Managing user equipment access to a non-terrestrial network

Abstract

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatuses for managing user equipment (UE) (102) access to a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The UE might attempt to register with a network or establish a session using non-access stratum (NAS) messaging between the UE and a core network (110). The network can transmit a NAS message (350) (such as a registration reject or session reject message) that includes rejection information (such as one or more of a cause code, an NTN not allowed indication, or an NTN disabling indication). In some implementations, the cause code or NTN not allowed indication, combined with an NTN disabling configuration (330), informs the UE to disable NTN access (370).

Description

MANAGING USER EQUIPMENT ACCESS TO A NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This Patent Application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 608,694, filed December 11, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 608,942, filed December 12, 2023, both entitled “MANAGING USER EQUIPMENT ACCESS TO A NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORK” and assigned to the assignee hereof, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in this Patent Application.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and some aspects relate to managing user equipment (UE) access to a non-terrestrial network (NTN).BACKGROUND

[0003] This background description is provided for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

[0004] A wireless communication system includes one or more network entities (such as a base station) enabling communication for a mobile communication device (referred to as a user equipment (UE)). Each base station operates one or more cells to provide coverage for the UE. Existing wireless communication systems rely primarily on legacy terrestrial networks. However, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) organization has proposed to extend 5th generation (5G) communications to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) with 5G new radio (NR) technologies, or with the Long-Term -Evolution (LTE) technologies tailored for the Narrowband Internet-of-Thing (NB-IoT) or the enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) scenarios. A non-terrestrial network (NTN) refers to a network, or segment of networks, using radio frequency (RF) resources on board an NTN node, such as a satellite, uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), or high altitude platform (HAP). An NTN nodecan include a spaceborne vehicle (such as a satellite) or an airborne vehicle (such as UAS or airplane). For simplicity, the discussion below refers to all such apparatus as satellites. In addition to satellites, an NTN can include the sat-gateways that connect satellites to a public data network, feeder links between sat-gateways and satellites, service links between satellites, and inter-satellite links (ISL) when satellites form constellations.

[0005] Some 5G wireless networks may benefit by managing a UE’s access to terrestrial network, TN, cells versus non-terrestrial network, NTN, cells differently. However, existing mechanisms for managing network access may be inadequate. For example, there is no defined technique to restrict the UE to access TN cells only and disable NTN access. A UE may attempt to register with the network. Based on network congestion or user subscription, the network might respond with a registration or session rejection message. In some scenarios, the network rejects the UE because the UE does not subscribe to NTN services. In other scenarios, the network rejects the UE because the NTN services are not available for a tracking area of the particular NTN cell. While the rejection message may have a cause code to indicate a reason for the rejection, the UE might interpret the rejection as applying to all cells of the network. There is no clear technique for the UE to interpret the rejection as being limited to the NTN cells so that the UE may continue seeking access via TN cells.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0006] The systems, methods, and apparatuses of this disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0007] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method includes receiving a downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message from a base station (BS) of a first network. The downlink NAS message includes rejection information to disable nonterrestrial network (NTN) access for at least a first RAT of the first network. The method includes refraining from accessing NTN cells of at least the first RAT of the first network based on the rejection information.

[0008] In some implementations, the method includes disabling an NTN capability of the UE based on the rejection information and an NTN disabling configuration.

[0009] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a method for wireless communication by a network entity of a first network. The method includes determining to reject NTN access by a UE and transmitting a downlink NAS message to the UE. The downlink NAS message includes rejection information to disable the NTN access for the UE for at least a first RAT of the first network.

[0010] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as an apparatus that includes a communication unit and a processing system configured to control the communication unit to implement any one of the above-referenced methods.

[0011] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. Note that the relative dimensions of the figures may not be drawn to scale. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0014] FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system implementing a non-terrestrial network (NTN) BS and a satellite using a transparent payload implementation.

[0015] FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system implementing an NTN BS with feeder links to multiple satellites.

[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates an example wireless communication system showing a user equipment (UE) and an NTN in which the network can implicitly or explicitly inform the UE to disable NTN access.

[0017] FIG. 4A illustrates an example non-access stratum (NAS) message with example indications, some of which can support NTN disabling based on a related NTN disabling configuration.

[0018] FIG. 4B illustrates example NTN disabling configurations that can manage UE behavior based on rejection information in a NAS message.

[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates a general technique for disabling NTN access to introduce several examples provided in FIG. 6A through FIG. 7B.

[0020] FIG. 6A illustrates a technique for disabling NTN access using a cause code and a related NTN disabling configuration.

[0021] FIG. 6B illustrates a technique for disabling NTN access using an NTN not allowed indication and a related NTN disabling configuration.

[0022] FIG. 6C illustrates a technique for disabling TN and NTN access using a cause code and a related TN and NTN disabling configuration.

[0023] FIG. 6D illustrates a technique for disabling TN and NTN access using a TN and NTN not allowed indication and a related TN and NTN disabling configuration.

[0024] FIG. 7A illustrates a technique for disabling NTN access using an explicit NTN disabling indication.

[0025] FIG. 7B illustrates a technique for disabling TN and NTN access using an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication.

[0026] FIG. 8A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6A.

[0027] FIG. 8B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6A.

[0028] FIG. 8C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6A.

[0029] FIG. 9A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6B.

[0030] FIG. 9B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6B.

[0031] FIG. 9C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6B.

[0032] FIG. 10A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6C.

[0033] FIG. 10B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6C.

[0034] FIG. 10C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6C.

[0035] FIG. 11A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6D.

[0036] FIG. 11B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6D.

[0037] FIG. 11C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6D.

[0038] FIG. 12A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 7A.

[0039] FIG. 12B illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 7B.

[0040] FIG. 13A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE showing an example combination corresponding to FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A.

[0041] FIG. 13B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE showing an example combination corresponding to FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A.

[0042] FIG. 14A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6A.

[0043] FIG. 14B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6 A.

[0044] FIG. 14C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6A.

[0045] FIG. 15A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6B.

[0046] FIG. 15B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6B.

[0047] FIG. 15C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6B.

[0048] FIG. 16A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6C.

[0049] FIG. 16B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6C.

[0050] FIG. 16C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6C.

[0051] FIG. 17A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6D.

[0052] FIG. 17B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6D.

[0053] FIG. 17C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6D.

[0054] FIG. 18A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 7A.

[0055] FIG. 18B illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 7B.

[0056] FIG. 19 illustrates an example protocol stack for communications between a UE and base stations.

[0057] FIG. 20A illustrates an example user plane protocol stack in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 20B illustrates an example control plane protocol stack in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The following description is directed to certain implementations for the purpose of describing innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a multitude of different ways. Some of the examples in this disclosure are based on wireless communication according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless standards, such as the 4th generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5th generation (5G) New Radio (NR) standards. However, the described implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network that is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals according to any of the wireless communication standards, including any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 or 802.16 wireless standards, or other known signals that are used to communicate within a wireless, cellular, or internet of things (TOT) network, such as a system utilizing 4G, 5G, WiFi, or future radio technology.

[0060] This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatuses for managing user equipment (UE) access to a cell of a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The UE might attempt to register with a public land mobile network (PLMN) or establish a session using non-access stratum (NAS) messaging between the UE and a core network. The network can transmit a NAS message (such as a registration reject or session reject message) that includes a cause code (for example, cause code #15 is an example of a first cause). Absent the techniques of this disclosure, the UE might interpret the rejection cause code in different ways - such as inferring that a particular cell is disabled or congested. The UE might continue to attempt access via another NTN cell. Alternatively, the UE might refrain from accessing terrestrial network (TN) and NTN cells based on the cause code being ambiguously applied to TN and / or NTN cells. The techniques of this disclosure mitigate the ambiguity and provide a mechanism for the network to selectively disable NTN access or both TN and NTN access.

[0061] In some aspects, a management object or other configuration data is provided to the UE. The UE uses a setting of the management object or configuration data to interpret whether the cause code instructs the UE to disable NTN access or not. The management object or configuration data for a particular cause code can configure whether that cause code will disable NTN access. Meanwhile, the cause code does not need to be an NTN-specific cause code and can be used for conventional purposes when the management object of other configuration data is not present. In some implementations, a NAS message includes anextended information element (IE) carrying an indication whether the cause code is related to disabling NTN access or to an NTN disabling configuration. In some implementations, the NAS message includes an explicit indicator for disabling NTN access.

[0062] Particular implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. A network operator can implicitly or explicitly inform a UE to disable NTN capability using a NAS rejection message. The ability to manage access to the NTN enables the network operator to enforce user subscriptions. By extending the meaning of existing cause codes for NAS messaging, a UE and network can use existing NAS messaging while reducing ambiguity of the existing cause codes. A UE is able to unambiguously apply a rejection or network access restriction to either or both of the NTN and TN cells. In some implementations, a conventional cause code can be used with a configuration setting in the UE to control whether the UE disables NTN access after receiving the cause code. Absent the techniques of this disclosure, a UE might repeatedly attempt to access various NTN cells when the network intends to disable NTN access for the UE. By implementing the techniques of this disclosure, the UE can refrain from repetitive rejected access attempts - thereby improving battery usage and reducing radio congestion.

[0063] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 100. The example wireless communication system 100 includes a UE 102, a base station (BS) 104, a base station 106, a core network (CN) 110 and a CN 109. The BS 104 operates in a radio access network (RAN) 105 connected to the CN 110. The CN 110 may be an evolved packet core network (EPC) 111 or a 5G core network (5GC) 160, for example. The CN 110 may also be a sixth generation (6G) core in another wireless network core. The BS 106 operates in a RAN 103 connected to the CN 109. The RAN 105 and the CN 110 belong to a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) 108, while the TN RAN 103 and the CN 109 belong to a PLMN 107. The RAN 105 communicates with UEs via one or more satellites (as suggested by the satellite 122 icon), the PLMN 108 thus being a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The RAN 103 communicates with UEs using terrestrial equipment (as suggested by the tower icon) without employing satellites, the PLMN 107 being a terrestrial network (TN).

[0064] The base station 104 (sometimes also referred to as an NTN BS) works in coordination the satellite 122 to operate the NTN cell 124. In some implementations, part orall of the base station 104 is implemented on board the satellite 122. An NTN gateway (not shown) connects the satellite 122 to the base station 104. The base station 104 and the satellite 122 form part of the RAN 105. For purposes of this disclosure, reference to base station 104 can also include or refer to functionality of the satellite 122.

[0065] The base station 104 covers a cell 124, and the base station 106 covers a cell 126. If the base station 104 is a next generation base station (gNB), the cell 124 is an NR cell. If the base station 104 is an enhanced base station (ng-eNB or eNB), the cell 124 is an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) cell. Similarly, if the base station 106 is a gNB, the cell 126 is an NR cell, and if the base station 106 is an ng-eNB or eNB, the cell 126 is an E-UTRA cell. The cells 124 and 126 can be in the same Radio Access Network Notification Areas (RNA) or different RNAs. In general, each of the RANs 105 and 103 can include any number of base stations, and each of the base stations can cover one, two, three, or any other suitable number of cells. The UE 102 can support at least a 5G NR (or simply, “NR”) or E- UTRA air interface to communicate with the base stations 104 and 106. Each of the base station 104 can connect to the CN 110 via an interface (e.g., SI or NG interface). The base station 104 and other base stations in RAN 105 also can be interconnected via an interface (e.g., X2 or Xn interface) for interconnecting RAN nodes. Each of the base stations 106 can connect to the CN 109 via an interface (e.g., SI or NG interface). The base station 106 and other base stations in RAN 103 also can be interconnected via an interface (e g., X2 or Xn interface) for interconnecting RAN nodes.

[0066] Among other components, the EPC 111 may include a Serving Gateway (SGW) 112, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 114, and a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) 116. The SGW 112 in general is configured to transfer user-plane packets related to audio calls, video calls, Internet traffic, etc., and the MME 114 is configured to manage authentication, registration, paging, and other related functions. The PGW 116 provides connectivity from the UE to one or more external packet data networks, e.g., an Internet network and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network. The EPC 111 may include other MME, SGW and / or PGW not shown in FIG. 1. The 5GC 160 includes a User Plane Function (UPF) 162 and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 164, and / or Session Management Function (SMF) 166. The UPF 162 is configured to transfer user-plane packets related to audio calls, video calls, Internet traffic, etc., the AMF 164 isconfigured to manage authentication, registration, paging, and other related functions, and the SMF 166 is configured to manage PDU sessions. The 5GC 160 may include other AMF, SMF and / or UPF not shown in FIG. 1. The CN 109 has similar components as the CN 110.

[0067] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the base station 104 supports a cell 124, and the base station 106 supports a cell 126. Note that cell 124 has a shape corresponding to the footprint of the satellite beams, which unlike cell 126, may project on different areas at different times. The cells 124 and 126 partially overlap, so that the UE 102 can select, reselect, or hand over from one of the cells 124 and 126 to the other. To directly exchange messages or information, the base station 104 and base station 106 may support an X2 or Xn interface. In general, the CN 110 is able to connect to any suitable number of base stations supporting NR cells and / or evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access (EUTRA) cells.

