Terminal and communication method

Abstract

This terminal includes: a communication unit that communicates with a base station corresponding to a certain Mobile Network Operator (MNO) among a plurality of MNOs sharing a frequency band; and a control unit that, when a transmission / reception to the base station overlaps a resource that is not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the certain MNO, drops or postpones the transmission / reception.

Description

Terminal and communication method

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal and a communication method in a wireless communication system.

[0002] The 3GPP (registered trademark) (3rd Generation Partnership Project) is currently studying a wireless communication method called 5G or NR (New Radio) (hereinafter, this wireless communication method will be referred to as "NR") in order to achieve a larger system capacity, a higher data transmission speed, and a lower latency in wireless sections. In 5G, various wireless technologies and network architectures are being studied to meet the requirements of achieving a throughput of 10 Gbps or more while reducing the latency in wireless sections to 1 ms or less (for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).

[0003] Furthermore, various requirements are being considered for the next generation, 6G, such as ultra broadband communication, mission critical communication, ultra massive connection, universal coverage, intelligent connection, and ubiquitous sensing.

[0004] To achieve this requirement, the new concept aims to be extensible (e.g., to make it more future-proof), customizable (e.g., to make it easier to operate), and sustainable (e.g., to reduce costs and have a more robust structure).

[0005] 3GPP TS 38.300 V17.5.0 (2023-06)3GPP TS 38.401 V17.5.0 (2023-06)

[0006] In order to reduce the cost of installation, spectrum sharing by multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) in licensed bands is being considered. However, when multiple TRPs share a frequency band, operational problems may occur depending on the location of the sites.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to share a frequency band among a plurality of TRPs (Transmission reception points) in a wireless communication system.

[0008] According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a terminal having a communication unit that communicates with a base station corresponding to a certain MNO (Mobile network operator) among a plurality of MNOs that share a frequency band, and a control unit that drops or postpones transmission and reception to and from the base station when the transmission and reception overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the certain MNO.

[0009] According to the disclosed technology, a frequency band can be shared among a plurality of TRPs (Transmission reception points) in a wireless communication system.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency band sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of site layout according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of site layout according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0012] In the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, existing technology is used as appropriate. However, the existing technology is, for example, the existing LTE, but is not limited to the existing LTE. Furthermore, the term "LTE" used in this specification has a broad meaning including LTE-Advanced and systems subsequent to LTE-Advanced (e.g., NR), unless otherwise specified.

[0013] In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described below, terms such as SS (Synchronization signal), PSS (Primary SS), SSS (Secondary SS), PBCH (Physical broadcast channel), PRACH (Physical random access channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) used in existing LTE are used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc. may be called by other names. In addition, the above-mentioned terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even if a signal is used in NR, it is not necessarily stated as "NR-".

[0014] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the duplex method may be a time division duplex (TDD) method, a frequency division duplex (FDD) method, or another method (for example, flexible duplex, etc.).

[0015] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, "configuring" radio parameters etc. may mean that predetermined values ​​are pre-configured, or that radio parameters notified from the base station 10 or the terminal 20 are set.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. Although Fig. 1 shows one base station 10 and one terminal 20, this is an example, and there may be a plurality of each.

[0017] The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. The physical resources of a wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain. The time domain may be defined by the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks. The base station 10 transmits a synchronization signal and system information to the terminal 20. The synchronization signal is, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is, for example, transmitted via NR-PBCH and is also referred to as broadcast information. The synchronization signal and system information may also be referred to as SSB (SS / PBCH block). As shown in FIG. 1 , the base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 via DL (Downlink) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 via UL (Uplink). Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of transmitting and receiving signals by performing beamforming. Furthermore, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 can apply MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) communication to DL or UL. Furthermore, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may communicate via a secondary cell (SCell: Secondary Cell) and a primary cell (PCell: Primary Cell) using CA (Carrier Aggregation). Furthermore, the terminal 20 may communicate via a primary cell of the base station 10 and a primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell: Primary SCG Cell) of another base station 10 using DC (Dual Connectivity).

[0018] The terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or an M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. As shown in Fig. 1, the terminal 20 receives control signals or data from the base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to the base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system. The terminal 20 also receives various reference signals transmitted from the base station 10 and measures propagation path quality based on the reception results of the reference signals.

