Method and apparatus for power control for uplink only transmission and reception points (TRPS)

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for power control for uplink only Transmission and / or Reception Points (TRPs) in a wireless network. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node comprises receiving, from the network node, a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel, computing a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal, and determining an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The method further comprises transmitting the uplink channel at the determined transmit power. In this manner, uplink power control is provided for uplink transmission in a manner suitable for an uplink only TRP.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWER CONTROL FOR UPLINK ONLY TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION POINTS (TRPS)RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 582,963, filed September 15, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a cellular communications system and, more specifically, to uplink power control.BACKGROUND

[0003] Data scheduling in 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) is typically on a slot basis. An example is shown in Figure 1 for a 14-symbol slot with 15 kilohertz (kHz) subcarrier spacing, where the first two symbols in the slot contain Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and the rest of the symbols in the slot contain physical shared data channel, i.e., either Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0004] Downlink (DL) transmissions can be dynamically scheduled on a slot-by-slot basis. The scheduling information, such as resource allocation and modulation order, is contained in Downlink Control Information (DCI) carried by PDCCH. DL user data is carried in PDSCH.

[0005] Uplink (UL) data transmission can also be dynamically scheduled using DCI carried in PDCCH. A User Equipment (UE) first decodes an uplink grant in DCI and then transmits data in PUSCH based the scheduling information in the uplink grant.

[0006] In addition to dynamic scheduling of PUSCH, semi-persistent transmission of periodic PUSCH using Configured Grants (CGs) is also supported in NR. In CG type 1, the periodicity as well as a slot offset are configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC). In CG type 2, the PUSCH transmission can be activated or deactivated dynamically by DCI.

[0007] For channel estimation purpose, Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI- RS) in the DL and Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) in the UL are also supported.

[0008] Synchronization Signals (SS), including Primary SS (PSS) and Secondary SS (SSS), are used in NR to allow a UE to acquire DL synchronization to a cell and the physical cell identity (ID) associated to a cell. PSS and SSS are transmitted together with Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), referred to a SS / PDCH block or SSB in short. PBCH is used to transmit somecritical information in a cell for a UE to acquire system information from other System Information Blocks (SIBs).

[0009] The gNodeB (gNB) (i.e., the NR base station) may consist of a single Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) or multiple TRPs. In case of multiple TRPs, a UE can be scheduled with downlink transmissions from one or more of the TRPs and uplink data transmission to one or more of the TRPs, either one TRP at a time or simultaneously.

[0010] Uplink power control in NR consists of two parts, i.e., open-loop power control and closed-loop power control. Open-loop power control is used to set the uplink transmit power based on a few factors such as pathloss estimation between the UE and a TRP in a serving cell, the target receive power, channel / signal bandwidth, Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), fractional power control factor, etc.

[0011] Closed-loop power control is based on power adjustments signaled in power control commands received from the gNB. The power control commands are typically determined based on the difference between the actual received power and a desired received power at the gNB. Up to two closed power control loops can be configured in NR for each UL channel or signal. Either cumulative or non-cumulative closed-loop power adjustments are supported in NR. A closed loop adjustment at a given time is also referred to as a “power control adjustment state”.

[0012] A serving cell may consist of a single or multiple TRPs. In case of multiple TRPs, a UE can be scheduled with downlink transmissions from one or more of the TRPs and uplink data transmission to one or more of the TRPs. A DL Reference Signal (RS) is transmitted from each TRP, which can be used by a UE to estimate the pathloss between the UE and the TRP. Each DL RS has an index. For UL transmission, power control can be performed separately for each TRP.

[0013] For an UL channel or signal (e.g., PUSCH, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), or SRS) to be transmitted in UL associated with a pathloss RS with index k, its transmit power in a transmission occasion i within a slot in a bandwidth part (BWP) of a carrier frequency of a serving cell and a closed-loop index I ( / = 0,1) can be expressed as:where PCMAX( ) is aUE’s maximum output power for the carrier frequency of the serving cell in transmission occasion i for the UL channel or signal. Popen-ioop (i’ ) isthe open loop transmit power and Pciosed-ioop p 0 isthe closed loop power adjustment.

