Trigger for timing advance acquisition at conditional mobility

Abstract

A method for performing, by a user equipment (UE), a Timing Advance (TA) acquisition for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure includes: receiving, from a first network node, a conditional mobility configuration for executing the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell of a second network node; transmitting, to the second network node, a preamble message to the candidate target cell; receiving, from the first network node, a message including TA information for the candidate target cell; and executing the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.

Description

TRIGGER FOR TIMING ADVANCE ACQUISITION AT CONDITIONAL MOBILITYTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly to communication methods and related devices and network nodes configured to conduct timing advance acquisition at conditional mobility.BACKGROUND

[0002] Normal inter-cell mobility procedures, such as handover (HO) procedures, are typically triggered on layer 3 using radio resource control (RRC) procedures, e.g., using RRC measurement configurations, RRC reporting, RRC signaling, and the like. In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 18, anew inter-cell mobility procedure that is triggered on Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L1 / L2) (i.e., ‘L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility (LTM)’) is introduced via the New Radio (NR) standard. Prior to the inter-cell mobility procedure (i.e., a Lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) cell switch procedure), the user equipment (UE) is configured with candidate RRC configurations for one or more LTM candidate cells, which the UE applies when an LTM cell switch procedure is triggered to a corresponding candidate target cell.

[0003] LTM enables a reduced interruption time during the cell switch (e.g., as compared to a normal handover procedure). This is achieved by the UE synchronizing with the target cell (i.e., the LTM candidate cell) before the actual cell switch procedure for that target cell is triggered. This pre-synchronization procedure is performed both for the downlink (DL) and for the uplink (UL). As a result, the actual cell switch procedure is conducted more quickly and thus has a shorter interruption time.

[0004] During the uplink pre-synchronization procedure, the UE acquires a Timing Advance (TA) value for the LTM candidate cell in advance, through the transmission of a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble to the target cell before the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered. Since the UE has acquired a TA value for the target cell, it is possible to perform a RACH-less access to that candidate cell at the actual cell switch procedure. This means that at least the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) preamble transmission from the UE to the network and the Random Access Response (RAR) message in the other direction (i.e., from network to the UE) can be skipped. Thus, the interruption time during the LTM cell switch procedure (i.e., the inter-cell mobility procedure) is decreased.

[0005] A TA acquisition procedure for LTM is being introduced in 3GPP for acquisition, in advance, of a valid TA value for an LTM candidate target cell. During the TA acquisition procedure, the UE transmits a PRACH preamble in the LTM candidate cell. The transmission the TA acquisition procedure directs toward the LTM candidate cell, i.e., the transmission of the PRACH preamble, is triggered by the reception of a corresponding Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order in the serving cell, which thus indicates to the UE to send the preamble to the LTM candidate cell. Notably, it is the serving cell / node that triggers the UE to perform the TA acquisition for the candidate target cell by transmission of a PDCCH order to the UE. The serving cell / node obtains measurement results for the LTM candidate cells from the UE (e.g., LI measurements) that it can use to determine when to trigger an LTM cell switch to that LTM candidate cell. Such measurement results can also be used by the serving node / cell to determine when, prior to an LTM cell switch, to trigger a TA acquisition for the LTM candidate cell.

[0006] The TA value that is determined by the network for the UE in the LTM candidate cell, based on the PRACH preamble transmission, is then provided to the UE in the LTM cell switch command (e.g., a ‘Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE)’) that is sent by the serving cell / node to the UE to trigger the actual LTM cell switch to that LTM candidate cell.

[0007] Conditional Handover

[0008] Handovers are normally triggered when the UE is located at the cell edge and experiences poor radio conditions. If the UE enters an area with poor radio conditions, the actual handover procedure may be difficult to execute. If the uplink (UL) condition is poor, it may cause the network to be unable to detect the measurement report transmitted by the UE, and thus fail to initiate the handover procedure. Likewise, downlink (DL) problems may cause the handover command (i.e., the RRCReconfiguration message with a reconfigurationWithSync field) to unsuccessfully reach the UE. In poor radio conditions the DL message is often segmented, which increases the risk of retransmissions with an increased risk that the message fails to reach the UE in time. A failed transmission of a handover command is a common reason for unsuccessful handovers.

[0009] To improve mobility robustness and address the issues above, a feature known as conditional handover (CHO) was introduced in 3GPP Release 16. The key idea related to conditional handovers is that transmission and execution of the handover command are separated. This allows the handover command to be sent earlier to the UE when the radio conditions are still good, thus increasing the likelihood that the message is successfullytransferred. The execution of the handover command is performed at later point in time based on an associated execution condition. The execution condition is typically in the form of a threshold, e.g., the signal strength of candidate target cell becomes X dB better than the serving cell (e.g., an A3 event) or the signal strength of serving cell becomes worse than X dBm and signal strength of candidate target cell becomes better than Y dBm (e.g., an A5 event).

[0010] A conditional handover is an example of the conditional reconfiguration framework in 3GPP, sometimes also known as conditional mobility or conditional mobility procedures.SUMMARY

[0011] There currently exist certain challenge(s). For LTM Release 18, the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered by the network, which sends an LTM cell switch command (e.g., a MAC CE) to the UE. This is typically triggered by measurement results that are received from the UE (e.g., LI measurements). The network (e g., the serving distributed unit) may then determine when the UE should perform the TA acquisition for a target cell of a LTM candidate configuration, so that the TA value is available in the network in time for the LTM cell switch procedure.

[0012] For a conditional mobility procedure, such as conditional handover, the network will not know when the UE will trigger the execution of the mobility procedure or to which cell, since this is triggered by the UE when the associated execution conditions are fulfilled. Notably, the fulfillment of the execution conditions does not trigger any measurement report or other indication to the serving cell / node. It is not clear how or when the TA acquisition towards the different candidate target cells can be triggered and performed in case of conditional mobility procedures. Thus, the UE will not have a valid TA value for a candidate target cell when the execution conditions for a mobility procedure to that cell are performed. It will then not be possible to execute the mobility procedure to that cell with reduced interruption time since a normal Random Access procedure needs to be executed.

[0013] In the 3GPP Release-19 scoping discussions, it has been proposed to have a potential objective of “support of conditional mobility (including set of candidate cells, UE evaluated mobility conditions, ability for UE to perform subsequent mobility procedures without need for RRC configuration) along with short mobility interruption time (similar to that achievable with LTM).” As examples of approaches to achieve this, it has been mentioned to specify conditional triggering of LTM, or to specify support of early TA or RACH-less tobe used as part of CHO. For both these approaches, the UE would need to perform TA acquisition.

[0014] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0015] The disclosed subject matter includes methods for a UE to trigger the acquisition of a Timing Advance value for a cell that is a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure, e.g., a conditional LTM or a conditional handover (CHO) procedure. The acquired TA value may allow the UE to perform a RACH-less access procedure to the candidate target cell when the associated execution conditions are fulfilled for the conditional mobility procedure.

[0016] In some alternate embodiments, the UE triggers the TA acquisition for a candidate target cell (e.g., by transmission of a PRACH preamble to that cell) based on triggering conditions for performing the TA acquisition for the cell. The triggering conditions for triggering the TA acquisition may be configured by the network.

[0017] The TA acquisition towards a specific candidate target cell may be performed according to a configuration for that specific candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the configuration includes periodic occasions where the UE can perform the TA acquisition towards the candidate target cell.

