference no. 735, the start time of each iteration group (in addition to or instead of the length of time associated with each time interval) may be expressed or configured using the PRACH format (for example, by base station 110) and / or defined by the wireless communication standard.

[0146] When transmitting a PRACH sequence, UE120 may transmit the first iteration group using UE120's first antenna. At the first antenna switching time (e.g., at the end of the first iteration group), UE120 may perform an antenna switching procedure to switch UE120's active transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna. After a certain length of time associated with the time interval, or at the start of the second iteration group, UE120 may transmit the second iteration group using the second antenna. At the second antenna switching time (e.g., at the end of the second iteration group), UE120 may perform an antenna switching procedure to switch UE120's active transmitting antenna from the second antenna to the third antenna (or back to the first antenna). After a certain length of time associated with the time interval, or at the start of the third iteration group, UE120 may transmit the third iteration group using the third antenna (or the first antenna). By including time intervals in the PRACH format, large intervals (e.g., intervals that are not negligible compared to the duration of the cyclic prefix) associated with antenna switching procedures (e.g., intervals during which UE120 is unable to transmit) can be absorbed by the time intervals. In addition, the second PRACH format saves network resources and / or time that would otherwise be used to detect random access failures due to antenna switching procedures being performed between PRACH sequence iterations.

[0147] As shown above, Figure 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 7.

[0148] Figure 8 shows an example 800 relating to the PRACH procedure according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the example 800 includes communication between a base station 110 and a UE 120. In some embodiments, the base station 110 and the UE 120 may be part of a wireless network, such as a wireless network 100. The base station 110 and the UE 120 may communicate via a wireless access link, which may include uplinks and downlinks. In some embodiments, the PRACH procedure may be performed in an NTN, such as the NTN described above in relation to Figure 3 (for example, the base station 110 may be a satellite, or the satellite may include the base station 110). In some embodiments, the PRACH procedure may include steps or operations similar to the random access procedure described above in relation to Figures 4 and / or 5.

[0149] As indicated by reference number 805, base station 110 may determine the resources that should be used (or available for use) by UE 120 to transmit a PRACH sequence (e.g., a PRACH preamble). Resources may, among other examples, be random access channel opportunities, transmit time intervals (TTI), and / or slots. For example, base station 110 may determine a set of random access channel opportunities (e.g., symbols, slots, and / or frequency resources) that are available to UE 120 to transmit a PRACH sequence (e.g., to initiate a random access channel procedure with base station 110).

[0150] As indicated by reference number 810, base station 110 may determine network resource reservations to be used by base station 110 to receive the PRACH sequence from UE 120. Network resource reservations may include resources to be used (or available for use) by UE 120 to transmit the PRACH sequence and additional resources to account for timing inaccuracies of UE 120. For example, as described above, UE 120 may estimate the propagation delay between UE 120 and base station 110 for transmitting the PRACH sequence, and may determine the transmit timing (e.g., transmit time) to account for the estimated propagation delay (e.g., using GNSS). However, in some cases the estimated propagation delay may be inaccurate, thereby causing the PRACH sequence to arrive at base station 110 before the slot boundary (e.g., potentially interfering with other transmits received by base station 110 in the previous slot) or after the slot boundary (e.g., potentially interfering with other transmits received by base station 110 in the next slot).

[0151] To account for potential inaccuracies in propagation delay estimation, base station 110 may reserve time-domain resources in a previous slot (for example, occurring before the time-domain resources that should be used (or are available for) UE 120 to transmit the PRACH sequence), in a next slot (for example, occurring after the time-domain resources that should be used (or are available for) UE 120 to transmit the PRACH sequence), or both. Thus, if the PRACH sequence is transmitted by UE 120 with an inaccurate propagation delay estimation (for example, arriving at base station 110 in a slot earlier or later than the intended slot), base station 110 may receive the PRACH sequence using the network resource reservations extending to the previous and / or next slot. This can reduce the risk of interference caused by the PRACH sequence transmitted by UE 120 with an inaccurate propagation delay estimation.

[0152] Base station 110 may determine the amount of resources to reserve for base station 110 (outside of the resources used (or available for) UE 120 to transmit PRACH sequences) based at least in part on the timing accuracy of UE 120. For example, the timing accuracy of UE 120 may be determined by base station 110 (for example, based on previous communication with UE 120) and / or configured in base station 110. The amount of resources to reserve for base station 110 (outside of the resources used (or available for) UE 120 to transmit PRACH sequences) may take into account the timing accuracy of UE 120. In some embodiments, the amount of resources to reserve for base station 110 (outside of the resources used (or available for) UE 120 to transmit PRACH sequences) may be based at least in part on the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence. For example, the amount of resources to be reserved for base station 110 (outside of the resources used (or available to) UE120 to transmit PRACH sequences, for example) could be a portion or a factor of the cyclic prefix duration. Network resource reservations are illustrated and described in more detail below in relation to Figure 9.

[0153] In some embodiments, base station 110 may determine a timing offset value to be used by UE 120. The timing offset value may be the length of time that UE 120 should delay transmitting the PRACH sequence to account for potential inaccuracies in the estimation of propagation delay. In some embodiments, the timing offset value may be determined by UE 120 (e.g., autonomously, without signaling and / or configuration from base station 110). In some embodiments, the timing offset value may be included in broadcast signaling, such as a system information message (e.g., an SIB such as SIB1). By using broadcast signaling, base station 110 may present the timing offset value as a system-wide parameter. In some embodiments, base station 110 may update the timing offset value and retransmit the updated timing offset value in a system information message. As an addition or alternative, base station 110 may determine the timing offset value based on the timing accuracy of one or more UE 120s.

[0154] In some embodiments, the timing offset value can be pre-configured in the UE120. In some embodiments, all UE120s in a wireless communication system can be pre-configured with the same timing offset value. In some embodiments, different UE120s can have different timing offset values. For example, the timing offset value for a particular UE120 can be configured based on the timing accuracy of the UE120.

[0155] In some embodiments, the timing offset value may be based at least in part on the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence. For example, the timing offset value may be a portion or a coefficient of the cyclic prefix duration. In some embodiments, the timing offset value may be, among other examples, half and / or a quarter of the cyclic prefix duration.

[0156] As indicated by reference no. 815, base station 110 may transmit a Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration and / or system information message to UE 120. Base station 110 may indicate to UE 120 the resources that should be used by (or available for) UE 120 to transmit a PRACH sequence. For example, base station 110 may configure one or more random access channel opportunities or slots that are available to UE 120 to transmit a PRACH sequence. In some embodiments, base station 110 does not have to indicate network resource reservations (e.g., extended resources reserved by base station 110). For example, base station 110 may reserve extended resources for base station 110 in a manner transparent to UE 120. In some embodiments, base station 110 may indicate network resource reservations (e.g., extended resources reserved by base station 110). In some embodiments, base station 110 may indicate timing offset values ​​that should be used by base station 110 to determine the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence.

[0157] As indicated by reference number 820, UE120 may identify and / or determine the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence. For example, UE120 may identify and / or select the resource allocation (e.g., random access channel opportunity or slot) that should be used to transmit the PRACH sequence. UE120 may be equipped with GNSS and may use system timing obtained from GNSS to estimate the slot boundaries of the resource allocation. In addition, UE120 may estimate the propagation delay between UE120 and base station 110. For example, since UE120 may not yet be connected to base station 110, UE120 may not have a timing lead (TA) value to apply to compensate for the actual propagation delay (e.g., based on closed-loop timing control between base station 110 and UE120). Instead, UE120 may implement open-loop timing control using one or more techniques to estimate the propagation delay (e.g., without feedback from base station 110). In some embodiments, UE120 may use satellite ephemeris information from base station 110 (e.g., a satellite within NTN) to estimate propagation delay. UE120 may use the estimated propagation delay to determine the initial transmit timing for the PRACH sequence. For example, UE120 may obtain the initial transmit timing by subtracting the estimated propagation delay from the timing of the leading boundary of the slot.

[0158] If the estimated propagation delay is accurate (e.g., a zero-latency scenario), base station 110 may receive the PRACH sequence at the slot boundary (e.g., with the intended resource allocation). However, if the estimated propagation delay, the slot boundary determined from system timing, or both are inaccurate, and UE 120 transmits the RACH preamble at that time, base station 110 may receive the PRACH sequence either before or after the slot boundary. However, as described above, base station 110 may have reserved extended resources, so base station 110 may be able to receive the PRACH sequence either before or after the slot boundary.