[0019] Furthermore, various requirements are being considered for the next generation, 6G, such as ultra broadband communication, mission critical communication, ultra massive connection, universal coverage, intelligent connection, and ubiquitous sensing.

[0020] To achieve this requirement, the new concept aims to be extensible (e.g., to make it more future-proof), customizable (e.g., to make it easier to operate), and sustainable (e.g., to reduce costs and have a more robust structure).

[0021] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of sharing in an embodiment of the present invention. In order to reduce station placement costs, sharing as shown in Fig. 2 is being considered among multiple MNOs (Mobile network operators) even in licensed band operation.

[0022] For example, core network sharing has been considered in LTE, such as a Gateway Core Network (GWCN) and a Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) shown in Fig. 2. In a core network sharing, cells are shared and different operators are assigned different Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) IDs.

[0023] For example, RAN sharing has been considered for LTE, such as MORAN (Multi-Operators Radio Access Network) shown in Figure 2. In MORAN, base station hardware is shared and different operators are assigned different cells.

[0024] For example, site sharing has been considered in LTE, as shown in Figure 2. Sites are shared and different operators are assigned different base stations.

[0025] Furthermore, in 3GPP (e.g., Release 16), in addition to communications using licensed frequencies (sometimes referred to as licensed spectrum or licensed band), communications using "unlicensed frequencies (sometimes referred to as unlicensed spectrum or unlicensed band)" (sometimes referred to as NR-U (NR unlicensed)) are being considered. In unlicensed frequencies, for example, a method of coexistence between different RATs or different operators is specified. As an example, in unlicensed frequencies, coexistence between NR-U and Wi-Fi (registered trademark), coexistence between NR-U and LTE License-Assisted Access (LTE-LAA), or coexistence between NR-U of operator A and NR-U of operator B may occur. For example, 2.4 GHz, 5 to 7 GHz, or 57 to 71 GHz may be used as the unlicensed frequency.

[0026] Note that "operator" refers to, for example, a telecommunications carrier that uses a RAT. Different RATs may be used by different operators or by the same operator. In the following description, "operator" may refer to a "telecommunications carrier," as well as a RAT used by a telecommunications carrier, or communication equipment (e.g., a base station) used for the RAT.

[0027] In future wireless systems, in addition to unlicensed frequencies, communication using a "shared spectrum" in which frequencies are shared between operators using the same RAT is being considered.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example (1) of frequency band sharing in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an example of sharing frequencies among multiple operators (e.g., operators A, B, and C) using a shared frequency band. For example, in a shared frequency band, operators A, B, and C do not use frequencies individually assigned to each operator as shown on the left side of FIG. 3, but use a common frequency among the operators as shown on the right side of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, by using a shared frequency band, each operator may be able to use a wider frequency band than when frequencies are individually assigned. For example, 2.3 GHz or 3.5 GHz may be used as the shared frequency band.

[0029] The way operators coexist (in other words, how they share spectrum) may differ between unlicensed and shared spectrum.

[0030] In unlicensed frequencies, for example, information may not be shared between different RATs. Therefore, for example, operators using each RAT sense unlicensed frequencies before transmission and transmit signals using resources not used by operators using other RATs. Note that the above-mentioned sensing is sometimes called Listen Before Talk (LBT) or Clear Channel Assessment (CCA). In addition, a communication method using unlicensed frequencies is sometimes called Licensed Assisted Access (LAA).

[0031] On the other hand, in a shared frequency band, when information can be shared, for example, between operators using the same RAT, it is possible to introduce time synchronization between operators (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as "synchronization"). The introduction of time synchronization can improve the utilization efficiency of the shared frequency band compared to unlicensed frequencies.

[0032] A communication method using a shared frequency band will be described below.

[0033] [Inter-operator synchronization] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example (2) of frequency band sharing in an embodiment of the present invention. In a shared frequency band, for example, as shown in Fig. 4, time synchronization may be introduced between multiple operators (e.g., operators A and B). In other words, multiple operators may cooperate to share the shared frequency band. In the example of Fig. 4, a terminal 20A communicates with a base station 10A of operator A, and a terminal 20B communicates with a base station 10B of operator B.

