Method for distributing load between radio access network nodes

Abstract

A method performed by a first network node for distributing load is provided The method comprises sending (302, 504), to a second network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node. The method further comprises receiving (304, 506), from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

Description

DISTRIBUTING LOADTECHNICAL FIELD[0] The disclosure relates to methods for distributing load in a network, and nodes configured to operate in accordance with those methods.BACKGROUNDFifth-generation Radio Access Network architecture[1] The current fifth-generation (5G) Radio Access Network RAN (Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) architecture is depicted and described in the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.401 V17.6.0 and is illustrated in Figure 1.[2] The NG-RAN 100 consists of a set of gNodeBs (gNBs) 102, 104 connected to the 5G Core (5GC) 106 through the NG interface 108.[3] As specified in TS 38.300 vl7.6.0, the NG-RAN 100 could also consist of a set of ng- eNodeBs (ng-eNBs). An ng-eNB may consist of an ng-eNB Centralized Unit (CU) (ng-eNB- CU) and one or more ng-eNB Distributed Unit(s) (DU) (ng-eNB-DU(s)). An ng-eNB-CU and an ng-eNB-DU are connected via the W1 interface. The general principle described here also applies to ng-eNB and the W1 interface, if not explicitly specified otherwise.[4] A gNB can support Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) mode, Time Division Duplexing (TDD) mode or dual mode operation.[5] gNBs 102, 104 can be interconnected through the Xn interface 110.[6] A gNB 104 may consist of a gNB-CU 112 and one or more gNB-DU(s) 114, 116. A gNB-CU 112 and a gNB-DU 114, 116 is connected via the Fl interface 118.[7] One gNB-DU 114, 116 is connected to only one gNB-CU 112.[8] NG 108, Xn 110, and Fl 118 are logical interfaces.[9] For NG-RAN 100, the NG 108 and Xn-C 110 interfaces for a gNB 104 consisting of a gNB-CU 112 and gNB-DUs 114, 116, terminate in the gNB-CU 112. For Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), the Sl-U and X2-C interfaces for a gNB 104 consisting of a gNB-CU 112 and gNB-DUs 114, 116, terminate in the gNB-CU 112. The gNB- CU 112 and connected gNB-DUs 114, 116 are only visible to other gNBs 102 and the 5GC 106 as a gNB 104.

[0010] Figure 2 depicts the overall architecture for separation of the gNB-CU Control Plane (CP) (gNB-CU-CP) 202 and the gNB-CU User Plane (UP) (gNB-CU-UP) 204. A gNB 206 may consist of a gNB-CU-CP 202, multiple gNB-CU-UPs 204 and multiple gNB-DUs 208, 210. The gNB-CU-CP 202 is connected to the gNB-DU 208, 210 through the Fl-C interface 212. The gNB-CU-UP 204 is connected to the gNB-DU 208, 210 through the Fl-U interface 214. The gNB-CU-UP 204 is connected to the gNB-CU-CP 202 through the El interface 216. One gNB-DU 208, 210 is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP 202. One gNB-CU-UP 204 is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP 202.

[0011] The architecture described above is what 3GPP has defined for 5G. Other standardization groups, such as the Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Alliance, have further extended the architecture above and have for example split the gNB-DU into two further nodes connected by a fronthaul interface. The lower node of the split gNB-DU would contain the Physical Layer (PHY) protocol and the Radio Frequency (RF) parts, the upper node of the split gNB-DU would host the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC). In 0-RAN the upper node is called the 0-RAN Distributed Unit (0-DU), while the lower node is called the 0-RAN Radio Unit (0-RU).Cell Activation procedure in 5G

[0012] 3GPP TS 38.423 vl7.6.0 defines the Cell Activation procedure which enables an NG- RAN node to request to a neighboring NG-RAN node to switch on one or more cells, previously reported as inactive due to energy saving.

[0013] The procedure is further described in 3GPP TS 38.300 vl7.6.0, clause 15.4, where it is stated that an NG-RAN node can autonomously decide to switch off a cell to lower energy consumption when, e.g., the (cell) load is low. If a neighboring NG-RAN node determines the need to reactivate the said cell, e.g., when it detects an increase in its own load above a certain threshold, then the Cell Activation procedure over the Xn interface may be used.SUMMARY

[0014] There currently exist certain challenge(s).

[0015] One limitation with current technology is that if a cell in a second RAN node is currently deactivated and it is desirable to activate it again upon request of a first RAN node, it is not known if the to-be-reactivated cell can sustain a certain amount of load currently served by the first RAN node. It is also not known how performance indicators for the second RAN node andfirst RAN node can be impacted, for instance the energy cost. This implies, for instance, that when the first RAN node effectively offloads some of its traffic to the reactivated cell of the second RAN node, there is a risk of creating coverage and / or capacity related issues (e.g., a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) issue), such as an “island” of users at the edge of the reactivated cell.

[0016] A similar limitation exists in the case that a first cell of the second RAN node is not completely deactivated, but instead its coverage in a certain area is reduced compared to its full potential. In this case, users may be camped on / served by a cell of the first RAN node, and the first RAN node would like to offload some of its traffic to the first cell of the second RAN node. Again, it is not possible to determine whether the offloading from the first RAN node would create a performance issue at the cell of the second RAN node, e.g., overload or high cell edge density of users.

[0017] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0018] The present disclosure provides a mechanism for assessing the impact on coverage, energy cost, and other network performances, before / when a first RAN node requests to a second RAN node the reactivation of a previously deactivated cell or reference signal beam of the first RAN node, or before / when the first RAN node requests a modification (e.g., increase) in the coverage of one or more cells in the second RAN node to serve a potential load that the first RAN node plans / wishes to transfer to the second RAN node. For example, the first RAN node may determine that energy consumption (e.g., the energy cost) at the first RAN node is too high (or is predicted to become too high) and therefore requests the second RAN node to reactivate one or more cells / reference signal beams. The first RAN node wishes to transfer a potential (offered) load and sends a request to the second RAN node requesting which coverage will be used by the cells / reference signal beams of the second RAN node to support the offered potential load.

[0019] In a first aspect, there is disclosed a method performed by a first network node for distributing load. The method comprises sending, to a second network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node. The method further comprises receiving, from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

[0020] In a second aspect, there is disclosed a method performed by a second network node for distributing load. The method comprises receiving, from a first network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node. The method further comprises sending, to the first network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

[0021] In a third aspect, there is disclosed a first network node. The first network node comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the first network node to send, to a second network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the first network node to receive, from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, there is disclosed a first network node configured to perform embodiments of the method of the first aspect.

[0023] In a fifth aspect, there is disclosed a second network node. The second network node comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the second network node to receive, from a first network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node. The processing circuitry is further configured to cause the second network node to send, to the first network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

[0024] In a sixth aspect, there is disclosed a second network node configured to perform embodiments of the method of the second aspect.

[0025] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s).

[0026] An advantage of the proposed solution is that, when a transfer of load is performed from a first RAN node to a second RAN node (for instance, to reduce the energy consumption at the first RAN node), it is possible to avoid coverage or capacity issues (e.g., CCO issues) occurring at the border between the cells of the two RAN node due to the transfer of load.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and to show how it may be put into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:Fig. l is a schematic showing NG-RAN architecture;Fig. 2 is a schematic showing an architecture for the separation of gNB-CU-CP and gNB- CU-UP;Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method in a first network node in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method in a second network node in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 5 is a signaling diagram showing techniques according to the present disclosure;Fig. 6 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 7 shows a User Equipment (UE);Fig. 8 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a host;Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; andFig. 11 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] 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.

[0029] Figure 3 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method of Figure 3 may be performed by a first network node (e.g., the network node 610 or network node 800 as described later with reference to Figures 6 and 8, respectively).

[0030] A complementary method performed by a second network node is described with respect to Figure 4. An example implementation of the method of Figure 3 is described with reference to Figure 5 below. Further detail regarding the method of Figure 3 and other methods performed by the first network node is set out below in the sections titled: “First variant”, “Second variant”, “Third variant”, “Fourth variant”, “Fifth variant”, “Method in a first network node”, and “Further description”.

[0031] The method of Figure 3 in a first network node comprises, at step 302, sending, to a second network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage ofthe second network node. More detail regarding the first message according to some embodiments of the method of Figure 3 is provided below in the section titled “The FIRST MESSAGE”.

[0032] As used herein, a load transfer may comprise a transfer of one or more of one or more UEs; one or more active UEs; traffic (e.g., traffic volume); one or more radio interface connections; radio conditions of the UEs to be offloaded and / or geographical location (which may include UE radio channel measurements of any involved cell); data (e.g., data throughput or data volume); one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows; and a value that represents energy cost / consumption. Load may be referred to herein as cell load.

[0033] As used herein, the coverage of any given network node may be provided by one or both of one or more cells managed by the network node; and one or more reference signal beams managed by the network node.

[0034] The first message may comprise one or both of first information related to the load transfer; and a first request for information related to the load transfer. The first information related to the load transfer may comprise one or both of first information about a load to be transferred in the load transfer; and first information about a proposed coverage change at the first and / or second network node to support the load transfer.

[0035] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise an indication of a size of the load to be transferred. The indication of the size of the load to be transferred may comprise one or more of a number of UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs); and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage. The scheduling usage may be, for example, Uplink (UL) scheduling Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) control channel elements (CCE) usage; and / or Downlink (DL) scheduling PDCCH CCE usage.

[0036] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise an indication that the size of the load to be transferred is provided for at least one of per cell; per reference signal beam; per Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) area; per network node; per network slice; per UE; per UE type; per traffic type; total for UL and DL; for UL only; for DL only; per New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) Channel; per Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value (e.g., an average, median, minimum, maximum, percentile value).

[0037] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise a point of reference for the indication of the size of the load to be transferred. For example, the load may be reported from the point of view of the first network node or the second network node, or from the point of view of a “standard” network node, e.g., pre-configured in the network nodes, or configured by another network node or an external system (e.g., Operations and Maintenance (OAM)), or define in same standards (e.g., 3GPP, 0-RAN).

