Coexistence of wireless backhaul and user communication

Abstract

A beamforming control method for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming is disclosed. The method comprises acquiring an indication of backhaul quality decline, and inhibiting use of a particular beam for the user communication responsive to time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication. In some embodiments, inhibiting use of the particular beam comprises seizing any ongoing use of the particular beam. In some embodiments, inhibiting use of the particular beam comprises entering the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams and excluding all beams in the list of prohibited beams from beam selection for the user communication. Also disclosed are corresponding computer program product, beamforming control apparatus, network node, and beamforming control database.

Description

[0001] COEXISTENCE OF WIRELESS BACKHAUL AND USER COMMUNICATION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communication. More particularly, it relates to coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication entails several problems. For example, the user communication may be experienced as interference by the wireless backhaul link, thereby deteriorating the backhaul performance.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for improved approaches to coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication.

[0007] SUMMARY

[0008] It should be emphasized that the term "comprises / comprising” (replaceable by “includes / including”) when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0009] Generally, when an arrangement is referred to herein, it is to be understood as a physical product; e.g., an apparatus. The physical product may comprise one or more parts, such as controlling circuitry in the form of one or more controllers, one or more processors, or the like.

[0010] It is an object of some embodiments to solve or mitigate, alleviate, or eliminate at least some of the above or other disadvantages.

[0011] A first aspect is a beamforming control method for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. The method comprises acquiring an indication of backhaul quality decline, and inhibiting use of a particular beam for the user communication responsive to time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication.

[0012] In some embodiments, acquiring the indication of backhaul quality decline comprises receiving a backhaul quality report.

[0013] In some embodiments, the backhaul quality decline is derived from quality measurements of the wireless backhaul link.

[0014] In some embodiments, the backhaul quality decline comprises that a difference between a previous quality value and a current quality value exceeds a threshold value.

[0015] In some embodiments, inhibiting use of the particular beam comprises seizing any ongoing use of the particular beam.

[0016] In some embodiments, inhibiting use of the particular beam comprises entering the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams. In some embodiments, the method further comprises excluding all beams in the list of prohibited beams from beam selection for the user communication.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further comprises acquiring an initial population of the list of prohibited beams by sweeping a plurality of potential beams for the user communication, evaluating change of backhaul quality for each beam switch during the sweeping, and (responsive to the change of backhaul quality for a specific beam switch to a specific potential beam during the sweeping comprising backhaul quality decline) populating the list of prohibited beams with the specific potential beam.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method further comprises removing one or more prohibited beams from the list of prohibited beams responsive to a removal condition being fulfilled.

[0019] In some embodiments (when there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switching to two or more different beams for the user communication) the particular beam is defined as the one of the two or more different beams which is closest to a frequency range utilized by the wireless backhaul link.

[0020] A second aspect is a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, having thereon a computer program comprising program instructions. The computer program is loadable into a data processing unit and configured to cause execution of the method according to the first aspect when the computer program is run by the data processing unit.

[0021] A third aspect is a beamforming control apparatus for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. The apparatus comprises controlling circuitry configured to cause acquisition of an indication of backhaul quality decline, and inhibition of use of a particular beam for the user communication responsive to time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication.

[0022] A fourth aspect is a network node comprising the apparatus of the third aspect.

[0023] A fifth aspect is a beamforming control database for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. The database comprises a list of prohibited beams, wherein a prohibited beam is associated with time correlation between backhaul quality decline and switching to the prohibited beam for the user communication.

[0024] In some embodiments, any of the above aspects may additionally have features identical with or corresponding to any of the various features as explained above for any of the other aspects.

[0025] An advantage of some embodiments is that the conditions for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication may be improved compared to at least some other approaches.

[0026] An advantage of some embodiments is that low cost backhaul solutions may be applied.

[0027] An advantage of some embodiments is that the same frequency band may be used for a wireless backhaul link and user communication.

[0028] An advantage of some embodiments is that the interference experienced by the wireless backhaul link and caused by the user communication may be reduced compared to at least some other approaches.

[0029] An advantage of some embodiments is that the backhaul performance may be improved compared to at least some other approaches.

[0030] An advantage of some embodiments is that the backhaul link may achieve increased throughput compared to at least some other approaches. An advantage of some embodiments is that the performance of the user communication is not severely deteriorated.

[0031] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Further objects, features and advantages will appear from the following detailed description of embodiments, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the example embodiments.

[0033] Figure 1 A is a schematic drawing illustrating example coexistence scenarios according to some embodiments.

[0034] Figure 1 B is a schematic drawing illustrating example coexistence scenarios according to some embodiments.

[0035] Figure 1C is a schematic drawing illustrating example coexistence scenarios according to some embodiments.

[0036] Figure 2A is a schematic frequency diagram illustrating example coexistence scenarios according to some embodiments.

[0037] Figure 2B is a schematic frequency diagram illustrating example interference experienced by the wireless backhaul according to some embodiments.

[0038] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating example method steps according to some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example apparatus according to some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example system setup according to some embodiments.

[0041] Figure 6A is a signaling diagram illustrating example signaling according to some embodiments.

[0042] Figure 6B is a signaling diagram illustrating example signaling according to some embodiments.

[0043] Figure 6C is a signaling diagram illustrating example signaling according to some embodiments.

[0044] Figure 7 is a schematic frequency diagram illustrating example coexistence scenarios according to some embodiments.

[0045] Figure 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example computer readable medium according to some embodiments.

[0046] Figure 9 is a schematic drawing illustrating an example communication system according to some embodiments.