[0034] For example, when time synchronization between operators is introduced in a shared frequency band, an operator that can use each resource (e.g., slot) in the shared frequency band with priority (hereinafter referred to as a "priority operator") is set for that resource. For example, resources in the shared frequency band may be allocated to each operator semi-statically. The priority operator can use the allocated resources with priority. For convenience, such resources are hereinafter referred to as "priority resources."

[0035] Furthermore, for example, if there are unused priority resources by a priority operator, the resources may be used by another operator (hereinafter referred to as a "non-priority operator") different from the priority operator. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, Operator A may use unused resources from the priority resources allocated to Operator B in addition to the priority resources allocated to Operator A. Conversely, Operator B may use unused resources from the priority resources allocated to Operator A in addition to the priority resources allocated to Operator B. For convenience, such use of unused resources by a non-priority operator may be referred to as "opportunistic use."

[0036] Furthermore, for example, in a shared frequency band, a transmission signal of a priority operator and a transmission signal of a non-priority operator may be spatially multiplexed (SDM: Spatial Division Multiplexing). For example, in a priority resource (e.g., a time resource) used by a priority operator, a non-priority operator may use a beam (in other words, an unused beam) different from the beam (in other words, a spatial resource) used by the priority operator. Spatial multiplexing can orthogonalize interference between multiple operators and improve the frequency utilization efficiency of the shared frequency band.

[0037] In this way, in shared frequency bands, frequency utilization efficiency can be improved by introducing time synchronization between operators and by allowing non-wired operators to opportunistically use unused resources of preferred operators.

[0038] [Sharing of base stations between operators] Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining an example (3) of frequency band sharing in an embodiment of the present invention. In a shared frequency band, for example, as shown in Figure 5, a base station (which may also be referred to as a gNB) may be shared between multiple operators (for example, operators A, B, and C). In the example of Figure 5, a terminal 20A operated by operator A, a terminal 20B operated by operator B, and a terminal 20C operated by operator C communicate with a base station shared by operators A, B, and C.

[0039] By having multiple operators share a base station, for example, the processing related to the time synchronization (or coordination) between the operators described above can be completed within the base station, reducing the amount of communication between base stations, thereby reducing the complexity of the system.

[0040] For example, the shared frequency band may be a frequency used in the event of a disaster (e.g., a frequency for public safety). In this case, by sharing a base station among multiple operators, the cost of installing a base station can be reduced compared to when each operator installs a base station individually.

[0041] The above describes a communication format using a shared frequency band. Note that using a shared frequency band may also be referred to as spectrum sharing.

[0042] To achieve spectrum sharing among multiple MNOs, two approaches are envisioned: frequency division multiplexing and time division multiplexing.

[0043] 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of sharing by frequency division multiplexing according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, MNO#A and MNO#B may share spectrum by frequency division multiplexing within a certain band.

[0044] 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of spectrum sharing by time division multiplexing according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, MNO#A and MNO#B may share spectrum in a certain band by time division multiplexing.

[0045] For spectrum sharing, the following two site configurations are envisaged:

[0046] 8 is a diagram for explaining an example (1) of a site layout according to an embodiment of the present invention. A site layout in which the positions of the sites are the same as shown in FIG. 8 is called an intra-site.

[0047] 9 is a diagram for explaining an example (2) of a site arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention. A site arrangement in which the sites are located at different positions and the coverage areas partially overlap, as shown in FIG. 9, is called an inter-site.

[0048] When spectrum sharing is performed among multiple MNOs, it is being considered to enable or disable specific time-frequency domain resources. This makes it possible to limit the physical resources available to UEs of a certain MNO among the multiple MNOs. For example, this operation is performed in the operation related to the shared frequency band and the operation of NR-IAB (Integrated Access Backhaul).

[0049] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating an example (1) of communication in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 10, during inter-site communication, it is assumed that UL transmitted at a certain TA (Timing Advance) at one site leaks into another site at an unexpected time, causing interference. Figure 10 shows an example in which, when a UE transmits data intended for MNO#A, an unintended transmission is made to MNO#B. As shown in Figure 10, because there is a gap between the TA of MNO#A and the TA of MNO#B, the UL for MNO#A collides with the resources of MNO#B.

[0050] As described above, in the case of inter-site spectrum sharing, the TA required varies for each MNO, and therefore, UL for resources of one MNO may interfere with resources of another MNO.

