Methods, NCR, network node and UE for handling DRX configurations in a communications network

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method performed by an NCR (105) for handling DRX configurations in a communications network (100). The NCR (105) is arranged to communicate with a UE (103) and a network node (101) via links (108, 110, 113). The links (108, 110, 113) comprise a first link (108) between the NCR (105) and the UE (103) and a second link (110, 113) between the NCR (105) and the network node (101). The NCR (105) obtains one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node (101). The NCR (105) monitors at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. A result of the monitoring indicates a signal received from the network node (101) and / or the UE (103). The NCR (105) acts according to the result of the monitoring.

Description

[0001] METHODS, NCR, NETWORK NODE AND UE FOR HANDLING DRX CONFIGURATIONS IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to a Network Controlled Repeater (NCR), a method performed by the NCR, a User Equipment (UE), a method performed by the UE, a network node and a method performed by the network node. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to handling Discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations in a communications network.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Repeaters are devices which may be used to improve the coverage of a communication network. The repeater will listen to the incoming signal on a frequency and send the same signal but amplified, hence improving the coverage.

[0006] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is in Release 18 (Rel-18) undertaking the work of introducing so called Network Controlled Repeaters (NCR). Network controlled repeaters are, as the name suggests, allowing the network to control the operation of the repeater. Example aspects of the NCR which are discussed to be controllable by the network comprise:

[0007] • when the NCR is turned on and turned off, and

[0008] • which radio beams the NCR is to repeat and not.

[0009] The example model that 3GPP is assuming at the moment is depicted in fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic example of how an NCR may communicate with the network in a communication network 100. On the left side of fig. 1a, a network node 101 is shown. The network node 101 may be for example a New Radio (NR) base station, a gNB, just to mention some examples. The User Equipment (UE) 103 is to the right. In the middle is the NCR 105. The NCR 105 comprises two main parts, a forwarding part 105a, e.g. referred to as NCR-Fwd or repeater-Fwd, which is doing the forwarding operation of taking the signal from the network node 101 on the so called backhaul link 110 or UE 103 on the so-called access link 108, and forwarding an amplified version of it that then can be received by the UE 103 on the access link 108 or network node 101 on the backhaul link 110. The other main part is the mobile termination part 105b, e.g. referred to as NCR- MT or repeater-MT. MT is short for mobile termination. This part is what makes the NCR 105 network controllable and allows the network node 101 to communicate with the NCR 105; the mobile termination part 105b terminates a control link 113 as a UE 103 would do. The link over which the network node 101 and the NCR 105 communicate is shown as control link 113 in fig. 1.

[0010] Since the forwarding part 105a only amplifies and analogously beamforms the signal, no advanced receiver or transmitter chains are required, which reduce the cost and energy consumption compared to, for example, a normal Transmission and Reception Point (TRP). In its simplest and, practical architecture, different antenna modules are used for the network node- and UE-sides, i.e. , the antennas targeting the network doe 101 and UEs 103, respectively, whereas a more complex architecture, including self-interference cancellation, would allow for using the same antenna modules for both sides.

[0011] How an NCR 105 will be designed and how it will communicate with the network node 101 is still unclear. Fig. 2 illustrates one schematic example of how it might look. Fig. 2 is a schematic example of building blocks of an NCR 105, and how it may communicate with the network node 101. Note that this is an estimation of the possible NCR structure, while the exact structure is still to-be-decided. In the example of fig. 2, the NCR 105 comprises three principal building blocks, the modem 201 , the controller 203, and the repeater 205. The modem 201 may be referred to as a modem module, the controller 203 may be referred to as a controller module and the repeater 205 may be referred to as a repeater module. The repeater 205 is depicted as the two amplifiers in fig. 2. The NCR 105 is equipped with an antenna configuration, where a signal is first received in downlink (DL) or uplink (UL), and, e.g., after power amplification, transmitted further in downlink or uplink. Since the repeater 205, also referred to as forwarding part 104a, only amplifies and analogously beamforms the signal, no advanced receiver or transmitter chains are required, which reduce the cost and energy consumption compared to for example a normal TRP. In its simplest architecture, different antenna modules are used for the donor and service sides, i.e., the antennas targeting the network node 101 and UEs 103, respectively, whereas a more complex architecture, including self-interference cancellation, would allow for using the same antenna modules for both sides.

[0012] The modem 201 is used to exchange control and status signaling with a network node

[0013] 101 that is controlling the NCR 105. For this, the modem 201 supports at least a sub-set of UE functions. NCR control and status information is further exchanged between the modem 201 and the controller 203. The modem 201 might be equipped with antennas separated from the antennas used by the repeater 205; but in most configurations, the modem 201 and repeater 205 will share antenna configurations.

[0014] The controller 203 is used to control the repeater 205, by for example providing beamforming information, power control information etc. The controller 203 is connected to the network node 101 through the modem 201 such that the network node 101 can control the controller 203 and, in that way, control the repeater 205.

[0015] Both the modem 201 and the controller 203 can be assumed to be part of building up a Mobile Termination (MT) function in the NCR 105.

[0016] The repeater’s amplify-and-forward operation is controlled by the controller 203. The controller 203 could also be directly responsible for the beamforming control on the service antenna side, i.e. , to / from served UEs 103. In an alternative, the beamforming on the service antenna side is operated by the repeater 205 under control of the controller 203. On the donor antenna side, i.e., to / from the controlling network node 101 , the modem 201 could be directly responsible for the beamforming control. In an alternative, the beamforming on the service antenna side is operated by the repeater 205 under control of the controller 230 and / or modem 201.

[0017] The modem 201 and the repeater 205 may not only share an antenna configuration but also parts of the analog transmitter and / or receiver, such as power transmit amplifier and / or receiver amplifiers and / or filters.

[0018] The modem 201 and the repeater 205 could be operating at the same or different frequencies. For example, the repeater 205 could operate at a high frequency band (FR2) and the modem 201 could operate at a low frequency band (FR1). FR1 may be in the range of for example 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. FR2 may be in the range of, for example 24.25 GHz to 71.0 GHz.

[0019] As mentioned earlier, the NCR 105 is being introduced into 3GPP Rel-18, where the NCR 105 can be deployed in a network-controlled manner to increase coverage of the network node 101. Whenever an NCR 105 is deployed by the network in a certain spot, the NCR 105 operates according to the configuration received from the network node 101. The surrounding UEs 103 will read DL signaling transmitted by the network node 101 and forwarded by the NCR 105. After that, the UE 103 will setup a connection to the network node 101 via the NCR 105 in a blind manner. A blind manner may comprise that the NCR 105 just forwards received controlling and forward between the UE 103 and the network node 101, in a transparent fashion, i.e., without decoding the control signaling. The NCR 105 would be always active monitoring the DL from the network node 101, and the UL from the UEs 103 in order to not lose any transmission. This is not energy efficient for the NCR 105, also considering the fact that the NCR 105 may be a battery powered device and may not be always directly connected to the electricity grid.

[0020] Further, existing mechanisms imply that the NCR 105 always receives an explicit indication by the network node 101 on when the forwarding 105a part of the NCR 105 should be ON or OFF. However, this has at least two drawbacks i) it is only the forwarding part 105a of the NCR 105 that can be switched ON or OFF and not the whole NCR 105 and ii) the mobile termination part 105b of the NCR 105 is forced to always monitor DL signals from the network node 101 in order to receives the commands about the state of the forwarding part 105a.

[0021] In view of the above, there is a strive to develop further improved technology relating to energy saving mechanism for the NCR 105.

[0022] SUMMARY

[0023] An objective is to obviate at least one of the above disadvantages and to provide improved energy saving mechanism for the NCR.

[0024] According to a first aspect, the objective is achieved by a method performed by an NCR for handling Discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations in a communications network. The NCR is arranged to communicate with a UE and a network node via links. The links comprise a first link between the NCR and the UE and a second link between the NCR and the network node. The NCR obtains one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node. The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations are associated with network node control of the NCR’s reception of signals from the UE and / or from the network node. The NCR monitors the links according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations and acts according to a result of the monitoring.

[0025] According to a second aspect, the objective is achieved by a method performed by a UE for handling DRX configurations in a communications network. The UE is arranged to communicate with an NCR via a first link. The UE obtains, from the NCR, information indicating the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations applied by the NCR. The UE acts according to the information obtained from the NCR.

[0026] According to a third aspect, the objective is achieved by a method performed by a network node for handling DRX configurations in a communications network. The network node is arranged to communicate with an NCR via a second link. The network node determines one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR. The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations are associated with network node control of the NCR’s reception of signals from the UE and / or from the network node. The network node provides the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR.

[0027] According to a fourth aspect, the objective is achieved by an NCR for handling DRX configurations in a communications network. The NCR is arranged to communicate with a UE and a network node via links. The links comprise a first link between the NCR and the UE and a second link between the NCR and the network node. The NCR is arranged to obtain one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node. The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations are associated with network node control of the NCR’s reception of signals from the UE and / or from the network node. The NCR is arranged to monitor the links according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. The NCR is arranged to act according to a result of the monitoring.

[0028] According to a fifth aspect, the objective is achieved by a UE for handling DRX configurations in a communications network. The UE is arranged to communicate with an NCR via a first link. The UE is arranged to obtain, from the NCR, information indicating the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations applied by the NCR. The UE is arranged to act according to the information obtained from the NCR.

[0029] According to a sixth aspect, the objective is achieved by a network node for handling DRX configurations in a communications network. The network node is arranged to communicate with an NCR via a second link. The network node is arranged to determine one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR. The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations are associated with network node control of the NCR’s reception of signals from the UE and / or from the network node. The network node is arranged to provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR.

[0030] Thanks to the the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, the NCR’s reception of signals towards the network node and / or the UE may be controlled by the network in an energy saving optimized fashion. Thus, the energy saving mechanism for the NCR is improved.

[0031] The present disclosure herein affords many advantages, of which a non-exhaustive list of examples follows:

[0032] An advantage of the present disclosure is that with the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, the NCR achieves efficient energy saving.