[0047] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example UE according to some embodiments.

[0048] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example network node according to some embodiments.

[0049] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example host according to some embodiments.

[0050] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example virtualization environment according to some embodiments.

[0051] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example host communicating via an example network node with an example UE over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments.

[0052] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] As already mentioned above, it should be emphasized that the term "comprises / comprising” (replaceable by “includes / including”) when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0054] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described and exemplified more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The solutions disclosed herein can, however, be realized in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0055] As already mentioned, coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication entails several problems, such as the user communication interfering with the wireless backhaul link, thereby deteriorating the backhaul performance.

[0056] Exemplification of these problems will be provided herein with user communication according to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR). However, it should be noted that the suggested approaches are equally applicable to types of user communication with dynamic beamforming.

[0057] Dynamic beamforming is herein primarily meant to refer to the dynamic use of, and switching between, relatively narrow beams for dedicated communication. However, it should be noted that the principles suggested herein may be equally applicable for relatively wide beams.

[0058] Some millimeter-wave (mm-wave) 5G deployments typically comprise active antenna system (AAS) radio units mounted at relatively high elevation (e.g., on a light pole, or on a roof top); each radio unit being connected to a respective baseband (BB) unit in a location remote (e.g., up to several kilometers) from the radio unit by means of a common public radio interface (CPRI) fiber link. The AAS radio units are configured to communicate with the connected user devices (e.g., one or more user equipment, UE) using narrow beams, aiming to maximizing the energy transmitted towards, and received from, the user device.

[0059] The CPRI fiber link should typically be able to provide very high throughput (e.g., multiple Gbit / s; maybe up to 100 Gbit / s). One reason is that adequate transportation of data representing the raw radio frequency (RF) signals requires higher throughput than the corresponding digital information data. Furthermore, the beam management (e.g., beam selection) is typically controlled by the BB unit and requires fast communication between the AAS radio unit and the corresponding BB unit.

[0060] It is not unusual that the CPRI fiber link adds significantly to the deployment cost. One approach to reduce the cost is to reduce the throughput requirements (e.g., to about 10 Gbit / s or less) by having the BB unit co-located with the AAS radio unit. Even so, it may be desirable to replace the CPRI fiber by a wireless solution for backhaul. A wireless backhaul solution is typically significantly cheaper than a CPRI fiber solution. Furthermore, it may be easier to repair, maintain, and upgrade. However, applying a wireless solution for backhaul may cause interference problems between the user communication and the backhaul communication as already mentioned.

[0061] Figure 1A schematically illustrates a top view of an example coexistence scenario, where a backhaul radio (BHR) unit 130 is co-sited with three user communication radio (UCR) units (e.g., 5G AAS radio units) 111, 112, 113. The service sector of each of the URC units 111 , 112, 113 (i.e., the angular extension which the URC unit is configured to cover using its communication beams) is illustrated by 121 , 122, 123, respectively. The BHR unit 130 is configured to provide a wireless backhaul link 140 to a another, remotely located, BHR unit. As illustrated in Figure 1A, there may be spatial overlap between the wireless backhaul link 140 and the service sector 122 of a UCR unit 122. This overlap may be problematic in terms of interference between the user communication and the backhaul communication; especially in situations where the user communication and the backhaul communication uses the same, overlapping, or adjacent, frequency intervals (e.g., resides within the same frequency band). Figure 1 B schematically illustrates the interference problem further for an example coexistence scenario with a backhaul radio (BHR) unit 130 co-sited with a user communication radio (UCR) unit 112. The BHR unit 130 is configured to provide a wireless backhaul link 140 to a another, remotely located, BHR unit 131. When there is spatial overlap between the wireless backhaul link 140 and the service sector of the UCR unit 112, a beam 122b of the UCR unit 112 may be particularly problematic in terms of interference to the wireless backhaul link 140 when the beam 122b points in a direction towards the vicinity of the remotely located BHR unit 131.

[0062] Figure 1C schematically also illustrates the interference problem further, but for an example coexistence scenario with a backhaul radio (BHR) unit 130 which is not co-sited with the interfering user communication radio (UCR) unit 112'. The BHR unit 130 is configured to provide a wireless backhaul link 140 to a another, remotely located, BHR unit 131. When there is spatial overlap between the wireless backhaul link 140 and the service sector of the UCR unit 112', a beam 122c of the UCR unit 112' may be particularly problematic in terms of interference to the wireless backhaul link 140 when the beam 122c points in a direction towards the vicinity of the remotely located BHR unit 131.

[0063] According to some of the approaches described herein, problematic beams (e.g., as exemplified in Figures 1 B and 1C) are identified, and mitigation measures are taken to hinder them from causing interference to the wireless backhaul link.

[0064] One solution to the interference problem would be to have the user communication and the backhaul communication using adequately separated frequency intervals (e.g., different frequency bands). However, frequency spectrum is typically a scarce, and expensive, resource. Therefore, it may be desirable to utilize the same frequency spectrum for both user communication (e.g., 5G) access and wireless backhaul.

[0065] Figure 2A schematically illustrates example coexistence of user communication 230 and wireless backhaul 241 , 242, 243 within a frequency band 200.

[0066] According to some approaches, the wireless backhaul 241 , 242 uses frequencies that are different from (but adjacent to) those used by the user communication 230 (i.e., a frequency division multiplexing approach is applied). For example, an operator with a 1 GHz spectrum 200 centered around 28 GHz may use 800 MHz of the spectrum 200 for 5G access 230 and 200 MHz of the spectrum for wireless backhaul 241 , 242. The relatively small frequency separation (guard band) between the two communication technologies (user communication 230 and wireless backhaul 241, 242) unfortunately imposes interference problems.

