Session assistance information in rvqoe

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for sending by a UE, or configuring a UE to send, session assistance information to a network node A RAN node, e.g. a gNB, may use the session assistance information to determine how to treat the data flow(s) of the application session, e.g. when it comes to scheduling, and in relation to other ongoing data flow(s) in the same cell. The session assistance information may also help a RAN node to better understand, or interpret, reported RVQoE measurement results received from the UE application, e.g. the buffer level.

Description

SESSION ASSISTANCE INFORMATION IN RVQOECROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States of America priority application No. 63 / 541,626, filed September 29, 2023, titled “Session Assistance Information in RVQOE.”TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for sending assistance information to a network node.BACKGROUNDLegacy OoE Measurements

[0003] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements, also referred to as “application layer measurements”, have been specified for LTE (Long Term Evolution), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) and were recently specified for 5G NR (New Radio) in the 3GPP Rel-17. The purpose of the QoE measurements is to measure the experience of the end user using certain applications. Currently the QoE measurements are specified and supported for DASH streaming, MTSI (Mobility Telephony Service for IMS) services, and VR (Virtual Reality).

[0004] The solutions in LTE and UMTS are similar with the overall principles as follows. QoE Measurement Collection (QMC) enables configuration of application layer measurements in the UE and transmission of QoE measurement result files, commonly referred to as “QoE reports”, to the network by means of RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling. An application layer measurement configuration (also called QoE measurement configuration or QoE configuration) that the RAN (Radio Access Network)receives from the 0AM (Operation, Administration, Maintenance) system, or the CN (core network), is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to a UE (user equipment) in a downlink RRCReconfiguration message. An application layer measurement report (also called QoE report) that the UE Access Stratum (UE AS) or UE RRC layer receives from the UE's higher layer (application layer) isencapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message, MeasurementAppLayerReport. The RAN then forwards the QoE report to a Measurement Collector Entity (MCE).

[0005] In 3GPP Rel-17 “Study on NR QoE management and optimizations for diverse services” with the purpose to study solutions for QoE measurements in NR was finalized and concluded. According to this item, QoE management in NR will not just collect the QoE parameters of streaming services but also consider the typical performance requirements of diverse services (e.g. AR / VR (augmented reality / virtual reality) and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications), of which at least VR was covered in 3 GPP Rel-17). Based on requirements of services, the NR study also included more adaptive QoE management schemes that enable network optimization to satisfy user experience for diverse services.

[0006] The configuration data related to QoE measurements (in standard specifications typically referred to as application layer measurements) consists of a service type indication, an indication of an area in which the measurements are to be performed (denoted area scope), an IP address of the entity the collected measurement results (i.e. the QoE reports) should be sent to the MCE, and a set of instructions of which type of measurements that should be performed and details of how these measurements are to be performed. These instructions are intended for the application layer in the UE and are placed in a “container” which cannot be read and interpreted by the network entities handling it, e.g., forwarding it to the UE, as well as the UE Access Stratum. The currently specified service types are MTSI and streaming service (DASH), and in 3GPP Rel-17, VR was added. An area scope is defined in terms of cells or network related areas. In UMTS, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells, a list of routing areas, or a list of tracking areas. In LTE, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells or a list of tracking areas. In NR, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells (a list of NCGIs (NR Cell Global Identifiers)) or a list of tracking areas (a list of TACs (tracking area codes)).

[0007] QoE, and in particular, the QoE configuration, comes in two flavors: management-based (m-based) QoE configuration and signaling-based (s-based) QoE configuration. In both cases the QoE configuration originates in the 0AM system or some other administrational entity, e.g., dealing with customer satisfaction. All of these entities are in this document referred to as the 0AM system (where the 0AM system also contains further entities).

[0008] With the m-based QoE, the 0AM system is typically interested in general QoE statistics from a certain area, configured as an area scope. The m-based QoE configuration is sent directly from the 0AM system to the RAN nodes controlling cells that are within the area scope. Each RAN node then selects UEs that are within the area scope (and also fulfills any other relevant condition, such as supporting the concerned application / service type) and sends the m- based QoE configuration to these UEs.

[0009] With the s-based QoE, the 0AM system is interested in collecting QoE measurement results from a specific UE, e.g., because the user of the UE has filed a complaint. The 0AM system sends the s-based QoE configuration to the HSS (Home Subscriber Server) (in EPS / LTE) or UDM (Unified Data Management) (in 5GS / NR), which forwards the QoE configuration to the UE’s current CN node, e.g. an MME (Mobility Management Entity) in EPS (Evolved Packet System) / LTE or an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) in 5G / NR. The CN then forwards the s-based QoE configuration to the RAN node that serves the concerned UE and the RAN forwards it to the UE.

[0010] Forwarded to the UE are the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions. The UE is not aware of whether a received QoE configuration is m- based or s-based. In legacy systems, the QoE framework is integrated with the Trace functionality and a Trace ID is associated with each QoE configuration. In NR, the QoE functionality is logically separated from the Trace functionality, but it will still partly reuse the Trace signaling mechanisms. In NR, and possibly in LTE, a globally unique QoE reference (formed of MCC+MNC+QMC ID, where the QMC ID is a string of 24 bits) will be associated with each QoE configuration. The QoE reference is included in the container with measurement instructions and also sent to the RAN (i.e., the gNB (g Node B or base station) in NR). For the communication between the gNB and the UE, the QoE reference is replaced by a shorter identifier denoted as measConfigAppLayerld, which is locally unique within a UE (i.e., there is a one-to-one mapping between a measConfigAppLayerld and a QoE reference for each QoE configuration provided to a UE. The measConfigAppLayerld is stored in the UE Access Stratum and also forwarded in an AT (attention) Command (which is the type of instructions used in the communication between the UE’s modem part and the UE’s application layer) together with the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions.

[0011] Reports with collected QoE reports are sent from the UE application layer to the UE Access Stratum, which forwards them to the RAN, which in turn forwards them to the MCE. These QoE reports are placed in a “container”, which is uninterpretable for both the UE Access Stratum and the RAN. QoE reporting can be configured to be periodic or only to be sent at the end of an application session. Furthermore, the RAN can instruct the UE to pause QoE reporting, e.g. in case the cell / gNB is in a state of overload.

[0012] The RAN is not automatically aware of when an application session with an associated QoE measurement session is ongoing, and the UE AS is also not automatically aware of this. To alleviate this, session “start” / ” stop” indications which are sent from the application layer in the UE to the UE AS and from the UE AS to the RAN were introduced. A session “stop” indication may be explicit or may be implicit in the form of a QoE report sent when the application session and the associated QoE measurement session are concluded.

[0013] The RAN may decide to release a QoE configuration in a UE at any time, as an implementation-based decision. Typically, it is done when the UE has moved outside a configured area scope.

[0014] One opportunity provided by legacy solutions is also to be able to keep the QoE measurement for the whole session, even during a handover situation. It is also discussed to let the UE continue with the QoE measurements on an ongoing application session until the application session ends, even if the UE in the meantime moves out of the configured area scope.RVQoE Measurements

[0015] QoE measurements, and their reported results, are intended for analysis in the O&M system (or in other entities that neither belong to the core network nor belong to the RAN) and subsequent possible non-real-time optimizations. The QoE reports are forwarded transparently by the RAN to a configured receiver, e.g. an MCE. However, the RAN could also benefit from receiving measurement results of metrics measured or collected at the application layer, e.g. as a complement to the more radio related measurements, i.e. the RRM (Radio Resource Management) measurements (e.g. RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), SINR (Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio), etc.). For instance, the RAN could use such measurement results for real-time or semi-real-time adaptations oroptimizations of the treatment of an ongoing application session, e.g. in terms of scheduling priorities.

[0016] For this reason, in 3 GPP release 17, 3 GPP introduced so-called RAN Visible QoE (RVQoE), which comprises periodic reporting of measured application layer metrics in a format that the RAN can understand. These metrics, denoted as RVQoE metrics, are in release 17 limited to QoE metrics, in particular the Buffer Level QoE metric for DASH (specified in 3 GPP TS 26.247 version 17.3.0, which in turn references annex D.4.5 in ISO / IEC 23009-1, and represented in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.5.0 (i.e. the RRC specification) as the AppLayerBufferLevel-rl7 field) and the Playout Delay for Media Start-up QoE metric for DASH (specified in 3GPP TS 26.247 version 17.3.0 and represented in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.5.0 (i.e. the RRC specification) as the playoutDelayForMediaStartup-rl7 field). In addition to these two RVQoE metrics, a MeasurementReportAppLayer message may contain a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session ID list (in the form of the pdu-SessionIdList-rl7 field) as part of the reported RVQ information (i.e. in the RAN-VisibleMeasurements-rl7 IE).