[0068] The satellite 122 can belong to one of several types depending on its altitude, orbit, and beam footprint size. The types include Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite, Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite, uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) platform (including High Altitude Platform Station, HAPS), and High Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellite. GEO satellites are also known as the Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) satellites, and LEO / MEO satellites are also known as non-GSO (NGSO) satellites. A GSO satellite can communicate with one or more sat-gateways deployed over a satellite targeted coverage area (e.g., a region, country, continent, etc.). A non-GSO satellite at different times can communicate with one or several serving sat-gateways. An NTN is designed to ensure service and feeder link continuity between successive serving sat-gateways, with sufficient time duration to proceed with mobility anchoring and hand-over procedures.

[0069] A satellite can support a transparent or a regenerative (with on board processing) payload, and typically generates several beams for a given service area bounded by the field of view. The footprints of the beams typically have an elliptic shape and depend on the onboard antenna configuration and the elevation angle. For a transparent payload implementation, a satellite can apply RF filtering and / or frequency conversion and amplification, and refrain from changing the waveform signal. For a regenerative payload implementation, a satellite can apply RF filtering, frequency conversion and amplification, demodulation and decoding, routing, and / or coding / modulation. This approach is effectively equivalent to implementing most of the functions of a base station, e.g., a gNB or an eNB.

[0070] Narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT) and enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) technologies are expected to be particularly suitable for loT devices operating in remote areas with limited or no terrestrial connectivity. Such loT devices can be used in a variety of industries including, for example, transportation (maritime, road, rail, air) and logistics; solar, oil, and gas harvesting; utilities; farming; environmental monitoring; and mining. Satellites can implement the required loT connectivity, to provide coverage beyond terrestrial deployments. Satellite NB-IoT or eMTC is defined in a complementary manner to terrestrial deployments.

[0071] While FIG. 1 describes an example architecture of a wireless communication system, other architectures are possible. As described with reference to FIG. 1, a wireless communication system can include TN cells and NTN cells. In this case, it is not clear for the network to manage access to TN cells and NTN cells for UEs with different services subscriptions and / or network operation conditions. For example, the UE transmits a Registration Request message to a core network 110 via a first NTN cell 124 to register to the core network 110. The network rejects the UE 102 by transmitting a Registration Reject message including an existing cause value #15 (No suitable cells in tracking area) to the UE 102 via the first NTN cell 124. In some scenarios, the network rejects the UE 102 because the UE 102 does not subscribe to the NTN services. In other scenarios, the network rejects the UE 102 because the NTN services are not available for the first tracking area of the first NTN cell 124. The UE 102 searches for a suitable NTN cell (not shown) in another tracking area based on receiving the cause value #15 in according to 3 GPP specification 24.501 as shown below.5.5.1.2.4 Initial registration accepted by the network.#15 (No suitable cells in tracking area).The UE shall set the 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED (and shall store it according to subclause 5.1.3.2.2). The UE shall reset the registration attempt counter and shall enter the state 5GMMREGISTERED. LIMITED- SERVICE.If the UE has initiated the registration procedure in order to enable performing the service request procedure for emergency services fallback, the UE shall attempt to select an E-UTRA cell connected to EPC or 5GC according to the emergency servicessupport indicator (see 3GPP TS 36.331 [25A]). If the UE finds a suitable E-UTRA cell, it then proceeds with the appropriate EMM or 5GMM procedures. If the UE operating in single-registration mode has changed to SI mode, it shall disable the N1 mode capability for 3GPP access. Otherwise, the UE shall search for a suitable cell in another tracking area according to 3GPP TS 38.304

[0028] or 3GPP TS 36.304.

[0072] When the UE 102 finds a second NTN cell in a second tracking area, the UE 102 transmits a Registration Request message to the network via the second NTN cell. If the NTN services are available in the second tracking area, the network transmits a Registration Accept message to the UE 102 via the second NTN cell. Thus, the UE 102 successfully registers to the network and may initiate services (e.g., voice call or messaging services) via the second NTN cell with the network. However, if the UE 102 does not subscribe to NTN services, the network transmits a Registration Reject message including the cause value #15 to the UE 102 via the second NTN cell. Absent the techniques of this disclosure to inform the UE 102 to disable NTN access, the UE 102 might continue to search and attempt registration to other NTN cells. This can diminish user experience and unnecessarily consume radio or network resources.

[0073] FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200A implementing an NTN BS 104 and a satellite 122 using a transparent payload implementation. The example wireless communication system 200A uses one type of NTN deployment referred to as transparent payload architecture, which involves an NTN gateway 198 and a “transparent” satellite 122 for extending the range of a Uu interface. The Uu interface refers to the link between the UE 102 and a base station. In some implementations, the satellite 122 implements a frequency conversion and an RF amplifier in both the uplink and downlink directions. With that being said, the satellite 122 function is similar to that of an analogue RF repeater. As a result, the satellite 122 repeats the Uu radio interface from a feeder link (between the NTN gateway 198 and the satellite 122) to the service link (between the satellite 122 and the UE 102) in the downlink direction and vice versa in the uplink direction. The Satellite Radio Interface (SRI) on the feeder link is the Uu interface, and the NTN gateway 198 supports all necessary functions to forward the signal of the Uu interface. The NTN gateway 198 can be placed at the same site as the NTN BS 104 location, or can be connected to the NTN BS 104 at a distance via a wired link. It is also possible to connect more than oneNTN gateway 198 to an NTN BS 104. Different transparent satellites may be connected to the same base station on the ground, via the same NTN gateway, or via different NTN gateways.

[0074] FIG. 2B is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200B implementing an NTN BS 104 with feeder links to multiple satellites. Two different satellites 122 and 222 are connected to the same NTN BS 104 via the same NTN gateway 198. The two satellites 122 and 222 can each provide different NTN cells on the Earth surface and the different NTN cells can use different Physical Cell IDs (PCIs).

[0075] Although the transparent payload architecture illustrated in FIG. 2 A and FIG. 2B is the current focus of the 3GPP development, the regenerative payload architecture that installs the BS functions on the satellite 122 is also a possible NTN deployment in the future. In such an architecture, the Uu interface exists between the satellite 122 and the UE 102, and some or all of the functions of the NTN BS 104 are on-board the satellite 122. The techniques of this disclosure can apply to the transparent payload architecture as well as the regenerative payload architecture.

[0076] FIG. 3 is an example wireless communication system 300 showing a UE 102 and a satellite 122 in which the core network 110 can implicitly or explicitly inform the UE to disable NTN access. The core network 110 can communicate a NAS message 352 (via the satellite 122) to the UE 102 to inform the UE 102 to disable NTN access. In some implementations, the NAS message 352 is a NAS rejection message based on a previous registration attempt (not shown) by the UE 102. The NAS message 352 can include rejection information (such as an implicit or explicit indication) designed to cause the UE to disable NTN access (block 350). The UE 102 refrains from accessing the NTN based on the rejection information in the NAS rejection message (block 370). In some implementations, the UE disables an NTN capability for one or more radio access technologies (RATs). In some implementations, when the UE 102 disables the NTN capability, the UE 102 disables the entire radio capability for NTN access for all RATs or disables function(s) or module(s) for communication with an NTN via selected RATs. Thus, the UE 102 will not transmit a subsequent registration message 372 to the satellite 122 using at least the current RAT. Although some examples of this disclosure are based on a network registration request message and registration reject message in response, the same techniques can be used withother types of NAS messages, such as a session establishment request message (or session modification request message) and a session reject message.

[0077] This disclosure includes a variety of ways for the network to inform the UE 102 to disable NTN access. In some implementations, the NAS message 352 includes a traditional cause code or indication that can be extended to also indicate NTN disabling via an NTN disabling configuration. The UE 102 can obtain an NTN disabling configuration (block 330) that is related to the rejection information. For example, the NAS message 352 can include a cause code that, together with an NTN disabling configuration for a first cause, can inform the UE 102 to disable NTN access when the cause code matches the first cause. In another example, the NAS message 352 can include an information element (IE) that includes an NTN not allowed indication. The NTN not allowed indication might be ambiguous without a corresponding NTN disabling indication that informs the UE to disable an NTN capability when the UE receives the NTN not allowed indication. Otherwise, the NTN not allowed indication might have another meaning (not related to disabling NTN capability) such as a temporary outage or NTN congestion, among other examples. The NTN disabling configuration (when present) can inform the UE 102 to disable NTN access when the UE 102 receives the NTN not allowed indication. In yet another example, the NAS message 352 can include an explicit indicator (which can be referred to as an NTN disabling indication, or similar name) to disable NTN access.

[0078] The network might desire to disable NTN access for the UE 102 while permitting TN access. Alternatively, the network might desire to disable both TN and NTN access. The network might desire to disable NTN access for a first radio access technology (RAT) (e.g., one of 4G NTN, 5G NTN, or 6G NTN) for the UE 102 while permitting NTN access for at least a second RAT (e.g., another of 4G NTN, 5G NTN, and / or 6G NTN). This disclosure includes several examples and implementation options to support NTN disablement or both TN and NTN disablement.

[0079] FIG. 4A illustrates an example NAS message 452 with example rejection information, some of which can support NTN disabling based on a related NTN disabling configuration 430. In some aspects, the NAS message 452 can include an established cause codes 454 or an NTN not allowed indication 456. The cause code 454 or the NTN not allowed indication 456 can be associated with existing operations of UE specified in 3GPP technicalspecifications. However, the existing definitions of the cause code 454 or the NTN not allowed indication 456 might be ambiguous as to whether the UE should disable NTN access or re-attempt access at a later time. In accordance with aspects of this disclosure, the NTN disabling configuration 430 can extend a meaning of the cause code 454 or the NTN not allowed indication 456 to cause the UE to disable an NTN capability when the UE receives a particular cause code 454 or the NTN not allowed indication 456.

[0080] The NAS message 452 can include a cause code 454 (such as cause code #15). In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration 430 includes a configuration setting indicating NTN disabling based on a particular cause code 454. For example, the configuration setting can be “NTNDisablingAllowedForCausel5” in a management object stored in a memory of the UE. When the configuration setting for “NTNDisablingAllowedForCausel5” is a first setting (such as “true”) and the UE receives the cause code 454 indicating Cause #15, the UE disables NTN access. In other words, the UE disables any “access allowed” settings that are related to NTN because the “NTNDisablingAllowedForCausel5” has the first setting, and the UE received a message containing cause code #15.

[0081] The NAS message 452 might include an NTN not allowed indication 456, such as in an IE. The NTN disabling configuration 430 can include a setting for NTN disabling based on NTN not allowed indication. Based on this setting, the UE might process an NTN not allowed indication 456 as satisfying a triggering condition for disabling an NTN capability of the UE. In another example, the NAS message 452 can include an explicit NTN disabling indication 458, such as a new value or field in the NAS message that is specific to NTN access and explicitly commands the UE to disable the NTN capability for one or more RATs.

[0082] FIG. 4B illustrates example NTN disabling configurations 430 that can manage UE behavior based on rejection information in a NAS message. In various implementations, the UE 102 obtains any one or more of the example NTN disabling configurations: NTN disabling based on cause code (block 434), NTN disabling based on NTN not allowed indication (block 436), TN and NTN disabling based on cause code (block 435), TN and NTN disabling based on NTN not allowed indication (block 437), or any variety of RAT-specific or all-RAT combinations for disabling based on cause code or NTN not allowed indication (blocks 431 A and 43 IB). The descriptions of FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C, and FIG. 6Dprovide an example of each of the example NTN disabling configurations 434, 436, 435, and 437, respectively.

[0083] In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration configures whether a UE (e.g., the UE 102) disables an NTN capability (e.g., NTN access or NTN communication function or module) when receiving the first cause. For example, the NTN disabling configuration is an indicator. If the indicator is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the indicator indicates that NTN capability disabling for the first cause is disabled. If the indicator is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the indicator indicates that NTN capability disabling for the first cause is enabled.

[0084] In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration is specific to a particular RAT and network. Alternatively, the NTN disabling configuration can be specific to all NTNs that use a particular RAT, such as a 4G, 5G, or 6G RAT. The NTN disabling configuration 431 A is based on a first cause and can instruct the UE to disable NTNs according to a configuration for disabling NTNs of any RAT, separate configurations for disabling NTNs of specific RATs, a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT, a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT or 5G RAT, a configuration for disabling NTNs using 5G RAT or 6G RAT, or a configuration for disabling NTNs using 6G RAT. The NTN disabling configuration 43 IB is based on an NTN not allowed indication that can include any variety of RATs that the UE will disable when the NTN not allowed indication is included in a downlink NAS message.