[0067] Alternatively or additionally, the wireless backhaul 243 may use frequencies that are at least partially overlapping with those used by the user communication 230, which typically renders the interference problem much more prominent.

[0068] Figure 2B schematically illustrates example interference experienced by the wireless backhaul. The signal energy of the user communication (compare with 230 of Figure 2A) is represented by 250 within the frequency interval 251 used by the user communication. However, the user communication typically causes some signal energy 260 to be present also in a frequency interval 261 which is adjacent to the frequency interval 251.

[0069] Even though the signal energy 260 is typically substantially lower than the signal energy 250, as illustrated by the energy difference 280, the signal energy 260 may still be problematic to wireless backhaul communication 241 using the frequency interval 261. The signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) for the wireless backhaul communication 241 is illustrated by 290. Of course, the signal energy 250 may be even more problematic to any wireless backhaul communication 243 using the frequency interval 251.

[0070] For example, some 5G approaches use AAS technology that only suppresses out-of-band emission by 15 to 20 dB (compare with 280) and the remaining energy 260 may interfere with wireless backhaul communication 241 in an adjacent frequency interval 261 , especially when there is at least some overlap between the beam lobes of the AAS radio and the backhaul radio. Wireless backhaul links typically requires a relatively high signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SI NR) to enable provision of the required throughput. Therefore, any interference may be problematic. For example, a reduction of the SIR 290 due to increased interference 260 typically entails reduction in the SINR, which may radically reduce the performance of the wireless backhaul link, or even cause it to be inoperable.

[0071] Thus, any approach that keeps the interference 260 at a relatively low level is beneficial for the wireless backhaul communication 241. Correspondingly, any approach that keeps the interference 250 at a relatively low level is beneficial for the wireless backhaul communication 243. Preferably, such interference control should be accomplished without severely impairing the user communication. Some approaches suggested herein accomplish these goals.

[0072] As exemplified in Figures 1A and 1 B, the interference situation depends heavily on the spatial orientation of the emissions from the wireless backhaul antenna and the direction and emission pattern of the beam applied for user communication. Thus, it is suggested to identify problematic beams and take mitigation measures to hinder the identified beams from causing interference to the wireless backhaul link. Such approaches may lead to a very slightly impaired user communication for users located approximately in the direction of an identified beam.

[0073] Thus, according to some approaches, a quality metric (e.g., SIR, SINR, reference signal received power - RSRP, reference signal received quality - RSRQ, received signal strength indicator - RSSI, throughput, mean square error - MSE, etc.) of the wireless backhaul link is monitored (e.g., measured), and a corresponding report is provided to a control function (e.g., in or associated with a user communication radio unit). When a change in the quality metric indicates quality deterioration which is deemed problematic for the wireless backhaul, the beam causing the change is identified by correlating a time of the change in quality metric with a time for a beam switch of the user communication. The beam that was switched to in that beam switch is identified as problematic for the wireless backhaul link, and mitigation measures are taken in relation to that link. The mitigation measures may be any suitable measures that inhibit use of the identified beam. For example, future use of the identified beam may be prohibited and / or any currently ongoing use of the identified beam may be seized.

[0074] The suggested approaches are particularly suitable when the backhaul communication and the user communication are controlled by the same communications operator.

[0075] By application of approaches proposed herein one or more of the following advantages may be achieved: conditions for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication may be improved, interference experienced by the wireless backhaul link and caused by the user communication may be reduced, backhaul performance may be improved (e.g., increased throughput), use low cost backhaul solutions may be enabled, and use of the same frequency band for a wireless backhaul link and user communication may be enabled.

[0076] Figure 3 illustrates an example method 300 according to some embodiments. The method 300 is a beamforming control method for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. For example, the coexistence may relate to situations where backhaul communication and user communication partially or fully overlapping in frequency, or to situations where backhaul communication and user communication are relatively close in frequency (e.g., adjacent; possibly with a guard interval in between).

[0077] The method 300 may be performed by a controller, which may be associated with (e.g., comprised in) a backhaul unit (e.g., a backhaul radio unit, a backhaul baseband unit, or a separate backhaul unit) or a user communication unit (e.g., a user communication radio unit, a user communication baseband unit, or a separate user communication unit).

[0078] In step 330, an indication of backhaul quality decline is acquired. The backhaul quality decline is typically based on quality measurements for the wireless backhaul link. Such measurement may be performed continuously, repeatedly (e.g., periodically), and / or event-triggered. For example, step 330 may comprise receiving a backhaul quality report, as illustrated by optional sub-step 332. The backhaul quality report may be received from a backhaul monitor configured to perform quality measurements for the wireless backhaul link. The backhaul quality report may indicate the backhaul quality decline, or may comprise information (e.g., measured quality metric values) allowing the backhaul quality decline to be derived. In the latter case, step 330 may further comprise deriving the decline, as illustrated by optional sub-step 334.

[0079] Backhaul quality report reception may occur repeatedly (e.g., periodically) and / or as triggered by an event, as illustrated by optional step 320. For example, backhaul quality reporting may be triggered from the backhaul side when a quality decline is detected, and / or when the wireless backhaul link is malfunctioning. Alternatively or additionally, backhaul quality reporting may be triggered from the user communication side in association with a beam switch.

[0080] The quality decline may be expressed in terms of a corresponding change in any suitable quality metric (e.g., decreased SINR, etc.). The quality decline may be expressed in terms of a relation between a previous (e.g., recent) value of the quality metric and a current value of the quality metric. For example, a quality declined may be defined as a 3-10 dB deterioration.