[0018] In some embodiments, the UE sends a measurement report or an indication to the network (e.g., to the serving cell / node) that a TA acquisition procedure should be performed towards one or more candidate target cell(s) of a conditional mobility procedure. The transmission of the measurement report or indication to the network is, in some examples, triggered by fulfillment of associated conditions or events. Such conditions could be configured by the network. In response to receiving the measurement report or indication, the network then initiates the TA acquisition procedure for the UE towards the candidate target cell (or towards multiple candidate target cells), e g., by transmission of one or more request message(s) such as RRC message(s), MAC CE(s), or downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., PDCCH order(s)), to the UE.

[0019] The disclosed subject matter also includes methods for provisioning the TA value for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure to the UE, where the TA value can be based on the transmitted PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the UE receives the TA value from the serving cell, e.g., through an RRC message or MAC CE. In some embodiments, the UE receives an MAC CE LTM cell switch command for the candidate target cell, but with an indication that the LTM cell switch is notto be executed at reception of the message but instead stored for later possible execution, e.g., at fulfillment of the corresponding execution conditions.

[0020] The disclosed subject matter also includes methods for the UE to select the output power for transmission of the PRACH preamble in a candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the UE uses power ramping for subsequent PRACH preamble transmissions to a candidate cell.

[0021] In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter comprises a UE, which is configured with at least one configuration for a conditional mobility procedure, that triggers acquisition of a time advance value for a candidate target cell of such a configuration for a conditional mobility procedure.

[0022] In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes a method for performing, by a user equipment (UE), a Timing Advance (TA) acquisition for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure that comprises receiving, from a first network node, a conditional mobility configuration for the candidate target cell of a second network node; transmitting, to the candidate target cell of the second network node, a preamble message; receiving, from the first network node, a message including TA information for the candidate target cell; and executing the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure. In other embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes a UE that performs, and / or anon-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions when executed by a processor performs operations comprising, the above method steps.

[0023] In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes a method for performing TA acquisition, by a first network node, for a conditional mobility procedure for a user equipment that includes transmitting, to the UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell of a second network node; receiving, from the second network node, a message including TA information that is valid for the UE in the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; transmitting, to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receiving, from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell. In other embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes a network node that performs, and / or a non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions when executed by a processor performs operations comprising, the above method steps.

[0024] In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes a method for performing, by a second network node, a TA acquisition for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure for a user equipment, wherein the candidate target cell of the second network node that includes providing, to a first network node, a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node; receiving, from the UE, a preamble message in the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmitting, to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receiving, from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure. In other embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes a network node that performs, and / or a non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions when executed by a processor performs operations comprising, the above method steps.

[0025] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The technical advantages afforded by the disclosed subject matter enables a UE that is configured with conditional mobility procedures to trigger and perform TA acquisition towards a candidate target cell before the associated execution conditions are fulfilled and the mobility procedure thus is to be executed. This allows the use of a RACH-less access to / of the candidate target cell at execution of the conditional mobility procedure, thus enabling a shorter interruption time.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. In the drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example system architecture used by the disclosed subject matter according to some embodiments;

[0028] Figure 2 is a message sequence diagram used by the disclosed subject matter according to some embodiments;

[0029] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the primary steps performed by a UE according to some embodiments;

[0030] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating the primary steps performed by a first network node according to some embodiments;

[0031] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating the primary steps performed by a second network node according to some embodiments;

[0032] Figure 6 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0033] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments;

[0034] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0035] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0036] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The disclosed subject matter includes a UE that is configured with at least one configuration for a conditional mobility procedure. Notably, the configured UE triggers acquisition of a time advance value for a candidate target cell of such a configuration for a conditional mobility procedure.

[0038] As used herein, the term “conditional mobility procedure" can be interpreted as a mobility procedure, e.g., a handover, a L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM), a primary secondary cell (PSCell) change or a PSCell addition, that is conducted when execution conditions are fulfilled. The UE is then configured with one or more candidate target configuration(s) with associated execution conditions. The UE then only applies the candidate target configuration, and subsequently executes the mobility procedure that this configuration includes, when the associated execution conditions are fulfilled. The candidate target configuration is for one or more candidate target cells for which the UE performs the mobility procedure at the execution of the configuration. The candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure is the cell for which the UE performs the mobility procedure that is included in the candidate target configuration when the associated execution conditions are fulfilled.

[0039] As used herein, the term ‘conditional mobility configuration’ may refer to a configuration of a mobility procedure, including e g , a candidate target configuration (forexecution of the mobility procedure, e.g., a RRCReconfiguration message with a reconfigurationWithSync field) and with associated execution conditions.

[0040] The conditional mobility procedure can correspond to, but is not limited to, a conditional handover (CHO), a conditional PSCell addition (CPA), a conditional PSCell change (CPC), or a conditional LTM (i.e., a LTM configuration that is apphed / executed when associated conditions are fulfilled).

[0041] In the present disclosure, a Timing Advance (TA) value is acquired for the UE in a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure such that the UE can avoid transmission of a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) preamble (and reception of a corresponding Random Access Response (RAR) message) during the access to that target cell. The acquisition may enable the UE to perform a “RACH-less” access to / of the candidate target cell when the associated execution conditions are fulfilled for the conditional mobility procedure, thereby enabling a conditional mobility with a short interruption time.

[0042] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0043] Figure 1 illustrates an example architecture for a system 100 including the entities involved in the disclosed subject matter. Notably, system 100 includes a UE 101, a first network node 102, a second network node 103, and a third network node 106 that are communicatively connected. In some embodiments, the UE 101 is a wireless terminal, such as a cellular smartphone, that may (sometimes) be connected to the first network node 102 over a wireless interface 004 and may (sometimes) connected to a second network node 103, via a wireless interface 005.

[0044] In some embodiments, the first network node 102 is configured to control a first cell 109 (sometimes called a serving cell or Special Cell, SpCell, PCell or PSCell, or, in the context of mobility, referred to as a ‘source cell’). Likewise, the second network node 103 may be configured to control a second cell 110, which sometimes, for example in the context of mobility, is referred to as a target cell, neighbor cell, candidate cell, candidate target cell, LTM candidate cell, or the like.

[0045] Each of the first network node 102 and the second network node 103 may comprise a base station such as, but not limited to, a gNB when these nodes are part of a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). In such a scenario, the first network node 102 and the second network node 103 may be connected over an interface 111, which may be an Xn or Xn-C type of interface (e.g., when the first network node 102 and second network node 103 are gNBs operating in aNG-RAN).

[0046] In the context of mobility, such as conditional mobility, the first network node 102 may be referred to as either a source network node, source gNB, serving network node, and / or serving gNB, while the second network node 103 may be referred to as either target network node, target gNB, candidate network node, and / or candidate gNB.

[0047] In the case of a distributed central umt / distributed unit (CU / DU) radio access network (RAN) architecture, each of the first network node 102 and / or the second network node 103 may be connected to a third network node 106 over interfaces 107 and 108, respectively. In the case of a distributed CU / DU RAN architecture, the third network node 106 may be a central unit (CU), which may also be referred to as gNB-CU, CU-CP or CU-UP, serving CU, source CU, or similar. In some embodiments, the first network node 102 and the second network node 1003 may each be a distributed unit, sometimes known as gNB-DU or DU. In this case, and in the context of mobility, such as conditional mobility, the first network node 102 may also be referred to as serving DU or source DU, and the second network node 103 may also referred to as target DU or candidate DU.

[0048] Trigger of Timing Advance acquisition of a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure

[0049] In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter includes methods for a UE configured with at least one configuration for a conditional mobility procedure, to acquire a Timing Advance (TA) value for the candidate target cell of a configured conditional mobility procedure. The UE may subsequently use the acquired TA value at execution of the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell via a RACH-less access, e.g., when the associated execution conditions are fulfilled.