[0085] FIG. 5 illustrates a general technique 500 for disabling NTN access to introduce several examples provided in FIG. 6A through FIG. 7B. A UE 102 communicates with a CN 110 via a RAN 105 communicating with the UE via a satellite 122. The RAN 105 provides an NTN cell via the satellite 122. The RAN 105 may additionally provide one or more TN cells. In some implementations, the UE 102 obtains 530 an NTN disabling configuration (such as any of the NTN disabling configurations 430 or 330 described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4A, or FIG. 4B).

[0086] In some implementations, the UE 102 obtains the NTN disabling configuration from a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM). The USIM may be a card inserted into the UE 102 or embedded in the UE 102. In such cases, the NTN disabling configuration is stored in an elementary file (EF) in the USIM. In some implementations, the EF is a new EF file forindicating that “disabling NTN access for MM cause #XX”. In other implementations, the EF is an existing EF file, e.g., EFNASCONFIG, for indicating that “disabling NTN access for MM cause #XX”.

[0087] In other implementations, the UE 102 pre-stores the NTN disabling configuration, e.g., in a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) or memory element, e.g., during manufacturing. In yet other implementations, the UE 102 receives a downlink (DL) message including the NTN disabling configuration from the CN 110 via the RAN 105 and a TN cell. In yet other implementations, the UE 102 receives a DL message (for configuration) including the NTN disabling configuration from the CN 110 via a Wi-Fi network. In yet other implementations, the UE 102 receives a DL message including the NTN disabling configuration from a server via a Wi-Fi network. In yet other implementations, the UE 102 receives a DL message including the NTN disabling configuration from a server via the CN 110, the RAN 105 and a TN cell. In some implementations, when the UE 102 receives the NTN disabling configuration as described above, the UE 102 stores the NTN disabling configuration in the NVM. In other implementations, the UE 102 stores the NTN disabling configuration in the EF in the USIM. In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration is a leaf node in a Management Object (MO). For example, the MO is a NAS configuration MO defined in 3GPP specification 24.368. In other implementations, the NTN disabling configuration is a UE policy or an element of a UE policy.

[0088] In some implementations, the CN 110 transmits a DL message including the NTN disabling configuration based on the CN 110 determining that the UE 102 is not allowed to access an NTN as described below. In some implementations, the DL message configuring the NTN disabling configuration is a DL NAS message such as an ATTACH ACCEPT message, a TRACKING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message, a REGISTRATION ACCEPT message, a SERVICE ACCEPT message, or a CONFIGURATION UPDATE COMMAND message. In other implementations, the DL message is an IP packet or a Bearer Independent Protocol (BIP) packet.

[0089] After obtaining the NTN disabling configuration (block 530), the UE 102 operates in coverage of the NTN cell. The UE 102 transmits 540 an uplink (UL) NAS message to the CN 110 via the RAN 105 to access the NTN cell. In some implementations, the UE 102 transmits the UL NAS message to an MME 114 of the CN 110 (i.e., EPC 111) while operating in aconnected state. In such cases, the connected state is an ECM-CONNECTED state or EMM- CONNECTED state with the MME 114. In other implementations, the UE 102 transmits the UL NAS message to an AMF 164 of the CN 110 (i.e., 5GC 160) while operating in a connected state. In such cases, the connected state is a 5GCM-CONNECTED state or 5GMM- CONNECTED state with an AMF 164.

[0090] When the CN 110 receives the UL message 540, the CN 110 determines 550 that the UE 102 is not allowed to access an NTN (i.e., the UE 102 is not allowed to communicate with the CN 110 and / or RAN 105 via an NTN cell). In some implementations, the CN 110 determines 550 that the UE 102 is not allowed to access an NTN because the CN 110 determines that the UE 102 does not subscribe NTN services based on subscription data for the UE 102. In some implementations, when the MME 114 receives 540 the UL message, if the MME 114 does not have subscription data for the UE 102, the MME 114 might transmit a first message to a network node (e.g., Home Subscriber Server) to obtain subscription data for the UE 102. In response, the network node transmits a second message including subscription data for the UE 102 to the MME 114. The MME 114 determines 550 that the UE 102 is not allowed to access an NTN based on the subscription data. In other implementations, when the AMF 164 receives 540 the UL message, if the AMF 164 does not have subscription data for the UE 102, the AMF 164 might transmit a first message to a network node (e.g., Unified Data Management) to obtain subscription data for the UE 102. In response, the network node transmits a second message including subscription data for the UE 102 to the AMF 164. The AMF 164 determines 550 that the UE 102 is not allowed to access an NTN based on the subscription data.

[0091] In other implementations, the CN 110 makes the determination 550 because the operator of the CN 110 stores a policy of not allowing the UE 102 to access an NTN. The operator’s policy might be configured in the MME 114 in the case that the CN 110 is an EPC 111. The operator’s policy might be configured in the AMF 164 in the case that the CN 110 is a 5GC 160. In yet other implementations, the CN 110 makes the determination 550 because the UE 102 is a roaming UE and the CN 110 does not allow a roaming UE to access an NTN. In yet other implementations, the CN 1 10 makes the determination 550 because the UE 102 is not allowed to access a tracking area of the NTN cell.

[0092] Based on the determination 550, the CN 1 10 transmits a DL message 551 including rejection information to the UE 102 via the RAN 105. In some implementations, the UL message 540 and the DL message 551 are a Registration Request message and a Registration Reject message, respectively. In other implementations, the UL message 540 and the DL message 551 are an Attach Request message and an Attach Reject message, respectively. In yet other implementations, the UL message 540 and the DL message 551 are a Tracking Area Update Request message and a Tracking Area Update Reject message, respectively. In yet other implementations, the UL message 540 and the DL message 551 are a Service Request message and a Service Reject message, respectively.

[0093] At block 570, the UE 102 disables an NTN capability based on the rejection information. In some implementations, such as where the rejection information is matched to NTN disabling configuration, the UE 102 disables the NTN capability based on the rejection information and the NTN disabling configuration. For example, when the NTN disabling configuration indicates the UE 102 to disable an NTN capability based on a cause code or indication that matches the rejection information, the UE 102 disables 570 an NTN capability (e.g., NTN access or NTN communication function or module). Alternatively, or additionally, the DL message 551 might include an explicit NTN disabling indication that prompts the UE 102 to disable 570 the NTN capability regardless or without comparison to an NTN disabling configuration. In some implementations, if the DL message includes a second cause instead of the first cause or some rejection information that does not match an NTN disabling configuration, or the NTN disabling configuration does not indicate disabling an NTN capability (or if the UE 102 does not obtain the NTN disabling configuration), the UE 102 refrains from disabling the NTN capability.

[0094] In some implementations, the UE 102 communicates with the RAN 105 using a first RAT (i.e., the first RAT NTN). In such cases, the UE 102 disables 570 the NTN capability for at least the first RAT. Thus, when the UE 102 disables the NTN capability, the UE 102 disables the entire radio capability for NTN access or disables function(s) or module(s) for NTN communication of the first RAT. In some implementations, the UE 102 supports NTN communication via a second RAT. In one implementation, the UE 102 disables an NTN capability of the first RAT and the second RAT in the event 570. When the UE 102 disables the NTN capability for the first and second RATs, the UE 102 disables the entire radiocapability for NTN access or disables function(s) or module(s) for NTN communication of the first and second RAT. In another implementation, the UE 102 continues to enable the NTN capability of the second when disabling 570 the NTN capability for the first RAT.

[0095] In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration indicates or configures whether to disable an NTN capability for the first RAT and / or an NTN capability for the second RAT when the first cause is received. The UE 102 determines whether to disable an NTN capability for the first RAT and / or an NTN capability for the second RAT based on the NTN disabling configuration and the received cause information. For example, if the NTN disabling configuration enables disabling an NTN capability for the first RAT (only) when the first cause is received, the UE 102 disables the NTN capability for the first RAT (only). In another example, if the NTN disabling configuration enables disabling an NTN capability for the first and second RATs when the first cause is received, the UE 102 disables the NTN capability for the first and second RATs. In some implementations, the UE 102 supports NTN communication using a third RAT. In such cases, the NTN disabling configuration may configure whether to disable an NTN capability for the first and third RATs when the first cause is received. The UE 102 determines whether to disable an NTN capability for the first and third RATs as described for the first and second RATs above.

[0096] In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration is specific only for the first RAT, i.e., irrespective of NTN communication of other RAT(s). When receiving the first cause as described above, the UE 102 determines whether to disable the NTN capability (only) for the first RAT based on the NTN disabling configuration. If the UE 102 supports NTN communication of the second RAT and / or NTN communication of the third RAT, the UE 102 may continue to enable the NTN capability for the second RAT and / or the NTN capability of the third RAT.

[0097] In some implementations, the first RAT, second RAT and third RAT are any permutation of LTE, NR, and 6G. In other implementations, the NTN disabling configuration generally applies to NTN communication of all RAT(s) that the UE supports. For example, when the UE 102 receives rejection information in the DL message 551 that matches the NTN disabling configuration 530, the UE 102 disables 570 NTN capabilities for all RATs that the UE 102 supports. In some implementations, the RATs include the first RAT, the second RAT and / or the third RAT.

[0098] In the case that the UE 102 disables the NTN capability for one or more RATs, the UE 102 might perform a cell search to find a TN cell, e.g. of the first RAT, the second RAT and / or the third RAT. If the UE 102 finds a suitable TN cell in the cell search, the UE 102 selects the TN cell. The UE 102 performs a NAS procedure via the TN cell with a core network. The NAS procedure is a mobility management (MM) procedure such as an attach procedure, a tracking area update procedure, a registration procedure or a service request procedure. In some implementations, the core network is the CN 110, and the TN cell and the NTN cell are operated by the same base station or different base stations in the RAN 105. In other implementations, the core network is the CN 109 and the TN cell is operated by a base station in the RAN 103. In the NAS procedure, the UE 102 transmits a UL message to the core network via the TN cell, similar to the event 540. In response to the UL message, the core network transmits a DL message to the UE 102 via the TN cell. In some implementations, the core network transmits the DL message to reject the UE 102, similar to the event 551. In other implementations, the core network transmits the DL message to grant the UE 102 to use communication services provided by the core network and a RAN (i.e., the RAN 105 or 103). For example, the DL message is an Attach Accept message, a Tracking Area Update Accept message, a Registration Accept message, or a Service Accept message.