[0081] Each of the values of the quality metric may be an instantaneous value, or a filtered value. Typically, relevant previous and current values of the quality metric related to measurements performed, respectively, before and after a beam switch.

[0082] The indication of backhaul quality decline may be explicit or implicit. Examples of explicit indications include the value of a difference between previous and current values of the quality metric, and a flag (e.g., in the backhaul quality report) indicating that the difference between previous and current values of the quality metric exceeds a quality decline threshold. Examples of implicit indications include the backhaul quality report being transmitted only when the difference between previous and current values of the quality metric exceeds a quality decline threshold.

[0083] The backhaul quality decline may be defined in any suitable way. For example, the backhaul quality decline may comprise that a difference between a previous quality value and a current quality value falls on a particular side of a quality decline threshold (e.g., the difference exceeding the quality decline threshold for quality metrics that indicate higher quality by higher values). The quality decline threshold may be fixed or dynamically variable.

[0084] The indication of backhaul quality decline acquired in step 300 is typically associated with information indicating the time of the backhaul quality decline. The time information may take any suitable form. For example, the indication of backhaul quality decline may be labeled with an explicit time indication (e.g., a time stamp) for the backhaul quality decline. Alternatively or additionally, the time of reception of the backhaul quality report that indicates the backhaul quality decline may be used time information (possibly taking a specified time between measurements and reporting into account). Yet alternatively or additionally, when a backhaul quality report is triggered by a beam switch, the time of the beam switch may be used as time information.

[0085] In step 340, it is determined whether there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and any beam switch. For example, it may be determined whether a time stamp of the backhaul quality decline corresponds to (e.g., is equal to) the time of a beam switch. Alternatively or additionally, it may be determined whether a backhaul quality report that indicates backhaul quality decline is received shortly after a beam switch. If the time of the beam switch is not readily available, it can be acquired as suitable (e.g., by receiving a beam switch time indication from a beamforming function for the user communication).

[0086] Typically, time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and any beam switch may be defined as any timing situation where the backhaul quality decline occurs between measurements performed before and after a beam switch. When there is no time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and beam switch, the process continues to optional step 350 (N-path out of step 340), then further back to step 330 (possibly via optional step 320). In these situations, there seems to be some other cause than beam switching for the backhaul quality decline, and one or more other action(s) may be taken in step 350 to mitigate the backhaul quality decline. Examples of such other action(s) include: lowering the backhaul data rate, increasing the backhaul transmission power, and switching to some redundancy backup means.

[0087] When there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and a beam switch to a particular beam for the user communication, the process continues to step 360 (Y-path out of step 340). In step 360, use of the particular beam for the user communication is inhibited.

[0088] The inhibition may be implemented in any suitable way. For example, inhibiting use of the particular beam may comprise seizing any ongoing use of the particular beam, as illustrated by optional sub-step 362. Alternatively or additionally, inhibiting use of the particular beam may comprise entering the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams, as illustrated by optional sub-step 364.

[0089] When an approach with a list of prohibited beams is applied, the method 300 may comprise excluding all (or at least some) beams in the list of prohibited beams from beam selection for the user communication, as illustrated by optional step 370.

[0090] The list of prohibited beams may be kept in a database or other suitable information storage; within the controller performing the method 300, or in a separate information storage device (co-located with, or remote from, the controller).

[0091] For example, the list of prohibited beams may be dynamically updated whenever a beam is identified as causing backhaul quality decline. In some embodiments, a beam is entered in the list of prohibited beams directly when it is identified as a particular beam in step 340. In some embodiments, a beam is entered in the list of prohibited beams only after it has been identified as a particular beam in several (e.g., two or more) executions of step 340 (i.e., for several beam switch occurrences).

[0092] Alternatively or additionally, the list of prohibited beams may be initially populated, as illustrated by optional step 310. Acquiring the initial population of the list of prohibited beams may comprise sweeping a plurality of (e.g., all) potential beams for the user communication, evaluating change of backhaul quality for each beam switch during the sweeping (compare with steps 330 and 340), and responsive to the change of backhaul quality for a specific beam switch to a specific potential beam during the sweeping comprising backhaul quality decline (compare with Y-path out of step 340), populating the list of prohibited beams with the specific potential beam (compare with sub-step 364). Step 310 may be performed only once, or may be repeated as suitable (e.g., periodically, and / or event-based - for example when a quality decline is detected, and / or when the wireless backhaul link is malfunctioning).

[0093] Yet alternatively or additionally, one or more prohibited beams may be removed from the list of prohibited beams responsive to a removal condition being fulfilled, as illustrated by optional steps 380 and 390. Thus, after steps 360 and 370, the process may return directly to step 330 (possibly via step 310 and / or 320), or the process may first execute steps 380 and 390 before returning to step 330 (possibly via step 310 and / or 320).

[0094] When the removal condition is not fulfilled (N-path out of step 380), the process returns to step 330 (possibly via step 310 and / or 320). When the removal condition is fulfilled (Y-path out of step 380), the process proceeds to step 390 where one or more beams are removed from the list, before the process returns to step 330 (possibly via step 310 and / or 320).

[0095] The removal condition may be any suitable condition and the beams to be removed may be selected according to any suitable approach. For example, beams which have been on the list for some specific time may be removed. Alternatively or additionally, the list may be flushed (i.e., all beams removed from list) as suitable (e.g., periodically, when a maximum number of beams have been reached for the list, when the list has not changed for some specific time, etc.). Yet alternatively or additionally, the oldest one or more beams may be removed as suitable (e.g., periodically, when a maximum number of beams have been reached for the list, when the list has not changed for some specific time, etc.).