[0038] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred. For example, the first information related to the load transfer may comprise first information about a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred; and the first information related to the load transfer may comprise first information about a plurality of proposed coverage changes at the first network node and / or second network node to support one or more of the plurality of alternative loads to be transferred.

[0039] The proposed coverage change at the first network node and / or second network node may comprise a change in one or more of cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell output power; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State; and SSB Coverage State.

[0040] The first information about the proposed coverage change may comprise one or more of an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node prior to the load transfer; and information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node after the load transfer.

[0041] The coverage configuration may relate to one or more of cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell output power; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt;reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State; and SSB Coverage State.

[0042] The first information about the proposed coverage change may comprise information about a plurality of alternative proposed coverage changes at the first network node and / or second network node to support the load transfer.

[0043] The first request for information related to the load transfer may comprise a request for one or more of: a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer; a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative coverage change to support the load transfer; and a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative load to be transferred.

[0044] The method of Figure 3 further comprises a step 304 of receiving, from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer. More detail regarding the second message according to some embodiments of the method of Figure 3 is provided below in the section titled “The SECOND MESSAGE”.

[0045] The second message may comprise one or more of: second information related to the load transfer; and a second request for information related to the load transfer.

[0046] The second information related to the load transfer may comprise one or more of: a load transfer acceptance indication, wherein the load transfer acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed load transfers; a load transfer rejection indication, wherein the load transfer rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed load transfers; a reason for the load transfer rejection indication; an indication that the second network node cannot increase coverage of the second network node sufficiently to support the load transfer; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a coverage change acceptance indication, wherein the coverage change acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed coverage changes; a coverage change rejection indication, wherein the coverage change rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed coverage changes; a reason for the coverage change rejection indication; information about at least one alternative coverage change at thefirst network node and / or second network node proposed by the second network node to support the load transfer; and information about at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node.

[0047] The second information related to the load transfer may comprise one or more of an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; a coverage configuration of the second network node that the second network node accepts; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more loads to be transferred; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more proposed coverage changes; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the load transfer; and a prediction of at least one of a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer.

[0048] The information about the at least one alternative coverage change proposed by the second network node may comprise one or more of an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which the load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which the load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node prior to the load transfer; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node after the load transfer; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the alternative proposed coverage change; and a prediction of at least one of a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer.

[0049] The information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node may comprise an indication of a size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred.

[0050] The indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred may comprise one or more of a number of UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality ofService flows; a number of PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage, e.g., UL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage, DL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage.

[0051] The indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred may be provided for at least one of: per cell; per reference signal beam; per SSB area; per network node; per network slice; per UE; per UE-type; per traffic type; total for UL and DL; for UL only; for DL only; per NR-U Channel; per GBR traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value.

[0052] The information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred may comprise a point of reference for the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred.

[0053] The second request for information related to the load transfer may comprise a request for one or more of: a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the load transfer; and a report after the load transfer has been performed comprising performance values.

[0054] The increase in coverage of the second network node for the load transfer may be provided by one or more of: a re-activation of one or more inactive or deactivated reference signal beams managed by the second network node; a re-activation of one or more inactive or deactivated cells managed by the second network node; an increase in coverage of one or more active reference signal beams managed by the second network node; and an increase in coverage of one or more active cells managed by the second network node.

[0055] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise exchanging further messages with the second network node until a load to be transferred and / or a proposed coverage change is accepted by both the first network node and the second network node.

[0056] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise the first network node sending and / or receiving one or more of: a third message, a fourth message, and a fifth message. More detail regarding these messages is provided in the sections titled “The THIRD MESSAGE”, “The FOURTH MESSAGE”, and “The FIFTH MESSAGE”.

[0057] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise, after receiving the second message, determining a coverage change for the load transfer based on at least the second message.

[0058] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise: sending, to the second network node, a third message comprising an indication of the determined coverage change. The third message may further comprise a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the determined coverage change and load transfer.

[0059] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise executing one or more coverage changes at the first network node according to the determined coverage change; and performing the load transfer.

[0060] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise, after the load transfer has been performed, sending, to the second network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising first performance values related to the load transfer. The first performance values may comprise one or more of: a UE performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the first network node; and an energy consumption metric for the first network node.

[0061] The method of Figure 3 may further comprise, after the load transfer has been performed, receiving, from the second network node, a fifth message comprising a report comprising second performance values related to the load transfer. The second performance values may comprise one or more of: a UE performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the second network node; and an energy consumption metric for the second network node.

[0062] The first message may be comprised in a cell activation request message. The cell activation request message may be a CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST XnAP message.

[0063] The second message may be comprised in a cell activation response message. The cell activation response message may be a CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE XnAP message.

[0064] Example implementations of the method of Figure 3 are provided below in the sections titled “Example implementation 1” and “Example implementation 2”.

[0065] Figure 4 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method of Figure 4 may be performed by a second network node (e.g., the network node 610 or network node 800 as described later with reference to Figures 6 and 8, respectively).

[0066] A complementary method performed by a first network node is described with respect to Figure 3. An example implementation of the method of Figure 4 is described with reference to Figure 5 below. Further detail regarding method of Figure 4 and other methods performed by the second network node is set out below in the sections titled: “First variant”, “Second variant”, “Third variant”, “Fourth variant”, “Fifth variant”, “Method in a second network node”, and “Further description”.

[0067] The method of Figure 4 comprises, at step 402, receiving, from a first network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node.More detail regarding the first message according to some embodiments of the method of Figure 4 is provided below in the section titled “The FIRST MESSAGE”.

[0068] As used herein, a load transfer may comprise a transfer of one or more of one or more UEs; one or more active UEs; traffic (e.g., traffic volume); one or more radio interface connections; radio conditions of the UEs to be offloaded and / or geographical location (which may include UE radio channel measurements of any involved cell); data (e.g., data throughput or data volume); one or more Quality of Service flows; and a value that represents energy cost / consumption. Load may be referred to herein as cell load.

[0069] As used herein, the coverage of any given network node may be provided by one or both of one or more cells managed by the network node; and one or more reference signal beams managed by the network node.

[0070] The first message may comprise one or both of first information related to the load transfer; and a first request for information related to the load transfer. The first information related to the load transfer may comprise one or both of first information about a load to be transferred in the load transfer; and first information about a proposed coverage change at the first network node and / or second network node to support the load transfer.

[0071] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise an indication of a size of the load to be transferred. The indication of the size of the load to be transferred may comprise one or more of a number of UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage. The scheduling usage may be, for example, UL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage; and / or DL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage.

[0072] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise an indication that the size of the load to be transferred is provided for at least one of per cell; per reference signal beam; per Synchronization Signal Block area; per network node; per network slice; per UE; per UE type; per traffic type; total for UL and DL; for UL only; for DL only; per NR-U Channel; per GBR traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value (e.g., an average, median, minimum, maximum, percentile value).

[0073] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise a point of reference for the indication of the size of the load to be transferred. For example, the load may be reported from the point of view of the first network node or the second network node, or from the point of view of a “standard” network node, e.g., pre-configured in the network nodes, or configuredby another network node or an external system (e.g., OAM), or define in same standards (e.g., 3GPP, 0-RAN).

[0074] The first information about the load to be transferred may comprise a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred. For example, the first information related to the load transfer may comprise first information about a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred; and the first information related to the load transfer may comprise first information about a plurality of proposed coverage changes at the first network node and / or second network node to support one or more of the plurality of alternative loads to be transferred.

[0075] The proposed coverage change at the first network node and / or second network node may comprise a change in one or more of cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell output power; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State; and SSB Coverage State.

[0076] The first information about the proposed coverage change may comprise one or more of an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node prior to the load transfer; and information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node after the load transfer.

[0077] The coverage configuration may relate to one or more of cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell output power; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State; and SSB Coverage State.

[0078] The first information about the proposed coverage change may comprise information about a plurality of alternative proposed coverage changes at the first network node and / or second network node to support the load transfer.

[0079] The first request for information related to the load transfer may comprise a request for one or more of a prediction of at least one of a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer; a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative coverage change to support the load transfer; and a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative load to be transferred.

[0080] The method of Figure 4 further comprises a step 404 of sending, to the first network node, a second message related to the load transfer. More detail regarding the second message according to some embodiments of the method of Figure 4 is provided below in the section titled “The SECOND MESSAGE”.

[0081] The second message may comprise one or more of second information related to the load transfer; and a second request for information related to the load transfer.

[0082] The second information related to the load transfer may comprise one or more of a load transfer acceptance indication, wherein the load transfer acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed load transfers; a load transfer rejection indication, wherein the load transfer rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed load transfers; a reason for the load transfer rejection indication; an indication that the second network node cannot increase coverage of the second network node sufficiently to support the load transfer; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts rejects; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a coverage change acceptance indication, wherein the coverage change acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed coverage changes; a coverage change rejection indication, wherein the coverage change rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed coverage changes; a reason for the coverage change rejection indication; information about at least one alternative coverage change at the first network node and / or second network node proposed by the second network node to support the load transfer; and information about at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node.

[0083] The second information related to the load transfer may comprise one or more of an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; anindication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; a coverage configuration of the second network node that the second network node accepts; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more loads to be transferred; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more proposed coverage changes; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the load transfer; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer.

[0084] The information about the at least one alternative coverage change proposed by the second network node may comprise one or more of: an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which the load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which the load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node prior to the load transfer; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node after the load transfer; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the alternative proposed coverage change; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer.

[0085] The information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node may comprise an indication of a size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred.

[0086] The indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred may comprise one or more of: a number of UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage, e.g., UL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage, DL scheduling PDCCH CCE usage.

[0087] The indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred may be provided for at least one of: per cell; per reference signal beam; per SSB area; per network node; per network slice; per UE; per UE-type; per traffic type; total for UL and DL; for ULonly; for DL only; per NR-U Channel; per GBR traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value.