[0099] Having described the NTN disabling at a high-level, this disclosure now includes several examples to illustrate the use of different example NTN disabling configurations in FIG. 6A through FIG. 6D and the use of example explicit NTN disabling indications in FIG. 7A through FIG. 7B. The examples in FIG. 6 A through FIG. 7B show the UE 102 communicating with a CN 110 via a RAN 105 that operates via satellite 122. For brevity, the following description will focus on the differences in each figure compared to the general technique described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0100] FIG. 6A illustrates a technique for disabling NTN access using a cause code and a related NTN disabling configuration. In a scenario 600A, the UE 102 obtains 634 an NTN disabling configuration for a cause (i.e., a first cause). In some implementations, the NTN disabling configuration configures whether a UE (e.g., the UE 102) disables an NTN capability (e.g., NTN access or NTN communication function or module) when receiving the first cause. When the CN 110 receives the UL message 540, the CN 110 determines 650 that the UE 102 is not allowed to access an NTN (similar to as described with reference to block550 of FIG. 5). Based on the determination 650, the CN 110 transmits 654 a DL message including the first cause to the UE 102 via the RAN 105. In some implementations, the first cause is an existing cause value defined in 3GPP specification 24.301 or 24.501 : #11 (PLMN not allowed), #12 (Tracking area not allowed), #13 (Roaming not allowed in this tracking area), #14 (Evolved Packet System (EPS) services not allowed in this PLMN), #15 (No suitable cells in tracking area), or #78 (PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location). Based on the cause value, the UE 102 performs at least one of the following actions (e g., updating parameters such as 5GMM state, EPS MM (EMM) state, 5GS update status, EPS update status, 5G Globally Unique Temporary IDentifier (5G-GUTI), 4G-GUTI, last visited registered tracking area identity (TAI), TAI list, eKSI, next generation KSI (ngKSI), attach attempt counter, and / or registration attempt counter maintained by the UE 102 as described below):• #11 (PLMN not allowed) o The UE shall store a PLMN identity of the PLMN 108 in a forbidden PLMN list. o The UE shall set the 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete any 5G-GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and / or ngKSI. o If the UE is configured to use timer T3245, then the UE shall start timer T3245, delete the list of equivalent PLMNs, and / or reset the registration attempt counter. o The UE shall enter the state 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH or EMMDEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH and / or perform a PLMN selection, o If the DL message has been successfully integrity checked by the UE and the UE maintains a PLMN-specific attempt counter and a PLMN-specific attempt counter for non-3GPP access for that PLMN, the UE shall set the PLMN-specific attempt counter and the PLMN-specific attempt counter for non-3GPP access for the PLMN 108 to the UE implementation-specific maximum value. o The UE shall set the EPS update status to EU3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete any GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and / or eKSI.o The UE shall delete the list of equivalent PLMNs and / or reset the attach attempt counter.• #12 (Tracking area not allowed). o The UE shall set the 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete 5G-GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and / or ngKSI. o The UE shall reset the registration attempt counter. o The UE shall store the current TAI in the list of "5GS forbidden tracking areas for regional provision of service1' and / or enter the state 5GMMDEREGISTERED. LIMITED- SERVICE orEMMDEREGI S TERED . LIMITED- SERVICE . o The UE shall set the EPS update status to EU3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete any GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and / or eKSI.• #13 (Roaming not allowed in this tracking area). o The UE shall set the 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED, o The UE shall reset the registration attempt counter. o The UE shall change to state 5GMM-REGISTERED.PLMNSEARCH or EMM-REGI S TERED . PLMN SEARCH . o The UE shall set the EPS update status to EU3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete any GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and / or eKSI. o The UE shall delete the list of equivalent PLMNs and / or reset the attach attempt counter.• #14 (EPS services not allowed in this PLMN) o The UE shall set the EPS update status to EU3 ROAMING NOT and / or shall delete any GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and eKSI. o The UE shall delete the list of equivalent PLMNs and / or reset the attach attempt counter. o The UE shall in addition set the 5GMM state to 5GMMDEREGISTERED, 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED, and / or shall delete any 5G-GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and ngKSI. o The UE shall store the PLMN identity in the "forbidden PLMNs for GPRS service" list.o The UE shall enter state EMM-DEREGISTERED. PLMN- SEARCH. o If the UE is configured to use timer T3245, then the UE shall start timer T3245. o The UE shall perform a PLMN selection. o If the DL message has been successfully integrity checked by the UE and the UE maintains a PLMN-specific PS-attempt counter for that PLMN, then the UE shall set this counter to the UE implementation-specific maximum value.• #15 (No suitable cells in tracking area) o The UE shall set the 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED. o The UE shall reset the registration attempt counter. o The UE shall enter the state 5GMMREGISTERED. LIMITED-SERVICE or EMMREGIS TERED . LIMITED- SERVICE . o The UE shall set the EPS update status to EU3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete any GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and / or eKSI. o The UE shall store the current TAI in the list of "forbidden tracking areas for roaming". o If the DL message is not integrity protected, the UE shall memorize the current TAI in the list of "forbidden tracking areas for roaming" for non-integrity protected NAS reject message.• #78 (PLMN not allowed to operate at the present UE location) o The UE shall set the 5GS update status to 5U3 ROAMING NOT and shall delete 5G-GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and ngKSI. o The UE shall reset the registration attempt counter. o The UE shall store the PLMN identity and, if it is known, the current geographical location in the list of "PLMNs not allowed to operate at the present UE location" and shall start a corresponding timer instance. o The UE shall enter state 5GMMDEREGISTERED.PLMN-SEARCH or EMM- DEREGISTERED. PLMN-SEARCH and perform a PLMN selection. o The UE shall set the EPS update status to EU3 ROAMING NOT ALLOWED and / or shall delete any GUTI, last visited registered TAI, TAI list and eKSI.o In some implementations, the DL message does not include an indication (e.g., the NTN disabling indication described for FIG. 6B) indicating disabling an NTN capability (i.e., disabling NTN access or communication).

[0101] In addition to the existing operations for the cause code, the UE 102 matches the cause (e.g., first cause) from the DL message 654 with the NTN disabling configuration 634. Based on a setting (such as a first value) of the NTN disabling configuration 634, the UE 102 determines that the first cause also indicates NTN disabling. At block 674, the UE disables an NTN capability based on the NTN disabling configuration and the first cause.

[0102] FIG. 6B illustrates a technique for disabling NTN access using an NTN not allowed indication and a related NTN disabling configuration. FIG. 6B depicts a scenario 600B similar to the scenario 600 A, except that the scenario includes events 636, 656 and 676 instead of events 634, 654 and 674. Examples and implementations for events 634, 654 and 674 can apply to events 636, 656 and 676, respectively. While FIG. 6A uses the first cause (e.g., cause code) to match the NTN disabling configuration, FIG. 6B uses an NTN not allowed indication. The NTN not allowed indication can be included in an IE of a DL NAS message with or without a cause code.

[0103] In this scenario, the UE 102 obtains 636 an NTN disabling configuration for an NTN not allowed indication. In response to a determination 650 that the UE is not allowed to access the NTN, the CN 110 transmits 656 a DL message including the NTN not allowed indication to the UE 102 via the NTN cell. If the UE 102 receives the NTN disabling configuration 636 and the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) the UE 102 to disable an NTN capability for the NTN not allowed indication, the UE 102 disables 676 an NTN capability based on the NTN disabling configuration and the NTN not allowed indication. In some implementations, if the DL message does not include the NTN not allowed indication or the UE 102 does not obtain the NTN disabling configuration, the UE 102 refrains from disabling the NTN capability.

[0104] Some other implementations combine the NTN disabling configuration for a first cause of FIG. 6A with the NTN disabling configuration for an NTN not allowed indication of FIG. 6B to result in an NTN disabling configuration for disabling an NTN capability when receiving a first cause and the NTN not allowed indication. For example, the NTN disabling configuration is an indicator. If the indicator is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the indicatorindicates that NTN capability disabling for the first cause and the NTN not allowed indication is disabled. If the indicator is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the indicator indicates that NTN capability disabling for the first cause and the NTN not allowed indication is enabled.

[0105] In some implementations, the CN 110 includes a cause in the DL message 656 in addition to the NTN not allowed indication. If the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) the UE 102 to disable an NTN capability for the first cause (e.g., the first cause described for FIG. 6A) and the NTN not allowed indication, and the cause in the DL message is the first cause, the UE 102 disables 676 the NTN capability based on the NTN disabling configuration, the first cause, and the NTN not allowed indication. If the DL message includes a second cause instead of the first cause, the UE 102 ignores the NTN not allowed indication and / or refrains from disabling the NTN capability.

[0106] In some implementations, events in FIG. 6B can occur in a scenario when the UE 102 communicates with the CN 110 via the RAN 105 and a TN cell (i.e., not via a satellite). Thus, the descriptions for FIG. 6B can apply such a scenario to disable an NTN capability. In some implementations in such cases, the DL message 655 in FIG. 6B might be an accept message (e.g., Attach Accept message, Tracking Area Update Accept message, Registration Accept message or a Service Accept message) that includes the NTN not allowed indication.

[0107] FIG. 6C illustrates a technique for disabling TN and NTN access using a cause code and a related TN and NTN disabling configuration. FIG. 6C depicts a scenario 600C similar to the scenario 600A, except that the scenario includes events 635, 651, and 675 instead of events 634, 650, and 674. In this scenario, the UE 102 obtains 635 a TN and an NTN disabling configuration for a cause (i.e., a first cause). In some implementations, the TN and NTN disabling configuration configures whether a UE (i.e., the UE 102) disables a TN capability (e g., TN access using a first RAT or TN communication function or module) and an NTN capability (e.g., NTN access using a first RAT or NTN communication function or module) when receiving the first cause. For example, the TN and NTN disabling configuration is an indicator. If the indicator is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the indicator indicates that both TN capability and NTN capability disabling for the first cause is disabled. If the indicator is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the indicator indicates that both TN capability and NTN capability disabling for the first cause is enabled.

[0108] When the CN 110 receives the UL message 540, the CN 1 10 determines 651 that the UE 102 is not allowed to access a TN and an NTN (i.e., the UE 102 is not allowed to communicate with the CN 110 and / or RAN 105 via a TN cell and / or an NTN cell). In response to the determination 651, the CN 110 transmits 655 a DL message including the first cause to the UE 102 via the RAN 105. In some implementations, the DL message does not include an indication (e.g., the TN and NTN not allowed indication described in FIG. 6D or the TN and NTN disabling indication described for FIG. 7B) indicating disabling both a TN capability (i.e., disabling TN access or communication) and an NTN capability (i.e., disabling NTN access or communication).

[0109] After receiving the DL message 655 including the first cause, if the TN and NTN disabling configuration 635 indicates or configures the UE 102 to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability, the UE 102 disables 675 a TN capability and an NTN capability based on the TN and NTN disabling configuration and the first cause. In some implementations, if the DL message includes a second cause instead of the first cause, the UE 102 refrains from disabling the TN capability and the NTN capability.

[0110] In some implementations, when the UE 102 disables the TN capability, the UE 102 disables the entire radio capability for TN access of the first RAT or disables function(s) or module(s) for communication with a TN of the first RAT.[OHl] In the case that the UE 102 disables the TN capability and the NTN capability, the UE 102 might perform a cell search to find a TN cell of a second RAT. If the UE 102 finds a suitable TN cell of the second RAT in the cell search, the UE 102 selects the TN cell. The UE 102 performs a NAS procedure via the TN cell with a core network. If the first RAT and the second RAT are NR and EUTRA respectively, the NAS procedure is an attach procedure or a tracking area update procedure. If the first RAT and the second RAT are EUTRA and NR respectively, the NAS procedure is a registration procedure.

[0112] Events 635, 651, and 675 are similar to FIG. 6A events 634, 650, and 674, respectively. Generally, examples and implementations described for FIG. 6A can apply to FIG. 6C by replacing “NTN” with “TN and NTN”. For example, examples and implementations described for the NTN disabling configuration in FIG. 6A can apply to the TN and NTN disabling configuration by replacing “NTN” with “TN and NTN” or replacing “an NTN” with “a TN and an NTN”. In some implementations, the TN and NTN disablingconfiguration is associated to a first radio access technology (RAT). For example, the first RAT is NR, and the TN and NTN disabling configuration is an NR disabling configuration. In this case, examples and implementations described for the NTN disabling configuration in FIG. 6A can apply to the NR disabling configuration by replacing “NTN” with “NR NTN”. When the UE 102 disables the TN capability and the NTN capability associated with the first RAT, the UE 102 disables the entire the first RAT capability for both TN access and NTN access.

[0113] In some implementations, events in FIG. 6C can occur in a scenario when the UE 102 communicates with the CN 110 via the RAN 105 and a TN cell (i.e., not via a satellite). Thus, the descriptions for FIG. 6C can apply such a scenario similar to the descriptions for FIG. 6A.

[0114] Note, the NTN disabling configuration of FIG. 6A and the TN and NTN disabling configuration FIG. 6C may or may not be exclusive. For example, the UE 102 may obtain both the NTN disabling configuration (e.g., specifying a first cause and applicable to a first RAT) and the TN and NTN disabling configuration (e.g., specifying a second cause and applicable to a second RAT) as described above.

[0115] FIG. 6D illustrates a technique for disabling TN and NTN access using a TN and NTN not allowed indication and a related TN and NTN disabling configuration. FIG. 6D depicts a scenario 600D similar to the scenario 600C and 600B, except that the scenario includes events 637, 657 and 677 instead of FIG. 6C events 635, 655, and 675. Examples and implementations for events 635, 655, and 675 can apply to events 637, 657 and 677, respectively by replacing “first cause” with “TN and NTN not allowed indication”. In this scenario, the UE 102 initially obtains 637 a TN and NTN disabling configuration for a TN and NTN not allowed indication. In some implementations, the TN and NTN disabling configuration configures whether a UE (e.g., the UE 102) disables a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving the TN and NTN not allowed indication. For example, the TN and NTN disabling configuration is an indicator. If the indicator is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the indicator indicates that TN capability and NTN capability disabling based on receiving the TN and NTN not allowed indication is disabled. If the indicator is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the indicator indicates that TN capability and NTN capability disabling based on receiving the NTN not allowed indication is enabled.

[0116] In response to the determination 651, the CN 1 10 transmits 657 a DL message including a TN and NTN not allowed indication to the UE 102. If the UE 102 receives the NTN disabling configuration and the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) the UE 102 to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability based on receiving the TN and NTN not allowed indication, the UE 102 disables 677 a TN capability and an NTN capability based on the NTN disabling configuration and the received TN and NTN not allowed indication. In some implementations, if the DL message does not include the TN and NTN not allowed indication or the UE 102 does not obtain the TN and NTN disabling configuration, the UE 102 refrains from disabling the TN and NTN capabilities.

[0117] In some other implementations that combine the TN and NTN disabling configuration for a first cause of FIG. 6C with the TN and NTN not allowed indication of FIG. 6D, the TN and NTN disabling configuration configures whether a UE (e.g., the UE 102) disables a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving both a first cause (e.g., the first cause described for FIG. 6A and FIG. 6C) and the TN and NTN not allowed indication. For example, the NTN disabling configuration is an indicator. If the indicator is set to a first value (e.g., 0), the indicator indicates that TN and NTN capability disabling for the first cause and the TN and NTN not allowed indication is disabled. If the indicator is set to a second value (e.g., 1), the indicator indicates that TN and NTN capability disabling for the first cause and the TN and NTN not allowed indication is enabled.