[0033] An advantage of the present disclosure is that spectrum utilization efficiency can be improved. In other words, there will be more UEs concurrently served by the NCR in an active period according to one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, so that the spectrum utilization efficiency during this active period can be improved.

[0034] An advantage of the present disclosure is that UEs served by the NCR achieves efficient energy saving, since the UEs can apply one or multiple UE DRX configurations which are aligned with the NCR’s one or multiple NCR DRX configurations.

[0035] The present disclosure is not limited to the features and advantages mentioned above. A person skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.

[0036] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The present disclosure will now be described in more detail by way of example only in the following detailed description by reference to the appended drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a communication network.

[0038] Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a communication network.

[0039] Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a communication network.

[0040] Fig. 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method.

[0041] Fig. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating a DRX configuration.

[0042] Fig. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method performed by the NCR.

[0043] Fig. 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method performed by the UE.

[0044] Fig. 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating a method performed by the network node.

[0045] Fig. 9a is a schematic drawing illustrating an NCR.

[0046] Fig. 9b is a schematic drawing illustrating an NCR.

[0047] Fig. 10a is a schematic drawing illustrating a UE.

[0048] Fig. 10b is a schematic drawing illustrating a UE.

[0049] Fig. 11a is a schematic drawing illustrating a network node.

[0050] Fig. 11b is a schematic drawing illustrating a network node.

[0051] Fig. 12 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a communication system.

[0052] Fig. 13 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a UE.

[0053] Fig. 14 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a network node.

[0054] Fig. 15 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a host.

[0055] Fig. 16 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example of a virtualization environment.

[0056] Fig. 17 is a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a

[0057] UE.

[0058] The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and the dimensions of certain features may have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Emphasis is instead placed upon illustrating the principle.

[0059] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The present disclosure relates to that the NCR 105 is configured with one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for controlling its reception from the network node 101 and / or the UEs 103. The NCR 105 may measure receiving activities for each first link 108. Based on the measurement, the NCR 105 may determine and recommend one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations to the network node 101. Alternatively, the NCR 105 may send the measurement results for a first link 108 to the network node 101 , based on which the network node 101 may determine and provide one or multiple suitable NCR DRX configurations for the corresponding first link to the UE 103. In order to improve energy saving for each UE 103, which accesses an NCR 105, whenever the NCR 105 receives signaling from the network node 101 indicating the NCR activity level may need to be changed, the NCR 105 may broadcast the signaling to all UEs 103 served by the NCR 105. Upon reception of the signaling, each UE 103 may adjust its one or multiple UE DRX configurations accordingly.

[0061] The present disclosure introduces support of an NCR DRX mechanism for the NCR 105 to control receptions of the NCR 105 in order to achieve energy saving. The NCR DRX mechanism may affect different build blocks and / or entities of the NCR 105. The present disclosure may refer to the term NCR without further differentiation between different build blocks and / or entities of the NCR 105. However, certain parts may be only applicable to the build block and / or entity of the NCR 105 which is responsible for reception from the network node 101, while other parts may be only applicable to the build block and / or entity which is responsible for reception from the UE 103.

[0062] The one or multiple NCR DRX configuration at the NCR apply to reception of non-limiting options, e.g.,

[0063] • third link signaling, e.g. control link signaling.

[0064] • second link signaling / transmissions, e.g. backhaul link signal / transmissions.

[0065] • first link signaling / transmissions, e.g. access link signaling / transmissions.

[0066] • data transmissions.

[0067] Herein, signalling may be referred to as a signal, data, information, etc.

[0068] Fig. 3 is a non-limiting example of a communications network 100, which may be a wireless communications system, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications network, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which the present disclosure may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, NR-U or Next Gen system or network. The communications system 100 may alternatively be a younger system or older system than a 5G system, such as e.g. a 2G system, a 3G system, a 4G system, a 6G system a 7G system etc. The communications system 100 may support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced / LTE-Advanced Pro, e.g. LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, NB-loT. Thus, although terminology from 5G / NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify, this should not be seen as limiting to only the aforementioned systems. The communications system 100 comprises one or a plurality of network nodes, whereof one network node 101 is depicted in the non-limiting example of fig. 3. The network node 101 may be a radio network node, such as a radio base station, or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the communications network 100. The network node 101 may be an eNB, a gNB, a MeNB, just to mention some examples.

[0069] The communications network 100 covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a network node, although, one network node may serve one or several cells. A cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the network node at a network node site. Each cell is identified by an identity within the local network node area, which is broadcast in the cell. The network node 101 may be of a certain class, such as, e.g., macro base station (BS), home BS or pico BS, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. The network node 101 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, which are not depicted in fig. 3 for the sake of simplicity. The network node 101 may be a distributed node, such as a virtual node in the cloud, and it may perform its functions entirely on the cloud, or partially, in collaboration with another network node.

[0070] One or a plurality of UEs 103 is comprised in the communication network 100. Only one UE 103 is exemplified in fig. 3 for the sake of simplicity. A UE 103 may also be referred to simply as a device. The UE 103, e.g. an LTE UE or a 5G / NR UE, may be a wireless communication device which may also be known as e.g., a wireless device, a mobile terminal, wireless terminal and / or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some examples. The UE 103 may be a device by which a subscriber may access services offered by an operator’s network and services outside operator’s network to which the operator’s radio access network and core network provide access, e.g. access to the Internet. The UE 103 may be any device, mobile or stationary, enabled to communicate over a radio channel in the communications system 100, for instance but not limited to e.g. UE, mobile phone, smart phone, sensors, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical appliances, media players, cameras, Machine to Machine (M2M) device, Internet of Things (IOT) device, terminal device, communication device or any type of consumer electronic, for instance but not limited to television, radio, lighting arrangements, tablet computer, laptop or Personal Computer (PC). The UE 103 may be portable, pocket storable, hand held, computer comprised, or vehicle mounted devices, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the radio access network, with another entity, such as another UE, a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in the communications network 100.

[0071] The UE 103 is enabled to communicate wirelessly within the communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g. between two UEs 103, between a UE 103 and a regular telephone, between the UE 103 and a network node 101 , between network nodes, and / or between the UE 103 and a server via the radio access network and possibly one or more core networks and possibly the internet.

[0072] An NCR 105 is comprised in the communication network 100. The NCR is arranged between the network node 101 and the UE 103. The NCR 105 is arranged to be controlled by the network, i.e. the network node 101. In short, the NCR 105 is arranged to monitor incoming signals on a frequency and send the same signal but amplified, hence improving the coverage. The NCR 105 may be referred to as a repeater. The NCR 105 may not necessarily amplify a received signal but may instead transmit the signal without amplifying it.

[0073] The communications network 100 comprises links, also referred to as communication links, radio links etc. A first link 108 is arranged between the UE 103 and the NCR 105. A second link 110, 113 is arranged between the network node 101 and the NCR 105. A third link 113 may be arranged between the network node 101 and the NCR. Thus, there may be one or two links between the network node 101 and the NCR 105, e.g. a second link 110 and optionally also a third link 113.

[0074] The NCR 105 may be connected to one or multiple UEs 103, and there may be one or multiple first links 108 arranged between the NCR 105 and each of the UEs 103. This means that if there are multiple UEs 103, then the communication network 100 may comprise multiple first links 108, i.e. one or multiple first links 108 for each UE 103. As another alternative, multiple UEs 103 may share the same first link 108. The network node 101 and the NCR 105 are arranged to communicate with each other via the second link 110, and possibly also the third link 113. The UE 103 and the NCR 105 are arranged to communicate with each other over the first link 108. The first link 108 may be an access link. The second link 110 may be a backhaul link or a control link. The third link 113 may be a control link. In an example, the network node 101 sends a signal on the second link 110, 113 to the NCR 105, the NCR 105 amplifies the signal and forwards the amplified version of the signal to the UE 103 on the first link 108. In another example, the U E 103 sends a signal on the first link 110, 113 to the NCR 105, the NCR 105 amplifies the signal and forwards the amplified version of the signal to the network node 101 on the second link 110, 113. In yet another example, the NCR 105 may send a signal to the network node 101 on the second link 110, 113 without amplifying the signal, i.e. the signal received by the network node 101 is not amplified with respect to the signal received by the NCR 105. Thus, the communication network 100 may comprise one or more of the following links 108, 110, 113:

[0075] First link 108, e.g. access link.

[0076] Second link 110, 113, e.g. backhaul link, control link etc.

[0077] Third link 113, e.g. control link.

[0078] The signal transmitted on the links 108, 110, 113 may be amplified or not amplified. For example, the signal transmitted on the first link 108, e.g. the access link 108, and the second link 110, 113, e.g. the backhaul link 110, may be amplified. The signal transmitted on the second link 110, 113 and the third link 113, e.g. the control link 113, may not be amplified. The signal transmitted on the control link 113 may be referred to as a control signal.

[0079] The communication network 100 in fig. 3 is illustrated with two links only as an example. The communications network 100 may comprise any n number of links, where n is a positive integer. The number of links between the network node 101 and the NCR 105 may be the same as or it may be different than the number of links between the UE 103 and the NCR 105.

[0080] It should be noted that the links in the communications network 100 may be of any suitable kind comprising either a wired or wireless link. The link may use any suitable protocol depending on type and level of layer (e.g. as indicated by the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model) as understood by the person skilled in the art. The method for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100 will now be described with reference to the signaling diagram in fig. 4. The method comprises the following steps, which steps may as well be carried out in another suitable order than described below.

[0081] Step 400

[0082] The NCR 105 may monitor signals from the UEs 103 on the first link 108, e.g. the access link for a configured time period. After that, the NCR 105 may provide a measurement report for the first link 108 to the network node 101. The network node 101 may obtain the measurement report from the NCR 105.

[0083] The measurement report may comprise at least one of the below information: how often the NCR 105 receives any signal from a UE 103 measured radio signal strength. o the radio signal strength may be measured in terms of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Signal-to-lnterference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-lnterference-Ratio (SIR) etc. o the measurement report may comprise an averaged measurement among all measurement samples. o the measurement report may comprise measurement result for each measurement sample. the frequency region where measurements are collected. o the frequency region may be expressed as one of the below formats:

[0084] ■ a bandwidth region comprising a start frequency location and an end frequency location.

