Radio node and method in a communications network

Abstract

A method performed in a first radio node is provided. The method is for handling a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node and a second radio node in a communications network. A Grid of Beam (GoB) codebook comprising Beam Indexes (Bls) indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication. The first radio node obtains (201) a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency (f1) comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node. Based on the obtained channel estimate, the first radio node identifies (202) at the first carrier frequency (f1), a best beam from the second radio node towards the first radio node, and a pointing direction of the best beam. The best beam comprises a best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency (f1). The first radio node obtains (203) a second carrier frequency (f2) out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node to be used for said radio communication. The first radio node determines (204) a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency (f1) and the second carrier frequency (f2). The first radio node compensates (205) the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency (f1) to channel properties at the second carrier frequency (f2).

Description

[0001] RADIO NODE AND METHOD IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments herein relate to a first radio node and a method therein. In some aspects, they relate to handling a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node and a second radio node in a communications network.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In a typical wireless communication network, wireless devices, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and / or User Equipment (UE), communicate via a Wide Area Network or a Local Area Network such as a Wi-Fi network or a cellular network comprising a Radio Access Network (RAN) part and a Core Network (CN) part. The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cell areas, which may also be referred to as a beam or a beam group, with each service area or cell area being served by a radio network node such as a radio access node e.g., a Wi-Fi access point, a Base Station (BS) or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be denoted, for example, a Base Station (BS), a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), or gNodeB (gNB) as denoted in Fifth Generation (5G) telecommunications. A service area or cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over an air interface operating on a radio frequency with the wireless devices within the range of the radio network node.

[0006] 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the standardization body for specifying the standards for the cellular system evolution, e.g., including 3G, 4G, 5G and the future evolutions. Specifications for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E- UTRA) and Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP. In 4G also called a Fourth Generation (4G) network, EPS is core network and E-UTRA is radio access network. In 5G, 5GC is core network, NR is radio access network. As a continued network evolution, the new release of 3GPP specifies a 5G network also referred to as 5G New Radio (NR) and 5G Core (5GC).

[0007] Frequency bands for 5G NR are being separated into two different frequency ranges, Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2). FR1 comprises sub-6 GHz frequency bands. Some of these bands are bands traditionally used by legacy standards but have been extended to cover potential new spectrum offerings from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. FR2 comprises frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Bands in this millimeter wave range have shorter range due to higher pathloss but higher available bandwidth than bands in the FR1.

[0008] Multi-antenna techniques may significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. For a wireless connection between a single user, such as UE, and a base station (BS), the performance is in particular improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas, which results in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication channel. This may be referred to as Single-User (SU)-MIMO. In the scenario where MIMO techniques is used for the wireless connection between multiple users and the base station, MIMO enables the users to communicate with the base station simultaneously using the same time-frequency resources by spatially separating the users, which increases further the cell capacity. This may be referred to as Multi-User (MU)-MIMO. Note that MU-MIMO may benefit when each UE only has one antenna. The cell capacity can be increased linearly with respect to the number of antennas at the BS side. Due to that, more and more antennas are employed in BS. Such systems and / or related techniques are commonly referred to as massive MIMO.

[0009] 5G NR may be used for so-called millimeter wave (mmWave) or FR2 frequency bands. The mmWave or FR2 frequency bands may be found in 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz frequency range. The benefit of defining these bands with high carrier frequency is the availability of relatively large bandwidths. The drawback is a higher pathloss that is experienced on mmWave frequencies. One way to overcome this increased pathloss is to apply a large antenna array and to introduce beamforming. By this the Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) and Equivalent Isotropic Sensitivity (EIS) can be kept high without increasing the radiated power too much.

[0010] Beamforming for higher frequency ranges is often implemented by a so-called Grid- of-Beam (GoB) codebook. A GoB codebook is e.g., a table in which beamforming vectors may be stored, and indexed by a respective Beam Index (Bl). The RAN may comprise a baseband node and a remote radio node. A baseband node may e.g., be a node performing physical layer algorithms such as channel estimation, equalization, coding, decoding, modulation, and / or demodulation, but also executing higher layer functionality. The baseband functionality may reside in a separate node, or be executed in e.g. a cloud. A remote radio node may e.g., be the node executing the Radio Frequency (RF) related functionality, such as e.g., carrier filtering, digital-to-analogue conversion, analogue-to digital conversion, upconverting signals to RF and filtering. The radio node may also perform beamforming either in the digital domain or in the analogue domain, or possibly both. From a beamforming perspective, a baseband node serving a UE is identifying a best available beam that is suitable for transmission to and reception from the UE. Based on the identified best beam, the remote radio node applies beam weights to the data that is transmitted to and received from the UE. By using a GoB codebook, the beam weights as such need not be transferred from the baseband node to the remote radio node, but only the Bl. Thus, this minimizes the signalling between the baseband node and the remote radio node.

[0011] SUMMARY

[0012] As a part of developing embodiments herein a problem was identified by the inventors and will first be discussed.

[0013] As mentioned above, higher frequency ranges, such as e.g., current FR2 defined by 3GPP, often have a large bandwidth. But to increase flexibility, and to reduce computational complexity, e.g., to reduce FFT sizes, the total bandwidth is divided into a number of Component Carriers (CC).

[0014] A beam to be used to serve a UE may be identified in a few different ways. For example, a serving base station may transmit reference signals e.g., pilot signals in a number of beams and the UE may measure the received power or any other quality measure and report back the best beam e.g., with highest received power, to the base station. Alternatively, the UE may transmit a reference signal and the base station may measure this reference signal in a number of beams and then select the best beam e.g., a beam with the highest received power level. The main drawback with both the above methods is that only one or potentially a few beams may be measured at each time instant. Since the codebook may be very large in order to provide a large spatial coverage range, many beams, and hence several time slots, need to be allocated to find the best beam. This is especially a problem when there is mobility among served UEs.