[0017] The configuration for QoE and RVQoE are performed via an RRC reconfiguration message containing the AppLayerMeasConfig information element shown in Figure 1. The configuration of legacy QoE metrics is done via the measConfigAppLayerContainer IE, which specifies the configuration to the application-layer in the UE as an octet string (following XML). RVQoE parameters are specified as part of the RAN-VisibleParameters IE.

[0018] UEs use the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to report measured QoE metrics and measured RVQoE metrics. It is specified as shown in Figure 2 in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.5.0., with the field descriptions shown in Figures 3 and 4.AT Commands and QoE

[0019] AT commands are used for communication between the AS (radio) layer and the application layer in the UE. The AT commands are defined in 3 GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0. The AT commands are used in QoE for transferring the configuration from the RRC layer to the application and for transferring of reports from the application layer to the RRC layer.

[0020] The AT command used for sending a QoE configuration (and / or a RVQoE configuration) from the UE AS to the UE application layer in NR is denoted as +CAPPLEVMCNR and is specified as follows in 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0 in Table 8.84-1 as follows:Table 8.84-1: +CAPPLEVMCNR parameter command syntax

[0021] 3GPP TS 27.007 also gives the following description:This command allows control of the application level measurement configuration according to 3GPP TS 38.331

[0160] . The set command controls the presentation of the unsolicited result code +CAPPLEVMCNR : (lis t of [<CR><LF>, <meas_confi g_app_l ayer_i d>, [<s tart - stop_measuremen t>, [<ran_visible_release_only>] ] , [<app- meas_config_fi le_length>, <app-meas_config- file>] , [ <transmission_of_session_s tart - end>] , [<ran_vi sible_periodi ci ty>] , [<nuntber_of_buffer_l evel_en tries>] , [<report_playou t_delay_for_media_s tart u p> ] , [<app-meas_servi ce_ type> ] ] s) providing data for the configuration. Refer clause 9.2 for possible <err> values.Read command returns the current value of <n>.Test command returns values supported as a compound value.Defined values[Defined values are omitted for brevity of the description - see section 8.84 in 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3. Of

[0022] The AT command used for sending QoE reports (and / or RVQoE reports) from the UE application layer to the UE AS in NR is denoted as +CAPPLEVMRNR and is specified as follows in 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0 in Table 8.85-1 (note that there is an error in the left table column where it says “+CAPPLEVMR” instead of “+CAPPLEVMRNR” - this will be corrected in future versions of the specification):Table 8.85-1: +CAPPLEVMRNR action command syntax

[0023] 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0 also gives the following description:This command allows the MT to provide a list of application level measurement reports according to 3GPP TS 38.331

[0160] . Refer clause 9.2 for possible <err> values.Defined values[Defined values are omitted for brevity of the description - see section 8.84 in 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3. Of

[0024] In LTE, the corresponding AT commands are denoted respectively as +CAPPLEVMC and +CAPPLEVMR.Video Streaming Over DASH

[0025] DASH is presently the industry standard in delivering streaming video to end-user devices. The specification and requirements of DASH are in ISO / IEC 23009 series. While the DASH standard specifies good practices around video quality adaptation and ground requirements to be fulfilled, it does not exactly specify the buffer strategy or the representation switch behavior. In ISO / IEC 23009-1, it is mentioned that the problem that a client would need to solve is formulated as choosing the representation of the next video segment such that constraints in terms of the current buffer level, estimated download rate, and the minimum volume of data required in the buffer to prevent stalling are satisfied.

[0026] However, in practice having only the minimum amount of data left over in the buffer when the next segment has completed downloading should be avoided by all means as other factors such as delay, jitter, throughput variations, etc., may result in the client stalling.

[0027] An application’s behavior related to the buffer level varies between different applications. Many on-demand DASH clients strive to maintain a buffer that is in the order of tenths of seconds so that the streaming session can be shielded from any temporary fluctuation in the network. In academic literature, there are several disclosed ways to choose a representation for the for the next segment of the video, and how the sizing of the buffer should be handled so that the overall QoE is optimized. The most common among these is by applying two thresholds on the buffer, one to determine when to suspend content download and the other to determine when to resume a suspended content download, where the suspend threshold is always larger than the resume threshold.

[0028] The suspend content download threshold is chosen such that the client does not download too much content beforehand (in case that it may abandon the viewing session, or it might download too much data at a poor representation index) and the resume content download threshold is chosen such that it is not too small such that upon encountering network issues, the video does not stall. The difference between these two thresholds should also not be so large that long-term network changes affect the QoE.Challenges

[0029] There currently exist certain challenges. Different applications have different behaviors, e.g. with regards to the buffer level or in relation to other metrics, e.g. depending on the nature of the application, such as whether it is a real-time application (such as Augmented Reality), a semi-real-time application (some uses of streaming) or a non-real-time application (e.g. video download / streaming). In addition, the characteristics of different applications or application sessions may vary greatly, e.g., in terms of application characteristics, application session characteristics (e.g. intended purpose), content characteristics (e.g. content type and content size), expected download characteristics, and / or data transfer property requirements (e.g. in terms of data rate, latency and / or jitter). This affects what the application session needs from the RAN and may affect how the RAN should interpret reported RVQoE metrics e.g. in terms of whether the situation reflected by the reported RVQoE metrics motivates actions from the RAN,and if so, what actions to perform and the action duration. This leaves the RAN with a lot of uncertainty as to how to act (or not act) as a result of received RVQoE reports and also to some extent what RVQoE metrics to configure. As of today, it is unclear how to remove this uncertainty and thereby enable more appropriate and accurate interventions from the RAN.SUMMARY

[0030] One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for providing session assistance information to a network node. The method includes transmitting, to the network node, session assistance information, wherein the transmitting is performed; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

[0031] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network node for receiving session assistance information from a UE. The method comprises receiving, from a UE, session assistance information, wherein the receiving occurs; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

[0032] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a first network node for transmitting session assistance information from a UE to a second network node. The method includes receiving, from a UE, session assistance information, wherein the receiving occurs; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session; and sending the session assistance information to a second network node.

[0033] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network node for configuring a UE for transmitting session assistance information from a UE to a network node. The method includes configuring a UE to send session assistance information, wherein the sending occurs; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

[0034] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a second network node for receiving session assistance information related to a UE from a first network node. The method includes receiving, from thefirst network node, session assistance information, wherein the session assistance information was received by the first network node from a UE; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

[0035] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an indication of the scope of the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0037] Fig. 1 illustrates an AppLayerMeasConfig message;

[0038] Fig. 2 illustrates a MeasurementReportAppLayer message;

[0039] Fig. 3 illustrates a MeasReportAppLayer field description;

[0040] Fig. 4 illustrates a RAN-VisibleMeasurements field description;

[0041] Fig. 5 illustrates an example of RRC Signaling under the present disclosure;

[0042] Fig. 6 illustrates another example of RRC Signaling under the present disclosure;

[0043] Fig. 7 illustrates an example of ASN.1 under the present disclosure;

[0044] Fig. 8 illustrates another example of ASN.l under the present disclosure;

[0045] Fig. 9 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0046] Fig. 10 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0047] Fig. 11 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0048] Fig. 12 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0049] Fig. 13 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0050] Fig. 14 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0051] Fig. 15 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0052] Fig. 16 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0053] Fig. 17 shows a schematic of a host embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0054] Fig. 18 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure; and

[0055] Fig. 19 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of communication amongst nodes, hosts, and user equipment under the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the parameters of the particularly exemplified systems, methods, apparatus, products, processes, and / or kits, which may, of course, vary. Thus, while certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, with reference to specific configurations, parameters, components, elements, etc., the descriptions are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed embodiments. In addition, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments.

[0057] As described above, there currently exist certain challenges. Different applications have different behaviors and characteristics. This affects what the application session needs from the RAN and may affect how the RAN should interpret reported RVQoE metrics e.g. in terms of whether the situation reflected by the reported RVQoE metrics motivates actions from the RAN, and if so, what actions to perform and the action duration. This leaves the RAN with a lot of uncertainty as to how to act (or not act) as a result of received RVQoE reports and also tosome extent what RVQoE metrics to configure. As of today, it is unclear how to remove this uncertainty and thereby enable more appropriate and accurate interventions from the RAN.

[0058] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the challenges identified above, or other challenges in the art. Certain embodiments address the problems described above by introducing session assistance information to be provided from the UE application to the RAN (via the UE AS) at the start of a QoE / RV QoE measurement session associated with an application session or during an application session.

[0059] The session assistance information may be categorized into, e.g. :• Information related to the application;• Information related to the application’s or application session’s communication requirements;• Information related to the application session or the application session’s content;• Information related to the data flow(s) and communication of the application or the application session;• Information related to, e.g. describing, the application’s behavior related to, or with regards to, the playout / playback buffer content, e.g. the buffer level.