[0085] ■ a bandwidth region comprising a center frequency and a bandwidth around the center frequency.

[0086] ■ a bandwidth region comprising a range of Physical Resource Blocks (PRB)

[0087] ■ a bandwidth region is a Bandwidth Part (BWP).

[0088] ■ a bandwidth region is a carrier. o the measurement report may comprise a frequency region where most measurements / signals are detected and / or collected. o the measurement report may comprise measured frequency region for each measurement sample. the time region where measurements are collected. o the time region may be expressed as one of the below formats:

[0089] ■ a time region comprising a start time location and an end time location.

[0090] ■ a time region comprising a range of slots.

[0091] ■ a time region comprising a range of Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. o the measurement report may comprise a time region where most measurements / signals are detected and / or collected. o the measurement report may comprise measured time region for each measurement sample.

[0092] The NCR 105 may provide the measurement report for the associated first link 108 to the network node 101 via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or a L1 signaling carried on physical channels including Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) etc.

[0093] If the NCR 105 applies multiple first links 108, e.g. multiple access links, the NCR 105 may send measurement reports to the network node 101 for each first link 108 respectively. In this case, the measurement report may also comprise an index of the associated first link 108.

[0094] If the NCR 105 applies multiple RX beams for the first link(s) 108, e.g. the access link(s), the NCR 105 may send measurement reports to the network node 101 per RX beam and / or per link respectively. In this case, the measurement report may also comprise an index of the associated RX beam and / or the index of the associated first link 108.

[0095] Step may be an optional step.

[0096] Step 401

[0097] The network node 101 determines one or multiple NCR DRX configurations.

[0098] The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be described as one or multiple DRX configurations for the NCR 105, one or multiple DRX configurations to be applied by the NCR 105. DRX is a power-saving feature for communication networks to reduce power consumption in e.g. network nodes 101, UEs 103, etc., by periodically turning their receiver. This way, the battery consumption of the particular entity is lowered when there is no UL or DL data to be received. A DRX configuration may be described as a configuration, setting or method enabling the entity to turn its receiver off during periods of inactivity. Using other words, the DRX configuration is a mechanism enabling the entity to enter sleep mode, i.e. off, for a certain time period and to wake up, i.e. on, for another time period. Each NCR DRX configuration may comprise at least one DRX cycle which comprises a ON-duration and an OFF duration. The ON-duration may be referred to as an ON period, an awake period, etc. The OFF duration may be referred to as an OFF period, a sleep period etc. In the ON-duration, the NCR 105 is arranged to receive signals. In the OFF-duration, the NCR 105 is arranged to not receive signals.

[0099] If the network node 101 has received a measurement report from the NCR 105 in step 400, the network node 101 may determine the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations based on the measurement report. Based on the received measurement reports for the first link 108, the network node 101 may provide one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR 105 for the first link 108 which the measurement report is measured. If there are multiple first links 108 between the NCR 105 and the UEs 103, the network node 101 may determine different NCR DRX configurations for each first link 108 respectively.

[0100] If the NCR 105 does not provide a measurement report for the first link 108 in step 400, i.e., regarding first link receiving activities to the network node 101 , the NCR may instead determine and provide one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations for each first link 108 to the network node 101 , for example via a RRC signaling or a MAC CE. The one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations may be referred to as one or multiple recommended NCR DRX configurations. Upon reception of the signaling, the network node 101 may accept the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations, reject the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations, or reply with suggested settings for one or multiple other NCR DRX configurations to the NCR 105. The one or multiple other NCR DRX configurations are different than the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations.

[0101] In step 401, the network node 101 may determine one or multiple UE DRX configurations which the UE 103 should apply. The one or multiple UE DRX configurations may be based on one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations determined by the UE 103 and sent to the network node 101 via the NCR 105, it may be based on the measurement report in step 400, another measurement report comprising information about measurements done by the UE 103, or it may be determined based on some other information. The network node 101 may determine the one or multiple UE DRX configurations based on the one or multiple NCR DRX configuration, i.e. the one or multiple UE DRX configurations and the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be aligned.

[0102] The one or multiple UE DRX configurations may be the same as the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations which has previously been determined by the UE 103 itself and send to the network node 101, or it may be different one or multiple UE DRX configurations.

[0103] Each UE DRX configuration may comprise at least one DRX cycle which comprises a ON- duration and an OFF duration. The ON-duration may be referred to as an ON period, an awake period, etc. The OFF duration may be referred to as an OFF period, a sleep period etc. In the ON-duration, the UE 103 is arranged to receive signals. In the OFF-duration, the UE 103 is arranged to not receive signals.

[0104] Step 402

[0105] The network node 101 may provide the determined one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR 105 using the second link 110 or the third link 113. The NCR 105 may obtain the determined one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from the network node 101. This may be described as the network node 101 configures the NCR 10 with the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations.

[0106] The network node 101 may provide information indicating one of the following to the NCR 105: a) the NCR 105 shall go to inactive / sleep mode, optionally for a configured time period. b) the NCR 105 shall go to full active mode, optionally with a time when the NCR 105 goes to full active mode. c) the NCR 105 applies an NCR DRX configuration for one or multiple links, i.e., one or multiple the links. d) the NCR 105 is de-configured with a NCR DRX configuration for a link or links, i.e., one or multiple of the first link 108 and the second link 110, 113, and optionally the third link 113. e) the NCR 105 is updated with a new NCR DRX configuration for one link or multiple links, i.e., one or multiple of the first link 108 and the second link 110, 113, and optionally the third link 113. The information a)-e) above may be transmitted to the NCR 105 together with the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations or it may be transmitted separately, i.e. in a separate message not comprising the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations.

[0107] The network node 101 may provide the one or multiple UE DRX configurations from step 401 to the NCR 105 for further transmission to the UE 103. Using other words, the network node 101 may provide the UE DRX configuration to the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0108] There may be one NCR DRX configuration common for all links 108, 110, 113. There may be different NCR DRX configurations for each of the links 108, 110, 113, i.e. a first NCR DRX configuration for the first link 108 and a second NCR DRX configuration for the second link 110, 113. If there is a third link 113, then there may be a third NCR DRX configuration for the third link 113. There may be a first NCR DRX configuration which is common for two of the links, and a second NCR DRX configuration for the remaining link.

[0109] The NCR 105 may be configured with one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. Each NCR DRX configuration may comprise at least one DRX cycle which comprises a ON-duration and the sleep period. During each ON-duration, the NCR 105 may determine to be ON and thus able to monitor at least one of the links 108, 110, 113.

[0110] In one example, one NCR DRX configuration may apply to the third link 113, e.g. the control link, between the NCR 105 and the network node 101 but not the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link. This means that during the ON-duration the NCR 105 monitors such link and is able to receive control link signaling from the network node 101. Also, in such a case the NCR 105 may consider itself to be always ON with respect to the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, even outside the ON-duration timer.

[0111] An NCR DRX configuration may apply only to the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, between the NCR 105 and the network node 101 , but not the third link 113, e.g. the control link.

[0112] An NCR DRX configuration may apply to both the second link 110 and the third link 113, e.g. the backhaul link and the control link, between the NCR 105 and the network node 101. The NCR 150 may be configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the third link 113, e.g. the control link.

[0113] The NCR 105 may be configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link.

[0114] The NCR 105 may be configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the first link 108, e.g. the access link.

[0115] The NCR DRX configuration for the second link 110 or the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link or the access link, may be controlled by the third link 113, e.g. the control link, of the NCR 105, i.e., the network node 101 indicates or provides NCR DRX configuration related signaling to the third link 113, e.g. the control link, of the NCR 105 which applies DRX cycles over the second link 110 or the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link or access link.

[0116] The NCR 105 may be configured with a common NCR DRX configuration for both the third link 113 and the second link 110, e.g. the control link and the backhaul link.

[0117] The NCR 105 may be configured with a common NCR DRX configuration for all links 108, 110, 113 comprising the third link 113, the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the control link, the backhaul link and the access link.

[0118] The NCR DRX configuration applied at the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link and the access link, may be different in such a manner that ON-duration timer at the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, may overlap with an OFF-duration timer at the first link 108, e.g. the access link, and vice-versa. The on-duration may be referred to as DRX ON and the OFF-duration may be referred to as DRX OFF. This is illustrated in fig. 5. This may occur for example when the NCR 105 does not need to do immediate forwarding of received signals. Such operation may be due to that the entity which needs to receive the data forwarded by the NCR 105 may be in sleep state. The top part of fig. 5 represents the NCR DRX configuration applied to the second link 110 and the bottom part of fig. 5 represents the NCR DRX configuration applied to the first link 108. Fig. 5 illustrates an example of an NCR DRX configuration applied at the second link 110 and another NCR DRX configuration applied at the first link 108. The shaded parts represent the ON-duration, and the blank or white parts represents a sleep period or sleep timer. The ON-duration of an NCR DRX configuration corresponds to OFF / sleep duration of another NCR DRX configuration.

[0119] Now returning to fig. 4.

[0120] Step 403

[0121] The network node 101 provides the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE 103 via the NCR 105. The UE 103 obtains the one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105. This may be described as the network node 101 sending the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0122] If the NCR 105 received one of the information parts a)-e) in in step 402, the NCR 105 may provide, e.g. transmit or broadcast, one or more of the following to the UE 103 on the first link 108:

[0123] • Indicator indicating that the information / signaling is broadcasted by an NCR 105 rather than the network node 101, and / or

[0124] • An index of the NCR 105, and / or

[0125] • Information indicating that the NCR 105 soon becomes active or inactive, optionally for a configured time period. Active corresponds to the ON-period and inactive corresponds to the OFF-period, and / or

[0126] • Information indicating that the NCR 105 soon applies one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. The detailed one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may also be signaled to the UE 103.