[0015] Lately, a Narrow Band Receiver (NBR) as an alternative method has been discussed to overcome the stated problem. This is a receiver that can measure on all digital antenna ports, and by this, the baseband node can apply all beams from the codebook to one instant of a UE transmitted reference signal also referred to as Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). Thus, all beams can be searched in only one time instant.

[0016] However, a problem of using codebooks for large bandwidth systems is that the beam weights should be frequency dependent. This means that one codebook for every CC or at least a group of CCs should be defined. Note that a codebook may easily contain beam weights for 300-500 Bl. This will require a large memory to store beam weights in both the remote radio node and the baseband node. In addition, since the codebooks are different for each CC, one Bl corresponding to the best beam for each CC needs to be transferred between the baseband node and the remote radio node.

[0017] If, for simplicity, it is decided to have the same codebook for all CCs, beam squint will occur. The phase shift xp between two elements in the array is proportional to the carrier frequency, f, and direction, 6, of the impinging plane wavefront as xp~fsin(9). If the beam weights comprise phase shifts that are either digital or analogue, it is evident that if the carrier frequency is changed, the direction of the beam generated by a phase shifter will also change. Hence, when the same beam weights are applied to different frequencies, the pointing direction of the beam will change. This pointing error due to a frequency shift is usually referred to as beam squint.

[0018] It is very common that the system supports many more DownLink (DL) carriers than UpLink (UL) carriers. For a typical FR2 example, the DL may support 8 to 10 DL carriers, while the UL may only support 2 to 4 carriers. This means that it will not, in general, be possible to do beam acquisition by SRS on each CC.

[0019] Several solutions to the above stated problems have been disclosed lately.

[0020] For example in one case, by using a single codebook but the Bl sent per CC may be different to compensate for the squint. If a certain Bl was identified for one CC, a neighbouring beam in spatial direction, that is BI+1 or BI-1 may be used for a CC at another carrier frequency. The main problem here is that the compensation is rather coarse if the codebook size is limited. If the pointing direction between any two beams in the codebook is X° and if X is large, then it is not possible to compensate for a smaller pointing error. So, either one has to accept a rather large impact from beam squint or define a very large codebook so that the pointing direction between any two beams is small.

[0021] In another case it was shown that a beam squint compensation factor may be calculated depending on the pointing direction of the beam and the frequency offset between the measured beam and the beam that should be applied. A single codebook defined for a specific frequency, may then be recalculated, or compensated by this factor to point in the same direction regardless of which CC it is applied at. The squint compensation factor may either be calculated at the baseband node, which will increase the needed bandwidth of the interface between the remote radio node and the baseband node or alternatively, the compensation factor may be calculated or stored in the remote radio node. But this leads to an increased computational load or the required memory size in the remote radio node. In addition, the compensated codebook vector also need to be recalculated with the squint compensation factor for the carrier frequency of interest.

[0022] In a further case the estimated pointing direction, e.g., from SRS in azimuth (<p) and elevation direction (0) was sent over an interface. From this, a suitable beam per CC corresponding to the estimated pointing direction may be picked from the codebook. By this it would be possible to optimize a codebook per CC which takes the different carrier frequencies into account when designing the codebook. To really benefit from this though, different codebooks per CC or for group of CCs are needed. Each codebook needs to be rather large, since the beam closest to the reported (p and 0 should be used. If the codebook is too small, that is if the difference between any two beam vector or Bls are large, there may not be any beam close to the direction needed. Another drawback is that several codebooks are needed if a large bandwidth or if many CCs should be supported.

[0023] An object of embodiments herein is to improve the handling of beam squint in a communications network.

[0024] According to an aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method performed in a first radio node. The method is for handling a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node and a second radio node in a communications network. A Grid of Beam, GoB, codebook comprising Beam Indexes, Bls, indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication. The first radio node obtains a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node. Based on the obtained channel estimate, the first radio node identifies at the first carrier frequency, a best beam from the second radio node towards the first radio node, and a pointing direction of the best beam. The best beam comprises a best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency. The first radio node then obtains a second carrier frequency out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node to be used for said radio communication. The first radio node determines a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency and the second carrier frequency. The first radio node then compensates the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency to channel properties at the second carrier frequency.

[0025] According to an aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a first radio node. The first radio node is configured to handle a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node and a second radio node in a communications network. A Grid of Beam, GoB, codebook comprising Beam Indexes, Bls, indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication. The first radio node is further configured to:

[0026] - Obtain a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node.

[0027] - Based on the obtained channel estimate, identify at the first carrier frequency, a best beam from the second radio node towards the first radio node, and a pointing direction of the best beam. The best beam comprises a best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency.

[0028] - Obtain a second carrier frequency out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node to be used for said radio communication.

[0029] - Determine a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency and the second carrier frequency.

[0030] - Compensate the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency to channel properties at the second carrier frequency.

[0031] Embodiments herein e.g., provide the following advantages:

[0032] The same codebook may be used for all CCs supported by the radio without causing beam squint.

[0033] A further benefit is that a simple Bl interface may be used between the radio and the baseband node, or wherever the channel and Bl estimation is performed. Moreover, beam management may be performed based on channel information over a narrower bandwidth, instead of measuring the channel over the whole aggregated bandwidth. This reduces both overhead and power consumption at UE / gNB side.

