Handling qoe measurement configurations

Abstract

Embodiments include methods (200) performed by a user equipment, UE (600), configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration, where the QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network. Such methods (200) include, following the UE (600) registering or initiating camping in a second network, releasing (202) the QoE measurement configuration, and discarding (202) any measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE (600) registering or camping in the second network.

Description

[0001] Handling QoE measurement configurations

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to methods performed by a user equipment, methods performed by a radio access network node, and to a user equipment and to a radio access network node.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Overview of the QoE framework

[0006] Legacy QoE measurements - Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements, also referred to as “application layer measurements”, have been specified for LTE, UMTS and were recently specified for 5G NR in the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Rel-17. The purpose of the QoE measurements is to measure the experience of the end user using certain applications. Currently the QoE measurements are specified and supported for DASH streaming, MTSI (Mobility Telephony Service for IMS) services, and VR.

[0007] The solutions in LTE and UMTS are similar with the overall principles as follows. QoE Measurement Collection (QMC) enables configuration of application layer measurements in the UE and transmission of QoE measurement result files, commonly referred to as “QoE reports”, to the network by means of RRC signalling. An application layer measurement configuration (also called QoE measurement configuration or QoE configuration) that the RAN receives from the QAM system, or the CN, is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to a UE in a downlink RRCReconfiguration message. An application layer measurement report (also called QoE report) that the UE Access Stratum (UE AS) or UE RRC layer receives from the UE's higher layer (application layer) is encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message, MeasurementAppLayerReport. The RAN then forwards the QoE report to a Measurement Collector Entity (MCE).

[0008] In 3GPP Rel-17 “Study on NR QoE management and optimizations for diverse services” with the purpose to study solutions for QoE measurements in NR was finalized and concluded. According to this item, QoE management in NR will not just collect the QoE parameters of streaming services but also consider the typical performance requirements of diverse services (e.g. AR / VR and URLLC, of which at least VR was covered in 3GPP Rel-17). Based on requirements of services, the NR study also included more adaptive QoE management schemes that enable network optimization to satisfy user experience for diverse services.

[0009] The configuration data related to QoE measurements (in standard specifications typically referred to as application layer measurements) consists of a service type indication, an indication of an area in which the measurements are to be performed (denoted area scope), an IP address of the entity the collected measurement results (i.e. the QoE reports) should be sent to (often referred to as a MCE, spelled out as Measurement Collector Entity or Measurement Collection Entity) and a set of instructions of which type of measurements that should be performed and details of how these measurements are to be performed. These instructions are intended for the application layer in the UE and are placed in a “container” which cannot be read and interpreted by the network entities handling it, e.g., forwarding it to the UE, as well as the UE Access Stratum. The currently specified service types are MTSI and streaming service (DASH), and in 3GPP Rel- 17, VR was added. An area scope is defined in terms of cells or network related areas. In UMTS, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells, a list of routing areas, or a list of tracking areas. In LTE, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells or a list of tracking areas or a list of PLMNs. In NR, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells (a list of NCGIs) or a list of tracking areas (a list of TACs) or a list of PLMNs in which the measurements may proceed.

[0010] QoE, and in particular, the QoE configuration, comes in two flavours: management-based (m-based) QoE configuration and signaling-based (s-based) QoE configuration. In both cases the QoE configuration originates in the QAM system or some other administrational entity, e.g., dealing with customer satisfaction. All of these entities are in this document referred to as the QAM system (where the QAM system also contains further entities).

[0011] With the m-based QoE, the QAM system is typically interested in general QoE statistics from a certain area, configured as an area scope. The m-based QoE configuration is sent directly from the QAM system to the RAN nodes controlling cells that are within the area scope. Each RAN node then selects UEs that are within the area scope (and also fulfils any other relevant condition, such as supporting the concerned application / service type) and sends the m-based QoE configuration to these UEs.

[0012] With the s-based QoE, the QAM system is interested in collecting QoE measurement results from a specific UE, e.g., because the user of the UE has filed a complaint. The QAM system sends the s-based QoE configuration to the HSS (in EPS / LTE) or UDM (in 5GS / NR), which forwards the QoE configuration to the UE’s current core network node (CN), e.g. an MME in EPS / LTE or an AMF in 5G / NR. The CN then forwards the s-based QoE configuration to the RAN node that serves the concerned UE and the RAN forwards it to the UE.

[0013] Forwarded to the UE are the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions. The UE is not aware of whether a received QoE configuration is m-based or s-based. In legacy systems, the QoE framework is integrated with the Trace functionality and a Trace ID is associated with each QoE configuration. In NR, the QoE functionality is logically separated from the Trace functionality, but it will still partly reuse the Trace signaling mechanisms. In NR, and possibly in LTE, a globally unique QoE reference (formed of MCC+MNC+QMC ID, where the QMC ID is a string of 24 bits) will be associated with each QoE configuration. The QoE reference is included in the container with measurement instructions and also sent to the RAN (i.e. , the gNB in NR). For the communication between the gNB and the UE, the QoE reference is replaced by a shorter identifier denoted as measConfigAppLayerld, which is locally unique within a UE (i.e., there is a one-to-one mapping between a measConfigAppLayerld and a QoE reference for each QoE configuration provided to a UE. The measConfigAppLayerld is stored in the UE Access Stratum and also forwarded in an AT Command (which is the type of instructions used in the communication between the UE’s modem part and the UE’s application layer) together with the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions.

[0014] Reports with collected QoE reports are sent from the UE application layer to the UE Access Stratum, which forwards them to the RAN, which in turn forwards them to the MCE. These QoE reports are placed in a “container”, which is uninterpretable for both the UE Access Stratum and the RAN. QoE reporting can be configured to be periodic or only to be sent at the end of an application session. Furthermore, the RAN can instruct the UE to pause QoE reporting, e.g. in case the cell / gNB is in a state of overload.

[0015] The RAN is not automatically aware of when an application session with an associated QoE measurement session is ongoing, and the UE Access Stratum is also not automatically aware of this. To alleviate this session “start” / ”stop” indications which are sent from the application layer in the UE to the UE AS and from the UE AS to the RAN were introduced. A session “stop” indication may be explicit or may be implicit in the form of a QoE report sent when the application session and the associated QoE measurement session are concluded.

[0016] The RAN may decide to release a QoE configuration in a UE at any time, as an implementation-based decision. Typically, it is done when the UE has moved outside a configured area scope.

[0017] One opportunity provided by legacy solutions is also to be able to keep the QoE measurement for the whole session, even during a handover situation. It is also discussed to let the UE continue with the QoE measurements on an ongoing application session until the application session ends, even if the UE in the meantime moves out of the configured area scope.

