Channel monitoring measurements in cellular networks

Abstract

A network entity determines that a measurement entity is to monitor an area. The network entity indicates, to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area. The network entity receives, from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area. In response to receiving the information at the measurement entity, the measurement entity performs measurements of the channel in the area. The measurement entity determines the one or more conditions on the channel changes arc met for the channel in the area. The measurement entity sends, toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

Description

Channel Monitoring Measurements in Cellular NetworksTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Examples of embodiments herein relate generally to wireless communications and, more specifically, relate to channel monitoring in cellular networks.BACKGROUND

[0002] Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) involves a paradigm change where previously competing sensing and communication operations can be jointly optimized via a shared use of a single hardware platform and a joint signal processing framework. It is noteworthy that these ideas have already been applied to a number of applications including vehicular networks, indoor positioning, and covert communications. In addition to academic research, industrial effort on ISAC is also well-underway. In particular, ISAC has been recognized as an emerging technology for many use cases.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0003] This section is intended to include examples and is not intended to be limiting.

[0004] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0005] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising instructions for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on an apparatus. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing the instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus. Another example is the computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

[0006] An exemplary apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0007] An exemplary computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0008] In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for performing: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

[0010] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising instructions for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on an apparatus. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing the instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus. Another example is the computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

[0011] An exemplary apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

[0012] An exemplary computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

[0013] In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for performing: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measuremententity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In the attached drawings:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram for channel monitoring measurement setup and reporting, with triggered reporting when meaningful channel changes are detected;

[0016] FIG. 1 A is an example of an IE that can be used for a measurement request;

[0017] FIG. IB is an example of an IE that can be used for a measurement response such as a report;

[0018] FIG. 1C is a flow diagram of an example of block 145 of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram for channel monitoring measurement stopping, upon external client termination or other logics in the management function; and

[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures arc defined below, at the end of the detailed description section.

[0022] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All of the embodiments described in this Detailed Description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims.

[0023] When more than one drawing reference numeral, word, or acronym is used within this description withand in general as used within this description, themay be interpreted as “or”, “and”, or “both”. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similarwording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or,” mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0024] As used herein, the singular- forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0025] Any flow diagram (see FIGS. 1A, IB, and 1C) or signaling diagram (see FIGS. 1 and 2) herein is considered to be a logic flow diagram, and illustrates the operation of an exemplary method, results of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and / or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Block diagrams (such as FIG. 3) also illustrate the operation of an exemplary method, results of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and / or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

[0026] Examples herein concern network sensing based on reflections of radio signals from various objects in the environment. Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) is envisioned to be one of the main bridge topics in 5G-A Rel. 19 of 3GPP standards towards 6G, the next generation of mobile communications.

[0027] Current 3GPP standards focus on range and angular information that can be acquired at the UEs and gNBs, in order to locate active UEs at unknown locations. With sensing of signal reflections, the network operation can be extended to radar functionality, ideally with close to zero overhead with regard to legacy communication operations. This would allow detection, locating, and recognizing passive objects in the environment. Sensing allows also estimation of Doppler of signal transmissions, hence determining information about the speed of objects interacting with the signal that is received and processed at UEs, gNBs, or both.

[0028] For most use cases, such as traffic monitoring and safety, very precise performance is demanded, de-facto requiring line of sight (LoS) conditions, continuoussignaling, and high processing demands. However, for presence detection, anomaly detection and similar applications, requirements can be drastically relaxed. It is noted that presence detection may also be referred to as intrusion detection herein. According to the ISAC use case study in 3GPP SAI, several intruder detection scenarios have been analyzed, e.g., at home, factory, smart grid equipment, railway, highway, or the like. See 3GPP TR 22.837 vl9.0.0, “Feasibility Study on Integrated Sensing and Communication.” In some scenarios, intruders may not always be present in LoS, and so sensing needs to be performed to detect intruders even in NLOS conditions. The current positioning and first sensing procedures are designed for high precision performance, thus - as said - they are expensive in signaling overhead and processing demands.

[0029] Intrusion detection, wireless channel and presence monitoring, and their implementation are not new to the wireless research literature. However, all techniques showcased rely on proprietary or dedicated implementation or both.

[0030] There is no standard yet for integrated communications and sensing (ISAC), but current assumption is that ISAC will develop on top of already existing positioning techniques. Focusing on cellular networks, this means that measurement can be required by the management function, e.g., the Sensing Management function (SeMF), to measuring entities, e.g., UEs or TRPs, with measurement request and response that look similar to the already existing procedures or corresponding messages specified in 3GPP TS 37.355 (e.g., 3GPP TS37.355 V17.6.0 (2023-09), “LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)”), 3GPP TS 38.355 (e.g., 3GPP TS38.355 VI.1.0 (2023-10), “Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP)”), and TS38.455 (e.g., 3GPP TS 38.455 V17.5.0 (2023-06), “NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa)”). SeMF is assumed to be a name of a network entity, which can be implemented as a function, in the core network with a role similar to the Location Management Function (LMF) for active positioning, but focused on sensing operations. As an alternative, the LMF can also be extended to support sensing operations. The term SeMF is used herein to cover any entity or function in the core network, or potentially in another location, that is focused on or extended to support sensing operations.

[0031] Current specifications are designed to support measurement requests that require a response, in case the measurement can be taken. This is to support positioning services without excessive delay, and the best possible precision. Current cellular networks are willing tohave higher signaling overhead to forward taken measurements to the management function, the location management function (LMF) in this case. However, intrusion detection and similar sensing use cases will require monitoring the channel for a long time, usually without detecting any change in the environment. Therefore, with current procedures, supporting intrusion detection and similar use cases will result in continuous measurement requests and response from the SeMF to the measuring entities, almost always with no useful information being conveyed. This would generate unnecessary signaling overhead, and processing load at the SeMF.

[0032] That is, monitoring channel changes is a way to detect intrusions and conventional implementation and research work enable this monitoring with different techniques, serving different scenarios. However, the current signaling for positioning operations produces an unnecessary signaling and processing overhead at the management function. Therefore, one or more of the following technical problems should be addressed:

[0033] 1) How can cellular or wireless standards support environment monitoring, e.g., intrusion detection?

[0034] 2) How can the monitoring management function instruct sensing operations and reporting for this purpose, without the heavy signaling overhead of current procedures?

[0035] 3) How could these reporting messages be used by the monitoring management function?