[0014] Popen-ioop k) is given byPopen—ioop P P) PQ d” PRB .P) d” c PL (JP) T A(t)where Pois the nominal target receive power for the UL channel or signal and comprises a cell specific part Po,Ceii and a UE specific part PQ IJE- PRB( ) is apower adjustment related to the bandwidth or number of Resource Blocks (RBs) occupied by the channel or signal at transmission occasion i, PL(li) is a pathloss (PL) estimation based on a DL RS with index k, a (0 < a < 1) is a fractional pathloss compensation factor, and A(i) is a power offset determined by the modulation and code rate of the UL channel or signal.

[0015] Pdosed-ioop 0 is given below:where <5(i, Z) is a power adjustment value indicated in a Transmit Power Control (TPC) command in a DCI associated with the UL channel or signal at transmission occasion i and configured with closed-loop Z;Z) is a sum of power adjustment values indicated in TPC commands that the UE received for the channel or signal since the TPC command for transmission occasion Z — Zo.

[0016] Note that power control parameters Po, PRBQ)^aP , (i), <5(Z, Z) are generally configured separately for each UL channel or signal (e.g., PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS) and may be different for different UL channels or signals.SUMMARY

[0017] Systems and methods are disclosed for power control for uplink only Transmission and / or Reception Points (TRPs) in a wireless network. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node comprises receiving, from the network node, a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel, computing a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal, and determining an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The method further comprises transmitting the uplink channel at the determined transmit power. In this manner, uplink power control is provided for uplink transmission in a manner suitable for an uplink only TRP.

[0018] In one embodiment, the uplink channel is a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).

[0019] In one embodiment, the network node comprises a first TRP and a second TRP. In one embodiment, the first TRP is an uplink only TRP and the second TRP is an anchor TRP. Inone embodiment, the second TRP provides full coverage of the respective cell with both downlink and uplink. In one embodiment, the downlink reference signal based on which the pathloss is computed is a downlink reference signal transmitted by the second TRP.

[0020] In one embodiment, the method further comprises transmitting, by the UE, an uplink reference signal. In one embodiment, the uplink reference signal is a SRS. In one embodiment, the power offset represents a difference between a received power in dBm of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP and a received power in decibel milliwatts (dBm) of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP.

[0021] In one embodiment, determining the uplink transmit power for the uplink channel comprises computing a pathloss between the UE and the second TRP based on the computed pathloss and the received power offset.

[0022] In one embodiment, determining the uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the computed first pathloss, the received power offset, and other parameters contained in the power control configuration comprises computing a pathloss PL1as:PL^dB) = PL2dB) - RSRP(dB) where PL2is the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal and RSRP (dB) is the received power offset, and determining the uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss PL1and the other parameters configured for the uplink channel.

[0023] Corresponding embodiments of a UE are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a UE for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node is adapted to receive, from the network node, a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel, compute a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal, and determine an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The UE is further adapted to transmit the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

[0024] In one embodiment, a UE for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node comprises a communication interface comprising a transmitter and a receiver, and processing circuitry associated with the communication interface. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to receive, from the network node, a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel, compute a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal, and determine an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the networknode, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE to transmit the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

[0025] Embodiments of a method performed by a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node associated with a first TRP and a second TRP for a serving cell comprises computing a received power offset that represents a difference between a first received power of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP from a UE and a second received power of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP from the UE. The method further comprises sending the received power offset to the UE.

[0026] Corresponding embodiments of a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a network node associated with a first TRP and a second TRP for a serving cell is adapted to compute a received power offset that represents a difference between a second received power of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP from the UE and a first received power of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP from the UE. The UE is further adapted to send the received power difference to the UE.