[0051] Therefore, the following operations 1) to 5) may be performed. Each operation may be performed independently or in any combination.

[0052] Action 1) A guard time may be defined within the available resources of a frequency band shared by multiple MNOs.

[0053] The unit of the guard time may be at least one of 1) to 5) shown below.

[0054] 1) Radio frame 2) Subframe 3) Slot 4) Symbol (OFDM symbol) 5) Seconds (seconds, milliseconds, microseconds)

[0055] The position of the guard time may be at least one of 1) to 3) shown below.

[0056] 1) The start position of the available resource in the time domain. 2) The end position of the available resource in the time domain. 3) Any position of the available resource.

[0057] The determination and / or setting of the guard time may be performed based on at least one of the following 1)-4).

[0058] 1) Defined by the specification. 2) Configured by RRC signaling. 3) Notified by MAC-CE. When notified by MAC-CE, application of the notified guard time may start at least after ACK transmission corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE. 4) Notified by DCI. When notified by DCI, application of the notified guard time may start at least after ACK transmission corresponding to the DCI, or may start at least after ACK transmission corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI, or may start at least after PUSCH transmission scheduled by the DCI.

[0059] During the guard time, at least one of the following 1) or 2) may be performed.

[0060] 1) No DL transmission and no UL transmission is allowed. For example, the UE may not expect any reception and may not expect any transmission. For example, the UE may ignore any scheduling notification or configuration that schedules DL or UL during the guard time.

[0061] 2) No UL transmission is allowed. For example, the UE may not expect any transmission. For example, the UE may not expect any UL symbols, UL slots, or UL transmissions to be configured during the guard time. The UE may ignore any UL scheduling notification or configuration that schedules UL during the guard time.

[0062] Action 1) above allows preventing UL transmissions intended for one MNO from interfering with resources of other MNOs without the need for signaling.

[0063] Operation 2) Reporting of information related to TA for multiple MNOs may be defined. A UE may report the information to the network, i.e., the base station of a connecting MNO. The multiple MNOs may share a frequency band, and a UE scheduled for DL ​​or UL by a connecting MNO base station may transmit and receive in the shared frequency band.

[0064] The information related to TAs for multiple MNOs may be at least one of 1)-3) shown below, or a combination of multiple items.

[0065] 1) TA (Timing Advance). The bit width indicating the TA may be 12 bits or 6 bits, and may be configurable by RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or DCI. 2) Information identifying an operator or a network. For example, it may be a PLMN-ID. 3) It may be a pair of TA and PLMN-ID. The TA may be a TA with a base station corresponding to the PLMN-ID.

[0066] The report may be sent in one or more of the following ways: 1) to 4) or a combination of these ways.

[0067] 1) UCI ​​carried on PUSCH, 2) UCI ​​carried on PUCCH, 3) MAC-CE carried on PUSCH, and 4) Other UL transmissions other than 1), 2), and 3).

[0068] The conditions for executing the report may be at least one of the following 1) to 3), or a combination of multiple conditions.

[0069] 1) When a periodic trigger occurs, 2) When triggered by a network setting or notification, or 3) When triggered by an event. For example, the event may be when a TA related to a certain PLMN-ID is updated, or when a TA related to a PLMN-ID other than the connected MNO is updated.

[0070] It may also operate as shown in 1)-3) below.

[0071] 1) If the TA corresponding to any MNO identifier (eg, PLMN-ID) has not changed since the last time of reporting, then reporting may not be performed.

[0072] 2) If the number of TAs configured or notified by the MNO is less than or equal to one, reporting may not be performed.

[0073] 3) If the number of TAs configured or notified by the MNO is 1, the UE may report the TA or may report information indicating that no other TAs are configured, allowing the network and / or gNB to know that there are no other MNOs sharing the frequency band.

[0074] Operation 2) above enables the network and / or gNB to obtain the TA required for UEs transmitting to other MNOs, allowing the network and / or gNB to avoid UL scheduling that interferes with the resources of other MNOs.

[0075] Operation 3) A determination may be made as to whether to perform UL transmission on a particular resource based on information related to TAs for multiple MNOs, which may be spectrum sharing.

[0076] A decision may be made as to whether to perform UL transmission on a particular resource based on the difference in TA between multiple MNOs, i.e., the factor for the decision may be the difference in TA between multiple MNOs.