[0018] RRC states in 5G / NR - In 5G / NR, a UE may be in either of three different RRC states: RRC_CONNECTED state, RRCJNACTIVE state and RRCJDLE state. RRC_CONNECTED state is the state normally used when the UE is actively communicating. RRCJNACTIVE state and RRCJDLE states are designed to allow the UE to save energy compared to when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0019] RRCJDLE state is the state in which the UE consumes the least energy, When the UE is transferred to RRCJDLE both the UE and the gNB delete the information related to the UE, a.k.a. the UE context, and the gNB thereby saves resources, but it comes at the cost of comparatively long network access time (e.g. transition to RRC_CONNECTED state).

[0020] RRCJNACTIVE state has properties that puts it in between the RRC_CONNECTED state and RRCJDLE state. The purpose of the RRCJN ACTIVE state is to reduce the signaling overhead over the radio and network interface and to improve the UE access latency (compared to RRCJDLE state) as well as the UE energy consumption. In this state, the Core Network (CN) still regards the UE as connected, thus the CN-RAN connection for the UE is kept active although the RRC connection between the gNB and the UE is suspended. The gNB which maintains the connection to the CN while the UE is in RRCJNACTIVE state is called the Anchor gNB. In order to reduce radio interface signaling at connection establishment, the UE context information is kept in the UE and in the Anchor gNB, which enables the UE to resume its RRC connection when it is paged or has UL data or signaling to send. When the CN has user data or control data to send to the UE, the data is sent to the Anchor gNB which then initiates paging of the UE (a.k.a. RAN initiated paging).

[0021] Support for QoE measurements when the UE is in RRC IDLE state - In Rel-18, the following was agreed so far, with respect to QoE measurements when the UE is in RRCJDLE state: ************************************************************************************************************* Both signalling based and management based QoE measurements in RRC INACTIVE / IDLE mode shall be supported in Rel-18.

[0022] UE handles area scope checking for QoE measurements in RRC INACTIVE / IDLE mode.

[0023] Whether UE AS layer or UE APP layer handle the area scope is to be discussed based on RAN2 progress. Support MBS broadcast service INACTIVE / IDLE QoE first.

[0024] UE shall keep the QoE configuration for MBS broadcast service configured in RRC_CONNECTED even when UE switches to RRCJDLE and RRCJNACTIVE.

[0025] If the UE receives the configuration in RRC connected state, a common QoE configuration mechanism is used to support QoE measurement configuration pertaining to MBS broadcast service for all RRC states, where the Rel-17 QoE configuration mechanism is adopted as baseline.

[0026] Whether UE can only report the INACTIVE / IDLE QoE reports to gNB when the UE has entered to the RRC_CONNECTED due to other reasons is pending to RAN2 discussion.

[0027] RAN3 discusses the alignment between logged MDT and MBS QoE when basic solution for MBS QoE has been defined first.

[0028] RAN3 continues to discuss how to handle the QoE reports sent at new gNB when UE was in RRCJDLE. No enhancements on paging for the purpose of configuring UE with legacy QoE measurement for the RRCJDLE / INACTIVE UEs.

[0029] Legacy paging only for legacy QoE purpose is up to implementation.

[0030] Use the same set of parameters in QMC configuration for all RRC states.

[0031] RAN3 assumes that there is no need to request QoE measurements per UE RRC state.

[0032] WA: MBS service area can be expressed by QoE area scope IE, FFS on whether any enhancements of this IE are needed.

[0033] The RRC state info when UE collects the uploaded QoE data shall not be reported in QoE report for MBS BC. MBS MC can be discussed later.

[0034] MBS BC QoE measurements can proceed after the UE switches from RRCJDLE / RRCJNACTIVE to RRC_CONNECTED.

[0035] RAN3 to discuss which configuration information related to QoE measurement needs to be available in the new gNB.

[0036] At least the following QoE configuration related information for MBS broadcast service should be available in the new gNB:

[0037] QoE reference

[0038] Measurement Collection Entity Information, the detail information can be further discussed

[0039] RAN3 shall discuss which of the other QoE configuration info for MBS BC QoE shall be available in the new gNB.

[0040] Measurement Configuration Application Layer ID (RRC level ID)

[0041] Service Type

[0042] Container for Application Layer Measurement Configuration (config container)

[0043] MDT Alignment Information

[0044] Area Scope of QMC (area scope)

[0045] S-NSSAI Information (slicing info)

[0046] RVQoE Information

[0047] QoE measurement type (signalling based, management based)

[0048] FFS whether to support RVQoE measurements in RRCJDLE and RRCJNACTIVE FFS whether new gNB can re-configure MBS BC QoE.

[0049] *************************************************************************************************************

[0050] SUMMARY

[0051] There currently exist certain challenge(s). The RAN3 working group in 3GPP is currently discussing the support for QoE measurements for MBS service when the UE is in RRC IDLE or INACTIVE state. If a UE is configured to perform QoE measurements in IDLE state, 3GPP agreed that the UE will retain the QoE measurement configuration during the measurement execution. On the other hand, one problem that 3GPP is addressing is that, when the UE transits to RRCJDLE, according to current specifications, the gNB that served the UE prior to transition to IDLE state shall delete the UE context (i.e. , the information associated with the UE). That means that the gNB deletes all the information it has about the QoE measurement configurations of the UE. Then, when the UE comes back from IDLE to CONNECTED state, it may connect to another gNB, which, will have no information about UE’s QoE measurement configurations.

[0052] To overcome this issue, 3GPP agreed that, upon UE’s transition to IDLE, the network’s instance of the QoE measurement configuration for the UE will not be deleted, but, instead, stored elsewhere than in the gNB. The discussion about where to store the network’s instance of QoE measurement configuration is ongoing. The ground principle in the discussion is that the stored information provided to the new gNB will ensure continuity of an ongoing QoE measurement for MBS service even if the UE transits between RRC states during the application session (i.e., during the measurement). Restoration of the network’s instance of the QoE measurement configuration for the UE will also serve to enable the gNB to forward QoE measurement results received from the UE to the correct MCE.

[0053] In some scenarios, the UE in RRC IDLE or Inactive or connected state may move / register to a new PLMN that is not included among the home or registered or equivalent PLMNs in which the UE received the QoE configurations. The essential properties of the scenario are given below.

[0054] • The new PLMN may be a non-equivalent PLMN.

[0055] • The UE application layer may continue to perform and log the QoE measurements in the non-equivalent PLMN.

[0056] • The UE upon returning back to the original network (home PLMN or the registered PLMN or the equivalent PLMNs of the registered PLMN in which the UE received the QoE configurations) may report the QoE measurements collected in the non- equivalent PLMN to the original network.

[0057] It is unclear how to ensure that UEs do not collect and report the measurements collected in a non-equivalent PLMN to the network that configured the QoE configurations.

[0058] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Methods performed by the UE upon moving from a first network (that is broadcasting one or more PLMNs) to a second network (that is broadcasting a non-equivalent PLMN), or upon de-registration from the first network, while having at least one QoE configuration received from the first network, are provided.

