Electronic apparatus and method for providing modulation compression information in a front-haul interface

Abstract

In an embodiment, a method is provided that is performed by a distributed unit (DU) in a wireless communication system. The method can include an act of identifying a sub-block within a section. The method can include an act of generating a control-plane (C-plane) message that includes section extension information that includes modulation compression information corresponding to the sub-block. The method can include an act of transmitting the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) over a fronthaul interface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a fronthaul interface. More specifically, this disclosure relates to an electronic device and method for providing modulation compression information in a fronthaul interface.

Background Art

[0002] As the transmission capacity increases in a wireless communication system, function split that functionally separates a base station is applied. In accordance with the function split, the base station can be separated into a DU (distributed unit) and a RU (Radio Unit). For communication between the DU and the RU, a fronthaul interface is defined.

[0003] The above information is provided only as background information to assist in understanding this disclosure. No determination is made as to whether any of the above may be applicable as prior art with respect to this disclosure, and no claim is made.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] Aspects of this disclosure are to solve at least the above problems and / or disadvantages and provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, aspects of this disclosure are to provide an electronic device and method for providing modulation compression information in a fronthaul interface.

[0005] Further aspects will be partially described in the following description, and will be partially apparent from the description or learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a Distributed Unit (DU) in a wireless communication system may include an operation to identify a subblock within a section. This method may include an operation to generate a control-plane (C-plane) message which includes section extension information which includes modulation compression information corresponding to the subblock. This method may include an operation to transmit the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a fronthaul interface. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation for the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a radio unit (RU) in a wireless communication system may include receiving a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. This method may include identifying, in the section extension information, modulation compression information corresponding to a subblock within a section. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation for the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device of a distributed unit (DU) in a wireless communication system is provided. The electronic device may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor may be configured to identify subblocks within a section. The at least one processor may be configured to generate control-plane (C-plane) messages including section extension information including modulation compression information corresponding to the subblock. The at least one processor may, The C-plane message can be configured to be sent to the RU (radio unit) via the front-haul interface. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move the constellation to the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) in the subblock.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a radio unit (RU) in a wireless communication system is provided. The electronic device may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor may be configured to receive control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section extension information from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The at least one processor may be configured to identify, in the section extension information, modulation compression information corresponding to a subblock within a section. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation over the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a distributed unit (DU). The method may include an operation to generate a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression. The method may include an operation to transmit the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a fronthaul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating one or more symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a radio unit (RU). The method may include receiving a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via a fronthaul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating one or more symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a distributed unit (DU) is provided. The electronic device may include at least one transceiver for a front-haul interface, at least one processor, and memory for storing instructions. When executed by the at least one processor, the instructions can cause the electronic device to perform a function including generating a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression and transmitting the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via the front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, a first flag indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB of the first subblock.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided which is performed by a radio unit (RU). The electronic device may include at least one transceiver for a front-haul interface, at least one processor, and memory for storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the electronic device may cause itself to perform a function which includes receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via the front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, a first flag indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB of the first subblock.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium is provided which includes memory configured to store program instructions. When executed by one or more processors, the program instructions can cause a distributed unit (DU) to perform functions including generating a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression and transmitting the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating one or more symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium is provided which includes memory configured to store program instructions. When executed by one or more processors, the program instructions can cause a radio unit (RU) to perform a function which includes receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating one or more symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0016] Other aspects, advantages, and notable features of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which discloses various embodiments of the invention together with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] This disclosure shows a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 2a] This document shows a fronthaul interface according to an embodiment of the disclosure. [Figure 2b] This document shows the fronthaul interface of an O(open)-RAN (radio access network) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3a]Shows the functional configuration of a DU (distributed unit) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3b] Shows the functional configuration of a RU (radio unit) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] Shows an example of function split between a DU and a RU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5a] Shows examples of modulation compression (MC) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5b] Shows examples of modulation compression (MC) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] Shows an example of signaling between a DU and a RU to provide modulation compression information regarding subblocks of a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7a] Shows an example of a first method for splitting a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7b] Shows an example of a first method for splitting a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8a] Shows an example of a second method for splitting a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8b] Shows an example of a second method for splitting a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9a] Shows an example of a third method for splitting a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9b] Shows an example of a third method for splitting a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] Shows an example of section splitting for periodic resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] Shows an example of modulation compression for a subblock according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]An example of signaling between a DU and a RU to provide compression information using an ID (identifier) ​​is shown according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0018] It should be noted that throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

[0019] The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, is provided to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the various embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents. While various specific details are included herein to aid in understanding, these should be considered merely examples. Those skilled in the art will therefore recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, descriptions of known functions and configurations may be omitted for clarity and brevity.

[0020] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to their bibliographic meanings, but are merely those used by the inventors to ensure a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following descriptions of various embodiments of this disclosure are provided for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the disclosure, as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0021] The singular forms "a," "an," and "the" should be understood to include multiple referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Therefore, for example, a reference to "part surface" includes a reference to one or more such surfaces.

[0022] The terms used in this disclosure are used solely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions can, in context, include plural expressions unless otherwise specified. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as generally understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art described herein. Terms used herein that are defined in a general dictionary may be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning as in the context of the relevant art, and not as ideally or excessively formal unless expressly defined herein. In some cases, terms defined herein may not be interpreted in a way that excludes embodiments of this disclosure.

[0023] The various embodiments of the Disclosure described below illustrate hardware-based approaches as examples. However, since the various embodiments of the Disclosure include techniques that use both hardware and software, the various embodiments of the Disclosure do not exclude software-based approaches.

[0024] The following terms used in the description refer to signals (e.g., packet, message, signal, information, signaling), resources (e.g., section, symbol, slot, subframe, radio frame, subcarrier, RE (resource element), RB (resource block), BWP (bandwidth part), occasion), operational states (e.g., step, operation, procedure), data (e.g., packet, message, user stream, information, bit, symbol, codeword), channels, and network entities (DU (distributed unit), RU (radio unit), CU (central unit), CU-CP (control plane), CU-UP (user plane), O-DU (O-RAN (open radio access network) DU), O-RU (O-RAN Terms such as RU), O-CU (O-RAN CU), O-CU-UP (O-RAN CU-UP), O-CU-CP (O-RAN CU-CP), and terms referring to components of the apparatus are provided as examples for illustrative purposes. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms having equivalent technical meanings may be used. Furthermore, terms such as "...part," "...device," "...object," and "...body" used below may mean at least one shape structure or a unit that performs a function.

[0025] Furthermore, this disclosure may use expressions greater than or less than to determine whether a particular condition is satisfied or fulfilled, but this is merely an illustrative example and does not preclude the use of greater than or less than expressions. Conditions described as "greater than or equal to" may be replaced with "greater than or equal to," conditions described as "less than or equal to" may be replaced with "less than or equal to," and conditions described as "greater than or equal to and less than" may be replaced with "greater than and less than or equal to." Also, hereafter, "A" to "B" means at least one of the elements from A to B (including A). Hereinafter, "C" and / or "D" means including at least one of "C" or "D," i.e., {"C", "D", "C", and "D"}.

[0026] This disclosure describes various embodiments using terminology used in several communication standards (e.g., 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), xRAN (extensible radio access network), O-RAN (open-radio access network)), but these are merely illustrative examples. Various embodiments of this disclosure can be readily modified and applied to other communication systems.

[0027] Figure 1 shows a wireless communication system according to an embodiment.

[0028] Referring to Figure 1, Figure 1 illustrates some of the nodes that utilize a radio channel in a wireless communication system, including a base station 110 and a terminal 120. Although Figure 1 shows only one base station, the wireless communication system may further include other base stations that are identical or similar to base station 110.

[0029] The base station 110 is network infrastructure that provides wireless connectivity to the terminal 120. The base station 110 has coverage defined based on the distance over which it can transmit signals. In addition to being a base station, the base station 110 may also be referred to as an access point (AP), eNodeB (eNB), 5G node (5th generation node), next generation nodeB (gNB), wireless point, transmission / reception point (TRP), or other terms with equivalent technical meaning.

[0030] Terminal 120 is a device used by a user and communicates with base station 110 via a wireless channel. The link from base station 110 to terminal 120 is called the downlink (DL), and the link from terminal 120 to base station 110 is called the uplink (UL). Although not shown in Figure 1, terminal 120 and other terminals can communicate via mutual wireless channels. In this case, the link between terminal 120 and other terminals (device-to-device link, D2D) is called a sidelink, and sidelinks may be used interchangeably with the PC5 interface. In some other embodiments, terminal 120 can be operated without user involvement. According to one embodiment of this disclosure, terminal 120 is a device that performs machine-type communication (MTC) and does not need to be carried by a user. According to another embodiment, terminal 120 may be an NB (narrowband)-IoT (Internet of Things) device.

[0031] Terminal 120 may also be referred to as "user equipment (UE)", "customer premises equipment (CPE)", "mobile station", "subscriber station", "remote terminal", "wireless terminal", "electronic device", or "user device", or other terms with equivalent technical meaning.

[0032] Base station 110 can perform beamforming with terminal 120. Base station 110 and terminal 120 can transmit and receive radio signals in a relatively low frequency band (e.g., NR FR1 (frequency range 1)). Base station 110 and terminal 120 can also transmit and receive radio signals in a relatively high frequency band (e.g., NR FR2 (or FR2-1, FR2-2, FR2-3), FR3) and millimeter wave (mmWave) bands (e.g., 28GHz, 30GHz, 38GHz, 60GHz). To improve channel gain, base station 110 and terminal 120 can perform beamforming. Here, beamforming can include transmit beamforming and receive beamforming. Base station 110 and terminal 120 can impart directionality to the transmitted or received signal. For this purpose, the base station 110 and terminal 120 can select a serving beam through a beam search or beam management procedure. After the serving beam is selected, communication can be carried out through resources that have a QCL relationship with the resource that transmitted the serving beam.

[0033] If the large-scale characteristics of the channel that transmitted the symbol on the first antenna port can be inferred from the channel that transmitted the symbol on the second antenna port, then the first and second antenna ports can be evaluated as being in a QCL relationship. For example, the large-scale characteristics may include at least one of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial receiver parameter.

[0034] Figure 1 shows that both the base station 110 and the terminal 120 perform beamforming, but embodiments of the present disclosure are not necessarily limited to this. In some embodiments, the terminal may or may not perform beamforming. Similarly, the base station may or may not perform beamforming. That is, either the base station or the terminal may perform beamforming alone, or neither the base station nor the terminal may perform beamforming.

[0035] In this disclosure, a beam means a spatial flow of signal in a radio channel, which is formed by one or more antennas (or antenna elements), and such a formation process is sometimes called beamforming. Beamforming may include at least one of analog beamforming or digital beamforming (e.g., precoding). Reference signals transmitted based on beamforming may include, for example, DM-RS (demodulation-reference signal), CSI-RS (channel state information-reference signal), SS / PBCH (synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel), and SRS (sounding reference signal). Furthermore, IEs such as CSI-RS resources or SRS resources may be used as the configuration of each reference signal, and such configurations may include information associated with the beam. Information associated with a beam can mean whether the configuration (e.g., a CSI-RS resource) uses the same spatial domain filter as other configurations (e.g., other CSI-RS resources within the same CSI-RS resource set), or uses a different spatial domain filter, or which reference signal it is quasi-co-located with, and if so, what type of quasi-co-located

[0036] According to related technologies, in communication systems with relatively large base station cell radii, each base station is installed to include the functions of a digital processing unit (or DU (distributed unit)) and an RF (radio frequency) processing unit (RF processing unit, or RU (radio unit)). However, 4G (4 th In subsequent communication systems (e.g., 5G) and / or later generations, high-frequency bands are used, and as base station cell coverage decreases, the number of base stations required to cover a particular area has increased. This has led to increased installation costs for operators to install base stations. To minimize base station installation costs, a structure has been proposed in which the base station's DU and RU are separated, with one or more RUs connected to a single DU via a wired network, and one or more geographically distributed RUs being deployed to cover a particular area. Below, examples of base station deployment structures and extensions according to various embodiments of this disclosure will be illustrated with reference to Figures 2a and 2b.

[0037] Figure 2a shows a front-haul interface according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Referring to Figure 2a, fronthaul refers to the interaction between entities between the wireless LAN and the base station, as opposed to backhaul, which is the interaction between the base station and the core network. Figure 2a shows an example of a fronthaul configuration between DU210 and one RU220, but this is for illustrative purposes only and the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other words, embodiments of the disclosure can also be applied to fronthaul configurations between one DU and multiple RUs. For example, embodiments of the disclosure can be applied to a fronthaul configuration between one DU and two RUs. Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosure can also be applied to a fronthaul configuration between one DU and three RUs.

[0039] Referring to Figure 2a, base station 110 can include DU210 and RU220. The fronthaul 215 between DU210 and RU220 is F x It can be operated via an interface. For the operation of the fronthaul 215, interfaces such as eCPRI (enhanced common public radio interface) and ROE (radio over ethernet) can be used.

[0040] As communication technology advances, mobile data traffic increases, which in turn significantly increases the bandwidth requirements for the fronthaul between digital and radio units. In configurations like C-RAN (centralized / cloud radio access network), the DU (Unit Device) can be implemented to perform functions related to PDCP (packet data convergence protocol), RLC (radio link control), MAC (media access control), and PHY (physical), while the RU (Radio Unit) can be implemented to perform functions related to the PHY layer in addition to RF (radio frequency) functions.

[0041] The DU210 can perform higher-layer functions of a wireless network. For example, the DU210 can perform MAC layer functions and parts of the PHY layer. Here, parts of the PHY layer refer to functions performed at a higher level of the PHY layer, and may include, for example, channel coding (or channel decoding), scrambling (or descrambling), modulation (or demodulation), and layer mapping (or layer demapping). If the DU210 conforms to the O-RAN standard, the DU210 may be referred to as an O-DU (O-RAN DU). The DU210 may, if necessary, be replaced in embodiments of this disclosure with a first network entity for a base station (e.g., gNB).

[0042] The RU220 can perform lower-layer functions of a wireless network. For example, the RU220 can perform some of the PHY layer functions, specifically RF functions. These PHY layer functions are those performed at a relatively lower level than the DU210, and may include, for example, iFFT conversion (or FFT conversion), CP insertion (CP rejection), and digital beamforming. Such specific examples of functional separation are shown in detail in Figure 4. The RU220 may be referred to as an "access unit (AU)," "access point (AP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "remote radio head (RRH)," "radio unit (RU)," or other terms with equivalent technical meaning. When the RU220 conforms to the O-RAN standard, it may be referred to as an O-RU (O-RAN RU). The RU220 may, if necessary, be replaced in embodiments of this disclosure with a second network entity for a base station (e.g., a gNB).

[0043] In Figure 2a, the base station 110 is described as including a DU 210 and an RU 220, but embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto. A base station can be implemented in a distributed deployment with a centralized unit (CU) configured to perform upper layer functions of the access network (e.g., PDCP (packet data convergence protocol), RRC (radio resource control)) and a distributed unit (DU) configured to perform lower layer functions. In this case, the distributed unit (DU) may include the digital unit (DU) and radio unit (RU) shown in Figure 1. Between a core network (e.g., a 5GC (5G core) or NGC (next generation core)) and a radio network (RAN), the base station can be implemented in a structure where the CU, DU, and RU are arranged in that order. The interface between the CU and the distributed unit (DU) is sometimes called an F1 interface.