[0077] The specific resource may be at least one of 1) and 2) shown below.

[0078] 1) The beginning of the available resources. 2) The end of the available resources.

[0079] The unit for specifying the specific resource may be at least one of 1) to 5) shown below.

[0080] 1) Radio frame 2) Subframe 3) Slot 4) Symbol (OFDM symbol) 5) Seconds (seconds, milliseconds, microseconds)

[0081] Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a communication example (2) according to an embodiment of the present invention. When certain conditions are met, as shown in Fig. 11, the UE may not perform UL transmission in the last X symbols of the available resources. In Fig. 11, there are three consecutive slots of resources from MNO#A, followed by three consecutive slots of resources from MNO#B. In Fig. 11, the end of the available resources corresponds to the end of the resources from MNO#A in the third slot.

[0082] The certain condition is that the following equation 1 is satisfied: Ａ is the TA corresponding to the serving PLMN-ID (i.e., the PLMN-ID corresponding to the serving MNO and / or cell), and TA Ｂ is a TA corresponding to another PLMN-ID (i.e., a PLMN-ID corresponding to another MNO).

[0083]

[0084] Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating a communication example (3) according to an embodiment of the present invention. When certain conditions are met, as shown in Fig. 12, the UE may not perform UL transmission in the first X symbols of the available resources. In Fig. 12, three consecutive slots of MNO#B's resources are followed by three consecutive slots of MNO#A's resources. In Fig. 12, the beginning of the available resources corresponds to the beginning of MNO#A's resources in the first slot.

[0085] The certain condition is that the following equation 2 is satisfied: Ａ is the TA corresponding to the serving PLMN-ID (i.e., the PLMN-ID corresponding to the serving MNO and / or cell), and TA Ｂ is a TA corresponding to another PLMN-ID (i.e., a PLMN-ID corresponding to another MNO).

[0086]

[0087] It should be noted that if only a portion of a scheduled UL transmission overlaps with the particular resource, then either all of the UL transmission or only a portion of the UL transmission may be dropped.

[0088] The amount of the specific resource may be determined based on at least one of the following 1)-4).

[0089] 1) Defined by the specification. 2) Configured by RRC signaling. 3) Notified by MAC-CE. When notified by MAC-CE, application of the notified guard time may start at least after ACK transmission corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE. 4) Notified by DCI. When notified by DCI, application of the notified guard time may start at least after ACK transmission corresponding to the DCI, or may start at least after ACK transmission corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI, or may start at least after PUSCH transmission scheduled by the DCI.

[0090] Action 3) above allows the UE to avoid interfering with resources of other MNOs.

[0091] Action 4) When DL reception and / or UL transmission that fully or partially overlaps with a specific resource is performed, the UE may perform the reception and / or transmission in a specific manner, where the overlap may be in the time domain.

[0092] The specific resource may be the guard time described in the above operation 1) or the specific resource described in the above operation 3).

[0093] The specific method may be at least one of the following methods 1) to 4).

[0094] Method 1) The UE drops all relevant receptions and / or relevant transmissions.

[0095] Method 2) The UE suspends or postpones all such reception and / or such transmission.

[0096] Method 3) The UE performs the reception and / or transmission on resources that are not included in the specific resources, and drops the reception and / or transmission on resources that are included in the specific resources.

[0097] Method 4) The UE performs the reception and / or transmission on resources that are not included in the specific resources, and suspends or postpones the reception and / or transmission on resources that are included in the specific resources.

[0098] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication (4) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The reception and / or transmission that has been suspended or postponed in the above method 2) or the above method 4) may be resumed as shown in FIG. 13 when resources for the connecting MNO become available again.

[0099] Furthermore, the reception and / or transmission that was paused or postponed in the above method 2) or 4) may be resumed when the gNB and / or the network configures and / or notifies resources for the reception and / or transmission. The resources for the reception and / or transmission that are configured and / or notified by the gNB and / or the network may not be included in the specific resources.

[0100] Furthermore, the reception and / or transmission that has been paused or postponed in method 2) or method 4) may be resumed once DL and / or UL resources for the connecting MNO are available again.

[0101] Operation 4) described above reduces interference between multiple MNOs sharing spectrum while enabling more efficient resource allocation by the gNB scheduler.