[0059] Some embodiments provide methods that enable the handling of stored QoE configurations and associated reports (if stored at the UE).

[0060] • In a first embodiment, the UE can release all the QoE configurations and reports received from the first network when entering the second network.

[0061] • In another embodiment, the UE can release all the QoE configurations but stores the QoE reports so that the UE could report them back to the first network.

[0062] • In another embodiment, the UE can stop / pause performing and collecting the QoE measurements but keep / store the QoE reports until it goes back to the original network.

[0063] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may assure that a UE does not collect QoE measurements from a non-equivalent PLMN and does not report them to another non-equivalent PLMN.

[0064] Some embodiments of the present disclosure include methods (e.g., procedures) performed by a user equipment, UE, that is configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration. The QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network. These exemplary methods can include, following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network: releasing the QoE measurement configuration, and discarding any measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network.

[0065] Other embodiments include exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) performed by a radio access network, RAN, node. These exemplary methods can include sending, to a User Equipment, UE, configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network, one or more of the following: (i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network; and / or (ii) an indication of whether or not to discard any measurement reports obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network, following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network.

[0066] Other embodiments include UEs and RAN nodes that are configured to perform the operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0067] Other embodiments include UEs comprising a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor whereby said UE is operative to perform the operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods performed by a UE described herein.

[0068] Other embodiments include RAN nodes comprising a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor whereby said RAN node is operative to perform the operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods performed by a RAN node described herein. Other embodiments also include non-transitory, computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with such UEs and RANs, configure the same to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0069] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0070] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0071] Fig. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a UE or wireless device in accordance with some embodiments;

[0072] Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating another method performed by a UE or wireless device in accordance with some embodiments;

[0073] Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a RAN network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0074] Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating another method performed by a RAN network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0075] Fig. 5 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0076] Fig. 6 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

[0077] Fig. 7 shows a RAN network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0078] Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and

[0079] Fig. 9 is a signalling diagram showing application layer measurement reporting.

[0080] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] 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. Additional information may also be found in the document(s) provided in the Appendix.

[0082] • In the context of the present disclosure, a network node can be a RAN node, a gNB, eNB, en-gNB, ng-eNB, gNB-CU, gNB-DU, gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, eNB-CU, eNB-CU-CP, eNB-CU-UP, lAB-node, lAB-donor DU, lAB-donor-CU, IAB-DU, IAB-MT, O-CU, O-CU-CP, O-CU- UP, O-DU, O-RU, O-eNB, a Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC), a Real- Time RAN Intelligent Controller (RT-RIC). • In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “application layer measurement configuration”, "application measurement configuration”, “QoE measurement configuration”, “QoE configuration”, “QoE measurement and reporting configuration” and “QMC configuration” are used interchangeably. But note that the “QMC configuration file” is not an equivalent term, but instead refers to the part of the QoE configuration consisting of an XML file containing instructions of QoE metrics to be collected etc.

[0083] • In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “QoE report” and “QoE measurement report” are used interchangeably.

[0084] • In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “QoE configuration” and “QoE measurement configuration” are used interchangeably.

[0085] • In the context of the present disclosure, the term “network’s instance of QoE configuration” refers to the information that the gNB when serving the UE in RRC_CONNECTED, the information referring to those QoE measurement configurations that are eligible to be executed in RRCJDLE mode. According to the 3GPP agreements, the network’s instance of QoE configuration is to be stored while the UE is in RRCJDLE mode.

[0086] • In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “access stratum”, “UE AS” and “radio layer” are used interchangeably when referring to a UE.

[0087] • Embodiments described herein apply to NR as well as future RATs such as 6G, with the IAB-MT a parent backhaul link terminating function and the IAB-DU an access service providing function of a relay node.

[0088] • “Sending reports to a node” may or may not mean that the said node is the consumer, i.e. , the end destination of the reports.

[0089] • In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “node”, “network node”, “gNB” and “RAN node” are used interchangeably herein.

[0090] • In the context of the present disclosure, the terms “session” and “application session” are used interchangeably.

[0091] • The embodiments described herein are described on an example of QoE measurements for MBS, but is equally applicable to QoE measurements for any service type that can be collected in IDLE state.

[0092] • The embodiments described herein are described on an example where the session is ongoing while the UE transits from RRC_CONNECTED to RRCJDLE and back to RRC_CONNECTED, but it applies even if the measurements have started while the UE was in RRCJDLE.

[0093] • In the description of certain embodiments, it is sometimes mentioned that the UE is not allowed to send QoE reports in a certain PLMN, e.g., a new PLMN. This also means that the UE is not allowed to indicate availability of stored QoE report(s) in that PLMN. Conversely, if the UE is allowed to send QoE reports in a certain PLMN, this means that the UE is also allowed to indicate availability of QoE report(s) in that PLMN.

[0094] • In the description of certain embodiments, it is described that a PLMN or a list of PLMNs is sent to the UE, or that a PLMN is indicated. In such expressions, “PLMN” refers to a PLMN ID, which consists of a MCC and an MNC.

[0095] • In the context of the present disclosure, “sending a report / configuration to a PLMN” means sending this information to a gNB whose cell serving the UE is in that PLMN.

[0096] • In the context of the present disclosure, sending, from a UE, a network’s instance of a QoE configuration (which the UE has stored on behalf of the network while the UE was in RRCJDLE state) may include a prior indication (from the UE to the network) of availability of such a network’s instance of a QoE configuration at the UE. Upon reception of such an indication, the network may or may not choose to request the UE to send the network’s instance of the QoE configuration. If this is how the sending of the network’s instance of the QoE configuration is performed, then, if the UE is not allowed to send a network’s instance of a QoE configuration in a certain PLMN, e.g., a new PLMN, this also means that the UE is not allowed to indicate availability of a stored such network’s instance of a QoE configuration. Conversely, if the UE is allowed to send the network’s instance of the QoE configuration in a certain PLMN, this means that the UE is also allowed to indicate availability of the network’s instance of the QoE configuration to the network in that PLMN. Note also that it is possible that the sending of the network’s instance of a QoE configuration to the network only involves sending of the network’s instance of the QoE configuration without a prior indication of availability of this network’s instance of the QoE configuration.

[0097] • In this document, the following terms are regarded as equivalent: RRCJDLE, IDLE, RRCJDLE state, IDLE state, RRCJDLE mode, IDLE mode, idle state, idle mode. Furthermore, the following terms are regarded as equivalent: RRCJNACTIVE, INACTIVE, RRC_ INACTIVE state, INACTIVE state, RRC_ INACTIVE mode, INACTIVE mode, inactive state, inactive mode. Similarly, the following terms are regarded as equivalent: RRC_CONNECTED, CONNECTED, RRC_ CONNECTED state, CONNECTED state, RRC_ CONNECTED mode, CONNECTED mode, connected state, connected mode.