[0036] Herein, to address these and other issues, sensing use cases are considered, where sensing requirements are not prohibitive, focusing on presence, and corresponding intrusion, detection. The standard procedures are designed to enable them to be used without the excessive signaling and processing load required by high-precision use cases.

[0037] As an overview, it is proposed to modify how current positioning, other sensing measurement request and response procedures, or both to allow them to better fit the needs of channel or other environment monitoring, such as all the intrusion detection use cases in sensing.

[0038] One set of exemplary new procedures arc illustrated in FIG.l, described below, that highlight also the channel monitoring and reporting in the measurement entity. One exemplary idea is to add, on top of the existing measurement requests, logic in positioning andsensing standards by the monitoring management function, e.g., the sensing management function, ScMF, in the core network, some information to configure the reporting to happen from the measurement entity based on some condition(s) on channel changes being met. That is, SeMF indicates some information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area, and to configure reporting to happen from the measurement entity by indicating one or more conditions on channel changes being met. For instance, this may be performed with one or both of the following information, where the following information contains examples of how these conditions can be represented and signaled to the measuring entity.

[0039] 1. A Boolean indicator requiring reporting changes in the monitored area, wherein the default value, for example “0”, means false, which indicates legacy behavior. The monitored area can be defined in terms of at least one of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or a position where a variation is to be monitored, absolute or relative with respect to the measurement entity. In more detail, practically one would like to monitor a certain position and this can be signaled via the Boolean indicator set true, for example “1”, which indicates different ways for the measuring entity to monitor the area, i.e., angle intervals, speed, or range or absolute physical position or relative physical position with respect to the measurement entity. Alternatively, the Boolean value of “1” may mean false, and “0” may mean true. When the Boolean indicator indicates a value of true, reporting changes in the monitored area is triggered. It is noted that the scope of sensing is to monitor an environment, which can change, for example, objects can move, but not necessarily an active UE. In case of intrusion detection, it is likely that an intruder does not carry a UE that will try connecting with the network. It is further noted that there are the other use cases in which the monitored area may be changed geographically, e.g., sensing around automotive vehicles.

[0040] 2. Information to set the sensitivity of the changes that are to be reported, e.g., false alarm rate or similar. In further detail, false alarm rate means the rate of false alarms, versus all the negative - thus nothing to detect - scenarios, provided by a detection algorithm, such as intruder detection. For instance, with a false alarm rate of 0.01%, the system would sound the alarm - even if nothing was there - in 0.01% of the cases. When the threshold of false alarm rate is passed, change(s-) of the monitored area is / are to be reported.

[0041] Other options based on detected events are described below. The measurement entity, c.g., a UE or TRP, will then perform measurement, but further process and report the measurement back to the management function, based on the measures, or its relative channel, being changed significantly from the reference scenario, that is acquired at the time of measurement request by the measurement entity. Examples of how to determine a significant change are described below. This allows to drastically reduce the needed reporting signaling, and the processing load at the SeMF.

[0042] The management function can then aggregate at least one measurement report and decide whether a channel variation, e.g., intrusion, happened or not, optionally warning an external client. This example of a second main procedure - described below in reference to FIG. 2- includes stopping these channel monitoring measurements.

[0043] Additional features include one or more of the following:

[0044] 1) An external client can trigger (e.g., start of) the channel monitoring procedure;

[0045] 2) Measurement request(s) may be configured to periodically repeat measurements, e.g., in a persistent or semi-persistent manner;

[0046] 3) Channel monitoring reporting procedure may be adjusted, covering the cases where the channel monitoring and reporting is performed by the BS or UE; and / or

[0047] 4) Measurement entity stopping may be configured so that ongoing measurements are stopped early, e.g., earlier relative to the agreed measurement end time upon initial configuration, e.g., as performed in signaling 135.

[0048] As is known, persistent and semi-persistent scheduling are ways to schedule operations in cellular systems. Persistent are operations that continuously repeat, typically periodically, until de-activated with a similar command. Semi-persistent are similar to persistent, but can be easily activated and deactivated. For instance, PRS transmissions, where are DL signals that can be used for sensing, are typically configured in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

[0049] The positioning measurement request and response procedures, messages, and information elements (IE) from 3GPP TS 37.355 (LPP), 3GPP TS 38.355 (SLPP), and 3GPP TS 38.455 (NRPPa) could be enhanced and used, or other ad-hoc, possibly similar, similarprocedures signaling procedures, messages and TEs can be specified. What is related below is that the measurement request and response messages contain the IES described herein, that will trigger a new behavior in the measurement entity.

[0050] Now that an overview has been provided, more details are provided. One topic is channel monitoring measurement setup, which is illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram for channel monitoring measurement setup and reporting, with triggered reporting when meaningful channel changes are detected.

[0051] In FIG. 1, there are three entities: an external client entity 105, an SeMF 110, and a measurement entity 115, which can be, as examples, a TRP 70 or a UE 10, or any other device that can perform the monitoring and reporting described herein. The SeMF 110 and the measurement entity 115 are considered to be pail of the cellular network 1, and the external client entity 105 is considered to be external to, but able to interface with, the cellular network 1. There is a measurement setup part 101 and a measurement response part 102. In signaling 120, there is optional signaling from the external client entity 105 that triggers monitoring of a certain area and possible points of interest. For example, the external client entity 105 can send a trigger to start a channel monitoring procedure. In block 129, in response, the SeMF 110 stalls a channel monitoring procedure at least by performing the signaling in 135. The triggering can be based also on, e.g., proprietary algorithms that directly interact with the SeMF 110 without any standard interface. However, signaling 120, while optional, also allows external clients to trigger the procedure with standard signaling. The SeMF 110 in block 130 determines which measurement entity 115 (e.g., TRP 70 or UE 10) should monitor and compute expected range, angle intervals, and the like. This determination could be based on the signaling 120, or based on another trigger.