[0159] In some embodiments, the base station 110 may further determine the transmission timing based at least in part on the timing offset value. For example, as described above, the UE 120 may determine a first transmission timing by subtracting an estimated propagation delay from the timing of the leading boundary of the slot. The UE 120 may delay or postpone the first transmission timing by the amount of the timing offset value. For example, the UE 120 may obtain a second transmission timing by adding the timing offset value to the first transmission timing. Thus, the UE 120 may determine the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence by determining a first timing value corresponding to the slot boundary, subtracting the propagation delay from the first timing value (for example, advancing the timing by the amount of the estimated propagation delay value), and adding the timing offset (for example, postponing by the amount of the timing offset value).

[0160] In some embodiments, UE120 (and / or base station 110) may modify the PRACH format of a PRACH sequence before transmitting the PRACH sequence. UE120 may modify the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH format. For example, UE120 may determine a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of the PRACH sequence. UE120 may obtain a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying (e.g., reducing) the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient. For example, the second cyclic prefix duration may, among other examples, be half and / or a quarter of the first cyclic prefix duration. The length of the second cyclic prefix duration may be determined by UE120 (e.g., autonomously, without signaling or configuration by base station 110) based at least in part on errors in signaling to the UE by the network or estimating propagation delays. The timing offset value may be based at least in part on the modified cyclic prefix duration (e.g., the second cyclic prefix duration). For example, the timing offset value may be a portion or a coefficient of the modified cyclic prefix duration (e.g., the second cyclic prefix duration). By modifying the cyclic prefix duration, base station 110 is enabled to reduce the network resource reservation for the PRACH sequence, thereby saving network resources. For example, since the timing offset value may be based at least in part on the modified (e.g., reduced) cyclic prefix duration, the length of time that the transmission of the PRACH sequence may be delayed by UE 120 is reduced, thereby enabling base station 110 to reserve fewer resources. As will be explained in more detail below, UE 120 may transmit the PRACH sequence using the modified (e.g., reduced) cyclic prefix duration.

[0161] As indicated by reference number 825, UE120 may transmit a PRACH sequence to base station 110 at a transmission timing determined as described above. As described above, the PRACH sequence may be msgA or msg1 of the random access channel procedure, or may be contained within them. Base station 110 may receive the PRACH sequence using a network resource reservation (e.g., an extended resource reserved by base station 110).

[0162] As indicated by reference no. 830, UE120 and base station 110 may communicate to perform and / or complete a random access channel procedure, at least in part, based on UE120 transmitting a PRACH sequence. For example, UE120 and base station 110 may communicate to perform and / or complete a two-step random access procedure (e.g., as described above in relation to Figure 4) and / or a four-step random access channel procedure (e.g., as described above in relation to Figure 5). As a result, base station 110 is made able to account for potential inaccuracies in UE120 in estimating propagation delay, system timing, or both, by extending the resources reserved for receiving the PRACH sequence. Additionally or alternatively, by delaying the transmission timing according to a timing offset value, UE120 may ensure that the PRACH sequence is received at base station 110 at or after the slot boundary, thereby avoiding potential interference with communications in the previous slot. In addition, by extending the PRACH sequence time-domain resource reservation for the network, the base station 110 can ensure that the PRACH sequence does not interfere with communications in a later slot (or earlier slot).

[0163] As shown above, Figure 8 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 8.

[0164] Figure 9 shows examples 900, 905, and 910 relating to the PRACH procedure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, examples 900, 905, and 910 illustrate exemplary time-domain resource reservations in UE120 (for example, as described above in relation to Figure 8), taking into account the estimation of propagation delay, the estimation of system timing, or potential inaccuracies in both.

[0165] As shown in Figure 9 and by Example 900, base station 110 may determine network resource reservations for a PRACH sequence. As shown by reference number 915, a network resource reservation may include time-domain resources (e.g., PRACH sequence resource reservations) that should be used (or available to) UE 120 for the PRACH preamble. As shown in Example 900, a network resource reservation may include time-domain resources that occur before the PRACH sequence resource reservation (e.g., to consider negative delay scenarios) and time-domain resources that occur after the PRACH sequence resource reservation (e.g., to consider positive delay scenarios). For example, a network resource reservation may include time-domain resources in the slot preceding the slot reserved for the PRACH sequence and time-domain resources in the slot following the slot reserved for the PRACH sequence. The amount of resources reserved outside of PRACH sequence resource reservations may, among other things, be based at least in part on the timing accuracy of UE120, the maximum possible timing inaccuracy of UE120, and / or the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence.

[0166] This allows base station 110 to consider negative and positive delay scenarios (e.g., inaccuracies in propagation delay estimation, system timing estimation, or both in UE 120). Example 900 illustrates a scenario where UE 120 cannot use timing offset values ​​when determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence (e.g., UE 120 does not postpone or delay the transmission of the PRACH sequence).

[0167] As shown by reference number 920, if the propagation delay estimated by UE 120 is accurate (e.g., zero-latency scenario), base station 110 may receive the PRACH sequence at a slot boundary (e.g., in the intended resource allocation or reserved slot). As shown by reference number 925, if the propagation delay estimated by UE 120 is inaccurate, the PRACH sequence may arrive at base station 110 before the first slot boundary of the intended resource allocation or reserved slot (e.g., negative-latency scenario). However, since network resource reservations include time-domain resources in slots prior to the reserved slot for the PRACH sequence, base station 110 can also avoid potential interference with communications received in the slots prior to the reserved slot for the PRACH sequence while successfully receiving the PRACH sequence (e.g., using network resource reservations). As indicated by reference number 930, if the propagation delay estimated by UE120 is inaccurate, the PRACH sequence may arrive at base station 110 after the intended resource allocation or the last slot boundary of the reserved slot (e.g., a positive delay scenario). However, since network resource reservations include time-domain resources in slots later than the reserved slot for the PRACH sequence, base station 110 can also avoid potential interference with communications received in slots later than the reserved slot for the PRACH sequence while successfully receiving the PRACH sequence (e.g., using network resource reservations).

[0168] As shown in Figure 9 and Example 905, base station 110 may determine a network resource reservation for the PRACH sequence. As shown by reference no. 935, the network resource reservation may include time-domain resources (e.g., a PRACH sequence resource reservation) that should be used (or available to) UE 120 for the PRACH preamble. As shown in Example 905, the network resource reservation may include only the PRACH sequence resource reservation and time-domain resources that occur after the PRACH sequence resource reservation (e.g., not time-domain resources that occur before the PRACH sequence resource reservation). This allows base station 110 to reserve resources in only one additional slot (e.g., not two). To account for negative delay scenarios, base station 110 may configure UE 120 to use a timing offset value when determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence (e.g., as described above in relation to Figure 8). As described above, the timing offset value may be based at least in part on the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence or the modified (e.g., reduced) cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence (e.g., as will be explained in more detail below). In some embodiments, without a timing offset value signaled by the base station 110, the UE 120 may determine the timing offset value (e.g., autonomously, without signaling and / or configuration by the base station 110) based in part on the error in estimating the propagation delay.

[0169] As shown by reference number 940, if the propagation delay estimated by UE 120 is accurate (e.g., zero delay scenario), base station 110 may receive the PRACH sequence after the last slot boundary of the intended resource allocation or reserved slot, due to a transmission delay at least partly based on the timing offset value. However, since network resource reservations include time-domain resources in slots later than the reserved slot for the PRACH sequence, base station 110 can also avoid potential interference with communications received in slots later than the reserved slot for the PRACH sequence while successfully receiving the PRACH sequence (e.g., using network resource reservations). As shown by reference number 945, if the propagation delay estimated by UE 120 is inaccurate, the PRACH sequence may arrive at base station 110 at or near the slot boundary (e.g., in the intended resource allocation or reserved slot), due to a transmission delay at least partly based on the timing offset value (e.g., negative delay scenario). Example 905 illustrates a negative delay scenario in which the PRACH sequence arrives at base station 110 at a slot boundary. In other negative delay scenarios, the PRACH sequence may arrive at base station 110 after the intended resource allocation or the end of the reserved slot boundary due to transmission delays. However, as described above, base station 110 may account for this using extended network resource reservations.

[0170] As indicated by reference number 950, if the propagation delay estimated by UE120 is inaccurate, the PRACH sequence may arrive at base station 110 after the intended resource allocation or the last slot boundary of the reserved slot (for example, after the zero-delay scenario). However, as described above, base station 110 may account for this using extended network resource reservations. As a result, base station 110 may account for negative delay scenarios and / or positive delay scenarios using the techniques and resource allocation / reservations described above in relation to examples 900 and / or 905.

[0171] As shown in Figure 9 and Example 910, UE120 and / or base station 110 may consider negative and / or positive delay scenarios by modifying the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence. For example, as described above in relation to Figure 8, UE120 (and / or base station 110) may modify the PRACH format of a PRACH sequence before transmitting it by modifying the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH format. In some embodiments, UE120 may reduce the cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence in Example 910 may be shorter than the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence in Examples 900 and / or Example 905. UE120 may autonomously modify the cyclic prefix duration. Alternatively, base station 110 may provide UE120 with the modified cyclic prefix duration.