[0050] In some embodiments, the conditional mobility procedure configuration is a conditional handover configuration (e.g., configured as an entity of CondReconfigToAddMod- rl6 in 3GPP TS 38.331, v.17.6.0). In other embodiments, the conditional mobility procedure configuration may be an LTM candidate configuration (e.g., configured as an entity of LTM- Candidate-rl8 in R2 -2312985, which is the latest endorsed Change Request for introduction of LTM to 3GPP Release 18, based on 3GPP TS 38.331, v.17.6.0) with associated execution conditions where the UE applies and executes the LTM candidate configuration (e.g., possibly on top of a reference configuration) when the execution conditions are fulfilled. In some embodiments, the conditional mobility procedure configuration is a configuration received by the UE within an entity of an LTM-Candidate-rl8 in R2-2312985 (which is the latest endorsedChange Request for introduction of LTM to 3GPP Release 18, based on 3GPP TS 38.331, v.17.6.0), which the UE may use autonomously upon the occurrence of a specific event, such as a radio link failure.

[0051] In some embodiments, the conditional mobility procedure configuration is a conditional handover configuration, and the UE utilizes (e.g., applies and / or executes) the configuration autonomously upon the occurrence of a specific event, such as a radio link failure.

[0052] Triggering conditions for TA acquisition

[0053] In some embodiments, the UE initiates the TA acquisition for a candidate target cell when associated triggering conditions are fulfilled. The triggering conditions for triggering the TA acquisition may be configured by the network and the UE can then be configured with multiple execution conditions for the same candidate target cell, such as conditions for both i) execution of the mobility procedure, e g., a handover or an LTM cell switch, and ii) for triggering a TA acquisition procedure. The triggering conditions for performing the TA acquisition may be set for a specific candidate target cell, some of the candidate target cells, or all of the candidate target cells. For example, the triggering conditions can be related to the radio signal strength or radio signal quality for the candidate target cell(s) and / or to the radio signal strength or radio signal quality for one or more serving cell(s). The corresponding triggering conditions can then be configured based on, e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) and / or Signal to Interference Noise Ratio (SINR) values and / or thresholds. In some embodiments, the triggering conditions are linked to a particular event, such as a failure recovery procedure due to a failure event, or the reception of a LTM cell switch command to a LTM candidate cell for which a TA value has not been provided.

[0054] When the UE is configured with triggering conditions for performing TA acquisition that are related to a serving cell (e.g., the radio signal strength or radio signal quality of a serving cell is below a threshold), the UE may be triggered to perform a TA acquisition procedure towards one or more candidate target cells of a conditional mobility procedure, when those triggering conditions are fulfilled. In some embodiments, the UE may be triggered to perform the TA acquisition towards a subset of the candidate target cell(s) of a conditional mobility procedure that the UE is configured with, including the following:

[0055] In one embodiment, the UE is triggered to perform the TA acquisition towards all the candidate target cells that are included in a target configuration of a conditional mobility procedure that correspond to a RACH-less access to the candidate target cell.

[0056] In one embodiment, the UE is triggered to perform the TA acquisition towards the candidate target cells of a conditional mobility procedure for which the configuration includes an indication that TA acquisition is to be performed. For example, the indication may indicate that TA acquisition should be performed for the candidate target cell if the triggering conditions related to the serving cell are fulfilled.

[0057] In one embodiment, the UE is triggered to perform the TA acquisition towards the candidate target cells of a conditional mobility procedure that belongs to the same central unit.

[0058] In one embodiment, the UE is triggered to perform the TA acquisition towards the candidate target cells of a conditional mobility procedure for which the UE is not configured to conduct UE-based TA measurements. For example, the UE may be triggered to perform the TA acquisition only towards candidate target cells of a conditional mobility procedure for which a TA acquisition procedure is needed (e.g., through transmission of a PRACH preamble to the candidate target cell) in order to perform a RACH-less access. Notably, (at least) the cells for which the UE can obtain the TA value in a different way, such as, e.g., through a UE- based method (e.g., by determining the TA value based on the difference in time of reception of specific downlink signals from the serving cell and the candidate target cell), or indication that a specific TA value is to be used for the candidate target cell, e.g., that it has the same TA value as a serving cell or that TA=0 due to that it is a small cell, are then excluded from performing TA acquisition.

[0059] In some embodiments, the UE is triggered to perform the TA acquisition towards the candidate target cells of a conditional mobility procedure according to the RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, or any other channel metrics measured via L3 measurements. For example, the UE may decide to perform the TA acquisition on those candidate target cells (e.g., LTM candidate cells) for which L3 measurements are configured and for which the measured quantity is above a configured threshold. Alternatively, the UE may decide to perform the TA acquisition towards the first “N” candidate target cells (e.g., the “N” first LTM candidate cells) for which L3 measurements are available, and the measured measurement quantity has fulfilled a measurement event.

[0060] In some embodiments, there are different thresholds for the conditions related to the serving cell, such as for the serving cell radio signal strength or radio signal quality, for different candidate target cells. That way the UE is triggered to perform the TA acquisition procedure at different points in time for different candidate target cells when the serving cell coverage is decreasing.

[0061] In some embodiments, the triggering conditions can also be related to a TA timer (for the candidate target cell(s)) is about to expire or has expired. When the TA timer for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure expires, has expired, or is about to expire, the UE can trigger the TA acquisition procedure towards that candidate target cell. In one example, the UE starts a TA timer for the candidate target cell when the UE receives the TA value for the target cell from the network, so that the UE can determine how long the TA value shall be considered as valid. The value to use for the TA timer can be part of the candidate target cell configuration or the TA acquisition configuration for the candidate target cell that the UE has received. In some embodiments, the UE receives the TA timer value to use together with the TA value.

[0062] The triggering conditions can also be related to a maximum number of times that the TA acquisition procedure can be triggered on a candidate target cell(s). For example, the maximum number of times can be configured by the network and once the maximum number of TA acquisition procedure initiations has been reached for a candidate target cell (or for multiple candidate target cells), the UE will not trigger a TA acquisition procedure towards that candidate target cell (or to the multiple candidate target cells). Notably, the maximum number of times can be a global value, which is general for all the candidate target cells configured for conditional mobility (e.g., for all the LTM candidate cells). Alternatively, there could be a separate maximum number of times value for each of the candidate target cells (e.g., for each of the LTM candidate cells) configured for conditional mobility.

[0063] In some embodiments, the triggering conditions for performing a TA acquisition procedure towards a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure may correspond to the type or amount of traffic that the UE contains in its uplink buffer, or that the UE is currently receiving (or has received lately) in the downlink.

[0064] Configuration for TA acquisition procedure towards target cell of conditional mobility procedure

[0065] When a UE performs a TA acquisition towards a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure, the UE needs to have information about how that transmission is to be performed. In some embodiments, the UE performing the TA acquisition procedure does so by transmitting a preamble to a UL time and frequency domain resource of the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the preamble and the UL time and frequency domain resource of the candidate target cell correspond to a random access related configuration of the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the UE receives a configuration from the network indicating how to perform the TA acquisition procedure, e g.,for transmission of the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell. In one example, the configuration includes pre-configured and / or periodic occasions where the UE can transmit a PRACH preamble (e.g., if the TA acquisition is triggered for the UE for that cell). In another alternative, the UE may receive the random access related configuration according to a system information block that is broadcast for that candidate target cell (e.g., for that LTM candidate cell). For example, the UE may be configured to compare the Physical Cell Identity (PCI) in System Information Blocks (SIBs) with the PCI inside the LTM candidate cell configuration.