[0044] A CU (centralized unit) is connected to one or more DUs and can perform functions at higher layers than the DUs. For example, a CU may be responsible for the functions of the RRC (radio resource control) and PDCP (packet data convergence protocol) layers, while the DU and RU may be responsible for the functions at lower layers. A DU may perform some functions of the RLC (radio link control), MAC (media access control), and PHY (physical) layers (high PHY), while an RU may be responsible for the remaining functions of the PHY layer (low PHY). A DU (digital unit) may be included in a DU (distributed unit) depending on the implementation of a distributed base station deployment. Hereafter, unless otherwise defined, the operation will be described as that of a DU (digital unit) and an RU (RU), but the various embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to both base station deployments including a CU and deployments in which the DU is directly connected to the core network (i.e., the CU and DU are integrated and implemented in a single entity, such as a base station (e.g., an NG-RAN node)).

[0045] Figure 2b shows the fronthaul interface of an O(open)-RAN (radio access network) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. An eNB or gNB is exemplified as a base station 110 in a distributed deployment.

[0046] Referring to Figure 2b, base station 110 may include O-DU251 and O-RU253-1, ..., 253-n. For the sake of explanation, the operation and function of O-RU253-1 may be understood as part of the description of each of the other O-RUs (e.g., O-RU253-n).

[0047] O-DU251 is a logical node that includes the functions of a base station (e.g., eNB, gNB) as shown in Figure 4 below, excluding the functions exclusively assigned to O-RU253-1. O-DU251 can control the operation of O-RU253-1, ..., 253-n. O-DU251 is sometimes called an LLS (lower layer split) CU (central unit). O-RU253-1 is a logical node that includes a subset of the functions of a base station (e.g., eNB, gNB) as shown in Figure 4 below. The real-time aspects of control plane (C-plane) communication and user plane (U-plane) communication with O-RU253-1 can be controlled by O-DU251.

[0048] The O-DU251 can communicate with the O-RU253-1 via the LLS interface. The LLS interface corresponds to the fronthaul interface. The LLS interface refers to the logical interface between the O-DU251 and the O-RU253-1 using lower layer functional split (i.e., intra-PHY based functional split). LLS-C between the O-DU251 and the O-RU253-1 provides the C plane via the LLS interface. LLS-U between the O-DU251 and the O-RU253-1 provides the U plane via the LLS interface.

[0049] In Figure 2b, to illustrate the O-RAN, entities of base station 110 are referred to as O-DU and O-RU. However, such names should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of this disclosure. In embodiments described with reference to Figures 3a, 3b, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, and 10-12, it goes without saying that the operation of DU210 can be performed by O-DU251. The description of DU210 can be applied to O-DU251. Similarly, in embodiments described with reference to Figures 3a, 3b, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, and 10-12, it goes without saying that the operation of RU220 can be performed by O-RU253-1. The description of RU220 can be applied to O-RU253-1.

[0050] Figure 3a shows the functional configuration of a distributed unit (DU) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Referring to Figure 3a, the configuration shown can be understood as part of the DU210 in Figure 2a (or O-DU251 in Figure 2b) configuration as part of a base station. The terms "...unit," "...device," etc., used below refer to a unit that performs at least one function or operation, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0052] Referring to Figure 3a, the DU210 includes a transceiver 310, memory 320, and a processor 330.

[0053] The transceiver 310 can perform functions for sending and receiving signals in a wired communication environment. The transceiver 310 may include a wired interface for controlling direct connections between devices via a transmission medium (e.g., copper wire, optical fiber). The transceiver 310 can transmit electrical signals to other devices via copper wire or perform conversion between electrical signals and optical signals. The DU210 can communicate with a radio unit (RU) via the transceiver 310. The DU210 can connect to a core network or a distributed CU via the transceiver 310.

[0054] The transceiver 310 can also perform functions for transmitting and receiving signals in a wireless communication environment. For example, the transceiver 310 can perform baseband signal and bit sequence conversion functions according to the specifications of the system's physical layer. For example, when transmitting data, the transceiver 310 generates a complex symbol by encoding and modulating the transmitted bit sequence. When receiving data, the transceiver 310 demodulates and decodes the baseband signal to restore the received bit sequence. Furthermore, the transceiver 310 can include multiple transceiver paths. The transceiver 310 may be connected to a core network or to other nodes (e.g., an integrated access backhaul (IAB)).

[0055] The transceiver 310 can transmit and receive various signals. For example, the transceiver 310 can transmit management plane (M-plane) messages. For example, the transceiver 310 can transmit management plane (S-plane) messages or control plane (C-plane) messages. Similarly, the transceiver 310 can transmit or receive user plane (U-plane) messages. For example, the transceiver 310 can receive user plane messages. Although only the transceiver 310 is shown in Figure 3a, according to other embodiments, the DU210 may include two or more transceivers.

[0056] As described above, the transceiver 310 transmits and receives signals. Therefore, all or part of the transceiver 310 may be referred to as the "communication unit," "transmitting unit," "receiving unit," or "transmitting / receiving unit." In the following explanation, transmission and reception via the radio channel are used to mean that the transceiver 310 performs the processing described above.

[0057] Although not shown in Figure 3a, the transceiver 310 may further include a backhaul transceiver for connecting to the core network or other base stations. The backhaul transceiver provides an interface for performing communication with other nodes in the network. The backhaul transceiver converts bit streams transmitted from the base station to other nodes, other connected nodes, other base stations, higher-level nodes, the core network, etc., into physical signals, and converts physical signals received from other nodes into bit streams.

[0058] Memory 320 stores data such as the basic program for the operation of DU210, application programs, and configuration information. Memory 320 is sometimes referred to as the storage unit. Memory 320 can be composed of volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory. Memory 320 then provides the stored data according to the requests of processor 330.

[0059] Processor 330 controls the overall operation of the DU210. Processor 380 is sometimes referred to as the control unit. For example, processor 330 sends and receives signals via transceiver 310 (or via backhaul communication unit). Processor 330 writes and reads data from memory 320. Processor 330 can also perform the functions of the protocol stack required by the communication standard. Although only processor 330 is shown in Figure 3a, according to other embodiments, the DU210 may include two or more processors.

[0060] The configuration of DU210 shown in Figure 3a is an example and is not limited to the configuration shown in Figure 3a for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, some configurations may be added, deleted, and modified.

[0061] Figure 3b shows the functional configuration of the RU (radio unit) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] Referring to Figure 3b, the configuration shown can be understood as part of the RU220 in Figure 2b or the O-RU253-1 in Figure 2b. The terms "...unit," "...device," etc., used hereafter, mean a unit that performs at least one function or operation, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0063] Referring to Figure 3b, the RU220 includes an RF transceiver 360, a fronthaul transceiver 365, memory 370, and a processor 380.

[0064] The RF transceiver 360 performs functions for transmitting and receiving signals over a radio channel. For example, the RF transceiver 360 upconverts a baseband signal to an RF band signal and transmits it via an antenna, and downconverts the received RF band signal to a baseband signal via the antenna. The RF transceiver 360 may include a transmit filter, a receive filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC, an ADC, and so on.

[0065] The RF transceiver 360 may include multiple transceiver paths. Furthermore, the RF transceiver 360 may include an antenna section. The RF transceiver 360 may include at least one antenna array consisting of multiple antenna elements. In terms of hardware, the RF transceiver 360 may consist of digital and analog circuits (e.g., an RFIC (radio frequency integrated circuit)). The digital and analog circuits may be implemented in a single package. The RF transceiver 360 may include multiple RF chains. The RF transceiver 360 may perform beamforming. The RF transceiver 360 may apply beamforming weights to signals to impart directionality to the signals to be transmitted and received according to the settings of the processor 380. The RF transceiver 360 may include an RF (radio frequency) block (or RF section).

[0066] The RF transceiver 360 can transmit and receive signals over a radio access network. For example, the RF transceiver 360 can transmit downlink signals. Downlink signals may include synchronization signals (SS), reference signals (RS) (e.g., CRS (cell-specific reference signal), DM (demodulation)-RS), system information (e.g., MIB, SIB, RMSI (remaining system information), OSI (other system information)), configuration messages, control information, or downlink data. The RF transceiver 360 can also receive uplink signals. The uplink signal may include random access-related signals (e.g., random access preamble (RAP) (or Msg1 (message 1)), Msg3 (message 3)), reference signals (e.g., SRS (sounding reference signal), DM-RS), or power headroom report (PHR). Although only RF transceiver 360 is shown in Figure 3b, according to other embodiments, the RU220 may include two or more RF transceivers.

[0067] The RF transceiver 460 can transmit RIM-RS. The RF transceiver 460 can transmit a first type of RIM-RS (e.g., 3GPP RIM-RS type 1) to indicate the detection of far-field interference. The RF transceiver 460 can transmit a second type of RIM-RS (e.g., 3GPP RIM-RS type 2) to indicate the presence or absence of far-field interference.

[0068] The fronthaul transceiver 365 can transmit and receive signals. According to one embodiment, the fronthaul transceiver 365 can transmit and receive signals on the fronthaul interface. For example, the fronthaul transceiver 365 can receive management plane (M-plane) messages. For example, the fronthaul transceiver 365 can receive management plane (S-plane) messages or control plane (C-plane) messages. Similarly, the fronthaul transceiver 365 can transmit and receive user plane (U-plane) messages. Although only the fronthaul transceiver 365 is shown in Figure 3b, according to other embodiments, the RU220 may include two or more fronthaul transceivers.

[0069] The RF transceiver 360 and the front-haul transceiver 365 transmit and receive signals as described above. Therefore, all or part of the RF transceiver 360 and the front-haul transceiver 365 may be referred to as the "communication unit," "transmitting unit," "receiving unit," or "transmitting / receiving unit." In the following description, transmission and reception performed via the radio channel are used to mean that the RF transceiver 360 performs the processing described above.

[0070] Memory 370 stores data such as the basic program for the operation of the RU220, application programs, and configuration information. Memory 370 is sometimes referred to as the storage unit. Memory 370 can consist of volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory. Memory 370 provides the stored data according to the requests of the processor 380. Memory 370 may include memory for conditions, instructions, or settings related to the SRS transmission scheme.

[0071] The processor 380 controls the overall operation of the RU220. The processor 380 is sometimes referred to as the control unit. For example, the processor 380 sends and receives signals via the RF transceiver 360 or the fronthaul transceiver 365. The processor 380 writes and reads data from the memory 370. The processor 380 can perform the functions of the protocol stack required for the communication standard. Although only the processor 380 is shown in Figure 3b, according to other embodiments, the RU220 may include two or more processors. The processor 380 may be an instruction set or code stored in the memory 370, and may be at least temporarily resident (resided) instructions / code or memory space storing instructions / code, or part of the circuitry that constitutes the processor 380. The processor 380 may include various modules for performing communication. The processor 380 can control the RU220 to perform the operations according to embodiments described later.

[0072] The configuration of RU220 shown in Figure 3b is an example and is not limited to the configuration shown in Figure 3b for RUs that implement embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, some configurations may be added, deleted, and modified.

[0073] Figure 4 shows an example of a function split between DU and RU according to an embodiment.

[0074] Referring to Figure 4, as wireless communication technology develops (for example, with the introduction of 5G (5th generation) communication systems (or NR (new radio) communication systems)), the frequency band used has increased further. As the cell radius of base stations has become very small, the number of RUs that need to be installed has increased further. Also, in 5G communication systems, the amount of data transmitted has increased by more than 10 times, and the transmission capacity of the wired network transmitted to the fronthaul has increased significantly. Due to the above factors, the installation cost of the wired network in 5G communication systems can increase very significantly. Therefore, in order to reduce the transmission capacity of the wired network and reduce the installation cost of the wired network, "function splitting" can be used, which reduces the transmission capacity of the fronthaul by transferring some functions of the DU's modem to the RU.

[0075] To reduce the burden on the DU, the role of the RU, which currently only handles RF functions, can be extended to include some physical layer functions. As the RU performs higher-layer functions, its throughput increases, fronthaul transmission bandwidth increases, and response processing latency requirements become less stringent. However, as the RU performs higher-layer functions, virtualization gain decreases, and the size, weight, and cost of the RU increase. Considering the trade-offs of these advantages and disadvantages, it is necessary to implement optimal functional separation.

[0076] Referring to Figure 4, the functional separation in the physical layers below the MAC layer is shown. In the case of downlink (DL), which transmits a signal to a terminal over a wireless network, the base station can sequentially perform channel coding / scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, antenna mapping, RE mapping, digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), iFFT conversion / CP insertion, and RF conversion. In the case of uplink (UL), which receives a signal from a terminal over a wireless network, the base station can sequentially perform RF conversion, FFT conversion / CP rejection, digital beamforming (pre-combining), RE demapping, channel estimation, layer demapping, demodulation, and decoding / descrambling. The separation of uplink and downlink functions can be defined in various ways depending on the trade-offs between vendors, the requirements between vendors, and the discussions in the standards.

[0077] In the first functional separation 405, the RU performs RF functions and the DU performs PHY functions. The first functional separation is one in which the PHY functions within the RU are not effectively performed, and as an example, the first functional separation is sometimes called Option 8. In the second functional separation 410, the RU performs iFFT conversion / CP insertion in the DL and FFT conversion / CP removal in the UL of the PHY functions, and the DU performs the remaining PHY functions. As an example, the second functional separation 410 is sometimes called Option 7-1. In the third functional separation 420a, the RU performs iFFT conversion / CP insertion in the DL and FFT conversion / CP removal and digital beamforming in the UL of the PHY functions, and the DU performs the remaining PHY functions. As an example, the third functional separation 420a is sometimes called Option 7-2xCategory A. In the fourth functional separation 420b, the RU performs digital beamforming in both the DL and UL, and the DU performs the higher-level PHY functions after digital beamforming. In one example, the fourth functional separation 420b is sometimes called Option 7-2xCategory B. In the fifth functional separation 425, the RU performs RE mapping (or RE demapping) in both DL and UL, and the DU performs the higher-level PHY functions after RE mapping (or RE demapping). In one example, the fifth functional separation 425 is sometimes called Option 7-2. In the sixth functional separation 430, the RU performs modulation (or demodulation) in both DL and UL, and the DU performs the higher-level PHY functions after modulation (or demodulation). In one example, the sixth functional separation 430 is sometimes called Option 7-3. In the seventh functional separation 440, the RU performs encoding / scrambling (or decoding / descrambling) in both DL and UL, and the DU performs the higher-level PHY functions after modulation (or demodulation). In one example, the seventh functional separation 440 is sometimes called Option 6.