[0172] UE120 may determine a timing offset value that may be based at least in part on the modified cyclic prefix duration (e.g., the second cyclic prefix duration). For example, the timing offset value may be a portion or a coefficient of the modified cyclic prefix duration (e.g., the second cyclic prefix duration). In some embodiments, the timing offset value may be (1-f) / 2*T, where T is the cyclic prefix duration, f is between 0 and 1, and f*T is the modified cyclic prefix duration (e.g., the second cyclic prefix duration). In some embodiments, the value of f may be half of one (e.g., 0.5). In some embodiments, UE120 may autonomously determine the modified cyclic prefix duration and the timing offset value (e.g., without signaling and / or configuration from base station 110). In some embodiments, base station 110 may indicate the modified cyclic prefix duration and / or the timing offset value. For example, base station 110 may indicate that the timing offset value is a portion or coefficient of the cyclic prefix duration (for example, base station 110 may indicate that the timing offset value should be half of the cyclic prefix duration). UE 120 may autonomously modify the cyclic prefix duration and determine the timing offset value based at least in part on the indicated portion or coefficient of the modified cyclic prefix duration (for example, half of the modified cyclic prefix duration). Base station 110 may reserve network resources in a manner similar to that described above in relation to Example 900 and / or Example 905.

[0173] By modifying the cyclic prefix duration, base station 110 is enabled to reduce the network resource reservation for the PRACH sequence, thereby saving network resources. For example, the timing offset value may be based at least in part on the modified (e.g., reduced) cyclic prefix duration, so that the length of time that the transmission of the PRACH sequence may be delayed by UE 120 is reduced, thereby enabling base station 110 to reserve fewer resources. As a result, UE 120 and / or base station 110 are enabled to consider zero-delay scenarios (e.g., as indicated by reference number 955), negative-delay scenarios (e.g., as indicated by reference number 960), and / or positive-delay scenarios (e.g., as indicated by reference number 965) in a manner similar to that described above.

[0174] As shown above, Figure 9 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 9.

[0175] Figure 10 shows an exemplary process 1000 performed by, for example, a UE, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The exemplary process 1000 is an example in which a UE (e.g., UE120) performs an action related to the PRACH procedure.

[0176] As shown in Figure 10, in some embodiments, process 1000 may include receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching (block 1010). For example, as described above, the UE (using, for example, a receiving component 1402 illustrated in Figure 14) may receive a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0177] As further shown in Figure 10, in some embodiments, process 1000 may include transmitting to the base station a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching from one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching (block 1020). For example, as described above, the UE (using, for example, the transmitting component 1404 illustrated in Figure 14) may transmit to the base station a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching from one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0178] Process 1000 may include additional embodiments, such as any single embodiment or any combination of embodiments, as described in relation to one or more other processes described below and / or elsewhere in this specification.

[0179] In the first embodiment, the base station is included in the non-terrestrial network.

[0180] In a second embodiment, either alone or in combination with the first embodiment, process 1000 includes transmitting instructions to a base station regarding the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0181] In a third embodiment, transmitting an instruction on the UE's antenna switching capability, either alone or in combination with the second embodiment, comprises transmitting an instruction on whether the UE supports transmit antenna switching.

[0182] In a fourth aspect, transmitting an instruction for the UE's antenna switching capability, either alone or in combination with one or more of the second to third aspects, comprises transmitting an instruction for at least one of the following: the number of antennas supported by the UE for uplink transmit antenna switching, or the antenna switching delay associated with the UE.

[0183] In the fifth embodiment, transmitting a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth embodiments, comprises transmitting one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence using a first antenna, performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna during an antenna switching time, and transmitting one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence using the second antenna.

[0184] In the sixth embodiment, either alone or in combination with the fifth embodiment, the antenna switching time is included in the duration of the last iteration in the time domain, which is included in one or more first iterations.

[0185] In the seventh embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth to sixth embodiments, the antenna switching time is based at least in part on the duration of the PRACH sequence, the duration of the PRACH sequence includes the duration of each iteration associated with the PRACH sequence and the duration of the cyclic prefixes included in the PRACH sequence.

[0186] In the eighth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth through seventh aspects, the antenna switching time occurs a length of time before the end of the last iteration in the time domain that is included in one or more first iterations, the length of which is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix included in the PRACH sequence.

[0187] In the ninth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth through eighth aspects, the process 1000 includes determining the antenna switching time based at least in part on a stored configuration.

[0188] In the tenth embodiment, receiving a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth through eighth embodiments, comprises receiving an antenna switching time instruction.

[0189] In the eleventh aspect, receiving a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, comprises receiving an instruction for that PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format indicating that the PRACH sequence should contain one or more repetitions and that the UE should perform an antenna switch when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0190] In the twelfth aspect, receiving a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, comprises receiving instructions for one or more PRACH formats and receiving instructions on whether an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0191] In the 13th aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through 10 aspects, the process 1000 includes receiving instructions for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0192] In a 14th aspect, receiving a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with a 13th aspect, comprises receiving instructions for a random access channel opportunity related to a PRACH sequence, which is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities, and determining whether to perform an antenna switch when transmitting a PRACH sequence, at least in part on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or the second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0193] In the 15th aspect, receiving a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 1st to 14th aspects, comprises receiving an instruction for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format comprising one or more repetition groups and an instruction that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0194] In the sixteenth aspect, the repetition group comprises one or more repetitions of the PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with the fifteenth aspect.

[0195] In the 17th aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 15th through 16th aspects, each iteration group of one or more iteration groups includes a cyclic prefix.

[0196] In the 18th aspect, receiving instructions in PRACH format, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 15th through 17th aspects, comprises receiving instructions that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups.

[0197] In the 19th aspect, receiving instructions in PRACH format, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 15th to 18th aspects, comprises receiving instructions for the start time of each iteration group included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0198] In the 20th aspect, receiving instructions in PRACH format, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 15th through 18th aspects, comprises receiving instructions for time intervals between each iteration group that are included in one or more iteration groups.

[0199] In the 21st aspect, transmitting a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 15th through 20th aspects, comprises transmitting a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence using a first antenna; performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to a second antenna after transmitting the first iteration group; and transmitting a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence using the second antenna.

[0200] Figure 10 shows an exemplary block of process 1000, but in some embodiments, process 1000 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks than those shown in Figure 10, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1000 may be executed in parallel.

[0201] Figure 11 shows an exemplary process 1100, performed, for example, by a base station, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The exemplary process 1100 is an example in which a base station (e.g., base station 110 and / or a satellite including base station 110) performs operations related to the PRACH procedure.

[0202] As shown in Figure 11, in some embodiments, process 1100 may include transmitting a random access channel configuration to the UE that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching (block 1110). For example, as described above, a base station (for example, using a transmitting component 1504 illustrated in Figure 15) may transmit a random access channel configuration to the UE that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0203] As further shown in Figure 11, in some embodiments, process 1100 may include receiving a PRACH sequence from the UE using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching (block 1120). For example, as described above, a base station (for example, using a receiving component 1502 illustrated in Figure 15) may receive a PRACH sequence from the UE using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0204] Process 1100 may include additional embodiments, such as any single embodiment or any combination of embodiments, as described in relation to one or more other processes described below and / or elsewhere in this specification.

[0205] In the first embodiment, the base station is included in the non-terrestrial network.

[0206] In a second embodiment, either alone or in combination with the first embodiment, process 1100 includes receiving instructions from the UE regarding the UE's antenna switching capability.

[0207] In a third embodiment, receiving an instruction on the UE's antenna switching capability, either alone or in combination with the second embodiment, comprises receiving an instruction on whether the UE supports transmit antenna switching.

[0208] In a fourth aspect, receiving an instruction for the UE's antenna switching capability, either alone or in combination with one or more of the second to third aspects, comprises receiving an instruction for at least one of the following: the number of antennas supported by the UE for uplink transmit antenna switching, or the antenna switching delay associated with the UE.

[0209] In the fifth aspect, receiving a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, comprises receiving one or more first iterations of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using the UE's first antenna, and receiving one or more second iterations of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using the UE's second antenna.

[0210] In the sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with the fifth aspect, the time it takes for the UE to perform the antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna is included in the duration of the last iteration in the time domain, which is included in one or more first iterations.

[0211] In the seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth through sixth aspects, the time it takes for the UE to perform the antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna is based at least in part on the duration of the PRACH sequence, the duration of the PRACH sequence includes the duration of each iteration associated with the PRACH sequence and the duration of the cyclic prefixes included in the PRACH sequence.