[0052] The signaling 135 and 155, and the blocks 145 and 150, are performed as part of channel monitoring and reporting 140. The SeMF 110 in signaling 135 signals indication of a measurement request with (w / ) channel monitoring information. In one example, this may be characterized as per block 136, where the channel monitoring information supplies information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area, and to configure reporting to happen from the measurement entity by indicating one or more conditions on channel changes being met. In further detail, the channel monitoring information may be indicated via an IE 180. Themeasurement entity 115 in block 145 performs measurements according to the request with the channel monitoring information. In block 150, the measurement entity 115 responds upon a meaningful change in the area that is currently monitored. The measurement entity 115 in signaling 155 indicates a measurement response w / channel monitoring information. It is noted that the channel monitoring information is also referred to herein as channel information. The channel monitoring information may be indicated by an IE 190. FIG. IB is an example of an IE 190 that can be used for a measurement response (e.g., a report). In this example, the IE 190 includes one or both of a measured signal quality, such as RSRP, RSRQ and SINR; or a measure of how meaningful the detected change has been (e.g., a p-value). Other examples may be added to this or are alternatives that are possible and are described below.

[0053] The SeMF 110 may perform an optional operation in block 160, which is to aggregate responses from one or more peers, which are other measuring entities. In block 165, the SeMF 110 decides whether to trigger alarm; if yes, warns the external client entity 105, at least by signaling 170 indication of a trigger intrusion alarm in the area, points of interest, or both. The points of interest could have been signaled in signaling 120, in signaling 135, e.g., via IE 180, or both, where signaling could include indications to monitor this specific range, AoD, or position. It is further possible that the SeMF knows the points of interest, and furthermore, as another example, the external client entity 105 can signal the points of interest to the SeMF at the beginning (e.g., as another option of signaling 120 of FIG. 1).

[0054] Here, an example of a procedure is described. The idea is that a management function (e.g., SeMF, that will be used hereafter) can require elements to monitor the channel - by a measurement request - in a specific area, requiring responses (also referred to as reports) when the channel changes substantially. It is noted that the terms responses and reports may be used interchangeably herein, as these terms are assumed to be the same.

[0055] Accordingly, the SeMF can associate to a measurement request, like what happens in NRPPa or be similarly tailored for sensing. This may entail using optional fields to perform the behavior, i.e., requiring responses in case of substantial channel changes in the monitored area. Consider signaling 135, which can use an IE 180. FIG. 1A is an example of an IE 180 that can be used for a measurement request. In signaling 135, the necessary information to signal the measurement point that meaningful changes are to be reported (and what is ameaningful change) is shared. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, the following. The IE 180 can contain one or more of the following:

[0056] 1) Information about the area to be monitored, that is, information indicating the area to be monitored. The area may be expressed in many different ways, such as any combination of intervals of range, angle of departure or arrival or both, doppler. In another embodiment, the absolute or relative position with respect to the measuring entity can be signaled.

[0057] 2) A Boolean flag, e.g., default false, indicating to report in case of changes in the area, e.g., where true means that reporting should be performed in case of changes.

[0058] 3) Information to have persistent or semi-persistent measures, in contrast with the one-shot, a single request, measurement request approach of current cellular positioning standards. This can be expressed, e.g., as a combination of one or more of the following:

[0059] a) Measurement repetition period, e.g., in seconds, frames, or both;

[0060] b) Maximum time to be measured, e.g., in seconds, frames, or both; and / or

[0061] c) Maximum number of measurements.

[0062] 4) Indication of how “substantial” the change should be to trigger a report.This can be described by one or more of the following:

[0063] a) False alarm rate, or missed detection rate,

[0064] b) Minimum dimension, size, radar cross section (RCS), or some combination of these, of the object causing the change.

[0065] 5) Indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored, or configuration of radio resources if not provided for TRPs or UEs yet. Examples of radio resource indication for channel monitoring purpose are as follows.

[0066] a) SSB indices;

[0067] b) PRS Resource Set ID or PRS Resource ID;

[0068] c) (Positioning) SRS Resource Set ID or SRS Resource ID; and / or

[0069] d) NZP-CSI-RS Resource Set ID or NZP-CSI-RR Resource ID.

[0070] e) any other reference signals or physical channels used for sensing.

[0071] f) Event-driven indication of a report in case of changes. In other words, the functionality of the considered Boolean flag may be implicitly carried-out and implemented viaoccurrence of some events. As one example, one event, hereafter refered to as event A_sensing, may be defined, c.g., in a specification, and be associated to the sensing reference signal RSRP measurements by the TRP or UE entity. Assuming that a dedicated sensing reference signal or existing reference signals, such PRS and SRS, or both are used for sensing, in the absence of an intruder, e.g.. in an almost static environment, the RSRP measurements should remain approximately constant. Therefore, the A_sensing event may be said to occur when the corresponding sensing reference signal RSRP difference of measurements, e.g., for some instances of time, remains below a certain threshold value. This can be described using the following equation: |SenSj — Sens| < T, where T is a threshold value and Sens; indicates the sensing measurement, for example based on a RSRP measurements, at time instance i and Sens is a measure of the previous historic sensing measurement, e.g., the previous value, a smoothed average of previous values, and the like. Moreover, Sens can be the value of a certain point of the periodogram of the sensing measure or measured channel over range, Doppler, or angular domain, or some combination of these. Therefore, when A_sensing event occurs, the measurement entity (TRP or UE) may assume that the measurement entity is entered to the state, wherein the measurement entity has to only report the changes.

[0072] This new IE 180 is conveyed with the measurement request in signaling 135 by the ScMF to the measurement entity, which can be a TRP or a UE, that performs measurements accordingly and does not send a response unless a substantial change is detected.

[0073] The following are optional:

[0074] 1) The measurement entity 115 can confirm or deny the measurement request, see signaling 146; and / or

[0075] 2) An external client entity 105 can trigger the channel monitoring procedure, by instructing the SeMF to take the measurements. See, e.g., signaling 120. In this case, the SeMF 110 determines which measuring entities should be involved based on their position, orientation, and capabilities. See, e.g., block 130. Then, the SeMF prepares and shares a corresponding measurement request, see signaling 135, for each of them.

[0076] A further topic of interest is meaningful changes and how to compute them.These may be analyzed and computed in the channel monitoring and reporting 140 of FIG. 1 and block 150.

[0077] In order to detect meaningful channel changes, the measurement entity can first acquire the current channel in the area to be monitored. This can be done with multiple measurements, storing the detected objects or radar image locally. For instance, clutter removal algorithms can be calibrated on the static scenario, such that the channel due to the current environment will be always removed by future measurements.