[0118] In some implementations, the CN 110 includes a cause in the DL message 657 in addition to the TN and NTN not allowed indication. If the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) the UE 102 to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability for the cause (e.g., the first cause) and the TN and NTN not allowed indication and the cause in the DL message is the first cause (e.g., the first cause described for FIG. 6A), the UE 102 disables 677 the TN capability and the NTN capability based on the TN and NTN disabling configuration, the first cause and the TN and NTN not allowed indication. If the DL message includes a second cause instead of the first cause, the UE 102 ignores the TN and NTN not allowed indication and / or refrains from disabling the TN capability the NTN capability. Alternatively, if the DL message includes a second cause instead of the first cause, based on an NTN disabling configuration (see FIG. 6A) linked tothe second cause, the UE 102 disables the NTN capability and continues to enable the TN capability.

[0119] Generally, examples and implementations described for FIGs. 6A and 6B can apply to FIG. 6D by replacing “NTN” with “TN and NTN”.

[0120] In some implementations, events in FIG. 6D can occur in a scenario when the UE 102 communicates with the CN 110 via the RAN 105 and a TN cell (i.e., not via a satellite). Thus, the descriptions for FIG. 6D can apply such a scenario. In some implementations in such cases, the DL message 657 might be an accept message (e.g., Attach Accept message, Tracking Area Update Accept message, Registration Accept message or a Service Accept message).

[0121] FIG. 7A illustrates a technique for disabling NTN access using an explicit NTN disabling indication. FIG. 7A depicts a scenario 700A similar to the scenario 500, where FIG. 7A excludes obtaining 530 an NTN disabling configuration. The UE 102 transmits a UL message 540 requesting service via the RAN 105 (and a cell of satellite 122). At block 750, the CN 110 determines that the UE 102 is not allowed to access the PLMN via the NTN cell and determines to explicitly command the UE to disable its NTN capability. Based on the determination 750, the CN 110 transmits 758 a DL message optionally including a cause and including an explicit NTN disabling indication to the UE 102 via the NTN cell. The CN 110 directly commands the UE 102 to disable an NTN capability via the NTN disabling indication. In response to the NTN disabling indication, the UE 102 disables 778 an NTN capability. In some implementations, the UE 102 also updates parameters maintained by the UE based on receiving the cause. In some implementations, the UE 102 disables the NTN capability regardless of whether the UE 102 obtains an NTN (or TN and NTN) disabling configuration described in FIG. 6A block 634, FIG. 6B block 636, FIG. 6C block 635, or FIG. 6D block 637.

[0122] In some implementations, events in FIG. 7A can occur in a scenario when the UE 102 communicates with the CN 110 via the RAN 105 and a TN cell (i.e., not via a satellite). Thus, the descriptions for FIG. 7A can apply such a scenario. In some implementations in such cases, the DL message 758 might be an accept message (e.g., Attach Accept message, Tracking Area Update Accept message, Registration Accept message or a Service Accept message) that includes the NTN disabling indication.

[0123] FIG. 7B illustrates a technique for disabling TN and NTN access using an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication. FIG. 7B depicts a scenario 700B similar to the scenario 700A, except that the scenario includes events 751, 759 and 779 instead of events 750, 758 and 778. Events 751, 759 and 779 are similar to events 750, 758 and 778, respectively. Generally, examples and implementations described for FIG. 7A can apply to FIG. 7B by replacing “NTN” with “TN and NTN”. In block 751, the CN 110 determines that the UE 102 is not allowed to access the PLMN via TN or NTN of a first RAT and determines to explicitly command the UE to disable its TN and NTN capability for the first RAT. Based on the determination 751, the CN 110 transmits 759 a DL message optionally including a cause and including a TN and NTN disabling indication to the UE 102. The TN and NTN disabling indication directly commands the UE 102 to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability for a first RAT. Based on the TN and NTN disabling indication via the first RAT, the UE 102 disables 779 a TN capability and an NTN capability for the first RAT. In some implementations, if the DL message 759 includes a cause, the UE 102 also updates parameters maintained by the UE based on receiving the cause. In some implementations, the UE 102 disables the TN capability and the NTN capability regardless of whether the UE 102 obtains a TN and NTN (or NTN-only) disabling configuration described above.

[0124] Next, several example methods that can be implemented in a UE (e.g., the UE 102) as described with reference to FIG. 8 A through FIG. 13B. Several methods can be implemented by a network element of a CN such as an MME or an AMF as described with reference to FIG. 14A through FIG. 18B. Each of these methods can be implemented using processing hardware such as one or more processors to execute instructions stored on a non- transitory computer-readable medium such as computer memory. For reference, the following table (Table 1) shows example relationships between the various FIGs. Note that the table below is not intended to limit the applicability of figures to one another and the descriptions of the Figures may be combined or related differently than shown below.Table 1

[0125] The operations described with reference to FIG. 8 A through FIG. 13B, can be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 102). The operations described with reference to FIG. 14A through FIG. 18B can be implemented by a network (e.g., the PLMN 108, CN 110, AMF 164, MME 114, RAN 105, or base station 104 or 106).

[0126] FIG. 8A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6A. The method 800A is implemented by a UE (e.g., the UE 102). The method 800A begins at block 834, where the UE obtains an NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., configures or indicates) disabling an NTN capability for a first cause (e.g., event 634). At block 854, the UE receives a DL message including the first cause (e.g., event 654). At block 874, the UE disables an NTN capability based on (receiving) the NTN disabling configuration and the first cause (e.g., event 674). At block 880, the UE updates parameters maintained bythe UE based on (receiving) the first cause. At block 881, the UE might perform a TN cell selection (such as in the same RAT or a different RAT than the disabled NTN). Block 881 might include several example operations 882, 883, 884, 885. At block 882, the UE scans a TN carrier frequency after disabling the NTN capability. At block 883, the UE finds and selects a cell (i.e., a TN cell) on the TN carrier frequency. At block 884, the UE transmits a UL message via the cell. At block 885, the UE receives a DL message via the cell. In some implementations, the UL message and the DL message form an attach procedure, a tracking area update procedure, a registration procedure or a service request procedure.

[0127] FIG. 8B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6A. The example method 800B is similar to the method 800A, except that the method 800B includes blocks 830, 864, and 890 instead of block 834. The method 800B begins at block 830, where the UE obtains an NTN disabling configuration (e.g., event 634). Note that the NTN disabling configuration at block 830 might or might not include a configuration for the first cause or might have a value (e.g., second value) that does not indicate NTN disabling. The flow proceeds to block 864 from block 854 or 880. At block 864, the UE determines whether the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling an NTN capability for the first cause. If the UE determines that the NTN disabling configuration enables disabling an NTN capability for the first cause at block 864, the flow proceeds to block 874. The flow might proceed to block 881 (which may include one or more operations 882, 883, 884, 885) from block 874 from FIG. 8A. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the NTN disabling configuration does not enable disabling an NTN capability for the first cause at block 864, the flow proceeds to block 890 where the UE refrains from disabling the NTN capability based on (receiving) the NTN disabling configuration.

[0128] FIG. 8C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6A. The method 800C is similar to the methods 800A and 800B, except that the method 800C includes block 860 instead of block 864. The method 800C begins at block 854. The flow proceeds to block 860 from block 854 or 880. At block 860, the UE determines whether the UE has obtained an NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling an NTN capability for the first cause. If the UE determines that the UE has obtained the NTN disabling configuration at block 860, the flow proceeds to block 874. The flow might proceed to block 881 (which may include one or more operations882, 883, 884, 885) from block 874. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the UE does not obtain the NTN disabling configuration at block 860, the flow proceeds to block 890 where the UE refrains from disabling the NTN capability.

[0129] FIG. 9A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6B. FIG. 9A illustrates an example method 900A, which can be implemented by a UE (e.g., the UE 102). The method 900A begins at block 936, where the UE obtains an NTN disabling configuration that enables (e g., configures or indicates) disabling an NTN capability for an NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 636). At block 956, the UE receives a DL message including the NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 656). At block 976, the UE disables an NTN capability based on (receiving) the NTN disabling configuration and the NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 676). The flow might proceed to block 881 (which may include one or more operations 882, 883, 884, 885) from block 976. In some implementations, the DL message includes a first cause and the UE updates parameters maintained by the UE based on (receiving) the first cause as described for block 880.

[0130] FIG. 9B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6B. FIG. 9B is a flow diagram of an example method 900B similar to the methods 900A, except that the method 900B includes blocks 930, 966, and 890 instead of block 936. The method 900B begins at block 930, where the UE obtains an NTN disabling configuration (e.g., event 636). The flow proceeds to block 966 from block 956. At block 966, the UE determines whether the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling an NTN capability for the NTN not allowed indication. If the UE determines that the NTN disabling configuration enables disabling an NTN capability for the NTN not allowed indication at block 956, the flow proceeds to block 976. The flow might proceed to block 881 (which may include one or more operations 882, 883, 884, 885) from block 976. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the NTN disabling configuration does not enable disabling an NTN capability for the NTN not allowed indication at block 966, the flow proceeds to block 890.

[0131] FIG. 9C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6B. FIG. 9C is a flow diagram of an example method 900C similar to the methods 900A and 900B, except that the method 900C includes block 960 instead of block 966. The method 900C begins at block 956. The flow proceeds to block 960 from block 956.At block 960, the UE determines whether the UE has obtained the NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling an NTN capability for the NTN not allowed indication. If the UE determines that the UE has obtained the NTN disabling configuration at block 960, the flow proceeds to block 976. The flow might proceed to block 881 (which may include one or more operations 882, 883, 884, 885) from block 976. Otherwise, if the UE does not obtain the NTN disabling configuration at block 960, the flow proceeds to block 890.

[0132] FIG. 10A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6C. The example method 1000A is similar to the method 800A, which can be implemented by a UE (e.g., the UE 102). The method 1000A begins at block 1035, where the UE obtains a TN and NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., configures or indicates) disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for a first cause (e.g., event 635) and a first RAT. At block 1055, the UE receives a DL message including the first cause via a first cell of the first RAT (e.g., event 655). At block 1075, the UE disables a TN capability and an NTN capability based on (receiving) the TN and NTN disabling configuration and the first cause (e.g., event 675). At block 1081, the UE might perform cell selection using a second RAT other than the first RAT. Block 1081 might include one or more operations 1082, 1083, 1084, and 1085 using a different RAT. At block 1082, the UE scans a carrier frequency of a second RAT after disabling the TN and NTN capability of the first RAT. At block 1083, the UE finds and selects a second cell on the carrier frequency. At block 1084, the UE transmits a UL message via the second cell. At block 1085, the UE receives a DL message via the second cell. In some implementations, the UL message and the DL message form an attach procedure, a tracking area update procedure, a registration procedure or a service request procedure. In some implementations, the second cell is a TN cell. In other implementations, the second cell is an NTN cell. In some implementations, the carrier is a TN carrier frequency. In other implementations, the carrier frequency is an NTN carrier frequency.

[0133] FIG. 10B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6C. The example method 1000B is similar to the method 1000A, except that the method 1000B includes blocks 1030, 1065, and 1090 instead of block 1035. The method 1000B begins at block 1030, where the UE obtains a TN and NTN disabling configuration (e.g., event 635). The flow proceeds to block 1065 from block 1055 or 880. Atblock 1065, the UE determines whether the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the first cause. If the UE determines that the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the first cause at block 1065, the flow proceeds to block 1075. The flow might proceed to block 1081 (which may include one or more operations 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085 using another RAT). Otherwise, if the UE determines that the TN and NTN disabling configuration does not enable disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the first cause at block 1065, the flow proceeds to block 1090 where the UE refrains from disabling the TN capability and the NTN capability based on (receiving) the TN and NTN disabling configuration. Alternatively, if the UE determines that the NTN disabling configuration does not enable disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the first cause at block 1065, the UE disables the NTN capability and refrains from disabling the TN capability (i.e., continues enabling the TN capability).

[0134] FIG. 10C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6C. The example method 1000C is similar to the methods 1000A and 1000B, except that the method 1000C includes block 1060 instead of block 1065. The method 1000C begins at block 1055. The flow proceeds to block 1060 from block 1055 or 880. At block 1060, the UE determines whether the UE has obtained a TN and NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the first cause. If the UE determines that the UE obtains the TN and NTN disabling configuration for the first cause at block 1060, the flow proceeds to block 1075. The flow optionally proceeds to block 1081 from block 1075. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the UE does not obtain the TN and NTN disabling configuration for the first cause at block 1060, the flow proceeds to block 1090 where the UE refrains from disabling the TN capability and the NTN capability. Alternatively, if the UE determines that the UE does not obtain the TN and NTN disabling configuration, the UE disables the NTN capability and refrains from disabling the TN capability (i.e., continues enabling the TN capability).