[0212] In the eighth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth to seventh aspects, the time at which the UE performs the antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna occurs a certain length of time before the end of the last iteration in the time domain that is included in one or more first iterations, and that length of time is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix included in the PRACH sequence.

[0213] In the ninth aspect, transmitting a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fifth through eighth aspects, comprises transmitting an instruction for the time at which the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna.

[0214] In the tenth aspect, transmitting a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, comprises transmitting an instruction for that PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format indicating that the PRACH sequence should contain one or more repetitions and that the UE should perform an antenna switch when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0215] In the eleventh aspect, transmitting a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, comprises transmitting an instruction for one or more PRACH formats from that PRACH format, and transmitting an instruction for whether an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0216] In the twelfth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the process 1100 includes sending instructions to the UE for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0217] In the 13th aspect, transmitting a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with the 12th aspect, comprises transmitting an instruction for a random access channel opportunity related to a PRACH sequence, which is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities, and the instruction for whether the UE should perform an antenna switch is at least in part based on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or the second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0218] In a fourteenth aspect, transmitting a random access channel configuration, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, comprises transmitting an instruction for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format comprising one or more repetition groups and an instruction that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0219] In the 15th embodiment, the repetition group comprises one or more repetitions of the PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with the 14th embodiment.

[0220] In the sixteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the fourteenth through fifteenth aspects, each iteration group of one or more iteration groups includes a cyclic prefix.

[0221] In the 17th aspect, transmitting instructions in the PRACH format, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 14th through 16th aspects, comprises transmitting instructions that a UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups.

[0222] In the 18th aspect, transmitting instructions in PRACH format, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 14th to 17th aspects, comprises transmitting instructions for the start time of each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0223] In the 19th aspect, transmitting instructions in PRACH format, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 14th to 17th aspects, comprises transmitting instructions for time intervals between each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups.

[0224] In the 20th aspect, receiving a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with one or more of the 14th to 19th aspects, comprises receiving a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using the UE's first antenna, and receiving a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using the UE's second antenna.

[0225] Figure 11 shows an exemplary block of process 1100, but in some embodiments, process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks than those shown in Figure 11, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1100 may be executed in parallel.

[0226] Figure 12 shows an exemplary process 1200 performed by, for example, a UE, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The exemplary process 1200 is an example in which a UE (e.g., UE120) performs an action related to the PRACH procedure.

[0227] As shown in Figure 12, in some embodiments, process 1200 may include receiving instructions from a base station for resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, where the resources reserved by the base station include more resources in the time domain than those to be used for the PRACH sequence (block 1210). For example, as described above, the UE may receive instructions from a base station (for example, using the receiving component 1602 illustrated in Figure 16) for resources to be used for a PRACH sequence, where the resources reserved by the base station include more resources in the time domain than those to be used for the PRACH sequence.

[0228] As further shown in Figure 12, in some embodiments, process 1200 may include determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on the estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station (block 1220). For example, as described above, the UE may determine the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on the estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station (for example, using the determination component 1608 illustrated in Figure 16).

[0229] As further shown in Figure 12, in some embodiments, process 1200 may include sending a PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing (block 1230). For example, as described above, the UE (for example, using the transmission component 1604 illustrated in Figure 16) may send a PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing.

[0230] Process 1200 may include additional embodiments, such as any single embodiment or any combination of embodiments, as described in relation to one or more other processes described below and / or elsewhere in this specification.

[0231] In the first embodiment, the resources reserved by the base station include time-domain resources that occur before the time-domain resources to be used for the PRACH sequence and time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources to be used for the PRACH sequence.

[0232] In the second embodiment, the resources reserved by the base station include time-domain resources that occur later than the time-domain resources to be used for the PRACH sequence.

[0233] In a third embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second embodiments, process 1200 includes receiving an instruction for a timing offset value, and determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence includes determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the timing offset value.

[0234] In the fourth embodiment, either alone or in combination with the third embodiment, the timing offset value is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix of the PRACH sequence.

[0235] In the fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, the process 1200 includes determining a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of the PRACH sequence, and obtaining a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient, wherein transmitting the PRACH sequence comprises transmitting the PRACH sequence together with a cyclic prefix having the second cyclic prefix duration.

[0236] In the sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with the fifth aspect, process 1200 includes determining a timing offset value based at least part on the duration of a second cyclic prefix, and determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence includes determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence based at least part on the timing offset value.

[0237] In the seventh aspect, determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, comprises: determining a first timing value based on the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence; obtaining a second timing value by subtracting an estimated propagation delay from the first timing value; and obtaining a third timing value by adding a timing offset value to the second timing value.

[0238] In the eighth aspect, transmitting a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with the seventh aspect, comprises transmitting a PRACH sequence at a third timing value.

[0239] Figure 12 shows an exemplary block of process 1200, but in some embodiments, process 1200 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks than those shown in Figure 12, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1200 may be executed in parallel.

[0240] Figure 13 shows an exemplary process 1300 performed, for example, by a base station, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The exemplary process 1300 is an example in which a base station (e.g., base station 110 and / or a satellite including base station 110) performs operations related to the PRACH procedure.

[0241] As shown in Figure 13, in some embodiments, process 1300 may include determining a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by the UE (block 1310). For example, as described above, a base station (for example, using a determination component 1708 illustrated in Figure 17) may determine a first set of resources to be used for a PRACH sequence to be transmitted by the UE.

[0242] As further shown in Figure 13, in some embodiments, process 1300 may include determining a second set of resources to be reserved to receive a PRACH sequence, wherein the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain (block 1320). For example, as described above, the base station may determine a second set of resources to be reserved to receive a PRACH sequence (for example, using the decision component 1708 illustrated in Figure 17), wherein the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain.

[0243] As further shown in Figure 13, in some embodiments, process 1300 may include sending an instruction to the UE of a first set of resources to be used for the PRACH sequence (block 1330). For example, as described above, a base station (for example, using the transmitting component 1704 illustrated in Figure 17) may send an instruction to the UE of a first set of resources to be used for the PRACH sequence.

[0244] As further shown in Figure 13, in some embodiments, process 1300 may include receiving a PRACH sequence from the UE using resources included in a second set of resources (block 1340). For example, as described above, a base station (for example, using a receiving component 1702 illustrated in Figure 17) may receive a PRACH sequence from the UE using resources included in a second set of resources.

[0245] Process 1300 may include additional embodiments, such as any single embodiment or any combination of embodiments, as described below and / or in relation to one or more other processes described elsewhere in this specification.

[0246] In the first embodiment, determining a second set of resources to be reserved to receive a PRACH sequence comprises determining that the second set of resources should include time-domain resources that occur before the time-domain resources of the first set of resources and time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources of the first set of resources.

[0247] In a second embodiment, determining a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving a PRACH sequence comprises determining that the second set of resources should include time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources of the first set of resources.

[0248] In a third embodiment, determining a second set of resources to be reserved to receive a PRACH sequence, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second embodiments, comprises determining that the second set of resources should include additional time-domain resources other than the time-domain resources of the first set of resources, the amount of additional time-domain resources being based at least in part on at least one of the cyclic prefix duration of the PRACH sequence, the negative propagation delay estimated by the UE, or the positive propagation delay estimated by the UE.

[0249] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, process 1300 includes transmitting an instruction for a timing offset value to be used by the UE for the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence.

[0250] In the fifth embodiment, either alone or in combination with the fourth embodiment, the timing offset value is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix of the PRACH sequence.

[0251] In the sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, the process 1300 includes determining a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of a PRACH sequence, obtaining a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient, and transmitting to the UE an instruction for the second cyclic prefix duration to be used by the UE for the PRACH sequence.

[0252] In the seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with the sixth aspect, the process 1300 includes determining a timing offset value based at least part on the duration of a second cyclic prefix and transmitting instructions for the timing offset value to the UE.

[0253] Figure 13 shows an exemplary block of process 1300, but in some embodiments, process 1300 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks than those shown in Figure 13, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1300 may be executed in parallel.

[0254] Figure 14 is a block diagram of an exemplary device 1400 for wireless communication. Device 1400 may be a UE, or a UE may include device 1400. In some embodiments, device 1400 includes a receiving component 1402 and a transmitting component 1404, which may communicate with each other (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, device 1400 may use the receiving component 1402 and the transmitting component 1404 to communicate with another device 1406 (such as a UE, base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, device 1400 may include, among other examples, an antenna switching component 1408.

[0255] In some embodiments, the apparatus 1400 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in relation to Figures 6, 7, 8, and / or 9. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1400 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1000 in Figure 10, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the apparatus 1400 and / or one or more components shown in Figure 14 may include one or more components of the UE described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components shown in Figure 14 may be implemented within one or more components described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of a set of components may be implemented, at least in part, as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code that can be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium and executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0256] The receiving component 1402 may receive communications from the device 1406, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof. The receiving component 1402 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1400. In some embodiments, the receiving component 1402 may perform signal processing on the received communications (e.g., filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding) and provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1406. In some embodiments, the receiving component 1402 may include one or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in relation to Figure 2.