[0127] Note that broadcast may mean that the NCR 105 may use a common channel or common link to provide the information to the UE 103, or it can decide to provide the information one-by-one to each UE 103 connected to the NCR 105. For this latter case, the NCR 105 may use the same beam and / or direction over which some signalling was previously received. For instance, if the NCR 105 has received signalling over beam 1 , beam 2, and beam 3 over the first link 108, the NCR 105 may forward the information over beam 1, beam 2, and beam 3 because it is assumed there is on-going activity on those beams.

[0128] The NCR 105 may provide the information and the UE DRX configuration to the UE 103 using a transmission beam corresponding to the recently applied RX beam towards the UE 103. Step 403 may comprise that the network node 101 provides the NCR DRX configuration to the UE 103. The UE 103 may later use the NCR DRX configuration when determining a preferred UE DRX configuration.

[0129] Upon reception of the UE DRX configuration and / or the other information in step 403, the UE 103 may perform one or more of the below actions:

[0130] • Change from a current NCR 105 to another NCR 105.

[0131] • Change from a current cell to a different cell.

[0132] • Determine and recommend one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations for the UE’s reception of signal(s) from the network node 101 and / or the NCR 105, which may be corresponding to and / or aligned with one or multiple received UE DRX configurations from the NCR 105 in step 403. The preferred one or multiple UE DRX configurations may be referred to as one or multiple recommended UE DRX configurations. o Two UE DRX configurations that are aligned between each other may mean that, the two UE DRX configurations give the same or overlapping, full or partial overlapping, active durations. o The UE 103 may send the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101. After the reception of this one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations, the network node 101 may accept the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configuration, reject the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configuration, or suggest another one or multiple UE DRX configurations for the UE 103 which is different from the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configuration.

[0133] Step 404

[0134] The NCR 105 monitors one or more of the links 108, 110, 113 according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. This may be described as the NCR 105 listens for one or more signals from the network node 101 and / or the UE 103 on one or more of the links 108, 110, 113. A result of the monitoring may be that a signal from the network node 101 and / or from the UE 103 is obtained by the NCR 105. When the monitoring is performed according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, the NCR 105 monitors one or more of the links 108, 110, 113 according to a time schedule indicated by the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may indicate one or more on periods and one or more-off periods. The on period may be an on duration and the off period may be an off duration. The on period may be an awake period in which the NCR 105 is awake and monitors one or more of the link(s). The off period may be a sleep period during which the NCR 105 is asleep and does not monitor any of the links 108, 110, 113. During the off period, the NCR 105 does not consume power for the monitoring of the one or more links 108, 110, 113. The off period may be referred to as a power saving mode.

[0135] The NCR 105 may monitor all links, i.e. the first link 108 and the second link 110, 113, and optionally the third link 113 if it is present. The NCR 105 may monitor one link, or it may monitor two links, it may monitor three links, or it may monitor any n number of links, where n is a positive integer.

[0136] If the NCR 105 is configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the third link 113, e.g. the control link, the NCR 105 may only monitor the third link 113, e.g. the control link, when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration.

[0137] If the NCR 105 is configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, the NCR 105 may only monitor the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration.

[0138] If the NCR 105 is configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the first link 108, e.g. the access link, then the NCR 105 may only monitor the first link 108, e.g. the access link, when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration.

[0139] If the NCR 105 is configured with a common NCR DRX configuration for both the third link 113 and the second link 110, e.g. the control link and the backhaul link, then the NCR 105 may only monitor both links when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration.

[0140] If the NCR 105 is configured with a common NCR DRX configuration for all links including the third link 113, the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the control link, the backhaul link and the access link, then the NCR 105 may only monitor all links when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration.

[0141] The part of the NCR 105 that monitors one or more of the links 108, 110, 113 according to the received one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be the mobile termination part 105b as illustrated in fig. 1, e.g. the NCR-MT entity. This may mean that the mobile termination part 105b may need to monitor traffic coming to at least three group of beams each group belonging to second link 110, the third link 113 or the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link, control link, or access link. According to this, while the mobile termination part 105b may perform a direct beam monitoring over the third link 113, which may be a direct between the mobile termination part 105b and the network node 101 , in order to do beam monitoring over the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link and access link, the mobile termination part 105b may rely on one of the following to do so:

[0142] It may be the mobile termination part 105b that performs the beam monitoring over the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link and access link. The forwarding part 105a may inform the mobile termination part 105b about the activity tracked over the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link and access link. How the forwarding part 105a exchanges this information with the mobile termination part 105b may be done via an ideal interface between the mobile termination part 105b and the forwarding part 105a. With this, the forwarding part 105a may also be enhanced with a logic entity that has some functionalities of the mobile termination part 105b, such as the one for performing the beam monitoring.

[0143] It may be the mobile termination part 105b itself that performs the beam monitoring over the second link 110 and the first link 108, e.g. the backhaul link and access link, and the forwarding part 105a. This may mean that the modem part of the mobile termination part 105b may instruct the controller 203 of the mobile termination part 105b to perform beam monitoring on the first link 108, the second link 110 and the third link 113. According to this, the mobile termination part 105b may have the capabilities to monitor the beams over the three link simultaneously or one at the time.

[0144] Step 405

[0145] The NCR 105 acts according to a result of the monitoring in step 404. If the result of the monitoring in step 404 indicates a signal received from the UE 103, then the action taken by the NCR 105 may be to amplifying and forwarding the signal from the UE 103 to the network node 101 , or to send the signal to the network node 101 without amplifying it. If the result of the monitoring in step 405 indicates a signal received from the network node 101 , then the action taken by the NCR 105 may be to amplify and forward the signal from the network node 101 to the UE 103, or to send the signal to the UE 103 without amplifying it.

[0146] If the NCR 105 is configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, then the NCR 105 may only monitor the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration. In such example, whenever the NCR 105 has received any signal from the network node 101 on the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link, the NCR 105 may forward an amplified version of it that then may be received by the UE 103 on the first link 110, e.g. the access link. In another example, the NCR 105 may forward the signal to the UE 103 without amplifying it.

[0147] If the NCR 105 is configured with an NCR DRX configuration for the first link 108, e.g. the access link, then the NCR 105 may only monitor the first link 108, e.g. the access link, when the NCR 105 is active according to the NCR DRX configuration. In such example, whenever the NCR 105 has received any signal from a UE 103 on the first link 108, e.g. the access link, the NCR 105 may then forward an amplified version of it that then can be received by the network node 10 on the second link 110, e.g. the backhaul link.

[0148] Some aspects of the present disclosure may be summarized as follows:

[0149] The NCR 105 is to be configured with one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for controlling its reception towards the network node 101 and / or the UEs 103.

[0150] The NCR 105 may be configured with different NCR DRX configuration for each of the one or more of the first link 108, the second link 110 and the third link 113.

[0151] The NCR may be configured with the same NCR DRX configuration for all links 108, 110, 113 in the communication network 100.

[0152] The NCR 105 may measure receiving activities for each first link 108. Based on the measurement, the NCR 105 may determine and recommend one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations. Alternatively, the NCR 105 may send the measurement results for a first link 108 to the network node 101 , based on which the network node 101 may determine and provide one or multiple suitable NCR DRX configurations for the corresponding first link 108 to the UE 103.

[0153] In order to improve energy saving for each UE 103, which accesses an NCR 105, whenever the NCR 105 receives a signaling from the network node 101 indicating the NCR activity level may need to be changed, the NCR 105 may broadcast the signaling to all UEs 103 served by the NCR 105. Upon reception of the signaling, each UE 103 may adjust its one or multiple UE DRX configurations accordingly. The UE DRX configuration is the DRX configuration applied by the UE 103.

[0154] The method described above will now be described seen from the perspective of the NCR 105. Fig. 6 is a flowchart describing the present method in the NCR 105 for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100. The NCR 105 is arranged to communicate with a UE 103 and a network node 101 via links 108, 110, 113. The links 108, 110, 113 comprise a first link 108 between the NCR 105 and the UE 103 and a second link 110, 113 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101.

[0155] The links 108, 110, 113 may comprise: the first link 108 between the NCR 105 and the UE 103, and the second link 110, 113 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101.

[0156] The links 108, 110, 113 may comprise: the first link 108 between the NCR 105 and the UE 103, and the second link 110 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101, and the third link 113 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101.

[0157] The method comprises at least one of the following steps to be performed by the NCR 105, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0158] Step 500

[0159] The NCR 105 may monitor at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. Monitoring at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 may comprise to detect signals on one of the links 108, 110, 113.

[0160] Step 501

[0161] The NCR 105 may determine one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations for at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 and based on a result of the monitoring in step 500. The one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations may be determined prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. Consequently, the network node 101 which determines the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may base its decision on the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations or not. Step 502

[0162] The NCR 105 may provide the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations to the network node 101. One purpose of providing the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations when determining the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations.

[0163] Step 503

[0164] Prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations in step 504, the NCR 105 may provide measurement results of the monitoring in step 500 to the network node 101. One purpose of providing the measurement results to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the measurement results when determining the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the measurement results. The network node 101 may use both the measurement results and the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations when determining the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, it may use one of them, or it may use neither of them.

[0165] Step 504

[0166] This step corresponds to step 402 in fig. 4. The NCR 105 obtains one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node 101.

[0167] One NCR DRX configuration may be obtained, and the one NCR DRX configuration may be common for at least two links 108, 110, 113.

[0168] Multiple NCR DRX configurations are obtained, and there may be different NCR DRX configurations for each of the links 108, 110, 113.

[0169] Each NCR DRX configuration may comprise at least one on-duration and at least one off- duration. The NCR 105 may be on and enabled to monitor at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 during the on-duration. The NCR 105 may be off and disabled from monitoring at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 during the off-duration. The on-duration for one of the links 108, 110, 113 may overlap with an off-duration of another of the links 108, 110, 113. 505

[0170] The NCR 105 may provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the UE 101. One purpose of providing the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the UE 103 may be that the UE 103 may use the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations when determining the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations in order for them to be aligned.

[0171] Step 506

[0172] The NCR 105 may obtain one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101.

[0173] Step 507

[0174] The NCR 105 may provide the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE 103.

[0175] Step 508

[0176] The NCR 105 may obtain one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from the UE 103.