[0066] In some embodiments, the configuration for TA acquisition for a candidate target cell includes one or more of UL time resources and UL frequency domain resources and one or more PRACH preamble value(s) to be used by the UE for the TA acquisition. The resources may be periodic, e.g., the UL time resources are occurring periodically such that the UE can transmit the PRACH preamble (and thus perform the TA acquisition) at periodic occasions towards the candidate target cell. By having periodic occasions when the UE can use the corresponding resources for TA acquisition, the network can allocate the corresponding resources (e g , UL frequency domain resources and PRACH preamble) to other UEs at other points in time, i.e., between the periodic occasions that are configured for this UE.

[0067] In some embodiments, the resources for performing the TA acquisition for a candidate target cell can be preconfigured to the UE and included in the candidate target configuration for the mobility procedure (e g., within condRRCReconfig of a CHO, CPC, or CPA configuration or within LTM-Candidate of a conditional LTM configuration). In one alternative, the resources for performing the TA acquisition for a candidate target cell are provided as associated to the configuration for the conditional mobility procedure, e g., within the corresponding entity of CondReconfigToAddMod-rl6 (but not within the included condRRCReconfig) of a CHO, CPC, or CPA configuration or in a configuration that is associated to the LTM-Candidate of a conditional LTM configuration.

[0068] In some embodiments, the execution of the TA acquisition procedure towards a candidate target cell (e.g., transmission of a PRACH preamble) according to the preconfigured occasions is combined with the conditions for when the UE should perform the TA acquisition, as described above. In this scenario, the UE only performs the TA acquisition at a preconfigured occasion if the related conditions are also fulfilled.

[0069] In some embodiments, the TA acquisition procedure is triggered towards a cell that is currently functioning a serving cell for the UE (e.g., towards an SCell without any uplink configured), which could become a cell with an uplink configuration after the mobility procedure (e g., such as an SCell with an uplink configuration or an SpCell).

[0070] Network indication to perform TA acquisition for target cell of a conditional mobility procedure

[0071] In some embodiments, the network may send an indication to the UE to request that the UE performs a TA acquisition for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure, e.g., the candidate target cell of a conditional HO configuration or of a conditional LTM candidate configuration. The transmission of the indication may include what the network sends, e.g., an RRC message, a MAC CE, or a PDCCH order in the serving cell, which then triggers the UE to transmit a corresponding PRACH preamble for TA acquisition in the candidate target cell.

[0072] In some embodiments, the UE may send a measurement report or an indication to the network (e.g., to the serving cell / node) that a TA acquisition procedure should be performed towards one or more candidate target cell(s) of a conditional mobility procedure. When receiving the measurement report or indication, the network may then initiate the TA acquisition procedure for the UE towards the candidate target cell (or towards multiple candidate target cells). This initiation of the TA acquisition procedure(s) can be accomplished by the transmission of one or more request messages (e.g., RRC messages, MAC CE, and / or DCI (e.g., PDCCH orders) to the UE. In one alternative, the message that initiates the TA acquisition towards a candidate target cell may also include a configuration to be used in the candidate target cell for the TA acquisition, e.g., the resources to use for transmission of the PRACH preamble such as UL time information and / or UL frequency information and / or the preamble to use. In some examples, the serving node i) requests this configuration for the TA acquisition procedure from the candidate target node that the candidate target cell belongs to, ii) receives the configuration from the candidate target node, and iii) then transmits the request message to the UE with the configuration received from the candidate target node. In some embodiments, the request message that the network (e g., the serving cell / node) sends to the UE to initiate the TA acquisition procedure towards a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure indicates that the TA acquisition procedure is to be performed using a configuration that has been provided (earlier) to the UE for that cell, e.g., within the candidate target cell configuration or associated to it (or associated to the candidate target cell).

[0073] In some embodiments, the UE may receive a configuration of the conditions for transmission of a measurement report for (or an indication about) a candidate target cell, which is related to that TA acquisition is to be triggered for the one or more candidate target cell(s). The UE evaluates the conditions, and when the conditions are fulfilled, the UE subsequently sends the measurement report or indication to the network. In some embodiments, theconditions may be related to the radio signal strength or radio signal quality for the candidate target cell and / or to the radio signal strength or radio signal quality for one serving cell or for multiple serving cells. In some embodiments, the conditions are related to events for L3 measurements or events for LI measurements. The conditions for sending the measurement report or indication to the network would then be different from the execution conditions for triggering execution of the corresponding candidate configuration for the conditional mobility procedure (e.g., for the same candidate target cell). For example, the thresholds for sending the measurement report or indication to the network may be lower than the thresholds for the execution conditions, such that the TA acquisition procedure for a cell can be triggered earlier than the execution of the corresponding conditional mobility procedure to the same cell.

[0074] In some embodiments, the conditions for sending the measurement report or indication to the network are related to another aspect than radio signal strength or radio signal quality for candidate target cell or for serving cell, e.g., that the condition is related to an event. In one example, the event includes a timeAlignmentTimer (TA timer) for the candidate target cell(s) that is about to expire or has expired.

[0075] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE is provided with a TA value for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure that the network has determined for the UE based on the performed TA acquisition procedure (e.g., the PRACH preamble transmission). In some embodiments, the UE receives the TA value from the serving cell, e.g., via an RRC message or a MAC CE. In one example, the network (e.g., the serving / source node such as a serving / source DU) transmits the TA value to the UE in an LTM cell switch command MAC CE for the candidate target cell of a conditional LTM configuration. However, the UE does not execute the configuration at reception of the LTM cell switch command MAC CE. Instead, the UE stores the new configuration or the new TA value for the candidate target cell of the LTM configuration. In one example, the LTM cell switch command MAC CE includes an indication that the LTM cell switch is not to be executed at reception of the message but instead stored for later possible execution, e.g., at fulfillment of the corresponding execution conditions.

[0076] In some embodiments, the UE may select output power for transmission of the PRACH preamble in a candidate target cell. In one example, the UE uses power ramping for subsequent PRACH preamble transmissions to a candidate cell. For example, the UE may identify a PRACH preamble transmission as either an initial transmission or a retransmission. In this example, the UE maintains an output power P for each candidate cell. For an initial transmission, the UE sets the power value P equal to a value P-initial. For a retransmission, theUE increases the power with an increment P-increment compared to the previous power P, for example, by assigning a new value for P, as P = P + P-increment. In one example, when the UE triggers a PRACH preamble transmission to a given candidate cell, if the UE previously performed a PRACH preamble transmission to the same candidate cell, the UE considers this PRACH preamble transmission as a retransmission. In another example, the UE considers this PRACH preamble transmission as a retransmission only if the UE performed a previous PRACH preamble transmission to the same candidate cell before a certain time limit in the past.

[0077] The disclosed subject matter may be implemented by one or more of the following examples.

[0078] Embodiment Al includes a method for a UE to perform Timing Advance (TA) acquisition for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure, wherein the method comprises:• receiving, from a first network node, a conditional mobility configuration for the candidate target cell that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node;• transmitting, to the second network node, a preamble message in the candidate target cell;• receiving, from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance information for the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; and• executing the conditional mobility procedure to / of the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling in / to the candidate target cell (e g., communication on an uplink channel of the cell) without performing random access.

[0079] Embodiment A2: The method of Embodiment Al, wherein the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by an event.

[0080] Embodiment A3: The method in A2 wherein the event includes an associated triggering condition that is fulfilled.

[0081] Embodiment A4: The method in A3 wherein the associated triggering condition corresponds to a radio signal strength level and / or radio signal quality level for the candidate target cell and / or for the serving cell(s).

[0082] Embodiment A5: The method in any of A2-A4 wherein the event includes an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cell.

[0083] Embodiment A6: The method in Al wherein the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by a reception of an indication from the first network node to perform the TA acquisition in the candidate target cell.

[0084] A7. The method in A6 wherein the UE transmits a measurement report for and / or an indication about the candidate target cell to the first network node prior to receiving an indication to perform the TA acquisition in the candidate target cell.