[0257] The transmitting component 1404 may transmit communications such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof to the device 1406. In some embodiments, one or more other components of the device 1406 may generate communications and provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1404 for transmission to the device 1406. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1404 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (among other things, filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or coding) and transmit the processed signals to the device 1406. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1404 may include one or more antennas, modulators, transmitting MIMO processors, transmitting processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof of the UE described above in relation to Figure 2. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1404 may be juxtaposed with the receiving component 1402 in the transceiver.

[0258] The receiving component 1402 may receive from the base station a random access channel configuration that indicates one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching. The transmitting component 1404 may transmit to the base station a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0259] The transmitting component 1404 may transmit instructions to the base station regarding the UE's antenna switching capability.

[0260] The transmitting component 1404 may transmit one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence using the first antenna. The antenna switching component 1408 may perform an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna during the antenna switching time. The transmitting component 1404 may transmit one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence using the second antenna. The antenna switching component 1408 may determine the antenna switching time based at least in part on a stored configuration. The receiving component 1402 may receive an instruction for the antenna switching time.

[0261] The receiving component 1402 may receive instructions for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0262] The receiving component 1402 may receive instructions for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format including one or more repeating groups and instructions that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0263] The receiving component 1402 may receive instructions that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups. The receiving component 1402 may also receive instructions for the start time of each iteration group included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the UE's antenna switching capability.

[0264] The receiving component 1402 may receive instructions for the time interval between each iteration group included in one or more iteration groups.

[0265] The transmitting component 1404 may use the first antenna to transmit a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of the PRACH sequence. After transmitting the first iteration group, the antenna switching component 1408 may perform an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna. The transmitting component 1404 may use the second antenna to transmit a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of the PRACH sequence.

[0266] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 14 are given as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently compared to the components shown in Figure 14. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Figure 14 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 14 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Figure 14 may perform one or more functions that are described as being performed by another set of components shown in Figure 14.

[0267] Figure 15 is a block diagram of an exemplary device 1500 for wireless communication. Device 1500 may be a base station, or a base station may include device 1500. In some embodiments, device 1500 includes a receiving component 1502 and a transmitting component 1504, which may communicate with each other (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, device 1500 may use the receiving component 1502 and the transmitting component 1504 to communicate with another device 1506 (such as a UE, base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, device 1500 may include, among other examples, a determination component 1508.

[0268] In some embodiments, the device 1500 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in relation to Figures 6, 7, 8, and / or 9. Additionally or alternatively, the device 1500 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1100 in Figure 11, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the device 1500 and / or one or more components shown in Figure 15 may include one or more components of the base station described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components shown in Figure 15 may be implemented within one or more components described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of a set of components may be implemented, at least in part, as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code that can be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium and executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0269] The receiving component 1502 may receive communications from the device 1506, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof. The receiving component 1502 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1500. In some embodiments, the receiving component 1502 may perform signal processing on the received communications (e.g., filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding) and provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1506. In some embodiments, the receiving component 1502 may include one or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memory, or a combination thereof of the base station described above in relation to Figure 2.

[0270] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit communications such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof to the device 1506. In some embodiments, one or more other components of the device 1506 may generate communications and provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1504 for transmission to the device 1506. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1504 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (in particular, filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or coding) and transmit the processed signals to the device 1506. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1504 may include one or more antennas, modulators, transmitting MIMO processors, transmitting processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof of the base station described above in relation to Figure 2. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1504 may be juxtaposed with the receiving component 1502 in the transceiver.

[0271] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit to the UE a random access channel configuration that shows one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching. The receiving component 1502 may receive from the UE a PRACH sequence that uses one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching. The determining component 1508 may determine the random access channel configuration.

[0272] The receiving component 1502 may receive instructions from the UE regarding the UE's antenna switching capability.

[0273] The receiving component 1502 may use the UE's first antenna to receive one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE. The receiving component 1502 may use the UE's second antenna to receive one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE.

[0274] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit instructions on the time at which the UE should perform the antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna.

[0275] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit instructions in one or more PRACH formats, where the PRACH format indicates that the PRACH sequence should contain one or more repetitions and that the UE should perform an antenna switch when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0276] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit instructions for one or more PRACH formats. The transmitting component 1504 may transmit instructions on whether an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0277] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit instructions to the UE for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0278] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit instructions for random access channel opportunities related to a PRACH sequence, which are included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities. The transmitting component 1504 may also transmit instructions for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format including one or more repetition groups and instructions that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0279] The transmitting component 1504 may transmit an instruction that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups. The transmitting component 1504 may transmit an instruction for the start time of each iteration group included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the UE's antenna switching capability. The transmitting component 1504 may transmit an instruction for the time interval between each iteration group included in one or more iteration groups.

[0280] The receiving component 1502 may use the UE's first antenna to receive a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of the PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE. The receiving component 1502 may use the UE's second antenna to receive a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of the PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE.

[0281] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 15 are given as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently compared to the components shown in Figure 15. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Figure 15 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 15 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Figure 15 may perform one or more functions that are described as being performed by another set of components shown in Figure 15.

[0282] Figure 16 is a block diagram of an exemplary device 1600 for wireless communication. Device 1600 may be a UE, or a UE may include device 1600. In some embodiments, device 1600 includes a receiving component 1602 and a transmitting component 1604, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, device 1600 may use the receiving component 1602 and the transmitting component 1604 to communicate with another device 1606 (such as a UE, base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, device 1600 may include, among other examples, a determination component 1608.

[0283] In some embodiments, the apparatus 1600 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in relation to Figures 6, 7, 8, and / or 9. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1600 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1300 in Figure 13, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the apparatus 1600 and / or one or more components shown in Figure 16 may include one or more components of the UE described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components shown in Figure 16 may be implemented within one or more components described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of a set of components may be implemented, at least in part, as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code that can be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium and executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0284] The receiving component 1602 may receive communications such as a reference signal, control information, data communication, or a combination thereof from the device 1606. The receiving component 1602 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1600. In some aspects, the receiving component 1602 may perform signal processing (such as, among other examples, filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, de-multiplexing, de-interleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and provide the processed signal to one or more other components of the device 1606. In some aspects, the receiving component 1602 may include one or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the UE described above in connection with FIG. 2.

[0285] The transmitting component 1604 may transmit communications such as a reference signal, control information, data communication, or a combination thereof to the device 1606. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1606 may generate the communications and provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1604 for transmission to the device 1606. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1604 may perform signal processing (such as, among other examples, filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and transmit the processed signal to the device 1606. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1604 may include one or more antennas, modulators, transmitting MIMO processors, transmitting processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the UE described above in connection with FIG. 2. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1604 may be co-located with the receiving component 1602 in a transceiver.

[0286] The receiving component 1602 may receive an indication of the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence from the base station, and the resources reserved by the base station include more resources in the time domain than the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence. The determining component 1608 may determine the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on the estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station. The transmitting component 1604 may transmit the PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing.

[0287] The receiving component 1602 may receive an indication of the timing offset value. The determining component 1608 may determine the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on the timing offset value.

[0288] The determining component 1608 may identify a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of the PRACH sequence. The determining component 1608 may modify the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient to obtain a second cyclic prefix duration, and transmitting the PRACH sequence includes transmitting the PRACH sequence with a cyclic prefix having the second cyclic prefix duration. The determining component 1608 may identify a timing offset value based at least in part on the second cyclic prefix duration.

[0289] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 16 are given as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently compared to the components shown in Figure 16. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Figure 16 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 16 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Figure 16 may perform one or more functions that are described as being performed by another set of components shown in Figure 16.

[0290] Figure 17 is a block diagram of an exemplary device 1700 for wireless communication. Device 1700 may be a base station, or a base station may include device 1700. In some embodiments, device 1700 includes a receiving component 1702 and a transmitting component 1704, which may communicate with each other (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, device 1700 may use the receiving component 1702 and the transmitting component 1704 to communicate with another device 1706 (such as a UE, base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, device 1700 may include, among other examples, a determination component 1708.

[0291] In some embodiments, the device 1700 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in relation to Figures 6, 7, 8, and / or 9. Additionally or alternatively, the device 1700 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1400 in Figure 14, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the device 1700 and / or one or more components shown in Figure 17 may include one or more components of the base station described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components shown in Figure 17 may be implemented within one or more components described above in relation to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of a set of components may be implemented, at least in part, as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code that can be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium and executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0292] The receiving component 1702 may receive communications from the device 1706, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof. The receiving component 1702 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1700. In some embodiments, the receiving component 1702 may perform signal processing on the received communications (e.g., filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding) and provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1706. In some embodiments, the receiving component 1702 may include one or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memory, or a combination thereof of the base station described above in relation to Figure 2.