[0034] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to attached drawings in which:

[0036] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a wireless communications network.

[0037] Figure 2 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a method in a first radio node. Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example embodiment herein. Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a first radio node. Figure 5 schematically illustrates embodiments of a communication system.

[0038] Figure 6 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a UE.

[0039] Figure 7 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a network node.

[0040] Figure 8 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a host.

[0041] Figure 9 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a virtualization environment.

[0042] Figure 10 is a generalized block diagram of embodiments of a communication diagram of a host.

[0043] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Instead of beam squint compensate a codebook or signalling over the radio / baseband interface as mentioned in prior art above, examples of embodiments herein compensate estimated channel properties to avoid beam squint.

[0045] According to some example embodiments herein, a wireless channel e.g., between a base station and a UE, such as a first carrier frequency, may be estimated. The best beam for the frequency range covered by the first carrier frequency is then be obtained. The best beam may e.g., mean a beam with a highest signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency. If the best beam for another part of the frequency band, assume another CC, or even for a different band is needed, the channel estimate, or its covariance is compensated by a factor dependent on the direction of the UE and the frequency difference between the measured channel and where it should be applied. By this, the same codebook may be used over all frequency ranges without a large impact from beam squint. This will be described more in detail below.

[0046] As mentioned above, an advantage achieved from the beam squint compensation according to embodiments herein is that the same codebook may be used for all CCs supported by the radio without causing beam squint. A further benefit is that in some embodiments, a simple Bl interface may be used between the radio and the baseband node or wherever the channel and Bl estimation is performed. Moreover, beam management may be performed based on channel information over a narrower bandwidth, instead of measuring the channel over the whole aggregated bandwidth. This reduces both overhead and power consumption at the first and second radio node 110. 120 side such as e.g., UE / base station side.

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic overview depicting a communications network 100, such as e.g. a wireless communications network, wherein embodiments herein may be implemented. The communications network 100 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The communications network 100 may use 5G NR but may further use a number of other different technologies, such as, 6G, Wi-Fi, (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications / enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM / EDGE), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.

[0048] Radio nodes, such as a first radio node 110, and a second radio node 120 operate in the communications network 100.

[0049] The first radio node 110, may e.g. be as a radio access node and provides e.g., a number of cells and may use these cells for communicating with other radio nodes, such as e.g. a second radio node 120 which may be a UE. The first radio node 110 may e.g. be a transmission and reception point e.g. a network node, a radio access network node such as a base station, a radio base station, a NodeB, an evolved Node B (eNB, eNodeB, eNode B), an NR / g Node B (gNB), a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point, an Access Point Station (AP STA), an access controller, a UE acting as an access point or a peer in a Device to Device (D2D) communication, or any other network unit capable of communicating with a UE served by the first radio node 110 depending e.g. on the radio access technology and terminology used.

[0050] In some embodiments herein, the first radio node 110 may be a UE.

[0051] The second radio node 120, may e.g. be a UE, an NR device, a mobile station, a wireless terminal, an NB-loT device, an enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) device, an NR RedCap device, a CAT-M device, a Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) device, Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) device, a Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) device, a Vehicle-to- Infrastructure (V2I) device, and a Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) device, a Wi-Fi device, an LTE device and a non-access point (non-AP) STA, a STA, that communicates via a base station such as e.g. the network node 110, one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g. RAN, to one or more core networks (CN). It should be understood by the skilled in the art that the term UE relates to a non-limiting term which means any UE, terminal, wireless communication terminal, user equipment, (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station communicating within a cell.

[0052] In some embodiments herein, the second radio node 120 may be a radio network node such as e.g. a base station.

[0053] Thus, the first radio node 110 may be represented by a radio network node such as e.g. gNB, and the second radio node 120 is represented by a UE, which is shown in the example in Figure 1 In some embodiments it may be the other way around, the first radio node 110 is represented by a UE and the second radio node 120 is represented by a radio network node such as e.g. a gNB.

[0054] Methods herein may in one aspect be performed by the first radio node 110. As an alternative, a Distributed Node (DN) and functionality, e.g. comprised in a cloud 135 as shown in Figure 1, may be used for performing or partly performing the methods of embodiments herein. Examples of embodiments herein e.g. provide that a channel estimate used for determining a Bl of a GoB codebook is compensated with a factor to handle any beam squint that occur if the beam should be applied at a frequency well separated from where the channel was measured. By this the same GoB codebook may be used for the whole frequency range supported by the beamforming first radio node 110. The factor used for compensation depends on e.g., the direction of the measured channel tap and the frequency difference between where the channel is measured and where the codebook should be applied. A channel tap when used herein may mean a distinct path in the channel that describe the radio propagation between the first radio node 110 and the second radio node (120).

[0055] Some examples of embodiments herein may e.g. comprise the following Actions:

[0056] 1. The first radio node 110 obtains a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency (f1) comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110, by e.g. measuring the channel at f1 using e.g., a NBR.

[0057] - The first radio node 110 may use the channel estimate or its covariance matrix, to estimate the “best” beam at f1 and to determine a pointing direction 0 of this beam.

[0058] 2. The first radio node 110 determines a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between a first carrier frequency (f1) and a second carrier frequency (f2). This may e.g. be performed by calculating a squint compensation factor valid for the frequency (f2) and apply this to the estimated channel or its covariance.

[0059] - The first radio node 110 may use the transformed channel or its covariance to estimate the best beam for the frequency f2.

[0060] 3. If the calculations are made in a baseband node of the first radio node 110 it sends the beam indices to a radio node of the first radio node 110.