[0078] When high-capacity signal processing is expected, such as in the FR1MMU, functional isolation at a relatively high level (e.g., a fourth functional isolation 420b) may be necessary to reduce the fronthaul capacity. Furthermore, functional isolation at too high a level (e.g., a sixth functional isolation 430) can complicate the control interface and include numerous PHY processing blocks within the RU, potentially burdening the RU implementation. Therefore, depending on the placement and implementation method of the DU and RU, appropriate functional isolation may be required.

[0079] If the precoding of data received from the DU cannot be processed (i.e., the RU's precoding capability is limited), a third functional isolation 420a or less (e.g., a second functional isolation 410) may be applied. If the functional isolation has the capability to process the precoding of data received from the DU, a fourth functional isolation 420b or more (e.g., a sixth functional isolation 430) may be applied.

[0080] The embodiments described herein, unless otherwise specified, are based on a third functional isolation 420a (sometimes referred to as Category A (CAT-A)) or a fourth functional isolation 420b (sometimes referred to as Category B (CAT-B)) for performing beamforming processing on the RU. The O-RAN standard distinguishes between types of O-RUs depending on whether the precoding function is located at the interface of the O-DU or the O-RU. O-RUs in which precoding is not performed (i.e., low complexity) are sometimes referred to as CAT-A O-RUs. O-RUs in which precoding is performed are sometimes referred to as CAT-B O-RUs.

[0081] Hereinafter, "upper PHY" refers to the physical layer processing handled by the DU of the fronthaul interface. For example, the upper PHY may include FEC coding / decoding, scrambling, and modulation / demodulation. Hereinafter, "lower PHY" refers to the physical layer processing handled by the RU of the fronthaul interface. For example, the lower PHY may include FFT / iFFT, digital beamforming, PRACH (physical random access channel) extraction, and filtering. However, the above criteria do not preclude embodiments via other functional isolations. The functional configurations, signaling, or operations described later will be explained with reference to the third functional isolation 420a or the fourth functional isolation 420b, but may also be applied to other functional isolations.

[0082] Embodiments of this disclosure exemplify the use of eCPRI and O-RAN standards as fronthaul interfaces when transmitting messages between a DU (e.g., DU210 in Figure 2a) and an RU (e.g., RU220 in Figure 2a). The Ethernet payload of a message may include an eCPRI header, an O-RAN header, and additional fields. Hereinafter, various embodiments of this disclosure will be described using the terminology of the eCPRI or O-RAN standards, but in various embodiments of this disclosure, each term may be replaced with other expressions having equivalent meaning.

[0083] The fronthaul transport protocol can use Ethernet or eCPRI, which are easily shared with the network. The Ethernet payload may include an eCPRI header and an O-RAN header. The eCPRI header can be placed at the front of the Ethernet payload. The contents of the eCPRI header are as follows:

[0084] 1) ecpriVersion (4 bits): This parameter refers to the eCPRI protocol version.

[0085] 2) ecpriReserved (3 bits): This parameter is reserved for future use of eCPRI.

[0086] 3) ecpriConcatenation (1 bit): This parameter indicates when eCPRI concatenation is being used.

[0087] 4) ecpriMessage (1 byte): This parameter indicates the type of service carried by the message type. For example, this parameter indicates an IQ (in-phase and quadrature-phase) data message, a real-time control data message, or a transmission network delay measurement message.

[0088] 5) ecpriPayload (2 bytes): This parameter indicates the byte size of the payload portion of the eCPRI message.

[0089] 6) ecpriRtcid / ecpriPcid (2 bytes): This parameter is an eAxC (extended Antenna-carrier) identifier (eAxC ID) that identifies the specific data flow associated with each C-plane (ecpriRtcid) or U-plane (ecpriPcid) message.

[0090] 7) ecpriSeqid (2 bytes): This parameter provides a unique message identification and order at two levels. The first octet of this parameter is the sequence ID, used to identify the order of messages within the eAxC message stream. The sequence ID is used to verify that all messages have been received and to reorder messages that are out of order. The second octet of this parameter is the subsequence ID. The subsequence ID is used to verify the order and perform reordering when radio-transport-level fragmentation (eCPRI or IEEE-1914.3) occurs.

[0091] The eAxC identifier (ID) includes band and sector identifiers ("BandSector_ID"), component carrier identifiers ("CC_ID"), spatial stream identifiers ("RU_Port_ID"), and distributed unit identifiers ("DU_Port_ID"). The bit allocation of the eAxC ID can be distinguished as follows:

[0092] 1) DU_Port_ID: DU_Port_ID is used to distinguish processing units within an O-DU (e.g., other baseband cards). The O-DU assigns bits for DU_Port_ID, and the O-RU is expected to append the same value to UL U-plane messages that convey the same sectionId data.

[0093] 2) BandSector_ID: Aggregated cell identifier (band and sector divisions supported by O-RU).

[0094] 3) CC_ID: CC_ID distinguishes the carrier components supported by O-RU.

[0095] 4) RU_port ID: The RU_port ID specifies logical flows such as data layers or spatial streams, and logical flows such as signal channels that require the assignment of separate pneumatics (e.g., PRACH) or special antennas such as SRS.

[0096] The fronthaul application protocol may include a control plane (C-plane), a user plane (U-plane), a synchronization plane (S-plane), and a management plane (M-plane).

[0097] The control plane can be configured to provide scheduling and beamforming information via control messages. The control plane represents real-time control between the DU and RU. The user plane may include IQ sample data transmitted between the DU and RU. The user plane may include user downlink data (IQ data or SSB / RS), uplink data (IQ data or SRS / RS), or PRACH data. The weight vector of the beamforming information mentioned above can be multiplied by the user data. The synchronization plane generally represents traffic between the DU and RU to a synchronization controller (e.g., an IEEE grandmaster). The synchronization plane can relate to timing and synchronization. The administration plane represents non-real-time control between the DU and RU. The administration plane may relate to initial setup, non-real-time reset or reset, and non-real-time reporting.

[0098] Control plane messages (e.g., C-plane messages) can be encapsulated based on a two-tier header approach. The first layer can consist of an eCPRI common header or an IEEE 1914.3 common header containing fields used to indicate the message type. The second layer is an application layer containing fields necessary for control and synchronization. Sections within the application layer define the characteristics of U-plane data transmitted and received on a beam with a single pattern ID. The section types supported within the C-plane are as follows:

[0099] A Section Type can represent the purpose of a control message transmitted on the control plane. For example, the purposes of different Section Types are as follows:

[0100] 1) sectionType=0: Used to refer to resource blocks or symbols not used in DL or UL.

[0101] 2) sectionType=1: Used for most DL / UL radio channels. Here, "most" refers to channels that do not require time or frequency offsets, such as those required for mixed numerology channels.

[0102] 3)sectionType=2:reserved for further use 4) sectionType=3: PRACH and mixed-numerology channels. Channels that require a time or frequency offset, or have different values ​​from the normal (nominal) SCS. 5)sectionType=4:reserved for further use 6) sectionType=5: UE scheduling information. This transmits UE scheduling information so that the RU can perform real-time BF weight calculations (O-RAN optional BF method). 7) sectionType=6: Transmitting UE-specific channel information. UE channel information is periodically transmitted so that the RU can perform real-time BF weight calculations (O-RAN optional BF method). 8) sectionType=7: Used for LAA support 9) sectionType=8: Used for ACK / NACK feedback. This is to provide ACK / NACK feedback from RU to DU for section descriptions of C-plane messages.

[0103] In O-RAN, various types of compression techniques can be used within each section to improve data transmission efficiency between the DU and RU. These compression techniques include, exemplified, no-compression techniques, BFPC (block floating-point compression) techniques, and modulation compression (MC) techniques. An IQ data frame in the O-RAN standard may include a user data compression header (e.g., udCompHdr). The user data compression header is defined and communicated by its bit width (e.g., 4 bits "udIqWidth") and compression method (e.g., 4 bits "udCompMeth"). For example, the compression method can be defined as shown in the table below.

[0104] [Table 1]

[0105] Among the compression techniques mentioned above, MC (Multi-Chip) technology is lossless, has no data loss, and offers high compression efficiency. MC technology relies on the fact that a modulated data symbol can be represented as a very limited number of bits for the I (in-phase) component and Q (quadrature) component. For example, a QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) modulated symbol has only two potential states for I and two potential states for Q, so the QPSK modulated symbol can be represented without information loss using a single bit for the I component and a single bit for the Q component. In another example, a symbol modulated using 64QAM may be represented as a maximum of 3 bits for the I component and 3 bits for the Q component.

[0106] In a U-plane message, 16 bits can be used for the I component of the data. In a U-plane message, 16 bits can be used for the Q component of the data. That is, 32 bits can be used for data transmission in a U-plane message. When QPSK modulation is used for modulation compression, the number of bits transmitted can be reduced from 32 bits to 2 bits. When 16QAM modulation is used for modulation compression, the number of bits transmitted can be reduced from 32 bits to 4 bits. When 64QAM modulation is used for modulation compression, the number of bits transmitted can be reduced from 32 bits to 6 bits.

[0107] To represent the I and Q component values ​​that allow for the overlap of multiple constellation sizes that can be represented by a single word width, a constellation can be "shifted" so that two complements can represent each constellation point. For example, a QPSK constellation point can be shifted by -1 / 2. The I component can be -1 or 0. The Q component can be -1 or 0. Furthermore, for example, a 16QAM constellation point can be shifted by -1 / 4. The I component can be -1, -1 / 2, 0, or 1 / 2. The Q component can be -1, -1 / 2, 0, or 1 / 2. Furthermore, for example, a 64QAM constellation point can be shifted by -1 / 8. The I component can be -1, -3 / 4, -1 / 2, -1 / 4, 0, 1 / 4, 1 / 2, or 3 / 4. The Q component can be -1, -3 / 4, -1 / 2, -1 / 4, 0, 1 / 4, 1 / 2, or 3 / 4.

[0108] MC technology converts bit-level information into SCPs (shifted constellation points). A DU (e.g., DU210) can transmit a U-plane message containing the information converted according to the SCPs to a RU (e.g., RU220). The DU210 can send a constellation shift flag (csf) to the RU220 to indicate whether to shift. For example, if the csf value is "1", the shift value of each constellation point within a given bit width can be defined as shown in Table 2.

[0109] [Table 2]

[0110] Data compressed according to MC technology does not represent the actual power value. The DU210 can transmit a modulation compression scaler value (modCompScaler) to the RU220 so that the RU can set a power level for the modulated compression data. The "modCompScaler" parameter refers to the scale factor applied to unshifted constellation points during decompression. In the O-RAN standard, the "modCompScaler" parameter may be provided to the RU via section extension information (e.g., Section Extension Type 4). The "modCompScaler" parameter can refer to the exponential and mantissa components via the following formula:

number

[0111] "mantissa" represents the mantissa component of the indicated value. "exponent" represents the exponential component of the indicated value. modCompScaler[k] represents the (k+1)th bit of the "modCompScaler" parameter. For example, modCompScaler[0] represents the first bit of the "modCompScaler" parameter. modCompScaler

[14] represents the 15th bit of the "modCompScaler" parameter.

[0112] Of the 15 bits in the "modCompScaler" parameter, the most significant 4 bits represent the exponential component, and the least significant 11 bits represent the mantissa component. Therefore, the value that the "modCompScaler" parameter represents is given by the following formula.

number

[0113] "Mantissa" represents the mantissa component of the indicated value. "Exponent" represents the exponential component of the indicated value.

[0114] The Section Extension 4 of the O-RAN standard that transmits the "modCompScaler" parameter is as shown in the table below.

[0115] [Table 3]

[0116] The DU210 can transmit the modulation compression power scale RE mask (mcScaleReMask) to the RU220. The "mcScaleReMask" parameter can point to the RE position in the PRB in combination with the same scaling and modulation type. Similar to the "modCompScaler" parameter, the DU210 can transmit the scaling value for modulation compression (mcScaleOffset) to the RU220.

[0117] The "mcScaleOffset" parameter refers to the scale factor applied to unshifted constellation points during decompression. In the O-RAN standard, the "mcScaleOffset" parameter may be provided to the RU220 via section extension information (e.g., Section Extension Type 5). The "mcScaleOffset" parameter can refer to the exponential and mantissa components via the following formula:

number

[0118] "mantissa" represents the mantissa component of the indicated value. "exponent" represents the exponential component of the indicated value. mcScaleOffset[k] represents the (k+1)th bit of the "mcScaleOffset" parameter. For example, mcScaleOffset[0] represents the first bit of the "mcScaleOffset" parameter. mcScaleOffset

[14] represents the 15th bit of the "mcScaleOffset" parameter.

[0119] Of the 15 bits in the "mcScaleOffset" parameter, the most significant 4 bits represent the exponential component, and the least significant 11 bits represent the mantissa component. Therefore, the value that the "mcScaleOffset" parameter represents is given by the following formula.

number

[0120] "Mantissa" represents the mantissa component of the indicated value. "Exponent" represents the exponential component of the indicated value.

[0121] Section Extension 5 of the O-RAN standard that transmits the "mcScaleOffset" parameter is as shown in the table below. Table 4 shows one scaler value, and Table 5 shows two scaler values.

[0122] [Table 4]

[0123] [Table 5]

[0124] The section extension information in Tables 3 to 5 above may be included in the C-plane message. The RU220 can reconstruct the original signal intended by the DU210 based on the compressed data received via the U-plane message and the parameters received via the C-plane message. According to one embodiment, the RU220 can obtain the original signal from the compressed bits based on the "csf" parameter. According to one embodiment, the RU220 can obtain the original signal from the compressed bits based on the "modCompScaler" parameter. According to one embodiment, the RU220 can obtain the original signal from the compressed bits based on the "mcscaleoffset" parameter and the "mcScaleReMask" parameter.

[0125] Figures 5a and 5b show examples of modulation compression (MC) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The terms "...unit," "...instrument," etc., used herein refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0126] Referring to Figure 5a, the DU510 may include a scheduling unit 511, a C-plane message generation unit 513, and a U-plane message generation unit 515. The scheduling unit 511 can schedule U-plane messages according to the modulation compression technique described above. The C-plane message generation unit 513 can generate C-plane messages that include control information using the modulation compression technique. For example, the C-plane message generation unit 513 may generate a C-plane message that includes Section Extension 4 as shown in Table 3. Alternatively, for example, the C-plane message generation unit 513 may generate a C-plane message that includes Section Extension 5 as shown in Table 4 or Table 5. The U-plane message generation unit 515 can generate U-plane messages that include I and Q components using the modulation compression technique.

[0127] The RU520 may include a C-plane analysis unit 521, a buffer 523, a U-plane analysis unit 525, and a modulation decompression unit 527. The C-plane analysis unit 521 can receive C-plane messages from the DU510. The C-plane analysis unit 521 can obtain parameters related to modulation compression from section extension information (e.g., Section Extension 4, Section Extension 5) included in the C-plane message. The C-plane analysis unit 521 can obtain section information from the C-plane message. The C-plane analysis unit 521 can store the modulation compression-related parameters and the section information in the buffer 523. The U-plane analysis unit 525 can receive U-plane messages from the DU510. The U-plane analysis unit 525 may include the I component and Q component included in the U-plane message. The modulation decompression unit 527 can obtain the modulation compression-related parameters and the section information from the buffer 523. The modulation decompression unit 527 can obtain the I component and Q component from the U-plane analysis unit 525. The demodulation decompression unit 527 can obtain the bit sequence of the I component and the bit sequence of the Q component based on the parameters related to the modulation compression. For example, when decompression is performed, the demodulation decompression unit 527 can unshift the constellation according to the "csf" value and apply the scale factor of the constellation type shown in the section. There can be several modulation types in one section. The modulation type can be inferred from the reMask bit. Each "1" bit of the reMask bit represents the shift command ("csf") and scale factor (e.g., "modCompScaler" when using section extension 4, "mcScaleOffset" when using section extension 5) for the RE of the PRB.