[0098] Fig. 1 depicts a method 100 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 100 may be performed by a User Equipment (UE) or wireless device (e.g. the UE 512 or UE 600 as described laterwith reference to Figs. 5 and 6 respectively). The User Equipment (UE) orwireless device may perform the method 100 in response to executing suitably formulated computer readable code. The computer readable code may be embodied or stored on a computer readable medium, such as a memory chip, optical disc, or other storage medium. The computer readable medium may be part of a computer program product.

[0099] In these embodiments, the UE is configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration. The QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network (such as a first PLMN). Following (after) the de-registration of the UE from the first network, and / or following (after) the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network (such as a second PLMN), the method 100 begins at step 102 with the UE releasing the QoE measurement configuration; and / or pausing / stopping obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration. The second network may not be equivalent to the first network (e.g. the second network may be a non-equivalent PLMN to the first network). The method 100 therefore prevents a UE from collecting obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration from a network for which the QoE measurement configuration does not apply.

[0100] The QoE measurement configuration may be released, and / or the obtaining of measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration may be paused / stopped, based on an indication provided by a network node. This indication may be part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

[0101] The method 100 may further comprise, following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in the second network: storing one or more measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE de-registering from the first network, and / or prior to UE registering or camping in the second network; or discarding the one or more measurement reports. The one or more measurement reports may be stored, or the one or more measurement reports may be discarded, based on an indication provided by a network node. This indication may be part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

[0102] For example, in some embodiments, the UE releases the QoE measurement configuration and discards the one or more measurement reports relating to the first network. In these embodiments, the method 100 therefore prevents a UE from collecting obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration from, and reporting these measurements to, a network for which the QoE measurement configuration does not apply.

[0103] In some embodiments, the UE releases the QoE measurement configuration and stores the one or more measurement reports relating to the first network. The UE may then report these one or more measurement reports to the first network at a later time, without obtaining any further measurements relating to the second network (to which the QoE measurement configuration does not apply).

[0104] In some embodiments, the method 100 may further comprise, after storing the one or more measurement reports, and after the UE re-registers or initiates camping in the first network: sending, to the first network, the one or more measurement reports.

[0105] In some embodiments, the UE pauses / stops obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration, and stores the one or more measurement reports relating to the first network. The UE may then report these one or more measurement reports to the first network at a later time, without obtaining any further reports based on measurements being performed in the second network (to which the QoE measurement configuration does not apply), and may additionally resume obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration in the first network at a later time.

[0106] In some embodiments, the method 100 may further comprise, after storing the one or more measurement reports, responsive to pausing / stopping obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration, and following the UE re-registering or initiating camping in the first network: resuming obtaining measurements in the first network in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration.

[0107] The one or more measurement reports may be stored, or the one or more measurement reports may be discarded, a time period after the UE de-registers from the first network and / or after the UE registers or initiates camping in a second network. Additionally or alternatively, the QoE measurement configuration may be released, or the obtaining of measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration may be paused / stopped, at a time period after the UE de-registers from the first network and / or after the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network. In other words, the triggering of these actions may be delayed from the time at which the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network. This delay may prevent the unnecessary discarding of QoE measurement configurations and / or measurements in situations where the UE switches back to the first network relatively quickly after switching to the second network.

[0108] Fig. 2 depicts a method 200 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 200 may be performed by a User Equipment (UE) or wireless device (e.g. the UE 512 or UE 600 as described laterwith reference to Figs. 5 and 6 respectively). The User Equipment (UE) orwireless device may perform the method 200 in response to executing suitably formulated computer readable code. The computer readable code may be embodied or stored on a computer readable medium, such as a memory chip, optical disc, or other storage medium. The computer readable medium may be part of a computer program product. In these embodiments, the UE is configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration. The QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network (such as a first PLMN). Following (after) the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network (such as a second PLMN), the method 200 begins at step 202 with the UE releasing the QoE measurement configuration; and discarding any measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network.

[0109] The second network may not be equivalent to the first network (e.g. the second network may be a non-equivalent PLMN to the first network).

[0110] The QoE measurement configuration may be released, based on an indication provided by a network node. This indication may be part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

[0111] The measurement reports may be discarded, based on an indication provided by a network node. This indication may be part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

[0112] In the method 200, the UE releases the QoE measurement configuration and discards the one or more measurement reports relating to the first network. In these embodiments, the method 200 therefore prevents a UE from collecting (obtaining) measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration from, and reporting these measurements to, a network for which the QoE measurement configuration does not apply.

[0113] The measurement reports may be discarded, a time period after the UE registers or initiates camping in a second network. Additionally or alternatively, the QoE measurement configuration may be released, at a time period after the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network. In other words, the triggering of these actions may be delayed from the time at which the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network. This delay may prevent the unnecessary discarding of QoE measurement configurations and / or measurements in situations where the UE switches back to the first network relatively quickly after switching to the second network.

[0114] Fig. 3 depicts a method 300 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 300 may be performed by a RAN network node (e.g. the RAN network node 510 or RAN network node 700 as described later with reference to Fig. 5 and 7 respectively). The RAN network node may perform the method 300 in response to executing suitably formulated computer readable code. The computer readable code may be embodied or stored on a computer readable medium, such as a memory chip, optical disc, or other storage medium. The computer readable medium may be part of a computer program product. The method 300 begins at step 302 with sending, to a User Equipment, UE, configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network, one or more of the following:

[0115] (i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the UE de-registering from a first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network; and / or

[0116] (ii) an indication of whether or not to pause / stop obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration following the UE de-registering from a first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network; and / or

[0117] (iii) an indication of whether or not to store one or more measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration following the UE de-registering from a first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network, the one or more measurement reports obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network; and / or

[0118] (iv) an indication of whether or not to discard the one or more measurement reports, following the UE de-registering from a first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network.

[0119] Fig. 4 depicts a method 400 in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 400 may be performed by a RAN network node (e.g. the RAN network node 510 or RAN network node 700 as described later with reference to Fig. 5 and 7 respectively). The RAN network node may perform the method 400 in response to executing suitably formulated computer readable code. The computer readable code may be embodied or stored on a computer readable medium, such as a memory chip, optical disc, or other storage medium. The computer readable medium may be part of a computer program product.

[0120] The method 400 begins at step 402 with sending, to a User Equipment, UE, configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network (for example, a first PLMN), one or more of the following:

[0121] (i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network; and / or

[0122] (ii) an indication of whether or not to discard measurement reports obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network, following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network (for example, a second PLMN).

[0123] This indication may be part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration. The second network may not be equivalent to the first network (e.g. the second network may be a non-equivalent PLMN to the first network).

[0124] Further embodiments performed by the UE are set out below. These embodiments are to be read and understood in the context of the methods 100 and 200 set out with respect to Figures 1 and 2.