[0088] The information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred may comprise a point of reference for the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred.

[0089] The second request for information related to the load transfer may comprise a request for one or more of: a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the load transfer; and a report after the load transfer has been performed comprising performance values.

[0090] The increase in coverage of the second network node for the load transfer may be provided by one or more of: a re-activation of one or more inactive or deactivated reference signal beams managed by the second network node; a re-activation of one or more inactive cells managed by the second network node; an increase in coverage of one or more active reference signal beams managed by the second network node; and an increase in coverage of one or more active cells managed by the second network node.

[0091] The method of Figure 4 may further comprise exchanging further messages with the first network node until a load to be transferred and / or a proposed coverage change is accepted by both the first network node and the second network node.

[0092] The method of Figure 4 may further comprise the second network node sending and / or receiving one or more of: a third message, a fourth message, and a fifth message. More detail regarding these messages is provided in the sections titled “The THIRD MESSAGE”, “The FOURTH MESSAGE”, and “The FIFTH MESSAGE”.

[0093] The method of Figure 4 may further comprise receiving, from the first network node, a third message comprising an indication of a determined coverage change for the load transfer. The third message may further comprise a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the determined coverage change and the load transfer.

[0094] The method of Figure 4 may further comprise executing one or more coverage changes at the second network node according to the determined coverage change; and performing the load transfer.

[0095] The method of Figure 4 may further comprise, after the load transfer has been performed, receiving, from the first network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising first performance values related to the load transfer.

[0096] The first performance values may comprise one or more of a UE performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the first network node; and an energy consumption metric for the first network node.

[0097] The method of Figure 4 may further comprise, after the load transfer has been performed, sending, to the first network node, a fifth message comprising a report comprising second performance values related to the load transfer.

[0098] The second performance values may comprise one or more of a UE performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the second network node; and an energy consumption metric for the second network node.

[0099] The first message may be comprised in a cell activation request message. The cell activation request message may be a CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST XnAP message.

[0100] The second message may be comprised in a cell activation response message. The cell activation response message may be a CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE XnAP message.

[0101] Example implementations of the method of Figure 4 are provided below in the sections titled “Example implementation 1” and “Example implementation 2”.

[0102] As used herein, the term “cell” may refer to both cells and beams (e.g., reference signal beams, SSB beams) unless otherwise specified. For example, the term “cell coverage” may refer to the coverage provided by a beam.

[0103] A network node may be any of a RAN node, a gNB, an eNB, an en-gNB, an ng-eNB, a gNB-CU, a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-DU, a gNB-CU-UP, an eNB-CU, an eNB-DU, an eNB-CU- CP, an eNB-CU-UP, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, an lAB-donor DU, an lAB-donor-CU, an IAB-DU, an IAB Mobile Terminal (MT) (IAB-MT), an O-RAN CU (O- CU), an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, an O-RU, and an O-RAN eNB (O-eNB).

[0104] Figure 5 is a signaling diagram according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0105] A first network node 500 (referred to as the first RAN node 500) is interested to transfer some load to a second network node 502 (referred to as the second RAN node 502), e.g., the first RAN node 500 may determine a potential load offered, i.e., to be potentially transferred to the second RAN node 502. One or more of the following conditions may be satisfied:• The first RAN node 500 is aware that in the second RAN node 502 there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam which could receive the potential load and that cell / reference signal beam is not activated and / or not enabled.• The first RAN node 500 is aware that in the second RAN node 502 there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam which could receive the potential load and that cell / reference signal beam is activated and / or enabled. The first RAN 500 node is also aware of coverage related information for that cell / reference signal beam (e.g., the coverage state), and / or energy related information (e.g., the energy cost), and / or information related to load / energy / performance for the cell / reference signal beam (as received from the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself).• The first RAN node 500 is aware that in the second RAN node 502 there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam which could receive the potential load and that cell is not activated and / or enabled, and the first RAN node 500 is aware of information related to load / energy / performance received (as received from the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself).• The first RAN node 500 is aware that in the second RAN node 502 there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam which could receive the potential load and that cell is activated and / or enabled, and the first RAN node 500 is aware of information related to load / energy / performance received (as received from the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself).

[0106] The cells of the second RAN node 502 towards which the first RAN node 500 is interested to transfer the potential load may be referred to as candidate target cells.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first RAN node 500 is not interested to transfer a potential load to one or more specific cells and / or reference beams of the second RAN node 502, but rather towards the second RAN node 502, and the determination of which cells and / or reference beams of the second RAN node 502 are candidates to receive the potential load from the first RAN node 500 is left to the second RAN node 502 to choose.First variant

[0108] In some embodiments (according to a first variant), the first RAN node 500 is aware of the fact that there is at least one cell and / or at least one reference signal beam of the second RAN node 502 which could receive a potential load (offered potential load) and that (those) cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) is (are) not activated and / or not enabled. At step 504, the first RAN node 500 sends a FIRST MESSAGE to the second RAN node 502 to indicate a request / an interest to activate and / or to enable the one or more cells / reference signal beamsof the second RAN node 502 (e.g., reusing the existing Cell Activation XnAP procedure). The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise one or more of:• a list of cell identifiers of the second RAN node 502 (candidate target(s) of the potential load to be transferred);• a list of reference beams identifiers of the second RAN node 502 (candidate target(s) of the potential load to be transferred);• a list of cell identifiers of the first RAN node 500 (source(s) of the potential load to be transferred);• a list of reference beams identifiers of the first RAN node 500 (source(s) of the potential load to be transferred);• a list of network slice identifiers at the second RAN node 502;• a list of network slice identifiers at the first RAN node 500;• the potential load (offered potential load) the first RAN node 500 is interested to transfer (at RAN node level granularity, or at cell level granularity, or at reference signal beam granularity, or at network slice level granularity);• one or more pieces of information related to coverage, such as cell coverage related state for cells of the first RAN node 500 and / or one or more coverage state for reference signal beams of the first RAN node 500 o can be at least one of: 1) current values in use at the first RAN node 500; 2) values forecasted / inferred at the first RAN node 500 in case the potential load is accepted by the second RAN node 502;• one or more pieces of information related to energy (e.g., an energy cost) at the first RAN node 500. This can be at least one of: 1) current value(s) at the first RAN node 500; 2) values forecasted / inferred at the first RAN node 500 in case the potential load is accepted by the second RAN node 502.

[0109] At step 506, the second RAN node 502 responds to the first RAN node 500 with a SECOND MESSAGE. The SECOND MESSAGE may achieve (implicitly or explicitly) one or more of the following:• accept / confirm / acknowledge the request to activate one or more cells and / or reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502, among the cells and / or reference signal beams proposed by the first RAN node 500 (or other cells and / or reference signal beams);• fail / refuse the request to activate one or more cells and / or reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 among the cells and / or reference signal beams proposed by the first RAN node 500 (or other cells and / or reference signal beams);• accept / confirm / acknowledge the offered potential load (at one of: at RAN node granularity, at cell granularity, at reference signal beam granularity, at network slice level granularity);• fail / refuse the offered potential load (at one of: at RAN node granularity, at cell granularity, at reference signal beam granularity, at network slice level granularity);• propose an alternative potential load that can be taken by the second RAN node 502 (at one of: at RAN node granularity, at cell granularity, at reference signal beam granularity, at network slice level granularity);• propose an alternative list of cells and / or reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 to activate and / or enable to serve the offered potential load;• Respond with metrics representing the energy consumption at the second RAN node 502 assuming that the requested cells and / or reference signal beams are activated and / or assuming that the load indicated by the first RAN node 500 is transferred to the second RAN node 502. Together with this information, the second RAN node 502 may: a. Accept the request to activate the one or more cell / reference signal beams; b. Reject the request to activate the one or more cell / reference signal beams with a cause value indicating an excessive increase of the consumed energy; c. Reject the request to receive the load indicated by the first RAN node 500 with a cause value indicating an excessive increase of the consumed energy; d. Accept the request to activate the one or more cell / reference signal beams but reject the request to receive the load indicated by the first RAN node 500 with a cause value indicating an excessive increase of the consumed energy.[HO] As an option for all cases including a rejection above, the second RAN node 502 may indicate to the first RAN node 500 a new configuration that could be activated, namely consisting of a set of cells and / or reference signal beams and / or load to be served. The secondRAN node 502 may associate to this new configuration a new estimate of the consumed energy for the new configuration, hence indicating how such newly proposed configuration can optimize energy consumption in a better way.Second variant[Hl] In some embodiments (e.g., according to a second variant), the first RAN node 500 is aware of the fact that there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam of the second RAN node 502 which could receive a potential load (offered potential load) and that(those) cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) is (are) activated and / or enabled. For the same cell(s) / reference beam(s) the first RAN node 500 is also aware of coverage related information (e.g., the coverage state), and / or energy related information (e.g., the energy cost), and / or information related to load / energy / performance for the candidate cell(s) / reference signal beam(s) of the second RAN node 502 (as received from the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself).

[0112] At step 504, the first RAN node 500 sends a FIRST MESSAGE to the second RAN node 502 to indicate a request / an interest to modify the coverage of the identified one or more candidate cells and / or candidate reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 (e.g., reusing the existing Cell Activation XnAP procedure). The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise one or more of the elements detailed in the preceding variant(s).

[0113] At step 506, the second RAN node 502 responds to the first RAN node 500 with a SECOND MESSAGE. The SECOND MESSAGE may comprise any of the elements listed in the preceding variant(s), and in addition one or more of• accept / confirm / acknowledge the request to modify the coverage of one or more cells / reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502, among the cells / reference signal beams proposed by the first RAN node 500 (or other cells / reference signal beams);• fail / refuse the request to modify the coverage of one or more cells / reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 among the cells / reference signal beams proposed by the first RAN node 500 (or other cells / reference signal beams);• propose an alternative list of cells / reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 for which coverage can be modified to serve the offered potential load;• Respond with metrics representing the energy consumption at the second RAN node 502 assuming that the requested coverage modification is activated and assuming thatthe load indicated by the first RAN node 500 is transferred to the second RAN node 502. Together with this information, the second RAN node 502 may: a. Accept the request to activate the coverage modification; b. Reject the request to activate the coverage modification with a cause value indicating an excessive increase of the consumed energy; c. Reject the request to receive the load indicated by the first RAN node 500 with a cause value indicating an excessive increase of the consumed energy; d. Accept the request to activate the coverage modification but reject the request to receive the load indicated by the first RAN node 500 with a cause value indicating an excessive increase of the consumed energy.