[0060] A RAN node, e.g. a gNB, may use the session assistance information to determine how to treat the data flow(s) of the application session, e.g. when it comes to scheduling, and in relation to other ongoing data flow(s) in the same cell. The session assistance information may also help a RAN node to better understand, or interpret, reported RVQoE measurement results received from the UE application, e.g. the buffer level.

[0061] Certain embodiments can also include the possibility for the RAN to configure a UE to provide session assistance information and optionally what to include in the session assistance information (e.g., which parameters, fields, IES or information items).

[0062] One aspect of certain embodiments is that a UE application can generate session assistance information related to an application session, and send this information to the RAN, e.g. the serving gNB, via the UE AS, to facilitate for the RAN to determine how to appropriately treat the data flows of the application session, e.g. in terms of scheduling and resource allocation. The session assistance information feature is preferably integrated in theRVQoE framework, such that the session assistance information is sent to the RAN together with a session start indication (e.g., in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message with an appLayerSessionStatus-rl7 IE set to “start”), and / or in or together with a first RVQoE measurement report (which is sent from the UE AS to the RAN in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message. In cases where the session properties change during the session, RVQoE measurement reports other than the first RVQoE measurement report can also be used to convey session assistance information.

[0063] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Certain proposed embodiments improve the RAN’s ability to appropriately interpret a RVQoE report and determine appropriate actions (if any). Embodiments can also improve the RAN’s ability to determine a suitable treatment of the data flows of a UE application session event without RVQoE reports, e.g., in terms of amount of and timing of transmission resource allocation. In addition, embodiments can improve the applications’ possibilities to get suitable treatment by the RAN, and thus to provide good quality of experience to the users.

[0064] 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.

[0065] A few notes are provided as follows regarding terminology. Herein it is sometimes mentioned that resources are allocated to an application session. This should be understood in a general sense, which may comprise allocating resources (e.g. through scheduling) to the UE running the application session, wherein it may be possible that in some cases the allocated resources are used for other communication to / from the UE than the concerned application session. Resource allocation may also comprise adding a carrier component in carrier aggregation or adding or activating a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0066] The terms “UE”, “terminal equipment”, “wireless terminal” and “terminal” are used interchangeably. Sometimes the term “device” may also be used to denote the device acting as a UE / terminal equipment / wireless terminal / terminal. The terms “node” and “network node” are used interchangeably. The terms “application layer measurement configuration”, “application measurement configuration”, “RVQoE measurement configuration”, “RVQoE configuration”, “RVQoE measurement and reporting configuration” and “QMC configuration” are used interchangeably. But note that the “QMC configuration file” is not an equivalent term, butinstead refers to the part of the SN configuration consisting of an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file containing instructions of SN metrics to be collected etc.

[0067] A network node can be a RAN node, a gNB, an eNB (evolved Node B), an en-gNB (a gNB that can connect with EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and eNB), a ng-eNB (enhanced LTE (eLTE) eNB which can communicate with 5G Core (5GC) and gNB), a gNB-CU (gNB- Central Unit), a gNB-CU-CP (gNB-CU-Control Plane), a gNB-CU-UP (gNB-CU-User Plane), an eNB-CU, an eNB-CU-CP, an eNB-CU-UP, an IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul)-node, an lAB-donor DU (Distributed Unit), an lAB-donor-CU, an IAB-DU, an IAB-MT (Mobile Termination), an O-CU, an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, an O-RU (Radio Unit), an O-eNB, a Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC), a Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (RT-RIC), an 0AM node, a Core Network node / function, a Cloud-based network function, a Cloud-based centralized training node

[0068] The terms “QoE report” and “QoE measurement report” are used interchangeably. The terms “RVQoE report” and “RVQoE measurement report” are used interchangeably. The terms “QoE configuration” and “QoE measurement configuration” are used interchangeably. The terms “RVQoE configuration” and “RVQoE measurement configuration” are used interchangeably. The terms “access stratum” and “radio layer” are used interchangeably when referring to a UE. The term “session” refers to an application session for which QoE measurement and / or RVQoE measurement is applied.

[0069] Certain embodiments are described with regard to UMTS, LTE and NR as well as future RATs such as 6G. Operation with a variety of RATs and wireless technologies is possible. Herein, the application layer in the UE is also referred to as the “UE application layer” or simply the “application layer”. Furthermore, when an action or some data is associated with an application on the UE application layer, it is sometimes described as the action or data being associated with the UE application layer.

[0070] While the description of certain embodiments generally refers to an application or an application session, and streaming video, e.g. DASH streaming, typically streamed on-demand, is often brought forth as an example, embodiments are not limited to any particular application or type of application, but can rather be applied to any application for which provision of session assistance information to the RAN may be beneficial (which typically also means that RVQoE measurements can be performed on the application session), e.g. AR / VR / XR(extended reality ) / MR (mixed reality), non-DASH services running over MBS (Multicast- Broadcast Services), video conferencing, MTSI, bulk file downloads, Industrial loT applications, applications for Time Sensitive Communication, potentially any future application, etc. All references to the application layer are with respect to the application layer of the UE (since RAN nodes do not have an application layer). The term “service” is often used as a short notation for “service type”. Therefore “service” and “service types” can be seen as interchangeably unless it is explicitly stated, or clear from the context, that “service” is distinguished from “service type” e.g. with “service” referring to a particular application. Certain embodiments can be applied to both signaling- and management-based QoE / RVQoE measurements (but may also optionally be restricted to apply to only one of them). The term “code rate” used herein is defined as the ratio between the number of useful information bits and the total number of bits. That is, if the code rate is k / n, then for every k bits of useful information, the coder generates a total of n bits of data, of which n - k are redundant. The code rate is thus a way to describe the relative amount of redundancy that is added for forward error correction purpose, e.g., of a bit stream. The term “encoding rate”, or “encoding bit rate”, refers to the bit rate at which a video (or a version of the video) is available for download from a DASH server. According to Wikipedia, the encoding bit rate of a multimedia file is the file size in bytes divided by the playback time of the recording (in seconds), multiplied by eight. In literature, the encoding rate is also referred to as the video representation and the set of encoding rates at which a DASH video may be available is called as the representation set. These terms have been used interchangeably in this document.

[0071] The terms “source coding” and “encoding” refer to the data compression applied to a content file, e.g. a media file, e.g. video compression (such as MPEG4) used to compress a video file. The term “buffer” or “application buffer” or “application’s buffer” refers to a download buffer or a playout buffer, e.g. in a streaming video application, wherein downloaded content is temporarily stored in the buffer while waiting to be played out, e.g. on a screen integrated in or connected to the device in which the application client is executing. One type of steady-state behavior of a streaming media client, e.g. a DASH client, is described using the thresholds controlling the buffer level (i.e., suspend content download threshold and resume content download threshold) and the application estimating the download rate to determine the choice of encoding for the next request. However, note that there are other approaches such as using the rate of change of buffer size to determine the choice of encoding to download. In addition, certainDASH clients may not have a preset value that controls the suspend and resume content download thresholds. During operation, the client dynamically determines such values based on the observed conditions in addition to other metrics such as rate of change in buffer. In general, different applications’ behaviors may differ quite a lot, and as a particular example, different streaming media applications (even different DASH clients) may have significantly different behaviors with regards to the buffer level and how they behave in relation to different buffer levels. Many features of the described embodiments are applicable irrespective of these types of application behavior.

[0072] Certain embodiments are described with reference to a UE that provides session assistance information to the RAN, based on which the RAN may decide on possible actions affecting the treatment of the data flow(s) associated with the concerned application session. However, this aspect of the description does not preclude that, in some variants or embodiments, the session assistance information (or selected parts of it, or data / information derived from it) may further be communicated to a core network entity, e.g., an AMF or an SMF or another network function or the receiver of QoE reports, based on which any such entity e.g. may determine either short-term or long-term actions or adaptations to be performed by the RAN, or by the core network, or by a service provider.