[0027] In one embodiment, a network node associated with a first TRP and a second TRP for a serving cell comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to compute a received power offset that represents a difference between a second received power of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP from the UE and a first received power of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP from the UE. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the network node to send the received power difference to the UEBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0029] Figure 1 illustrates a New Radio (NR) time-domain structure with 15 kilohertz (kHz) subcarrier spacing;

[0030] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a system that provides uplink power control towards, e.g., an uplink only Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 3 illustrates the operation of the system of Figure 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 5 shows a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 6 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of Figure 4, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure described herein;

[0036] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized; and

[0037] Figure 9 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0039] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0040] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In existing New Radio (NR) multiTransmission and Reception Point (TRP) operation, it is assumed that each TRP can be used for both downlink (DL) transmission and uplink (UL) reception. For NR Release 19, the idea of deploying UL only TRPs in a cell has been proposed, where UL only TRPs can be deployed at the cell edge to provide better UL coverage for cell edge UEs. An UL only TRP listens only and does not transmit any signals. However, one problem with UL only TRPs is UL power control for transmissions to those TRPs because, without DL RS transmission from a TRP, pathloss cannot be estimated for the TRP.

[0041] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Systems and methods are disclosed for determining a pathloss for a UL only TRP for UL power control by a User Equipment (UE) in a serving cell comprising a UL only TRP (sometimes referred to herein as a “first TRP”) and an anchor TRP (sometimesreferred to herein as a “second TRP”), where the second TRP supports both DL and UL. In one embodiment, method performed by such a system comprises any one or more of the following:• The UE transmits a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to both the first and the second TRPs,• The first and second TRPs each measure UL SRS received power (e.g., SRS Reference Signal Received Power (SRSRP)),• The first TRP, the second TRP, or an associated network node (e.g., gNB or gNB-Central Unit (CU)) computes a SRSRP difference between the first and the second TRPs, o For example, the second TRP may signal its SRSRP to the first TRP, and the first TRP may then compute the SRSRP difference. o As another example, the first and second TRPs may signal their respective SRSRPs to a central node (e.g., gNB or gNB-CU); the central node may then compute the SRSRP difference.• The second TRP or the associated network node (e.g., gNB or gNB-CU) signals the SRSRP difference to the UE,• The UE computes a second pathloss associated to the second TRP based a DL RS transmitted from the second TRP,• The UE computes a first pathloss associated to the first TRP based on the second pathloss and the SRSRP difference,• The UE computes a transmit power for a UL channel or signal towards the first TRP based on the first pathloss,• The UE transmits the UL channel or signal (to the first TRP) with the computed transmit power.

[0042] Embodiments of the present disclosure may include any one or more of the following aspects:• Measure SRS receive power at an UL only TRP and an anchor TRP• Compute the SRS receive power difference between a UL only TRP and an anchor TRP• Signal the power difference to a UE• Compute a pathloss to the UL TRP based on the power difference and a pathloss estimation associated to the anchor TRP.

[0043] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Embodiments of the present disclosure enable proper UL power control to an UL TRP.

[0044] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a system 200 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In this example, the system 200 includes a serving cell 202 operated by a gNB 204 associated with two TRPs, namely, a first TRP 206 and a second TRP 208. Note that, in some embodiments, the TRPs are associated with (e.g., controlled by) the gNB 204 without being part of the gNB 204. The first TRP 206 is preferably an UL only TRP. The second TRP 208 is also referred to herein as an “anchor TRP.” The second TRP 208 provides a full coverage of the serving cell 202 with both DL and UL transmissions. In this example, the first TRP 206 is an UL only TRP deployed at the cell edge to improve UL performance of cell edge UEs. The first TRP 206 and the second TRP 208 are connected to the gNB 204 via respective backhaul links. All UEs in the cell 202 perform initial access and network connection via the second TRP 208. After initial access and / or network connection, for some cell edge UEs close to the first TRP 206, the gNB may direct the those UEs to transmit towards to the first TRP 206. In the illustrated example, the UE 210 is shown as an example.