[0078] Then, during further measurements, one could detect changes between the baseline measurement, e.g., via the periodogram, radar image, or both after clutter removal of the reference scenario. In particular, this baseline measurement can be, e.g., the initial condition, but also - in principle - a long-term average of past measurements, such as in case the scenario only slowly changes or drifts. This “change image”, or changed channel impulse response, periodogram, or both, should be then assessed by a statistical test, with null hypothesis of “no change”, e.g., no intrusion, HO against the hypothesis of “change” Hl. In case of a target false alarm rate, this can be, e.g., performed with constant false alarm rate thresholding, that is a well- known mathematical concept. In case that minimum dimension(s), sizes, or both are required, then one could also compare the change dimension in range and angles, checking that the change satisfies the requirements. In case of minimum RCS, one could use some assumptions on the path loss, computed with the range information, to deduce the RCS and compare it against the minimum requirement. If RCS > the minimum requirement, then there is a meaningful change. However, this is only one example. RCS < max value can also in some cases indicates meaningful change. For instance, as a result of intruder occurrence, some objects in the sensing area may be moved or displaced. As a result of that displacement, the orientation of the object(s) may change in such a way with respect to the sensing signal that leads to reduction of RCS.

[0079] In conjunction with the detection of possible meaningful changes and how to compute them, FIG. 1C is a flow diagram of an example of block 145 of FIG. 1. FIG. 1C shows an example of how block 145 can be achieved. In block 175, the measurement entity 115, in response to being configured with measurement configuration, per signaling 135, scans the, e.g., configured, area to determine baseline condition(s) (e.g., the channel representation - e.g., periodogram - in range, Doppler, angular domain, or some combination of these). Note that multiple areas could be scanned, but this flow diagram is only from the point of view of one area.It is also noted that an “area” can be configured as per the channel monitoring information from signaling 135, such as configuration in the IE 180.

[0080] In block 181, the measurement entity takes a measurement of the area. In block 185, it is determined whether the measurement is deemed to be similar, e.g., within threshold(s), of the baseline condition(s). If so, block 185 = Yes, the measurement entity 115 effectively does nothing, but taking, e.g., at some point in time, another measurement in block 181. If not, block 185 = No, the flow proceeds to block 191, where the measurement entity 115 triggers the reporting, which would then occur in block 150 of FIG. 1.

[0081] Block 195 shows examples of what could be used to determine in block 185 whether a measurement is deemed to be similar to the baseline condition(s). In block 195, a measurement may be deemed similar, e.g., via detection of meaningful change, through the following:

[0082] 1) detect changes assessed by a statistical test, which may include the following:

[0083] a) compare the change dimension in range and angles, checking that the change satisfies corresponding requirements; or

[0084] b) calculate RCS, and compare with minimum requirement.

[0085] 2) RSRP or other power measurement.

[0086] 3) Value(s) of a periodogram.

[0087] Note that another way to characterize this is through detection of meaningful change. In other words, if the measurement is similar to the baseline conditions, then there is no detection of meaningful change. By contrast, if the measurement is not similar to the baseline conditions, then there is detection of meaningful change. The meaningful change can be via a threshold or thresholds, e.g., the change satisfies corresponding requirements in (a) above, or the calculated RCS is outside the minimum requirement. Also, to the extent a statistical analysis is used, then there will be some threshold stating when that threshold indicates a difference that is deemed to be significant, and this would a detection of a meaningful change.

[0088] Another topic of interest is channel monitoring measurement response as in signaling 155. In case the measurement entity 115 detects a meaningful change (see the channel monitoring and reporting, such as for reference 140, described above), the measurement entity115 can share a measurement report with the SeMF 1 10. This report can have the typical fields of existing measurement reporting, c.g., range, angle, dimension, speed. One option for this is to include the fields in IE 190, as illustrated in FIG. IB. It is proposed also to include a measure of how meaningful the detected change has been. This can be conveyed in form of, e.g., a p-value of the above-mentioned statistical test, i.e., a measure of the probability of effective channel variation, e.g., there is a surety of 99% of the channel being different from previous measurements, e.g., a change from previous measurements, or there is a surety of only 20%. It is noted that the p-value is one measure of how meaningful the detected change has been, and other measures may be used.

[0089] The SeMF 110 can aggregate information from multiple incoming reports (and their p-value for each of the I measurement entities, p(), and decide on the effective probability of channel variation. This can be performed by, e.g., the following formula (or similar ones, where the probability of a joint event is estimated by single measures of that event, which is the channel variation:

[0090] p = i - n (i - p ).

[0091] Note that this assumes independency between the events of channel variations at different measurement entities. Then, in case that the channel monitoring was required by an external client entity 105, the SeMF 110 can warn the external client entity 105 with a message containing the information about the violation, e.g., position, object size, shape, or some combination of these, adding also the p-value of channel variation p.

[0092] In case the channel monitoring measurement and reporting are performed by the UE, the reported measures thereof may be included by enhancing one of the following existing procedures specified in RRC (TS 38.331), MAC (TS 38.321) or LPP (TS 37.355) or by introducing a new reporting procedure in one of those protocols or a new protocol specialized for sensing. The followings are examples of the existing procedures which can be enhanced for this purpose and which may be used in the response(s) of signaling 155 and IE 190.

[0093] 1) RRC

[0094] a) UE Assistance Information. The UE Assistance Information message is defined for UE to indicate some UE internal status and preference to the network (e.g., gNB). Examples are reduced MIMO layers for overheating, in-device coexistence, preferred DRXcycle, or the like. For channel monitoring response, the UE Assistance Information message may be extended to report the p-valuc, e.g., or other measure of how meaningful the detected change has been, as well as the other reporting measures, such as range, angle, dimension, speed, or the like. The triggering condition to report the UE Assistance Information message, e.g., monitoring RS, threshold, or the like, may be configured by SeMF 110 via TRP 70 as part of the channel monitoring measurement setup procedure in signaling 135.

[0095] b) Measurement Report. The Measurement Report message, which may be used in signaling 155, may be used to report the signal quality measurement, such as RSRP, RSRQ and SINR. See IE 190 of FIG. IB. The event triggered reporting may be supported. For the channel monitoring, a new triggering event may be defined to send the Measurement Report message. The measure of how meaningful the detected change has been, such as a p-value, may be included in the reporting message.