[0125] Further embodiments performed by the network node are also set out below. These embodiments are to be read and understood in the context of the methods 300 and 400 set out with respect to Figures 3 and 4.

[0126] In particular, steps 1-4 described below are to be read and understood in the context of the methods set out with respect to Figures 1 to 4.

[0127] These embodiments may apply in scenarios in which a UE in connected state in a first network with registered PLMN, receives at least one QoE configuration associated to the services that may be running in any RRC state i.e. , the UE may need to log the QoE measurements in any RRC state.

[0128] The UE having QoE configuration(s) may perform the following independent actions:

[0129] • The UE may de-register from the first network to move to a second network (nonequivalent PLMN) when the UE is in connected state, while being configured with the QoE configuration.

[0130] • The UE may transit to the RRC IDLE state and then camp in a second network nonequivalent PLMN while being configured with the QoE configuration

[0131] Step 1 : A UE in RRC_CONNECTED state receives from the old gNB a QoE measurement configuration (e.g., for MBS service), according to which it should execute QoE measurements in RRC_CONNECTED, RRC_IN ACTIVE and RRCJDLE states. As a part of the measurement configuration, the UE receives a list of PLMNs in which it should execute measurements and / or to which it may send QoE reports and / or a stored network’s instance of the QoE configuration. These PLMNs are herein referred to as the equivalent PLMNs. (Note: a list of PLMNs in which the UE should execute measurements is referred to as the PLMN target in TS 28.405, v18.2.0)

[0132] • In one variant, the UE receives one list of equivalent PLMNs in which it is allowed to execute QoE measurements and is allowed to send the reports to these PLMNs.

[0133] • In another variant, the UE receives two lists of PLMNs. The first list contains PLMNs in which the UE is allowed to execute measurements, and the second list contains the PLMNs to which it is allowed to send the reports.

[0134] In another variant, the UE receives two lists of PLMNs. The first list contains PLMNs in which the UE is allowed to execute measurements, and the second list contains the PLMNs to which it is allowed to send the reports and the stored network’s instance of the QoE configuration.

[0135] In another variant, the UE receives three lists of PLMNs. The first list contains PLMNs in which the UE is allowed to execute measurements, the second list contains the PLMNs to which it is allowed to send the reports, and the third list contains the PLMNs to which it is allowed to send the stored network’s instance of the QoE configuration. In another variant, the UE receives two lists of PLMNs. The first list contains PLMNs to which the UE is allowed to send the reports and the second list contains the PLMNs to which the UE is allowed to send the stored network’s instance of the QoE configuration.

[0136] In one variant, the UE receives one PLMN list, containing the PLMNs in which the UE is allowed only to send the reports.

[0137] In one variant, the UE receives one PLMN list, containing the PLMNs in which the UE is allowed only to measure, but not to send the reports (i.e., it needs to store the reports).

[0138] In one variant, the UE receives one PLMN list, containing the PLMNs in which the UE is allowed only to send the stored network’s instance of the QoE configuration.

[0139] In one variant, the list(s) are identical to the PLMN list in the area scope (e.g., in the Area Scope for QMC IE in TS 38.413 v17.4.0) that the RAN node receives from the QAM. In another variant, the “reporting list” is a subset of the PLMN list in the area scope.

[0140] In one variant, the UE receives a list of equivalent PLMNs not included in the Area Scope for QMC IE in TS 38.413 v17.4.0, where it is allowed to continue to execute measurements, but not to send the reports.

[0141] In one variant, the UE receives a list of equivalent PLMNs not included in the Area Scope for QMC IE in TS 38.413 v17.4.0, where it is not allowed to continue to execute measurements, and it is not allowed to send the reports.

[0142] In one variant, the UE receives an indication to continue executing measurements when it moves to any equivalent PLMN

[0143] In one variant, the UE receives an indication to not report any QoE / RVQoE measurements when moving to any non-equivalent PLMN

[0144] In one variant, the UE is instructed to not report any QoE configuration information received by then RAN at any time (or as alternative, any QoE configuration information received by the RAN when it was released to RRCJDLE) towards any equivalent PLMN.

[0145] • In one variant, the UE is instructed to not report any QoE configuration information received by the RAN at any time (or as alternative, any QoE configuration information received by the RAN when it was released to RRCJDLE) towards any non-equivalent PLMN

[0146] • In one variant, the UE is instructed to not report any QoE configuration information received by the RAN at any time (or as alternative, any QoE configuration information received by the RAN when it was released to RRCJDLE) towards any equivalent PLMN that is not in the list of Equivalent-PLMNs included in the Area Scope.

[0147] • In one variant, the UE receives from the network the network’s instance of QoE measurement configuration, to be stored while the UE is in RRCJDLE mode. This can alternatively be done in Step 2 or 3.

[0148] • In one variant, the UE receives a PLMN list, containing the PLMNs in which the UE is allowed to send the network’s instance of QoE measurement configuration after the UE returns to RRC_CONNECTED. This list may be the same list as any of the above lists, or a separate list.

[0149] • In one variant, for each entry in the list of PLMNs to which the reports may be sent, the network also indicates a separate identifier of the MCE to which the gNB should forward the reports, e.g., the MCE ID or an MCE URI or the MCE IP address.

[0150] • In one variant, the receives the PLMN list(s) as a part of, or together with, the network’s instance of QoE measurement configuration.

[0151] • In one variant, instead of receiving a PLMN list, the UE receives a network or gNB identifier, identifying the network or gNB to which the UE is allowed to send the network’s instance of the QoE configuration and / or the QoE reports. The network identifier can e.g. be used to identify a certain operator or a certain network vendor.

[0152] Step 2: The UE starts the application session subject to above measurement configuration and starts QoE measurements. This can occur while the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED, RRCJNACTIVE or RRCJDLE state. Furthermore, it may occur before or after the UE has moved to the new PLMN. It is also possible that the UE moves to, and transits to RRC_CONNECTED state in the new PLMN, and then transits back to RRCJNACTIVE or RRCJDLE state in the new PLMN, and then starts the application session subject to the above measurement configuration and starts the QoE measurements, and then returns to RRC_CONNECTED state again in the new PLMN.

[0153] This step is optional. However, if it is not performed, this means that there will be no stored QoE measurement reports to send (or not to send) in the new PLMN.

[0154] Step 3 Method-A (camping on a non-equivalent PLMN in IDLE state): The UE performs transition to RRCJDLE state (this step may in some cases be performed before step 2). The application session and QoE measurement may be ongoing when the UE is released to RRCJDLE state, but the application session and the QoE measurement session may be started after the transition to RRCJDLE state too (see also step 2). The UE stores the collected QoE reports.

[0155] UE camps in the second network with a non-equivalent PLMN when being in IDLE state, and upon camping in a non-equivalent PLMN the UE may perform one of the below actions:

[0156] • In an embodiment the UE releases some / all the QoE configurations and reports received from the first network. o UE may indicate to the upper layers (e.g., application layer) to release the QoE configurations and reports.