[0114] As an option for all cases including a rejection above, the second RAN node 502 may indicate to the first RAN node 500 a new configuration that could be activated, namely consisting of a set of a new coverage modification configuration and / or load to be served. The second RAN node 502 may associate to this new configuration a new estimate of the consumed energy for the new configuration, hence indicating how such newly proposed configuration can optimize energy consumption in a better way.Third variant

[0115] In some embodiments (e.g., a third variant), the first RAN node 500 is aware of the fact that there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam of the second RAN node 502 which could receive a potential load (offered potential load) and that (those) cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) is (are) not activated and / or not enabled. For the same cell(s) and / or reference beam(s) the first RAN node 500 is also aware of past coverage related information (e.g., the coverage state) adopted in the past by the cells of the second RAN node 502, and / or past energy related information (e.g., the energy cost) at the second RAN node 502, and / or past information related to load / energy / performance for the candidate cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) of the second RAN node 502 (as received from the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself). The past information on coverage and / or energy, and / or load and / or performance can be used by the first RAN node 500 to determine the operating conditions (coverage state, energy information, load, performance) of the secondRAN node 502 as the potential load is transferred from the first RAN node 500 to the second RAN node 502.

[0116] At step 504, the first RAN node 500 sends a FIRST MESSAGE to the second RAN node 502 to indicate a request / an interest to activate / enable the coverage of the identified one or more candidate cells / candidate reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 (e.g., reusing the existing Cell Activation XnAP procedure). The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise one or more of the elements detailed in the preceding variants.

[0117] At step 506, the second RAN node 502 responds to the first RAN node 500 with a SECOND MESSAGE which may comprise one or more of the elements listed in the preceding variants.Fourth variant

[0118] In some embodiments (e.g., according to a fourth variant), the first RAN node 500 is aware of the fact that there is at least one cell or at least one reference signal beam of the second RAN node 502 which could receive a potential load (offered potential load) and that(those) cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) is(are) activated and / or enabled. For the same cell(s) and / or reference beam(s) the first RAN node 500 is also aware of past or present coverage related information (e.g., the coverage state), and / or past or present energy related information (e.g., the energy cost), and / or information collected in the past or current information related to load / energy / performance for the candidate cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) of the second RAN node 502 (as received from the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself).

[0119] At step 504, the first RAN node 500 sends a FIRST MESSAGE to the second RAN node 502 to indicate a request / an interest to modify the coverage of the identified one or more candidate cells and / or candidate reference signal beams of the second RAN node 502 (e.g., reusing the existing Cell Activation XnAP procedure). The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise one or more of the elements detailed in the preceding variants.

[0120] At step 506, the second RAN node 502 responds to the first RAN node 500 with a SECOND MESSAGE which may comprise one or ore of the elements listed in the preceding variants.Fifth variant

[0121] In some embodiments (e.g., according to a fifth variant), the first RAN node 500 is aware of the fact that the second RAN node 502 could receive a potential load (offered potential load). This can be due to the fact, for example, that the first RAN node 500 is aware of coverage related information (e.g., the coverage state), and / or energy related information (e.g., the energy cost), and / or information pertaining to the second RAN node 502, e.g., related to load / energy / performance for cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) of the second RAN node 502 (as received by the second RAN node 502, or as determined by the first RAN node 500 itself).

[0122] At step 504, the first RAN node 500 sends a FIRST MESSAGE to the second RAN node 502 to indicate a request / an interest to activate / enable the coverage in at least a cell / a reference signal beam (or in at least one specific cell and / or reference signal beam) of the second RAN node 502 (e.g., reusing the existing Cell Activation XnAP procedure). The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise one or more of the elements detailed in the previous variants.

[0123] At step 506, the second RAN node 502 responds to the first RAN node 500 with a SECOND MESSAGE which may comprise one or more of the elements listed in the preceding variants.

[0124] Any combination of the variants described above is possible.Method in a first network node

[0125] The present disclosure relates to a method executed by a first network node to request changes in coverage for one or more cells (and / or changes in coverage for one or more reference signal beams) of a second network node, due to potential load (offered potential load) that could be transferred from the first network node to the second network node.

[0126] The method may comprise one or more steps of:• (Step 504 of Figure 5) Transmitting a FIRST MESSAGE to a second network node, the FIRST MESSAGE requesting the second network node to perform changes in coverage for cells of the second network node, if transfer of some potential load (offered potential load) from the first network node to the second network node is performed. oThe potential load could be expressed, e.g., in terms of number of (active) UEs or traffic volume. The request could also indicate the second network node toinclude a prediction of the change in energy consumption due to the load transfer. oThe changes in cell coverage could pertain to one or more cells of the first network node and / or the second network node. The changes could be indicated as a list of alternative options, or just one option. oMore details about the FIRST MESSAGE are provided in the section titled “The FIRST MESSAGE”.• (Step 506 of Figure 5) Receiving a SECOND MESSAGE from the second network node, the SECOND MESSAGE indicating changes in coverage if transfer of some load from the first network node to the second network node is performed. o Alternatively, or additionally, the SECOND MESSAGE may indicate one or more possible cell coverage modifications. o Alternatively, or additionally, the SECOND MESSAGE may indicate whether the proposed changes have been rejected for energy saving reasons or whether new configurations are proposed to improve energy efficiency. oMore details about the SECOND MESSAGE are provided in the section titled “The SECOND MESSAGE”.• (Optional step 508 of Figure 5) Sending a THIRD MESSAGE to the second network node, the THIRD MESSAGE indicating, e.g., the selected cell coverage modifications and estimated energy consumption due to these modifications. oMore details about the THIRD MESSAGE are provided in the section titled “The THIRD MESSAGE”.• (Step 510 of Figure 5) Performing the transfer of load (e.g., handling over UEs) from the first network node.• (Optional step 512 of Figure 5) Sending a FOURTH MESSAGE to the second network node, the FOURTH MESSAGE indicating performance values and / or energy cost related to the changes in load in the first network node. oMore details about the FOURTH MESSAGE are provided in the section titled “The FOURTH MESSAGE”.• (Optional step 514 of Figure 5) Receiving a FIFTH MESSAGE from the second network node, the FIFTH MESSAGE indicating performance values related to the changes in load in the second network node.oMore details about the FIFTH MESSAGE are provided in the section titled “The FIFTH MESSAGE”.

[0127] The FIRST MESSAGE, SECOND MESSAGE, and THIRD MESSAGE may be utilized by the first network node and the second network node as a negotiation method between them. For example, the first network node may send a FIRST MESSAGE with a list of different alternative proposed coverage changes of the second network node, or alternative proposed loads to be transferred from the first network node. The second network node may reply with a SECOND MESSAGE with a different list of possible cell coverage modifications (with or without the estimated change in coverage). The first network node may then send a new FIRST MESSAGE with a refined list of possible proposed modifications. This process may repeat until agreement between the first network node and the second network node.Method in a second network node

[0128] The method at the second network node may mirror the method at the first network node. That is, where the first network node sends a message to the second network node, the second network node receives the message, and so on.The FIRST MESSAGE

[0129] In some embodiments, the FIRST MESSAGE is a request for reporting the change in coverage of a cell (or the indication that the cell can be activated / enabled) to accommodate for a potential load (offered potential load) that could be transferred from the first network node to the second network node.

[0130] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise an indication of which one or more cells (or beams) in the first network node will send the offered potential load and / or which one or more cells (or beams) of the second network node are the target of the offered potential load.

[0131] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise an indication of what the offered potential load is. Non-limiting examples of offered potential load can be any one or a combination of• Number of active UEs• Number of RRC connections• Radio resource utilization (GBR and non-GBR)• Data volumeData throughput• Radio conditions of the UEs to be offloaded and / or geographical location (which may include UE radio channel measurements of any involved cell)• QoS flows• A value that represents the energy cost / consumption (or energy savings / reduction) of the second network node.

[0132] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise an indication of how the offered potential load is reported. Non-limiting examples can be any one or a combination of:• Per cell or beam• Per network node• Per network slice• Per UE• Per UE-type (e.g., depending on the UE capabilities)• Per traffic type• As an average, median, minimum, maximum, percentile value.

[0133] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise an indication of the point of reference for understanding the reported offered potential load. For example, the first network node and the second network node may have different capabilities (e.g., available bandwidth); in this case, the same total data volume would represent a different average load in terms of radio resource utilization depending which network node serves the UEs. In a second example, consider that the potential offloaded UEs will experience different radio conditions at the first network node than at the second network node; in this case, the same total data volume would represent a different average data throughput depending which network node serves the UEs. In a third example, consider similar assumptions as in both previous examples; in this case, the same total number of active UEs could be served more efficiently in the first network node resulting in a different average number of active UEs than in the second network node. Non-limiting examples of the point of reference for understanding the reported potential load are:• From the point of view of the first network node• From the point of view of the second network node• From the point of view of a “standard” network node, e.g., pre-configured in the network nodes, or configured by another network node or an external system (e.g., OAM), or define in same standards (e.g., 3GPP, 0-RAN).

[0134] Any of the indications described in the previous three embodiments may not be explicitly included in the FIRST MESSAGE, but may instead be pre-configured in the network nodes,or configured by another network node or an external system (e.g., OAM), or define in same standards (e.g., 3GPP, 0-RAN).