[0096] 2) MAC

[0097] Power Headroom Reporting. The existing PHR supports triggering reporting if the pathloss has changed more than a threshold configured by the TRP (e.g., BS) and a configured timer has expired since the last PHR. The pathloss may be measured over at least one RS used as pathloss reference which is configured as part of UL TPC for PUSCH, PUCCH and SRS. For the channel reporting purpose, SeMF may indicate via TRP to UE which RS is used to trigger PHR as part of the channel monitoring measurement setup procedure in signaling 135. The indicated RS may be used as a sensing signal to monitor the channel state, e.g., due to intruder detection. The PHR MAC CE may be extended to include the measure of how meaningful the detected change has been.

[0098] 3) LPP

[0099] Provide Location Information. The existing Provide Location Information message may be defined for UE to provide positioning measurements or position estimates to LMF. The message may be extended to report the measure of how meaningful the detected change has been and the other measures (e.g., range, angle, dimension, speed, or the like) to SeMF 110, similarly to what proposed earlier in the message response for NRPPa. Note that also the LPP (or similar protocol for sensing) measurement requests should be enhanced according towhat described earlier for the NRPPa measurement request, i.e., repetition period, time, number or measure, or some combination of these as to how “substantial” is the change.

[0100] If a new message is defined for the channel reporting in any of the existing protocols thereof, or the new message is defined in a new protocol for sensing, the same information and triggering conditions are defined and provided by the SeMF.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 2, this figure is a signaling diagram for channel monitoring measurement stopping, upon external client termination or other logics in the management function. As with FIG. 1, the SeMF 110 and the measurement entity 115 in FIG. 2 are considered to be part of the cellular network 1, and the external client entity 105 is considered to be external to, but able to interface with, the cellular network 1. In signaling 220, the external client entity 105 may indicate monitoring of a certain area should be stopped. In block 225, the SeMF 110 determines that the measurement(s) should be terminated (which may be through external trigger such as signaling in 220, detected intrusion, and the like). The SeMF 110 sends signaling that indicates to stop transmission, e.g., of the response(s), or measurements, or both. See signaling 230.

[0102] In block 235, the measurement entity 115 (e.g., TRP 70 or UE 10) stops previously configured signal transmission, measurements, or both for channel variation, in response to signaling 230. The measurement entity 115, in signaling 240, indicates a measurement stop ack such as acknowledge and a possibly optional final reporting on channel variations.

[0103] The SeMF 110 in block 245 may optionally aggregate response from one or more TRPs. The SeMF in signaling 250 may signal the aggregated final reporting to the external client.

[0104] A topic of interest for FIG. 2 is channel monitoring measurement stopping, such as in signaling 230 and block 235. In some cases, the SeMF 110 may want to stop channel monitoring measurements previously set up with the above-described procedures. This might be due to a confirmed channel variation detection, because the external client is not interested anymore (e.g., it is morning and workers are coming), and similar behaviors.

[0105] In this case, a channel monitoring stop message (see signaling 230) should be sent to the measurement entity 115, that stops its transmissions and receptions. The measuremententity 1 15 can reply (see signaling 240) by acknowledging the reception, with additional information about the performed channel monitoring, such as the maximum achieved local measure of how meaningful the detected change has been, and the like.

[0106] A further topic is measurement stopping by measurement entity, see block 235. Optionally, the TRP 70 / UE 10, e.g., measurement entity 115, can decide to stop measurements for different reasons, e.g., battery status, high radio resource or computational load. In that case, the measurement entity 115 can inform the SeMF 110 with a dedicated message, similar to the “Measurement stop ack + final reporting on channel variation” in signaling 240 of FIG. 2.

[0107] Additionally, measurement stopping may be associated with a timer value, which is in turn related to the occurrence of an event. For instance, a timer value of Tsensingmay be associated with the event A_sensing, which is introduced above, and be activated upon occurrence of event A_sensing. Both SeMF 110 and the measurement entity 115 (e.g., TRP 70 / UE 10) have the same understanding about the time instance when measuring is going to be stopped upon expiration of the time period Tsensingof a timer. Additionally or alternatively, if the measurement entity 115 and / or SeMF 110 require to extend the timer value, an acknowledgment from either side may be sent to the other entity. This implementation has the advantage of reducing transmission of stop message signaling but may come at the cost of performing extra measurement(s) by the TRP 70 / UE 10 when the extra measurement is not needed, e.g., when Tsensing configures with large values.

[0108] What has been described includes a procedure, e.g., to be standardized, to enable channel monitoring, intrusion detection, and similar use cases where channel variations are to be monitored. This procedure covers the mentioned use cases with much smaller signaling and processing load with current envisioned procedures, that convey all measurement responses upon measurement request.

[0109] Turning to FIG. 3, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and nonlimiting example of a cellular network 1. A number of network elements are shown in the cellular network of FIG. 3: a UE 10; a base station 70; and a core network 90.

[0110] The external client entity 105 is illustrated as being connected via the link or links 81 to the core network 90, but this is only one example. For instance, the external cliententity 105 may be able to interface with the SeMF 110 via a particular interface and link (not shown) separate from link or links 81.

[0111] In FIG. 3, a user equipment (UE) 10 is in wireless communication via radio link 11 with a TRP (e.g., base station 70), and the UE 10, TRP 70, and core network 90 are considered to be part of the cellular network 1. A UE 10 is a wireless communication device, such as a mobile device, that is configured to access a cellular network. The UE 10 is illustrated with one or more antennas 28. The ellipses 2 indicate there could be multiple UEs 10 in wireless communication via radio links with the base station 70. The UE 10 includes one or more processors 13, one or more memories 15, and other circuitry 16. The other circuitry 16 includes one or more receivers (Rx(s)) 17 and one or more transmitters (Tx(s)) 18. A program 12 is used to cause the UE 10 to perform the operations described herein. For a UE 10, the other circuitry 16 could include circuitry such as for user interface elements (not shown) like a display.

[0112] The TRP (e.g., base station) 70, as a network element of the cellular network 1, provides the UE 10 access to cellular network 1 and to the data network 91 via the core network 90 (e.g., via a user plane function (UPF) of the core network 90) and therefore is an access node to the network 1. The TRP 70 is illustrated as having one or more antennas 58. The TRP 70 may be a base station such as a RAN node 70, although many will make reference to this as a gNB (gNode B, a base station for NR, new radio) instead. There are, however, many other examples of RAN nodes including an eNB (evolved Node B). The TRP 70 includes one or more processors 73, one or more memories 75, and other circuitry 76. The other circuitry 76 includes one or more receivers (Rx(s)) 77 and one or more transmitters (Tx(s)) 78. A program 72 is used to cause the base station 70 to perform the operations described herein.