[0177] Step 509

[0178] The NCR 105 may provide the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101. One purpose of providing the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the measurement results when determining the one or multiple UE DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations.

[0179] Step 510

[0180] This step corresponds to step 404 in fig. 4. The NCR 105 monitors at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. A result of the monitoring indicates a signal received from the network node 101 and / or the UE 103.

[0181] Step 511

[0182] This step corresponds to step 405 in fig. 4. The NCR 105 acts according to the result of the monitoring. The action may be different depending on if the signal is received from the network node 101 or the UE 103, and this will be described in more detail below with respect to steps 511a and 511b. This step corresponds to step 405 in fig. 4. This step is a substep of step 511. The NCR 105 may amplify and forward the signal to the network node 101 and / or the UE 103. In other words, the NCR 105 may act according to the result of the monitoring by amplifying and forwarding the signal to the network node 101 and / or the UE 103.

[0183] If the result of the monitoring in step 510 indicates that a signal is received from the network node 101, then the NCR may amplify and forward the signal to the UE 103. If the result of the monitoring in step 510 indicates that a signal is received from the UE 103, then the NCR may amplify and forward the signal to the network node 101.

[0184] Step 511b

[0185] This step corresponds to step 405 in fig. 4. This step is a substep of step 511 and a step that may be performed instead of step 511a. The NCR 105 may transmit the signal to the network node 101 and / or the UE 103. Thus, the signal transmitted in step 511b is not an amplified signal, which is different from step 511a where the forwarded signal is an amplified version of the signal.

[0186] If the result of the monitoring in step 510 indicates that a signal is received from the network node 101, then the NCR 105 may transmit the signal to the UE 103. If the result of the monitoring in step 510 indicates that a signal is received from the UE 103, then the NCR 105 may transmit the signal to the network node 101.

[0187] Step 512

[0188] The NCR 105 may obtain information from the network node 101 indicating that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0189] Step 513

[0190] The NCR 105 may provide information indicating adjustment of one or multiple UE DRX configurations to all UEs 105 served by the NCR 105 when the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed. In other words, the NCR 105 changes its NCR activity level by providing information indicating adjustment of one or multiple UE DRX configurations to all UEs 105 served by the NCR 105. The method described above will now be described seen from the perspective of the UE 103. Fig. 7 is a flowchart describing the present method in the UE 103 for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100. The UE 103 is arranged to communicate with an NCR 105 via a first link 108. The method comprises at least one of the following steps to be performed by the UE 103, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0191] Step 600

[0192] The UE 103 may determine one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations. The one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations may be based on the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations.

[0193] Step 601

[0194] The UE 103 may provide the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101 via the NCR 105. One purpose of providing the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the measurement results when determining the one or multiple UE DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations.

[0195] Step 602

[0196] This step corresponds to step 403 in fig. 4. The UE 103 obtains one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0197] The UE 103 may obtain one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0198] The one or multiple UE DRX configurations and the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be obtained by the UE 103 in one message or in separate messages.

[0199] Step 603

[0200] The UE 103 obtains a signal from the network node 101 via the NCR 105 according to the one or multiple UE DRX configurations. Step 604

[0201] The UE 103 may provide a signal to the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0202] Step 605

[0203] The UE 103 may determine to change from a current NCR to another NCR.

[0204] Step 606

[0205] The UE 103 may determine to change from a current serving cell to another serving cell.

[0206] Step 607

[0207] The UE 103 may obtain information indicating adjustment of the one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0208] Step 608

[0209] The UE 103 may adjust the one or multiple UE DRX configurations according to the obtained information.

[0210] The method described above will now be described seen from the perspective of the network node 101. Fig. 8 is a flowchart describing the present method in the network node 101 for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100. The network node 101 is arranged to communicate with an NCR 105 via a second link 110. The network node 101 may be arranged to communicate with the NCR 105 via the second link 110 and a third link 113.

[0211] The method comprises at least one of the following steps to be performed by the network node 101, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than described below:

[0212] Step 700

[0213] Prior to determining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, the network node 101 may obtain, from the NCR 105, measurement results of a monitoring of at least one link in the communication network 100 performed by the NCR 105.

[0214] Step 701

[0215] The network node 101 may obtain information indicating one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations from the NCR 105. The network node 101 may obtain information indicating one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0216] Step 702

[0217] This step corresponds to step 401 in fig. 4. The network node 101 determines one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR 105. Thus, the network node 101 controls the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR 105.

[0218] The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be determined based on the obtained measurement results from step 700.

[0219] The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be determined based on the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations from step 701.

[0220] The network node 101 may determine one or multiple UE DRX configurations for the UE 103. Thus, the network node 101 controls the one or multiple UE DRX configurations for the UE 103.

[0221] The one or multiple UE DRX configurations may be determined based on the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from step 701.

[0222] The network node 101 may determine the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations and the one or multiple UE DRX configurations in the same step or in separate steps.

[0223] Step 703

[0224] This step corresponds to step 402 in fig. 4. The network node 101 provides the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR 105.

[0225] The network node 101 may provide the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0226] The network node 101 may provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations and the one or multiple UE DRX configurations in the message or in separate message. Step 704

[0227] The network node 101 may provide a signal to the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0228] Step 705

[0229] The network node 101 may obtain a signal from the UE 103 via the NCR 105. The signal may be an amplified version of a signal provided by the UE 103 or it may be non-amplified with respect to the signal provided by the UE 103.

[0230] Step 706

[0231] The network node 101 may obtain UE measurement results from the UE 103 via the NCR 105 indicating that the NCR’s activity level is above a first level or below a second level. When the NCR’s activity level is above the first level or below the second level, then it may be an indication of that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0232] Step 707

[0233] The network node 101 may determine that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0234] Step 708

[0235] The network node 101 may provide information to the NCR 105 indicating that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0236] Fig. 9a and fig. 9b depict two different examples in panels a) and b), respectively, of the arrangement that the NCR 105 may comprise. The NCR 105 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in fig 9a.

[0237] To perform the method steps shown in fig. 6 for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100, the NCR 105 may comprise an arrangement as shown in fig. 9a. The NCR 105 is arranged to communicate with a UE 103 and a network node 101 via links 108, 110, 113. The links 108, 110, 113 comprise a first link 108 between the NCR 105 and the UE 103 and a second link 110, 113 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101.

[0238] The links 108, 110, 113 may comprise: the first link 108 between the NCR 105 and the UE 103, and the second link 110, 113 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101. The links 108, 110, 113 may comprise: the first link 108 between the NCR 105 and the UE 103, and the second link 110 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101 , and the third link 113 between the NCR 105 and the network node 101.

[0239] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of a monitoring module 901 , monitor at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. Monitoring at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 may comprise detecting signals on one of the links 108, 110, 113. The monitoring module 901 may also be referred to as a monitoring unit, a monitoring means, a monitoring circuit, means for monitoring etc. The monitoring module 901 may be a processor 903 of the NCR 105 or comprised in the processor 903 of the NCR 105.

[0240] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of a determining module 905, determine one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations for at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 and based on a result of the monitoring in step 500. The one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations may be determined prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. Consequently, the network node 101 which determines the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may base its decision on the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations or not. The determining module 905 may also be referred to as a determining unit, a determining means, a determining circuit, means for determining etc. The determining module 901 may be a processor 903 of the NCR 105 or comprised in the processor 903 of the NCR 105.

[0241] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of a providing module 908, provide the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations to the network node 101. One purpose of providing the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations when determining the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations. The providing module 905 may also be referred to as a providing unit, a providing means, a providing circuit, means for providing etc. The providing module 908 may be a processor 903 of the NCR 105 or comprised in the processor 903 of the NCR 105. The providing module 908 may be a transmitting module, a transmitter or a transceiver comprised in the NCR 105.

[0242] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 908, prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations in step 504, provide measurement results to the network node 101. One purpose of providing the measurement results to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the measurement results when determining the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the measurement results. The network node 101 may use both the measurement results and the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations when determining the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, it may use one of them, or it may use neither of them.

[0243] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of an obtaining module 910, obtain one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node 101. The obtaining module 910 may also be referred to as an obtaining unit, an obtaining means, an obtaining circuit, means for obtaining etc. The obtaining module 910 may be a processor 903 of the NCR 105 or comprised in the processor 903 of the NCR 105. The obtaining module 910 may be a receiving module, a receiver or a transceiver comprised in the NCR 105.

[0244] One NCR DRX configuration may be obtained, and the one NCR DRX configuration may be common for at least two links 108, 110, 113.

[0245] Multiple NCR DRX configurations are obtained, and there may be different NCR DRX configurations for each of the links 108, 110, 113.

[0246] Each NCR DRX configuration may comprise at least one on-duration and at least one off- duration. The NCR 105 may be on and enabled to monitor at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 during the on-duration. The NCR 105 may be off and disabled from monitoring at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 during the off-duration. The on-duration for one of the links 108, 110, 113 may overlap with an off-duration of another of the links 108, 110, 113.

[0247] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 908, provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the UE 101. One purpose of providing the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the UE 103 may be that the UE 103 may use the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations when determining the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations in order for them to be aligned.

[0248] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 910, obtain one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101.

[0249] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 908, provide the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE 103.

[0250] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 910, obtain one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from the UE 103.

[0251] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 908, provide the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101. One purpose of providing the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the measurement results when determining the one or multiple UE DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations.

[0252] The NCR 105 is arranged to, e.g. by means of the monitoring module 910, monitor at least one of the links 108, 110, 113 according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. A result of the monitoring indicates a signal received from the network node 101 and / or the UE 103.

[0253] The NCR 105 is arranged to, e.g. by means of an acting module 913, acts according to the result of the monitoring. The action may be different depending on if the signal is received from the network node 101 or the UE 103, and this will be described in more detail below. The acting module 913 may also be referred to as an acting unit, an acting means, an acting circuit, means for acting etc. The acting module 913 may be a processor 903 of the NCR 105 or comprised in the processor 903 of the NCR 105.