[0096] Figure 4 schematically illustrates an example apparatus 400 according to some embodiments. For example, the apparatus 400 may be configured to execute, or cause execution of, one or more of the method steps described in connection with the method 300 of Figure 3. Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus 400 may be comprisable (e.g., comprised) in a network node (NWN; e.g., a node for user communication, a node for backhaul communication, or a remote node) 410.

[0097] Generally, the apparatus 400 may be comprised in any suitable device and in any suitable location. For example, it can be comprised in a radio frequency device, a baseband device, a separate control device, or a remote device (e.g., a cloud server); and its functionality may be implementer using hardware, or software, or a combination thereof.

[0098] The apparatus 400 is a beamforming control apparatus for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. The apparatus comprises a controller (CNTR; e.g., controlling circuitry or a control module) 420. The controller 420 may be referred to as a beam interference controller (BIC).

[0099] The controller 420 is configured to cause acquisition of an indication of backhaul quality decline (compare with 330 of Figure 3).

[0100] To this end, the controller 420 may comprise, or be otherwise associated with (e.g., connectable, or connected, to) an indication acquirer (ACQ; e.g., acquiring circuitry or an acquisition module) 421. The indication acquirer 421 may be configured to acquire the indication of backhaul quality decline.

[0101] For example, the indication acquirer 421 may be configured to receive a backhaul quality report via an interface (IF BH) 431 towards a backhaul domain (compare with 332 of Figure 3).

[0102] Alternatively or additionally, the indication acquirer 421 may be configured to derive the indication of backhaul quality decline (compare with 334 of Figure 3).

[0103] In some embodiments, the indication acquirer 421 may be further configured to receive beam switch timing information via an interface (IF BF) 431 432 towards a beamforming function of the user communication domain.

[0104] The controller 420 is also configured to cause inhibition of use of a particular beam for the user communication responsive to time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication (compare with 340 and 360 of Figure 3).

[0105] To this end, the controller 420 may comprise, or be otherwise associated with (e.g., connectable, or connected, to) an inhibitor (INH; e.g., inhibiting circuitry or an inhibition module) 422. The inhibitor 422 may be configured to inhibit use of the particular beam responsive to the time correlation. To perform the inhibition, the controller 420 may have received beam identity information via the interface 432 towards the beamforming function of the user communication domain so that the inhibition may explicitly indicate the beam identity, or the controller 420 may be unaware of the identity of the particular beam and the inhibition only indicates the beam identity implicitly (i.e., the just switched to beam).

[0106] For example, the inhibitor 422 may be configured to issue an instruction to seize any ongoing use of the particular beam via the interface 432 towards the beamforming function of the user communication domain (compare with 362 of Figure 3). Alternatively or additionally, the inhibitor 422 may be configured to enter the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams - for exclusion from beam selection for the user communication - via an interface (IF DB) 433 towards a database domain (compare with 364 of Figure 3).

[0107] The list of prohibited beams may be kept in a beamforming control database 490 (e.g., implemented by an information storage), which may be comprised in the apparatus 400 or network node 410, or may be implemented remotely. The beamforming control database 490 is for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. The database comprises a list of prohibited beams, wherein a prohibited beam is associated with time correlation between backhaul quality decline and switching to the prohibited beam for the user communication.

[0108] Figure 5 schematically illustrates an example system setup 500 for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming. The system setup 500 comprises a backhaul arrangement (BH) 510 (compare with 130 of Figures 1A-C) configured to enable a backhaul link to a remote backhaul arrangement (BH-R) 590 (compare with 131 of Figures 1 B-C). The system setup 500 also comprises a user communication arrangement (UC) 530 (compare with 112, 112' of Figures 1 A-C) associated with a beamforming function. Furthermore, the system setup 500 also comprises a controller (CNTR) 520 confirmed to control the beamforming based on measurements of the backhaul link (compare with 400 of Figure 4). The controller 520 may be included in the user communication domain as illustrated by 580, or in the backhaul domain as illustrated by 590.

[0109] Figures 6A-C are signaling diagrams illustrating example signaling according to some relevant scenarios, which may be seen as exemplifying the principles described herein. The signaling is among a backhaul arrangement (BH) 610, a controller (CNTR) 620, and a beamforming function (BF) 630.

[0110] In the scenario of Figure 6A, the controller 620 receives a backhaul quality report 603 from the backhaul arrangement 610 (compare with 332 of Figure 3). The backhaul quality report 603 may possibly be triggered by the beamforming function 630, as illustrated by 601 (compare with 320 of Figure 3). The controller 620 determines whether there is time correlation between backhaul quality decline and a beam switch, as illustrated by 605 (compare with 340 of Figure 3). If so, the controller 620 causes inhibition of the use of the particular beam that was switched to (compare with 360 of Figure 3) by sending an instruction 606 to the beamforming function 630 to seize use of the particular beam and / or enter the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams.

[0111] In the scenario of Figure 6B, the controller 620 receives a backhaul quality report 603 from the backhaul arrangement 610 (compare with 332 of Figure 3), wherein the report 603 indicates backhaul quality measurements. The backhaul quality report 603 may, or may not, be triggered by the beamforming function 630 (compare with 320 of Figure 3). The controller 620 derives a backhaul quality decline, as illustrated by 604 (compare with 334 of Figure 3), and determines whether there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and a beam switch, as illustrated by 605 (compare with 340 of Figure 3). If so, the controller 620 causes inhibition of the use of the particular beam that was switched to (compare with 360 of Figure 3) by sending an instruction 606 to the beamforming function 630 to seize use of the particular beam and / or enter the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams.