[0102] Action 5) The UE may receive TA commands from multiple MNOs with which it shares spectrum.

[0103] The signaling used for TA allocation may be at least one of 1)-4) shown below.

[0104] 1) Msg2 PUSCH 2) DL MAC-CE (e.g., TA command MAC-CE) 3) RRC setting 4) DCI notification

[0105] The source of the signaling used for TA allocation may be at least one of Source 1) and Source 2) shown below.

[0106] Source 1) One of multiple MNOs. For example, the UE may receive TA commands for multiple MNOs from an MNO corresponding to one PLMN-ID. Source 2) Each of multiple MNOs. It may be all MNOs. For example, the UE may receive TA commands from each MNO corresponding to each PLMN-ID.

[0107] As an example of signaling used for TA allocation applicable to source 1), one Msg2 PDSCH and / or TA command MAC-CE may carry multiple TA commands. Furthermore, the PLMN-ID corresponding to each TA command may be explicitly carried, or the PLMN-ID corresponding to each TA command may be implicitly determined. In the case of implicit determination, a table indicating the mapping between PLMN-IDs and TA values ​​may be configured by RRC signaling or may be notified by MAC-CE or DCI.

[0108] As an example of signaling used for TA allocation applied to source 1) and / or source 2), either method 1) or 2) below may be applied based on the MNO or PLMN-ID.

[0109] 1) Legacy signaling may be used to signal the TA command to the serving MNO, for example, the TA command MAC-CE may be used.

[0110] 2) TA commands for MNOs other than the connected MNO may be notified via the RRC connection.

[0111] As an example of signaling used for TA allocation applied to source 2) above, the Msg2 PDSCH and / or TA command MAC-CE corresponding to a PLMN-ID may carry only the TA value for that PLMN-ID.

[0112] Through the above operation 5), the UE can obtain information to achieve interference mitigation.

[0113] The above embodiments allow the network and / or gNB to obtain the TA required for a UE transmitting to another MNO, the network and / or gNB to avoid UL scheduling that interferes with the resources of the other MNO, and the UE to avoid interfering with the resources of the other MNO.

[0114] That is, in a wireless communication system, a frequency band can be shared by a plurality of MNOs (Mobile network operators).

[0115] (Device Configuration) Next, a functional configuration example of the base station 10 and the terminal 20 that execute the processes and operations described above will be described. The base station 10 and the terminal 20 include functions for implementing the above-described embodiments. However, the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may each include only a part of the functions of the embodiments.

[0116] <Base Station 10> Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 14, the base station 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 14 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0117] The transmitter 110 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 side and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The transmitter 110 also transmits inter-network node messages to other network nodes. The receiver 120 has a function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and acquiring, for example, information of higher layers from the received signals. The transmitter 110 also has a function of transmitting NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL control signals, etc. to the terminal 20. The receiver 120 also receives inter-network node messages from other network nodes.

[0118] The setting unit 130 stores preset setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20. The content of the setting information is, for example, information related to the setting of spectrum sharing.

[0119] As described in the embodiments, the control unit 140 controls the spectrum sharing settings. The control unit 140 also executes scheduling. The signal transmission-related functional unit of the control unit 140 may be included in the transmitting unit 110, and the signal reception-related functional unit of the control unit 140 may be included in the receiving unit 120.

[0120] <Terminal 20> Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of terminal 20 in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 15, terminal 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 15 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0121] The transmitter 210 creates a transmission signal from transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiver 220 wirelessly receives various signals and acquires higher layer signals from the received physical layer signals. The receiver 220 also has a function of receiving NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL / SL control signals, and the like transmitted from the base station 10. For example, the transmitter 210 transmits a PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), a PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel), a PSDCH (Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel), a PSBCH (Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel), and the like to another terminal 20 as D2D communication, and the receiver 220 receives the PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, or PSBCH, and the like, from the other terminal 20.

[0122] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the base station 10 by the receiving unit 220. The setting unit 230 also stores setting information that is set in advance. The setting information includes, for example, information related to spectrum sharing settings.

[0123] As described in the embodiments, the control unit 240 controls the spectrum sharing settings. The signal transmission-related functional unit in the control unit 240 may be included in the transmitting unit 210, and the signal reception-related functional unit in the control unit 240 may be included in the receiving unit 220.