[0061] A number of embodiments will now be described, some of which may be seen as alternatives, while some may be used in combination.

[0062] Example methods of embodiments herein will first be described in a general manner as seen from a view of the first radio node 110 together with Figure 2, and a view of the second radio node 120 together with Figure 3. This will be followed by a more detailed description with examples. Figure 2 shows exemplary embodiments of a method performed by the first radio node 110. The method is for handling a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node 110 and a second radio node 120 in the communications network 100. A GoB codebook comprising Bls indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication, e.g. radio communications. The first radio node may e.g. be configured with or have access to the GoB codebook to be used for radio communications.

[0063] The first radio node 110 may be represented by a radio network node and the second radio node 120 may be represented by a UE, or the other way around, the first radio node 110 may be represented by a UE and the second radio node 120 may be represented by a radio network node.

[0064] The radio communication may comprise anyone out of a radio transmission or a radio reception. This e.g. means that the radio communication is a radio transmission, or that the radio communication is a radio reception.

[0065] The method comprises the following actions, which actions may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are referred to as dashed boxes in Figure 2.

[0066] Action 201

[0067] The first radio node 110 obtains a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency (f1). The first carrier frequency (f1) is comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110. The channel estimate may comprise a covariance matrix of the channel estimate. The channel estimate and channel properties may e.g. be obtained by the first radio node 110 measuring the first carrier frequency (f1) itself or by receiving the channel estimate and channel properties from another node or unit, such as e.g., a baseband processing unit, a radio frequency processing unit.

[0068] Action 202

[0069] Based on the obtained channel estimate, the first radio node 110 identifies at the first carrier frequency (f1), a best beam from the second radio node 120 towards the first radio node 110. The first radio node 110 further identifies a pointing direction of the best beam. The best beam comprises the best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency (f1). The best beam will e.g., be used later on for beam squint compensation the channel estimate at another, a second carrier frequency (f2).

[0070] This identifying of the best beam may be e.g., performed by calculating the received power in each beam of the GoB codebook. Alternatively, the best beam can be obtained by calculating a quality measure such as signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SI NR) in several beams and select the beam providing the highest SI NR. Yet another alternative is to estimate the capacity provided by each beam and select the beam generating the highest capacity.

[0071] Action 203

[0072] According to an example scenario, the first radio node 110 is intending to use another carrier frequency comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110, for a performing the radio communication between the first radio node 110 and the second radio node 120. The first radio node 110 obtains a second carrier frequency (f2) out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110 to be used for said radio communication.,

[0073] Action 204

[0074] The first radio node 110 determines a compensation factor. The determining is based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency (f1) and the second carrier frequency (f2). The compensation factor is e.g., required to compensate the obtained channel estimate at the first carrier frequency (f1) to reflect channel properties at the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0075] This will be described more in detail below.

[0076] Action 205

[0077] The first radio node 110 compensates the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor. This is to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency (f1) to channel properties at the second carrier frequency (f2). This will be described more in detail below.

[0078] The compensating of the channel estimate may be performed to compensate for beam squint at the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0079] The compensated channel estimate may comprise a covariance matrix of the compensated channel estimate.

[0080] When the first radio node 110 is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, the compensating of the channel estimate may be performed by the baseband part.

[0081] Action 206 In some embodiments and based on the compensated channel estimate, the first radio node 110 determines, for the second carrier frequency (f2), a best beam from the second radio node 120 towards the first radio node 110, and a Bl from the GoB codebook.

[0082] The best beam for the second carrier frequency (f2) may comprise a best signal quality among beams available in the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0083] In some further embodiments, when the first radio node 110 is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, the determining of the best beam and the Bl for the second carrier frequency (f2), may be performed by the baseband part.

[0084] Action 207

[0085] In some of the further embodiments, when the first radio node 110 is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, the first radio node 110 may send from the baseband part to the radio part, an indication of a beam vector to be used for the radio communication, based on the determined Bl.

[0086] Action 208

[0087] The first radio node 110 may perform the radio communication between the first radio node 110 and the second radio node 120 at the second carrier frequency (f2), according to the determined best beam and the Bl at the second carrier frequency (f2). In some of the further embodiments, when the first radio node 110 is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, the performing of the radio communication may be performed by the radio part.

[0088] In this way, by performing the above method, the first radio node 110 is enabled to find the best beam in a GoB codebook to be used for a first carrier frequency (f1) from the channel estimated at this first frequency. It may also find the best beam for a second carrier frequency (f2) without processing a new channel estimate for this second carrier frequency.

[0089] Embodiments herein such as the embodiments mentioned above will now be further described and exemplified. The text below is applicable to and may be combined with any suitable embodiment described above. As mentioned above, according to some example embodiments herein, a wireless channel, e.g., over a small bandwidth, may be estimated e.g., by using NBR. The best beam for the frequency range covered by the first radio node 110, in this example an NBR of the first radio node 110, may then be found by prior art methods. The best beam may e.g., mean a beam with a best signal quality among beams available for the frequency range comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110, in this example covered by the NBR. If the best beam for another part of the frequency band, assume another CC, or even for a different band is needed, the channel estimate, or its covariance is compensated by a factor dependent on the direction of the UE and the frequency difference between the measured channel and where it should be applied. By this, the same codebook may be used over all frequency ranges without a large impact from beam squint. An example of embodiments herein is outlined in Figure 3. Figure 3 depicts an example of how a Bl (1) for a lower part of the supported spectrum, referred to as dotted parts of the spectrum, is derived from first radio node 110 channel estimates, such as e.g., NBR channel estimates, and a Bl (2) for the upper part referred to as striped parts of the spectrum is derived from a channel estimate compensated by the compensation factor. The same codebook may be used over all frequency parts. The beam squint compensation factor, a, is dependent on the direction towards the second radio node 120, e.g., a UE, as well as the frequency difference between the first carrier frequency (f1) and the second carrier frequency (f2), referred to as Af, between where the channel is measured, and where the GoB vector should be applied.