[0112] In the scenario of Figure 6C, the controller 620 receives a backhaul quality report 603 from the backhaul arrangement 610 (compare with 332 of Figure 3), wherein the report 603 indicates a backhaul quality decline derived by the backhaul arrangement 610, as illustrated by 602. The backhaul quality report 603 may, or may not, be triggered by the beamforming function 630 (compare with 320 of Figure 3). The controller 620 determines whether there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and a beam switch, as illustrated by 605 (compare with 340 of Figure 3). If so, the controller 620 causes inhibition of the use of the particular beam that was switched to (compare with 360 of Figure 3) by sending an instruction 606 to the beamforming function 630 to seize use of the particular beam and / or enter the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams. Figure 7 schematically illustrates example coexistence of user communication 230 and wireless backhaul 241 , 242 within a frequency band 200 (compare with Figure 2A). Within the user communication 230, different frequency intervals may be used for different beams, as illustrated by 710 and 720. In such situations, and if there is time correlation between a backhaul quality decline and switching to two or more different beams 710, 720 for the user communication, the inhibition may be applied only to the beam 710 which is closest to the frequency range utilized by the wireless backhaul link.

[0113] The described embodiments and their equivalents may be realized in software or hardware or a combination thereof. The embodiments may be performed by general purpose circuitry. Examples of general purpose circuitry include digital signal processors (DSP), central processing units (CPU), co-processor units, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and other programmable hardware. Alternatively or additionally, the embodiments may be performed by specialized circuitry, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC). The general purpose circuitry and / or the specialized circuitry may, for example, be associated with or comprised in an apparatus such as a network node (e.g., a backhaul link radio unit or a user communication radio unit).

[0114] Embodiments may appear within an electronic apparatus (such as a network node) comprising arrangements, circuitry, and / or logic according to any of the embodiments described herein. Alternatively or additionally, an electronic apparatus (such as a network node) may be configured to perform methods according to any of the embodiments described herein.

[0115] According to some embodiments, a computer program product comprises a non-transitory computer readable medium such as, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) memory, a plug-in card, an embedded drive, or a read only memory (ROM). Figure 8 illustrates an example computer readable medium in the form of a compact disc (CD) ROM 800. The computer readable medium has stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions. The computer program is loadable into a data processor (PROC; e.g., a data processing unit) 820, which may, for example, be comprised in a network node 810. When loaded into the data processor, the computer program may be stored in a memory (MEM) 830 associated with, or comprised in, the data processor. According to some embodiments, the computer program may, when loaded into, and run by, the data processor, cause execution of method steps according to, for example, any of the methods illustrated in Figures 3 and 6A-C, or otherwise described herein.

[0116] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system 900 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0117] In the example, the communication system 900 includes a telecommunication network 902 that includes an access network 904, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 906, which includes one or more core network nodes 908. The access network 904 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 910a and 910b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 910), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 902 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 902 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 902, including one or more network nodes 910 and / or core network nodes 908.

[0118] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective "open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1 , W1, E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 910 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 912a, 912b, 912c, and 912d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 912) to the core network 906 over one or more wireless connections.

[0119] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 900 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 900 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0120] The UEs 912 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 910 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 910 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 912 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 902 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 902.

[0121] In the depicted example, the core network 906 connects the network nodes 910 to one or more hosts, such as host 916. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 906 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 908) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 908. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0122] The host 916 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 904 and / or the telecommunication network 902, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 916 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0123] As a whole, the communication system 900 of Figure 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LIFI, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0124] In some examples, the telecommunication network 902 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 902 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 902. For example, the telecommunications network 902 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0125] In some examples, the UEs 912 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 904 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 904. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN- DC).

[0126] In the example, the hub 914 communicates with the access network 904 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 912c and / or 912d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 910b). In some examples, the hub 914 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 914 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 906 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 914 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 910, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 914. As another example, the hub 914 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 914 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 914 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 914 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 914 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0127] The hub 914 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 910b. The hub 914 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 914 and UEs (e.g., UE 912c and / or 912d), and between the hub 914 and the core network 906. In other examples, the hub 914 is connected to the core network 906 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 914 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 904 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 910 while still connected via the hub 914 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 914 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 910b. In other embodiments, the hub 914 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 910b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels. Figure 10 shows a UE 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0128] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0129] The UE 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input / output interface 1006, a power source 1008, a memory 1010, a communication interface 1012, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0130] The processing circuitry 1002 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1010. The processing circuitry 1002 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1002 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0131] In the example, the input / output interface 1006 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1000. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0132] In some embodiments, the power source 1008 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1008 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1008 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1000 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1008. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1008 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1000 to which power is supplied.

[0133] The memory 1010 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1010 includes one or more application programs 1014, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1016. The memory 1010 may store, for use by the UE 1000, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0134] The memory 1010 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) and / or ISIM (Integrated Subscriber Identity Module), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.' The memory 1010 may allow the UE 1000 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1010, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0135] The processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1012. The communication interface 1012 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1022. The communication interface 1012 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1018 and / or a receiver 1020 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1018 and receiver 1020 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1022) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0136] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1012 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, locationbased communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0137] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1012, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0138] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0139] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1000 shown in Figure 10.

[0140] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0141] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0142] Figure 11 shows a network node 1100 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0143] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0144] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi- cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0145] The network node 1100 includes a processing circuitry 1102, a memory 1104, a communication interface 1106, and a power source 1108. The network node 1100 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1100 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1100 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1104 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1110 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1100 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1100, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1100.