[0128] The O-RAN standard provides section-based modulation compression. When using compression techniques instead of modulation compression for data transmission in a particular slot, sections can be configured according to the beamId (or ueId) assignment of data resources (e.g., RE / PRB / symbol). However, when applying modulation compression, it may be required that all PRBs and symbols within a section use the same "csf" and the same scaler value (e.g., "modCompScaler" when using section extension 4, "mcScaleOffset" when using section extension 5). In other words, since sections are configured according to the data's "csf" and scaler value, a relatively large number of sections can be configured in modulation compression compared to compression techniques without modulation compression. For example, if resource areas have the same beamId but different "csf" and different scaler values, those resource areas may need to be divided into other sections.

[0129] Referring to Figure 5b, the resource grid 551 represents data allocation by independent data type. The vertical axis of the resource grid 551 can represent the frequency domain (unit: PRB), and the horizontal axis can represent the time domain (unit: symbols). For example, the resource grid 551 may contain data 551a, data 551b, data 551c, data 551d, data 551e, data 551f, data 551g, and data 551h.

[0130] The resource grid 553 represents data allocation without modulation compression. Data transmitted individually via the DU (e.g., beamID-specific (or ueId-specific) data) may have their own unique modulation types. However, when modulation compression techniques are not applied, the DU defines certain regions, identified by PRB intervals and symbol intervals, as sections, and the DU can transmit the data of those sections to the RU. For example, the resource grid 553 may include three sections (e.g., section #0, section #1, and section #2). Section #1 may include resource areas for data 551b, data 551c, and data 551d. Section #2 may include resource areas for data 551e, data 551f, data 551g, and data 551h.

[0131] Resource grid 555 represents data allocation using modulation compression. A unique modulation type can be applied to each individual data. For example, data 551c and data 551d are frequency-divided in a specific symbol (e.g., symbol #4). Data 551c and data 551d may be divided into different RB regions within the same symbol. If the same modulation compression is applied to each section, data 551c and data 551d must be allocated to different sections. Unlike resource grid 553, data 551d may need to be in a different section than the section containing data 551c. Furthermore, since the modulation type can be distinguished for each symbol for modulation compression, sections can be time-divided. For example, independent modulation compression can be applied to data 551e, data 551f, data 551g, and data 551h, respectively. If the same modulation compression is applied to each section, data 551e, data 551f, data 551g, and data 551h must be assigned to different sections.

[0132] Although not shown in Figure 5b, separation can occur not only at the RB level but also at the RE level during modulation compression, using Section extension 4.

[0133] As illustrated with reference to Figure 5b, data transmission with modulation compression may require more sections compared to data transmission without modulation compression. However, more section distinctions can increase the amount of fronthaul transmission. Increased overhead for defining sections and redundant transmission of parameters other than modulation compression can lead to inefficiencies at the RU.

[0134] To mitigate the aforementioned problems, embodiments of the present disclosure propose control information for providing modulation compression information (e.g., "csf" and scaler values) for data assigned within several regions of a section. Multiple regions can be configured within a single section, and modulation compression information can be assigned to each of the regions. A DU (e.g., DU210) can send a C-plane message for the section containing the modulation compression information for each region to an RU (e.g., RU220). To illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure, within a single section, the regions distinguished for modulation compression are referred to as MC (modulation compression) chunks, but these can be replaced with data chunks, data bundles, section bundles, section groups, subblocks, data subblocks, MC subblocks, section subblocks, MC regions, section subregions, patterns, symbol patterns, symbol PRB patterns, section subregions, or other terms with equivalent technical meaning.

[0135] Figure 6 shows an example of signaling between a DU (e.g., DU210) and an RU (e.g., RU220) to provide modulation compression information relating to a subblock of a section according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The subblock of the section is a unit to which modulation compression is applied and is sometimes referred to as an MC chunk.

[0136] Referring to Figure 6, in operation 601, DU210 can send an M-plane message to RU220. According to one embodiment, DU210 can send subblock-level modulation compression (i.e., an M-plane message containing information to indicate that specific modulation compression (hereinafter, MC chunk-based modulation compression) is available for an MC chunk). For example, a section extension type can be defined to provide MC chunk-based modulation compression. The M-plane message can refer to a section extension type supported by DU210. The supported section extension type can refer to section extension information for MC chunk-based modulation compression. Furthermore, DU210 can provide RU220 via the M-plane message at least one parameter for the MC chunk-based modulation compression (hereinafter described in Figures 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, and 9b). Figure 6 illustrates an example of DU210 sending an M-plane message to RU220, but embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the RU220 may also send M-plane messages to the DU210. The M-plane messages may include at least one piece of information that points to a section extension type supported by the RU220 or a parameter applicable to the RU220.

[0137] In operation 603, DU210 can perform MC chunk-based scheduling. DU210 can divide a section into one or more MC chunks. DU210 can divide a section into multiple MC chunks. For example, DU210 can divide a section into four MC chunks. DU210 can determine one or more parameters to represent each MC chunk. For example, DU210 can determine a parameter to represent the number of MC chunks. DU210 can determine a parameter to represent the number of symbols in each MC chunk. DU210 can determine a parameter to represent the number of PRBs in each MC chunk. DU210 can determine a parameter to indicate the interval between PRBs or between symbols in an MC chunk.

[0138] In operation 605, DU210 may send a C-plane message to RU220 containing compression information about an MC chunk. The C-plane message may include section information. The section information may point to the resource area of ​​a section. The C-plane message may include section extension information. The section extension information may include information pointing to the resource area of ​​an MC chunk (hereinafter, resource area information). The section extension information may include compression information for the MC chunk.

[0139] The resource area information may include at least one of the parameters corresponding to the scheduling result of the MC chunks (for example, the number of MC chunks, the number of one or more symbols in each MC chunk, the number of one or more PRBs in each MC chunk, the interval between PRBs of an MC chunk, or the interval between symbols).

[0140] The compression information may include at least one of the parameters related to modulation compression applied to the data on the resource area of ​​the MC chunk (e.g., the "csf" parameter, the "mcScaleReMask" parameter, the "modCompScaler" parameter, or the "mcScaleOffset" parameter). The "csf" parameter is a flag indicating whether there is a constellation shift for the MC chunk. The "mcScaleReMask" parameter is a bitmap of the RE in the PRB for the MC chunk (hereinafter referred to as masking information), and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask indicates whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to the RE (resource element) transmitted via the U-plane message. The "modCompScaler" parameter or the "mcScaleOffset" parameter represents a scale value for the MC chunk.

[0141] In operation 607, DU210 can send a U-plane message to RU220. DU210 can perform modulation compression of data based on the modulation compression techniques of operations 601 to 605. DU210 can generate a U-plane message containing I and Q components by the modulation compression techniques. The U-plane message may contain data transmitted over the area occupied by the MC chunk. RU220 can obtain parameters related to modulation compression based on the modulation compression information for the MC chunk in the section extension information received from DU210. Based on the parameters related to modulation compression, RU220 can obtain the bit sequences for the I and Q components. For example, when decompressing, RU220 can unshift the constellation according to the "csf" value and apply a scale value to the constellation type shown in the section.

[0142] Although Figure 6 illustrates only downlink U-plane messages as an example, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the modulation compression using MC chunks according to the embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to uplink U-plane messages.

[0143] Several regions (i.e., MC chunks) can be defined within a single section. The DU210 can assign modulation compression information to each MC chunk. The modulation compression information may include a constellation shift flag (e.g., "csf"). Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the modulation compression information may include scale information (e.g., a scaler value such as the "mcScaleReMask" parameter, the "modCompScaler" parameter, or the "mcScaleOffset" parameter). The modulation compression information may include the constellation shift flag and scale information. Since each MC chunk has its own constellation shift flag and scale information, the control information can be configured differently depending on how the MC chunk is identified.

[0144] In the following Figures 7a and 7b, we will explain the method by which MC chunks are identified by first distinguishing them at the symbol level and then by distinguishing them at the PRB level.

[0145] Figures 7a and 7b illustrate examples of a first method for dividing a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0146] Referring to Figures 7a and 7b, one section may be divided into one or more MC chunks. The first method means a method in which, when constructing an MC chunk, the section is first divided into bundles of symbols (i.e., symbol chunks), and then the frequency domain of the symbol chunks is divided into bundles of PRBs (i.e., PRB chunks).

[0147] Referring to Figure 7a, section 700 may be identified as a resource area defined by the "numPrbc" parameter 710 and the "numSymbol" parameter 720. The "numPrbc" parameter 710 represents the number of PRBs. The "numSymbol" parameter 720 represents the number of symbols. Section 700 may be divided into multiple MC chunks. To describe MC chunks below, parameters for identifying MC chunks can be used first. At least one or all of the parameters described below may be used to identify (or divide) MC chunks. The following parameters can be exemplified. The parentheses next to the parameter names indicate examples of bit numbers.

[0148] startMcSymbolId(4b): The starting symbol index for a symbol chunk having the same symbol range (optional). numMcSymbol(4b): The number of symbols in a symbol chunk having the same symbol range. The sum of numMcSymbol must be the same as the numSymbol of the section. '0' may mean numSymbol. mcSymbPeriod(2b): Symbol chunk period. The parameter can indicate whether every symbol, every other symbol, every 2 symbol, or every 4 symbol is used for a symbol chunk having the same symbol range. 0 = every symbol, 1 = every other symbol, 2 = every 2 symbol, 3 = every 4 symbol. (It may not always be the case that every symbol is used.) numMcPrbchunks(4b): The number of PRB chunks on a symbol chunk #i with numMcSymbol(i) (optional). startMcPrbc(10b): The starting PRB index for a PRB chunk within a PRB chunk (optional). numMcPrbc(8b): The number of PRBs in a PRB chunk within a symbol chunk. The sum of numMcPrbc must be equal to the numPrbc of the section. '0' means numMcPrbc. mcPrbPeriod(2b): PRB chunk period. The parameter can indicate whether every RB, every other RB, every 2 RB, or every 4 RB is used for a PRB chunk. 0 = every RB, 1 = every other RB, 2 = every 2 RB, 3 = every 4 RB. (This can be absent when every RB is always used.) mcRemaskOnOff(1b): Indicates whether there is an mcScaleRemask in this section extension or MC chunk. The format of the section extension type of the C-plane message can be changed via this field (this field can be omitted if all REs in an MC chunk share the same CSF and modCompScaler). numMcRemask(4b): Indicates the number of mcScaleRemasks in this section extension or MC chunk. (This can be omitted if all REs in an MC chunk share the same CSF and modCompScaler.) mcScaleReMask(12b): Indicates the RE mask of each RE in a PRB which applies the corresponding csf / scaler. periodFlag(1b): Indicates whether mcSymbolPeriod and mcPrbPeriod are used for each section extension or MC chunk. (Optional)

[0149] Section 700 may be divided into multiple MC chunks. According to the first method, it may first be divided by symbol. The "numSymbol" parameter 720 can be divided into numMcSymbol(0)721 and numMcSymbol(1)723. numMcSymbol(0)721 means the number of one or more symbols in symbol chunk #0. numMcSymbol(1)723 means the number of one or more symbols in symbol chunk #1. That is, the "numSymbol" parameter 720 represents the sum of the number of one or more symbols in symbol chunk #0 and the number of one or more symbols in symbol chunk #1. After Section 700 has been divided by symbol, the frequency domain per symbol chunk may be divided by PRB. The "numPrbc" parameter 710 can be divided. The frequency domain corresponding to numMcSymbol(0)721 may be divided into three domains (hereinafter referred to as PRB chunks). The frequency domain corresponding to numMcSymbol(0)721 may be divided into PRB chunk #0 (731) of numMcPrbc(0,0), PRB chunk #1 (732) of numMcPrbc(0,1), and PRB chunk #2 (733) of numMcPrbc(0,2). The frequency domain corresponding to numMcSymbol(1)723 can be divided into two domains. The frequency domain corresponding to numMcSymbol(1)723 can be divided into PRB chunk #3 (734) of numMcPrbc(1,0) and PRB chunk #4 (735) of numMcPrbc(1,1).

[0150] For example, if all of the above parameters are used, the symbol index value of one symbol chunk #i and the PRB index value of PRB chunk #j can be determined by the following formula.

number

number

[0151] For example, if startMcSymbolId is not used in the parameters, or if startMcPrbc is not used, the symbol index value of one symbol chunk #i and the PRB index value of one PRB chunk #j may be determined by the following formula.

number

[0152] The first symbol index is the first available symbol index after the previous symbol chunk.

number

[0153] The first PRB index is the first available PRB index in the symbol chunk after the previous PRB chunk.

[0154] numMcPrbchunks can represent the number of PRB chunks within each symbol chunk. For example, numMcPrbchunks can represent the number of at least one PRB chunks contained within each symbol chunk. According to one embodiment, numMcPrbchunks can represent the total number of MC chunks within a section extension. For example, numMcPrbchunks can represent the total number of MC chunks contained within a section extension.

[0155] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk). According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, only one mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk). According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may not coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0156] mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included together within each section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included within each section extension. For example, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included within an MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0157] At least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in each section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in each section extension. For example, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in an MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0158] Both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be omitted within a section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in a field distinct from the section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)).

[0159] Within one section, if resources are allocated periodically in the time domain, a parameter for the symbol chunk (e.g., the "mcSymbolPeriod" parameter) can be defined. Furthermore, according to one embodiment, if resources are allocated at regular intervals in the frequency domain within one section, a parameter for the PRB chunk (e.g., the "mcPrbPeriod" parameter) can be defined. In the above embodiment, the periodFlag value may or may not exist within each section extension or MC chunk (symbol chunk or PRB chunk), depending on the embodiment. On the other hand, while one flag parameter is described in the above embodiment, according to other embodiments, separate flag parameters may exist for mcSymbolPeriod and mcPrbPeriod, respectively.

[0160] DU210 can generate section extension information including at least one of the parameters to indicate MC chunks divided according to the first method. DU210 can send a C-plane message including the section extension information to RU220.