[0113] It is noted that the TRP 70 may instead be implemented via other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi (a wireless networking protocol that devices use to communicate without direct cable connections). In the case of Wi-Fi, the link 11 could be characterized as a wireless link.

[0114] Two or more TRPs 70 communicate using, e.g., link(s) 79. The link(s) 79 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, e.g., an Xn interface for 5G (fifth generation), an X2 interface for LTE (Long Term Evolution), or other suitable interface for other standards.

[0115] The cellular network 1 may include a core network 90, as a second network clement or elements, that may include core network functionality, and which provide connectivity via a link or links 81 with a data network 91, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). The core network 90 includes one or more processors 93, one or more memories 95, and other circuitry 96. The other circuitry 96 includes one or more receivers (Rx(s)) 97 and one or more transmitters (Tx(s)) 98. A program 92 is used to cause the core network 90 to perform the operations described herein.

[0116] The core network 90 could be a 5GC (5G core network). The core network 90 can implement or comprise multiple network functions (NF(s)) 99, and the program 92 may comprise one or more of the NFs 99. A 5G core network may use hardware such as memory and processors and a virtualization layer. It could be a single standalone computing system, a distributed computing system, or a cloud computing system. The NFs 99, as network elements, of the core network could be containers or virtual machines running on the hardware of the computing system(s) making up the core network 90.

[0117] Core network functionality for 5G may include access and mobility management functionality that is provided by a network function 99 such as the SeMF 110, an access and mobility management function (AMF(s)), session management functionality that is provided by a network function such as a session management function (SMF). Core network functionality for access and mobility management in an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network may be provided by an MME (Mobility Management Entity) and / or SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality, which routes data to the data network. Many others are possible, as illustrated by the examples in FIG. 3: AMF; SMF; MME; SGW; GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Center); LMF (Location Management Function); UDM (Unified Data Management) / UDR (Unified Data Repository); NRF (Network Repository Function); and / or E-SMLC (Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center). These are merely exemplary core network functionality that may be provided by the core network 90, and note that both 5G and LTE core network functionality might be provided by the core network 90. The TRP 70 is coupled via a backhaul link 31 to the core network 90. The TRP 70 and the core network 90 may include an NG (Next Generation) interface for 5G, or an SI interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other radio access technologies for communicating via the backhaul link 31.

[0118] In the data network 91, there is a computer-readable medium 94. The computer-readable medium 94 contains instructions that, when downloaded and installed into the memories 15, 75, or 95 of the corresponding UE 10, TRP 70, and / or core network element(s) 90. and executed by processor(s) 13, 73, or 93, cause the respective device to perform corresponding actions described herein. The computer-readable medium 94 may be implemented in other forms, such as via a compact disc or memory stick.

[0119] The programs 12, 72, and 92 contain instructions stored by corresponding one or more memories 15, 75, or 95. These instructions, when executed by the corresponding one or more processors 13, 73, or 93, cause the corresponding apparatus 10, 70, or 90, to perform the operations described herein. The computer readable memories 15, 75, or 95 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, firmware, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 15, 75, and 95 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 13, 73, and 93, may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The processors 13, 73, and 93 may be means for causing their respective apparatus to perform functions, such as those described herein.

[0120] The receivers 17, 77, and 97, and the transmitters 18, 78, and 98 may implement wired or wireless interfaces. The receivers and transmitters may be grouped together as transceivers.

[0121] The cellular network 1 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software -based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities, such as network functions 99, that result from the networkvirtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 73 and / or 93 and memories 75 and / or 95, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0122] In general, the various embodiments of the user equipment 10 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones (such as smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over Internet Protocol (IP) (VoIP) phones, and / or wireless local loop phones), tablets, portable computers, vehicles or vehicle-mounted devices for, e.g., wireless V2X (vehicle-to- everything) communication, image capture devices such as digital cameras, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, Internet appliances (including Internet of Things, loT, devices), loT devices with sensors and / or actuators for, e.g., automation applications, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), Universal Serial Bus (USB) dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. That is, the UE 10 could be any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, the UE may also be referred to as a communication device, terminal device (MT), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT).

[0123] Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appealing below, a technical effect and / or advantage of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is the following. In case of channel monitoring use cases (e.g., for intruder detection) the measurement entity, a UE or TRP, will then perform measurement, but further process the measurement and report the measurement back to the management function, based on the measures (or its relative channel) being changed significantly from the reference scenario, that is acquired at the time of measurement request by the measurement entity. This allows to drastically reduce the needed reporting signaling, and the processing load at the management function.

[0124] The following are additional examples.

[0125] Example 1 . A method, comprising: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0126] Example 2. The method according to example 1, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

[0127] Example 3. The method according to example 2, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

[0128] Example 4. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 3. wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes are to be reported.

[0129] Example 5. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 4, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

[0130] Example 6. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 5, further comprising aggregating, by the network entity, responses from one or more peer measurement entities and deciding based on the responses whether a channel variation, as one of the one or more conditions, happened or not.

[0131] Example 7. The method according to example 6, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network and decides the channel variation happened, and the method further comprises triggering an intrusion alarm from the network entity to a client entity that is outside the cellular network.

[0132] Example 8. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 7, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the network entity from a client entity external to the cellular network, a trigger to start a channel monitoring procedure and performing at least the indicating the information responsive to reception of the trigger.

[0133] Example 9. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 8, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi- persistent manner.

[0134] Example 10. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 9, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.

[0135] Example 11. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 10, further comprising sending, by the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped.

[0136] Example 12. The method according to example 11, wherein the network entity is in a cellular' network, and wherein the sending the indication is in response to receiving by the network entity another indication from a client entity outside the cellular network to stop monitoring of the area.

[0137] Example 13. The method according to example 11, wherein the sending the indication is sent in response to receiving by the network entity one or more responses from the measurement entity indicating there is an intrusion in the area.

[0138] Example 14. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 13, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

[0139] Example 15. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 14, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

[0140] Example 16. The method according to any one of examples 1 to 15, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent.

[0141] Example 17. A method, comprising: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

[0142] Example 18. The method according to example 17, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

[0143] Example 19. The method according to example 18, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

[0144] Example 20. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 19, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes are to be reported.

[0145] Example 21. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 20, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

[0146] Example 22. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 21, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

[0147] Example 23. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 22, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular- network.