[0146] The processing circuitry 1102 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1100 components, such as the memory 1104, to provide network node 1100 functionality.

[0147] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1102 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1102 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1112 and baseband processing circuitry 1114. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1112 and the baseband processing circuitry 1114 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1112 and baseband processing circuitry 1114 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0148] The memory 1104 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1102. The memory 1104 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1102 and utilized by the network node 1100. The memory 1104 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1102 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1106. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1102 and memory 1104 is integrated.

[0149] The communication interface 1106 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1106 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1116 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1106 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1118 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1110. Radio front-end circuitry 1118 comprises filters 1120 and amplifiers 1122. The radio front-end circuitry 1118 may be connected to an antenna 1110 and processing circuitry 1102. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1110 and processing circuitry 1102. The radio front-end circuitry 1118 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1118 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1120 and / or amplifiers 1122. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1110. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1110 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1118. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1102. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0150] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1100 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1118, instead, the processing circuitry 1102 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1110. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1112 is part of the communication interface 1106. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1106 includes one or more ports or terminals 1116, the radio front-end circuitry 1118, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1112, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1106 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1114, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0151] The antenna 1110 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1110 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1118 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1110 is separate from the network node 1100 and connectable to the network node 1100 through an interface or port.

[0152] The antenna 1110, communication interface 1106, and / or the processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1110, the communication interface 1106, and / or the processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0153] The power source 1108 provides power to the various components of network node 1100 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1108 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1100 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1100 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1108. As a further example, the power source 1108 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Embodiments of the network node 1100 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 11 for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1100 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1100 and to allow output of information from the network node 1100. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1100.

[0154] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a host 1200, which may be an embodiment of the host 916 of Figure 9, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1200 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1200 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0155] The host 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1204 to an input / output interface 1206, a network interface 1208, a power source 1210, and a memory 1212. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 10 and 11 , such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1200.

[0156] The memory 1212 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1214 and data 1216, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1200 or data generated by the host 1200 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1200 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1214 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAG, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1214 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1200 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1214 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0157] Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1300 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1300 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0158] Applications 1302 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1300 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Hardware 1304 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1306 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1308a and 1308b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1308), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1306 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1308.

[0159] The VMs 1308 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1306. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1302 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1308, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0160] In the context of NFV, a VM 1308 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1308, and that part of hardware 1304 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1308 on top of the hardware 1304 and corresponds to the application 1302.

[0161] Hardware 1304 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1304 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1304 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1310, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1302. In some embodiments, hardware 1304 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1312 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0162] Figure 14 shows a communication diagram of a host 1402 communicating via a network node 1404 with a UE 1406 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 912a of Figure 9 and / or UE 1000 of Figure 10), network node (such as network node 910a of Figure 9 and / or network node 1100 of Figure 11), and host (such as host 916 of Figure 9 and / or host 1200 of Figure 12) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 14.

[0163] Like host 1200, embodiments of host 1402 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1402 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1402 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1406 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1450 extending between the UE 1406 and host 1402. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1450.

[0164] The network node 1404 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1402 and UE 1406. The connection 1460 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 906 of Figure 9) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0165] The UE 1406 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1406 and executable by the UE's processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific "app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1406 with the support of the host 1402. In the host 1402, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1450 terminating at the UE 1406 and host 1402. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1450 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1450.

[0166] The OTT connection 1450 may extend via a connection 1460 between the host 1402 and the network node 1404 and via a wireless connection 1470 between the network node 1404 and the UE 1406 to provide the connection between the host 1402 and the UE 1406. The connection 1460 and wireless connection 1470, over which the OTT connection 1450 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1402 and the UE 1406 via the network node 1404, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0167] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1450, in step 1408, the host 1402 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1406. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1406 that shares data with the host 1402 without explicit human interaction. In step 1410, the host 1402 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1406. The host 1402 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1406. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1406 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1406. The transmission may pass via the network node 1404, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1412, the network node 1404 transmits to the UE 1406 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1402 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1414, the UE 1406 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1406 associated with the host application executed by the host 1402.

[0168] In some examples, the UE 1406 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1402. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1402. Accordingly, in step 1416, the UE 1406 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1406. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1406 initiates, in step 1418, transmission of the user data towards the host 1402 via the network node 1404. In step 1420, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1404 receives user data from the UE 1406 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1402. In step 1422, the host 1402 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1406.

[0169] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1406 using the OTT connection 1450, in which the wireless connection 1470 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the conditions for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication and thereby provide benefits such as low cost backhaul and frequency efficiency.

[0170] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1402. As another example, the host 1402 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1402 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1402 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1402 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1402 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0171] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1450 between the host 1402 and UE 1406, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1402 and / or UE 1406. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1450 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1450 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1404. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1402. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or 'dummy' messages, using the OTT connection 1450 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0172] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0173] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0174] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used.

[0175] Reference has been made herein to various embodiments. However, a person skilled in the art would recognize numerous variations to the described embodiments that would still fall within the scope of the claims.

[0176] For example, the method embodiments described herein discloses example methods through steps being performed in a certain order. However, it is recognized that these sequences of events may take place in another order without departing from the scope of the claims. Furthermore, some method steps may be performed in parallel even though they have been described as being performed in sequence. Thus, the steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step.

[0177] In the same manner, it should be noted that in the description of embodiments, the partition of functional blocks into particular units is by no means intended as limiting. Contrarily, these partitions are merely examples. Functional blocks described herein as one unit may be split into two or more units. Furthermore, functional blocks described herein as being implemented as two or more units may be merged into fewer (e.g. a single) unit.