[0161] The DU210 can configure a section with a single MC chunk without using "mcScaleReMask". For example, to specify a single MC chunk, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0162] [Table 6]

[0163] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcSymbol" represents the number of symbols in the MC chunk (i.e., symbols within the symbol chunk). If there is only one MC chunk in the section, "numMcSymbol" may be the same as "numSymbol". "numMcPrbchunks" indicates the number of one or more PRB chunks within the symbol chunk. The number of one or more PRB chunks may be 1. "numMcPrbc" indicates the number of PRBs within the one PRB chunk. If there is only one MC chunk in the section, "numMcPrbc" may be the same as "numPrbc". "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift for the MC chunk, and "modCompScaler" indicates the scale value for the MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations from Equation 1 to Equation 2. According to one embodiment, the DU210 can configure a section with two MC chunks without using "mcScaleReMask". For example, to indicate the two MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0164] [Table 7]

[0165] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcSymbol" indicates the number of symbols in the MC chunk (e.g., symbols within a symbol chunk). For example, there may be one symbol chunk. "numMcSymbol" may be the same as "numSymbol". Therefore, the section extension information may contain one "numMcSymbol" field. "numMcPrbchunks" indicates the number of one or more PRB chunks within the symbol chunk. For example, there may be two PRB chunks. The N+3 octet "numMcPrbc" represents the number of PRBs within a first PRB chunk. The symbol chunk and the first PRB chunk may refer to one MC chunk. The N+4 octet "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift for the one MC chunk, and the N+4 and N+5 octet "modCompScaler" represents the scale value for the one MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations in Equation 1 to Equation 2. The N+6 octet "numMcPrbc" represents the number of PRBs in the second PRB chunk. The symbol chunk and the second PRB chunk can refer to another MC chunk. The N+7 octet "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift for the other MC chunk, and the N+7 and N+8 octet "modCompScaler" represents the scale value for the other MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations in Equation 1 to Equation 2. According to one embodiment, the DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure a section with a single MC chunk. For example, to specify the single MC chunk, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0166] [Table 8]

[0167] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcSymbol" represents the number of symbols in the MC chunk (e.g., symbols within a symbol chunk). "numMcPrbchunks" indicates the number of one or more PRB chunks within the symbol chunk. For example, the number of one or more PRB chunks may be 1. Therefore, "numMcPrbc" may be the same as "numPrbc". "mcScaleReMask" is the bitmap of the RE in the PRB (hereinafter referred to as masking information), and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask can indicate whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to the RE (resource element) sent via the U-plane message (e.g., "0" = not applicable, "1" = applicable). "csf" indicates whether to shift the constellation, and "mcScaleOffset" indicates the scale value. The aforementioned scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4. According to one embodiment, the DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure a section with two MC chunks. For example, to indicate the two MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0168] [Table 9]

[0169] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcSymbol" represents the number of symbols in the MC chunk (e.g., symbols within a symbol chunk). For example, the number of symbol chunks may be 2. Therefore, the section extension information may contain two "numMcSymbol" fields. Of the two "numMcSymbol" fields, the first "numMcSymbol" field represents the number of one or more symbols in the first symbol chunk. Of the two "numMcSymbol" fields, the second "numMcSymbol" field represents the number of one or more symbols in the second symbol chunk. The section extension information may contain information for each MC chunk for each "numMcSymbol" field. "numMcPrbchunks" in the first "numMcSymbol" field represents the number of one or more PRB chunks within the first symbol chunk. For example, the number of one or more PRB chunks within the first symbol chunk may be 1. The N+3 octet "numMcPrbc" represents the number of PRBs in the first symbol chunk and the corresponding PRB chunk. The first symbol chunk and the PRB chunk can refer to a single MC chunk. The N+4 to N+5 octet "mcScaleReMask" is a bitmap of REs in the PRB of the single MC chunk, and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask can indicate whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to REs sent via U-plane messages (e.g., "0" = not applicable, "1" = applicable). The N+5 octet "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift for the single MC chunk, and the N+5 to N+6 octet "mcScaleOffset" represents the scale value for the single MC chunk.The aforementioned scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4.

[0170] The "numMcPrbchunks" field in the second "numMcSymbol" field represents the number of one or more PRB chunks in the second symbol chunk. For example, the number of one or more PRB chunks in the second symbol chunk may be 1. The N+3 octet "numMcPrbc" represents the number of PRBs in the second symbol chunk and the corresponding PRB chunk. The second symbol chunk and the PRB chunk can refer to one other MC chunk. The N+10 to N+11 octet "mcScaleReMask" is a bitmap of REs in the PRBs of the one MC chunk, and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask can indicate whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to the RE sent via the U-plane message (e.g., "0" = not applicable, "1" = applicable). The N+11 octets of "csf" indicate whether or not there is a constellation shift for the single MC chunk, and the N+11 to N+12 octets of "mcScaleOffset" represent the scale value for the single MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4.

[0171] According to one embodiment, DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure section 750 with four periodic MC chunks. Two symbol chunks may be configured within one section, and two PRB chunks may be configured within each symbol chunk. A "period flag" parameter can be used for each symbol chunk. For example, to direct the MC chunks according to the section division shown in Figure 7b, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0172] [Table 10]

[0173] In the example shown in Figure 7b, section 750 may consist of 7 symbols and 10 PRBs, where A=4, B=3, C=5, and D=5. According to the table and Figure 7b, the first MC chunk 751 may be specified as 4 symbols (A=4) and 5 PRBs (C=5). Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between any two of the 4 symbols may be 1 symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 0, the interval between any of the 5 PRBs may be 0. The first MC chunk 751 can occupy 5 consecutive PRBs. For example, the first MC chunk 751 can occupy PRB#0, PRB#1, PRB#2, PRB#3, and PRB#4.

[0174] According to the table and Figure 7b above, the second MC chunk 752 may be specified as four symbols (A=4) and five PRBs (D=5). Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between any two of the four symbols may be one symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 0, the interval between any of the five PRBs may be 0. The second MC chunk 752 can occupy five consecutive PRBs. For example, the second MC chunk 752 can occupy PRB#5, PRB#6, PRB#7, PRB#8, and PRB#9.

[0175] According to the table and Figure 7b above, the third MC chunk 753 may be specified as three symbols (B=3) and five PRBs (C=5). Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between two of the three symbols can be one symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between the five PRBs can be one PRB. As an example, the third MC chunk 753 can occupy PRB#0, PRB#2, PRB#4, PRB#6, and PRB#8.

[0176] According to the table and Figure 7b above, the fourth MC chunk 754 may be specified as three symbols (B=3) and five PRBs (C=5). Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between two of the three symbols may be one symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between the five PRBs may be one PRB. The fourth MC chunk 754 can start from an empty PRB region. As an example, the fourth MC chunk 754 may occupy PRB#1, PRB#3, PRB#5, PRB#7, and PRB#9.

[0177] In Tables 6 to 10, a format in which some areas of the octets corresponding to zero padding (e.g., octet N+7 in Table 9, and octets N+3, N+5, N+9, N+17, N+19, N+23, and N+25 in Table 10) are reduced, and all parameters are arranged consecutively, can also be understood as one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0178] Figures 8a and 8b illustrate examples of a second method for dividing a section according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. A section may be divided into one or more MC chunks. The second method means a method in which, when constructing MC chunks, the section is first divided into bundles of PRBs (i.e., PRB chunks), and then the time domain of the PRB chunks is divided into bundles of symbols (i.e., symbol chunks).

[0179] Referring to Figure 8a, section 800 can be identified as a resource area defined by the "numPrbc" parameter 810 and the "numSymbol" parameter 820. The "numPrbc" parameter 810 represents the number of PRBs. The "numSymbol" parameter 820 represents the number of symbols. Section 800 may be divided into multiple MC chunks. To describe MC chunks below, we can first use parameters to identify MC chunks. At least one or all of the parameters described below may be used to identify (or distinguish) MC chunks. The following parameters can be exemplified. The parentheses next to the parameter names indicate examples of bit numbers.

[0180] startMcPrbc(10b): The starting PRB index for a PRB chunk (optional). numMcPrbc(8b): The number of PRBs for a PRB chunk having the same PRB range. The sum of numMcPrbc must be the same as numPrbc of the section. '0' can mean numPrbc. mcPrbPeriod(2b): PRB chunk period. The parameter can indicate whether every RB, every other RB, every 2 RBs, or every 4 RBs is used for a PRB chunk. 0 = every RB, 1 = every other RB, 2 = every 2 RBs, 3 = every 4 RBs. (This parameter may not always be used when every RB is used.) numMcSymbolChunks(4b): The number of symbol chunks on a PRB chunk #i with numMcPrbc(i) (optional). startMcSymbolId(4b): The starting symbol index for a symbol chunk having the same symbol range (optional). numMcSymbol(4b): The number of symbols in a symbol chunk on a PRB chunk with numMcPrb. The sum of numMcSymbol must be the same as the numSymbol of the section. '0' can mean numSymbol. mcSymbPeriod(2b): The above parameter can indicate whether every symbol, every other symbol, every 2 symbol, or every 4 symbol is used for a symbol chunk having the same symbol range. 0 = every symbol, 1 = every other symbol, 2 = every 2 symbol, 3 = every 4 symbol. (It may not always be the case that every symbol is used.) mcRemaskOnOff(1b): Indicates whether there is an mcScaleRemask in this section extension or MC chunk. The format of the section extension type in the C-plane message can be changed via this field (optional). numMcRemask(4b): Indicates the number of mcScaleRemasks in this section extension or MC chunk. (This can be omitted if all REs in an MC chunk share the same CSF and modCompScaler.) mcScaleReMask(12b): Represents the RE mask of each RE in a PRB to which the corresponding csf / scaler is applied. periodFlag(1b): Indicates whether mcSymbolPeriod and mcPrbPeriod are used for each section extension or MC chunk (optional). Section 800 may be divided into multiple MC chunks. According to the second method, section 800 may first be divided into PRB units. The "numPrbc" parameter 810 can be divided into numMcPrbc(0)811, numMcPrbc(1)812, and numMcPrbc(2)813. numMcPrbc(0)811 means the number of one or more PRBs in PRB chunk #0. numMcSymbol(1)812 means the number of one or more PRBs in PRB chunk #1. numMcSymbol(2)813 means the number of one or more PRBs in PRB chunk #2. The "numPrbc" parameter 810 represents the sum of the number of one or more PRBs in PRB chunk #0, the number of one or more PRBs in PRB chunk #1, and the number of one or more PRBs in PRB chunk #2. After the section 800 is divided into PRB units, the time domain per PRB chunk may be divided into symbol units. The "numSymbol" parameter 820 may be divided. The time domain corresponding to numMcPrbc(0)811 can be divided into two domains (hereinafter referred to as symbol chunks). The time domain corresponding to numMcPrbc(0)811 can be divided into symbol chunk #0 (831) of numMcSymbol(0,0) and symbol chunk #1 (832) of numMcSymbol(0,1). The time domain corresponding to numMcPrbc(1)812 does not need to be divided. The time domain corresponding to numMcPrbc(1)812 may contain one symbol chunk #2 (833) of numMcSymbol(1,0). The time domain corresponding to numMcPrbc(2)813 may be divided into two domains. The time domain corresponding to numMcPrbc(0)811 can be divided into symbol chunk #3 (834) of numMcSymbol(2,0) and symbol chunk #4 (835) of numMcSymbol(2,1).

[0181] For example, if all the parameters mentioned above are used, the PRB index value of PRB chunk #i and the symbol index value of a single symbol chunk #i can be determined by the following formula:

number

number

[0182] If either startMcSymbolId or startMcPrbc is not used among the parameters, the PRB index value of PRB chunk #i and the symbol index value of a single symbol chunk #i can be determined as follows:

number

[0183] The first PRB index is the first available PRB index in the symbol chunk after the previous PRB chunk.

number

[0184] The first symbol index is the first available symbol index after the previous symbol chunk.

[0185] numMcSymbolChunks can represent the number of symbol chunks within each PRB chunk. For example, numMcSymbolChunks can represent the number of at least one symbol chunks contained within each PRB chunk. numMcSymbolChunks can also represent the total number of MC chunks within a section extension. For example, numMcSymbolChunks can represent the total number of MC chunks contained within a section extension.

[0186] According to one embodiment, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk). According to one embodiment, only one mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk). According to one embodiment, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be omitted within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0187] mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included together within each section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask can be included in each section extension. For example, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask can be included in an MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0188] At least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in each section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in each section extension. For example, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in an MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0189] Both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be omitted within a section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in a field distinct from the section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)).

[0190] Within one section, if resources are allocated periodically in the time domain, a parameter for the symbol chunk (e.g., the "mcSymbolPeriod" parameter) can be defined. Within one section, if resources are allocated at regular intervals in the frequency domain, a parameter for the PRB chunk (e.g., the "mcPrbPeriod" parameter) can be defined. In the above embodiment, the periodFlag value may or may not exist within each section extension or MC chunk (symbol chunk or PRB chunk), depending on the embodiment. In the above embodiment, one flag parameter has been described, but according to another embodiment, separate flag parameters may exist for mcSymbolPeriod and mcPrbPeriod, respectively.

[0191] DU210 can generate section extension information including at least one of the parameters to indicate MC chunks divided according to the second method. DU210 can send a C-plane message containing the section extension information to RU220.

[0192] The DU210 can configure a section with a single MC chunk without using "mcScaleReMask". For example, to specify the single MC chunk, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0193] [Table 11]

[0194] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcPrbc" represents the number of PRBs in an MC chunk (e.g., PRBs within a PRB chunk). For example, if there is only one MC chunk in the section, "numMcPrbc" may be the same as "numPrbc". "numMcSymbolChunks" indicates the number of one or more symbol chunks within the PRB chunk. For example, the number of one or more symbol chunks may be 1. "numMcSymbol" indicates the number of symbols within the single symbol chunk. For example, if there is only one MC chunk in the section, "numMcSymbol" may be the same as "numSymbol". "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift, and "modCompScaler" indicates the scale value. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculation from Equation 1 to Equation 2.

[0195] According to one embodiment, the DU210 can configure a section with two MC chunks without using "mcScaleReMask". For example, to indicate the two MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0196] [Table 12]

[0197] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcPrbc" indicates the number of PRBs in the MC chunk, i.e., the number of PRBs in the PRB chunk. For example, the number of PRB chunks may be one. "numMcPrbc" may be the same as "numPrbc". Therefore, the section extension information may contain one "numMcPrbc" field. "numMcSymbolChunks" indicates the number of one or more symbol chunks in the PRB chunk. For example, the number of one or more symbol chunks may be two. An N+3 octet "numMcSymbol" represents the number of symbols in a first symbol chunk. The PRB chunk and the first symbol chunk can refer to one MC chunk. The N+4 octet "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift for the one MC chunk, and the N+4 and N+5 octets "modCompScaler" represent the scale value for the one MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations in Equation 1 to Equation 2. The N+6 octet "numMcSymbol" represents the number of symbols in the second symbol chunk. The PRB chunk and the second symbol chunk can refer to another MC chunk. The N+7 octet "csf" indicates whether there is a constellation shift for the other MC chunk, and the N+7 and N+8 octets "modCompScaler" represent the scale value for the other MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations in Equation 1 to Equation 2.

[0198] In one embodiment, the DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure a section with a single MC chunk. For example, to specify the single MC chunk, the section extension information may be set as shown in the table below.