[0135] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise an indication on proposed cell coverage changes relating to cells (or beams) managed by the second network node and / or the first network node. Non-limiting examples can be any one or a combination of• Cell (or beam) activation / deactivation• Changes in cell (or beam) output power• Changes in cell (or beam) shape• Changes in mobility settings (e.g., handover trigger changes)• Changes in antenna tilt• Changes in coverage state for one or more cells, and / or for one or more reference signal beams (e.g., a change in the value of the Cell Coverage State Information Element (IE), or a change in the value of the SSB Coverage State IE as defined in TS 38.423 vl7.5.0).

[0136] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise a list of requested cell coverage changes, with one or more requested changes per cell (or beam), where the changes may be considered as being applied simultaneously. For example, the list (“cell 1 : activation”, “cell 2: deactivation”, “cell 3: increase output power 10 dBm”) may be interpreted as cell 1 is requested to be activated, cell 2 is requested to be deactivated, and cell 3 is requested to increase its output power simultaneously.

[0137] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise multiple lists of requested cell coverage changes, with one or more changes per cell (or beam) per list, where the changes in each list may be considered as request to be applied (or that may be applied) simultaneously but each list corresponds to a different group of changes to consider independently. For example, the lists [(“cell 1 : activation”)], [(“cell 1 : activation”, “cell 2: increase output power 10 dBm”)] should be interpreted as two different options: i) cell 1 is requested to be activated, or ii) cell 1 is requested to be activated while cell 2 is requested to increase its output power simultaneously.

[0138] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise nested lists of requested cell coverage changes, with one or more requested changes per cell (or beam) per list. The requested changes in an inner list may be considered as applied simultaneously with the requested changes in the outer list. For example, the nested list [“cell 1 : activation”, (“cell 2: no change”, “cell 2: increase output power 10 dBm”)] may be interpreted as two different options: i) cell 1 is requested to be activated while cell 2 is requested to be left unchanged, or ii) cell 1 is requested to be activated while cell 2 is requested to increase its output power simultaneously.

[0139] the FIRST MESSAGE may comprise one or more identifiers that identify the proposed requested cell (or beam) changes. The mapping between the identifiers and the description of the requested cell (or beam) changes may be pre-configured in the network nodes, or agreed between the network nodes, or configured by another network node or an external system (e.g., OAM), or define in same standards (e.g., 3GPP, 0-RAN).

[0140] The FIRST MESSAGE may not contain an explicit description of the requested cell (or beam) changes, and the signaling of the FIRST MESSAGE may be an implicit indication that one or more previous cell (or beam) configurations are the proposed requested one.

[0141] The FIRST MESSAGE may comprise an indication of current value of energy related information at the first RAN node (e.g., an energy cost) and / or the predicted value of energy related information at the first RAN node (e.g., an energy cost) if the offered potential load is transferred from the first RAN node to the second RAN node.The SECOND MESSAGE

[0142] The SECOND MESSAGE may indicate the coverage change(s) to serve the offered potential load to be transferred from the first network node to the second network node.

[0143] The SECOND MESSAGE may comprise an indication of the one or more requested cell coverage changes that the second network node accepts and / or the one or more requested cell coverage changes that the second network node rejects.

[0144] The indication of acceptance or rejection for a specific requested cell coverage change may be implicit by the signaling or not of an acceptable potential load; in other words, signaling an acceptable potential load may be an implicit indication that the corresponding requested cell coverage change is accepted, while the absence of an acceptable potential load (or the signaling of an invalid value) may be an implicit indication that the corresponding requested cell coverage change is rejected.

[0145] The indication of acceptance for a specific requested cell coverage change and / or cell / reference signal beam activation may be complemented by metrics that indicate the energy consumption at the second RAN node in case the proposed configuration is adopted.

[0146] The indication of rejection for a specific requested cell coverage change and / or cell / reference signal beam activation may be complemented by metrics that indicate the energy consumption at the second RAN node in case the proposed configuration is adopted. Alternatively or additionally, the message may include new proposed cell coverage change and / or cell / reference signal beam activation options, together with an estimation of the energycost such alternative options could achieve if adopted. This allows the first network node to better understand the reasons of a cell coverage change and / or cell / reference signal beam activation rejection and adoption of a different configuration by the second RAN node.

[0147] The SECOND MESSAGE may comprise an indication of new or modified offered cell coverage changes relating to cells (or beams) managed by the second network node.

[0148] Embodiments related to the requested cell coverage changes described in relation to the FIRST MESSAGE may also apply to the SECOND MESSAGE in relation to the new or modified offered cell coverage changes.

[0149] The SECOND MESSAGE may comprise a request for the first network node to report to the second network node the estimated energy cost / consumption (or energy savings / reduction) that the transfer of load will achieve at the first network node. This information may be provided in the THIRD MESSAGE.

[0150] The SECOND MESSAGE may comprise a request for the first network node to report to the second network node, after the transfer of the potential load has been performed, performance values related to the changes in the load. These could be any of the possible values related to the offered potential load (i.e., what to report, how to report, and from which point of reference the values should be understood) described in relation to the FIRST MESSAGE. This information may be provided in the FOURTH MESSAGE.The THIRD MESSAGE

[0151] The THIRD MESSAGE may indicate the cell coverage modifications selected by the second network node due to the information received, at least in part, in the SECOND MESSAGE.

[0152] The THIRD MESSAGE may indicate an estimated energy cost / consumption (or energy savings / reduction) that the transfer of the offered potential load will achieve at the first network node.The FOURTH MESSAGE

[0153] The FOURTH MESSAGE may indicate performance values in the first network node related to the changes in cell coverage performed at the second network node. Non-limiting examples can be any one or a combination of:• UE performance metrics (e.g., throughput, delay, latency)• UE energy cost / consumptionNetwork node performance metrics (e.g., resource utilization, load)Network node energy cost / consumptionThe FIFTH MESSAGE

[0154] The FIFTH MESSAGE may indicate performance values in the second network node related to the changes in cell coverage performed at the second network node. The embodiments described for the FOURTH MESSAGE may apply to the FIFTH MESSAGE.Further description

[0155] The first network node may, when requesting changes in coverage for one or more cells of the second network node (and / or changes in coverage for one or more reference signal beams of the second network node), take into account historical (past) information, e.g., historical coverage information for the first network node, the second network, and / or one or more third network nodes. The historical coverage information may relate to, for example: the coverage state of cells / reference beams of the second network node when a certain load was transferred from the first network node to the second network node, energy related information concerning the second network node once a certain amount of load was transferred from the first network node to the second network node. The historical information may refer to previous transfer(s) of load from first network node to second network node when the cell / reference signal beams of the second network node were not activated. The historical information may refer to previous transfer of load from the first network node to the second network node and the cells / reference signal beams of the second network node were activated, and their respective coverage state(s) was the same as the current coverage state(s) - or alternatively different coverage state(s). The coverage state(s) may be signaled in the Cell Coverage State IE, or SSB Coverage State IE defined in TS 38.423 vl7.5.0. The first network node may use the past / historical information to determine / predict the coverage configuration(s) / state(s) of the cells of the second network node and / or of the first network node after the load is transferred from the first network node to the second network node.

[0156] The first network node and / or the second network node may, after the one or more cells and / or reference signal beams of the second network node have been (re)-activated (or after coverage of cells and / or reference signal beams of the second network node have been modified to accommodate the load from the first network node, and such load has been transferred from the first network node to the second network node), send to one or more third network nodes(e.g., network nodes neighboring the first network node, or network nodes neighboring the second network node) energy related information (e.g., the energy cost) resulting from the new configuration at the second network node (and optionally at the first network node) and the transfer of load from the first network node to the second network node. For example, the NG- RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE XnAP message may be extended with an Energy Cost information element (IE) signaled to a network node (e.g., a peer network node) to indicate the energy cost resulting from the newly adopted configuration at the first network node due to the load transferred to the second network node.

[0157] The FOURTH MESSAGE (from the first network node to the second network node) may be used to convey the energy related information from first network node to second network node. A similar FOURTH MESSAGE may be sent from the first network node to other network nodes (e.g., one or more third network nodes) not directly involved in the load transfer or the change in coverage.

[0158] The FIFTH MESSAGE (from the second network node to the first network node) may be used to convey the energy related information in the opposite direction (from second network node to first network node). A similar FIFTH MESSAGE may be sent from the second network node towards other network nodes not directly involved in the load transfer or the change in coverage.

[0159] Here below, embodiments are described that can cover the following use case: the gNB- CU of an NG-RAN1 determines to request for coverage change / activation of cells / beams of an NG-RAN2 when the gNB-CU detects that the energy cost at the NG-RAN1 is too high.

[0160] In some embodiments, before a first network node requests in the FIRST MESSAGE changes in coverage (including cell (re)-activation) for one or more cells / reference signal beams of a second network node due to transfer of potential load from the first network node to the second network node, a first function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB-CU) requests to a second function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB-DU) to provide offered potential load for a corresponding coverage change the first function of the first network node could request to the second network node. For instance, if the first network node determines that a certain load metric or energy related information (e.g., an energy cost) at the first network node is higher than a threshold value, this triggers the first network node to request a change in coverage for cell(s) / reference signal beam(s) of the second network node (including (re)- activation / (re)-enabling of currently de-activated / disabled cells / reference signal beams of the second network node, so that an offered potential load could be transferred from the firstnetwork node to the second network node. To do so, the gNB-CU of the first network node requests to one or more gNB-DUs of the first network node to report indications of potential load to be transferred, where the potential load is associated to the potential change in coverage for cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) of the second network node (including activation of cells(s) and / or reference signal beam(s)). The first function of the first network node may use such indications to determine the content of the FIRST MESSAGE.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB-CU) only indicates to the second function of the first network node (e.g., to a gNB-DU) an offered potential load and it requests to provide corresponding changes in coverage for cell / reference signal beam of the second network node (e.g., corresponding cell / SSB beam coverage state(s)) to request to the second network node. The second function of the first network node may respond with such corresponding changes in coverage, or with an alternative acceptable cell coverage state.