[0293] The transmitting component 1704 may transmit communications such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof to the device 1706. In some embodiments, one or more other components of the device 1706 may generate communications and provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1704 for transmission to the device 1706. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1704 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (e.g., filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or coding) and transmit the processed signals to the device 1706. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1704 may include one or more antennas, modulators, transmitting MIMO processors, transmitting processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof of the base station described above in relation to Figure 2. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 1704 may be juxtaposed with the receiving component 1702 in the transceiver.

[0294] The determination component 1708 may determine a first set of resources to be used for the PRACH sequence to be transmitted by the UE. The determination component 1708 may also determine a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving the PRACH sequence, the first and second sets of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain. The transmission component 1704 may transmit to the UE an instruction for the first set of resources to be used for the PRACH sequence. The reception component 1702 may receive the PRACH sequence from the UE using resources included in the second set of resources. The transmission component 1704 may transmit an instruction for a timing offset value to be used by the UE for the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence.

[0295] The determination component 1708 may determine a first cyclic prefix duration based at least partly on the PRACH format of the PRACH sequence. The determination component 1708 may obtain a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration with a coefficient. The transmission component 1704 may transmit to the UE an instruction for the second cyclic prefix to be used by the UE for the PRACH sequence. The determination component 1708 may determine a timing offset value based at least partly on the second cyclic prefix duration. The transmission component 1704 may transmit to the UE an instruction for the timing offset value.

[0296] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 17 are given as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently compared to the components shown in Figure 17. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Figure 17 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 17 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Figure 17 may perform one or more functions that are described as being performed by another set of components shown in Figure 17.

[0297] The following provides an overview of some aspects of this disclosure.

[0298] Embodiment 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user device (UE), comprising the steps of: receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) formats related to antenna switching; and transmitting to the base station a PRACH sequence using one of the one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0299] Embodiment 2: The method of Embodiment 1, wherein the base station is included in a non-terrestrial network.

[0300] Embodiment 3: Any method from Embodiments 1 to 2, further comprising the step of transmitting instructions to a base station regarding the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0301] Embodiment 4: The method of Embodiment 3, wherein the step of transmitting an instruction on the UE's antenna switching capability comprises the step of transmitting an instruction on whether the UE supports transmit antenna switching.

[0302] Embodiment 5: Any method of Embodiments 3 to 4, wherein the step of transmitting an instruction for the UE's antenna switching capability comprises transmitting an instruction for at least one of the number of antennas supported by the UE for uplink transmit antenna switching, or an antenna switching delay associated with the UE.

[0303] Embodiment 6: Any method of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the step of transmitting a PRACH sequence comprises: transmitting one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence using a first antenna; performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna during antenna switching time; and transmitting one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence using the second antenna.

[0304] Embodiment 7: The method of Embodiment 6, wherein the antenna switching time is included in the duration of the last iteration in the time domain, which is included in one or more first iterations.

[0305] Embodiment 8: Any method of Embodiments 6 to 7, wherein the antenna switching time is based at least in part on the duration of the PRACH sequence, and the duration of the PRACH sequence includes the duration of each iteration associated with the PRACH sequence and the duration of the cyclic prefixes included in the PRACH sequence.

[0306] Aspect 9: The antenna switching time occurs a length of time before the end of the last repetition in the time domain included in the first one or more repetitions, and the length of time is at least partly based on the duration of the cyclic prefix included in the PRACH sequence, and is any of the methods of Aspects 6 to 8.

[0307] Aspect 10: The method according to any of Aspects 6 to 9, further comprising the step of determining the antenna switching time at least partly based on the stored configuration.

[0308] Aspect 11: The method according to any of Aspects 6 to 9, wherein the step of receiving a random access channel configuration comprises the step of receiving an indication of the antenna switching time.

[0309] Aspect 12: The method according to any of Aspects 6 to 9, further comprising the step of determining the antenna switching time at least partly based on the stored configuration, or the step of receiving an indication of the antenna switching time.

[0310] Aspect 13: The method according to any of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the step of receiving a random access channel configuration comprises the step of receiving an indication of the PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format indicating that the PRACH sequence should include one or more repetitions and indicating that the UE should perform an antenna switch when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0311] Aspect 14: The method according to any of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the step of receiving a random access channel configuration comprises the step of receiving an indication of the PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats and the step of receiving an indication of whether the UE should perform an antenna switch when transmitting a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0312] Embodiment 15: Any method of Embodiments 1 to 12, further comprising the step of receiving instructions for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0313] Embodiment 16: The method of Embodiment 15, wherein the step of receiving a random access channel configuration is the step of receiving an instruction for a random access channel opportunity related to a PRACH sequence, which is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities; and the step of determining whether to perform an antenna switch when transmitting a PRACH sequence, at least in part on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or the second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0314] Embodiment 17: Any method of Embodiments 1 to 12, further comprising: receiving instructions for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by a UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by a UE; receiving instructions for a random access channel opportunity related to a PRACH sequence that is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or the second set of random access channel opportunities; and determining whether to perform antenna switching when transmitting a PRACH sequence, at least in part on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or the second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0315] Embodiment 18: Any method of Embodiments 1 to 17, wherein the step of receiving a random access channel configuration comprises the step of receiving an instruction for a PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format comprising one or more repetition groups and an instruction that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0316] Embodiment 19: The method of Embodiment 18, wherein the repeat group comprises one or more repeats of a PRACH sequence.

[0317] Embodiment 20: Any method of Embodiments 18 to 19, wherein each iteration group of one or more iteration groups includes a cyclic prefix.

[0318] Embodiment 21: Any method of Embodiments 18 to 20, wherein the step of receiving instructions in PRACH format includes the step of receiving instructions that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups.

[0319] Embodiment 22: Any method of Embodiments 18 to 21, wherein the step of receiving instructions in PRACH format comprises the step of receiving instructions for the start time of each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0320] Embodiment 23: Any method from Embodiments 18 to 21, wherein the step of receiving instructions in PRACH format comprises the step of receiving instructions for time intervals between each iteration group included in one or more iteration groups.

[0321] Embodiment 24: Any method of Embodiments 18 to 21, wherein the step of receiving instructions in PRACH format comprises receiving instructions for at least one of the following: a start time for each of the one or more iteration groups, wherein the start time is based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE, or a time interval between each of the one or more iteration groups.

[0322] Embodiment 25: Any method of Embodiments 18 to 24, wherein the step of transmitting a PRACH sequence comprises: transmitting a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence using a first antenna; performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to a second antenna after transmitting the first iteration group; and transmitting a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence using the second antenna.

[0323] Embodiment 26: A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising the steps of: transmitting a random access channel configuration to a user equipment (UE) that indicates one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) formats related to antenna switching; and receiving from the UE a PRACH sequence that uses one of the one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching.

[0324] Embodiment 27: The method of Embodiment 26, wherein the base station is included in a non-terrestrial network.

[0325] Embodiment 28: Any method from Embodiments 26 to 27, further comprising the step of receiving an instruction from the UE regarding the UE's antenna switching capability.

[0326] Embodiment 29: The method of Embodiment 28, wherein the step of receiving an instruction on the UE's antenna switching capability includes the step of receiving an instruction on whether the UE supports transmit antenna switching.

[0327] Embodiment 30: Any method of Embodiments 28 to 29, wherein the step of receiving an instruction for the UE's antenna switching capability includes receiving an instruction for at least one of the number of antennas supported by the UE for uplink transmit antenna switching, or an antenna switching delay associated with the UE.

[0328] Embodiment 31: Any method of Embodiments 26 to 30, wherein the step of receiving a PRACH sequence comprises the steps of receiving one or more first iterations of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using a first antenna of the UE, and receiving one or more second iterations of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using a second antenna of the UE.

[0329] Embodiment 32: The method of Embodiment 31, wherein the time it takes for the UE to perform the antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna is included in the duration of the last iteration in the time domain, which is included in one or more first iterations.

[0330] Embodiment 33: Any method of Embodiments 31 to 32, wherein the time it takes for the UE to perform an antenna switching procedure from a first antenna to a second antenna is based at least in part on the duration of the PRACH sequence, the duration of the PRACH sequence includes the duration of each iteration associated with the PRACH sequence and the duration of the cyclic prefixes included in the PRACH sequence.

[0331] Embodiment 34: Any method of Embodiments 31 to 33, wherein the time at which the UE performs the antenna switching procedure from the first antenna to the second antenna occurs a length of time before the end of the last iteration in the time domain that is included in one or more first iterations, and that length of time is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix included in the PRACH sequence.