[0135] FIG. 11A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6D. FIG. 1 1 A illustrates an example method 1 100A similar to the method 1000A, which can be implemented by a UE (e.g., the UE 102). The method 1100A begins at block 1137, where the UE obtains a TN and NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., configures orindicates) disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for a TN and NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 637) and a first RAT. At block 1157, the UE receives a DL message including the TN and NTN not allowed indication via a first cell of the first RAT (e.g., event 657). At block 1177, the UE disables a TN capability and an NTN capability based on (receiving) the TN and NTN disabling configuration and the TN and NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 677). The flow might proceed to proceed to block 1081 (which may include one or more operations 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085) from block 1177. In some implementations, the DL message includes a first cause and the UE updates parameters maintained by the UE based on (receiving) the first cause as described for block 880.

[0136] FIG. 1 IB illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6D. FIG. 1 IB is a flow diagram of an example method 1100B similar to the method 1100A, except that the method 1100B includes blocks 1130 and 1167 instead of block 1137. The method 1100B begins at block 1130, where the UE obtains a TN and NTN disabling configuration (e.g., event 635). The flow proceeds to block 1167 from block 1157. At block 1167, the UE determines whether the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the TN and NTN not allowed indication. If the UE determines that the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the TN and NTN not allowed indication at block 1167, the flow proceeds to block 1177. The flow might proceed to block 1081 (which may include one or more operations described with reference to blocks 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085) from block 1177. Alternatively, if the UE determines that the TN and NTN disabling configuration does not enable disabling a TN capability and an NTN capability for the TN and NTN not allowed indication at block 1167, the flow proceeds to block 1090, and the UE disables the NTN capability and refrains from disabling the TN capability (i.e., continues enabling the TN capability).

[0137] FIG. 11C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 6D. FIG. 11C is a flow diagram of an example method 1100C similar to the methods 1100A and 1100B, except that the method 1100C includes block 1160 instead of block 1 167. The method 1000C begins at block 1137. The flow proceeds to block 1160 from block 1137. At block 1160, the UE determines whether the UE has obtained a TN and NTN disabling configuration that enables (e.g., indicates or configures) disabling a TNcapability and an NTN capability for the TN and NTN not allowed indication. If the UE determines that the UE has obtained the TN and NTN disabling configuration for the TN and NTN not allowed indication at block 1160, the flow proceeds to block 1177. The flow might proceed to proceed to block 1081 (which may include one or more operations 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085) from block 1177. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the UE does not obtain the TN and NTN disabling configuration for the NTN not allowed indication at block 1160, the flow proceeds to block 1090, and the UE disables the NTN capability and refrains from disabling the TN capability (i.e., continues enabling the TN capability).

[0138] FIG. 12A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 7A. FIG. 12A illustrates an example method 1200 A, which can be implemented by a UE (e.g., the UE 102). The method 1200A begins at block 1258, where the UE receives a DL message including a first cause (e.g., event 758). The flow proceeds to block 880 from block 1258. The flow proceeds to block 1268 from block 880. At block 1268, the UE determines whether the DL message includes an NTN disabling indication. If the UE determines that the DL message includes an NTN disabling indication at block 1268, the flow proceeds to block 1278 where the UE disables an NTN capability based on the NTN disabling indication (e.g., event 778). The flow might proceed block 881 (which may include one or more operations 882, 883, 884, 885) from block 1278. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the DL message does not include an NTN disabling indication at block 1268, the flow proceeds to block 1290 where the UE refrains from disabling the NTN capability based on (receiving) the DL message not including the NTN disabling indication.

[0139] FIG. 12B illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE corresponding to FIG. 7B. FIG. 12B illustrates an example method 1200B similar to the method 1200A. The example method 1200B begins at block 1259, where the UE receives a DL message optionally including a first cause. The flow may proceed to block 880 from block 1259. At block 880, the UE may update parameters maintained by the UE based on the first cause. The flow proceeds to block 1269 from block 880. At block 1269, the UE determines whether the DL message includes a TN and NTN disabling indication (e.g., event 759). If the UE determines that the DL message includes a TN and NTN disabling indication at block 1269, the flow proceeds to block 1279 where the UE disables a TN capability and an NTN capability based on the TN and NTN disabling indication (e.g., event 779). The flow might proceed to block1081 (which may include one or more operations 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085) from block 1279. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the DL message does not include a TN and NTN disabling indication, the flow proceeds to block 1290 where the UE refrains from disabling the TN capability and the NTN capability based on the DL message not including the TN and NTN disabling indication.

[0140] FIG. 13A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a UE showing an example combination corresponding to FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A. FIG. 13 A illustrates an example method 1300A, which can be implemented by a UE (e.g., the UE 102). The method 1300A begins at block 1330, where the UE obtains an NTN disabling configuration for a configured cause (e.g., the first cause at event 634). At block 1354, the UE receives a DL message including a first cause from a PLMN via a satellite (e g., event 655 or 758). At block 880, the UE might update parameters maintained by the UE based on the first cause. At block 1352, the UE determines whether the first cause matches the configured cause. If the UE determines that the first cause is not the configured cause at block 1352, the flow proceeds to block 1392 where the UE performs actions based on the cause, as specified in 3GPP TS 24.301 or 3 GPP TS 24.501. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the first cause is the configured cause, the flow proceeds to block 1368. If the UE determines that the DL message includes an NTN disabling indication at block 1368, the flow proceeds to block 1378 where the UE disables an NTN capability based on the NTN disabling indication (e.g., event 778). Otherwise, if the UE determines that the DL message does not include an NTN disabling indication at block 1368, the flow proceeds to block 1364. If the UE determines 1364 that the NTN disabling configuration enables disabling an NTN capability, the flow proceeds to block 1378. The flow might proceed block 881 (which may include one or more operations 882, 883, 884, 885) from block 1378. Otherwise, if the UE determines 1364 that the NTN disabling configuration does not enable disabling an NTN capability, the flow proceeds to block 1392.

[0141] FIG. 13B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a UE showing an example combination corresponding to FIG. 6A and FIG. 7A. FIG. 13B illustrates an example method 1300B similar to the method 1300A, except that the method 1300B includes block 1360 instead of blocks 1364 and 1330. If the UE determines that the UE has obtained the NTN disabling configuration at block 1360, the flow proceeds to block 1378. Otherwise, ifthe UE determines that the UE does not obtain the NTN disabling configuration at block 1360, the flow proceeds to block 1392.

[0142] FIG. 14A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6A. FIG. 14A illustrates an example method 1400A. The method 1400A begins at block start 1410. At block 1420, the network determines whether the UE is allowed to access an NTN. This determination may be RAT-specific or for all RATs. In other words, the network may allow the UE to access an NTN using a specific RAT or may disallow the UE from accessing an NTN regardless of the RAT. If the network determines 1420 that the UE is not allowed to access an NTN, the flow proceeds to block 1434. At block 1434, the network transmits 1430 a DL message including an NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the NTN disabling configuration informs the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving the first cause (e.g., event 634). Otherwise, if the network determines 1420 that the UE is allowed to access an NTN, flow proceeds to block 1430, and the network transmits a DL message including an NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the NTN disabling configuration does not enable the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving the first cause.

[0143] FIG. 14B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6A. The example method 1400B can be implemented by a network (e.g., the PLMN 108, CN 110, AMF 164, MME 114, RAN 105, or base station 104 or 106). The method 1400B begins at block 1434, where the network transmits a DL message including an NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., configures or indicates) the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving a first cause (e.g., event 634). The NTN disabling configuration may be limited to disabling NTN capability for a particular RAT or may be generalized to disable NTN capability for all RATs. At block 1440, the network receives a UL message from the UE via an NTN (e.g., event 540). At block 1454, the network transmits a DL message including the first cause to the UE via the NTN (e.g., event 654).

[0144] FIG. 14C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6A. The method 1400C begins with block 1444. The network will reject an NTN access from a UE. At block 1450, the network determines whether to indicate the first cause corresponding to an NTN disabling configuration (e.g., event 650).If the network determines to indicate the first cause, at block 1450, the flow proceeds to block 1454, where the network transmits a DL message indicating the first cause (e.g., event 654). Otherwise, if the network determines not to indicate the first cause for the UE at block 1450, the network transmits the DL message with a cause other than the first cause at block 1480, which allows the UE to reattempt NTN access using the same RAT while complying with the included cause.

[0145] FIG. 15A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6B. FIG. 15A illustrates an example method 1500A. The method 1500A begins at block 1510. At block 1520, the network determines whether the UE is allowed to access an NTN. This determination may be RAT-specific or for all RATs. In other words, the network may allow the UE to access an NTN using a specific RAT or may disallow the UE from accessing an NTN regardless of the RAT. If the network determines 1520 that the UE is not allowed to access an NTN, the flow proceeds to block 1536, where the network transmits a DL message including an NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the NTN disabling configuration informs the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving an NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 636). Otherwise, if the network determines 1520 that the UE is allowed to access an NTN, the network transmits 1530 a DL message including an NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the NTN disabling configuration does not enable the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving the NTN not allowed indication. Alternatively, if the network determines 1520 that the UE is allowed to access an NTN, the network refrains from transmitting to the UE an NTN disabling configuration that enables the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving the NTN not allowed indication.

[0146] FIG. 15B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6B. FIG. 15B illustrates an example method 1500B. The method 1500B begins at block 1536, where the network transmits a DL message including an NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the NTN disabling configuration enables (e.g., configures or indicates) the UE to disable an NTN capability when receiving an NTN not allowed (e.g., event 636). The NTN disabling configuration may be limited to disabling NTN capability for a particular RAT or may be generalized to disable NTN capability for all RATs. At block 1540, the network receives a UL message from the UE via an NTN (e.g., event 540).At block 1556, the network transmits a DL message including the NTN not allowed indication to the UE via the NTN (e.g., event 656).

[0147] FIG. 15C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6B. FIG. 15C illustrates an example method 1500C. The method 1500C begins with block 1546. The network will reject an NTN access from a UE. At block 1547, the network might include a first cause in a DL message based on the rejection. At block 1550, the network determines whether to indicate NTN not allowed for the UE. If the network determines to indicate NTN not allowed for the UE at block 1550, the flow proceeds to block 1551 where the network includes an NTN not allowed indication in the DL message and transmits the DL message at block 1556 (e.g., event 656). Otherwise, if the network determines not to indicate NTN not allowed for the UE at block 1550, the network skips block 1551 and transmits the DL message at block 1556 without the NTN not allowed indication. When the DL message fails to include an NTN not allowed indication, the UE may reattempt NTN access using the same RAT in conformance with the optionally included first cause.

[0148] FIG. 16A, FIG. 16B and FIG. 16C illustrate flow charts that correspond to network operations described with reference to FIG. 6C. FIGs. 16A-16C are the same as described with reference to FIGs. 14A-14C, except that FIGs. 16A-16C describe a TN and NTN disabling configuration based on a first cause instead of NTN disabling configuration.

[0149] FIG. 16A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6C. FIG. 16A illustrates an example method 1600A. The method 1600A begins at block 1610. At block 1621, the network determines whether the UE is allowed to access a TN and an NTN using a first RAT. If the network determines 1621 that the UE is not allowed to access a TN and an NTN, the flow proceeds to block 1635. At block 1635, the network transmits a DL message including a TN and NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration indicates the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability of a first RAT based on the UE receiving a first cause (e.g., event 635). Otherwise, if the network determines 1621 that the UE is allowed to access a TN and an NTN, the network transmits at block 1630 a DL message including a TN and NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration does notenable the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving the first cause (e.g., event 635).

[0150] FIG. 16B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6C. The method 1600B can be implemented by a network (e.g., the PLMN 108, the CN 110, AMF 164 or MME 1 14). The method 1600B begins at block 1635, where the network transmits a DL message including a TN and NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving a first cause (e.g., event 635). At block 1640, the network receives a UL message from the UE via an NTN or a TN (e.g., event 540). At block 1655, the network transmits a DL message including the first cause to the UE via the NTN or the TN (e.g., event 655).

[0151] FIG. 16C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6C. FIG. 16C illustrates an example method 1600C similar to the method 1400C. The method 1600C begins with block 1645. At block 1651, the network determines whether to indicate the first cause for TN and NTN disabling configuration for the UE (e.g., event 651). If the network determines to include the first cause at block 1651, the flow proceeds to block 1655 where the network transmits a DL message including the first cause via an NTN or a TN (e.g., event 655). Otherwise, if the network determines not to indicate the first cause at block 1651, the network transmits the DL message without the first cause at block 1680 via the NTN or the TN. Because block 1680 includes a non-first cause, the UE may reattempt NTN access in conformance with the non-first cause.

[0152] FIG. 17A, FIG. 17B and FIG. 17C illustrate flow charts that correspond to network operations described with reference to FIG. 6D. FIGs. 17A-17C are the same as described with reference to FIGs. 15A-14C, except that FIGs. 17A-17C describe a TN and NTN disabling configuration based on a TN and NTN not allowed indication instead of NTN disabling configuration.