[0085] A8. The method in A7 wherein the UE transmits the measurement report and / or the indication for the candidate target cell to the first network node when associated triggering conditions, which are configured by the network, are fulfilled.

[0086] A9. The method in A8 wherein the associated triggering conditions correspond to fulfilling a radio signal strength level and / or radio signal quality level (e g., detecting a radio signal level falling below a threshold) for the candidate target cell and / or for serving cell(s).

[0087] A10. The method in any of A8-A9 wherein the associated triggering conditions include an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cell .

[0088] Al l. The method in any of A1-A10 wherein the execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered when associated execution conditions are fulfilled

[0089] A12. The method in any of A1-A10 wherein the execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered when a radio link failure, a handover failure, or a failed LTM cell switch procedure is detected

[0090] A13. The method in A12 wherein the UE has performed a cell selection of the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility configuration after the detection of the radio link failure, handover failure or failed LTM cell switch procedure.

[0091] A14. The method in any of A1-A13 wherein the UE transmits the PRACH preamble for the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell according to a configuration that the UE has received from the first network node.

[0092] Al 5. The method in A14 wherein the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE uses for sending the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell.

[0093] Bl . A method in a first network node, such as a source gNB or a serving gNB or a source DU or a serving DU, for handling and / or performing TA acquisition for a conditional mobility procedure for a UE, comprising:• transmitting, to the UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node;• receiving, from the second network node, a message including Timing Advance (TA) information that is valid for the UE in the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure;• transmitting, to the UE, a message including the Timing Advance (TA) information for the candidate target cell;• receiving, from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell.

[0094] B2. The method in Bl wherein the first network node configures the UE with triggering conditions for performing the TA acquisition procedure for the candidate target cell.

[0095] B3. The method in B2 wherein the triggering conditions correspond to fulfilling a radio signal strength level and / or radio signal quality level (e.g., detecting a radio signal level that falls below a threshold) for the candidate target cell and / or for the serving cell(s).

[0096] B4. The method in Bl wherein the first network node sends an indication to theUE to perform the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell.

[0097] B5. The method in B4 wherein the first network node sends the indication after receiving a measurement report for the candidate target cell from the UE, or receiving an indication about the candidate target cell from the UE

[0098] B6. The method in B5 wherein the first network node configures the UE with associated triggering conditions for transmitting the measurement report for the candidate target cell, or for transmitting the indication about the candidate target cell.

[0099] B7. The method in B6 wherein the associated triggering conditions correspond to fulfilling a radio signal strength level and / or a radio signal quality level for the candidate target cell and / or for the serving cell(s).

[0100] B8. The method in any of B6-B7 wherein the associated triggering conditions include an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer in the UE for the candidate target cell.

[0101] B9. The method in any of B1-B8 wherein the first network node sends a configuration to the UE for performing the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell.

[0102] B10. The method in B9 wherein the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE uses for the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell.

[0103] Cl . A method in a second network node, such as a target gNB or a candidate gNB, or a target DU or a candidate DU, to handle TA acquisition for a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure for a UE, where the candidate target cell is handled by (and / or belongs to, supported by, controlled by, etc.) the second network node, comprising:• providing a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell to a first network node, after receiving a request from a first network node or from another network node;• receiving, from the UE, a preamble message in the candidate target cell and determining a Timing Advance (TA) value based on the reception of the preamble message;• transmitting, to a first network node, a message including the Timing Advance (TA) value information;• receiving, from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure;• (optionally) transmitting, to the first network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the second network node and / or to the candidate target cell.

[0104] C2. The method in Cl wherein the second network node provides a configuration to the first network node for performing the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell for a conditional mobility procedure.

[0105] C3. The method in C2 wherein the configuration is provided for a specific UE.

[0106] C4. The method in any of C2-C3 wherein the configuration is provided to the first network node after receiving a request for the configuration.

[0107] C5. The method in any of C2-C4 wherein the configuration for performing the TA acquisition is provided within or together with the candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell.

[0108] C6 The method in any of C2-C5 wherein the configuration for performing the TA acquisition includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE uses for the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell.

[0109] Figure 2 illustrates a message sequence chart in one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. In this example, the UE 250 is connected to a first network node, herein referredto as a serving gNB 251, and triggers TA acquisition for a candidate target cell controlled by a second target network node, herein referred to as a candidate gNB 252.

[0110] In Step 201, the serving gNB 251 and the candidate gNB 252 prepares a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell controlled by the candidate gNB 252.[OHl] In Step 202, the serving gNB 251 transmits the conditional mobility configuration to the UE 250, e.g., in an RRCReconfiguration message.

[0112] In Step 203, the UE 250 stores the received conditional mobility configuration for the candidate target cell. In Step 204, the UE 250 sends a confirmation message back to the serving gNB 251, e.g., an RRCReconfigurationComplete message.

[0113] In Step 205, the UE 250 is triggered to perform a TA acquisition procedure for the candidate target cell, which is supported by and / or controlled by the candidate gNB 252.

[0114] In Step 206, the UE 250 starts performing the TA acquisition procedure for the candidate target cell 252, by transmitting a PRACH preamble message to the candidate target cell 252. In some embodiments, the transmission of the PRACH preamble may be performed according to a configuration that the UE 250 has received for TA acquisition towards the candidate target cell.

[0115] In Step 207, the candidate gNB 252 determines, based on the reception of the PRACH preamble message (in Step 206), a Timing Advance (TA) value for the UE 250 in the candidate target cell. In Step 208, the candidate gNB 252 transmits a message to the serving gNB 251 with information about the determined TA value.

[0116] In Step 209, the serving gNB 251 sends the information about the determined TA value to the UE 250 in a message. After receiving the message, the UE 250 can store the received information in order to perform a RACH-less access to the candidate target cell.

[0117] In Step 210, the execution conditions for the candidate target cell 252, i.e., for performing the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, are fulfilled. In Step 211, the UE 250 subsequently executes the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell 252.

[0118] In Step 212, when executing the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, the UE 250 performs a RACH-less access to / of the candidate target cell. For example, the UE 250 may perform an uplink transmission (e.g., transmitting uplink signaling or uplink data) to the candidate target cell without first performing a random access procedure. This means that no PRACH preamble is transmitted to the candidate target cell as part of the execution of the conditional mobility procedure.

[0119] In Step 213, the UE 250 transmits a message to the candidate target node / cell 252 to indicate that the conditional mobility procedure is successful. In one example, the message is an RRCReconfigurationComplete message. This message is then sent by UE 250 to the candidate target cell without first performing a random access procedure to / of the candidate target cell as part of the execution of the conditional mobility procedure.

[0120] In Step 214, the candidate gNB 252 sends a message to the serving gNB 251 to inform that the UE 250 has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the candidate gNB 252 (i.e., candidate target cell).

[0121] Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method 300 performed by the UE in one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. In some embodiments, software based algorithms and / or modules (e.g., conditional mobility engine 717) may be stored in memory 710 of UE 700 depicted in Figure 7, and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by processing circuitry 702, the UE 700 performs respective operations (e.g., steps 301-304) of the method 300.

[0122] In Step 301, the UE receives, from a first network node, a conditional mobility configuration for executing the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell of a second network node.

[0123] In Step 302, the UE transmits a preamble message to the candidate target cell of the second network node.

[0124] In Step 303, the UE receives, from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance (TA) information.

[0125] In Step 304, when execution conditions are met and / or fulfilled, the UE executes a conditional mobility procedure towards the candidate target cell and uses the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without performing random access (e.g., a random access procedure).