[0332] Embodiment 35: Any method of Embodiments 31 to 34, wherein the step of transmitting a random access channel configuration comprises the step of transmitting an instruction on the time at which the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure from a first antenna to a second antenna.

[0333] Embodiment 36: Any method of Embodiments 26 to 35, wherein the step of receiving a random access channel configuration comprises the step of transmitting an instruction for that PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format indicating that a PRACH sequence should consist of one or more repetitions, and that an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits the PRACH sequence.

[0334] Embodiment 37: Any method of Embodiments 26 to 35, wherein the step of transmitting a random access channel configuration comprises the steps of transmitting an instruction for one or more PRACH formats from that PRACH format, and transmitting an instruction on whether an antenna switch should be performed when the UE transmits a PRACH sequence using the PRACH format.

[0335] Embodiment 38: Any method of Embodiments 26 to 35, further comprising the step of transmitting instructions to the UE for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE.

[0336] Embodiment 39: The method of Embodiment 38, wherein the step of transmitting a random access channel configuration comprises the step of transmitting an instruction for a random access channel opportunity relating to a PRACH sequence, which is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities, and the instruction for whether the UE should perform an antenna switch is at least in part based on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in a first set of random access channel opportunities or a second set of random access channel opportunities.

[0337] Embodiment 40: Any method of Embodiments 26 to 39, wherein the step of transmitting a random access channel configuration comprises the step of transmitting an instruction for one or more PRACH formats, the PRACH format comprising one or more repetition groups and an instruction that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

[0338] Embodiment 41: The method of Embodiment 40, wherein the repeat group comprises one or more repeats of a PRACH sequence.

[0339] Embodiment 42: Any method of Embodiments 40 to 41, wherein each iteration group of one or more iteration groups includes a cyclic prefix.

[0340] Embodiment 43: Any method of Embodiments 40 to 42, wherein the step of transmitting instructions in PRACH format comprises the step of transmitting instructions that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of one or more iteration groups.

[0341] Embodiment 44: Any method of Embodiments 40 to 43, wherein the step of transmitting instructions in PRACH format comprises transmitting instructions for the start time of each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups, the start time being based at least in part on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE.

[0342] Embodiment 45: Any method of Embodiments 40 to 43, wherein the step of transmitting instructions in PRACH format comprises the step of transmitting instructions for time intervals between each iteration group that is included in one or more iteration groups.

[0343] Embodiment 46: Any method of Embodiments 40 to 43, wherein the step of receiving a PRACH sequence comprises the steps of receiving a first iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using a first antenna of the UE, and receiving a second iteration group of one or more iteration groups of a PRACH sequence transmitted by the UE using a second antenna of the UE.

[0344] Embodiment 47: A method of wireless communication performed by user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving instructions from a base station for resources to be used for a physical random access channel (PRACH) sequence, wherein the resources reserved by the base station include in the time domain more resources than the resources to be used for the PRACH sequence; determining the transmission timing of the PRACH sequence based at least in part on an estimated propagation delay between the UE and the base station; and transmitting the PRACH sequence to the base station according to the transmission timing.

[0345] Embodiment 48: The method of Embodiment 47, wherein the resources reserved by the base station include time-domain resources that occur before time-domain resources to be used for the PRACH sequence and time-domain resources that occur after time-domain resources to be used for the PRACH sequence.

[0346] Embodiment 49: The method of Embodiment 47, wherein the resources reserved by the base station include time-domain resources that occur later than the time-domain resources to be used for the PRACH sequence.

[0347] Embodiment 50: Any method of Embodiments 47 to 49, further comprising the step of receiving an instruction for a timing offset value, wherein the step of determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence comprises the step of determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the timing offset value.

[0348] Embodiment 51: The method of Embodiment 50, wherein the timing offset value is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix of the PRACH sequence.

[0349] Embodiment 52: Any method of Embodiments 47 to 51, further comprising the steps of: identifying a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of a PRACH sequence; and obtaining a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient, wherein the step of transmitting a PRACH sequence comprises transmitting the PRACH sequence together with a cyclic prefix having a second cyclic prefix duration.

[0350] Embodiment 53: The method of Embodiment 52, further comprising the step of identifying a timing offset value based at least in part on the duration of a second cyclic prefix, wherein the step of determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence comprises the step of determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence based at least in part on the timing offset value.

[0351] Embodiment 54: Any method of Embodiments 47 to 53, wherein the step of determining the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence comprises: determining a first timing value based on resources to be used for the PRACH sequence; obtaining a second timing value by subtracting an estimated propagation delay from the first timing value; and obtaining a third timing value by adding a timing offset value to the second timing value.

[0352] Embodiment 55: The method of Embodiment 54, wherein the step of transmitting a PRACH sequence comprises the step of transmitting a PRACH sequence at a third timing value.

[0353] Embodiment 56: A method for wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising the steps of: determining a first set of resources to be used for a physical random access channel (PRACH) sequence to be transmitted by a user device (UE); determining a second set of resources to be reserved for receiving the PRACH sequence, wherein the first set of resources and the second set of resources overlap at least partially in the time domain; transmitting instructions to the UE for the first set of resources to be used for the PRACH sequence; and receiving the PRACH sequence from the UE using resources included in the second set of resources.

[0354] Embodiment 57: The method of Embodiment 56, wherein the step of determining a second set of resources to be reserved in order to receive a PRACH sequence is to determine that the second set of resources should include time-domain resources that occur before the time-domain resources of the first set of resources and time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources of the first set of resources.

[0355] Embodiment 58: The method of Embodiment 56, wherein the step of determining a second set of resources to be reserved in order to receive a PRACH sequence is to determine that the second set of resources should include time-domain resources that occur after the time-domain resources of the first set of resources.

[0356] Embodiment 59: The method of Embodiment 56, wherein the step of determining a second set of resources to be reserved to receive a PRACH sequence is to determine that the second set of resources should include additional time-domain resources other than the time-domain resources of the first set of resources, the amount of additional time-domain resources being based at least in part on at least one of the duration of the cyclic prefix of the PRACH sequence, a negative propagation delay estimated by the UE, or a positive propagation delay estimated by the UE.

[0357] Embodiment 60: Any method of Embodiments 56 to 59, further comprising the step of transmitting an instruction for a timing offset value to be used by the UE for the transmission timing of a PRACH sequence.

[0358] Embodiment 61: The method of Embodiment 60, wherein the timing offset value is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix of the PRACH sequence.

[0359] Embodiment 62: Any method of Embodiments 56 to 61, further comprising: identifying a first cyclic prefix duration based at least in part on the PRACH format of a PRACH sequence; obtaining a second cyclic prefix duration by modifying the first cyclic prefix duration by a coefficient; and transmitting to the UE an instruction for the second cyclic prefix duration to be used by the UE for the PRACH sequence.

[0360] Embodiment 63: The method of Embodiment 62, further comprising the steps of identifying a timing offset value based at least in part on the duration of a second cyclic prefix, and transmitting an instruction for the timing offset value to the UE.

[0361] Embodiment 64: A device for wireless communication in a device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory that can be executed by the processor to cause the device to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0362] Embodiment 65: A device for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to perform a method of one or more embodiments of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0363] Embodiment 66: An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one means for carrying out a method of one or more embodiments of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0364] Embodiment 67: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed by a processor to perform one or more of the methods of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0365] Embodiment 68: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, wherein the set of instructions comprises one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the device, cause the device to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 1 to 25.

[0366] Apparatus 69: Apparatus for wireless communication in a device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more methods of Apparatus 26 to 46.

[0367] Embodiment 70: A device for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to perform a method of one or more embodiments of Embodiments 26 to 46.

[0368] Embodiment 71: An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one means for carrying out a method of one or more embodiments of Embodiments 26 to 46.

[0369] Embodiment 72: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed by a processor to perform one or more of the methods of Embodiments 26 to 46.

[0370] Embodiment 73: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, wherein the set of instructions comprises one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the device, cause the device to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 26 to 46.

[0371] Embodiment 74: An apparatus for wireless communication in a device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory that can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more methods of embodiments 47 to 55.

[0372] Embodiment 75: A device for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to perform a method of one or more embodiments of Embodiments 47 to 55.

[0373] Apparatus 76: Apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one means for carrying out a method of one or more of the apparatuses of Apparatuses 47 to 55.

[0374] Embodiment 77: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed by a processor to perform one or more of the methods of Embodiments 47 to 55.

[0375] Embodiment 78: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, wherein the set of instructions comprises one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the device, cause the device to perform one or more methods of one or more embodiments of embodiments 47 to 55.