[0090] The diagonally striped part of the spectrum represents the part of the lower carrier frequency on which the NBR operates and hence where channel estimation is done.

[0091] The black part of the spectrum represents possible component carrier between the lower and upper part of the supported spectrum.

[0092] The checked part of the spectrum is used to indicate that the upper and lower part of the supported spectrum may be contiguous or non-contiguous.

[0093] The deriving may e.g., be performed by using a channel estimate A obtained from e.g. a NBR to estimate a best beam with a beam index Bl(1). The best beam is directed towards 0. The frequency difference Af and beam direction 0 is used to calculate a compensation factor a. The compensation factor a is used to compensate the channel estimate H obtained at the first frequency (f1) to represent the channel properties H representative for a second carrier frequency (f2). The compensated channel estimate H is used to find the beam index Bl(2) representing the best beam at the second carrier frequency (f2). To simplify the presentation in the text below, the following examples of embodiments herein are limited to cover a one dimension (1 D) case only. This means that an array of the first radio node 110 is assumed to be a Uniform Linear Array (ULA). Note that this is also a very common case in practice. Even if the deployed array of the first radio node 110 is a two dimension (2D) Uniform Planar Array (UPA), the elevation domain often comprises an analogue beamformer that creates one or at least very few digital ports in elevation domain. In addition, a beam squint may be expressed as:

[0094] Where A0 is the beam squint for a beam designed for a first carrier frequency pointing towards but applied at carrier frequency f .

[0095] With a maximum beam tilt in elevation of, say, = 15° the squint will be around 1° even for a frequency difference ratio of 7%. Hence, beam squint is, in general, only a problem in azimuth direction since the angular coverage area is normally much larger, e.g., ±60°.

[0096] In what follows it is assumed that the obtained channel estimate and channel properties at the first carrier frequency (f1) is represented by a narrow band channel estimate performed by the first radio node 110, e.g. a NBR of the first radio node 110. The exact implementation of the channel estimation is not important here, and several methods are well known in prior art. For example, the second radio node 120 may transmit reference signals or pilot tones that may be used for direction estimation and squint compensation, at least if a single high gain beam is allocated to a specific user, such as the second radio node 120. Alternatively, if a single user, e.g. the second radio node 120 is transmitting in UL, it is equally possible to use, i.e., the received data directly or to use included Demodulation Reference Signals (DM RS) as reference for the channel estimate.

[0097] Note that the array response or steering vector for a ULA where a single plane wave is impinging from direction 0 at a frequency f1may be expressed as: where d is the element distance and c is the speed of light, respectively. It is evident that the mth element of the steering vector may be expressed as: where j is the imaginary symbol, ipi = 27r^sin (0) is the phase at element m for frequency which show that the steering vectors are related through the phase taper t, here represent element wise multiplication. It should further be noted that,

[0098] The above derivation is done for an ULA but is also valid for any array geometry such as non-uniform element distribution. The steering vector may be written as a function of an element displacement vector, and the phase shift due to a frequency shift may therefore be calculated as long as the carrier frequency and speed of propagation is known. The expression for the compensation factor, here referred to as a, may however, be more involved.

[0099] The estimated channel, or potentially the received data has e.g., passed through the array, and assuming a near line-of-sight situation, or that we target the dominant tap of the channel, the preferred beam, also referred to as the best beam may be estimated from max(w*RHw) where RHis the covariance of the channel estimate.

[0100] Alternatively, if it is known that a single user, such as the second radio node 120 may be, is allocated to the channel resource, RH, may represent the received data channel. Measuring the channel per antenna element or subarray it is evident that the channel measured at may be represented as hi = a(e,f01)^ and hence: and thus, the channel covariances (between A and A) are related through the phase taper t. It is noted that t o a = diag(t)a = Ta where the matrix T contains the vector t on its main diagonal.

[0101] The preferred beam, such as the best beam, at frequency f2may be calculated from max(w*R1w), where R2is the channel covariance at frequency f2. But from the presentation above it is evident that R2= TR-LT* and hence it is possible to find the best beamforming vector for frequency f2by measuring the channel at frequency A and then compensate the channel, e.g., covariance, for beam squint. The compensation may seem quite complicated, but by studying the details for a ULA it follows that the (k )-element may be written as:

[0102] R2( ) = (TRiT*)^) = tfeRiO

[0103] Here k and l=0,... ,M-1. Hence the (k,l)-element of the channel covariance measured at f0should be multiplied with the kthand Ithelement of t. From the derivation of t and a above it is evident that

[0104] Since this is Hermitian, only elements below or above the main diagonal is needed. The other part is just the conjugate, and the diagonal elements of the covariance are untouched.

[0105] Up to this point, the channel covariance matrix R2( / c, 0 in frequency f2has been deduced based on channel covariance matrix R^k, Z) in frequency f , 6 and the frequency difference f -f2, assuming the channel is frequency invariant in large scale. To calculate the beamforming weights to be used in frequency f2, prior art methods may be used, e.g., the weight max(w*R2w). The best beam in frequency f2is supposed to be close to the one being used in frequency f . Therefore, only searching around Wi should be sufficient and efficient to find the best beam W2.