[0045] Figure 3 illustrates the operation of the system 200 of Figure 2 to provide UL power control for UL channels / signals transmitted by the UE 210 towards the first TRP 206, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The procedure includes the following steps:• Step 300: Upon request by the gNB 204, the UE 210 transmits SRS in UL.• Step 302: Both the first TRP 206 and the second TRP 208 measure the SRS receive power (SRSRP) and communicate the measured SRSRPs to the gNB 204 via their respective backhaul links.• Step 304: The gNB 204 computes a difference of SRSRP between the first TRP 206 and the second TRP 208.• Step 306: The gNB 204 signals the SRSRP difference to the UE 210 via the second TRP 208.• Step 308: The UE 210 computes a first pathloss between the UE 210 and the first TRP 206 based on the SRSRP difference and a second pathloss estimated between the UE 210 and the second TRP 208. The second pathloss estimated between the UE 210 and the second TRP 208 may be estimated in the conventional manner (e.g., based on a DL RS transmitted by the second TRP 208).• Step 310: The UE 210 performs UL power control towards the first TRP 206 based on the first pathloss. In other words, the UE 210 computes an UL power for transmission of an UL channel or signal based on the first pathloss.• Step 312: The UE 210 transmits the UL channel or signal using the transmit power obtained by the UL power control performed in step 310.

[0046] The details of each step are further described below.

[0047] Step 300: The UE 210 transmits SRS

[0048] The SRS transmitted by the UE 210 can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. The SRS is configured in an SRS resource of an SRS resource set. There can be one or more SRS antenna ports in the SRS resource. The SRS resource or resource set is configured with a set of power control parameters including a pathloss reference signal index. The pathloss RS is associated to / transmitted from the anchor TRP (i.e., the second TRP 208).

[0049] Note that SRS is used herein as an example. Other UL RSs may be used in place of SRS.

[0050] Step 302: SRS receive power measurement

[0051] Both the first TRP 206 and the second TRP 208 know the SRS configuration. Each of the TRPs 206 and 208 measures receive power of the SRS. The SRS receive power is SRSRP1 (dBm) at the first TPR 206 and SRSRP2 (dBm) at the second TRP 208. The measurement can be done either at each TRP 206 and 208 (as shown in steps 302-1 and 302-3 in the example of Figure 3 in which case the TRPs 206 and 208 communicate their SRSRP measurements (i.e., SRSRP1 and SRSRP2) to the gNB 204 via their respective backhaul links as shown in steps 302- 2 and 302-4 in the example of Figure 3) or at the gNB 204 (e.g., after processing at the TRPs 206, respective receive signals may be communicated to the gNB 204 over the respective backhaul links, where the gNB 204 further processes the receive signals to obtained the SRSRP measurements).

[0052] Step 304: Compute the SRS receive power difference

[0053] In one example embodiment, the gNB 204 computes the SRS receive power difference as: SRSRP (dB) = SRSRPl(dBm) - SRSRP2(dBm) (1)

[0054] Step 306: Signal the SRS receive power difference to the UE

[0055] The SRS receive power difference is quantized and signaled to the UE 210, e.g., either dynamically in DCI or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), or semi- statically in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The quantization can be done with a predefined step size and range. For example, 4 bits may be used with a 2dB step size to cover a range of {-30, -28, . . .,-2, 0}dB for SRSRP. Note that while in this example the SRS receive power difference is signaled to the UE 210, some other value that is based on the SRS receivepower difference may alternatively be signaled to the UE 210 (e.g., a value from which the UE 210 can derive the SRS receive power difference, e.g., via a predefined formula).

[0056] Step 308: Compute a first pathloss between the UE and TRP1

[0057] In one example embodiment, the first pathloss, PL1, between the UE 210 and the first TRP 206 can be calculated by the UE 210 asPL^dB) = PL2(dB) - SRSRP(dB) (2) where PL2is the second pathloss between the UE 210 and the second TRP 208. PL2can be estimated by the UE 210 based on a DL RS transmitted from the second TRP 208.