[0073] When writing message names of a communication protocol, two equivalent principles may be used in this document. The writing principle “<protocol name> <message name> message”, for example “RRC MeasurementReportAppLayer message”, and the writing principle “<message name> <protocol name> message”, for example “RRCReconfiguration RRC message” are equivalent, both referring to a message (i.e. “<message name>”) of a communication protocol (i.e. “<protocol name>”), e.g. the MeasurementReportAppLayer message of the communication protocol RRC. The same writing format equivalence applies to other communication protocols. Note that sometimes the protocol name is omitted, e.g. the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message may be referred to as the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. The terms information element (IE) and field are used more or less interchangeably in this document. Also, the term parameter is sometimes used to denote the same concept. Parameters / IEs / fields used in ASN.1 code as well as in procedural text in the 3GPP RRC specification for 5G / NR, i.e. 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.5.0, are often named with a suffix indicating the number of the release of the 3GPP standard the parameter / IE / field was introduced in (e.g. the suffix “-r!7” for a parameter / IE / field introduced in release 17 of the 3GPPstandard). Parameters / IEs / fields following this naming convention are typically referred to both with and without the suffix, where the name including the suffix is used in the ASN.1 code (and thus defines the formal name from the ASN.1 compiler’s perspective), while the name without the suffix is used in running text, e.g. in field descriptions and procedural text. Relevant examples in the context of this document include the parameters / IEs / fields AppLayerMeasConfig-rl7 / AppLayerMeasConfig and MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 / MeasConfigAppLayer. In this document, both name variants may occur for various parameters / IEs / fields.

[0074] Certain embodiments can address the problems described above in relation to the prior art, by introducing session assistance information to be provided from the UE application to the RAN (via the UE AS) at the start of a QoE / RVQoE measurement session associated with an application session (or the start of the associated application session), or during a QoE / RVQoE measurement session (or during an associated application session.

[0075] The session assistance information may be sent from the UE application to the UE AS using an AT command, e.g. an +CAPPLEVMRNR AT command, e.g. together with a session start indication (i.e. a <qoe_measurement_status> parameter set to 1 (indicating “started”)), and the UE AS can forward the session assistance information to the RAN, e.g. the gNB, e.g. in an RRC message, e.g. a MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message, e.g. together with a session start indication (i.e. an appLayerSessionStatus-rl7 field set to “start”). Alternatively, the session assistance information could be sent without an accompanying session start indication, from the UE application to the UE AS, e.g. using an AT command, e.g. a +CAPPLEVMRNR AT command, and onwards from the UE AS to the RAN, e.g. the gNB, in an RRC message, e.g. the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message. With the latter alternative, the session assistance information could optionally serve the purpose of an implicit session start indication.

[0076] As an alternative, the session assistance information could be sent from the UE to the RAN in an initial or first RVQoE report, e.g. triggered at the start of the RVQoE measurement session (or the start of the associated application session), or in the first of periodically sent RVQoE reports. With this alternative, the session assistance information could, as above, be sent from the UE application to the UE AS in a +CAPPLEVMRNR AT command and from the UE AS to the RAN it could be sent in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0077] The session assistance information could also be sent from the UE to the RAN in subsequent RVQoE report(s) (after the initial or first RVQoE report). The assistance information can be sent in all subsequent RVQoE reports, or only together with reports that fulfil certain conditions, e.g., assistance information is sent only with the RVQoE reports are sent due to a trigger being fulfilled, or together with the reports that contain measurement results indicating bad / deteriorated QoE and / or when the session assistance information has been updated.

[0078] Furthermore, a RAN node, e.g. a gNB, may configure a UE application via the UE AS (and optionally configure the UE AS) to provide session assistance information, and as a further option, configure what information (e.g. which parameters, fields, IES or information items) the UE application (and optionally the UE AS) should include in the session assistance information, and / or under which conditions and / or when such information should be provided (e.g., only with the RVQoE reports that fulfil certain conditions). Such a configuration is preferably associated with an RVQoE measurement configuration (and would thus apply to all application sessions to which the RVQoE measurement configuration applies). The RAN could include this configuration in AppLayerMeasConfig-rl7 IE in an RRCReconfiguration RRC message, possibly entirely or partly in the ran-VisibleParameters-rl7 IE in a MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 IE in the AppLayerMeasConfig-rl7 IE. The configuration could consist of a simple indication (e.g. a BOOLEAN field or an optional ENUMERATED field with “true” as its only value) indicating whether the application (and optionally the UE AS) should generate and send session assistance information (e.g. including a default set of session assistance parameters / information items) and / or a list of parameters / information items the session assistance information should contain (optionally omitted in case the indicated parameter / information item is not available). In another variant, the application is configured to report the assistance information that it itself deems appropriate - i.e., the application is given the freedom to choose which assistance information to provide and when to provide it. In another variant, the RAN configures the UE to provide all available assistance information, without specifically requesting any particular information.

[0079] Certain session assistance information items may be sent only once (since they never change), while the session assistance information that may change during an ongoing application session and / or during an ongoing QoE / RVQoE measurement session can be sent either every time the session assistance information is being sent, or only when it changes. If the UE isunable to provide some or all of the requested session assistance information (for whatever reason), the UE may either explicitly indicate to the network that the requested session assistance information is unavailable, or that it is unable to provide the session assistance information, or it can simply provide the available session assistance information without indicating explicitly that some of the requested session assistance information is unavailable.

[0080] A RAN node, e.g. a gNB, may use the session assistance information to determine how to treat the data flow(s) of the application session, e.g. when it comes to scheduling, and in relation to other ongoing data flow(s) in the same cell. The session assistance information may also help a RAN node to better understand, or interpret, reported RVQoE measurement results received from the UE application, e.g. the buffer level, and what this means in terms of the state of the application, perceived QoE by a user of the application, whether the situation is good, acceptable or critical (e.g. in the application client), whether an action from the RAN node would be beneficial to improve the situation at the application client, whether the UE application is sufficiently served or even “over-served” so that resources may be reallocated to other UEs, etc. The RAN may also use this information for training an AI / ML algorithm., e.g., for QoE prediction.

[0081] There is a variety of information that may be beneficial for the RAN to receive (as session assistance information) in conjunction with the start of a QoE / RVQoE measurement session associated with an application session. A non-limiting list of such information items is provided below, divided into different information categories (note that some information items appear in multiple categories).

[0082] Information related to the application, such as: Service type; Subservice type; Application identifier (app ID) associated with the application; Application name; Application designer; Application manufacturer; Application vendor; Application owner (including copyrights); Application version; Application channel, e.g., stable, beta, nightly; Whether the end-user application is an official version or a third-party version; Application manifest; Content provider, e.g., a CDN hosting the content; A subset of the parameters / attributes in the application manifest, such as the segment / chunk size; Whether the application is an over- the-top (OTT) application or an application provided and / or supported by the network (e.g. the mobile communication network); Whether the application is pre-installed in the UE (e.g. in conjunction with its manufacturing, preparation for sale, or during an update of the UE’s software) or installed (e.g. downloaded) by the user of the UE (or by an application in the UE); Whether theapplication has been installed from a trusted source; Transport protocol(s) that shall be used by the application depending on the device and application support (e.g. TCP or QUIC); Whether the end-user device has been rooted or jailbroken; Whether the application relies on at least part of the execution being performed in a data center (e.g. a cloud) provided by the operator network (e.g. the mobile communication network); This can be related to certain data flow(s) or certain content (e.g., user content in the UL) delivered via the application; Whether the application relies on UE location information, e.g. obtained through GNSS (e.g. GPS) measurements; Whether the application relies on UE location information obtained using a positioning in the LCS framework; Whether the application is latency- critical (or not); Whether the application is (or demands) “high- rate”, or “extremely high-rate”, or “low-rate”, or “very low-rate”, or “medium-rate”, or “extremely low-rate” (or similar classification); Whether the application is interactive (or not); Whether the application is conversational (or not); Whether the application is multi-user (or not), or involves multi-user interactions; Set of session assistance information parameters that are available upon request.

[0083] Information related to the application’s or application session’s communication requirements, such as: Required average data rate to provide the best available representation (e.g. of a streamed video) given the terminal properties (e.g. screen size); Required average data rate to support the worst available representation (e.g. of a streamed video) given the terminal properties (e.g. screen size); Required average data rate to provide a certain QoE, e.g. represented by a QoE value representing the overall QoE; Required average data rate to support a certain representation (e.g. for a streamed video); Delay sensitivity; Jitter sensitivity; Sensitivity to variations in given data rate (i.e. can the application adapt to the network’s resource allocations?); Maximum tolerable delay; A maximum duration for which the session may become inactive, i.e., not download new content; A minimum acceptable (or a recommended) UL data rate; A minimum acceptable (or a recommended) DL data rate; A maximum acceptable (or a recommended maximum) latency (in UL, or DL, or both UL and DL); A maximum acceptable / tolerable (or a recommended maximum) jitter (in UL, or DL, or both UL and DL); A maximum acceptable / tolerable (or a recommended maximum) packet / message loss rate (in UL, or DL, or both UL and DL); A minimum and / or maximum acceptable / tolerable amount of data in the application layer buffer; An indication of consecutive lost packets and / or consecutive lost application messages the application can tolerate; An indication of survival time (for a servicecarried over the application or the application session); An indication of transfer interval (as unique value, or an upper bound, or a lower bound, a target value) (for a service carried over the application or the application session); An indication of message size (for a service carried over the application or the application session); An indication of the service direction (Uplink, Downlink, Uplink and Downlink); An indication of packet delay budget (e.g., an upper bound value); An indication of end-to-end latency (e.g., a maximum value) for the service carried over the application (or the application session); Values (e.g., thresholds) indicating an excessive latency; Values (e.g., thresholds) indicating an excessive jitter; Values (e.g., thresholds) indicating an excessive packet / message loss rate; An indication of bounded latency (e.g., relevant for the packets / messages conveyed via the application (of via the application’s session)).