[0153] FIG. 17A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6D. FIG. 17A illustrates an example method 1700A. The method 1700A begins at block 1710. At block 1721, the network determines whether the UE is allowed to access a TN and an NTN. If the network determines 1721 that the UE is not allowed to access a TN and an NTN, the flow proceeds to block 1737. At block 1737, thenetwork transmits a DL message including a TN and NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration informs the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving a TN and NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 637). Otherwise, if the network determines at block 1721 that the UE is allowed to access a TN and an NTN, the network transmits at block 1730 a DL message including a TN and NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration does not enable the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving the TN and NTN not allowed indication.

[0154] FIG. 17B illustrates another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6D. FIG. 17B illustrates an example method 1700B, which can be implemented by a network (e.g., the PLMN 108, the CN 110, AMF 164 or MME 114). The method 1700B begins at block 1737, where the network transmits a DL message including a TN and NTN disabling configuration to the UE, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration enables the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability when receiving a TN and NTN not allowed indication (e.g., event 637). At block 1740, the network receives a UL message from the UE via an NTN or a TN (e.g., event 540). At block 1757, the network transmits a DL message including the TN and NTN not allowed indication to the UE via the NTN or the TN (e.g., event 657).

[0155] FIG. 17C illustrates yet another flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 6D. The method 1700C begins with block 1747. The network will reject a TN access and an NTN access from the UE. At block 1547, the network might include a first cause in a DL message based on the rejection. At block 1750, the network determines whether to indicate TN and NTN not allowed for the UE for the RAT used by the UE to request NTN access in block 1747. If the network determines to indicate TN and NTN not allowed for the UE at block 1750, the network includes a TN and NTN disabling indication in the DL message at block 1751 and transmits the DL message at block 1757 (e.g., event 657). Otherwise, if the network determines not to command the UE to disable an NTN capability at block 1750, the network skips block 1751 and transmits the DL message at block 1757 without the TN and NTN not allowed indication. When the DL message does not include a TN and NTN not allowed indication, the UE may reattempt TN or NTN access using the same RAT in conformance with the optionally included first cause.

[0156] FIG. 18A illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 7A. FIG. 18A illustrates an example method 1800A. The method 1800A begins at block 1841. The network will reject an NTN access from a UE. The flow proceeds to block 1844 from block 1841. At block 1844, the network prepares a DL message and includes a first cause in the DL message based on the rejection. At block 1850, the network determines whether to command the UE to disable an NTN capability (e.g., event 750). This disabling indicator may be specific to the RAT used to request NTN access or this disabling indicator may be generalized to disabling all NTN access regardless of RAT. If the network determines to command the UE to disable an NTN capability at block 1850, the network includes an NTN disabling indication in the DL message at block 1851 and transmits the DL message at block 1858 (e.g., event 758). Otherwise, if the network determines not to command the UE to disable an NTN capability at block 1850, the network skips block 1851 and transmits the DL message at block 1858 (e.g., event 655).

[0157] FIG. 18B illustrates a flow chart with example operations of a network entity in accordance with aspects of FIG. 7B. FIG. 18B illustrates an example method 1800B similar to the method 1800A. The method 1800B begins at block 1841 and block 1844 as described with reference to FIG. 18A. At block 1852, the network determines whether to command the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability (e.g., event 751). If the network determines to command the UE to disable a TN capability and an NTN capability at block 1852, the network includes a TN and NTN disabling indication in the DL message at block 1853 and transmits the DL message at block 1859 (e.g., event 759). This disabling indicator may be specific to the RAT used to request TN access or NTN access or this disabling indicator may be generalized to disabling all TN access and NTN access regardless of RAT. Otherwise, if the network determines not to command the UE to disable an NTN capability at block 1852, the network skips block 1853 and transmits the DL message at block 1859 (e.g., event 655).

[0158] FIG. 19 illustrates an example protocol stack 1900 according to which a UE 102 communicates with base stations (such as base station 104 or 106). In the example protocol stack 1900, a physical (PHY) layer 1902 provides transport channels to a MAC sublayer 1904, which in turn provides logical channels to a RLC sublayer 1906. The RLC sublayer 1906 in turn provides RLC channels to a PDCP sublayer 1908. The PDCP sublayer 1908 in turn canprovide data transfer services to a radio resource control (RRC) sublayer 1910, an Internet Protocol (IP) layer and / or a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) sublayer (not shown in Fig. 2). The PDCP sublayer 1908 receives packets (e.g., from the RRC sublayer 1910, the SDAP sublayer, or the IP layer, layered directly or indirectly over the PDCP layer 1908) that can be referred to as service data units (SDUs), and output packets (e.g., to the RLC layer 1906) that can be referred to as protocol data units (PDUs). Except where the difference between SDUs and PDUs is relevant, this disclosure for simplicity refers to both SDUs and PDUs as “packets.” In some implementations, the PHY layer 1902, MAC sublayer 1904, RLC sublayer 206, PDCP sublayer 208, RRC sublayer 210 are EUTRA layers or sublayers. In other implementations, the PHY layer 1902, MAC sublayer 1904, RLC sublayer 1906, PDCP sublayer 1908, RRC sublayer 1910 are NR layers or sublayers.

[0159] The RRC sublayer 1910 provide data transfer services to a Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) layer 1912. The NAS layer 1912 includes a mobility management (MM) sublayer and / or a session management (SM) sublayer. In some implementations, the MM sublayer is an EPS MM (EMM) sublayer. In other implementations, the MM sublayer is a 5G MM (5GMM) sublayer. In some implementations, the SM sublayer is an EPS SM (ESM) sublayer. In other implementations, the SM sublayer is a 5G SM (5GSM) sublayer.

[0160] On a control plane, the PDCP sublayer 1908 can provide signaling radio bearers (SRBs) to the RRC sublayer 1910 to exchange RRC messages or NAS messages (e.g., MM messages and / or SM messages), for example. On a user plane, the PDCP sublayer 1908 can provide Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) to support user plane data exchange. User plane data exchanged on the PDCP sublayer 1908 can be SDAP PDUs, Internet Protocol (IP) packets or Ethernet packets.

[0161] FIG. 20A illustrates an example user plane protocol stack in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. FIG. 20A illustrates an example user plane protocol stack 2000A in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. FIG. 20A includes a visual representation of the NTN portion of user plane protocol stack 2000A involving the UE 102, the satellite 122, the NTN gateway 198, the NTN BS 104, and the UPF of a 5G core network. The diagram of the NTN user plane protocol stack is similar to that of the TN, with the addition of two new nodes, the satellite 122 and the NTN gateway 198, being placed in the middle of the NR-Uu interface.

[0162] FIG. 20B illustrates an example control plane protocol stack in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. As with FIG. 20A, the NTN control plane protocol stack 2000B illustrated in FIG. 20B is also similar to that of a TN, with the addition of the satellite 122 and the NTN gateway 198 being placed in the NR-Uu interface.

[0163] FIG. 1 through FIG. 20B and the operations described herein are examples meant to aid in understanding example implementations and should not be used to limit the potential implementations or limit the scope of the claims. Some implementations may perform additional operations, fewer operations, operations in parallel or in a different order, and some operations differently. Alternatively, or in addition to the other examples described herein, examples include any combination of the following implementation options (enumerated as clauses for reference).

[0164] Clause 1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) (102), including: receiving (854, 956, 1055, 1157, 1258, 1259, 1354) a downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message (352, 452, 551, 654, 655, 656, 758, 759) from a base station (BS) of a first network, where the downlink NAS message includes rejection information to disable nonterrestrial network (NTN) access for at least a first RAT of the first network; and refraining from accessing NTN cells of at least the first RAT of the first network based on the rejection information.

[0165] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, where the refraining includes: disabling (370, 570, 674, 675, 676, 677, 778, 779, 874, 976, 1075, 1177, 1278, 1279, 1378) an NTN capability of the UE based on the rejection information.

[0166] Clause 3. The method of clause 1 or 2, further including: transmitting a request message to the first network; receiving the downlink NAS message in response to the request message.

[0167] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, where the request message is registration request message, a session establishment message, or other uplink UL NAS message.

[0168] Clause 5. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 4, further including: obtaining an NTN disabling configuration prior to receiving the downlink NAS message, where the NTN disabling configuration indicates whether to disable an NTN capability based on one or more types of rejection information; and where the refraining includes: disabling the NTNcapability based on a determination that the NTN disabling configuration matches the rejection information in the downlink NAS message.

[0169] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, where the rejection information includes a cause code or an NTN not allowed indication associated with specified operations of UE, and where the NTN disabling configuration extends a meaning of the cause code or the NTN not allowed indication to include NTN disabling in addition to the specified operations.

[0170] Clause 7. The method of clause 5 or 6, where the NTN disabling configuration is indicative of whether to: disable the NTN capability for the first RAT, disable a terrestrial network (TN) capability and the NTN capability for the first RAT, or disable NTN capabilities for multiple RATs including the first RAT.

[0171] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 5 to 7, where the NTN disability configuration includes at least one of NTN disabling based on the rejection information including a first cause, NTN disabling based on the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication, TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the rejection information including the first cause, or TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication.

[0172] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 5 to 8, where the obtaining the NTN disabling configuration includes at least one of: retrieving the NTN disabling configuration from a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card inserted in the UE, retrieving the NTN disabling configuration from a non-volatile memory of the UE, receiving the NTN disabling configuration in a downlink message from a network entity of the first network, receiving the NTN disabling configuration in a downlink message via a wireless local area network, or obtaining the NTN disabling configuration from a management object in a memory element of the UE.

[0173] Clause 10. The method of clause 1, further including: obtaining (634, 834) an NTN disabling configuration prior to the receiving the downlink NAS message, where the NTN disabling configuration indicates NTN disabling based on the downlink NAS message including a first cause; and where the refraining includes: disabling (674, 874) the NTN capability based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the first cause.

[0174] Clause 11. The method of clause 1 or 10, further including: obtaining (636, 936) an NTN disabling configuration prior to the receiving the downlink NAS message, where the NTN disabling configuration indicates NTN disabling based on the downlink NAS message including an NTN not allowed indication; and where the refraining includes: disabling (676, 976) the NTN capability based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the NTN not allowed indication.

[0175] Clause 12. The method of clause 1, further including: obtaining (635, 1035) a TN and NTN disabling configuration prior to the receiving the downlink NAS message, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration indicates both TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message including a first cause; and where the refraining includes: disabling (675, 1075) the TN and NTN capability of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the first cause.

[0176] Clause 13. The method of clause 1, further including: obtaining (637, 1137) a TN and NTN disabling configuration prior to the receiving the downlink NAS message, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration indicates both TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message including a TN and NTN not allowed indication; and where the refraining includes: disabling (677, 1177) the TN and NTN capability of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the TN and NTN not allowed indication.

[0177] Clause 14. The method of clause 1, where the rejection information includes an explicit NTN disabling indication, and where the refraining includes: disabling the NTN capability of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the explicit NTN disabling indication.

[0178] Clause 15. The method of clause 1, where the rejection information includes an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication for the first RAT, the method further including: disabling the TN and NTN capability of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the explicit TN and NTN disabling indication.

[0179] Clause 16. The method of clause 1, where the refraining includes: disabling an NTN capability of the UE based on one or more conditions being satisfied, where the one or more conditions include any combination of: the rejection information including a first cause thatcorresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause, the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a first cause and an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause and the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the TN and NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a second cause and a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the second cause TN and NTN not allowed indication, the downlink NAS message including an explicit NTN disabling indication, or the downlink NAS message an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication.

[0180] Clause 17. The method of any one of clauses 2 to 16, where the rejection information is designed to disable NTN access based on RAT such that the NTN disabling configuration that includes at least one of a configuration for disabling NTNs of any RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs of a specific RAT such as fourth generation (4G) RAT, fifth generation (5G) RAT, or sixth generation (6G) RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT or 5G RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 5G RAT or 6G RAT; or a configuration for disabling NTNs using 6G RAT.

[0181] Clause 18. A method for wireless communication by a network entity of a first network, including: determining to reject non-terrestrial network (NTN) access by a user equipment (UE); and transmitting (1454, 1556, 1655, 1757, 1858, 1859) a downlink non- access stratum (NAS) message (352, 452, 551, 654, 655, 656, 758, 759) to the UE, where the downlink NAS message includes rejection information to disable the NTN access for the UE for at least a first RAT of the first network.

[0182] Clause 19. The method of clause 17, further including: receiving a request message from the UE; transmitting the downlink NAS message in response to the request message.

[0183] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, where the request message is registration request message, a session establishment message, or other uplink UL NAS message.

[0184] Clause 21. The method of any one of clauses 18 to 20, further including: providing an NTN disabling configuration prior to transmitting the downlink NAS message, where theNTN disabling configuration indicates whether to disable an NTN capability based on one or more types of rejection information when the NTN disabling configuration matches the rejection information in the downlink NAS message.