[0106] If the calculations are made in a baseband part of the first radio node 110, the baseband part may send an indication of the beam vector to be used for the radio communication, such as the beam indices to the radio part of the first radio node 110.

[0107] To perform the method actions above, the first radio node 110 is configured to handle a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node 110 and a second radio node 120 in a communications network 100. A GoB codebook comprising Bls, indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication.

[0108] The first radio node 110 may comprise an arrangement depicted in Figure 4. The first radio node 110 may comprise an input and output interface 410 configured to communicate in the communications network 100, e.g., with the second radio node 120. The input and output interface 410 may comprise a wireless receiver not shown and a wireless transmitter not shown.

[0109] The first radio node 110 is further configured to obtain a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency (f 1 ) comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110.

[0110] The first radio node 110 is further configured to, based on the obtained channel estimate, identify at the first carrier frequency (f1), a best beam from the second radio node 120 towards the first radio node 110, and a pointing direction of the best beam. The best beam is adapted to comprise a best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency (f1).

[0111] The first radio node 110 is further configured to obtain a second carrier frequency (f2) out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node 110 to be used for said radio communication.

[0112] The first radio node 110 is further configured to determine a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency (f1) and the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0113] The first radio node 110 is further configured to compensate the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency (f1) to channel properties at the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0114] In some embodiments, the first radio node 110 is further configured to, based on the compensated channel estimate, determine for the second carrier frequency (f2), a best beam from the second radio node 120 towards the first radio node 110, and a Bl from the GoB codebook. In these embodiments, the best beam for the second carrier frequency (f2) is adapted to comprise a best signal quality among beams available in the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0115] In some embodiments, the first radio node 110 is further configured to perform the radio communication between the first radio node 110 and the second radio node 120 at the second carrier frequency (f2), according to the determined best beam and the Bl at the second carrier frequency (f2).

[0116] In some embodiments, when the first radio node 110 is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, the compensating of the channel estimate and the determining for the second carrier frequency (f2), the best beam and the Bl are adapted to be performed by the baseband part, and the performing of the radio communication is adapted to be performed by the radio part. In those embodiments, the first radio node 110 may further be configured to send from the baseband part to the radio part, an indication of a beam vector to be used for the radio communication, based on the determined Bl.

[0117] In some embodiments, the compensating of the channel estimate is adapted to be performed to compensate for beam squint at the second carrier frequency (f2). In some embodiments, the channel estimate is adapted to comprise a covariance matrix of the channel estimate and the compensated channel estimate is adapted to comprise a covariance matrix of the compensated channel estimate.

[0118] In some embodiments, the first radio node 110 is represented by a radio network node and the second radio node 120 is represented by a User Equipment, UE.

[0119] In some other embodiments, the first radio node 110 is represented by a UE and the second radio node 120 is represented by a radio network node.

[0120] The radio communication may be adapted to comprise any one out of a radio transmission or a radio reception.

[0121] The embodiments herein may be implemented through a respective processor or one or more processors, such as the processor 410 of a processing circuitry in the first radio node 110 depicted in Figure 4 together with respective computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the first radio node 110. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the respective first radio node 110.

[0122] The first radio node 110 may further comprise a memory 420 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 420 comprises instructions executable by the processor in first radio node 110. The memory 420 is arranged to be used to store e.g., information, indications, data, configurations, communication data, and applications to perform the methods herein when being executed in the first radio node 110.

[0123] In some embodiments, a computer program 430 comprises instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor 410, cause the at least one processor of first radio node 110 to perform the actions above.

[0124] In some embodiments, a carrier 440 comprises the computer program 430, wherein the carrier 440 is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer- readable storage medium.

[0125] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units in the respective first radio node 110 described above may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g. stored in the respective first radio node 110, that when executed by the respective one or more processors such as the processors described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuitry ASIC, or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0126] ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION

[0127] 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.

[0128] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0129] In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunication network QQ102 that includes an access network QQ104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes QQ110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network QQ102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network QQ102 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 QQ102, including one or more network nodes QQ110 and / or core network nodes QQ108.

[0130] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an 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 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes QQ110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as the UE 121 , QQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0131] 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 QQ100 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 QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0132] The UEs QQ112 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 QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes QQ110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs QQ112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network QQ102 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 QQ102.

[0133] In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects the network nodes QQ110 to one or more hosts, such as host QQ116. 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 QQ106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. 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 (ALISF), Subscription Identifier Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0134] The host QQ116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and / or the telecommunication network QQ102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0135] As a whole, the communication system QQ100 of Figure 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0136] In some examples, the telecommunication network QQ102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0137] In some examples, the UEs QQ112 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 QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network QQ104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi- RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0138] In the example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node QQ110b). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network QQ106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub QQ114 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 QQ110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub QQ114. As another example, the hub QQ114 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 QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub QQ114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0139] The hub QQ114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node QQ110b. The hub QQ114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d), and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network QQ104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes QQ110 while still connected via the hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 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 QQ110b. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node QQ110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0140] Figure 6 shows a UE QQ200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with radio nodes such as e.g. first radio node 110, and / or other UEs, such as e.g. UE 121. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptopmounted 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.

[0141] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may 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).

[0142] The UE QQ200 includes processing circuitry QQ202 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ204 to an input / output interface QQ206, a power source QQ208, a memory QQ210, a communication interface QQ212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 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.

[0143] The processing circuitry QQ202 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 QQ210. The processing circuitry QQ202 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 QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0144] In the example, the input / output interface QQ206 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 QQ200. 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. In some embodiments, the power source QQ208 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 QQ208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source QQ208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE QQ200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source QQ208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source QQ208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE QQ200 to which power is supplied.