[0157] • In another embodiment the UE releases some / all the QoE configurations but stores the QoE reports so that the UE could report them back to the first network. o UE may indicate to the upper layers (e.g., application layer) to release the QoE configurations and keep / store the reports.

[0158] • In another embodiment the UE stops / pause performing and collecting the QoE measurements but keeps / stores the QoE configurations until it goes back to the original network so it could resume the QoE measurements in the first network. o UE may indicate to the upper layers (e.g., application layer) to stop / pause the QoE measurement collection.

[0159] In an embodiment the UE action may perform one of the above actions based on the configurations provided by the network node i.e. , the network node may inform the UE to either release the QoE configuration or keep the configuration so that UE could resume the QoE configuration upon moving back to the first network. Such configuration to handle the QoE measurement configuration / report can be provided as part of the QoE configuration.

[0160] Step 3 Method-B (deregistration from the first network to move to register in the second non-equivalent network): The UE performs de-registration in the first network over NAS layer.

[0161] Upon performing de-registration the UE may perform one of the following actions.

[0162] • In an embodiment the UE releases all the QoE configurations and reports received from the first network. o UE may indicate to the upper layers (e.g., application layer) to release the QoE configurations and reports.

[0163] • In another embodiment the UE releases all the QoE configurations but stores the QoE reports so that the UE could report them back to the first network. o UE may indicate to the upper layers (e.g., application layer) to release the QoE configurations and keep / store the reports.

[0164] • In another embodiment the UE stops / pause performing and collecting the QoE measurements but keeps / stores the QoE reports until it goes back to the original network. o UE may indicate to the upper layers (e.g., application layer) to stop / pause the QoE measurement collection.

[0165] • In one embodiment the NAS layer informs the AS layer of the de-registration in the first network node. Further UE actions may be triggered in the AS layer such as the embodiments described in Method A.

[0166] In an embodiment the UE action may perform one of the above actions based on the configurations provided by the network node i.e. , the network node may inform the UE to either release the QoE configuration or keep the configuration so that UE could resume the QoE configuration upon moving back to the first network. Such configuration to handle the QoE measurement configuration / report can be provided as part of the QoE configuration.

[0167] Delayed triggering of actions in Method-A and Method-B: Above, Method-A and Method-B have been described wherein the UE triggers different actions upon camping on a second network or deregister from the first network.

[0168] In one embodiment the UE will trigger the actions described in Method A and Method B (e.g. release QoE configurations and / or discard measurements) a time T after entering the second network or after deregistering from the first network. For example, the UE may trigger the actions after having camped on the second network for at least T = 5 minutes. If the UE re-enters the first network or re-registers to the first network before the time T has passed, the UE will refrain from performing those actions.

[0169] The time T may be configured in the UE, e.g. by the first network, or it may be pre-configured e.g. on a SIM-card.

[0170] This delayed trigger of the actions has the benefit that if there is a coverage hole in the first network the UE may be forced to switch to the second network but the coverage hole may be small and the UE may soon be re-entering the coverage of the first network. If the UE triggers the actions immediately upon entering the second network / deregistering from the first network, the UE may discard QoE measurements / etc. unnecessarily.

[0171] The time T may be defined as a timeToTrigger, i.e. as a time from when the UE enters the new PLMN until it considers it to be fully registered to the new network as far as the QoE measurements are concerned. This is to avoid releasing and reconfiguring measurements at PLMN area borders.

[0172] Triggering of actions in Method-A and Method-B based on area check: In existing procedures, the UE only checks the area of the QoE measurements when the measurements start and after the measurements have been started they continue until the session in the application layer is completed, i.e. no further check of the area is done. In order to utilize the actions described in Method-A and Method-B the UE may perform check of the area also after the measurements have started. The area check may e.g. be done related to the PLMN, so that the UE keeps track of when the PLMN changes. The UE may be configured or instructed to keep track of PLMN changes. There may also be more detailed checks of the area upon mobility, e.g. at cell changes or TA (Tracking Area) changes, which may be used to utilize the embodiments described herein.

[0173] UE capability signalling: The UE may indicate to the network that it is capable of handling the QoE configurations and reporting according to any of the embodiments and / or variants described herein.

[0174] • The UE may indicate its capability in the form of ENUMERATED indication type, e.g., “two PLMN lists supported”.

[0175] • Alternatively, the capability of supporting the different variants described herein may be indicated in the form of a bitmap, where each bit corresponds to one variant. A bit value of “1” may mean that the variant is supported and value “0” may mean that it is not supported, or vice versa.

[0176] Fig. 5 shows an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0177] In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 506, which includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as access network nodes 510a and 510b (which are interchangeably referred to as RAN network nodes 510 herein), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point (AP). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a RAN network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 502 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 502, including one or more network nodes 510 and / or core network nodes 508.

[0178] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O- Cll user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) (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 A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , 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.

[0179] The access network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices (also referred to interchangeably herein as user equipment (UE)), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 506 over one or more wireless connections. The access network nodes 510 may be, for example, access points (APs) (e.g. radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g. radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and New Radio (NR) NodeBs (gNBs)).

[0180] Unless otherwise indicated, the general term ‘network node’ as used herein refers to access network nodes 510 and core network nodes 508.

[0181] 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 500 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 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0182] The wireless devices / UEs 512 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 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the access network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 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 502.

[0183] In the depicted example, the core network 506 connects the access network nodes 510 to one or more hosts, such as host 516. 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 506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g. core network node 508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the wireless devices / UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. 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).

[0184] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 516 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.

[0185] As a whole, the communication system 500 of Fig. 5 enables connectivity between the wireless devices / UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2ndGeneration (2G), 3rdGeneration (3G), 4thGeneration (4G), 5thGeneration (5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g. 6thGeneration (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.

[0186] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0187] In some examples, the UEs 512 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 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-radio access technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved- UTRA (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0188] In the example illustrated in Fig. 5, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g. UE 512c and / or 512d) and access network nodes (e.g. access network node 510b). In some examples, the hub 514 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 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 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 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 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 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy Internet of Things (loT) devices.

[0189] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g. UE 512c and / or 512d), and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 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 510b. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0190] Fig. 6 shows a wireless device or UE 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0191] 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 wireless device / 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 (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0192] A wireless device / UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may 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).

[0193] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 6. 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.

[0194] The processing circuitry 602 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 610. The processing circuitry 602 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 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 602 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 600 components, such as the memory 610, to provide UE 600 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to cause the UE 602 to perform the methods 100 and 200 as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

[0195] In the example, the input / output interface 606 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 600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g. a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0196] In some embodiments, the power source 608 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 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0197] The memory 610 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 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0198] The memory 610 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 Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) and / or integrated SIM (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to offload 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 610, which may be or comprise a device- readable storage medium.