[0126] In some embodiments, the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by an event. In some embodiments, the event includes an associated triggering condition that is fulfilled. In some embodiments, the associated triggering condition corresponds to at least one of a detected radio signal strength level or a detected radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more serving cells supported by the first network node. In some embodiments, the event includes an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, tothe second network node, is triggered by a reception of an indication from the first network node to perform the TA acquisition in the candidate target cell.

[0127] In some embodiments, the UE transmits i) a measurement report and / or ii) an indication about the candidate target cell that a TA acquisition procedure should be performed towards one or more candidate target cells of a conditionally mobility procedure to the first network node prior to receiving the indication to perform the TA acquisition in the one or more candidate target cells.

[0128] In some embodiments, the UE transmits the measurement report and / or the indication for the candidate target cell to the first network node when associated triggering conditions, which are configured by the network, are fulfilled. In some embodiments, the associated triggering conditions correspond to detecting at least one of a radio signal strength level or radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or one or more serving cells supported by the first network node.

[0129] In some embodiments, the associated triggering conditions include an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered in response to fulfillment of associated execution conditions. In some embodiments, the execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered when a radio link failure, a handover failure, or a failed LTM cell switch procedure is detected. In some embodiments, the UE has performed a cell selection of the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility configuration after the detection of the radio link failure, handover failure or failed lower-layer triggered mobility, LTM, cell switch procedure. In some embodiments, the UE transmits a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble for the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell in accordance to a configuration that the UE has received from the first network node. In some embodiments, the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for sending the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell.

[0130] Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 400 performed by the first network node in one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. One example of a first network node is represented as network node 800 in Figure 8. In some embodiments, software based algorithms and / or modules (e.g., conditional mobility engine 805) may be stored in memory 804 of network node 800 (e.g., a first network node), and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by processing circuitry 802, the network node 800 performs respective operations (e.g., steps 401-404) of the method 400.

[0131] In Step 401 of method 400, the first network node transmits a conditional mobility configuration to the UE.

[0132] In Step 402 of method 400, the first network node receives, from a second network node, a message including Timing Advance (TA) information.

[0133] In Step 403 of method 400, the first network node transmits, to the UE, a message including Timing Advance information.

[0134] In Step 404 of method 400, the first network node receives, from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to a candidate target cell.

[0135] In some embodiments, the first network node configures the UE with triggering conditions for performing the TA acquisition procedure for the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the triggering conditions correspond to at least one of a detected a radio signal strength level or a detected radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more serving cells supported by the first network node. In some embodiments, the first network node sends an indication to the UE to perform the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first network node sends the indication in response to i) receiving a measurement report for the candidate target cell from the UE, or ii) receiving an indication that a TA acquisition procedure should be performed in one or more candidate target cells of a conditionally mobility procedure from the UE. In some embodiments, the first network node configures the UE with associated triggering conditions for transmitting the measurement report for the one or more candidate target cells, or for transmitting the indication regarding the one or more candidate target cells. In some embodiments, wherein the associated triggering conditions correspond to at least one of a radio signal strength level and / or a radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more serving cells supported by the first network node.

[0137] In some embodiments, the associated triggering conditions include that an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer in the UE for the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the first network node sends a configuration to the UE for performing the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble in the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the first network node is at least one of a source gNB, a serving gNB, a source distributed unit, or a serving distributed unit.

[0138] Figure 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 500 that is performed by the second network node in one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. One example of a second network node is represented as network node 800 in Figure 8. In some embodiments, software based algorithms and / or modules (e.g., conditional mobility engine 805) may be stored in memory 804 of network node 800 (e.g., a second network node), and these modules may provide instructions so that when the instructions of a module are executed by processing circuitry 802, the network node 800 performs respective operations (e.g., steps 501-505) of the method 500.

[0139] In Step 501 of method 500, the second network node provides, to a first network node, a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell.

[0140] In Step 502, the second network node receives, from the UE, a preamble message in a candidate target cell.

[0141] In Step 503, the second network node transmits, to a first network node, a message including Timing Advance information

[0142] In Step 504, the second network node receives, from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without UE performing random access.

[0143] In Step 505, the second network node transmits, to the first network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to a candidate target cell.

[0144] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, to the first network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the second network node and / or to the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the second network node provides a configuration to the first network node for performing the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell for a conditional mobility procedure. In some embodiments, the configuration is provided to the first network node for a specific UE. In some embodiments, the configuration is provided to the first network node after receiving a request for the configuration.

[0145] In some embodiments, the configuration for performing the TA acquisition is provided within or together with the candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the configuration for performing the TA acquisition includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble in the candidate target cell. In some embodiments, the second network node is at least one of a target gNB, a candidate gNB, a target distributed unit, or a candidate distributed unit.

[0146] Figure 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 602 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 602, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.

[0147] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0148] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmiting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0149] The UEs 612 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 602.

[0150] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more hosts, such as host 616. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 608. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0151] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunication network 602, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of suchapplications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0152] As a whole, the communication system 600 of Figure 6 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802. 11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0153] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0154] In some examples, the UEs 612 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN- DC).

[0155] In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e g., UE 612c and / or 612d) and networknodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0156] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 610b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0157] Figure 7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming consoleor device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0158] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e g., a smart power meter).

[0159] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a power source 708, a memory 710, a communication interface 712, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 7. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0160] The processing circuitry 702 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 710. The processing circuitry 702 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0161] In the example, the input / output interface 706 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 700. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0162] In some embodiments, the power source 708 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0163] The memory 710 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0164] The memory 710 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, externalhard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 710 may allow the UE 700 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0165] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712 The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 718 and / or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0166] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 712 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking(SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0167] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0168] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0169] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0170] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0171] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0172] Figure 8 shows a network node 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0173] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0174] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0175] The network node 800 includes a processing circuitry 802, a memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808. The network node 800 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 800 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 800 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 800.

[0176] The processing circuitry 802 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 800 components, such as the memory 804, to provide network node 800 functionality.

[0177] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a system on a chip (SOC) In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In someembodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0178] The memory 804 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitiy 802. The memory 804 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and memory 804 is integrated.

[0179] The communication interface 806 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 806 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio front-end circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. Radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to an antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 820 and / or amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to theprocessing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0180] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818, instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio front-end circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0181] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0182] The antenna 810, communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0183] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuity or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 808. As a further example, the power source 808 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or batery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The batery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0184] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 8 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800.

[0185] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a host 900, which may be an embodiment of the host 616 of Figure 6, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 900 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 900 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0186] The host 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input / output interface 906, a network interface 908, a power source 910, and a memory 912. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 7 and 8, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 900.

[0187] The memory 912 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 914 and data 916, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 900 or data generated by the host 900 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 900 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 914 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 914 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 900 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 914 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP LiveStreaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0188] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1000 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0189] Applications 1002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0190] Hardware 1004 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, mput / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1006 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1008a and 1008b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1008), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1008.

[0191] The VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1006. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1002 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1008, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualizationof the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0192] In the context of NFV, a VM 1008 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1008, and that part of hardware 1004 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to the application 1002.