[0376] Apparatus 79: Apparatus for wireless communication in a device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more methods of Apparatus 56 to 63.

[0377] Embodiment 80: A device for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to perform a method of one or more embodiments of embodiments 56 to 63.

[0378] Apparatus 81: Apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one means for carrying out a method of one or more of the apparatuses 56 to 63.

[0379] Embodiment 82: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed by a processor to perform one or more of the methods of Embodiments 56 to 63.

[0380] Embodiment 83: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, wherein the set of instructions comprises one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the device, cause the device to perform one or more methods of one or more embodiments of embodiments 56 to 63.

[0381] Apparatus 84: Apparatus for wireless communication in a device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory that can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more methods of Apparatus 1 to 25 and 47 to 55.

[0382] Embodiment 85: A device for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to perform a method of one or more embodiments of embodiments 1 to 25 and 47 to 55.

[0383] Embodiment 86: An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one means for carrying out a method of one or more embodiments of Embodiments 1 to 25 and 47 to 55.

[0384] Embodiment 87: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed by a processor to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 1 to 25 and 47 to 55.

[0385] Embodiment 88: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, wherein the set of instructions comprises one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 1 to 25 and 47 to 55.

[0386] Apparatus 89: Apparatus for wireless communication in a device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory that can be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more methods of the apparatus according to one or more of the apparatuses 26 to 46 and 56 to 63.

[0387] Embodiment 90: A device for wireless communication comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and one or more processors are configured to perform one or more methods of embodiments 26 to 46 and 56 to 63.

[0388] Apparatus 91: Apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one means for carrying out a method of one or more of the apparatuses 26 to 46 and 56 to 63.

[0389] Embodiment 92: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication, wherein the code comprises instructions that can be executed by a processor to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 26 to 46 and 56 to 63.

[0390] Embodiment 93: A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, wherein the set of instructions comprises one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the device, cause the device to perform one or more methods of Embodiments 26 to 46 and 56 to 63.

[0391] The foregoing disclosures are illustrative and explanatory, but are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the exact forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the foregoing disclosures or derived from the practice of the embodiments.

[0392] As used herein, the term “component” is broadly interpreted as hardware and / or combinations of hardware and software. “Software” is broadly interpreted as meaning, among other things, instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, and / or functions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, processors are implemented in hardware and / or combinations of hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware and / or combinations of hardware and software. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limited to their embodiments. Therefore, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It should be understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based at least in part on the descriptions herein.

[0393] As used herein, "meeting a threshold" may mean, depending on the context, that a value is greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, or not equal to a threshold.

[0394] Even if certain combinations of features are enumerated in the claims and / or disclosed herein, these combinations do not limit the disclosure of various embodiments. In practice, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically enumerated in the claims and / or disclosed herein. Each dependent claim listed below may depend directly on only one claim, but the disclosure of various embodiments includes each dependent claim combined with any other claims in the claim set. The phrase “at least one of” the list of items used herein refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” includes a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination having multiple identical elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other order of a, b, and c).

[0395] None of the elements, actions, or commands used herein should be construed as important or essential unless expressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, the articles “a” and “an” as used herein include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Additionally, the article “the” as used herein includes one or more items referred to with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore, the terms “set” and “group” as used herein include one or more items (for example, related items, unrelated items, and combinations of related and unrelated items) and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” When only one item is intended, the phrase “just one” or similar wording should be used. Also, terms such as “has,” “have,” and “having” as used herein are open-ended terms. Furthermore, the phrase “based on” means “at least in part on” unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" is inclusive when used consecutively and may be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless otherwise specified (for example, when used in combination with "either" or "only one of"). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0396] 102a Macrocell 110 base station 120 UE 130 Network Controllers 212 data sources 220 Transmitting Processors 230 TX MIMO Processor 232 Modulator 234 Antenna 236 MIMO detector 238 receiving processors 239 Data Sync 240 Controllers / Processors 242 memory 244 Communication Unit 246 Scheduler 252 Antenna 254 Demodulator 256 MIMO detector 258 receiving processors 260 Data Sync 262 data sources 264 Transmitting Processors 266 TX MIMO processor 280 Controllers / Processors 282 memory 284 Housing 290 Controllers / Processors 292 memory 294 Communication Unit 320 satellite 330 Service Links 340 satellite 350 Gateways 360 Feeder Link 710 Antenna switching time 715 interval 720 Repeat Groups 725 Antenna switching time 730-hour interval 735 Start time of the iteration group 1400 equipment 1402 Receiving Component 1404 Sending Component 1406 Another device 1408 Antenna Switching Component 1500 equipment 1502 Receiving Component 1504 Sending Component 1506 Another device 1508 Decision Components 1600 equipment 1602 Receiving Component 1604 Sending Component 1606 Another device 1608 Decision Components 1700 equipment 1702 Receiving Component 1704 Sending Component 1706 Another device 1708 Decision Component

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user device (UE), The steps include receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that shows one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) formats related to antenna switching, The steps include: transmitting a PRACH sequence to the base station using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and The PRACH format indicates the number of transmission iterations for the PRACH sequence, and the step of transmitting the PRACH sequence is based on the number of transmission iterations. The steps include transmitting one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence using a first antenna, During the antenna switching time, the procedure includes the step of performing an antenna switching procedure to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna, The steps include: transmitting one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence using the second antenna; A method that includes [a certain feature].

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting an instruction to the base station regarding the antenna switching capability of the UE.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the antenna switching time is included in the duration of the last iteration in the time domain that is included in the first one or more iterations.

4. The antenna switching time is based at least in part on the duration of the PRACH sequence, The method according to claim 1, wherein the duration of the PRACH sequence includes the duration of each iteration associated with the PRACH sequence and the duration of a cyclic prefix included in the PRACH sequence.

5. The antenna switching time occurs a certain time length before the end of the last iteration in the time domain that is included in the first one or more iterations. The method according to claim 1, wherein the length of the time is based at least in part on the duration of the cyclic prefix included in the PRACH sequence.

6. A step of determining the antenna switching time based at least in part on a stored configuration, or step of receiving an instruction for the antenna switching time. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

7. The step of receiving the aforementioned random access channel configuration is: The step includes receiving instructions for the PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, The method according to claim 1, wherein the PRACH format indicates the number of transmission iterations for the PRACH sequence, and that the UE should perform antenna switching when transmitting the PRACH sequence.

8. The step of receiving the aforementioned random access channel configuration is: A step of receiving instructions for the PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, wherein the instructions include the number of transmission repetitions for the PRACH sequence; The steps include receiving instructions on whether to perform an antenna switch when the UE transmits the PRACH sequence using the PRACH format, and The method according to claim 1, comprising:

9. The steps include receiving instructions for a first set of random access channel opportunities related to antenna switching by the UE and a second set of random access channel opportunities not related to antenna switching by the UE, The steps include receiving instructions for a random access channel opportunity related to the PRACH sequence, which is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or the second set of random access channel opportunities, A step of determining whether to perform antenna switching when transmitting the PRACH sequence, based at least in part on whether the random access channel opportunity is included in the first set of random access channel opportunities or in the second set of random access channel opportunities. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

10. The step of receiving the aforementioned random access channel configuration is: The step includes receiving instructions for the PRACH format from one or more PRACH formats, The PRACH format indicates the number of transmission repetitions for the PRACH sequence, one or more repetition groups, and that antenna switching should be used by the UE when transmitting the PRACH sequence. The method according to claim 1, wherein each iteration group of the one or more iteration groups includes a cyclic prefix.

11. The step of receiving the instruction in the PRACH format is: The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of receiving an instruction that the UE should perform an antenna switching procedure at the end of at least one of the one or more iteration groups.

12. The step of receiving the instruction in the PRACH format is: The start time of each iteration group included in the one or more iteration groups, wherein the start time is at least in part based on the length of time related to the antenna switching capability of the UE, Time interval between each repeating group included in the one or more repeating groups The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of receiving at least one of the instructions.

13. User equipment (UE), Means for receiving a random access channel configuration from a base station that indicates one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) formats related to antenna switching, The base station has means for transmitting a PRACH sequence using one or more PRACH formats related to antenna switching, and The PRACH format indicates the number of transmission repetitions for the PRACH sequence, and the means for transmission is based on the number of transmission repetitions. Using the first antenna, transmit one or more first iterations of the PRACH sequence, During the antenna switching time, the antenna switching procedure is performed to switch the transmitting antenna from the first antenna to the second antenna. Using the second antenna, transmit one or more second iterations of the PRACH sequence. A UE configured to perform the following actions.

14. The UE according to claim 13, further comprising means for carrying out the method described in any one of claims 2 to 12.

15. A computer program comprising instructions for causing a UE to perform the method described in any one of claims 2 to 12.

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