[0058] Note that, in one example alternative embodiment, SRSRP and PL1(dB) may be computed as follows: SRSRP (dB) = SRSRP2 dBm) - SRSRPl(dBm) (3)PL (dB) = PL2(dB) + SRSRP(dB) (4)

[0059] Step 310: Compute transmit power for a UL channcl / signal towards TRP1

[0060] The UL channel or signal can be PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS. The transmit power is calculated by the UE 210 based on the first pathloss PL1and, e.g., a set of other power control parameters configured for the UL channel, e.g., according to existing NR power control procedures described in 3GPP TS 38.213 (see, e.g., V17.6.0).

[0061] Step 312. Transmit a UL channel or signal towards TRP1

[0062] The transmit power obtained in step 310 for a UL channel or signal is used by the UE210 to transmit the UL channel or signal to the first TRP 206.

[0063] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0064] In the example, the communication system 400 includes a telecommunication network 402 that includes an access network 404, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 406, which includes one or more core network nodes 408. The access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 410A and 410B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 410), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs).Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 402 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. AnORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 402 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 402, including one or more network nodes 410 and / or core network nodes 408.

[0065] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non- real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 412A, 412B, 412C, and 412D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 412) to the core network 406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0066] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 400 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0067] The UEs 412 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 410 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 410 arearranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 402 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 402.

[0068] In the depicted example, the core network 406 connects the network nodes 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 406 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 408. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0069] The host 416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 404 and / or the telecommunication network 402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0070] As a whole, the communication system 400 of Figure 4 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 400 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0071] In some examples, the telecommunication network 402 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 402. For example, the telecommunication network 402 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0072] In some examples, the UEs 412 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 404. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0073] In the example, a hub 414 communicates with the access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 412C and / or 412D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 410B). In some examples, the hub 414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 414. As another example, the hub 414 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 414 then provides to the UE eitherdirectly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0074] The hub 414 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 41 OB. The hub 414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE 412C and / or 412D), and between the hub 414 and the core network 406. In other examples, the hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 414 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 410 while still connected via the hub 414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 414 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 410B. In other embodiments, the hub 414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 410B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0075] Figure 5 shows a UE 500 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0076] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle- to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may notinitially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0077] The UE 500 includes processing circuitry 502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 504 to an input / output interface 506, a power source 508, memory 510, a communication interface 512, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 5. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0078] The processing circuitry 502 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 510. The processing circuitry 502 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 502 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0079] In the example, the input / output interface 506 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 500. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0080] In some embodiments, the power source 508 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 508 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 500 to which power is supplied.

[0081] The memory 510 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516. The memory 510 may store, for use by the UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0082] The memory 510 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 510 may allow the UE 500 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 510, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0083] The processing circuitry 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 512. The communication interface512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 522. The communication interface 512 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 518 and / or a receiver 520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 522) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0084] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 512 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0085] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 512, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0086] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0087] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 500 shown in Figure 5.

[0088] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0089] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0090] Figure 6 shows a network node 600 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable tocommunicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O- CU).

[0091] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0092] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi- TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0093] The network node 600 includes processing circuitry 602, memory 604, a communication interface 606, and a power source 608. The network node 600 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 600 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 600 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 604 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 610 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 600 may also includemultiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 600.

[0094] The processing circuitry 602 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 600 components, such as the memory 604, to provide network node 600 functionality.

[0095] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0096] The memory 604 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 602. The memory 604 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 602 and utilized by the network node 600. The memory 604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 606. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 and the memory 604 are integrated.

[0097] The communication interface 606 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 606 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 606 alsoincludes radio front-end circuitry 618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 610. The radio front-end circuitry 618 comprises filters 620 and amplifiers 622. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be connected to the antenna 610 and the processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 610 and the processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 620 and / or the amplifiers 622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 602. In other embodiments, the communication interface 606 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0098] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 618; instead, the processing circuitry 602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 is part of the communication interface 606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 606 includes the one or more ports or terminals 616, the radio front-end circuitry 618, and the RF transceiver circuitry 612 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0099] The antenna 610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 610 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 610 is separate from the network node 600 and connectable to the network node 600 through an interface or port.