[0199] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 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 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g. optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g. antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0200] In some embodiments, communication functions of the communication interface 612 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) or other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) 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, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0201] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g. once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g. to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g. when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g. a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g. a live video feed of a patient).

[0202] 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.

[0203] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are 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 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 600 shown in Fig. 6.

[0204] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0205] 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.

[0206] Fig. 7 shows an access network node 700 or RAN network node 700 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0207] As used herein, access network node or RAN network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other RAN network nodes or equipment or core network nodes, in a telecommunication network. Examples of access network nodes include, but are not limited to, access network nodes such as APs (e.g. radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g. radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), Open RAN (O-RAN) nodes or components of an O- RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0208] 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 RAN network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such 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).

[0209] Other examples of access 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).

[0210] The RAN network node 700 includes processing circuitry 702, a memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. The RAN network node 700 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 RAN network node 700 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 RAN network node 700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g. separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g. a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The RAN network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into RAN network node 700, 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 RAN network node 700.

[0211] The processing circuitry 702 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 RAN network node 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to cause the RAN network node to perform the methods 300 and 400 as described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

[0212] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0213] The memory 704 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 702. The memory 704 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 702 and utilized by the RAN network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and memory 704 is integrated.

[0214] The communication interface 706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signalling and / or data between network nodes, the access network, the core network, and / or a UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.

[0215] The communication interface 706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 710. Radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 720 and amplifiers 722. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to an antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 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 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 720 and / or amplifiers 722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0216] In certain alternative embodiments, the access network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718, instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0217] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the RAN network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0218] The antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 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 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 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.

[0219] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of RAN network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g. at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the RAN network node 700 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 708. As a further example, the power source 708 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.

[0220] Embodiments of the RAN network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 7 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 RAN network node 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the RAN network node 700 and to allow output of information from the RAN network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the RAN network node 700.

[0221] Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0222] In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, a wireless device / UE, a core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g. a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 800 includes components defined by the Open-RAN (O-RAN) Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0223] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 800 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0224] Hardware 804 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 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808a and 808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0225] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0226] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of hardware 804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802.

[0227] Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signalling can be provided with the use of a control system 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0228] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g. UEs, RAN network nodes, core network node, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a 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.

[0229] 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.

[0230] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the scope of the disclosure. Various exemplary embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

[0231] Embodiments of the techniques and apparatus described herein also include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated embodiments:

[0232] 1 . A method performed by a user equipment, UE, wherein the UE is configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration, and wherein the QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network, the method comprising: following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network: releasing the QoE measurement configuration; and / or pausing / stopping obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration.

[0233] 2. The method of embodiment 1 , further comprising, following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in the second network: storing one or more measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network; or discarding the one or more measurement reports.

[0234] 3. The method of embodiment 2, wherein the one or more measurement reports are stored, or the one or more measurement reports are discarded, a time period after the UE registers or initiates camping in a second network. 4. The method according to embodiment 2 or 3, wherein the method further comprises: after storing the one or more measurement reports, and after the UE re-registers or initiates camping in the first network: sending, to the first network, the one or more measurement reports.

[0235] 5. The method of any of embodiments 2, 3 or 4, wherein the one or more measurement reports are stored, or the one or more measurement reports are discarded, based on an indication provided by a network node.

[0236] 6. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the QoE measurement configuration is released, and / or the obtaining of measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration is paused / stopped, based on an indication provided by a network node.

[0237] 7. The method of embodiment 5 or 6, wherein the indication provided by the network node is part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

[0238] 8. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the first network is a first Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN, and / or the second network is a second PLMN.

[0239] 9. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the second network is non-equivalent to the first network.

[0240] 10. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein, prior to the UE de-registering from the first network and / or prior to the UE registering or initiating camping in the second network, the method further comprises: obtaining measurements in the first network in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration.

[0241] 11 . The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the QoE measurement configuration is released, or the obtaining of measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration is paused / stopped, at a time period after the UE de-registers from the first network and / or after the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network. 12. The method according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the method further comprises: responsive to pausing / stopping obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration, and following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE re-registering or initiating camping in the first network: resuming obtaining measurements in the first network in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration.

[0242] 13. A method performed by a radio access network, RAN, node, the method comprising: sending, to a User Equipment, UE, configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network, one or more of the following:

[0243] (i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network; and / or

[0244] (ii) an indication of whether or not to pause / stop obtaining measurements in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network; and / or

[0245] (iii) an indication of whether or not to store one or more measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network, the one or more measurement reports obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network; and / or

[0246] (iv) an indication of whether or not to discard the one or more measurement reports following the de-registration of the UE from the first network and / or following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network.

[0247] 14. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method of any of embodiments 1-13.

[0248] 15. A user equipment, UE, configured to perform the method of any of embodiments 1-12. 16. A user equipment, UE, comprising a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor whereby said UE is operative to perform the method of any of embodiments 1-12.

[0249] 17. A radio access network, RAN, node, configured to perform the method of embodiment 13.

[0250] 18. A radio access network, RAN, node comprising a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor whereby said RAN node is operative to perform the method of embodiment 13.

[0251] 19. A user equipment, UE, comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of embodiments 1-12; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0252] 20. A radio access network, RAN, node, comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the RAN node to perform any of the steps of embodiment 13; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0253] 21. A user equipment, UE, comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of embodiments 1- 12; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. REFERENCES

[0254] 1. RAN3#117-e Chair Notes (https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / TSG_RAN / WG3_lu / TSGR3_117-e / lnbox / Drafts / Chairs_Notes / RAN3_117-e_agenda_20220825_EOM1.zip) 2. RAN3#117-bis-e Chair Notes (https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / TSG_RAN / WG3_lu / TSGR3

[0255] 117bis-e / lnbox / Drafts / Chairs_Notes / RAN3_117bis-e_agenda_20221018_EOM1.zip)

[0256] 3. RAN3#118 Chair Notes (https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / TSG_RAN / WG3_lu / TSGR3

[0257] 118 / lnbox / Drafts / Chairs_Notes / RAN3_118_agenda_20221118_E0M.zip)

[0258] 4. RAN3#119 Chair Notes (https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / TSG_RAN / WG3_lu / TSGR3 119 / 1 nbox / Drafts / Chairs_Notes / RAN3_119_agenda_20230303_EGM.zip)

[0259] APPENDIX

[0260] A non-limiting example implementation of handling QoE configuration and measurement is shown in the following excerpt from the TS 38.331.

[0261] 5.7.16 Application layer measurement handling (including reporting and releaseing)

[0262] 5.7.16.1 General

[0263] The purpose of this procedure is to send application layer measurement reports to the network.

[0264] Fig. 9 - Fig. 5.7.16.1-1 shows application layer measurement reporting.