[0148] Example 24. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 23, further comprising receiving, at the measurement entity from the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped, and stopping the at least one of the sending the responses or monitoring the area.

[0149] Example 25. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 24, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

[0150] Example 26. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 25, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

[0151] Example 27. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 26, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent, and wherein the method further comprises sending, by the measurement entity, the report in case of the one or more changes in an event meets a threshold.

[0152] Example 28. The method according to example 27, wherein the event comprises a sensing reference signal measurement based on the following equation: |Senst— Sens | < T, where T is a threshold value, Senstindicates the sensing reference signal measurement, for a time instance i, and Sens is a measure of a previous sensing reference signal measurement.

[0153] Example 29. The method according to any one of examples 17 to 28, further comprising: determining an event has occurred; starting, in response to the event occurring, a time period of a timer; and stopping, by the measurement entity, at least the performing the measurements based on expiration of the time period of the timer.

[0154] Example 30. A computer program, comprising instructions for performing the methods of any of examples 1 to 29, when the computer program is run on an apparatus.

[0155] Example 31. The computer program according to example 30, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus.

[0156] Example 32. The computer program according to example 30, wherein the computer program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

[0157] Example 33. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0158] Example 34. The apparatus according to example 33, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

[0159] Example 35. The apparatus according to example 34, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

[0160] Example 36. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 35, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes are to be reported.

[0161] Example 37. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 36, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

[0162] Example 38. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 37, further comprising aggregating, by the network entity, responses from one or more peer measurement entities and deciding based on the responses whether a channel variation, as one of the one or more conditions, happened or not.

[0163] Example 39. The apparatus according to example 38, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network and decides the channel variation happened, and the apparatus further comprises triggering an intrusion alarm from the network entity to a client entity that is outside the cellular network.

[0164] Example 40. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 39, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the means are further configured for performing: receiving, by the network entity from a client entity external to the cellular network, a trigger to start a channel monitoring procedure and performing at least the indicating the information responsive to reception of the trigger.

[0165] Example 41. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 40, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

[0166] Example 42. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 41, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.

[0167] Example 43. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 42, wherein the means are further configured for performing: sending, by the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped.

[0168] Example 44. The apparatus according to example 43, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the sending the indication is in response to receiving by the network entity another indication from a client entity outside the cellular" network to stop monitoring of the area.

[0169] Example 45. The apparatus according to example 43, wherein the sending the indication is sent in response to receiving by the network entity one or more responses from the measurement entity indicating there is an intrusion in the area.

[0170] Example 46. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 45, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

[0171] Example 47. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 46, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

[0172] Example 48. The apparatus according to any one of examples 33 to 47, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent.

[0173] Example 49. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

[0174] Example 50. The apparatus according to example 49, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

[0175] Example 51 . The apparatus according to example 50, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

[0176] Example 52. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 51, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to setsensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes arc to be reported.

[0177] Example 53. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 52, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

[0178] Example 54. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 53, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

[0179] Example 55. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 54, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.

[0180] Example 56. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 55, wherein the means are further configured for performing: receiving, at the measurement entity from the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped, and stopping the at least one of the sending the responses or monitoring the area.

[0181] Example 57. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 56, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

[0182] Example 58. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 57, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

[0183] Example 59. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 58, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent, and wherein the means are further configured for performing:sending, by the measurement entity, the report in case of the one or more changes in an event meets a threshold.

[0184] Example 60. The apparatus according to example 59, wherein the event comprises a sensing reference signal measurement based on the following equation: |SenSj — Sens | < T, where T is a threshold value, Sensi indicates the sensing reference signal measurement, for a time instance i, and Sens is a measure of a previous sensing reference signal measurement.

[0185] Example 61. The apparatus according to any one of examples 49 to 60, wherein the means are further configured for performing: determining an event has occurred; starting, in response to the event occurring, a time period of a timer; and stopping, by the measurement entity, at least the performing the measurements based on expiration of the time period of the timer.

[0186] Example 62. The apparatus of any preceding apparatus example, wherein the means comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0187] Example 63. An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

[0188] Example 64. The apparatus according to example 63, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

[0189] Example 65. The apparatus according to example 64, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

[0190] Example 66. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 65, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes are to be reported.

[0191] Example 67. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 66, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

[0192] Example 68. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 67, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: aggregating, by the network entity, responses from one or more peer measurement entities and deciding based on the responses whether a channel variation, as one of the one or more conditions, happened or not.

[0193] Example 69. The apparatus according to example 68, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network and decides the channel variation happened, and wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: triggering an intrusion alarm from the network entity to a client entity that is outside the cellular network.

[0194] Example 70. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 69, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, by the network entity from a client entity external to the cellular network, a trigger to start a channel monitoring procedure and performing at least the indicating the information responsive to reception of the trigger.

[0195] Example 71. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 70, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

[0196] Example 72. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 71 , wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.

[0197] Example 73. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 72, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: sending, by the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped.

[0198] Example 74. The apparatus according to example 73, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the sending the indication is in response to receiving by the network entity another indication from a client entity outside the cellular network to stop monitoring of the area.

[0199] Example 75. The apparatus according to example 73, wherein the sending the indication is sent in response to receiving by the network entity one or more responses from the measurement entity indicating there is an intrusion in the area.

[0200] Example 76. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 75, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

[0201] Example 77. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 76, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

[0202] Example 78. The apparatus according to any one of examples 63 to 77, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent.

[0203] Example 79. An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to besent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

[0204] Example 80. The apparatus according to example 79, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

[0205] Example 81. The apparatus according to example 80, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

[0206] Example 82. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 81, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes are to be reported.

[0207] Example 83. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 82, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

[0208] Example 84. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 83, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

[0209] Example 85. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 84, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.

[0210] Example 86. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 85, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, at the measurement entityfrom the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped, and stopping the at least one of the sending the responses or monitoring the area.

[0211] Example 87. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 86, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

[0212] Example 88. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 87, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

[0213] Example 89. The apparatus according to any one of examples 79 to 88, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent, and wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: sending, by the measurement entity, the report in case of the one or more changes in an event meets a threshold.

[0214] Example 90. The apparatus according to claim 89. wherein the event comprises a sensing reference signal measurement based on the following equation: (Sens, — Sens | < T, where T is a threshold value, Sensi indicates the sensing reference signal measurement, for a time instance z, and Sens is a measure of a previous sensing reference signal measurement.