[0084] Information related to the application session or the application session’s content, such as: Transport protocol(s) used for this session’s content (e.g. TCP or QUIC); Socket parameters (or a 3 -tuple, 4-tuple or 5 -tuple of related parameters), e.g. transport protocol, remote IP address, remote and local transport protocol port numbers. (Note: In the context of such parameters, a 4-tuple commonly refers to the 4 parameters source IP address, destination IP address, source port number and destination port number, and a 5-tuple typically refers to the parameters of the 4-tuple plus the transport protocol (e.g. TCP or UDP).); Whether RTP is used for transfer of the content of the application session; Content URL or URI; Application server FQDN; Provider of the content; Type of content, e.g. mp3, mpeg, mpeg4, etc.; Available (supported by the application and / or for this content) representation mode(s), representation format(s), representation(s), encoding(s), encoding mode(s), encoding type(s); Available (supported by the application and / or for this content) encoding rate(s); Full playout duration (in time, e.g. seconds) of the content; Size (e.g. in bytes or kilobytes (kB)) of the full content assuming the best available representation; Size (e.g. in bytes or kilobytes (kB)) of the full content assuming the worst available representation; Size (e.g. in bytes or kilobytes (kB)) of the full content for one or more representation mode(s), representation format(s), representation(s), compression format(s), encoding format(s), encoding mode(s), encoding type(s), encoding(s); Encoding rate with the best available representation (i.e. the maximum available encoding rate); Encoding rate with the worst available representation (i.e. the minimum available encoding rate); Encoding rates for different available representations; Whether the application session relies on at least part of the execution being performed in a data center (e.g. a cloud) provided by the operator network (e.g.the mobile communication network); This can be related to certain data flow(s) or certain content (e.g., user content in the UL) delivered via the application session; Whether the application session relies on UE location information, e.g. obtained through GNSS (e.g. GPS) measurements; Whether the application session relies on UE location information obtained using a positioning in the LCS framework.

[0085] Information related to the data flow(s) and communication of the application or the application session, such as: Transport protocol(s) preferred by the application (e.g. TCP and / or QUIC); Transport protocol(s) used by the application (e.g. TCP and / or QUIC); Transport protocol(s) used during the application session e.g. due to support on device (e.g. TCP or QUIC); Whether Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput (L4S) is used / enabled; Number of application data flow(s) to be used during the session, or expected to be used during the session; Number of media flow(s) to be used, or expected to be used, during the session (e.g. two: one for video and one for audio, or one for video and audio and one for control; or three: one for video, one for audio and one for control); How media component(s) (and control data) are mapped to application data flow(s) (e.g. video on one data flow, audio on one data flow and control data on one data flow; or video on one data flow and audio on one data flow; or video and audio on one data flow and control data on one data flow); Type(s) of application data flow(s), e.g. video, audio and / or control to be used during the session, or expected to be used during the session; Association(s) between type(s) of application data flow(s) and transport protocol(s), i.e. which transport protocol(s) is(are) used for which type(s) of application data flow(s); Encoding rate with the best available representation (i.e. the maximum available encoding rate); Encoding rate with the worst available representation (i.e. the minimum available encoding rate); Encoding rates for different available representations; Whether RTP is used (or expected to be used) for transfer of at least one of the application session data flow(s); If RTP is used (or expected to be used), for which type(s) of application data flow(s) it is used; Communication model, or service model, e.g. clientserver or peer-to-peer; Whether there is an intermediate server between two communicating end points; Expected traffic characteristics (e.g. : Whether the session comprises, or will comprise, high or low data volume; Whether the session is expected to produce (e.g. download) data with low or high data rate; Whether the session is expected to produce a low data volume with a long session time or a high data volume with a long session time or a low data volume with a short session time or a high data volume with a short session time; Expected data rate given certain conditions, e.g.average / expected encoding rate, or the encoding rate or encoding required for the best representation given the terminal properties (e.g. screen size); Whether the session is expected to produce bursty or non-bursty traffic; Whether the application (or the application session) is for (or relates to) periodic deterministic communication; Whether the application (or the application session) is for (or relates to) aperiodic deterministic communication; Whether the application (or the application session) produces traffic (or is expected to produce traffic) in a periodic fashion (and optionally the period); Whether a traffic burst comprises multiple (two or more) application messages (and optionally how many); Whether a traffic burst comprises multiple (two or more) application messages and the traffic burst is successfully transmitted only if all the application messages in the burst are successfully transmitted. In one alternative the traffic burst is successfully transmitted if at least one of the application messages in the burst is successfully transmitted. In another alternative the traffic burst is successfully transmitted if at least some (but not all) application messages in the burst are successfully transmitted; A measure of the expected or typical burstiness of the traffic expected to be generated, e.g. the Fano factor (which is a ratio between the variance and mean of counts) or a burstiness score; A pattern in traffic (e.g., “X” packets / messages in the uplink, then “Y” packets / messages in Downlink, then “X” packets / messages in Uplink, or “X” packets / messages in the uplink, then pause, then “Y” packets / messages in the downlink, etc.); An indication of whether the application session concerns a certain predominant direction of the traffic, e.g. if it concerns reception of data in the downlink from network to the UE (e.g., with the uplink direction mainly used to carry indication of feedback, e.g. acknowledge / not acknowledge, and / or requests for download of content data), or it concerns transmission of data in the uplink from UE to network (e.g., with the downlink direction mainly used to carry indication of feedback, e.g. acknowledge / not acknowledge), or it concerns approximately equal (or at least not significantly different) volumes of data (and data rates) transmitted in the uplink and the downlink directions; An indication that the application session concerns predominantly downlink data transmissions (e.g., with the uplink direction mainly used to carry indication of feedback, e.g. acknowledge / not acknowledge, and / or requests for download of content data); An indication that the application session concerns predominantly uplink data transmissions (e.g., with the downlink direction mainly used to carry indication of feedback, e.g. acknowledge / not acknowledge); An indication of whether the application session concerns only a certain direction of the traffic, e.g. it concerns only reception of data in the downlink from network to UE, or it concerns onlytransmission of data in the uplink from UE to network); An indication that the application session concerns approximately equal (or at least not significantly different) volumes of data (and data rates) transmitted in the uplink and the downlink directions; An indication of how much data (with respect to data volume or with respect to the number of packets) is expected to be sent in the downlink, and how much in the uplink direction.

[0086] Information related to the transport protocol(s) used for delivery of the data flow(s) during the application session, such as: Transport protocol(s) used during the application session (e.g. TCP or QUIC); Initial receiving window size on the UE side (e.g. a TCP receiving window size); Size of the initial receiving window on the UE side and / or size of the initial receiving window in the remote server / host (e.g. TCP receiving window(s)); Transport protocol flow control algorithm; Transport protocol congestion control algorithm; Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput (L4S); Use of Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) in the IP header.

[0087] Information related to. e.g. describing, the application’s behavior related to. or with regards to. the playout / playback buffer content, e.g. the buffer level, such as: Content download (content request) suspend and resume threshold (if any), e.g. in terms of play time or buffer size in bytes; Any other criteria by which the application determines to suspend or resume the content download (content requests); As one possibility, behaviors, or categories of behaviors, may be specified and associated with a respective index, and this index could be included in the session assistance information; Buffer level thresholds or other criteria triggering the application to change the requested representation mode, representation format, compression format(s), encoding format, encoding mode, encoding type, and / or encoding rate, such as instantaneous throughput, throughput over a period, sequence of packet loss, change in RTT, jitter, etc., and which one that is triggered by what (e.g. by crossing of which threshold and whether the triggering threshold crossing is upwards or downwards); Critical buffer level, e.g. a buffer level which the application considers to be critical (e.g. given the concerned session content), e.g. a buffer level implying that negative consequences like stalling or lagging (or in general undesirably low quality of experience) may be the result if no improvement action is taken by the network, e.g. when the buffer level goes below the critical buffer level or when the buffer level goes above the critical buffer level; Recommended buffer level threshold(s) for triggering of RVQoE reporting (optionally including whether an indicated threshold should trigger RVQoE reporting when the buffer level goes above it or when the buffer level goes below it).

[0088] Further embodiments may comprise or utilize various extensions, variations and additional or alternative steps or components.