[0178] Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever suitable. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa.

[0179] Hence, it should be understood that the details of the described embodiments are merely examples brought forward for illustrative purposes, and that all variations that fall within the scope of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

[0180] SOME EMBODIMENTS

[0181] 1. A method performed by a network node for beamforming control for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link and user communication with dynamic beamforming, the method comprising: acquiring an indication of backhaul quality decline; and inhibiting use of a particular beam for the user communication responsive to time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication.

[0182] 2. The method of the previous embodiment 1 , further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0183] 3. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments 1 or 2; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0184] 4. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments 1 or 2 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0185] 5. The host of the previous embodiment 4, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

[0186] 6. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the embodiments 1 or 2 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0187] 7. The method of the previous embodiment 6, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0188] 8. The method of any of the previous embodiments 6 or 7, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. 9. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (U E), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments 1 or 2 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0189] 10. The communication system of the previous embodiment 9, further comprising: the network node; and / or the UE.

[0190] 11. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the embodiments 1 or 2 to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0191] 12. The host of the previous embodiment 11 , wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0192] 13. The host of the any of the previous embodiments 11 or 12, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0193] 14. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments 1 or 2 to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0194] 15. The method of the previous embodiment 14, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A beamforming control method (300) for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link (140) and user communication(122) with dynamic beamforming, the method comprising: acquiring (330) an indication of backhaul quality decline; and inhibiting (360) use of a particular beam (122b, 122c) for the user communication responsive to time correlation (340) between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein acquiring (330) the indication of backhaul quality decline comprises receiving (332) a backhaul quality report.

3. The method of any of claims 1 through 2, wherein the backhaul quality decline is derived (334) from quality measurements of the wireless backhaul link.

4. The method of any of claims 1 through 3, wherein the backhaul quality decline comprises that a difference between a previous quality value and a current quality value exceeds a threshold value.

5. The method of any of claims 1 through 4, wherein inhibiting (360) use of the particular beam comprises seizing(362) any ongoing use of the particular beam.

6. The method of any of claims 1 through 5, wherein inhibiting (360) use of the particular beam comprises entering(364) the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising excluding (370) all beams in the list of prohibited beams from beam selection for the user communication.

8. The method of any of claims 6 through 7, further comprising acquiring (310) an initial population of the list of prohibited beams by: sweeping a plurality of potential beams for the user communication; evaluating change of backhaul quality for each beam switch during the sweeping; and responsive to the change of backhaul quality for a specific beam switch to a specific potential beam during the sweeping comprising backhaul quality decline, populating the list of prohibited beams with the specific potential beam.

9. The method of any of claims 6 through 8, further comprising removing (390) one or more prohibited beams from the list of prohibited beams responsive to a removal condition being fulfilled (380).

10. The method of any of claims 1 through 9, wherein - when there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switching to two or more different beams for the user communication - the particular beam is defined as the one of the two or more different beams which is closest to a frequency range utilized by the wireless backhaul link.

11. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium (800), having thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a data processing unit and configured to cause execution of the method according to any of claims 1 through 10 when the computer program is run by the data processing unit.

12. A beamforming control apparatus (400) for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link (140) and user communication(122) with dynamic beamforming, the apparatus comprising controlling circuitry (420, 520, 620) configured to cause: acquisition of an indication of backhaul quality decline; and inhibition of use of a particular beam (122b, 122c) for the user communication responsive to time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switch to the particular beam for the user communication.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controlling circuitry is configured to cause the acquisition of the indication of backhaul quality decline by causing reception of a backhaul quality report.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 12 through 13, wherein the backhaul quality decline is derived from quality measurements of the wireless backhaul link.

15. The apparatus of any of claims 12 through 14, wherein the backhaul quality decline comprises that a difference between a previous quality value and a current quality value exceeds a threshold value.

16. The apparatus of any of claims 12 through 15, wherein the controlling circuitry is configured to cause the inhibition of use of the particular beam by causing seize of any ongoing use of the particular beam.

17. The apparatus of any of claims 12 through 16, wherein the controlling circuitry is configured to cause the inhibition of use of the particular beam by causing entering of the particular beam in a list of prohibited beams.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controlling circuitry is further configured to cause exclusion of all beams in the list of prohibited beams from beam selection for the user communication.

19. The apparatus of any of claims 17 through 18, wherein the controlling circuitry is further configured to cause acquisition of an initial population of the list of prohibited beams by causing: sweeping of a plurality of potential beams for the user communication; evaluation of change of backhaul quality for each beam switch during the sweeping; and responsive to the change of backhaul quality for a specific beam switch to a specific potential beam during the sweeping comprising backhaul quality decline, population of the list of prohibited beams with the specific potential beam.

20. The apparatus of any of claims 17 through 19, wherein the controlling circuitry is further configured to cause removal of one or more prohibited beams from the list of prohibited beams responsive to a removal condition being fulfilled.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 12 through 20, wherein - when there is time correlation between the backhaul quality decline and switching to two or more different beams for the user communication - the particular beam is defined as the one of the two or more different beams which is closest to a frequency range utilized by the wireless backhaul link.

22. A network node (410) comprising the apparatus of any of claims 12 through 21.

23. A beamforming control database (490) for coexistence of a wireless backhaul link (140) and user communication(122) with dynamic beamforming, the database comprising a list of prohibited beams (122b, 122c), wherein a prohibited beam is associated with time correlation between backhaul quality decline and switching to the prohibited beam for the user communication.

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