[0265] 5.7.16.2 Initiation

[0266] A UE capable of application layer measurement reporting in RRC CONNECTED may initiate the procedure when configured with application layer measurement, i.e. when appLayerMeasConfig and SRB4 and / or SRB5 have been configured by the network.

[0267] Upon initiating the procedure, the UE shall:

[0268] 1> for each measConfigAppLayerld received from upper layers:

[0269] 2> if the UE AS has received application layer measurement report container from upper layers which has not been transmitted; and

[0270] 2> if the application layer measurement reporting has not been suspended for the measConfigAppLayerld associated with the application layer measurement report container according to clause 5.3.5.13d:

[0271] 3> set the measReportAppLayerContainer in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the received value in the application layer measurement report container;

[0272] 2> set the measConfigAppLayerld in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the value of the measConfigAppLayerld received together with application layer measurement report information;

[0273] 2> if session start or stop information has been received from upper layers for the measConfigAppLayerld.

[0274] 3> set the appLayerSessionStatus in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the received value of session start or stop information;

[0275] 2> if RAN visible application layer measurement report has been received from upper layers:

[0276] 3> for each appLayerBufferLevel value in the received RAN visible application layer measurement report:

[0277] 4> set the appLayerBufferLevel values in the appLayerBufferLevelList in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the buffer level values received from the upper layer in the order with the first appLayerBufferLevel value set to the newest received buffer level value, the second appLayerBufferLevel value set to the second newest received buffer level value, and so on until all the buffer level values received from the upper layer have been assigned or the maximum number of values have been set according to appLayerBufferLevel, if configured; 3> set the playoutDelayForMediaStartup in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the received value of playout delay for media startup in the RAN visible application layer measurement report, if any;

[0278] 3> for each PDU session ID value indicated in the received RAN visible application layer measurement report, if any:

[0279] 4> set the PDU-SessionlD field in the pdu-SessionldList in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the indicated PDU session ID value;

[0280] 4> for each QoS Flow ID value indicated in the received RAN visible application layer measurement report associated with the PDU Session ID, if any:

[0281] 5> set the QFI field associated with the PDU session ID to the indicated QoS Flow ID value.

[0282] 1> if the encoded RRC message is larger than the maximum supported size of one PDCP SDU specified in TS 38.323 [5]:

[0283] 2> if the RRC message segmentation is enabled based on the field rrc-SegAllowed received in appLayer e asCon fig :

[0284] 3> initiate the UL message segment transfer procedure as specified in clause 5.7.7 taking the field reportinginstruction in appLayerMeasConfig, if configured, into account;

[0285] 2> else:

[0286] 3> discard the RRC message;

[0287] 1> else:

[0288] 2> submit the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to lower layers for transmission taking the the field reportinginstruction in appLayerMeasConfig, if configured, into account upon which the procedure ends.

[0289] 5.7.16.1 Release of application layer Measurement Configuration and reports

[0290] 5.7.16.2 General

[0291] The purpose of this procedure is to release the QoE measurement configuration as well as the logged QoE measurement information.

[0292] 5.7.16.3 Initiation

[0293] The UE shall initiate the procedure upon upon deregistration or camping / registering in a nonequivalent PLMN.

[0294] The UE shall:

[0295] 1> if stored, discard the QoE measurement configuration as well as the QoE measurement information

[0296] 1> inform the upper layers to, if stored, discard the QoE measurement configuration as well as the QoE measurement information

[0297]

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method (200) performed by a user equipment, UE, wherein the UE is configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration, and wherein the QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network, the method (200) comprising: following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network: releasing (202) the QoE measurement configuration; and discarding (202) any measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network.

2. The method (200) of claim 1 , wherein the measurement reports are discarded a time period after the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network.

3. The method (200) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the measurement reports are discarded based on an indication provided by a network node.

4. The method (200) of any preceding claim, wherein the QoE measurement configuration is released based on an indication provided by a network node.

5. The method (200) of claim 3 or 4, wherein the indication provided by the network node is part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

6. The method (200) of any preceding claim, wherein the first network is a first Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN, and / or the second network is a second PLMN.

7. The method (200) of any preceding claim, wherein the second network is non-equivalent to the first network.

8. The method (200) of any preceding claim, wherein prior to the UE registering or initiating camping in the second network, the method (200) further comprises: obtaining measurements in the first network in accordance with the QoE measurement configuration.

9. The method (200) of any preceding claim, wherein the QoE measurement configuration is released at a time period after the UE registers or initiates camping in the second network.

10. A method (400) performed by a radio access network, RAN, node, the method (400) comprising: sending (402), to a User Equipment, UE, configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network, one or more of the following:(i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network;(ii) an indication of whether or not to discard any measurement reports obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network, following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network.

11. The method (400) of claim 10, wherein the indication is part of, or contained in, the QoE measurement configuration.

12. The method (400) of claim 10 or 11 , wherein the first network is a first Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN, and / or the second network is a second PLMN.

13. The method (400) of any of claims 10-12, wherein the second network is non-equivalent to the first network.

14. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method (200, 400) of any of claims 1-13.

15. A user equipment, UE (600), configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration, and wherein the QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network, the UE (600) comprising a processor (602) and a memory (610), said memory (610) containing instructions executable by said processor (602) whereby said UE (600) is operative to: following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network: release the QoE measurement configuration; and discard any measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network.

16. The UE (600) of claim 15, wherein the UE (600) is further operative to perform the method of any of claims 2-9.

17. A user equipment, UE (600), configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration, and wherein the QoE measurement configuration is associated with a first network, the UE (600) being configured to: following the UE registering or initiating camping in a second network: release the QoE measurement configuration; and discard any measurement reports associated with the QoE measurement configuration that were obtained prior to the UE registering or camping in the second network.

18. The UE (600) of claim 17, wherein the UE (600) is further configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-9.

19. A radio access network, RAN, node (700) comprising a processor (702) and a memory (704), said memory (704) containing instructions executable by said processor (702) whereby said RAN node (700) is operative to: send, to a User Equipment, UE (600), configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network, one or more of the following:(i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the UE (600) registering or initiating camping in a second network;(ii) an indication of whether or not to discard any measurement reports obtained prior to the UE (600) registering or camping in the second network, following the UE (600) registering or initiating camping in a second network.

20. The RAN node (700) of claim 19, wherein the RAN node (700) is further operative to perform the method of any of claims 11-13.

21. A radio access network, RAN, node (700) being configured to: send, to a User Equipment, UE (600), configured with a Quality of Experience, QoE, measurement configuration associated with a first network, one or more of the following:(i) an indication of whether or not to release the QoE measurement configuration following the UE (600) registering or initiating camping in a second network;(ii) an indication of whether or not to discard any measurement reports obtained prior to the UE (600) registering or camping in the second network, following the UE (600) registering or initiating camping in a second network.

22. The RAN node (700) of claim 21 , wherein the RAN node (700) is further configured to perform the method of any of claims 11-13.

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