[0254] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the acting module 913, amplify and forward the signal to the network node 101 and / or the UE 103. In other words, the NCR 105 may be arranged to act according to the result of the monitoring by amplifying and forwarding the signal to the network node 101 and / or the UE 103. If the result of the monitoring indicates that a signal is received from the network node 101, then the NCR 105 may be arranged to amplify and forward the signal to the UE 103. If the result of the monitoring indicates that a signal is received from the UE 103, then the NCR 15 may be arranged to amplify and forward the signal to the network node 101.

[0255] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of a transmitting module 915, transmit the signal to the network node 101 and / or the UE 103. The transmitting module 915 may also be referred to as a transmitting unit, a transmitting means, a transmitting circuit, means for transmitting, output unit etc. The transmitting module 915 may be a transmitter, a transceiver etc. The transmitting module 915 may be a wireless transmitter of the NCR 105 of a wireless or fixed communications network.

[0256] If the result of the monitoring indicates that a signal is received from the network node 101, then the NCR 105 may be arranged to transmit the signal to the UE 103. If the result of the monitoring indicates that a signal is received from the UE 103, then the NCR 105 may be arranged to transmit the signal to the network node 101.

[0257] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 910, obtain information from the network node 101 indicating that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0258] The NCR 105 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 908, provide information indicating adjustment of one or multiple UE DRX configurations to all UEs 105 served by the NCR 105 when the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed. In other words, the NCR 105 may be arranged to change its NCR activity level by providing information indicating adjustment of one or multiple UE DRX configurations to all UEs 105 served by the NCR 105.

[0259] The present disclosure related to the NCR 105 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processor 903 in the NCR 105 depicted in fig. 9a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions described herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. 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 present disclosure when being loaded into the NCR 105. 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 be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the NCR 105.

[0260] The NCR 105 may comprise a memory 920 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 920 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the NCR 105.

[0261] The NCR 105 may receive information from, e.g. the network node 101 , and / or the UE 103, through a receiving port 923. The receiving port 923 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in NCR 105. The NCR 105 may receive information from another structure in the communications network 100 through the receiving port 923. Since the receiving port 923 may be in communication with the processor 903, the receiving port 923 may then send the received information to the processor 903. The receiving port 923 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0262] The processor 903 in the NCR 105 may be configured to transmit or send information to e.g. network node 101 , the UE 103 or another structure in the communication network 100, through a sending port 925, which may be in communication with the processor 903, and the memory 920.

[0263] As mentioned above, the NCR 105 may comprise the monitoring module 901 , the determining module 905, the providing module 908, the obtaining module 910, the acting module 913, the transmitting module 915, other module(s) 918 etc.

[0264] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the monitoring module 901 , the determining module 905, the providing module 908, the obtaining module 910, the acting module 913, the transmitting module 915, other module(s) 918 described above may refer to a combination of analogue and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processor 903, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be comprised in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (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).

[0265] The different units 901-918 described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processor 903.

[0266] Thus, the methods described herein for the NCR 105 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 930 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor 901 '3, cause the at least one processor 903 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the NCR 105. The computer program 930 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 933. The computer-readable storage medium 933, having stored thereon the computer program 930, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processor 903, cause the at least one processor 903 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the NCR 105. The computer-readable storage medium 933 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. The computer program 930 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 930 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the first computer-readable storage medium 508, as described above.

[0267] The NCR 105 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the NCR 105 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the network node 101 , the UE 103, or another structure. The interface may comprise a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0268] The NCR 105 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in fig. 9b. The NCR 105 may comprise a processing circuitry 940, e.g., one or more processors such as the processor 903, in the NCR 105 and the memory 920. The NCR 105 may also comprise a radio circuitry 943, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 923 and the sending port 925. The processing circuitry 940 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to fig. 4-6, in a similar manner as that described in relation to fig. 9a. The radio circuitry 943 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the NCR 105. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0269] Hence, the present disclosure also relates to the NCR 105 operative to operate in the communication network 100. The NCR 105 may comprise the processing circuitry 940 and the memory 920. The memory 920 comprises instructions executable by said processing circuitry 903. The NCR 105 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the NCR 105, e.g., in figs. 4-6.

[0270] A computer program product comprises program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method herein in relation to the network node 101 , e.g., in figs. 4-6.

[0271] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method herein in relation to the network node 101, e.g., in figs. 4-6.

[0272] Fig. 10a and fig. 10b depict two different examples in panels a) and b), respectively, of the arrangement that the UE 103 may comprise. The UE 103 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in fig 10a.

[0273] To perform the method steps shown in fig. 7 for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100, the UE 103 may comprise an arrangement as shown in fig. 10a. The UE 103 is arranged to communicate with an NCR 105 via a first link 108.

[0274] The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of a determining module 1001, determine one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations. The one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations may be based on the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations. The determining module 1001 may also be referred to as a determining unit, a determining means, a determining circuit, means for determining etc. The determining module 1001 may be a processor 1003 of the UE 103 or comprised in the processor 1003 of the UE 103.

[0275] The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of a providing module 1005, provide the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101 via the NCR 105. One purpose of providing the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node 101 may be that the network node 101 may use the measurement results when determining the one or multiple UE DRX configurations, or it may decide to not use the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations. The providing module 1005 may also be referred to as a providing unit, a providing means, a providing circuit, means for providing etc. The providing module 1005 may be a processor 1003 of the UE 103 or comprised in the processor 1003 of the UE 103. The providing module 1005 may be a transmitting module, a transmitter or a transceiver comprised in the UE 103.

[0276] The UE 103 is arranged to, e.g. by means of an obtaining module 1008, obtain one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105. The obtaining module 1008 may also be referred to as an obtaining unit, an obtaining means, an obtaining circuit, means for obtaining etc. The obtaining module 1008 may be a processor 1003 of the UE 103 or comprised in the processor 1003 of the UE 103. The obtaining module 1008 may be a receiving module, a receiver or a transceiver comprised in the UE 103.

[0277] The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1008, obtain one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0278] The one or multiple UE DRX configurations and the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be obtained by the UE 103 in one message or in separate messages.

[0279] The UE 103 is arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1008, obtain a signal from the network node 101 via the NCR 105 according to the one or multiple UE DRX configurations.

[0280] The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 1005, provide a signal to the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0281] The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the determining module 1001, determine to change from a current NCR to another NCR.

[0282] The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the determining module 1001, determine to change from a current serving cell to another serving cell. The UE 103 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1008, obtain information indicating adjustment of the one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node 101 via the NCR 105.

[0283] The UE 103 is arranged to, e.g. by means of an adjusting module 1010, adjust the one or multiple UE DRX configurations according to the obtained information. The adjusting module 1010 may also be referred to as an adjusting unit, an adjusting means, an adjusting circuit, means for adjusting etc. The adjusting module 1010 may be a processor 1003 of the UE 103 or comprised in the processor 1003 of the UE 103.

[0284] The present disclosure related to the UE 103 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processor 1003 in the UE 103 depicted in fig. 10a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions described herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. 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 present disclosure when being loaded into the UE 103. 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 be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the UE 103.

[0285] The UE 103 may comprise a memory 1015 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1015 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the UE 103.

[0286] The UE 103 may receive information from, e.g. the network node 101, and / or the NCR 105, through a receiving port 1018. The receiving port 1018 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in UE 103. The UE 103 may receive information from another structure in the communications network 100 through the receiving port 1018. Since the receiving port 1018 may be in communication with the processor 1003, the receiving port 1018 may then send the received information to the processor 1003. The receiving port 1018 may also be configured to receive other information. The processor 1003 in the UE 103 may be configured to transmit or send information to e.g. network node 101 , the NCR 105 or another structure in the communication network 100, through a sending port 1020, which may be in communication with the processor 1003, and the memory 1015.

[0287] As mentioned above, the UE 103 may comprise the determining module 1001 , the providing module 1005, the obtaining module 1008, the adjusting module 1010, other module(s) 1013 etc.

[0288] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the determining module 1001 , the providing module 1005, the obtaining module 1008, the adjusting module 1010, other module(s) 1013 described above may refer to a combination of analogue and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processor 1003, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be comprised in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (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).

[0289] The different units 1001-1013 described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processor 1003.

[0290] Thus, the methods described herein for the UE 103 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1023 product, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor 1003, cause the at least one processor 1003 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the UE 103. The computer program 1023 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1025. The computer-readable storage medium 1025, having stored thereon the computer program 1023, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processor 1003, cause the at least one processor 1003 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the UE 103. The computer-readable storage medium 1025 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. The computer program 1023 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 930 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the first computer-readable storage medium 508, as described above.

[0291] The UE 103 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the UE 103 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the network node 101 , the NCR 105, or another structure. The interface may comprise a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0292] The UE 103 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in fig. 10b. The UE 103 may comprise a processing circuitry 1028, e.g., one or more processors such as the processor 1003, in the UE 103 and the memory 1015. The UE 103 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1030, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1019 and the sending port 1020. The processing circuitry 1028 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to fig. 4-5 and 7, in a similar manner as that described in relation to fig. 10a. The radio circuitry 1030 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the UE 103. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0293] Hence, the present disclosure also relates to the UE 103 operative to operate in the communication network 100. The UE 103 may comprise the processing circuitry 1028 and the memory 1015. The memory 1015 comprises instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1028. The UE 103 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the UE 103, e.g., in figs. 4-5 and7.

[0294] A computer program product comprises program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method herein in relation to the network node 101 , e.g., in figs. 4-5 and 7.

[0295] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method herein in relation to the network node 101, e.g., in figs. 4-5 and 7. Fig. 11a and fig. 11b depict two different examples in panels a) and b), respectively, of the arrangement that the network node 101 may comprise. The network node 101 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in fig 11a.

[0296] To perform the method steps shown in fig. 8 for handling DRX configurations in a communications network 100, the network node 101 may comprise an arrangement as shown in fig. 11a.

[0297] The network node 101 is arranged to communicate with an NCR 105 via a second link 110. The network node 101 may be arranged to communicate with the NCR 105 via the second link 110 and a third link 113.