[0185] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, where the rejection information includes a cause code or an NTN not allowed indication associated with specified operations of UE, and where the NTN disabling configuration extends a meaning of the cause code or the NTN not allowed indication to include NTN disabling in addition to the specified operations.

[0186] Clause 23. The method of clause 21 or 22, where the NTN disabling configuration is indicative of whether to: disable the NTN capability for the first RAT, disable a terrestrial network (TN) capability and the NTN capability for the first RAT, or disable NTN capabilities for multiple RATs including the first RAT.

[0187] Clause 24. The method of any one of clauses 21 to 23, where the NTN disability configuration includes at least one of: NTN disabling based on the rejection information including a first cause, NTN disabling based on the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication, TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the rejection information including the first cause, or TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication.

[0188] Clause 25. The method of any one of clauses 21 to 24, where the providing the NTN disabling configuration includes at least one of: transmitting the NTN disabling configuration in a downlink message from a network entity of the first network, transmitting the NTN disabling configuration in a downlink message via a wireless local area network, or providing the NTN disabling configuration via a management object.

[0189] Clause 26. The method of any one of clauses 18 to 25, further including at least one of: transmitting (1434) an NTN disabling configuration prior to the transmitting the downlink NAS message, where the NTN disabling configuration indicates NTN disabling based on the downlink NAS message including a first cause; transmitting (1536) an NTN disabling configuration prior to the transmitting the downlink NAS message, where the NTN disabling configuration indicates NTN disabling based on the downlink NAS message including an NTN not allowed indication; transmitting (1635) a TN and NTN disabling configuration prior to the transmitting the downlink NAS message, where the TN and NTN disablingconfiguration indicates both TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message including a first cause; or transmitting (1737) a TN and NTN disabling configuration prior to the transmitting the downlink NAS message, where the TN and NTN disabling configuration indicates both TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the downlink NAS message including a TN and NTN not allowed indication.

[0190] Clause 27. The method of clause 18, where the rejection information includes an explicit NTN disabling indication for at least the first RAT, or an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication for the first RAT.

[0191] Clause 28. The method of clause 18, further including: causing the UE to disable an NTN capability of the UE based on one or more conditions being satisfied, where the one or more conditions include any combination of: the rejection information including a first cause that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause, the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a first cause and an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause and the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the TN and NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a second cause and a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the second cause TN and NTN not allowed indication, the downlink NAS message including an explicit NTN disabling indication, or the downlink NAS message an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication.

[0192] Clause 29. The method of any one of clauses 18 to 28, where the rejection information is designed to disable NTN access based on RAT such that the NTN disabling configuration that includes at least one of: a configuration for disabling NTNs of any RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs of a specific RAT such as fourth generation (4G) RAT, fifth generation (5G) RAT, or sixth generation (6G) RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT, a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT or 5G RAT, a configuration for disabling NTNs using 5G RAT or 6G RAT, or a configuration for disabling NTN using 6G RAT.

[0193] Clause 30. An apparatus, including: a communication unit; and a processing system configured to control the communication unit to implement any one of the methods of clause 1 to clause 29.

[0194] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform any one of the above-mentioned functionalities.

[0195] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a system having means for implementing any one of the above-mentioned functionalities.

[0196] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as an apparatus having one or more processors configured to perform one or more operations from any one of the above-mentioned methods.

[0197] The following description may be applied to the description above.

[0198] Generally speaking, description for one of the above figures can apply to another of the above figures. Examples, implementations and methods described above can be combined, if there is no conflict. An event or block described above can be optional or omitted. For example, an event or block with dashed lines in the figures can be optional. In some implementations, “message” is used and can be replaced by “information element (IE),” and vice versa. In some implementations, “IE” is used and can be replaced by “field,” and vice versa. In some implementations, “configuration” can be replaced by “configurations” or “configuration parameters,” and vice versa. In some implementations, “some” means “one or more.” In some implementations, “at least one” means “one or more.”

[0199] A user device in which the techniques of this disclosure can be implemented (e.g., the UE 102) can be any suitable device capable of wireless communications such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a mobile gaming console, a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, a health monitoring device, a drone, a camera, a media-streaming dongle or another personal media device, a wearable device such as a smartwatch, a wireless hotspot, a femtocell, or a broadband router. Further, the user device in some cases may be embedded in an electronic system such as the head unit of a vehicle or an advanced driver assistance system(ADAS). Still further, the user device can operate as an internet-of-things (loT) device or a mobile-internet device (MID). Depending on the type, the user device can include one or more general-purpose processors, a computer-readable memory, a user interface, one or more network interfaces, one or more sensors, etc.

[0200] Certain embodiments are described in this disclosure as including logic or a number of components or modules. Modules can be software modules (e.g., code, or machine-readable instructions stored on non-transitory machine-readable medium) or hardware modules. A hardware module is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. A hardware module can comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured (e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc.) to perform certain operations. A hardware module may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within a general -purpose processor or other programmable processor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. The decision to implement a hardware module in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g, configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.

[0201] When implemented in software, the techniques can be provided as part of the operating system, a library used by multiple applications, a particular software application, etc. The software can be executed by one or more general-purpose processors or one or more special-purpose processors.

[0202] Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciate additional and alternative structural and functional designs for handling mobility between base stations through the principles disclosed herein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.

[0203] As used herein, the terms “component” and “module” are intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein,a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, the phrase “based on” is intended to be broadly construed to mean “based at least in part on.”

[0204] As used herein, a phrase referring to a list of items separated by “or” refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For example, “a, b, or c” is intended to cover the possibilities of: a only, b only, c only, a combination of a and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination of a and b and c.

[0205] It is noted that throughout this disclosure, an expression of “X / Y” may include meaning of “X or Y”. It is noted that throughout this disclosure, an expression of “X / Y” may include meaning of “X and Y”. It is noted that throughout this disclosure, an expression of “X / Y” may include meaning of “X and / or Y”. It is noted that throughout this disclosure, an expression of “(A) B” or “B (A)” may include concept of “only B”. It is noted that throughout this disclosure, an expression of “(A) B” or “B (A)” may include concept of “A+B” or “B+A”.

[0206] In this disclosure, the term "can" indicates a capability, or alternatively indicates a possible implementation option. The term "may" indicates a permission or a possible implementation option.

[0207] some aspects are described herein in connection with thresholds. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like.

[0208] The various illustrative components, logic, logical blocks, modules, circuits, operations and algorithm processes described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware, firmware or software, including the structures disclosed in this specification and the structural equivalents thereof. The interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software has been described generally, in terms of functionality, and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0209] The hardware and data processing apparatus used to implement the various illustrative components, logics, logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose single- or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor also may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some implementations, particular processes, operations and methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

[0210] As described above, some aspects of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as software. For example, various functions of components disclosed herein, or various blocks or steps of a method, operation, process or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs. Such computer programs can include non-transitory processor-executable or computer-executable instructions encoded on one or more tangible processor-readable or computer-readable storage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, a data processing apparatus including the components of the devices described herein. By way of example, and not limitation, such storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store program code in the form of instructions or data structures. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of storage media.

[0211] As used herein, the terms “user device”, “user equipment” (for example, UE 110), “wireless communication device”, “mobile communication device”, “communication device”, or “mobile device” refer to any one or all of cellular telephones, smartphones, portable computing devices, personal or mobile multi-media players, laptop computers, tablet computers, smartbooks, Internet-of-Things (loT) devices, palm-top computers, wirelesselectronic mail receivers, multimedia Internet enabled cellular telephones, wireless gaming controllers, display sub-systems, driver assistance systems, vehicle controllers, vehicle system controllers, vehicle communication system, infotainment systems, vehicle telematics systems or subsystems, vehicle display systems or subsystems, vehicle data controllers, point- of-sale (POS) terminals, health monitoring devices, drones, cameras, media-streaming dongles or another personal media devices, wearable devices such as smartwatches, wireless hotspots, femtocells, broadband routers or other types of routers, and similar electronic devices which include a programmable processor and memory and circuitry configured to perform operations as described herein. Further, the user device in some cases may be embedded in an electronic system such as the head unit of a vehicle or an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). Still further, a mobile-internet device (MID). Depending on the type, the user device can include one or more general-purpose processors, a computer- readable memory, a user interface, one or more network interfaces, one or more sensors, etc.

[0212] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be readily apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel features disclosed herein.

[0213] Additionally, various features that are described in this specification in the context of separate implementations also can be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation also can be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. As such, although features may be described above as acting in particular combinations, and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0214] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Further, the drawings may schematically depict one or more exampleprocesses in the form of a flowchart or flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted can be incorporated in the example processes that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the illustrated operations. In some circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. Additionally, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.

[0215] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects. While the aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of various examples, any combination of aspects from any of the examples is also within the scope of the disclosure. The examples in this disclosure are provided for pedagogical purposes.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) (102), comprising: receiving (854, 956, 1055, 1157, 1258, 1259, 1354) a downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message (352, 452, 551, 654, 655, 656, 758, 759) from a base station (BS) of a first network, wherein the downlink NAS message includes rejection information to disable nonterrestrial network (NTN) access for at least a first RAT of the first network; and refraining from accessing NTN cells of at least the first RAT of the first network based on the rejection information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the refraining comprises: disabling (370, 570, 674, 675, 676, 677, 778, 779, 874, 976, 1075, 1177, 1278, 1279, 1378) an NTN capability of the UE based on the rejection information.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the downlink NAS message comprises a registration reject message that includes an extended information element indicating NTN access is not allowed for the first network.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: obtaining (634, 834) an NTN disabling configuration prior to the receiving the downlink NAS message, wherein the NTN disabling configuration indicates NTN disabling based on the downlink NAS message including a first cause or an NTN not allowed indication; and wherein the refraining comprises: disabling (674, 874) the NTN capability based on the downlink NAS message having the rejection information that includes the first cause or the NTN not allowed indication.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the NTN disabling configuration is indicative of whether to: disable the NTN capability for the first RAT, disable a terrestrial network (TN) capability and the NTN capability for the first RAT, ordisable NTN capabilities for multiple RATs including the first RAT.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the obtaining the NTN disabling configuration includes at least one of: retrieving the NTN disabling configuration from a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card inserted in the UE, retrieving the NTN disabling configuration from a non-volatile memory of the UE, receiving the NTN disabling configuration in a downlink message from a network entity of the first network, receiving the NTN disabling configuration in a downlink message via a wireless local area network, or obtaining the NTN disabling configuration from a management object in a memory element of the UE.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rejection information is designed to disable NTN access based on RAT such that the NTN disabling configuration that comprises at least one of a configuration for disabling NTNs of any RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs of a specific RAT such as fourth generation (4G) RAT, fifth generation (5G) RAT, or sixth generation (6G) RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 4G RAT or 5G RAT; a configuration for disabling NTNs using 5G RAT or 6G RAT; or a configuration for disabling NTNs using 6G RAT.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the refraining comprises: disabling an NTN capability of the UE based on one or more conditions being satisfied, wherein the one or more conditions include any combination of: the rejection information including a first cause that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause,the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a first cause and an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause and the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the TN and NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a second cause and a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the second cause TN and NTN not allowed indication, the downlink NAS message including an explicit NTN disabling indication, or the downlink NAS message an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication.

9. A method for wireless communication by a network entity of a first network, comprising: determining to reject non-terrestrial network (NTN) access by a user equipment (UE); and transmitting (1454, 1556, 1655, 1757, 1858, 1859) a downlink non-access stratum (NAS) message (352, 452, 551, 654, 655, 656, 758, 759) to the UE, wherein the downlink NAS message includes rejection information to disable the NTN access for the UE for at least a first RAT of the first network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the downlink NAS message comprises a registration reject message that includes an extended information element indicating NTN access is not allowed for the first network.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, further comprising: providing an NTN disabling configuration prior to transmitting the downlink NAS message, wherein the NTN disabling configuration indicates whether to disable an NTN capability based on the rejection information.

12. The method of claim 11,wherein the rejection information includes a cause code or an NTN not allowed indication, and wherein the NTN disabling configuration extends a meaning of the cause code or the NTN not allowed indication to include NTN disabling.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the NTN disability configuration includes at least one of:NTN disabling based on the rejection information including a first cause,NTN disabling based on the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication,TN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the rejection information including the first cause, orTN and NTN disabling of the first RAT based on the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: causing the UE to disable an NTN capability of the UE based on one or more conditions being satisfied, wherein the one or more conditions include any combination of: the rejection information including a first cause that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause, the rejection information including an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a first cause and an NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the first cause and the NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the TN and NTN not allowed indication, the rejection information including a second cause and a TN and NTN not allowed indication that corresponds to an NTN disabling configuration based on the second cause TN and NTN not allowed indication,the downlink NAS message including an explicit NTN disabling indication, or the downlink NAS message an explicit TN and NTN disabling indication.

15. An apparatus, comprising: a communication unit; and a processing system configured to control the communication unit to implement any one of the methods of any one of claims 1 to 14.

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