[0089] In one embodiment, a first network node sends to a second network node session assistance information (e.g., a gNB-CU-CP sends session assistance information to a gNB- DU controlled / served by the gNB-CU-CP, or a first RAN node sends session assistance information to a second RAN node). In other words, the first node sends the session assistance information to the second node, without the session assistance information being requested by the second node. The sending can be realized in a non-UE associated message or in a UE-associated message. Moreover, the sending can pertain a single UE, or a group of UEs, or a cell, or a reference signal beam, or a Distributed Unit (DU), or a certain service type, or a certain network slice, or a certain service subtype.

[0090] In one example case, the first network node and the second network node are different logical functions of the same RAN node. For instance, the first network node is a gNB-CU-CP and the second network node is a gNB-DU served by the gNB-CU-CP (or vice versa), or a gNB-CU-UP providing the data for the session to the UE.

[0091] In another example case, the first network node and the second network node are two RAN nodes. For example, both the first network node and the second node are NG- RAN nodes, e.g., both serving a UE in NR-DC, or source node and target node for UE handover.

[0092] In a further example case, the first network node and the second network node pertain to different Radio Access Technology and are connected to the same type of CN, i.e., both network nodes belong to the same communication system (e.g,, the first network node is a gNB, and the second network node is an ng-eNB)

[0093] In another example case, the first network node and the second network node pertain to different Radio Access Technology and are connected to different types of CN, i.e., the two network nodes belong to different communication system (e.g,, the first network node is a gNB, and the second network node is an eNB)

[0094] In one embodiment, a second network node (e.g., a gNB-DU) requests a first network node (e.g., a gNB-CU-CP) to include (or not to include) as part of a RVQoE configuration for a UE (or for a group of UEs, or for any UE), at least one piece of information previously described as session assistance information. The request can be conveyed in a non-UE associated message or in a UE-associated message. Moreover, the request can pertain to a singleUE, or a group of UEs, or a cell, or a reference signal beam, or a Distributed Unit (DU), or a certain service type, or a certain network slice, or a certain service subtype.

[0095] In another embodiment, a second network node (e.g., a gNB-DU) indicates / notifies / requests a first network node (e.g., a gNB-CU-CP) whether it is inter ested / wants to receive session assistance information (which the first network node receives from one or more UE(s)). The indication / notification / request can be conveyed in a non-UE associated message or in a UE-associated message. Moreover, the indication / notification / request can pertain to a single UE, or a group of UEs, or a cell, or a reference signal beam, or a Distributed Unit (DU), or a certain service type, or a certain network slice, or a certain service subtype. In another example, the first network node and the second network node can be two gNBs and / or gNB-CU-CPs serving the UE in NR-DC, whereas the node receiving the RVQoE reports for the application session from the UE is forwarding the session assistance information (together with the RVQoE reports) to the node that carries the application session.

[0096] In another embodiment, a second network node (e.g., a gNB-DU) indicates / notifies / requests to a first network node (e.g., a gNB-CU-CP) whether it wants to receive (or not receive) at least part of session assistance information. The indication / notification / request can be conveyed in a non-UE associated message or in a UE-associated message. Moreover, the indication / notification / request can pertain to a single UE, or a group of UE, or a cell, or a reference signal beam, or a Distributed Unit (DU), or a certain service type, or a certain network slice, or a certain service subtype.

[0097] For the RAN node to know whether the UE can provide the session assistance information, and which exact information it is able to provide, a UE capability indication pertaining to the assistance information can be defined.RRC and ASN.1 Implementation Examples

[0098] Figures 5 and 6 show two RRC signaling implementation examples. The examples in Figures 5 and 6 are two ASN.1 examples of session assistance information configuration included in the AppLayerMeasConfig-rl7 IE. The new parts are indicated with highlighting and underlined font.