[0199] [Table 13]

[0200] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcPrbc" indicates the number of PRBs in the MC chunk, i.e., the number of PRBs in the PRB chunk. "numMcSymbolChunks" indicates the number of one or more symbol chunks in the PRB chunk. For example, the number of one or more symbol chunks may be 1. Therefore, "numMcSymbol" may be the same as "numSymbol". 'mcScaleReMask' is a bitmap of the RE in the PRB (hereinafter referred to as masking information), and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask can indicate whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to the RE (resource element) sent via the U-plane message (e.g., "0" = not applicable, "1" = applicable). "csf" indicates whether to shift the constellation, and "mcScaleOffset" indicates the scale value. The aforementioned scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4. According to one embodiment, the DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure a section with two MC chunks. For example, to indicate the two MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0201] [Table 14]

[0202] The DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure a section with two MC chunks. For example, to specify two MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the table below.

[0203] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcPrbc" indicates the number of PRBs in the MC chunk, i.e., the number of PRBs in the PRB chunk. For example, the number of PRB chunks may be 2. Therefore, the section extension information may contain two "numMcPrbc" fields. Of the two "numMcPrbc" fields, the first "numMcPrbc" field represents the number of one or more PRBs in the first PRB chunk. Of the two "numMcPrbc" fields, the second "numMcPrbc" field represents the number of one or more PRBs in the second PRB chunk. The section extension information may contain information for each MC chunk, separated by the "numMcPrbc" field.

[0204] The "numMcSymbolChunks" in the first "numMcPrbc" field represents the number of one or more symbol chunks in the first PRB chunk. For example, the number of one or more symbol chunks in the first PRB chunk may be 1. The N+3 octet "numMcSymbol" represents the number of symbols in the first PRB chunk and the corresponding symbol chunk. The first PRB chunk and the symbol chunk can refer to one MC chunk. The N+4 to N+5 octet "mcScaleReMask" is a bitmap of the RE in the PRB of the one MC chunk, and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask can indicate whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to the RE sent via the U-plane message (e.g., "0" = not applicable, "1" = applicable). The N+5 octet "csf" indicates whether to shift the constellation for the one MC chunk, and the N+5 to N+6 octet "mcScaleOffset" represents the scale value for the one MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4.

[0205] The "numMcSymbolChunks" in the second "numMcPrbc" field represents the number of one or more symbol chunks within the second PRB chunk. For example, the number of one or more symbol chunks within the second PRB chunk may be 1. The N+3 octet "numMcSymbol" indicates the number of PRBs within the second PRB chunk and the corresponding symbol chunk. The second PRB chunk and the symbol chunk can point to one other MC chunk. The N+10 to N+11 octet "mcScaleReMask" is a bitmap of the RE within the PRB of the one MC chunk, and each bit setting of mcScaleReMask can indicate whether "mcScaleOffset" and "csf" are applicable to the RE sent via the U-plane message (e.g., "0" = not applicable, "1" = applicable). The N+11 octet "csf" indicates whether to shift the constellation for the one MC chunk, and the N+11 to N+12 octet "mcScaleOffset" represents the scale value for the one MC chunk. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4.

[0206] The DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure section 850 with four periodic MC chunks. Two PRB chunks may be configured within one section, and two symbol chunks may be configured within each PRB chunk. A "period flag" parameter can be used for each PRB chunk. For example, to direct the MC chunks according to the section division shown in Figure 8b, the section extension information can be configured as shown in the table below.

[0207] [Table 15]

[0208] In the example shown in Figure 8b, section 850 may consist of 7 PRBs and 10 symbols, where A=4, B=3, C=5, and D=5.

[0209] According to the table and Figure 8b above, the first MC chunk 851 may be specified as four PRBs (A=4) and five symbols (C=5). Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between the four PRBs may be 1. For example, the first MC chunk 851 can occupy PRB#0, PRB#2, PRB#4, and PRB#6. Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 0, the interval between any two of the five symbols may be zero. The first MC chunk 851 can occupy five consecutive symbols. For example, the first MC chunk 851 can occupy symbol #0, symbol #1, symbol #2, symbol #3, and symbol #4.

[0210] According to the table and Figure 8b above, the second MC chunk 852 may be identified as four PRBs (A=4) and five symbols (D=5). Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between the four PRBs may be 1. For example, the second MC chunk 852 can occupy PRB#0, PRB#2, PRB#4, and PRB#6. Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 0, the interval between any two of the five symbols may be zero. The second MC chunk 852 can occupy five consecutive symbols. For example, the second MC chunk 852 can occupy symbols #5, #6, #7, #8, and #9.

[0211] According to the table and Figure 8b above, the third MC chunk 853 may be specified as three PRBs (B=3) and five symbols (C=5). Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between the three PRBs may be 1. For example, the third MC chunk 853 can occupy PRB#1, PRB#3, and PRB#5. Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between two of the five symbols may be 1. The third MC chunk 853 can occupy five symbols. For example, the third MC chunk 853 can occupy symbol #0, symbol #2, symbol #4, symbol #6, and symbol #8.

[0212] According to the table and Figure 8b above, the fourth MC chunk 854 may be identified as three PRBs (B=3) and five symbols (D=5). Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between the three PRBs may be 1. For example, the fourth MC chunk 854 can occupy PRB#1, PRB#3, and PRB#5. Since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between any two of the five symbols may be 1. The fourth MC chunk 854 can occupy five symbols. For example, the fourth MC chunk 854 can occupy symbol #1, symbol #3, symbol #5, symbol #7, and symbol #8.

[0213] A format in which some areas of the octets corresponding to the zero padding in Tables 11 to 15 (for example, octet N+7 in Table 14, and octets N+8, N+13, N+20, and N+25 in Table 15) are reduced, and all parameters are arranged contiguously, can also be understood as one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0214] Figures 9a and 9b illustrate examples of a third method for dividing sections according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0215] Referring to Figures 9a and 9b, one section can be divided into one or more MC chunks. The third method, unlike the first and second methods, means a method in which MC chunks are composed of arbitrary PRB chunks and symbol chunks.

[0216] Referring to Figure 9a, section 900 can be identified as a resource area defined by the "numPrbc" parameter 910 and the "numSymbol" parameter 920. The "numPrbc" parameter 910 represents the number of PRBs. The "numSymbol" parameter 920 represents the number of symbols. Section 900 may be divided into multiple MC chunks. To describe MC chunks below, parameters for identifying MC chunks can be used first. At least one or all of the parameters described below may be used to identify (or distinguish) MC chunks. The following parameters can be exemplified. The parentheses next to the parameter names indicate examples of bit numbers.

[0217] numMcChunks(4b): Number of MC chunks

[0218] startMcPrbc(10b): Start PRB for a chunk

[0219] numMcPrbc(8b): The number of PRBs for a chunk. '0' represents numPrbc.

[0220] mcPrbPeriod(2b): PRB chunk period. The parameter can indicate whether every RB, every other RB, every 2 RBs, or every 4 RBs is used for a PRB chunk. 0 = every RB, 1 = every other RB, 2 = every 2 RBs, 3 = every 4 RBs. (This can be absent when every RB is always used.)

[0221] startMcSymbol(4b): The starting symbol index for an MC chunk.

[0222] numMcSymbol(4b): The number of symbols in an MC chunk. '0' represents numSymbol.

[0223] mcSymbPeriod(2b): The above parameter can indicate whether every symbol, every other symbol, every 2 symbols, or every 4 symbols is used for a symbol chunk having the same symbol range. 0 = every symbols, 1 = every other symbol, 2 = every 2 symbols, 3 = every 4 symbols. (It may not always be the case that every symbol is used.)

[0224] mcRemaskOnOff(1b): Indicates whether there is an mcScaleRemask in this section extension or MC chunk. The format of the section extension type in the C-plane message (described later) can be changed via this field (optional).

[0225] numMcRemask(4b): Indicates the number of mcScaleRemasks in this section extension or MC chunk. (This can be omitted if all REs in an MC chunk share the same CSF and modCompScaler.)

[0226] mcScaleReMask(12b): This represents the RE mask of each RE in a PRB that applies the corresponding csf / scaler.

[0227] periodFlag(1b): Indicates whether mcSymbolPeriod and mcPrbPeriod are used for each section extension or MC chunk. (Optional)

[0228] numMcPrbchunks can represent the number of PRB chunks within each symbol chunk. For example, numMcPrbchunks can represent the number of at least one PRB chunks contained within each symbol chunk. According to one embodiment, numMcPrbchunks can represent the total number of MC chunks within a section extension. For example, numMcPrbchunks can represent the total number of MC chunks contained within a section extension.

[0229] According to one embodiment, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk). According to one embodiment, only one mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may coexist within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk). According to one embodiment, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be omitted within each section extension and / or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0230] According to one embodiment, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included together within each section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask can be included in each section extension. For example, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask can be included in an MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0231] According to one embodiment, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in each section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in each section extension. For example, at least one of mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in an MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk).

[0232] According to one embodiment, both mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be omitted within a section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)). For example, mcRemaskOnOff and numMcRemask may be included in a field distinct from the section extension (or MC chunk (e.g., symbol chunk or PRB chunk)).

[0233] Within one section, when resources are periodically allocated in the time domain, parameters for symbol chunks (e.g., the "mcSymolPeriod" parameter) can be defined. Within one section, when resources are allocated at regular intervals in the frequency domain, parameters for PRB chunks (e.g., the "mcPrbPeriod" parameter) can be defined. In the above embodiments, the periodFlag value may or may not exist within each section extension or MC chunk (symbol chunk or PRB chunk) depending on the embodiment. In the above embodiments, one flag parameter has been described, but according to another embodiment, flag parameters for each of mcSymbolPeriod and mcPrbPeriod may exist separately.

[0234] The plurality of MC chunks can include the first MC chunk 931, the second MC chunk 932, the third MC chunk 933, and the fourth MC chunk 934. For example, the first MC chunk 931 can be specified by numMcSymbol(0) and numMcPrbc(0). The second MC chunk 932 can be specified by numMcSymbol(1) and numMcPrbc(1). The third MC chunk 933 can be specified by numMcSymbol(2) and numMcPrbc(2). The fourth MC chunk 934 can be specified by numMcSymbol(3) and numMcPrbc(3).

[0235] The DU210 can generate section extension information including at least one of the parameters to indicate the MC chunks divided according to the first method. The DU210 can transmit a C-plane message including the section extension information to the RU220.

[0236] According to one embodiment, DU210 can configure section 950 of FIG. 9b with three MC chunks without using "mcScaleReMask". Section 950 can include a first MC chunk 931, a second MC chunk 932, and a third MC chunk 933. For example, in order to indicate the three MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the following table.

[0237]

Table 16

[0238] The first MC chunk 931 can be specified by numMcSymbol(()) and numMcPrbc(()). The start symbol of one or more symbols of numMcSymbol(()) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(()). The start PRB of one or more PRBs of numMcPrbc(()) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(()). "modCompScaler" in octets N+6 to N+7 represents the scale value for the first MC chunk 931. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations from Equation 1 to Equation 2. The second MC chunk 932 can be specified by numMcSymbol(1) and numMcPrbc(1). The start symbol of one or more symbols of numMcSymbol(1) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(1). The start PRB of one or more PRBs of numMcPrbc(1) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(1). "modCompScaler" in octets N+12 to N+13 represents the scale value for the second MC chunk 932. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations from Equation 1 to Equation 2.

[0239] The third MC chunk 933 can be identified by numMcSymbol(2) and numMcPrbc(2). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(2) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(2). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(2) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(2). The octet N+13 to N+14 "modCompScaler" represents the scale value for the third MC chunk 933. The scale value can be derived from the 15 bits of the "modCompScaler" field according to the calculations in Equation 1 to Equation 2.

[0240] According to one embodiment, DU210 can use "mcScaleReMask" to configure section 950 in Figure 9b with three MC chunks. For example, to indicate the three MC chunks, the section extension information may be configured as shown in the following table.

[0241] [Table 17]

[0242] The first MC chunk 931 can be identified by numMcSymbol(0) and numMcPrbc(0). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(0) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(0). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(0) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(0). Octet N+6 to N+7, "mcScaleReMask", represents the masking information for the first MC chunk 931. Octet N+7, "csf", indicates whether to shift the constellation for the first MC chunk 931, and octet N+7 to N+9, "mcScaleOffset", represents the scale value for the first MC chunk 931. The scale value can be derived from 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 to 4. The second MC chunk 932 can be identified by numMcSymbol(1) and numMcPrbc(1). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(1) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(1). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(1) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(1). Octet N+14 to N+15, "mcScaleReMask", represents the masking information for the second MC chunk 932. Octet N+15, "csf", indicates whether to shift the constellation for the second MC chunk 932, and octet N+15 to N+17, "mcScaleOffset", represents the scale value for the second MC chunk 932. The scale value can be derived from 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 to 4.

[0243] The third MC chunk 933 can be identified by numMcSymbol(2) and numMcPrbc(2). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(2) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(2). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(2) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(2). Octet N+22~N+23, "mcScaleReMask", represents the masking information for the third MC chunk 933. Octet N+23, "csf", indicates whether to shift the constellation for the third MC chunk 933, and octet N+23~N+24, "mcScaleOffset", represents the scale value for the third MC chunk 933. The scale value can be derived from 15 bits of the "mcScaleOffset" field according to the calculations in Equations 3 and 4.

[0244] Figure 10 shows an example of section partitioning for periodic resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 10 illustrates the situation in which periodic resource allocation is applied to section partitioning using the third method.

[0245] Referring to Figure 10, section 1000 can be identified as a resource area defined by the "numPrbc" parameter and the "numSymbol" parameter 1020. For example, the "numPrbc" parameter may point to 6. Section 1000 can consist of six PRBs 1011, 1012, 1013, 1014, 1015, and 1016. Section 1000 can contain six symbols 1021, 1022, 1023, 1024, 1025, and 1026.

[0246] According to one embodiment, DU210 can configure three MC chunks 1031, 1033, and 1035 within a single section 1000 using "mcScaleReMask", "mcPrbPeriod", and "mcSymbolPeriod". DU210 can generate section extension information including at least one of the parameters shown in Figure 9a to indicate each MC chunk divided according to the third method. DU210 can send a C-plane message containing the section extension information to RU220.

[0247] To indicate the three MC chunks mentioned above, the section extension information may be structured as shown in the table below. The periodFlag is optional.

[0248] [Table 18]

[0249] "extType" indicates the type of section extension information. "extLen" indicates the length of the section extension information. "numMcChunks" can represent the number of MC chunks. For example, "numMcChunks" may be 3. The MC chunks may include a first MC chunk 1031, a second MC chunk 1033, and a third MC chunk 1035.

[0250] The first MC chunk 1031 can be identified by numMcSymbol(0) and numMcPrbc(0). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(0) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(0). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(0) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(0). Here, since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between two symbols in the first MC chunk 1031 can be one symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between PRBs in the first MC chunk 1031 can be one PRB.

[0251] The second MC chunk 1033 can be identified by numMcSymbol(2) and numMcPrbc(2). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(2) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(2). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(1) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(1). Here, since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between two symbols in the second MC chunk 1033 can be one symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is 1, the interval between PRBs in the second MC chunk 1033 can be one PRB.