[0145] The memory QQ210 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 QQ210 includes one or more application programs QQ214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ216. The memory QQ210 may store, for use by the UE QQ200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0146] The memory QQ210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory QQ210 may allow the UE QQ200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium. The processing circuitry QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 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 QQ218 and / or a receiver QQ220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0147] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0148] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface QQ212, 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).

[0149] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0150] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator 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 smartwatch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE QQ200 shown in Figure 6.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

[0153] Figure 7 shows a network node QQ300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O- RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0154] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such 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).

[0155] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi- cel l / 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).

[0156] The network node QQ300 includes a processing circuitry QQ302, a memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power source QQ308. The network node QQ300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ300.

[0157] The processing circuitry QQ302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components, such as the memory QQ304, to provide network node QQ300 functionality.

[0158] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ312 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ314 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 QQ312 and baseband processing circuitry QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0159] The memory QQ304 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 QQ302. The memory QQ304 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 QQ302 and utilized by the network node QQ300. The memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ302 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ302 and memory QQ304 is integrated.

[0160] The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface QQ306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) QQ316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes radio front-end circuitry QQ318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna QQ310. Radio front-end circuitry QQ318 comprises filters QQ320 and amplifiers QQ322. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 may be connected to an antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ310 and processing circuitry QQ302. The radio front-end circuitry QQ318 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 QQ318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ320 and / or amplifiers QQ322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0161] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node QQ300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ318, instead, the processing circuitry QQ302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312 is part of the communication interface QQ306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ306 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, the radio front-end circuitry QQ318, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0162] The antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and connectable to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

[0163] The antenna QQ310, communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuitry QQ302 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 QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuitry QQ302 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.

[0164] The power source QQ308 provides power to the various components of network node QQ300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 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 QQ308. As a further example, the power source QQ308 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.

[0165] Embodiments of the network node QQ300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 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 network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ300 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ300.

[0166] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a host QQ400, which may be an embodiment of the host QQ116 of Figure 5, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host QQ400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host QQ400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0167] The host QQ400 includes processing circuitry QQ402 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ404 to an input / output interface QQ406, a network interface QQ408, a power source QQ410, and a memory QQ412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures QQ2 and QQ3, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host QQ400.

[0168] The memory QQ412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs QQ414 and data QQ416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host QQ400 or data generated by the host QQ400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host QQ400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs QQ414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAG, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs QQ414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host QQ400 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs QQ414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc. Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments QQ500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment QQ500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0169] Applications QQ502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0170] Hardware QQ504 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 QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs QQ508a and QQ508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs QQ508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs QQ508.

[0171] The VMs QQ508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs QQ508, 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.

[0172] In the context of NFV, a VM QQ508 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 QQ508, and that part of hardware QQ504 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 QQ508 on top of the hardware QQ504 and corresponds to the application QQ502.

[0173] Hardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware QQ504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 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 QQ510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system QQ512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0174] Figure 10 shows a communication diagram of a host QQ602 communicating via a network node QQ604 with a UE QQ606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE QQ112a of Figure 5 and / or UE QQ200 of Figure 6), network node (such as network node QQ110a of Figure 5 and / or network node QQ300 of Figure 7), and host (such as host QQ116 of Figure 5 and / or host QQ400 of Figure 8) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 10.

[0175] Like host QQ400, embodiments of host QQ602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host QQ602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host QQ602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE QQ606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection QQ650 extending between the UE QQ606 and host QQ602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection QQ650.

[0176] The network node QQ604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host QQ602 and UE QQ606. The connection QQ660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network QQ106 of Figure 5) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0177] The UE QQ606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE QQ606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE QQ606 with the support of the host QQ602. In the host QQ602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection QQ650 terminating at the UE QQ606 and host QQ602. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection QQ650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection QQ650.

[0178] The OTT connection QQ650 may extend via a connection QQ660 between the host QQ602 and the network node QQ604 and via a wireless connection QQ670 between the network node QQ604 and the UE QQ606 to provide the connection between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606. The connection QQ660 and wireless connection QQ670, over which the OTT connection QQ650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host QQ602 and the UE QQ606 via the network node QQ604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0179] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection QQ650, in step QQ608, the host QQ602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE QQ606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE QQ606 that shares data with the host QQ602 without explicit human interaction. In step QQ610, the host QQ602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE QQ606. The host QQ602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE QQ606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE QQ606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE QQ606. The transmission may pass via the network node QQ604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step QQ612, the network node QQ604 transmits to the UE QQ606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host QQ602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step QQ614, the UE QQ606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE QQ606 associated with the host application executed by the host QQ602.

[0180] In some examples, the UE QQ606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host QQ602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host QQ602. Accordingly, in step QQ616, the UE QQ606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE QQ606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE QQ606 initiates, in step QQ618, transmission of the user data towards the host QQ602 via the network node QQ604. In step QQ620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node QQ604 receives user data from the UE QQ606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host QQ602. In step QQ622, the host QQ602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE QQ606.

[0181] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE QQ606 using the OTT connection QQ650, in which the wireless connection QQ670 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the latency and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time.

[0182] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host QQ602. As another example, the host QQ602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host QQ602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host QQ602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host QQ602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host QQ602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0183] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection QQ650 between the host QQ602 and UE QQ606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host QQ602 and / or UE QQ606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection QQ650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection QQ650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node QQ604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host QQ602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection QQ650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0184] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a 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.

[0185] 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.