[0298] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of an obtaining module 1101 prior to determining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, obtain, from the NCR 105, measurement results of a monitoring of at least one link in the communication network 100 performed by the NCR 105. The obtaining module 1101 may also be referred to as an obtaining unit, an obtaining means, an obtaining circuit, means for obtaining etc. The obtaining module 1101 may be a processor 1103 of the network node 101 or comprised in the processor 1103 of the network node 101. The obtaining module 1101 may be a receiving module, a receiver or a transceiver comprised in the network node 101.

[0299] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1101, obtain information indicating one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations from the NCR 105.

[0300] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1101, obtain information indicating one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0301] The network node 101 is arranged to, e.g. by means of a determining module 1105, determine one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR 105. Thus, the network node 101 controls the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR 105. The determining module 1105 may also be referred to as a determining unit, a determining means, a determining circuit, means for determining etc. The determining module 1105 may be the processor 1103 of the network node 101 or comprised in the processor 1103 of the network node 101.

[0302] The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be determined based on the obtained measurement results.

[0303] The one or multiple NCR DRX configurations may be determined based on the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations.

[0304] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the determining module 1105, determine one or multiple UE DRX configurations for the UE 103. Thus, the network node 101 controls the one or multiple UE DRX configurations for the UE 103.

[0305] The one or multiple UE DRX configurations may be determined based on the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from step 701.

[0306] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the determining module 1105, determine the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations and the one or multiple UE DRX configurations in the same step or in separate steps.

[0307] The network node 101 is arranged to, e.g. by means of a providing module 1108, provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR 105. The providing module 1108 may also be referred to as a providing unit, a providing means, a providing circuit, means for providing etc. The providing module 1108 may be a processor 1103 of the network node 101 or comprised in the processor 1103 of the network node 101. The providing module 1108 may be a transmitting module, a transmitter or a transceiver comprised in the network node 101.

[0308] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 1108, provide the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0309] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 1108, provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations and the one or multiple UE DRX configurations in the message or in separate message. The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 1108, provide a signal to the UE 103 via the NCR 105.

[0310] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1101, obtain a signal from the UE 103 via the NCR 105. The signal may be an amplified version of a signal provided by the UE 103 or it may be non-amplified with respect to the signal provided by the UE 103.

[0311] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the obtaining module 1101, obtain UE measurement results from the UE 103 via the NCR 105 indicating that the NCR’s activity level is above a first level or below a second level. When the NCR’s activity level is above the first level or below the second level, then it may be an indication of that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0312] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the determining module 1105, determine that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0313] The network node 101 may be arranged to, e.g. by means of the providing module 1108, provide information to the NCR 105 indicating that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

[0314] The present disclosure related to the network node 101 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processor 1103 in the network node 101 depicted in fig. 10a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions described herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. 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 present disclosure when being loaded into the network node 101. 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 be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the network node 101.

[0315] The network node 101 may comprise a memory 1110 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1110 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the network node 101.

[0316] The network node 101 may receive information from, e.g. the UE 103, and / or the NCR 105, through a receiving port 1113. The receiving port 1113 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in network node 101. The network node 101 may receive information from another structure in the communications network 100 through the receiving port 1113. Since the receiving port 1113 may be in communication with the processor 1103, the receiving port 1113 may then send the received information to the processor 1103. The receiving port 1113 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0317] The processor 1103 in the network node 101 may be configured to transmit or send information to e.g. UE 103, the NCR 105 or another structure in the communication network 100, through a sending port 1115, which may be in communication with the processor 1103, and the memory 1110.

[0318] As mentioned above, the network node 101 may comprise the obtaining module 1101 , the determining module, the providing module 1108, other module(s) 1109 etc.

[0319] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the obtaining module 1101 , the determining module, the providing module 1108, other module(s) 1109 described above may refer to a combination of analogue and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processor 1103, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be comprised in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (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).

[0320] The different units 1101-1109 described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processor 1003.

[0321] Thus, the methods described herein for the network node 101 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1120 product, comprising instructions, i.e. , software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor 1103, cause the at least one processor 1103 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 101. The computer program 1120 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1123. The computer-readable storage medium 1123, having stored thereon the computer program 1120, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processor 1103, cause the at least one processor 1103 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the network node 101. The computer-readable storage medium 1123 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. The computer program 1120 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1120 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the first computer-readable storage medium 1120, as described above.

[0322] The network node 101 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the network node 101 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the UE 103, the NCR 105, or another structure. The interface may comprise a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0323] The network node 101 may comprise the following arrangement depicted in fig. 11b. The II network node 101 may comprise a processing circuitry 1125, e.g., one or more processors such as the processor 1103, in the network node 101 and the memory 1110. The network node 101 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1128, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1113 and the sending port 1115. The processing circuitry 1125 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to fig. 4-5 and 8, in a similar manner as that described in relation to fig. 11a. The radio circuitry 1128 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the network node 101. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0324] Hence, the present disclosure also relates to the network node 101 operative to operate in the communication network 100. The network node 101 may comprise the processing circuitry 1125 and the memory 1110. The memory 1110 comprises instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1125. The network node 101 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the network node 101 , e.g., in figs. 4-5 and 8. A computer program product comprises program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method herein in relation to the network node 101 , e.g., in figs. 4-5 and 8.

[0325] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method herein in relation to the network node 101, e.g., in figs. 4-5 and 8.

[0326] Fig. 12 shows an example of a communication system 1200 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0327] In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunication network 1202 that includes an access network 1204, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1206, which includes one or more core network nodes 1208. The access network 1204 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1210a and 1210b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1210), or any other similar 3rdGeneration 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 1202 includes one or more Open- RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1202 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 1202, including one or more network nodes 1210 and / or core network nodes 1208.

[0328] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (0-Dll), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CLI-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 1210 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and 1212d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1212) to the core network 1206 over one or more wireless connections.

[0329] 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 1200 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 1200 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0330] The UEs 1212 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 1210 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1210 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1212 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1202 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 1202. In the depicted example, the core network 1206 connects the network nodes 1210 to one or more hosts, such as host 1216. 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 1206 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1208) 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 1208. 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 De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0331] The host 1216 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1204 and / or the telecommunication network 1202, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1216 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.

[0332] As a whole, the communication system 1200 of fig. 12 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.

[0333] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1202 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1202 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1202. For example, the telecommunications network 1202 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.

[0334] In some examples, the UEs 1212 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 1204 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1204. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multistandard 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).

[0335] In the example, the hub 1214 communicates with the access network 1204 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1212c and / or 1212d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1210b). In some examples, the hub 1214 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1214 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1206 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1214 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 1210, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1214. As another example, the hub 1214 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 1214 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1214 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1214 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1214 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0336] The hub 1214 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1210b. The hub 1214 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1214 and UEs (e.g., UE 1212c and / or 1212d), and between the hub 1214 and the core network 1206. In other examples, the hub 1214 is connected to the core network 1206 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1214 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1204 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1210 while still connected via the hub 1214 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1214 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 1210b. In other embodiments, the hub 1214 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1210b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0337] Fig. 13 shows a UE 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, 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. 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).

[0338] The UE 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1304 to an input / output interface 1306, a power source 1308, a memory 1310, a communication interface 1312, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 13. 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.

[0339] The processing circuitry 1302 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 1310. The processing circuitry 1302 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 1302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0340] In the example, the input / output interface 1306 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 1300. 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.

[0341] In some embodiments, the power source 1308 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 1308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1308 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1308. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1308 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1300 to which power is supplied.

[0342] The memory 1310 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 1310 includes one or more application programs 1314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1316. The memory 1310 may store, for use by the UE 1300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0343] The memory 1310 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 (IIICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a IISIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The IIICC may for example be an embedded IIICC (elllCC), integrated IIICC (illlCC) or a removable IIICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1310 may allow the UE 1300 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 1310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0344] The processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1312. The communication interface 1312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1322. The communication interface 1312 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 1318 and / or a receiver 1320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1318 and receiver 1320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0345] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1312 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), QIIIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0346] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1312, 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).

[0347] 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.

[0348] 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 1300 shown in Fig. 13.

[0349] 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.

[0350] 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.

[0351] Fig. 14 shows a network node 1400 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).

[0352] 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).

[0353] 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).

[0354] The network node 1400 includes a processing circuitry 1402, a memory 1404, a communication interface 1406, and a power source 1408. The network node 1400 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 1400 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 1400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1400, 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 1400. The processing circuitry 1402 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 1400 components, such as the memory 1404, to provide network node 1400 functionality.

[0355] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and the baseband processing circuitry 1414 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 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0356] The memory 1404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1402. The memory 1404 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 1402 and utilized by the network node 1400. The memory 1404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1402 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 and memory 1404 is integrated.

[0357] The communication interface 1406 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 1406 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1406 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1410. Radio front-end circuitry 1418 comprises filters 1420 and amplifiers 1422. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may be connected to an antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio frontend circuitry 1418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1420 and / or amplifiers 1422. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0358] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1400 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1418, instead, the processing circuitry 1402 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1412 is part of the communication interface 1406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1406 includes one or more ports or terminals 1416, the radio front-end circuitry 1418, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0359] The antenna 1410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1410 is separate from the network node 1400 and connectable to the network node 1400 through an interface or port.

[0360] The antenna 1410, communication interface 1406, and / or the processing circuitry 1402 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 1410, the communication interface 1406, and / or the processing circuitry 1402 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.

[0361] The power source 1408 provides power to the various components of network node 1400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1400 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 1408. As a further example, the power source 1408 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.

[0362] Embodiments of the network node 1400 may include additional components beyond those shown in fig. 14 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 1400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1400 and to allow output of information from the network node 1400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1400.

[0363] Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a host 1500, which may be an embodiment of the host 1216 of fig. 12, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1500 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 1500 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs. The host 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1504 to an input / output interface 1506, a network interface 1508, a power source 1510, and a memory 1512. 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 fig. 13 and fig. 14, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1500.

[0364] The memory 1512 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1514 and data 1516, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1500 or data generated by the host 1500 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1500 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1514 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 1514 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 1500 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1514 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.

[0365] Fig. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1600 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 1600 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 1600 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.

[0366] Applications 1602 (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.