[0099] Figures 7 and 8 show two ASN.l examples of session assistance information being reported in the MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message. The new parts are indicated with highlighting and underlined font.AT Command[000100] The following is an example of how the +CAPPLEVMCNR AT command may be extended to configure an application to generate and send session assistance information. The example is based on 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0.[000101] Changes to 3GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0 can be as follows (changes highlighted):Description[000102] The following is an example of how the +CAPPLEVMRNR AT command may be extended to allow an application to send session assistance information. The example is based on 3 GPP TS 27.007 version 18.3.0. The new parts are indicated with highlighting. (Note that there is an error in the original specification text in the left table column where it says “+CAPPLEVMR” instead of “+CAPPLEVMRNR” - this will be corrected in future versions of the specification).Table 8.85-1: +CAPPLEVMRNR action command syntax Network Signaling Protocol Implementation Example[000103] The following is an example of session assistance information included in an F1AP message. The example is based on 3GPP TS 38.473 version 17.6.0. The new parts are indicated with highlighting.Example 7.9.2.16.1 QOE INFORMATION TRANSFERThis message is sent by a gNB-CU to a gNB-DU, to indicate information related to RAN visible QoE. Direction: gNB-CU —> gNB-DUThis IE provides the Session Assistance Information for RAN visible QoE measurement.Additional Embodiments[000104] One possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 9. Method 1400 comprises a method performed by a UE for providing session assistance information to a network node. Step 1410 is transmitting, to the network node, session assistance information, wherein the transmitting is performed; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session. Method 1400 can comprise multiple variations and embodiments and / or additional and / or alternative steps.[000105] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 10. Method 1600 comprises a method performed by a network node for receiving session assistance information from a UE. Step 1610 is receiving, from a UE, session assistance information, wherein the receiving occurs; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session. Method 1600 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps. [000106] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 11. Method 1800 comprises a method performed by a first network node for transmitting session assistance information from a UE to a second network node. Step 1810 is receiving, from a UE, session assistance information, wherein the receiving occurs; at thestart of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session. Step 1820 is sending the session assistance information to a second network node. Method 1800 can comprise multiple variations and embodiments and / or additional and / or alternative steps.[000107] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 12. Method 1900 comprises a method performed by a network node for configuring a UE for transmitting session assistance information from a UE to a network node. Step 1910 is configuring a UE to send session assistance information, wherein the sending occurs; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session. Method 1900 can comprise multiple variations and embodiments and / or additional and / or alternative steps.[000108] Another embodiment possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 13. Method 2000 comprises a method performed by a second network node for receiving session assistance information related to a UE from a first network node. Step 2010 is receiving, from the first network node, session assistance information, wherein the session assistance information was received by the first network node from a UE; at the start of a QoE measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session. Method 2000 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.[000109] Figure 14 shows an example of a communication system 2100 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 2100 includes a telecommunication network 2102 that includes an access network 2104, such as a RAN, and a core network 2106, which includes one or more core network nodes 2108. The access network 2104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 2110a and 2110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 2110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 2110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UE, such as by connecting UEs 2112a, 2112b, 2112c, and 2112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 2112) to the core network 2106 over one or more wireless connections.[000110] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infraredwaves, 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 1100 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 2100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.[000111] The UEs 2112 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 2110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 2110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 2112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 2102 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 2102.[000112] In the depicted example, the core network 2106 connects the network nodes 2110 to one or more hosts, such as host 2116. 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 2106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 2108) 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 2108. 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).[000113] The host 2116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 2104 and / or the telecommunication network 2102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 2116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of suchapplications 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.[000114] As a whole, the communication system 2100 of Figure 14 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 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); Eong Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 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.[000115] In some examples, the telecommunication network 2102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 2102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 2102. For example, the telecommunications network 2102 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)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.[000116] In some examples, the UEs 2112 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 2104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 2104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. beingconfigured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).[000117] In the example, the hub 2114 communicates with the access network 2104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and / or 2112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 2110b). In some examples, the hub 2114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 2114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 2106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 2114 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 2110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 2114. As another example, the hub 2114 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 2114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 2114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 2114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 2114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.[000118] The hub 2114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 2110b. The hub 2114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 2114 and UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and / or 2112d), and between the hub 2114 and the core network 2106. In other examples, the hub 2114 is connected to the core network 2106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 2114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 2110 while still connected via the hub 2114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 2114 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 2110b. In other embodiments, the hub 2114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 2110b, but which isadditionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.[000119] Figure 15 shows a UE 2200 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 IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, 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-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.[000120] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP 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 not initially, 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).[000121] The UE 2200 includes processing circuitry 2202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2204 to an input / output interface 2206, a power source 2208, a memory 2210, a communication interface 2212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 15. 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.[000122] The processing circuitry 2202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructionsstored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory 2210. The processing circuitry 2202 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 2202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).[000123] In the example, the input / output interface 2206 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 2200. 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 presencesensitive 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.[000124] In some embodiments, the power source 2208 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 2208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 2208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 2200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 2208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 2208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 2200 to which power is supplied.[000125] The memory 2210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory(PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 2210 includes one or more application programs 2214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2216. The memory 2210 may store, for use by the UE 2200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.[000126] The memory 2210 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 random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or 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 ‘SIM card.’ The memory 2210 may allow the UE 2200 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 2210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.[000127] The processing circuitry 2202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 2212. The communication interface 2212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2222. The communication interface 2212 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 2218 and / or a receiver 2220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 2218 and receiver 2220 may be coupled toone or more antennas (e.g., antenna 2222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.[000128] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 2212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, 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 in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.[000129] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 2212, 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).[000130] 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.[000131] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (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 orfreezer, a TV, 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 Virtual Reality (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 2200 shown in Figure 15.[000132] 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 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.[000133] 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.[000134] Figure 16 shows a network node 3300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodesor equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).[000135] 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 and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units 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).[000136] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station 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).[000137] The network node 3300 includes a processing circuitry 3302, a memory 3304, a communication interface 3306, and a power source 3308. The network node 3300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a 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 3300 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 NodeBs. 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 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 3304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 3310 may be shared by different RATs). Thenetwork node 3300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, 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 network node 1300.[000138] The processing circuitry 3302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, 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 3300 components, such as the memory 3304, to provide network node 3300 functionality.[000139] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and the baseband processing circuitry 3314 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 RF transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.[000140] The memory 3304 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, random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (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 3302. The memory 3304 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 3302 and utilized by the network node 3300. The memory 3304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 3302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 3306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 and memory 3304 is integrated.[000141] The communication interface 3306 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 3306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 3316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 3306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 3318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 3310. Radio front-end circuitry 3318 comprises filters 3320 and amplifiers 3322. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may be connected to an antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 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 3318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 3320 and / or amplifiers 3322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 3310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 3310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 3318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 3302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.[000142] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 3300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 3318, instead, the processing circuitry 3302 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 3312 is part of the communication interface 3306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 3306 includes one or more ports or terminals 3316, the radio front-end circuitry 3318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 3312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 3306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 3314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).[000143] The antenna 3310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 3310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 3318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 3310 is separate from the network node 3300 and connectable to the network node 3300 through an interface or port.[000144] The antenna 3310, communication interface 3306, and / or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 3310, the communication interface 3306, and / or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.[000145] The power source 3308 provides power to the various components of network node 3300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 3308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 3300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 3300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 3308. As a further example, the power source 3308 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.[000146] Embodiments of the network node 3300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 16 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 3300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 3300 and to allow output of information from the network node 3300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 3300.[000147] Figure 17 is a block diagram of a host 4400, which may be an embodiment of the host 2116 of Figure 14, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 4400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtualmachine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 4400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.[000148] The host 4400 includes processing circuitry 4402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4404 to an input / output interface 4406, a network interface 4408, a power source 4410, and a memory 4412. 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 14 and 15, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 4400.[000149] The memory 4412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 4414 and data 4416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 4400 or data generated by the host 4400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 4400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 4414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., 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, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 4414 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 4400 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 4414 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 (MPEG-DASH), etc.[000150] Figure 18 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 5500 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 virtualcomponents executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 5500 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.[000151] Applications 5502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 5500 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.[000152] Hardware 5504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described 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 5506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 5508a and 5508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 5508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 5506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 5508.[000153] The VMs 5508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 5506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 5502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 5508, 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.[000154] In the context of NFV, a VM 5508 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 5508, and that part of hardware 5504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function isresponsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 5508 on top of the hardware 5504 and corresponds to the application 5502.[000155] Hardware 5504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 5504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 5504 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 5510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 5502. In some embodiments, hardware 5504 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 radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 5512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.[000156] Figure 19 shows a communication diagram of a host 6602 communicating via a network node 6604 with a UE 6606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 2112a of Figure 14 and / or UE 2200 of Figure 15), network node (such as network node 2110a of Figure 14 and / or network node 3300 of Figure 16), and host (such as host 2116 of Figure 14 and / or host 4400 of Figure 17) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 19.[000157] Like host 4400, embodiments of host 6602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 6602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 6602 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 6606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 6650 extending between the UE 6606 and host 6602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 6650.[000158] The network node 6604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 6602 and UE 6606. The connection 6660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 2106 of Figure 14) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as oneor more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.[000159] The UE 6606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 6606 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 UE 6606 with the support of the host 6602. In the host 6602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 6650 terminating at the UE 6606 and host 6602. 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 6650 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 6650.[000160] The OTT connection 6650 may extend via a connection 6660 between the host 6602 and the network node 6604 and via a wireless connection 6670 between the network node 6604 and the UE 6606 to provide the connection between the host 6602 and the UE 6606. The connection 6660 and wireless connection 6670, over which the OTT connection 6650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 6602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 6604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.[000161] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 6650, in step 6608, the host 6602 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 6606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 6606 that shares data with the host 6602 without explicit human interaction. In step 6610, the host 6602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 6606. The host 6602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 6606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 6606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 6606. The transmission may pass via the network node 6604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 6612, the network node 6604 transmits to the UE 6606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host6602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 6614, the UE 6606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 6606 associated with the host application executed by the host 6602.[000162] In some examples, the UE 6606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 6602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 6602. Accordingly, in step 6616, the UE 6606 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 6606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 6606 initiates, in step 6618, transmission of the user data towards the host 6602 via the network node 6604. In step 6620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 6604 receives user data from the UE 6606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 6602. In step 6622, the host 6602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 6606.[000163] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 6606 using the OTT connection 6650, in which the wireless connection 6670 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and / or extended battery lifetime.[000164] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 6602. As another example, the host 6602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 6602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 6602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 6602 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 6602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such ascompiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.[000165] 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 6650 between the host 6602 and UE 6606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 6602 and / or UE 6606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 6650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 6650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 6604. 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 6602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 6650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.[000166] 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 understood that 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 largerbox, 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.[000167] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on 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 hard-wired 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.[000168] It will be appreciated that computer systems are increasingly taking a wide variety of forms. In this description and in the claims, the terms “controller,” “computer system,” or “computing system” are defined broadly as including any device or system — or combination thereof — that includes at least one physical and tangible processor and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that may be executed by a processor. By way of example, not limitation, the term “computer system” or “computing system,” as used herein is intended to include personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, hand-held devices (e.g., mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, multi-processor systems, network PCs, distributed computing systems, datacenters, message processors, routers, switches, and even devices that conventionally have not been considered a computing system, such as wearables (e.g., glasses).[000169] The computing system also has thereon multiple structures often referred to as an “executable component.” For instance, the memory of a computing system can include an executable component. The term “executable component” is the name for a structure that is well understood to one of ordinary skill in the art in the field of computing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For instance, when implemented in software, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the structure of an executable component may include software objects, routines, methods, and so forth, that may be executed by one or more processors on the computing system, whether such an executable component exists in the heap of a computing system, or whether the executable component exists on computer-readable storage media. The structure of the executable component exists on a computer-readable medium in such a form that it is operable, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, to cause the computing system to perform one or more functions, such as the functions and methods described herein. Such a structure may be computer-readable directly by a processor — as is the case if the executable component were binary. Alternatively, the structure may be structured to be interpretable and / or compiled — whether in a single stage or in multiple stages — so as to generate such binary that is directly interpretable by a processor.[000170] The terms “component,” “service,” “engine,” “module,” “control,” “generator,” or the like may also be used in this description. As used in this description and in this case, these terms — whether expressed with or without a modifying clause — are also intended to be synonymous with the term “executable component” and thus also have a structure that is well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of computing.[000171] In terms of computer implementation, a computer is generally understood to comprise one or more processors or one or more controllers, and the terms computer, processor, and controller may be employed interchangeably. When provided by a computer, processor, or controller, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated computer or processor or controller, by a single shared computer or processor or controller, or by a plurality of individual computers or processors or controllers, some of which may be shared or distributed. Moreover, the term “processor” or “controller” also refers to other hardware capable of performing such functions and / or executing software, such as the example hardware recited above.[000172] In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Forexample, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.[000173] While not all computing systems require a user interface, in some embodiments a computing system includes a user interface for use in communicating information from / to a user. The user interface may include output mechanisms as well as input mechanisms. The principles described herein are not limited to the precise output mechanisms or input mechanisms as such will depend on the nature of the device. However, output mechanisms might include, for instance, speakers, displays, tactile output, projections, holograms, and so forth. Examples of input mechanisms might include, for instance, microphones, touchscreens, projections, holograms, cameras, keyboards, stylus, mouse, or other pointer input, sensors of any type, and so forth.Abbreviations and Defined Terms[000174] To assist in understanding the scope and content of this written description and the appended claims, a select few terms are defined directly below. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.[000175] The terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially,” as used herein, represent an amount or condition close to the specific stated amount or condition that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount or condition that deviates by less than 10%, or by less than 5%, or by less than 1%, or by less than 0.1%, or by less than 0.01% from a specifically stated amount or condition.[000176] Various aspects of the present disclosure, including devices, systems, and methods may be illustrated with reference to one or more embodiments or implementations, whichare exemplary in nature. As used herein, the term “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments disclosed herein. In addition, reference to an “implementation” of the present disclosure or embodiments includes a specific reference to one or more embodiments thereof, and vice versa, and is intended to provide illustrative examples without limiting the scope of the present disclosure, which is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the present description.[000177] As used in the specification, a word appearing in the singular encompasses its plural counterpart, and a word appearing in the plural encompasses its singular counterpart, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Thus, it will be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, reference to a singular referent (e.g., “a widget”) includes one, two, or more referents unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Similarly, reference to a plurality of referents should be interpreted as comprising a single referent and / or a plurality of referents unless the content and / or context clearly dictate otherwise. For example, reference to referents in the plural form (e.g., “widgets”) does not necessarily require a plurality of such referents. Instead, it will be appreciated that independent of the inferred number of referents, one or more referents are contemplated herein unless stated otherwise.[000178] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.[000179] It shall be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element,without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.[000180] It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and / or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.Conclusion[000181] The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.[000182] It is understood that for any given component or embodiment described herein, any of the possible candidates or alternatives listed for that component may generally be used individually or in combination with one another, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Additionally, it will be understood that any list of such candidates or alternatives is merely illustrative, not limiting, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise.[000183] In addition, unless otherwise indicated, numbers expressing quantities, constituents, distances, or other measurements used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified by the term “about,” as that term is defined herein. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the subject matter presented herein. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the subject matter presented herein are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numericalvalues, however, inherently contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.[000184] Any headings and subheadings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, it should be understood that although the present disclosure has been specifically disclosed in part by certain embodiments, and optional features, modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this present description.[000185] It will also be appreciated that systems, devices, products, kits, methods, and / or processes, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include, incorporate, or otherwise comprise properties or features (e.g., components, members, elements, parts, and / or portions) described in other embodiments disclosed and / or described herein. Accordingly, the various features of certain embodiments can be compatible with, combined with, included in, and / or incorporated into other embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, disclosure of certain features relative to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure should not be construed as limiting application or inclusion of said features to the specific embodiment. Rather, it will be appreciated that other embodiments can also include said features, members, elements, parts, and / or portions without necessarily departing from the scope of the present disclosure.[000186] Moreover, unless a feature is described as requiring another feature in combination therewith, any feature herein may be combined with any other feature of a same or different embodiment disclosed herein. Furthermore, various well-known aspects of illustrative systems, methods, apparatus, and the like are not described herein in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the example embodiments. Such aspects are, however, also contemplated herein.[000187] It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures, and techniques other than those specifically described herein can be applied to the practice of the described embodiments as broadly disclosed hereinwithout resort to undue experimentation. All art-known functional equivalents of methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures, and techniques specifically described herein are intended to be encompassed by this present disclosure.[000188] When a group of materials, compositions, components, or compounds is disclosed herein, it is understood that all individual members of those groups and all subgroups thereof are disclosed separately. When a Markush group or other grouping is used herein, all individual members of the group and all combinations and sub-combinations possible of the group are intended to be individually included in the disclosure.[000189] The above-described embodiments are examples only. Alterations, modifications, and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the description, which is defined solely by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method (1400) performed by a user equipment, UE (2200), for providing session assistance information to a network node (3300), the method comprising: transmitting (1410), to the network node, session assistance information, wherein the transmitting is performed; at the start of a quality of experience, QoE, measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the quality of experience measurement session comprises a Radio Access Network, RAN, Visible QoE, RVQoE measurement session.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the session assistance information is sent via the UE Access Stratum, AS.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the session assistance information comprises one or more of: information related to the application; information related to the application’s or application session’s communication requirements; information related to the application session or the application session’s content; information related to the data flow(s) and communication of the application or the application session; information related to the application’s behavior.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein information related to the application’s or application session’s communication requirements comprises one or more of: a minimum acceptable downlink, DL, data rate; a recommended DL data rate; a maximum acceptable latency in uplink, UL, or DL, or both UL and DL; a recommended maximum latency in UL, or DL, or both UL and DL; a maximum acceptable or tolerable jitter in UL, or DL, or both UL and DL; a recommended maximum jitter in UL, or DL, or both UL and DL; and an indication of bounded latency.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein information related to the data flow(s) and communication of the application or the application session comprises one or more of: one or more transport protocols used by the application; and whether Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput (L4S) is used or enabled.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising receiving from the network node a configuration to provide the session assistance information and optionally what to include in the session assistance information.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the session assistance information is integrated in a RVQoE framework, such that the session assistance information is sent to the RAN together with a session start indication.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the session assistance information is integrated together with a first RVQoE measurement report.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein if one or more session properties change during the application session, then any RVQoE measurement reports other than a first RVQoE measurement report are used to convey session assistance information.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the session assistance information is sent from the UE application to the UE AS using an AT command.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the session assistance information is sent without an accompanying session start indication.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the session assistance information also serves as an implicit session start indication.