[0193] Hardware 1004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1004 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1002. In some embodiments, hardware 1004 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0194] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxeslocated within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0195] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.EMBODIMENTSGroup A EmbodimentsAl. A method for performing, by a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a Timing Advance, TA, acquisition for a candidate target cell (110) of a conditional mobility procedure, the method comprising: receiving (301), from a first network node (102, 251, 800), a conditional mobility configuration for the candidate target cell that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node (103, 252, 800); transmitting (302), to the second network node, a preamble message in the candidate target cell; receiving (303), from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance information for the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; and executing (304) the conditional mobility procedure to the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling in the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.A2. The method of Embodiment Al wherein the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by an event.A3. The method of Embodiment A2 wherein the event includes an associated triggering condition that is fulfilled.A4. The method of Embodiment A3 wherein the associated triggering condition corresponds to at least one of a detected a radio signal strength level or a detected radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more serving cells supported by the first network node.A5. The method of any of Embodiments A2-A4 wherein the event includes an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cell.A6. The method of Embodiment Al wherein the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by a reception of an indication from the first network node to perform the TA acquisition in the candidate target cellA7. The method of Embodiment A6 wherein the UE transmits a measurement report for and / or an indication about the candidate target cell to the first network node prior to receiving the indication to perform the TA acquisition in the candidate target cell.A8. The method of Embodiment A7 wherein the UE transmits the measurement report and / or the indication for the candidate target cell to the first network node when associated triggering conditions, which are configured by the network, are fulfilled.A9. The method of Embodiment A8 wherein the associated triggering conditions correspond to detecting at least one of a radio signal strength level or radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or one or more serving cells supported by the first network node.A10. The method of any of Embodiments A8-A9 wherein the associated triggering conditions include an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cellAl l. The method of any of Embodiments A1-A10 wherein the execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered in response to fulfillment of associated execution conditions.Al 2. The method of any of Embodiments A1-A10 wherein the execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered when a radio link failure, a handover failure, or a failed LTM cell switch procedure is detected.Al 3. The method of Embodiment A12 wherein the UE has performed a cell selection of the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility configuration after the detection of the radio link failure, handover failure or failed lower-layer triggered mobility, LTM, cell switch procedure.Al 4. The method of any of Embodiments Al -Al 3 wherein the UE transmits a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble for the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell in accordance to a configuration that the UE has received from the first network node.Al 5. The method of Embodiment A14 wherein the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for sending the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell.A16. A user equipment, UE, device (101, 250, 700) comprising: processing circuitry (702); and memory (710) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the UE to perform operations comprising: receive (301), from a first network node (102, 251, 800), a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell (110) that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node (103, 252, 800); transmit (302), to the second network node, a preamble message in the candidate target cell; receive (303), from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance information for the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; and execute (304) the conditional mobility procedure to the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling in the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.Al 7. The UE device of Embodiment A16, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Embodiments A2-A15.Al 8. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (702) of a user equipment, UE, device whereby execution of the program code causes the program code to perform operations comprising: receive (301), from a first network node (102, 251, 800), a conditional mobility configuration for the candidate target cell that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node (103, 252, 800); transmit (302), to the second network node, a preamble message in the candidate target cell; receive (303), from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance information for the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; and execute (304) the conditional mobility procedure to the candidate target cell, wherein theUE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling in the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.Al 9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of Embodiment Al 8, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Embodiments A2-A15.Group B EmbodimentsBl . A method for handling Timing Advance, TA, acquisition, by a first network node (102, 251, 800), for a conditional mobility procedure for a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, the method comprising: transmitting (401), to the UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell (110) that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node (103, 252, 800); receiving (402), from the second network node, a message including TA information that is valid for the UE in the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; transmitting (403), to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receiving (404), from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the candidate target cell.B2. The method of Embodiment Bl wherein the first network node configures the UE with triggering conditions for performing the TA acquisition procedure for the candidate target cell.B3. The method of Embodiment B2 wherein the triggering conditions correspond to at least one of a detected a radio signal strength level or a detected radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more serving cells supported by the first network node.B4. The method of Embodiment Bl wherein the first network node sends an indication to the UE to perform the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell.B5. The method of Embodiment B4 wherein the first network node sends the indication in response to i) receiving a measurement report for the candidate target cell from the UE, or ii) receiving an indication about the candidate target cell from the UE.B6. The method of Embodiment B5 wherein the first network node configures the UE with associated triggering conditions for transmitting the measurement report for the candidate target cell, or for transmitting the indication regarding the candidate target cell.B7. The method of Embodiment B6 wherein the associated triggering conditions correspond to at least one of a radio signal strength level and / or a radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more serving cells supported by the first network node.B8. The method of any of Embodiments B6-B7 wherein the associated triggering conditions include that an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer in the UE for the candidate target cell.B9. The method of any of Embodiments B1-B8 wherein the first network node sends a configuration to the UE for performing the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell.BIO. The method of Embodiment B9 wherein the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble in the candidate target cell.Bl 1. The method of any of Embodiments Bl -BIO wherein the first network node is at least one of a source gNB, a serving gNB, a source distributed unit, or a serving distributed unit.Bl 2. A first network node (102, 251, 800) comprising: processing circuitry (802); and memory (804) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the first network node to perform operations comprising: transmit (401), to a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell (110) that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node (103, 252, 800);receive (402), from the second network node, a message including Timing Advance, TA, information that is valid for the UE in the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; transmit (403), to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receive (404), from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the candidate target cell.Bl 3. The first network node of Embodiment Bl 2, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Embodiments B2-A11.Bl 4. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (802) of a first network node (102, 251, 800) whereby execution of the program code causes the program code to perform operations comprising: transmit (401), to a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell that is controlled and / or supported by a second network node (103, 252, 800); receive (402), from the second network node, a message including Timing Advance, TA, information that is valid for the UE in the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; transmit (403), to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receive (404), from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the candidate target cell.Bl 5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of Embodiment Bl 4, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Embodiments B2-A11.Group C EmbodimentsCl . A method for handling, by a second network node (103, 252, 800), a Timing Advance, TA, acquisition for a candidate target cell (110) of a conditional mobility procedure for a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, wherein the candidate target cell is controlled and / or supported by the second network node, comprising:providing (501), to a first network node (102, 251, 800), a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node; receiving (502), from the UE, a preamble message in the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmitting (503), to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receiving (504), from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling in the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure.C2. The method of Embodiment Cl further comprising: transmitting (505), to the first network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure to the second network node and / or to the candidate target cell.C3. The method of any of Embodiments C1-C2 wherein the second network node provides a configuration to the first network node for performing the TA acquisition procedure in the candidate target cell for a conditional mobility procedure.C4. The method of Embodiment C3 wherein the configuration is provided to the first network node for a specific UE.C5. The method of any of Embodiments C2-C4 wherein the configuration is provided to the first network node after receiving a request for the configuration.C6. The method of any of Embodiments C2-C5 wherein the configuration for performing the TA acquisition is provided within or together with the candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell.C7. The method of any of Embodiments C2-C5 wherein the configuration for performing the TA acquisition includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble in the candidate target cell.C8. The method of any of Embodiments C1-C6 wherein the second network node is at least one of: a target gNB, a candidate gNB, a target distributed unit, or a candidate distributed unitC9. A second network node (103, 252, 800) comprising: processing circuitry (802); and memory (804) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the second network node to perform operations compnsing: provide (501), to a first network node (102, 251, 800), a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node; receive (502), from a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a preamble message in the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmit (503), to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receive (504), from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling in the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure.CIO. The second network node of Embodiment C9, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Embodiments C2-C8.Cl 1. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (802) of a second network node (103, 252, 800) whereby execution of the program code causes the program code to perform operations comprising: provide (501), to a first network node (102, 251, 800), a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell (110) in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node; receive (502), from a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a preamble message in the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmit (503), to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receive (504), from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling in the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure.Cl 2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of Embodiment Cl l wherein theoperations further comprise any of the operations of Embodiments C2-C8.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method by a user equipment (101 , 250, 700), UE, for performing a Timing Advance, TA, acquisition for a candidate target cell (110) of a conditional mobility procedure, the method comprising: receiving (301), from a first network node (102, 251, 800), a conditional mobility configuration for executing the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell of a second network node (103, 252, 800); transmitting (302), to the candidate target cell of the second network node, a preamble message; receiving (303), from the first network node, a message including TA information for the candidate target cell; and executing (304) the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the preamble message to the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by an event.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the event includes an associated triggering condition that is fulfilled.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein the associated triggering condition corresponds to at least one of a detected radio signal strength level or a detected radio signal quality level corresponding to the candidate target cell and / or to one or more cells supported by the first network node.