[0100] The antenna 610, the communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 600. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 610, the communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 600. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0101] The power source 608 provides power to the various components of the network node 600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 608 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 608. As a further example, the power source 608 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0102] Embodiments of the network node 600 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 6 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 600 and to allow output of information from the network node 600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 600.

[0103] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a host 700, which may be an embodiment of the host 416 of Figure 4, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 700 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 700 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0104] The host 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a network interface 708, a power source 710, and memory 712. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 5 and 6, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 700.

[0105] The memory 712 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 714 and data 716, which may include user data, e.g. data generated by a UE for the host 700 or data generated by the host 700 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 700 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 714may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application programs 714 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 700 may select and / or indicate a different host for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for a UE. The host application programs 714 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0106] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 800 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0107] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 800 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0108] Hardware 804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices asdescribed herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 8O8A and 8O8B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0109] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0110] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of the hardware 804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs 808, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802.

[0111] The hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 802. In some embodiments, the hardware 804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a RAN or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0112] Figure 9 shows a communication diagram of a host 902 communicating via a network node 904 with a UE 906 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as the UE 412A of Figure 4 and / or the UE 500 of Figure 5), the network node (such as the network node 410A of Figure 4 and / or the network node 600 of Figure 6), and the host (such as the host 416 of Figure 4 and / or the host 700 of Figure 7) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 9.

[0113] Like the host 700, embodiments of the host 902 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 902 also includes software, which is stored in or is accessible by the host 902 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 906 connecting via an OTT connection 950 extending between the UE 906 and the host 902. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 950.

[0114] The network node 904 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 902 and the UE 906. The connection 960 may be direct or pass through a core network (like the core network 406 of Figure 4) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0115] The UE 906 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 906 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 906 with the support of the host 902. In the host 902, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 950 terminating at the UE 906 and the host 902. In providing the service to the user, the UE’s client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 950 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE’s client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 950.

[0116] The OTT connection 950 may extend via the connection 960 between the host 902 and the network node 904 and via a wireless connection 970 between the network node 904 and the UE 906 to provide the connection between the host 902 and the UE 906. The connection 960 and the wireless connection 970, over which the OTT connection 950 may be provided, havebeen drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 902 and the UE 906 via the network node 904, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0117] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 950, in step 908, the host 902 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 906. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 906 that shares data with the host 902 without explicit human interaction. In step 910, the host 902 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 906. The host 902 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 906. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 906 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 906. The transmission may pass via the network node 904 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 912, the network node 904 transmits to the UE 906 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 902 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 914, the UE 906 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 906 associated with the host application executed by the host 902.

[0118] In some examples, the UE 906 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 902. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 902. Accordingly, in step 916, the UE 906 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 906. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 906 initiates, in step 918, transmission of the user data towards the host 902 via the network node 904. In step 920, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 904 receives user data from the UE 906 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 902. In step 922, the host 902 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 906.

[0119] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 906 using the OTT connection 950, in which the wireless connection 970 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve, e.g., data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as, e.g., reduceduser waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and / or extended battery lifetime.

[0120] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 902. As another example, the host 902 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 902 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 902 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 902 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR which it can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 902 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0121] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 950 between the host 902 and the UE 906 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 950 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 902 and / or the UE 906. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 950 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 950 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 904. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like by the host 902. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 950 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0122] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understoodthat these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0123] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0124] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0125] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows:Group A Embodiments

[0126] Embodiment 1 : A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (210) for uplink power control, the method comprising any one or more of the following: transmitting (300) an uplink reference signal on a serving cell (202) operated by a network node (204) associated with a first Transmission and Reception Point, TRP, (206) and a second TRP (208); receiving (306), from the network node (204), a Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, difference that represents a difference between a first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP (206) and a second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP (208); computing (308) a first pathloss between the UE (210) and the first TRP (206) based on a second pathloss between the UE (210) and the second TRP (208) and the RSRP difference; performing (310) uplink power control towards the first TRP (206) for an uplink channel or signal, based on the first pathloss; and transmitting (312) the uplink channel or signal at a transmit power obtained by performing (310) the uplink power control towards the first TRP (206) based on the first pathloss.