[0186] When using the word "comprise" or “comprising” it shall be interpreted as nonlimiting, i.e. meaning "consist at least of".

[0187] The embodiments herein are not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method performed in a first radio node (110) for handling a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node (110) and a second radio node (120) in a communications network (100), wherein a Grid of Beam, GoB, codebook comprising Beam Indexes, Bls, indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication, the method comprising: obtaining (201) a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency (f1) comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node (110), based on the obtained channel estimate, identifying (202) at the first carrier frequency (f1), a best beam from the second radio node (120) towards the first radio node (110), and a pointing direction of the best beam, wherein the best beam comprises a best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency (f1), obtaining (203) a second carrier frequency (f2) out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node (110) to be used for said radio communication, determining (204) a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency (f1) and the second carrier frequency (f2), compensating (205) the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency (f1) to channel properties at the second carrier frequency (f2).

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: based on the compensated channel estimate, determining (206) for the second carrier frequency (f2), a best beam from the second radio node (120) towards the first radio node (110), and a Bl from the GoB codebook, wherein the best beam for the second carrier frequency (f2) comprises a best signal quality among beams available in the second carrier frequency (f2), performing (208) the radio communication between the first radio node (110) and the second radio node (120) at the second carrier frequency (f2), according to the determined best beam and the Bl at the second carrier frequency (f2).

3. The method according to any of the claims 1-2, wherein the first radio node (110) is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, and wherein the compensating (205) of the channel estimate and the determining (206) for the second carrier frequency (f2), the best beam and the Bl are performed by the baseband part, and the performing (208) of the radio communication is performed by the radio part, and wherein the method further comprises: sending (207) from the baseband part to the radio part, an indication of a beam vector to be used for the radio communication, based on the determined Bl.

4. The method according to any of the claims 1-3, wherein the compensating (205) of the channel estimate is performed to compensate for beam squint at the second carrier frequency (f2).

5. The method according to any of the claims 1-4, wherein any one or more out of:- the channel estimate comprises a covariance matrix of the channel estimate, and- the compensated channel estimate comprises a covariance matrix of the compensated channel estimate.

6. The method according to any of the claims 1-5, wherein any one out of: the first radio node (110) is represented by a radio network node and the second radio node (120) is represented by a User Equipment, UE, or the first radio node (110) is represented by a UE and the second radio node (120) is represented by a radio network node.

7. The method according to any of the claims 1-6, wherein the radio communication comprises any one out of a radio transmission or a radio reception.

8. A computer program (430) comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor (410), causes the processor (410) to perform actions according to any of the claims 1-79. A carrier (440) comprising the computer program (430) of claim 8, wherein the carrier (440) is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagneticsignal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

10. A first radio node (110) configured to handle a channel estimate for a radio communication between the first radio node (110) and a second radio node (120) in a communications network (100), wherein a Grid of Beam, GoB, codebook comprising Beam Indexes, Bls, indicating beam vectors is defined for radio communication, the first radio node (110) is further configured to: obtain a channel estimate and channel properties at a first carrier frequency (f1) comprised in a carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node (110), based on the obtained channel estimate, identify at the first carrier frequency (f1), a best beam from the second radio node (120) towards the first radio node (110), and a pointing direction of the best beam, wherein the best beam comprises a best signal quality among beams available in the first carrier frequency (f1), obtain a second carrier frequency (f2) out of any carrier frequencies comprised in the carrier frequency bandwidth supported by the first radio node (110) to be used for said radio communication, determine a compensation factor based on the pointing direction of the best beam and a frequency difference between the first carrier frequency (f1) and the second carrier frequency (f2), compensate the channel estimate with the calculated compensation factor to adapt the channel estimate obtained at the first carrier frequency (f1) to channel properties at the second carrier frequency (f2).

11. The first radio node (110) according to claim 10, further configured to: based on the compensated channel estimate, determine for the second carrier frequency (f2), a best beam from the second radio node (120) towards the first radio node (110), and a Bl from the GoB codebook, wherein the best beam for the second carrier frequency (f2) is adapted to comprise a best signal quality among beams available in the second carrier frequency (f2), perform the radio communication between the first radio node (110) and the second radio node (120) at the second carrier frequency (f2), according to the determined best beam and the Bl at the second carrier frequency (f2).

12. The first radio node (110) according to any of the claims 10-11 , wherein the first radio node (110) is represented by a radio network node comprising a baseband part and a radio part, and wherein the compensating of the channel estimate and the determining for the second carrier frequency (f2), the best beam and the Bl are adapted to be performed by the baseband part, and the performing of the radio communication is adapted to be performed by the radio part, and wherein the first radio node (110) is further configured to: send from the baseband part to the radio part, an indication of a beam vector to be used for the radio communication, based on the determined Bl.

13. The first radio node (110) according to any of the claims 10-12, wherein the compensating of the channel estimate is adapted to be performed to compensate for beam squint at the second carrier frequency (f2).

14. The first radio node (110) according to any of the claims 10-13, wherein any one or more out of:- the channel estimate is adapted to comprise a covariance matrix of the channel estimate, and- the compensated channel estimate is adapted to comprise a covariance matrix of the compensated channel estimate.

15. The first radio node (110) according to any of the claims 10-14, wherein any one out of: the first radio node (110) is represented by a radio network node and the second radio node (120) is represented by a User Equipment, UE, or the first radio node (110) is represented by a UE and the second radio node (120) is represented by a radio network node.

16. The first radio node (110) according to any of the claims 10-15, wherein the radio communication is adapted to comprise any one out of a radio transmission or a radio reception.

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