[0215] Example 91. The apparatus according to any one of claims 79 to 90, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining an event has occurred; starting, in response to the event occurring, a time period of a timer; and stopping, by the measurement entity, at least the performing the measurements based on expiration of the time period of the timer.

[0216] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0217] (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and

[0218] (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

[0219] (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0220] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0221] Embodiments herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors), hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), or a combination of software and hardware. In an example embodiment, the software (e.g., application logic, an instruction set) is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” may be any media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer, with one example of a computer described and depicted, e.g., in FIG. 3. A computer-readable medium may comprise a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memories 15, 75, and 95 or other device) that may be any media or means that can contain, store, and / or transport theinstructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. A computer-readable storage medium docs not comprise propagating signals, and therefore may be considered to be non-transitory. The term “non-transitory”, as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM, random access memory, versus ROM, readonly memory).

[0222] If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.

[0223] Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and / or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

[0224] It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[0225] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are defined as follows:

[0226] 3GPP third generation partnership project

[0227] 5G fifth generation

[0228] 6G sixth generation

[0229] ack acknowledge

[0230] AMF access and mobility management function

[0231] AoD angle of departure

[0232] BS base station

[0233] CE control element

[0234] CSI channel state information

[0235] DRX discontinuous reception

[0236] E-SMLC evolved serving mobile location center

[0237] GMLC Gateway Mobile Location Center

[0238] cNB (or cNodcB) evolved Node B (c.g., an LTE base station)

[0239] gNB (or gNodeB) base station for 5G / NR

[0240] ID identification

[0241] IE information element

[0242] I / F interface

[0243] LMF Location Management Function

[0244] LoS Line of sight

[0245] LPP LTE positioning protocol

[0246] LTE long term evolution

[0247] MAC medium access control

[0248] MME mobility management entity

[0249] NF network function

[0250] ng or NG next generation

[0251] NR new radio

[0252] NRF Network Repository Function

[0253] N / W or NW network

[0254] NZP non-zero power

[0255] PHR power headroom reporting

[0256] PRS positioning reference signal

[0257] RAN radio access network

[0258] RCS radar- cross-section

[0259] Rel. release

[0260] RRC radio resource control

[0261] RS reference signal

[0262] RSRP reference signal received power

[0263] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality

[0264] Rx receiver

[0265] SeMF Sensing Management function

[0266] SGW serving gateway

[0267] SINR signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio

[0268] SMF session management function

[0269] SRS sounding reference signal

[0270] SSB sounding signal block

[0271] TPC transmission power control

[0272] TR technical report

[0273] TRP transmission-reception point

[0274] Tx transmitter

[0275] UDM unified data management

[0276] UDR unified data repository

[0277] UE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device)

[0278] UPF user plane function

[0279] w / with

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area; indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of the channel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes are to be reported.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range overwhich the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: aggregating, by the network entity, responses from one or more peer measurement entities and deciding based on the responses whether a channel variation, as one of the one or more conditions, happened or not.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network and decides the channel variation happened, and wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: triggering an intrusion alarm from the network entity to a client entity that is outside the cellular network.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, by the network entity from a client entity external to the cellular network, a trigger to start a channel monitoring procedure and performing at least the indicating the information responsive to reception of the trigger.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.11 . The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: sending, by the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the network entity is in a cellular network, and wherein the sending the indication is in response to receiving by the network entity another indication from a client entity outside the cellular’ network to stop monitoring of the area.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sending the indication is sent in response to receiving by the network entity one or more responses from the measurement entity indicating there is an intrusion in the area.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent.

17. An apparatus, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the information to configure the response comprises an indicator requiring reporting based on the channel changes in the area that meet the one or more conditions.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the information indicates the measurement entity is to perform measurements to monitor the area, further process and send the response, based on one or more of the measurements for the channel being changed significantly from a reference scenario.

20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the information to configure the response comprises at least one of: information to set sensitivity of thechannel changes that are to be reported, or a false alarm rate above which channel changes arc to be reported.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the area is defined in terms of one or more of: an angular interval over which monitoring is performed, a range over which the monitoring is performed, a speed for an object, or an absolute or relative position with respect to the measurement entity where a variation is to be monitored.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein the information further indicates whether the monitoring is to be performed in a persistent or semi-persistent manner.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein the measurement entity comprises one of a user equipment in a cellular network or a base station in the cellular network.

24. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, at the measurement entity from the network entity, indication that at least one of sending responses or monitoring the area is to be stopped, and stopping the at least one of the sending the responses or monitoring the area.

25. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 24, wherein the information comprises one or more of the following: information indicating the area; a Boolean flag indicating to report in case of changes appearing in the area; information to have persistent or semi-persistent monitoring; indication of how substantial a change has to be in order to trigger the response; or indication of radio resources over which a channel change is monitored.

26. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the channel information in the response comprises one or more of the following: a measured signal quality; or a measure of how meaningful a detected change has been.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 26, wherein the information comprises indication that event-driven indication of a report in case of one or more changes is to be sent, and wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: sending, by the measurement entity, the report in case of the one or more changes in an event meets a threshold.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the event comprises a sensing reference signal measurement based on the following equation: |SenSj — Sens| < T, where T is a threshold value, Sens, indicates the sensing reference signal measurement, for a time instance z, and Sens is a measure of a previous sensing reference signal measurement.

29. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 28, wherein the one or more memories further store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining an event has occurred; starting, in response to the event occurring, a time period of a timer; and stopping, by the measurement entity, at least the performing the measurements based on expiration of the time period of the timer.

30. A method, comprising: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area;indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

31. A method, comprising: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

32. A computer program, comprising instructions for performing the methods of any of claims 30 to 31, when the computer program is run on an apparatus.

33. The computer program according to claim 32, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus.

34. The computer program according to claim 32, wherein the computer program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

35. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: determining, at a network entity, that a measurement entity is to monitor an area;indicating, by the network entity to the measurement entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor the area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; and receiving, by the network entity from the measurement entity, the response comprising channel information in the area.

36. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: receiving, at a measurement entity from a network entity, information to configure the measurement entity to monitor an area and with a response to be sent upon one or more conditions on channel changes being met for a channel in the area; performing, by the measurement entity, measurements of the channel in the area; determining, by the measurement entity, the one or more conditions on the channel changes are met for the channel in the area; and sending, by the measurement entity toward the network entity and based on the determining, the response indicating channel information for the channel in the area.

Images