[0127] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the uplink reference signal is a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS.

[0128] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the first TRP (206) is an uplink only TRP.

[0129] Embodiment 4: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the second TRP (208) is an anchor TRP (i.e., a TRP used by all UEs in the respective cell for initial access and network connection).

[0130] Embodiment 5: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the second TRP (208) provides full coverage of the respective cell with both downlink and uplink.

[0131] Embodiment 6: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the RSRP difference is defined as:AS RSRP (dB) = SRSRPl(dBm) - SRSRP2(dBm) where AS RSRP is the RSRP difference, SRSRP1 is the first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP (206), and SRSRP2 is the second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP (208).

[0132] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6, wherein computing (308) the first pathloss comprises computing the first pathloss as:PL^dB) = PL2dB) - ASRSRP dB) where PL is the first pathloss and PL2is the second pathloss.

[0133] Embodiment 8: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node (204).Group B Embodiments

[0134] Embodiment 9: A method performed by a network node (204) associated with a first Transmission and Reception Point, TRP, (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), the method comprising any one or more of the following: computing (304) a Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, difference that represents a difference between a first RSRP of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP (206) from a User Equipment, UE, (210) and a second RSRP of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP (208) from the UE (210); and sending (306) the RSRP difference to the UE (210).

[0135] Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 9, wherein the uplink reference signal is a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS.

[0136] Embodiment 11 : The method of embodiment 9 or 10, wherein the first TRP (206) is an uplink only TRP.

[0137] Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 11, wherein the second TRP (208) is an anchor TRP (i.e., a TRP used by all UEs in the respective cell for initial access and network connection).

[0138] Embodiment 13: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 12, wherein the second TRP (208) provides full coverage of the respective cell with both downlink and uplink.

[0139] Embodiment 14: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 13, wherein the RSRP difference is defined as:AS RSRP (dB) = SRSRPl(dBm) - SRSRP2(dBm) where AS RSRP is the RSRP difference, SRSRP1 is the first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP (206), and SRSRP2 is the second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP (208).

[0140] Embodiment 15: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 14, further comprising: receiving (302-2) the first RSRP from the first TRP (206); and receiving (302-4) the second RSRP from the second TRP (208).

[0141] Embodiment 16: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group C Embodiments

[0142] Embodiment 17: A user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0143] Embodiment 18: A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0144] Embodiment 19: A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0145] Embodiment 20: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0146] Embodiment 21: The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0147] Embodiment 22: The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0148] Embodiment 23: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein thenetwork node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0149] Embodiment 24: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

[0150] Embodiment 25: A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0151] Embodiment 26: The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0152] Embodiment 27: The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0153] Embodiment 28: A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0154] Embodiment 29: The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0155] Embodiment 30: The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (210) for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node, the method comprising: receiving (306), from the network node (204), a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel; computing a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal; determining (308-310) an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel; and transmitting (312) the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink channel is a Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH, or a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, or a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the network node comprises a first Transmission and / or Reception Point, TRP, and a second TRP.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first TRP is an uplink only TRP and the second TRP is an anchor TRP.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second TRP (208) provides full coverage of the respective cell with both downlink and uplink.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the downlink reference signal based on which the pathloss is computed is a downlink reference signal transmitted by the second TRP.

7. The method of any of claims 3 to 6, further comprising transmitting, by the UE, an uplink reference signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the uplink reference signal is a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the power offset represents a difference between a received power in dBm of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP (208) and a receivedpower in decibel milliwatts (dBm) of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP (206).