[0162] In some embodiments, a second function of the first network node (e.g., a gNB-DU) may provide indications of load corresponding to alternative coverage(s) for cell(s) / reference signal beam(s) of the second network node, together with such alternative coverage(s). Alternative coverage(s) for cell(s) / reference signal beam(s) of the first network node can also be provided.

[0163] Before the first network node requests for changes in coverage for one or more cells / reference signal beams of the second network node due to transfer to potential load from first network node to second network node, a first function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB-CU) may send a request to a second function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB- DU) requesting an estimated energy cost that corresponds to an offered potential load the first network node would like to transfer to the second network node. A second function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB-DU) may provide to the first function of the first network node (e.g., to the gNB-CU) an estimated energy cost that indicates a total energy cost, e.g., an energy cost that comprises the present energy cost and the estimated delta due to the planned offered potential load. In another option, the piece of information provided may be a delta energy cost (compared to the current value). In another option, the piece of information provided may include a list of “total energy cost” and / or a list “delta energy cost” corresponding to a list of “planned offered potential load”. The first function of the first network node may take the received information into account for determining the content of the FIRST MESSAGE.

[0164] In another embodiment for the second network node, upon receiving the FIRST MESSAGE, a first function of the second network node (e.g., the gNB-CU of the secondnetwork node) may request to a second function of the second network node (e.g., a gNB-DU) to obtain the estimated load the second network node can accept if the requested changes in coverage are executed. The second network node may further send this estimated load to the first network node. In one variation, the estimated load provided by the second function of the second network node may correspond to alternative changes in coverage at the second network node (i.e., different compared to the ones requested by the first network node). In this case, the second network node may send (e.g. in the SECOND MESSAGE), the estimated load together with the corresponding alternative changes in coverage.

[0165] The following embodiments may apply to a use case in which the first network node requests coverage change / activation of cells / beams of a second network node if the energy cost at the first network node is too high.

[0166] In one embodiment, a second function of a first network node (e.g., a gNB-DU of the first NG-RAN node) may determine that a measured (or predicted) energy related information (e.g., an energy cost) is / will be above a threshold value (alternatively below a threshold value, or between a first threshold and a second threshold values). Upon such determination, the second function of the first network node may send to a first function of the first network node (e.g., the gNB-CU of the first NG-RAN node) a SIXTH MESSAGE, to indicate or to request (the indication or the request being implicit or explicit), that a change in coverage (including (re)-activation) is preferred / requests for cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) of a second network node (e.g., a second NG-RAN node), due to the measured (or predicted) energy related information at the first network node. The SIXTH MESSAGE may also comprise indications of changes in coverage (including (re)-activation) for cells / reference signal beams of the first network node. The SIXTH MESSAGE may further comprise indications of potential load that could be transferred from the first network node to the second network node. This potential load corresponds to a change in coverage to be requested to the second network node. The first function of the first NG-RAN node may use this information to determine the content of the FIRST MESSAGE.

[0167] In a related embodiment, the second function of the first network node may receive from the first function of the first network node a SEVENTH MESSAGE comprising a request to report energy related information which the first function of the first network node uses for determining whether a request for changes in coverage (including (re)-activation) of cell(s) and / or reference signal beam(s) of the second network node.

[0168] Example implementations of the present disclosure are described in the following.Example implementation 1

[0169] In the following example implementation, the existing CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST and the CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE XnAP messages are extended (relative to 3 GPP TS 38.423 vl7.5.0) with elements to indicate:• in the request message: the coverage state of certain cells of the first RAN node and the amount of potential load that can be transferred to the cell(s) for which activation is requested. The request for activating a cell of the second RAN node is indicated by the message used, and the cells requested to be reactivated is indicated by its identifier, i.e., the NR Cell Global Identifier (CGI) and / or the E-UTRA CGI.• in the response message: the coverage state of the reactivated cell(s) (indicating an implicit acknowledgement of the request)

[0170] New elements are underlined.9.1.3.7 CELL ACTIVATION REQUESTThis message is sent by the NG-RAN nodei to the peer NG-RAN node2 to request a previously switched-off cell / s to be re-activated.Direction: NG-RAN nodei NG-RAN node2.9.1.3.8 CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSEThis message is sent by an NG-RAN node2 to a peer NG-RAN nodei to indicate that one or more cell(s) previously switched-off has (have) been activated.Direction: NG-RAN node2 NG-RAN nodei.Example implementation 2

[0171] In the following example implementation, a gNB-DU informs the controlling gNB-CU of certain selected coverage state(s) for cells and / or SS / PBCH block(s). A cause value is added to indicate that the reason for selecting the indicated coverage state(s) is due a potential load (offered potential load) to be transferred from the gNB-CU towards another NG-RAN node. An energy cost may also be included, to indicate a predicted energy cost associated to the selected coverage state(s). In the reported example, the information is provided by extending the existing Coverage Modification Notification IE in F1AP.9.3.1.213 Coverage Modification NotificationThis IE includes a list of cells and / or SS / PBCH block indexes with the corresponding coverage configuration selected by the gNB-DU.9.3.1.2 CauseThe purpose of the Cause IE is to indicate the reason for a particular event for the F1AP protocol.

[0172] Figure 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0173] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3 GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, thetelecommunication network 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 602 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 602, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.

[0174] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0175] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 600 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 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0176] The UEs 612 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 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 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 602.

[0177] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more hosts, such as host 616. 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 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) 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 608. 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).

[0178] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunication network 602, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services, for example, 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.

[0179] As a whole, the communication system 600 of Figure 6 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 MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS); Long 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.

[0180] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0181] In some examples, the UEs 612 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 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. 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. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0182] In the example illustrated in Figure 6, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 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 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 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 614 may bea content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0183] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 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 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 610b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0184] Figure 7 shows a UE 700. 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 camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0185] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-RangeCommunication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle- 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).

[0186] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a power source 708, a memory 710, a communication interface 712, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 7. 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.

[0187] The processing circuitry 702 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 710. The processing circuitry 702 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 702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 702 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 700 components, such as the memory 710, UE 700 functionality.

[0188] In the example, the input / output interface 706 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 700. 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, amouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the power source 708 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 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0190] The memory 710 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 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0191] The memory 710 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 embeddedUICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘ SIM card.’ The memory 710 may allow the UE 700 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 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0192] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712. The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 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 718 and / or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0193] In some embodiments, communication functions of the communication interface 712 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 / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0194] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, 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 severalsensors), 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).

[0195] 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 controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0196] 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 devices which are or which are embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, 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 on the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0197] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 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 otherequipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0198] 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.

[0199] Figure 8 shows a network node 800 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 nodes or 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)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g, 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0200] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g, in an 0-RAN access node) 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).

[0201] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or 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).

[0202] The network node 800 includes processing circuitry 802, a memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. The network node 800 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 800 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 800 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, 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 800.

[0203] The processing circuitry 802 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 800 components, such as the memory 804, network node 800 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figures 3 and / or Figure 4, and / or the signalling of the first network node or the second network node shown in Figure 3.

[0204] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814may 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 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0205] The memory 804 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), read-only 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 802. The memory 804 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 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and memory 804 is integrated.

[0206] The communication interface 806 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 806 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio front-end circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. Radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to an antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 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 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 820 and / or amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to theprocessing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0207] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818, instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio frontend circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0208] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0209] The antenna 810, communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 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 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 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.

[0210] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 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 808. As a further example, the power source 808 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.

[0211] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 8 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 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800.

[0212] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a host 900, which may be an embodiment of the host 616 of Figure 6, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 900 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 virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 900 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0213] The host 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input / output interface 906, a network interface 908, a power source 910, and a memory 912. 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 7 and 8, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 900.

[0214] The memory 912 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 914 and data 916, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 900 or data generated by the host 900 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 900 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 914 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), 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 914 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 900 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 914 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.

[0215] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1000 includes components defined by the 0-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0216] Applications 1002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1000 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0217] Hardware 1004 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 1006 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1008a and 1008b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1008), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1008.

[0218] The VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1006. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1002 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1008, 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.

[0219] In the context of NFV, a VM 1008 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 1008, and that part of hardware 1004 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 is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to the application 1002.

[0220] Hardware 1004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1004 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 1010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1002. In some embodiments, hardware 1004 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 1012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0221] Figure 11 shows a communication diagram of a host 1102 communicating via a network node 1104 with a UE 1106 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 612a of Figure 6 and / or UE 700 of Figure 7), network node (such as network node 610a of Figure 6 and / or network node 800 of Figure 8), and host (such as host 616 ofFigure 6 and / or host 900 of Figure 9) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 11.

[0222] Like host 900, embodiments of host 1102 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1102 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1102 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 1106 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1150 extending between the UE 1106 and host 1102. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1150.

[0223] The network node 1104 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1102 and UE 1106. The connection 1160 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 606 of Figure 6) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0224] The UE 1106 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1106 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 1106 with the support of the host 1102. In the host 1102, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1150 terminating at the UE 1106 and host 1102. 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 1150 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 1150.

[0225] The OTT connection 1150 may extend via a connection 1160 between the host 1102 and the network node 1104 and via a wireless connection 1170 between the network node 1104 and the UE 1106 to provide the connection between the host 1102 and the UE 1106. The connection 1160 and wireless connection 1170, over which the OTT connection 1150 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1102 and the UE 1106 via the network node 1104, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0226] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1150, in step 1108, the host 1102 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 1106. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1106 that shares data with the host 1102 without explicit human interaction. In step 1110, the host 1102 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1106. The host 1102 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1106. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1106 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1106. The transmission may pass via the network node 1104, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1112, the network node 1104 transmits to the UE 1106 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1102 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1114, the UE 1106 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1106 associated with the host application executed by the host 1102.

[0227] In some examples, the UE 1106 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1102. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1102. Accordingly, in step 1116, the UE 1106 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 1106. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1106 initiates, in step 1118, transmission of the user data towards the host 1102 via the network node 1104. In step 1120, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1104 receives user data from the UE 1106 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1102. In step 1122, the host 1102 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1106.