5. The method of any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the event includes an expiration or near expiration of a TA timer for the candidate target cell.

6. The method of Claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the preamble message in the candidate target cell, to the second network node, is triggered by a reception of an indication from the first network node to perform the TA acquisition for the candidate target cell.

7. The method of Claim 6, wherein the UE transmits to the network node, i) a measurement report and / or ii) an indication that the TA acquisition should be performed towards a candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure to the first network node prior to receiving the indication to perform the TA acquisition in the candidate target cell.

8. The method of Claim 7, wherein the UE transmits the measurement report and / or the indication for the candidate target cell to the first network node when an associated triggering condition, which is configured by a network, is fulfilled.

9. The method of any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered in response to fulfillment of associated execution conditions.

10. The method of any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein execution of the conditional mobility procedure is triggered when a radio link failure, a handover failure, or a failed LTM cell switch procedure is detected.

11. The method of Claim 10, wherein the UE has performed a cell selection of the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility configuration after the detection of the radio link failure, handover failure or failed lower-layer triggered mobility, LTM, cell switch procedure.

12. The method of any of Claims 1 to 11, wherein the UE transmits a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble for the TA acquisition to the candidate target cell in accordance to a configuration that the UE has received from the first network node.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for sending the PRACH preamble in the candidate target cell.

14. The method of Claim 1, wherein the candidate target cell is controlled and / or supported by the second network node.

15. A user equipment, UE, device (101, 250, 700) comprising: processing circuitry (702); andmemory (710) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the UE to perform operations comprising: receive (301), from a first network node (102, 251, 800), a conditional mobility configuration for executing a conditional mobility procedure for a candidate target cell (110) of a second network node (103, 252, 800); transmit (302), to the candidate target cell of the second network node, a preamble message; receive (303), from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance information for the candidate target cell; and execute (304) the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.

16. The UE device of Claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Claims 2 to 14.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (702) of a user equipment, UE, device whereby execution of the program code causes the program code to perform operations comprising: receive (301), from a first network node (102, 251, 800), a conditional mobility configuration for executing the conditional mobility procedure for a candidate target cell of a second network node (103, 252, 800); transmit (302), to the candidate target cell of the second network node, a preamble message; receive (303), from the first network node, a message including Timing Advance information for the candidate target cell; and execute (304) the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell, wherein the UE utilizes the received TA information to transmit uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without performing a random access procedure.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of Claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Claims 2 to 14.

19. A method by a first network node (102, 251 , 800), for performing Timing Advance, TA, acquisition for a conditional mobility procedure for a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, the method comprising: transmitting (401), to the UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell (110) of a second network node (103, 252, 800); receiving (402), from the second network node, a message including TA information that is valid for the UE in the candidate target cell of the conditional mobility procedure; transmitting (403), to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receiving (404), from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell.

20. The method of Claim 19, wherein the first network node configures the UE with triggering conditions for performing the TA acquisition for the candidate target cell.

21. The method of Claim 19, wherein the first network node sends an indication to the UE to perform the TA acquisition for the candidate target cell.

22. The method of Claim 21, wherein the first network node sends the indication in response to i) receiving a measurement report for the candidate target cell from the UE, or ii) receiving an indication that a TA acquisition should be performed in a candidate target cell of a conditionally mobility procedure from the UE.

23. The method of Claim 22, wherein the first network node configures the UE with associated triggering conditions for transmiting the measurement report for the candidate target cell, or for transmiting the indication regarding the candidate target cell.

24. The method of any of Claims 19 to 23, wherein the first network node sends a configuration to the UE for performing the TA acquisition to the candidate target cell.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein the configuration includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble in the candidate target cell.

26. The method of any of Claims 19 to 25, wherein the first network node is at least one of a source gNB, a serving gNB, a source distributed unit, or a serving distributed unit.

27. A first network node (102, 251, 800) comprising: processing circuitry (802); and memory (804) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the first network node to perform operations comprising: transmit (401), to a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell (110) of a second network node (103, 252, 800); receive (402), from the second network node, a message including Timing Advance, TA, information that is valid for the UE of the candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure; transmit (403), to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receive (404), from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell.

28. The first network node of Claim 27, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Claims 20 to 26.

29. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (802) of a first network node (102, 251, 800) whereby execution of the program code causes the program code to perform operations comprising: transmit (401), to a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a conditional mobility configuration for a candidate target cell of a second network node (103, 252, 800); receive (402), from the second network node, a message including Timing Advance, TA, information that is valid for the UE of the candidate target cell of a conditional mobility procedure; transmit (403), to the UE, a message including the TA information for the candidate target cell; and receive (404), from the second network node, an indication that the UE has executed the conditional mobility procedure of the candidate target cell.

30. The non-transitory computer readable medium of Claim 29, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Claims 20 to 26.

31. A method for performing, by a second network node (103, 252, 800), a Timing Advance, TA, acquisition for a candidate target cell (110) of a conditional mobility procedure for a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, wherein the candidate target cell is controlled and / or supported by the second network node, comprising: providing (501), to a first network node (102, 251, 800), a candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node; receiving (502), from the UE, a preamble message to the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmitting (503), to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receiving (504), from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure.

32. The method of Claim 31, further comprising: transmitting (505), to the first network node, an indication that the UE has executed a conditional mobility procedure of the second network node and / or of the candidate target cell.

33. The method of any of Claims 31 to 32, wherein the second network node provides a configuration to the first network node for performing the TA acquisition to the candidate target cell for a conditional mobility procedure.

34. The method of Claim 33, wherein the configuration is provided to the first network node for a specific UE.

35. The method of any of Claims 33 to 34, wherein the configuration is provided to the first network node after receiving a request for the configuration.

36. The method of any of Claims 31 to 35, wherein the configuration for performing the TA acquisition is provided within or together with the candidate target configuration for the conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell.

37. The method of any of Claims 31 to 35, wherein the configuration for performing the TA acquisition includes pre-configured occasions and / or resources that the UE utilizes for a physical random access channel, PRACH, preamble to the candidate target cell.

38. The method of any of Claims 31 to 37, wherein the second network node is at least one of: a target gNB, a candidate gNB, a target distributed unit, or a candidate distributed unit.

39. A second network node (103, 252, 800) comprising: processing circuitry (802); and memory (804) coupled with the processing circuitry, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry causes the second network node to perform operations comprising: provide (501), to a first network node (102, 251, 800), a candidate target configuration for a conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node; receive (502), from a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a preamble message to the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmit (503), to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receive (504), from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure.

40. The second network node of Claim 39, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Claims 32 to 38.

41. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code to be executed by processing circuitry (802) of a second network node (103, 252, 800) whereby execution of the program code causes the program code to perform operations comprising: provide (501), to a first network node (102, 251, 800), a candidate target configuration for a conditional mobility procedure for the candidate target cell (110) in response to receiving a request from the first network node or from another network node;receive (502), from a user equipment (101, 250, 700), UE, a preamble message to the candidate target cell and determining a TA value based on the reception of the preamble message; transmit (503), to a first network node, a message including the TA value information; and receive (504), from the UE, uplink data or uplink signaling to the candidate target cell without the UE first performing a random access procedure.

42. The non-transitory computer readable medium of Claim 41, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of Claims 32 to 38.

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