14. A method (1600) performed by a network node (3300) for receiving session assistance information from a user equipment, UE (2200), the method comprising:receiving (1610), from a UE, session assistance information, wherein the receiving occurs; at the start of a quality of experience, QoE, measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the quality of experience measurement session comprises a Radio Access Network, RAN, Visible QoE, RVQoE measurement session.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the session assistance information is received from the UE Access Stratum, AS.

17. The method of any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the session assistance information comprises one or more of: information related to the application; information related to the application’s or application session’s communication requirements; information related to the application session or the application session’s content; information related to the data flow(s) and communication of the application or the application session; information related to describing the application’s behavior.

18. The method of any of claims 14 to 17, further comprising: transmitting to the UE a configuration to provide the session assistance information and optionally what to include in the session assistance information.

19. The method of any of claims 14 to 18, further comprising: using the session assistance information to determine how to treat the data flow(s) of the application session.

20. The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein the configuration is associated with a RVQoE measurement configuration such that it applies to all application sessions to which the RVQoE measurement configuration applies.

21. A method (1800) performed by a first network node (3300) for transmitting session assistance information from a user equipment, UE (2200), to a second network node (3300), the method comprising: receiving (1810), from a UE, session assistance information, wherein the receiving occurs; at the start of a quality of experience, QoE, measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session; and sending (1820) the session assistance information to a second network node.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first network node comprises a gNB Central Unit- Control Plane, gNB-CU-CP, or a Radio Access Network, RAN, Node, and the second network node comprises a gNB-Distributed Unit, DU, or a second RAN node.

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, wherein the first network node sends the session assistance information to the second network node, without the session assistance information being requested by the second node.

24. A method (2000) performed by a second network node (3300) for receiving session assistance information related to a user equipment, UE (2200), from a first network node (3300), the method comprising: receiving (2010), from the first network node, session assistance information, wherein the session assistance information was received by the first network node from a UE; at the start of a quality of experience, QoE, measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising: requesting, to the first network node, whether to include at least one piece of information previously described as session assistance information in a QoE configuration for the UE.

26. The method of claim 24 or 25, wherein the receiving is realized in a non-UE associated message or in a UE-associated message.

27. The method of any of claims 24 to 26, wherein the first network node and the second network node are different logical functions of the same Radio Access Network, RAN, node.

28. The method of any of claims 24 to 26, wherein the first network node and the second network node pertain to different Radio Access Technologies, RATs, and are connected to the same type of Core Network, CN.

29. The method of any of claims 24 to 26, wherein the first network node and the second network node pertain to different Radio Access Technologies, RATs, and are connected to different types of Core Networks, CNs.

30. A method (1900) performed by a network node (3300) for configuring a user equipment, UE (2200), for transmitting session assistance information from the UE to a network node, the method comprising: configuring (1910) the UE to send session assistance information, wherein the sending occurs; at the start of a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement session associated with an application session; or during the application session.

31. A user equipment, UE (2200), for providing session assistance information to a network node (3300), comprising: processing circuitry (2202) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1 to 13; and power supply circuitry (2208) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

32. A user equipment, UE (2200), for providing session assistance information to a network node (3300), comprising:an antenna (2222) configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry (2212) connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry (2202) being configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1 to 13; an input interface (2206) 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 (2206) connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery (2208) connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

33. A network node (3300) for receiving or transmitting session assistance information related to a user equipment, UE (2200), the network node comprising: processing circuitry (3302) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 14 to 30; power supply circuitry (3308) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

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