[0252] The third MC chunk 1035 can be identified by numMcSymbol(2) and numMcPrbc(2). The starting symbol of one or more symbols in numMcSymbol(2) can be indicated by startMcSymbol(2). The starting PRB of one or more PRBs in numMcPrbc(2) can be indicated by startMcPrbc(2). Here, since "mcSymbPeriod" is 1, the interval between two symbols in the first MC chunk 1031 can be one symbol. Since "mcPrbPeriod" is zero, PRBs can be allocated consecutively in the first MC chunk 1031.

[0253] In Tables 16 to 18, a format in which a partial area of octets corresponding to zero padding (for example, octets N + 9 and N + 17 in Table 17, octets N + 6, N + 10, N + 19, and N + 24 in Table 18) decreases and all parameters are arranged continuously can also be understood as an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0254] Examples of various section extension information have been described according to the resource division method through FIGS. 5a, 5b, 6, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, and 10, but embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. In addition to the specified method, a section division method using a format mode can be used. According to one embodiment, the mode parameter value can indicate a specific format of the section extension information. For example, when the mode parameter value is zero, section extension information having the format of Table 6 or Table 7 can be used. Also, for example, when the mode parameter value is 1, section extension information having the format of Table 2 or Table 3 can be used. Further, for example, when the mode parameter value is 2, section extension information having the format of Table 3 or Table 4 can be used.

[0255] When the mode parameter points to zero, section extension information as shown in the following table can be used.

[0256]

Table 19

[0257] In the section extension information having the format of Table 7, a field pointing to the mode parameter can be added to the N + 2 octet area. For the description of other parameters, reference can be made to Table 7 and the description of Table 7 above. When the mode parameter points to 1, section extension information as shown in the following table can be used.

[0258] [Table 20]

[0259] In section extension information having the format of Table 9, a field pointing to a mode parameter can be added to the N+2 octet area. For descriptions of other parameters, refer to Table 9 and its description. The "numMcPrbchunk" parameter can be omitted from Table 9. According to an additional embodiment, a format in which a portion of the octets (e.g., octet N+8) corresponding to the zero padding in Tables 19-20 is reduced, and all parameters are arranged contiguously, can also be understood as an embodiment of the present disclosure. This allows for the omission of at least some of the parameters in Tables 19-20 or the relocation of at least some of them.

[0260] In a further embodiment, a format in which some areas of the octets corresponding to the zero padding in Tables 11 to 15 (e.g., octet N+7 in Table 14, and octets N+8, N+13, N+20, N+25 in Table 15) are reduced, and all parameters are arranged consecutively, can also be understood as an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0261] Figure 11 shows an example of modulation compression for a subblock according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0262] Referring to Figure 11, the DU210 may include an M-plane message generation unit 1111, an MC chunk-based scheduling unit 1113, a C-plane message generation unit 1115, and a U-plane message generation unit 1117. The M-plane message generation unit 1111 may generate an M-plane message containing at least one parameter required for a modulation compression technique consisting of MC chunk units. The M-plane message generation unit 1111 can transmit the at least one parameter to the RU220. According to one embodiment, the M-plane message generation unit 1111 may generate an M-plane message containing information indicating whether the DU210 supports new section extension information (e.g., one of the formats from Tables 6 to 20). Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the M-plane message generation unit 1111 may generate an M-plane message containing at least one of the parameters described in Figures 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, and 9b. The DU210 can then transmit the M-plane message to the RU220.

[0263] The MC chunk-based scheduling unit 1113 can schedule C-plane messages and U-plane messages according to the modulation compression technique described above. The C-plane message generation unit 1115 can generate C-plane messages that include section extension information by the modulation compression technique described with reference to Figures 6, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, and 10. The C-plane message generation unit 1115 can generate specific section extension information for MC chunks that constitute a portion of a section. The section extension information may include resource area information of the MC chunk (e.g., number of symbols, number of PRBs) and modulation compression information applied to the data in the MC chunk. For example, the C-plane message generation unit 1115 may generate a C-plane message that includes section extension information having a format for indicating one or more MC chunks, as shown in Tables 6 to 20. The U-plane message generation unit 1117 can generate U-plane messages that include I and Q components by the modulation compression technique. The U-plane message may include data transmitted over the area occupied by the MC chunk.

[0264] The RU220 may include an M-plane message generation unit 1121, a C-plane analysis unit 1123, a buffer 1125, a U-plane analysis unit 1127, and a modulation decompression unit 1129. The M-plane message generation unit 1121 may generate an M-plane message containing at least one parameter required for a modulation compression technique consisting of MC chunk units. The M-plane message generation unit 1121 can transmit the at least one parameter to the DU210. According to one embodiment, the M-plane message generation unit 1121 can generate an M-plane message containing information indicating whether the RU220 supports new section extension information (e.g., one format from Tables 6 to 20). Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the M-plane message generation unit 1121 can generate an M-plane message containing at least one of the parameters described in Figures 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, and 9b. The RU220 can then transmit the M-plane message to the DU210.

[0265] The C-plane analysis unit 1123 can receive C-plane messages from the DU210. The C-plane analysis unit 1123 can obtain parameters related to modulation compression from section extension information (e.g., Tables 6 to 20) included in the C-plane message. The C-plane analysis unit 1123 can obtain parameters related to modulation compression for each MC chunk within a single section. The C-plane analysis unit 1123 can obtain section information from the C-plane message. The C-plane analysis unit 1123 can identify the time-frequency resource area occupied by each MC chunk from the section extension information of the C-plane message. The C-plane analysis unit 1123 may include modulation compression information ("modCompScaler", "mcScaleReMask", "mcScaleOffset") of the data applied to the time-frequency resource area. The C-plane analysis unit 1123 can store the parameters related to modulation compression and the section information in the buffer 1125. The U-plane analysis unit 1127 can receive U-plane messages from the DU210. The U-plane analysis unit 1127 may include the I component and Q component included in the U-plane message. The demodulation decompression unit 1129 can obtain the parameters related to the modulation compression and the section information from the buffer 1125. The demodulation decompression unit 1129 can obtain the I component and the Q component from the U-plane analysis unit 1127. The demodulation decompression unit 1129 can obtain the bit sequence of the I component and the bit sequence of the Q component based on the parameters related to the modulation compression. For example, when decompression is performed, the demodulation decompression unit 1129 can "unshift" the constellation according to the value of "csf" and apply the scale factor of the constellation type shown in the section. A single section may have one or two modulation types. The modulation type can be inferred from the reMask bit.Each "1" bit in the reMask bit represents the shift command ("csf") and scale factor (e.g., "modCompScaler" or "mcScaleOffset" when using "mcScaleReMask") for the PRB's RE.

[0266] Figure 12 shows an example of signaling between a DU (e.g., DU210) and an RU (e.g., RU220) to provide compressed information using an ID (identifier) ​​according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0267] Referring to Figure 12, the compression information may be specified for each subblock within a single section. The subblock is a unit to which modulation compression is applied and is sometimes called an MC chunk.

[0268] According to one embodiment, ID-based section extension information can be used. In such a case, the ID may be associated with MC chunks and modulation compression information for the MC chunks, as in the above embodiment. The ID can reduce the overhead of repeated compression information in the data of the U-plane message. Multiple MC chunks can be configured within a single section. Compression information (e.g., constellation shift flags and scaler values) can be assigned to each MC chunk. After the MC chunk region information (e.g., the number of symbols in the MC chunk and the number of PRBs in the MC chunk) and the MC chunk modulation compression information are transmitted once via the initial C-plane message, thereafter, instructions for the MC chunk region information or modulation compression information can be performed using only the ID. New section extension information including the ID can be defined.

[0269] Referring to Figure 12, in operation 1201, DU210 may send a C-plane message to RU220 containing MC chunk-based compression information and an ID. In one example, the C-plane message may be sent in slot AX. The MC chunk-based compression information means compression information specific to the MC chunk. The section extension information of the C-plane message may include at least one parameter for pointing to the MC chunk (e.g., the number of symbols in the MC chunk, the number of PRBs in the MC chunk). The section extension information of the C-plane message may include compression information specific to the MC chunk (e.g., a "csf" parameter, a "modCompScaler" parameter, or a "mcScaleOffset" parameter). The section extension information of the C-plane message may include an ID associated with the compression information. According to one embodiment, the ID may be associated with the compression information. Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the ID may be associated with the compression information and the MC chunk.

[0270] The RU220 can receive the ID value from the DU210 and store the modulation compression information corresponding to the ID (e.g., constellation shift flag and scaler value) in its memory space (e.g., buffer 1125, memory 370).

[0271] In operation 1203, DU210 can send a U-plane message containing data to RU220. The U-plane message may be combined with the C-plane message of operation 1201. In one example, the C-plane message may be sent in slot A. The data may be sent on the scheduling area (e.g., MC chunk) of the C-plane message. Based on the compression information of operation 1201, RU220 can decompress the data. Although not shown in Figure 12, RU220 can send the data obtained by the decompression to a terminal (e.g., terminal 120).

[0272] In operation 1211, DU210 can send a C-plane message containing the ID to RU220. For example, the C-plane message may be sent in slot BX. DU210 can provide RU220 with modulation compression information by transmitting only the ID value to RU220. RU220 can receive the ID value from DU210 and identify the modulation compression information (e.g., constellation shift flag and scaler value) corresponding to the ID stored in memory space (e.g., buffer 1125, memory 370).

[0273] In operation 1213, DU210 can send a U-plane message containing data to RU220. The U-plane message may be combined with the C-plane message of operation 1211. For example, the C-plane message may be sent in slot B. The data may be sent on the scheduling area (e.g., MC chunk) of the C-plane message. RU220 can decompress the data based on modulation compression information (e.g., constellation shift flag and scaler value) corresponding to the ID.

[0274] In operation 1221, DU210 can send a C-plane message containing the ID to RU220. For example, the C-plane message may be sent in slot CX. RU220 can receive the ID value from DU210 and identify the modulation compression information (e.g., constellation shift flag and scaler value) corresponding to the ID stored in memory space (e.g., buffer 1125, memory 370).

[0275] In operation 1223, DU210 can send a U-plane message containing data to RU220. The U-plane message may be combined with the C-plane message of operation 1221. For example, the C-plane message may be sent in slot C. The data may be sent on the scheduling area (e.g., MC chunk) of the C-plane message. RU220 can decompress the data based on modulation compression information (e.g., constellation shift flag and scaler value) corresponding to the ID.

[0276] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the ID shown in Figure 12 can specify various information in addition to the modulation compression information. For example, for the ID, at least one of the following parameters may be included in the section extension information.

[0277] 1) mcInfoId: Consists of any N bits and specifies the csf and scaler information. For example, the scalar information can include the "modCompScaler" parameter or the "mcScaleOffset" parameter.

[0278] 2) mcRemaskId: Composed of any M bits, it specifies the remask information. For example, the remask information can include the "mcScaleRemask" parameter.

[0279] 3) mcId: Composed of arbitrary P bits, it specifies csf, scaler, and remask information.

[0280] 4) chunkandmcinfoId: Composed of arbitrary Q bits, this specifies resource area information and modulation compression information (csf, scaler information, etc.) for the MC chunk. For example, the scalar information may include the "modCompScaler" parameter or the "mcScaleOffset" parameter.

[0281] Each ID may be present in its entirety, partially present, or omitted, as illustrated. Furthermore, the bitwidth of each ID (e.g., N, M, P, Q) may be predetermined in the O-RAN standard or determined through the M-plane message negotiation process. The RU may require a storage device (e.g., memory, buffer) for storing the aforementioned IDs and the corresponding compression or masking information. In addition to the aforementioned IDs, IDs may be used to identify at least one of the parameters described in Figures 6, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, and 10. Furthermore, ID parameters of other definitions may replace the aforementioned IDs.

[0282] By providing specific modulation compression information to a portion of the resource area of ​​a section, the amount of fronthaul transmission between the DU and RU can be reduced. Furthermore, since no additional section allocation is required, the packet processing burden on both the DU and RU can be reduced. In addition, when using a compression technique different from the modulation compression technique in a dynamic manner, section fragmentation does not occur, thus enabling efficient scheduling for composing sections.

[0283] The effects obtained by this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains from the following description.

[0284] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a method performed by a distributed unit (DU) in a wireless communication system may include an operation to identify a subblock within a section. This method may include an operation to generate a control-plane (C-plane) message which includes section extension information which includes modulation compression information corresponding to the subblock. The method may include an operation to transmit the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a fronthaul interface. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation for the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0285] According to one embodiment, the one section may include a plurality of subblocks. The section extension information may include modulation compression information relating to additional subblocks among the plurality of subblocks that are different from the subblocks, information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the additional subblocks, and information indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the additional subblocks.

[0286] According to one embodiment, the subblock may include at least one of a first parameter representing the period between symbols or a second parameter representing the interval between PRBs. Within the section, one or more symbols may be assigned to be separated by the period indicated by the first parameter. Within the section, one or more PRBs may be assigned to be separated by the interval indicated by the second parameter.

[0287] According to one embodiment, the section extension information may include identification information linked to the modulation compression information. This method may include sending another C-plane message containing the identification information to the RU. This method may include sending a U-plane message combined with the other C-plane message to the RU. The data of the U-plane message may be compressed based on the modulation compression information corresponding to the identification information.

[0288] According to one embodiment, the scale information may include 15 bits for indicating a scale value. Alternatively, the scale information may include 15 bits for indicating a scale value and 12 bits for indicating whether the scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB.

[0289] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a method performed by a radio unit (RU) in a wireless communication system may include receiving a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information from a Distributed Unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. This method may include identifying, in the section extension information, modulation compression information corresponding to a subblock within a section. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation over the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0290] According to one embodiment, the one section may include a plurality of subblocks. The section extension information may include modulation compression information relating to additional subblocks among the plurality of subblocks that are different from the subblocks, information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the additional subblocks, and information indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the additional subblocks.

[0291] According to one embodiment, the subblock may include at least one of a first parameter representing the period between symbols or a second parameter representing the interval between PRBs. Within the section, one or more symbols may be assigned to be separated by the period indicated by the first parameter. Within the section, one or more PRBs may be assigned to be separated by the interval indicated by the second parameter.

[0292] According to one embodiment, the section extension information may include identification information linked to the modulation compression information. This method may include receiving other C-plane messages containing the identification information from the DU. This method may include receiving a U-plane message coupled with the other C-plane messages from the DU. The data of the U-plane message may be decompressed based on the modulation compression information corresponding to the identification information.

[0293] According to one embodiment, the scale information may include 15 bits to indicate the scale value. Alternatively, the scale information may include 15 bits to indicate the scale value and 12 bits to indicate whether the scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB.

[0294] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic equipment of a Distributed Unit (DU) in a wireless communication system may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor may be configured to identify a subblock within a section. The at least one processor may be configured to generate a control-plane (C-plane) message which includes section extension information which includes modulation compression information corresponding to the subblock. The at least one processor may be configured to transmit the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a fronthaul interface. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation relative to the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0295] According to one embodiment, the one section may include a plurality of subblocks. The section extension information may include modulation compression information relating to additional subblocks among the plurality of subblocks that are different from the subblocks, information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the additional subblocks, and information indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the additional subblocks.