[0124] (Hardware Configuration) The block diagrams (FIGS. 14 and 15) used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.

[0125] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

[0126] For example, the base station 10, the terminal 20, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 10 and the terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 10 and the terminal 20 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0127] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0128] Each function in the base station 10 and the terminal 20 is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001, the memory device 1002, etc., so that the processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by the communication device 1004, and controls at least one of reading and writing data in the memory device 1002 and the auxiliary memory device 1003.

[0129] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned control unit 140, control unit 240, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0130] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002 and executes various processes in accordance with the programs. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 shown in FIG. 14 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and running on the processor 1001. Furthermore, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 shown in FIG. 15 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and running on the processor 1001. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0131] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured, for example, by at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0132] The secondary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of the storage device 1002 and the secondary storage device 1003.

[0133] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, a transmission / reception antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmission / reception unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit may be implemented as a transmission unit and a reception unit that are physically or logically separated.

[0134] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0135] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0136] Furthermore, the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0137] Fig. 17 shows an example configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 17, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to the communication module 2013, for example.

[0138] The drive unit 2002 is configured, for example, by an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

[0139] The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 2010 from various sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0140] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 that senses the current of the motor, a front or rear wheel rotation speed signal obtained by a rotation speed sensor 2022, a front or rear wheel air pressure signal obtained by an air pressure sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal obtained by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal obtained by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal depression amount signal obtained by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal depression amount signal obtained by a brake pedal sensor 2026, a shift lever operation signal obtained by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. obtained by an object detection sensor 2028.

[0141] The information service unit 2012 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, an audio system, speakers, a television, and a radio, for providing (outputting) various types of information, such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs for controlling these devices. The information service unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via the communication module 2013 or the like to provide various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may include input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, a touch panel, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, a touch panel, etc.) that output information to the outside.

[0142] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driving burden on the driver, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps, etc.), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. In addition, the driving assistance system unit 2030 transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.

[0143] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 29, which are provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0144] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.

[0145] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of signals from the above-mentioned various sensors 2021-2028 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021-2028, the information service unit 2012, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above-mentioned input.

[0146] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, vehicle-to-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on an information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013). The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from external devices in a memory 2032 that can be used by the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, etc. provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0147] (Summary of Embodiments) As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a terminal having a communication unit that communicates with a base station corresponding to a certain MNO (Mobile network operator) among a plurality of MNOs that share a frequency band, and a control unit that drops or postpones transmission and reception to and from the base station when the transmission and reception overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the certain MNO.

[0148] The above configuration reduces interference between multiple MNOs sharing the spectrum and enables more efficient resource allocation by the gNB scheduler. In other words, multiple MNOs (Mobile network operators) can share the frequency band in a wireless communication system.

[0149] The controller may drop or postpone all transmissions / receptions to / from the base station when a portion of the transmissions / receptions overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the one MNO. This configuration enables more efficient resource allocation by the gNB scheduler while reducing interference between the plurality of MNOs sharing spectrum.

[0150] The controller may drop or postpone a portion of transmission / reception to / from the base station when the portion of the transmission / reception overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the one MNO. This configuration enables more efficient resource allocation by the gNB scheduler while reducing interference between the plurality of MNOs sharing spectrum.

[0151] If the controller postpones a portion of the transmission and reception, the controller may resume the portion of the transmission and reception when resources for the certain MNO become available. This configuration reduces interference between multiple MNOs sharing spectrum while enabling more efficient resource allocation by a gNB scheduler.

[0152] When the control unit postpones a portion of the transmission and reception, the control unit may resume the portion of the transmission and reception when downlink resources or uplink resources for the certain MNO become available. This configuration enables more efficient resource allocation by a gNB scheduler while reducing interference between multiple MNOs sharing spectrum.

[0153] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a communication method in which a terminal executes a procedure of communicating with a base station corresponding to a certain MNO (Mobile network operator) among a plurality of MNOs that share a frequency band, and a procedure of dropping or postponing transmission / reception to / from the base station when the transmission / reception overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the certain MNO.

[0154] The above configuration reduces interference between multiple MNOs sharing the spectrum and enables more efficient resource allocation by the gNB scheduler. In other words, multiple MNOs (Mobile network operators) can share the frequency band in a wireless communication system.