[0228] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1106 using the OTT connection 1150, in which the wireless connection 1170 forms the last segment.

[0229] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1102. As another example, the host 1102 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1102 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g.,controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1102 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1102 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 1102 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0230] 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 1150 between the host 1102 and UE 1106, 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 1102 and / or UE 1106. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1150 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 1150 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1104. 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 1102. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1150 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0231] 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 toinformation stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0232] 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.

[0233] The following groups of statements set out embodiments of the disclosure.Group A Embodiments1. A method performed by a first network node for distributing load, the method comprising: sending (302), to a second network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node; and receiving (304), from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer.2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the load transfer comprises a transfer of oneor more of: one or more user equipments, UEs; one or more active UEs; traffic; one or more radio interface connections; data; and one or more Quality of Service flows. The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the coverage of the second network node is provided by one or both of: one or more cells managed by the second network node; and one or more reference signal beams managed by the second network node. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the first message comprises one or both of: first information related to the load transfer; and a first request for information related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 4, wherein the first information related to the load transfer comprises one or both of: first information about a load to be transferred in the load transfer; and first information about a proposed coverage change at the first and / or second network node to support the load transfer. The method of embodiment 5, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises an indication of a size of the load to be transferred. The method of embodiment 6, wherein the indication of the size of the load to be transferred comprises one or more of: a number of user equipments, UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of Physical Resource Blocks, PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage. The method of any of embodiments 6-7, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises an indication that the size of the load to be transferred is provided for at least one of: per cell; per reference signal beam; per Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, area; per network node; per network slice; per user equipment, UE; per UE type; per traffic type; total for uplink, UL, and downlink, DL; for UL only; for DL only; per New Radio Unlicensed, NR-U, Channel; per Guaranteed BitRate, GBR, traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value. The method of any of embodiments 6-8, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises a point of reference for the indication of the size of the load to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 5-9, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 5-10, wherein the proposed coverage change at the first and / or second network node comprises a change in one or more of: cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell output power; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State; and Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, Coverage State. The method of any of embodiments 5-11, wherein the first information about the proposed coverage change comprises one or more of: an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node prior to the load transfer; and information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node after the load transfer. The method of embodiment 12, wherein the coverage configuration relates to one or more of: cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell outputpower; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State,' and Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, Coverage State. The method of any of embodiments 5-13, wherein the first information about the proposed coverage change comprises information about a plurality of alternative proposed coverage changes at the first and / or second network node to support the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 4-14, wherein the first request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of: a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer; a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative coverage change to support the load transfer; and a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative load to be transferred. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the second message comprises one or more of: second information related to the load transfer; and a second request for information related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 16, wherein the second information related to the load transfer comprises one or more of: a load transfer acceptance indication, wherein the load transfer acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed load transfers; a load transfer rejection indication, wherein the load transfer rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed load transfers;a reason for the load transfer rejection indication; an indication that the second network node cannot increase coverage of the second network node sufficiently to support the load transfer; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts rejects; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a coverage change acceptance indication, wherein the coverage change acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed coverage changes; a coverage change rejection indication, wherein the coverage change rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed coverage changes; a reason for the coverage change rejection indication; information about at least one alternative coverage change at the first and / or second network node proposed by the second network node to support the load transfer; and information about at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node. The method of embodiment 16 or 17, wherein the second information related to the load transfer comprises one or more of: an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; a coverage configuration of the second network node that the second network node accepts; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects;a reason for the rejection of the one or more loads to be transferred; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more proposed coverage changes; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the load transfer; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer. The method of embodiment 17 or 18, wherein the information about the at least one alternative coverage change proposed by the second network node comprises one or more of: an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which the load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which the load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node prior to the load transfer; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node after the load transfer; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the alternative proposed coverage change; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 17-19, wherein the information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node comprises an indication of a size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred.The method of embodiment 20, wherein the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred comprises one or more of: a number of UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of Physical Resource Blocks, PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage. The method of any of embodiments 20-21, wherein the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred is provided for at least one of: per cell; per reference signal beam; per Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, area; per network node; per network slice; per user equipment, UE; per UE-type; per traffic type; total for uplink, UL, and downlink, DL; for UL only; for DL only; per New Radio Unlicensed, NR-U, Channel; per Guaranteed Bit Rate, GBR, traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value. The method of any of embodiments 20-22, wherein the information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred comprises a point of reference for the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 16-23, wherein the second request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of: a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the load transfer; and a report after the load transfer has been performed comprising performance values. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the increase in coverage of the second network node for the load transfer is provided by one or more of: a reactivation of one or more inactive or deactivated reference signal beams managed by the second network node; a re-activation of one or more inactive or deactivated cells managed by the second network node; an increase in coverage of one or more active reference signal beams managed by the second network node; and an increase in coverage of one or more active cells managed by the second network node. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises exchanging further messages with the second network node until a load to betransferred and / or a proposed coverage change is accepted by both the first network node and the second network node. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises determining, based on at least the second message, not to perform the load transfer. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises: after receiving the second message, determining a coverage change for the load transfer based on at least the second message. The method of embodiment 28, wherein the method further comprises: sending, to the second network node, a third message comprising an indication of the determined coverage change. The method of embodiment 29, wherein the third message further comprises a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the determined coverage change and load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 28-30, wherein the method further comprises executing one or more coverage changes at the first network node according to the determined coverage change; and performing the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 28-31, wherein the method further comprises: after the load transfer has been performed, sending, to the second network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising first performance values related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 32, wherein the first performance values comprise one or more of: a user equipment, UE, performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the first network node; and an energy consumption metric for the first network node. The method of any of embodiments 28-33, wherein the method further comprises: after the load transfer has been performed, receiving, from the second networknode, a fourth message comprising a report comprising second performance values related to the load transfer.35. The method of embodiment 34, wherein the second performance values comprise one or more of: a user equipment, UE, performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the second network node; and an energy consumption metric for the second network node.36. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the first message is comprised in a cell activation request message.37. The method of embodiment 36, wherein the cell activation request message is a CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST XnAP message.38. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the second message is comprised in a cell activation response message.39. The method of embodiment 38, wherein the cell activation response message is a CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE XnAP message.40. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group B Embodiments41. A method performed by a second network node for distributing load, the method comprising: receiving (402), from a first network node, a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node; and sending (404), to the first network node, a second message related to the load transfer.42. The method of embodiment 41, wherein the load transfer comprises a transfer of oneor more of: one or more user equipments, UEs; one or more active UEs; traffic; one or more radio interface connections; data; and one or more Quality of Service flows. The method of embodiment 41 or 42, wherein the coverage of the second network node is provided by one or both of: one or more cells managed by the second network node; and one or more reference signal beams managed by the second network node. The method of any of embodiments 41-43, wherein the first message comprises one or both of: first information related to the load transfer; and a first request for information related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 44, wherein the first information related to the load transfer comprises one or both of: first information about a load to be transferred in the load transfer; and first information about a proposed coverage change at the first and / or second network node to support the load transfer. The method of embodiment 45, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises an indication of a size of the load to be transferred. The method of embodiment 46, wherein the indication of the size of the load to be transferred comprises one or more of: a number of user equipments, UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of Physical Resource Blocks, PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage. The method of any of embodiments 46-47, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises an indication that the size of the load to be transferred is provided for at least one of: per cell; per reference signal beam; per Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, area; per network node; per network slice; per user equipment, UE; per UE type; per traffic type; total for uplink, UL, and downlink, DL; for UL only; for DL only; per New Radio Unlicensed, NR-U, Channel; perGuaranteed Bit Rate, GBR, traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value. The method of any of embodiments 46-48, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises a point of reference for the indication of the size of the load to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 45-49, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 45-50, wherein the proposed coverage change at the first and / or second network node comprises a change in one or more of: cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell output power; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State; and Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, Coverage State. The method of any of embodiments 45-51, wherein the first information about the proposed coverage change comprises one or more of: an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node prior to the load transfer; and information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node after the load transfer. The method of embodiment 52, wherein the coverage configuration relates to one or more of: cell activation state; reference signal beam activation state; cell outputpower; reference signal beam output power; cell shape; reference signal beam shape; cell mobility settings; reference signal beam mobility settings; cell handover trigger settings; reference signal beam handover trigger settings; cell antenna tilt; reference signal beam antenna tilt; cell coverage state; reference signal beam coverage state; Cell Coverage State,' and Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, Coverage State. The method of any of embodiments 45-53, wherein the first information about the proposed coverage change comprises information about a plurality of alternative proposed coverage changes at the first and / or second network node to support the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 44-54, wherein the first request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of: a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer; a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative coverage change to support the load transfer; and a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative load to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 41-55, wherein the second message comprises one or more of: second information related to the load transfer; and a second request for information related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 56, wherein the second information related to the load transfer comprises one or more of: a load transfer acceptance indication, wherein the load transfer acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed load transfers; a load transfer rejection indication, wherein the load transfer rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed load transfers;a reason for the load transfer rejection indication; an indication that the second network node cannot increase coverage of the second network node sufficiently to support the load transfer; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts rejects; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a coverage change acceptance indication, wherein the coverage change acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed coverage changes; a coverage change rejection indication, wherein the coverage change rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed coverage changes; a reason for the coverage change rejection indication; information about at least one alternative coverage change at the first and / or second network node proposed by the second network node to support the load transfer; and information about at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node. The method of embodiment 56 or 57, wherein the second information related to the load transfer comprises one or more of: an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; a coverage configuration of the second network node that the second network node accepts; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects;a reason for the rejection of the one or more loads to be transferred; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more proposed coverage changes; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the load transfer; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer. The method of embodiment 57 or 58, wherein the information about the at least one alternative coverage change proposed by the second network node comprises one or more of: an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which the load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which the load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node prior to the load transfer; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first and the second network node after the load transfer; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the alternative proposed coverage change; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 57-59, wherein the information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node comprises an indication of a size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred.The method of embodiment 60, wherein the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred comprises one or more of: a number of UEs; a number of radio interface connections; an amount of data; one or more properties of one or more UEs to be transferred; one or more Quality of Service flows; a number of Physical Resource Blocks, PRBs; and an amount or percentage of scheduling usage. The method of any of embodiments 60-61, wherein the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred is provided for at least one of: per cell; per reference signal beam; per Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, area; per network node; per network slice; per user equipment, UE; per UE-type; per traffic type; total for uplink, UL, and downlink, DL; for UL only; for DL only; per New Radio Unlicensed, NR-U, Channel; per Guaranteed Bit Rate, GBR, traffic; per non-GBR traffic; total for GBR and non GBR; and as a percentile value. The method of any of embodiments 60-62, wherein the information about the at least one alternative load to be transferred comprises a point of reference for the indication of the size of the at least one alternative load to be transferred. The method of any of embodiments 56-63, wherein the second request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of: a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the load transfer; and a report after the load transfer has been performed comprising performance values. The method of any of embodiments 41-64, wherein the increase in coverage of the second network node for the load transfer is provided by one or more of: a reactivation of one or more inactive or deactivated reference signal beams managed by the second network node; a re-activation of one or more inactive or deactivated cells managed by the second network node; an increase in coverage of one or more active reference signal beams managed by the second network node; and an increase in coverage of one or more active cells managed by the second network node. The method of any of embodiments 41-65, wherein the method further comprises exchanging further messages with the fist network node until a load to be transferredand / or a proposed coverage change is accepted by both the first network node and the second network node. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the first network node, a third message comprising an indication of a determined coverage change for the load transfer. The method of embodiment 67, wherein the third message further comprises a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the determined coverage change and the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 67-68, wherein the method further comprises executing one or more coverage changes at the second network node according to the determined coverage change; and performing the load transfer. The method of any of embodiments 67-69, wherein the method further comprises: after the load transfer has been performed, receiving, from the first network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising first performance values related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 70, wherein the first performance values comprise one or more of: a user equipment, UE, performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the first network node; and an energy consumption metric for the first network node. The method of any of embodiments 67-71, wherein the method further comprises: after the load transfer has been performed, sending, to the first network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising second performance values related to the load transfer. The method of embodiment 72, wherein the second performance values comprise one or more of: a user equipment, UE, performance metric; a UE energy consumption; a network node performance metric for the second network node; and an energyconsumption metric for the second network node.74. The method of any of embodiments 41-73, wherein the first message is comprised in a cell activation request message.75. The method of embodiment 74, wherein the cell activation request message is a CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST XnAP message.76. The method of any of embodiments 41-75, wherein the second message is comprised in a cell activation response message.77. The method of embodiment 76, wherein the cell activation response message is a CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE XnAP message.78. The method of any of embodiments 41-77, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group C Embodiments79. A first network node for load balancing, the first network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.80. A second network node for load balancing, the second network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.81. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a networknode in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A or B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.82. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.83. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group A or B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.84. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.85. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.86. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; anda network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A or B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.87. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and / or the UE.88. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A or B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.89. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.90. The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.91. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group A or B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.92. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a first network node (800) for distributing load, the method comprising: sending (302, 504), to a second network node (800), a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node; and receiving (304, 506), from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the load transfer comprises a transfer of one or more of one or more user equipments, UEs (700); one or more active UEs; traffic; one or more radio interface connections; data; and one or more Quality of Service flows.

3. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the first message comprises one or both of first information related to the load transfer; and a first request for information related to the load transfer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first information related to the load transfer comprises one or both of first information about a load to be transferred in the load transfer; and first information about a proposed coverage change at the first network node and / or the second network node to support the load transfer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises one or more of an indication of a size of the load to be transferred; a point of reference for the indication of the size of the load to be transferred; and a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred.

6. The method of any of claims 4-5, wherein the first information about the proposed coverage change comprises one or more of an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which load is proposed to be transferred;an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node prior to the load transfer; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node after the load transfer; and information about a plurality of alternative proposed coverage changes at the first network node and / or the second network node to support the load transfer.

7. The method of any of claims 3-6, wherein the first request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of a prediction of at least one of a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer; a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative coverage change to support the load transfer; and a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative load to be transferred.

8. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the second message comprises one or more of second information related to the load transfer; and a second request for information related to the load transfer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second information related to the load transfer comprises one or more of a load transfer acceptance indication, wherein the load transfer acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed load transfers; a load transfer rejection indication, wherein the load transfer rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed load transfers;a reason for the load transfer rejection indication; an indication that the second network node cannot increase coverage of the second network node sufficiently to support the load transfer; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a coverage change acceptance indication, wherein the coverage change acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed coverage changes; a coverage change rejection indication, wherein the coverage change rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed coverage changes; a reason for the coverage change rejection indication; information about at least one alternative coverage change at the first network node and / or the second network node proposed by the second network node to support the load transfer; information about at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; a coverage configuration of the second network node that the second network node accepts; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more loads to be transferred; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second networknode rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more proposed coverage changes; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the load transfer; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer.

10. The method of any of claims 8-9, wherein the second request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of: a predicted energy saving at the first network node due to the load transfer; and a report after the load transfer has been performed comprising performance values.

11. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the method further comprises determining, based on at least the second message, not to perform the load transfer.

12. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the method further comprises: after receiving the second message, determining a coverage change for the load transfer based on at least the second message.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises: sending (508), to the second network node, a third message comprising an indication of the determined coverage change.

14. The method of any of claims 12-13, wherein the method further comprises executing (510) one or more coverage changes at the first network node according to the determined coverage change; and performing the load transfer.

15. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein the method further comprises: after the load transfer has been performed, sending (512), to the second network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising first performance values related to the load transfer; and / or after the load transfer has been performed, receiving (514), from the second network node, a fifth message comprising a report comprising second performancevalues related to the load transfer.

16. A method performed by a second network node (800) for distributing load, the method comprising: receiving (402, 504), from a first network node (800), a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node; and sending (404, 506), to the first network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the load transfer comprises a transfer of one or more of: one or more user equipments, UEs (700); one or more active UEs; traffic; one or more radio interface connections; data; and one or more Quality of Service flows.

18. The method of any of claims 16-17, wherein the first message comprises one or both of: first information related to the load transfer; and a first request for information related to the load transfer.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first information related to the load transfer comprises one or both of: first information about a load to be transferred in the load transfer; and first information about a proposed coverage change at the first network node and / or the second network node to support the load transfer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first information about the load to be transferred comprises one or more of: an indication of a size of the load to be transferred; a point of reference for the indication of the size of the load to be transferred; and a plurality of alternative loads to be transferred.

21. The method of any of claims 19-20, wherein the first information about the proposed coverage change comprises one or more of:an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the first network node from which load is proposed to be transferred; an identifier for one or more cells or reference signal beams managed by the second network node to which load is proposed to be transferred; information about a proposed change in coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node prior to the load transfer; information about a coverage configuration of one or both of the first network node and the second network node after the load transfer; and information about a plurality of alternative proposed coverage changes at the first network node and / or the second network node to support the load transfer.

22. The method of any of claims 18-21, wherein the first request for information related to the load transfer comprises a request for one or more of a prediction of at least one of a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer; a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative coverage change to support the load transfer; and a proposal by the second network node for at least one alternative load to be transferred.

23. The method of any of claims 16-22, wherein the second message comprises one or more of second information related to the load transfer; and a second request for information related to the load transfer.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the second information related to the load transfer comprises one or more of a load transfer acceptance indication, wherein the load transfer acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed load transfers;a load transfer rejection indication, wherein the load transfer rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed load transfers; a reason for the load transfer rejection indication; an indication that the second network node cannot increase coverage of the second network node sufficiently to support the load transfer; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; second information about one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a coverage change acceptance indication, wherein the coverage change acceptance indication indicates that the second network node accepts one or more proposed coverage changes; a coverage change rejection indication, wherein the coverage change rejection indication indicates that the second network node rejects one or more proposed coverage changes; a reason for the coverage change rejection indication; information about at least one alternative coverage change at the first network node and / or the second network node proposed by the second network node to support the load transfer; information about at least one alternative load to be transferred proposed by the second network node; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node accepts; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node accepts; a coverage configuration of the second network node that the second network node accepts; an identifier for one or more loads to be transferred that the second network node rejects;a reason for the rejection of the one or more loads to be transferred; an indication of one or more proposed coverage changes that the second network node rejects; a reason for the rejection of the one or more proposed coverage changes; a prediction of energy consumption at the second network node after the load transfer; and a prediction of at least one of: a change in coverage at the second network node to support the load transfer and a change in energy consumption at the second network node to support the load transfer.

25. The method of any one of claims 16-24, wherein the method further comprises: receiving (508), from the first network node, a third message comprising an indication of a determined coverage change for the load transfer.

26. The method of any of claims 16-25, wherein the method further comprises: after the load transfer has been performed, receiving (512), from the first network node, a fourth message comprising a report comprising first performance values related to the load transfer; and / or after the load transfer has been performed, sending (514), to the first network node, a fifth message comprising a report comprising second performance values related to the load transfer.

27. A first network node (800) for load balancing, the first network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the first network node to: send (302, 504), to a second network node (800), a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node; and receive (304, 506), from the second network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

28. The first network node of claim 27, the processing circuitry further configured to cause the first network node (800) to perform the method of any of claims 2-15.

29. A first network node (800) configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-15.

30. A second network node (800) for load balancing, the second network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the second network node to: receive (402, 504), from a first network node (800), a first message indicating that the first network node is seeking a load transfer from the first network node to the second network node by increasing a coverage of the second network node; and send (404, 506), to the first network node, a second message related to the load transfer.

31. The second network node of claim 30, the processing circuitry further configured to cause the second network node to perform the method of any of claims 17-26.

32. A second network node (800) configured to perform the method of any of claims 16- 26.

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