[0296] According to one embodiment, the subblock may include at least one of a first parameter representing the period between symbols or a second parameter representing the interval between PRBs. Within the section, one or more symbols may be assigned to be separated by the period indicated by the first parameter. Within the section, one or more PRBs may be assigned to be separated by the interval indicated by the second parameter.

[0297] According to one embodiment, the section extension information may include identification information linked to the modulation compression information. The at least one processor may be configured to send other C-plane messages containing the identification information to the RU. The at least one processor may be configured to send a U-plane message coupled with the other C-plane message to the RU. The data of the U-plane message may be compressed based on the modulation compression information corresponding to the identification information.

[0298] According to one embodiment, the scale information may include 15 bits to indicate the scale value. Alternatively, the scale information may include 15 bits to indicate the scale value and 12 bits to indicate whether the scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB.

[0299] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device of a radio unit (RU) in a wireless communication system may include at least one transceiver and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor may be configured to receive control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section extension information from a distribute unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The at least one processor may be configured to identify, in the section extension information, modulation compression information corresponding to a subblock within a section. The modulation compression information may include a flag indicating whether to move a constellation over the subblock and scale information applied to the subblock. The section extension information may include information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the subblock and information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the subblock.

[0300] According to one embodiment, the one section may include a plurality of subblocks. The section extension information may include modulation compression information relating to additional subblocks among the plurality of subblocks that are different from the subblocks, information indicating the number of one or more symbols in the additional subblocks, and information indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the additional subblocks.

[0301] According to one embodiment, the subblock may include at least one of a first parameter representing the period between symbols or a second parameter representing the interval between PRBs. Within the section, one or more symbols may be assigned to be separated by the period indicated by the first parameter. Within the section, one or more PRBs may be assigned to be separated by the interval indicated by the second parameter.

[0302] According to one embodiment, the section extension information may include identification information linked to the modulation compression information. The at least one processor may be configured to receive other C-plane messages containing the identification information from the DU. The at least one processor may be further configured to receive U-plane messages coupled with the other C-plane messages from the DU. The data of the U-plane message may be decompressed based on the modulation compression information corresponding to the identification information.

[0303] According to one embodiment, the scale information may include 15 bits to indicate the scale value. Alternatively, the scale information may include 15 bits to indicate the scale value and 12 bits to indicate whether the scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB.

[0304] According to one embodiment, the C-plane message includes modulation compression information.

[0305] According to one embodiment, the processor is configured to receive U-plane messages from the DU, and the U-plane messages may include data related to the C-plane messages.

[0306] According to one embodiment, the processor is configured to decompress the data contained in the U-place message based on the modulation compression information and to transmit the decompressed data to the terminal.

[0307] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a distributed unit (DU). This method may include an operation to generate a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression. This method may include an operation to transmit the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a fronthaul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information to indicate one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information to indicate the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information to indicate a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0308] According to one embodiment, the section extension information for modulation compression may include first symbol information for pointing to one or more symbols of a second subblock of the one or more subblocks, second PRB information for pointing to the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the second subblock, a second flag for indicating whether the constellation of the second subblock is shifted, second scale offset information for pointing to a second scale value applied to the second subblock, and second remask information for indicating whether the second scale value is applied to each RE of the PRB of the second subblock.

[0309] According to one embodiment, the first PRB information may include information for indicating the starting PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock.

[0310] According to one embodiment, the first symbol information can point to the position of each of the one or more symbols of the first subblock.

[0311] According to one embodiment, the information for indicating the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression may be indicated by 4 bits of the section extension information. The first flag may be indicated by 1 bit of the section extension information. The first scale information may be indicated by 15 bits of the section extension information. The first remask information may be indicated by 12 bits of the section extension information.

[0312] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a radio unit (RU). This method may include receiving a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression from a Distributed Unit (DU) via a fronthaul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating the number of one or more symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0313] According to one embodiment, the section extension information for modulation compression may include first symbol information for pointing to one or more symbols of a second subblock of the one or more subblocks, second PRB information for pointing to the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the second subblock, a second flag for indicating whether the constellation of the second subblock is shifted, second scale offset information for pointing to a second scale value applied to the second subblock, and second remask information for indicating whether the second scale value is applied to each RE of the PRB of the second subblock.

[0314] According to one embodiment, the first PRB information may include information for indicating the starting PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock.

[0315] According to one embodiment, the first symbol information can point to the position of each of the one or more symbols of the first subblock.

[0316] According to one embodiment, the information for indicating the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression may be indicated by 4 bits of the section extension information. The first flag may be indicated by 1 bit of the section extension information. The first scale information may be indicated by 15 bits of the section extension information. The first remask information may be indicated by 12 bits of the section extension information.

[0317] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electronic device for a distributed unit (DU). The electronic device may include at least one transceiver for a front-haul interface, at least one processor, and memory for storing instructions. When executed by the at least one processor, the instructions can cause the electronic device to perform a function including generating a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression and transmitting the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via the front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information for indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, a first flag for indicating whether the constellation of the one subblock is shifted, first scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information for indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) in the PRB of the first subblock.

[0318] According to one embodiment, the section extension information for modulation compression may include first symbol information for pointing to one or more symbols of a second subblock of the one or more subblocks, second PRB information for pointing to the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the second subblock, a second flag for indicating whether the constellation of the second subblock is shifted, second scale offset information for pointing to a second scale value applied to the second subblock, and second remask information for indicating whether the second scale value is applied to each RE of the PRB of the second subblock.

[0319] According to one embodiment, the first PRB information may include information for indicating the starting PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock.

[0320] According to one embodiment, the first symbol information can point to the position of each of the one or more symbols of the first subblock.

[0321] According to one embodiment, the information for indicating the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression may be indicated by 4 bits of the section extension information. The first flag may be indicated by 1 bit of the section extension information. The first scale information may be indicated by 15 bits of the section extension information. The first remask information may be indicated by 12 bits of the section extension information.

[0322] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electronic device operated by a radio unit (RU). The electronic device may include at least one transceiver for a front-haul interface, at least one processor, and memory for storing instructions. When executed by the at least one processor, the instructions can cause the electronic device to perform a function including receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section extension information for modulation compression from a Distributed Unit (DU) via the front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information for indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, first flags for indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information for indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each RE (resource element) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0323] According to one embodiment, the section extension information for modulation compression may include first symbol information for pointing to one or more symbols of a second subblock of the one or more subblocks, second PRB information for pointing to the number of one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the second subblock, a second flag for indicating whether the constellation of the second subblock is shifted, second scale offset information for pointing to a second scale value applied to the second subblock, and second remask information for indicating whether the second scale value is applied to each RE of the PRB of the second subblock.

[0324] According to one embodiment, the first PRB information may include information for indicating the starting PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock.

[0325] According to one embodiment, the first symbol information can point to the position of each of the one or more symbols of the first subblock.

[0326] According to one embodiment, the information for indicating the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression may be indicated by 4 bits of the section extension information. The first flag may be indicated by 1 bit of the section extension information. The first scale information may be indicated by 15 bits of the section extension information. The first remask information may be indicated by 12 bits of the section extension information.

[0327] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium including memory configured to store program instructions. When executed by one or more processors, the program instructions can cause a distributed unit (DU) to perform functions including generating a control-plane (C-plane) message containing section extension information for modulation compression and transmitting the C-plane message to a radio unit (RU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating the number of symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) of the PRB of the first subblock.

[0328] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium including memory configured to store program instructions. The program instructions can, when executed by one or more processors, cause a radio unit (RU) to perform a function including receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for modulation compression may include information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for modulation compression, first symbol information indicating the number of symbols of a first subblock of the one or more subblocks, first PRB information indicating the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the first subblock, first flags indicating whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, first scale offset information indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and first remask information indicating whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

[0329] Various embodiments of this document can be implemented as software containing one or more instructions stored in a storage medium readable by a machine. For example, the machine's processor can call and execute at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium. This allows the machine to operate to perform at least one function in accordance with the one or more instructions called. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code that can be executed by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium can be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, "non-transitory" simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and this term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently and cases where it is stored temporarily. O-RAN enables the configuration of virtualized intelligent networks with standardized open interfaces. For network virtualization, the operation according to the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a recording medium (e.g., memory).

[0330] According to one embodiment, the methods according to the various embodiments disclosed herein may be provided in a computer program product. The computer program product can be traded as a commodity between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product can be distributed in the form of a device-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)) or through an application store (e.g., Play Store). TMIt can be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via a network or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product can be temporarily stored or temporarily generated on a storage medium that can be read by equipment such as the memory of the manufacturer's server, the application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0331] According to various embodiments, each component of the aforementioned components (e.g., a module or program) may include one or more individuals, and some of the individuals may be placed separately in other components. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations of the aforementioned corresponding components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, multiple components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In this case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the multiple components in the same or similar manner as they were performed by the corresponding components of the multiple components before the integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by modules, programs, or other components may be performed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or empirically, and one or more of the operations may be performed in a different order, omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

[0332] The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of this disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0333] When implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium can be provided that stores one or more programs (software modules). The one or more programs stored on the computer-readable storage medium are configured for execution by one or more processors in an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to perform a method according to the claims or specifications of this disclosure.

[0334] Such programs (software modules, software) can be stored in random access memory, non-volatile memory including flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disc storage devices, compact disc-ROMs (CD-ROMs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), or other forms of optical storage devices, magnetic cassettes, or in a memory consisting of some or all of these. Furthermore, each constituent memory may include multiple instances.

[0335] Furthermore, the program can be stored in an accessible, attachable storage device via a communication network such as the Internet, intranet, LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network), or SAN (storage area network), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device can be connected to an apparatus performing an embodiment of the disclosure via an external port. In addition, separate storage devices on the communication network can also be connected to an apparatus performing an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0336] In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described above, the components included in the disclosure are represented singly or plurally according to the specific embodiments presented. However, the singly or plural representations are selected for the purposes of the present context for the convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singly or plural components. Components represented plural may consist of singular components, singular components, or plural components.

[0337] While this disclosure is shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications of form and detail can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method that is performed by a DU (distributed unit), The operation of generating control-plane (C-plane) messages that include section information and section extension information for modulation compression, This includes the operation of sending the C-plane message to the RU (radio unit) via the front haul interface, The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is, Information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression within the resource area indicated by the section information, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB (physical resource block) among one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the first subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and A method comprising remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

2. The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of a second subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB among one or more PRBs of the second subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the second subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the second subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a second scale value applied to the second subblock, and The method according to claim 1, further comprising remask information to indicate whether the second scale value is applied to each RE in the PRB of the second subblock.

3. The operation further includes receiving a management-plane (M-plane) message from the RU, which includes information indicating that the RU supports the section extension information for specifying the first subblock, based on the information for indicating the start PRB among the one or more PRBs of the first subblock and the information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, The method according to claim 1.

4. The section information includes a mode parameter for indicating the first value among a first value and a second value different from the first value, When the mode parameter indicates the first value, the section extension information is configured to include the information for indicating the start PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and the information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock. When the mode parameter indicates the second value, the section extension information is configured not to include the information for indicating the start PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and the information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock. The method according to claim 1.

5. The symbol information indicates the position of each of the one or more symbols in the first subblock. The information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression is indicated by the four bits of the section extension information, The aforementioned flag is indicated by one bit of the section extension information, The scale offset information is indicated by 15 bits of the section extension information, The method according to claim 1, wherein the remask information is indicated by 12 bits of the section extension information.

6. A method performed by a radio unit (RU), The operation includes receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section information and section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is, Information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression within the resource area indicated by the section information, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB (physical resource block) among one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the first subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and A method comprising remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

7. The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of a second subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB among one or more PRBs of the second subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the second subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the second subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a second scale value applied to the second subblock, and The method according to claim 6, further comprising remask information to indicate whether the second scale value is applied to each RE in the PRB of the second subblock.

8. The operation further includes sending a management-plane (M-plane) message to the DU, which includes information indicating that the RU supports the section extension information for specifying the first subblock, based on the information for indicating the starting PRB among the one or more PRBs of the first subblock and the information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, The method according to claim 6.

9. The section information includes a mode parameter for indicating the first value among a first value and a second value different from the first value, When the mode parameter indicates the first value, the section extension information is configured to include the information for indicating the start PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and the information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock. When the mode parameter indicates the second value, the section extension information is configured not to include the information for indicating the start PRB of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock, and the information for indicating the number of the one or more PRBs of the first subblock. The method according to claim 6.

10. The symbol information indicates the position of each of the one or more symbols in the first subblock. The information indicating the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression is indicated by the four bits of the section extension information, The aforementioned flag is indicated by one bit of the section extension information, The scale offset information is indicated by 15 bits of the section extension information, The method according to claim 6, wherein the remask information is indicated by 12 bits of the section extension information.

11. An electronic device configured to perform the function of a DU (distributed unit), At least one transceiver for the front-haul interface, At least one processor, and Includes memory for storing instructions, When the instruction is executed by the at least one processor, the electronic device: It generates a control-plane (C-plane) message that includes section information and section extension information for modulation compression. This triggers the execution of a function that includes sending the C-plane message to the RU (radio unit) via the fronthaul interface, The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is: Information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression within the resource area indicated by the section information, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB (physical resource block) among one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the first subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and An electronic device including remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

12. An electronic device configured to perform the function of a radio unit (RU), At least one transceiver for the front-haul interface, At least one processor, and Includes memory for storing instructions, When the instruction is executed by the at least one processor, the electronic device: This triggers a function that includes receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section information and section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is: Information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression within the resource area indicated by the section information, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB (physical resource block) among one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the first subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and An electronic device including remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

13. A non-temporary computer-readable medium includes memory configured to store program instructions, When the aforementioned program instruction is executed by one or more processors, the DU (distributed unit) is: To generate control-plane (C-plane) messages that include section information and section extension information for modulation compression, and This triggers the execution of a function that includes sending the C-plane message to the RU (radio unit) via the fronthaul interface, The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is: Information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression within the resource area indicated by the section information, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB (physical resource block) among one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the first subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and A non-temporary, computer-readable medium containing remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

14. A non-temporary computer-readable medium includes memory configured to store program instructions, When the aforementioned program instruction is executed by one or more processors, the RU (radio unit) is: This triggers a function that includes receiving control-plane (C-plane) messages containing section information and section extension information for modulation compression from a distributed unit (DU) via a front-haul interface. The section extension information for the aforementioned modulation compression is: Information to indicate the number of one or more subblocks for the modulation compression within the resource area indicated by the section information, Symbol information for indicating one or more symbols of the first subblock of the one or more subblocks, Information for indicating the starting PRB (physical resource block) among one or more PRBs (physical resource blocks) of the first subblock, Information for indicating the number of one or more PRBs in the first subblock, A flag to indicate whether the constellation of the first subblock is shifted, Scale offset information for indicating a first scale value applied to the first subblock, and A non-temporary, computer-readable medium containing remask information to indicate whether the first scale value is applied to each resource element (RE) in the PRB of the first subblock.

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