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein determining (308-310) the uplink transmit power for the uplink channel comprises computing (308) a pathloss between the UE and the second TRP based on the computed pathloss and the received power offset.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the determining the uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the computed first pathloss, the received power offset, and other parameters contained in the power control configuration comprises computing a pathloss PL1as:PL^dB) = PL2dB) - RSRP(dB) where PL2is the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal and RSRP (dB) is the received power offset; and determining the uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss PL1and the other parameters configured for the uplink channel.

12. A User Equipment, UE, (210) for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node, the UE (210) adapted to: receive (306), from the network node (204), a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel; compute a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal; determine (308-310) an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel; and transmit (312) the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

13. The UE (210) of claim 12, further adapted to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 11.

14. A User Equipment, UE, (210; 500) for uplink power control in a wireless network comprising a network node, the UE (210; 500) comprising: a communication interface (512) comprising a transmitter (518) and a receiver (520); and processing circuitry (502) associated with the communication interface (512), the processing circuitry (502) configured to cause the UE (210; 500) to:receive (306), from the network node (204), a power offset associated to uplink transmissions of an uplink channel; compute a pathloss based on a downlink reference signal; determine (308-310) an uplink transmit power for the uplink channel based on the pathloss computed based on the downlink reference signal, the power offset received from the network node, and other parameters configured for the uplink channel; and transmit (312) the uplink channel at the determined transmit power.

15. The UE (210; 500) of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry (502) is further configured to cause the UE (210; 500) to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 11.

16. A method performed by a network node (204) associated with a first Transmission and Reception Point, TRP, (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), the method comprising: computing (304) a received power offset that represents a difference between a first received power of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP (206) from a User Equipment, UE, (210) and a second received power of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP (208) from the UE (210); and sending (306) the received power offset to the UE (210).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first received power is a first Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, and the second received power is a second RSRP and the received power difference is a RSRP difference.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the uplink reference signal is a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS.

19. The method of any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the first TRP (206) is an uplink only TRP.

20. The method of any of claims 16 to 19, wherein the second TRP (208) is an anchor TRP used by all UEs in a respective cell for initial access and network connection.

21. The method of any of claims 16 to 20, wherein the second TRP (208) provides full coverage of the respective cell with both downlink and uplink.

22. The method of any of claims 16 to 21, wherein the first received power is a firstReference Signal Received Power, RSRP, and the second received power is a second RSRP and the received power offset is a RSRP difference defined as: RSRP (dB) = RSRPl(dBm) - RSRP2(dBm) where RSRP is the received power offset in terms of an RSRP difference, RSRP1 is the first RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the first TRP (206), and RSRP2 is the second RSRP of the uplink reference signal at the second TRP (208).

23. The method of any of claims 16 to 22, further comprising: receiving (302-2) the first received power from the first TRP (206); and receiving (302-4) the second received power from the second TRP (208).

24. A network node (204) associated with a first Transmission and Reception Point, TRP, (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), the network node (204) adapted to: compute (304) a received power offset that represents a difference between a second received power of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP (208) from a User Equipment, UE, (210) and a first received power of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP (206) from the UE; and send (306) the received power difference to the UE (210).

25. The network node (204) of claim 24, further adapted to perform the method of any of claims 17 to 23.

26. A network node (204; 600) associated with a first Transmission and Reception Point, TRP, (206) and a second TRP (208) for a serving cell (202), the network node (204; 600) comprising processing circuitry (602) configured to cause the network node (204; 600) to: compute (304) a received power offset that represents a difference between a second received power of the uplink reference signal received at the second TRP (208) from a User Equipment, UE, (210) and a first received power of an uplink reference signal received at the first TRP (206) from the UE ; and send (306) the received power offset to the UE (210).3127. The network node (204; 600) of claim 26, wherein the processing circuitry (602) is further configured to cause the network node (204; 600) to perform the method of any of claims 17 to 23.

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