[0367] Hardware 1604 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 1606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1608a and 1608b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1608), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1608.

[0368] The VMs 1608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1606. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1602 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1608, 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.

[0369] In the context of NFV, a VM 1608 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 1608, and that part of hardware 1604 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 1608 on top of the hardware 1604 and corresponds to the application 1602.

[0370] Hardware 1604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1604 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1604 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 1610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1602. In some embodiments, hardware 1604 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 1612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0371] Fig. 17 shows a communication diagram of a host 1702 communicating via a network node 1704 with a UE 1706 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1212a of Fig. 12 and / or UE 1300 of Fig. 13), network node (such as network node 1210a of Fig. 12 and / or network node 1400 of Fig. 14), and host (such as host 1216 of Fig. 12 and / or host 1500 of Fig. 15) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Fig. 17.

[0372] Like host 1500, embodiments of host 1702 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1702 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1702 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 1706 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1750 extending between the UE 1706 and host 1702. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1750. The network node 1704 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1702 and UE 1706. The connection 1760 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1206 of Fig. 12) 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.

[0373] The UE 1706 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1706 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 1706 with the support of the host 1702. In the host 1702, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1750 terminating at the UE 1706 and host 1702. 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 1750 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 1750.

[0374] The OTT connection 1750 may extend via a connection 1760 between the host 1702 and the network node 1704 and via a wireless connection 1770 between the network node 1704 and the UE 1706 to provide the connection between the host 1702 and the UE 1706. The connection 1760 and wireless connection 1770, over which the OTT connection 1750 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1702 and the UE 1706 via the network node 1704, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0375] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1750, in step 1708, the host 1702 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 1706. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1706 that shares data with the host 1702 without explicit human interaction. In step 1710, the host 1702 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1706. The host 1702 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1706. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1706 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1706. The transmission may pass via the network node 1704, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1712, the network node 1704 transmits to the UE 1706 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1702 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1714, the UE 1706 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1706 associated with the host application executed by the host 1702.

[0376] In some examples, the UE 1706 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1702. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1702. Accordingly, in step 1716, the UE 1706 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 1706. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1706 initiates, in step 1718, transmission of the user data towards the host 1702 via the network node 1704. In step 1720, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1704 receives user data from the UE 1706 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1702. In step 1722, the host 1702 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1706.

[0377] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1706 using the OTT connection 1750, in which the wireless connection 1770 forms the last segment.

[0378] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1702. As another example, the host 1702 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1702 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1702 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1702 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 1702 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.

[0379] 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 1750 between the host 1702 and UE 1706, 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 1702 and / or UE 1706. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1750 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 1750 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1704. 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 1702. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1750 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0380] 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.

[0381] 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.

[0382] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step.

[0383] In general, the usage of “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, and / or “fifth” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities, and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

[0384] The present disclosure is not limited to the above. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used. Therefore, disclosure herein should not be taken as limiting the scope. A feature may be combined with one or more other features.

[0385] The term “at least one of A and B” should be understood to mean “only A, only B, or both A and B.”, where A and B are any parameter, number, indication used herein etc.

[0386] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises / comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. It should also be noted that the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

[0387] The term “configured to” used herein may also be referred to as “arranged to”, “adapted to”, “capable of” or “operative to”.

[0388] The steps of the methods may be performed in another order than the order in which they appear herein.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a Network Controlled Repeater, NCR, (105) for handling Discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in a communications network (100), wherein the NCR (105) is arranged to communicate with a User Equipment, UE (103) and a network node (101) via links (108, 110, 113), wherein the links (108, 110, 113) comprise a first link (108) between the NCR (105) and the UE (103) and a second link (110, 113) between the NCR (105) and the network node (101), wherein the method comprises: obtaining (402, 504) one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node (101); monitoring (404, 510) at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, wherein a result of the monitoring indicates a signal received from the network node (101) and / or the UE (103); and acting (405, 511 , 511a, 511b) according to the result of the monitoring.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the acting (405, 511, 511a, 511b) according to the result of the monitoring comprises: amplifying and forwarding (511a) the signal to the network node (101) and / or the UE (103); or transmitting (511b) the signal to the network node (101) and / or the UE (103).

3. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein one NCR DRX configuration is obtained, and wherein the one NCR DRX configuration is common for at least two links (108, 110, 113).

4. The method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein multiple NCR DRX configurations are obtained, and wherein there are different NCR DRX configurations for each of the links (108, 110, 113).

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: monitoring (500) at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations.

6. The method according to claim 5, comprising:determining (501) one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations for at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) and based on a result of the monitoring, wherein the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations are determined prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations; and providing (502) the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations to the network node (101).

7. The method according to claim 5, comprising: prior to obtaining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, providing (503) measurement results of the monitoring to the network node (101).

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: obtaining (506) one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node (101); and providing (507) the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE (103).

9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: obtaining (508) one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from the UE (103); and providing (509) the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node (101).

10. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: obtaining (512) information from the network node (101) indicating that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed; and providing (513) information indicating adjustment of one or multiple UE DRX configurations to all UEs (105) served by the NCR (105) when the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

11. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: providing (505) the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the UE (101).

12. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each NCR DRX configuration comprises at least one on-duration and at least one off-duration, and wherein the NCR (105) is on and enabled to monitor at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) during the on-duration, wherein the NCR (105) is off and disabled from monitoring at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) during the off-duration, and wherein the on-duration for one of the links (108, 110, 113) overlaps with an off-duration of another of the links (108, 110, 113).

13. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the links (108, 110, 113) comprises the first link (108) between the NCR (105) and the UE (103) and the second link (110) and a third link (113) between the NCR (105) and the network node (101).

14. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (103) for handling Discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in a communications network (100), wherein the UE (103) is arranged to communicate with a Network Controlled Repeater, NCR, (105) via a first link (108), wherein the method comprises: obtaining (403, 602) one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node (101) via the NCR (103); and obtaining (603) a signal from the network node (101) via the NCR (105) according to the one or multiple UE DRX configurations.

15. The method according to claim 14, comprising: obtaining (403, 602) one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from the network node (101) via the NCR (105).

16. The method according to claim 15, comprising: determining (600) one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations, wherein the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations are based on the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations; and providing (601) the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations to the network node (101) via the NCR (105).

17. The method according to any of claims 14-16, comprising providing (604) a signal to the network node (101) via the NCR (105).

18. The method according to any of claims 14-17, comprising one or more of: determining (605) to change from a current NCR to another NCR; and / or determining (606) to change from a current serving cell to another serving cell.

19. The method according to any of claims 14-18, comprising: obtaining (607) information indicating adjustment of the one or multiple UE DRX configurations from the network node (101) via the NCR (105); and adjusting (608) the one or multiple UE DRX configurations according to the obtained information.

20. A method performed by a network node (101) for handling Discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in a communications network (100), wherein the network node (101) is arranged to communicate with a Network Controlled Repeater, NCR, (105) via a second link (110), wherein the method comprises: determining (401 , 702) one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR (105); and providing (402, 703) the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR (105).

21. The method according to claim 20, comprising: prior to determining one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, obtaining (700), from the NCR (105), measurement results of a monitoring of at least one link in the communication network (100) performed by the NCR (105); and wherein the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations are determined based on the obtained measurement results.

22. The method according to claim 20, comprising: obtaining (701) information indicating one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations from the NCR (105).

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations are determined based on the one or multiple preferred NCR DRX configurations.

24. The method according to any of claims 20-23, comprising determining (401 , 702) one or multiple UE DRX configurations for the UE (103); and providing (402, 703) the one or multiple UE DRX configurations to the UE (103) via the NCR (105).

25. The method according to claim 24, comprising: obtaining (701) one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations from UE (103) via the NCR (105).

26. The method according to claims 24-25, wherein the one or multiple UE DRX configurations are determined based on the one or multiple preferred UE DRX configurations.

27. The method according to any of claims 20-26, comprising providing (704) a signal to the UE (103) via the NCR (105).

28. The method according to any of claims 20-27, comprising: obtaining (705) a signal from the UE (105) via the NCR (105).

29. The method according to any of claims 20-28, comprising: determining (707) that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed; and providing (708) information to the NCR (105) indicating that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

30. The method according to claim 29, comprising: obtaining (706) UE measurement results from the UE (105) via the NCR(105) indicating that the NCR’s activity level is above a first level or below a second level, and wherein the NCR’s activity level above the first level or below the second level indicates that the NCR’s activity level needs to be changed.

31. The method according to any of claims 21-30, wherein the network node (101) is arranged to communicate with the NCR (105) via the second link (110) and a third link (113).

32. A Network Controlled Repeater, NCR, (105) for handling Discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in a communications network (100), wherein the NCR (105) is arranged to communicate with a User Equipment, UE (103) and a network node (101) via links (108, 110, 113), wherein the links (108, 110, 113) comprise a first link (108) between the NCR (105) and the UE (103) and a second link (110, 113) between the NCR (105) and the network node (101), wherein the NCR (105) is arranged to: obtain one or multiple NCR DRX configurations from a network node (101); monitor at least one of the links (108, 110, 113) according to the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations, wherein a result of the monitoring indicates a signal received from the network node (101) and / or the UE (103); and to act according to the result of the monitoring.

33. A User Equipment, UE, (103) for handling Discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in a communications network (100), wherein the UE (103) is arranged to communicate with a Network Controlled Repeater, NCR, (105) via a first link (108), wherein the UE (103) is arranged to: obtain, from the NCR (105), information indicating the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations; and to obtain a signal from the network node (101) via the NCR (105) according to the one or multiple UE DRX configurations.

34. A network node (101) for handling Discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in a communications network (100), wherein the network node (101) is arranged to communicate with a Network Controlled Repeater, NCR, (105) via a second link (110), wherein the network node (101) is arranged to: determine one or multiple NCR DRX configurations for the NCR (105); and to provide the one or multiple NCR DRX configurations to the NCR (105).

35. A computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of any of claims 1-13 and / or 14- 19 and / or 20-31.

36. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of any of claims 1-13 and / or 14- 19 and / or 20-31.

Images