[0155] (Supplementary Notes on the Embodiments) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, and substitutions. While specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention; matters described in two or more items may be used in combination as needed, and matters described in one item may apply to matters described in another item (as long as there is no contradiction). Boundaries between functional units or processing units in functional block diagrams do not necessarily correspond to boundaries between physical components. The operations of multiple functional units may be performed by a single physical component, or the operations of a single functional unit may be performed by multiple physical components. The order of processing steps described in the embodiments may be reversed as long as there is no contradiction. For convenience of processing description, the base station 10 and terminal 20 have been described using functional block diagrams, but such devices may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may each be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server, or any other suitable storage medium.

[0156] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0157] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (New Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems, and next-generation systems enhanced based on these. Furthermore, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G, etc.) may also be applied.

[0158] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be rearranged unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0159] In this specification, a specific operation described as being performed by the base station 10 may be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having the base station 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the terminal 20 may be performed by at least one of the base station 10 and another network node other than the base station 10 (such as, but not limited to, an MME or an S-GW). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (such as an MME and an S-GW).

[0160] The information, signals, etc. described in the present disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), or may be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0161] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0162] In the present disclosure, the determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a Boolean value (true or false), or by a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0163] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0164] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0165] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0166] Note that terms described in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0167] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0168] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0169] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0170] In the present disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "base station device," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as a macrocell, a small cell, a femtocell, and a picocell.

[0171] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be partitioned into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (RRH: Remote Radio Head)). The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage.

[0172] In the present disclosure, the base station transmitting information to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to control or operate based on the information.

[0173] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0174] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0175] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be referred to as a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile object, the mobile object itself, etc. The mobile object refers to a movable object, and may move at any speed. Naturally, this also includes cases where the mobile object is stationary. Examples of the mobile object include, but are not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcars, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted thereon. The mobile object may also be a mobile object that moves autonomously based on an operational command. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0176] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a user terminal. For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals 20 (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0177] Similarly, the user terminal in the present disclosure may be read as a base station, in which case the base station may be configured to have the functions of the user terminal described above.

[0178] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0179] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0180] The reference signal may be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal) or may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0181] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0182] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

[0183] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0184] When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when the term "or" is used in this disclosure, it is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0185] A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0186] Numerology may be communication parameters that apply to the transmission and / or reception of a signal or channel, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, specific windowing operations performed by the transceiver in the time domain, etc.

[0187] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol) in the time domain. A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0188] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0189] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.

[0190] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc. instead of a subframe.

[0191] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate wireless resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each terminal 20) to each terminal 20 in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0192] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0193] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0194] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0195] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and greater than or equal to 1 ms.

[0196] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of the numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on the numerology.

[0197] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0198] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

[0199] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0200] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a Common Reference Point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

[0201] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0202] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0203] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples, and various changes may be made to the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc.

[0204] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0205] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0206] The aspects / embodiments described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).

[0207] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0208] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Base station 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting unit 140 Controller 20 Terminal 210 Transmitter 220 Receiver 230 Setting unit 240 Controller 1001 Processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device

Claims

1. A terminal having: a communication unit that communicates with a base station corresponding to a certain MNO among multiple MNOs that share a frequency band; and a control unit that drops or postpones transmission and reception to and from the base station when the transmission and reception overlap with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the multiple MNOs other than the certain MNO.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drops or postpones all of the transmission / reception to / from the base station when part of the transmission / reception overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the certain MNO.

3. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drops or postpones a portion of transmission / reception to / from the base station when the portion of the transmission / reception overlaps with resources that are not used to avoid interference with the plurality of MNOs other than the certain MNO.

4. The terminal according to claim 3, wherein, if the control unit postpones a part of the transmission / reception, the control unit resumes the part of the transmission / reception at a time when resources for the certain MNO become available.

5. The terminal according to claim 3, wherein, when a portion of the transmission / reception is postponed, the control unit resumes the portion of the transmission / reception at a point in time when downlink resources or uplink resources for the certain MNO become available.

6. A communications method in which a terminal executes a procedure for communicating with a base station corresponding to a certain MNO (Mobile network operator) among multiple MNOs sharing a frequency band, and a procedure for dropping or postponing the transmission / reception to / from the base station when the transmission / reception overlaps with unused resources to avoid interference with the multiple MNOs other than the certain MNO.

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