First network node, second network node and methods performed thereby, for handling capability information

Abstract

A method performed by a first network node (111). the first network node (111) is an O-RU. The method is for handling capability information. The first network node (111) operates in a communications network (100). The communications network (100) comprises an O-RAN. The first network node (111) provides (201) first information on one or more first capabilities of the first network node (111) to a second network node (112) operating in the communications network (100). The providing (201) of the first information comprises refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

Description

[0001] FIRST NETWORK NODE, SECOND NETWORK NODE AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY, FOR HANDLING CAPABILITY INFORMATION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to a first network node and methods performed thereby for handling capability information. The present disclosure also relates generally to a second network node, and methods performed thereby for handling capability information.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), as defined by O-RAN Alliance, an O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) may report its capability. An O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) may usually obtain O- RU capability information at O-RU start up, such as about what functionality the O-RU may support, and / or what capacity and limitation it may have.

[0006] An O-DU may manage an O-RU based on those capabilities reported. For example, O-DU may configure a transmitter (tx)-array-carrier, a receiver (rx)-array-carrier, activate them and send a Control (C)-plane message and a User (U)-Plane message based on those capabilities reported by the O-RU.

[0007] That capability reporting may be understood to be static and unchanged after the O-RU may be start up and usually may be statically defined at the O-RU design time.

[0008] In Management Plane (M-plane), e.g., non real-time configuration, alarms etc., three ways may be defined for a O-RU to report its capability. By including a YANG model in a YANG library, by defining supported YANG features in a YANG library and by declaring an existence of some container, or by a specific schema node value.

[0009] Most capabilities may be understood to reflect functionalities supported, for example, if an optional YANG model is not included, then the functionality represented by that YANG model may be understood to not be supported. If a YANG feature is not declared, then the functionality represented by that YANG Feature may be understood to not be supported. There may be also functionalities supported that may be indicated by some schema nodes, for example, an existence of data node build-content-download may be understood to indicate the O-RU may support downloading of files in the desired build instead of the whole package in the software management procedure.

[0010] There may be also parameters in the M-plane called capabilities that may actually represent some capacities, limitations or some characteristics. Capability may be understood to describe an ability to perform some functionalities and it may sometimes indicate capacity as well. Capacity may be understood to mean how much, how often and the concrete limits that may be related to a functionality. For example, how many active carriers an O-RU may handle and / or process at the same time, how many C-Plane messages the O-RU may process during a time of a slot. Capacity may be usually related to hardware limitations or interface resource limitations. For example, max-beams-per-cplane-message, max-section-headers-per-uplane-message may be used to expose some O-RU limitations. And ru-delay-profile may be understood to expose the delay management parameter values that the O-RU may support and the 0-Dll may use those values to determine its tx-window and rx-window for sending C-Plane messages and sending and receiving Il-plane messages.

[0011] 0-Rll capabilities may be reported on different levels as well. General capabilities that may be applicable for the whole 0-Rll may be reported on an 0-Rll level. Yang model support and YANG feature support may be considered as 0-Rll level capabilities.

[0012] There may be capabilities that may be reported for each supported band. Those may be understood to be band level capabilities. There may be capabilities that may be on an endpoint level. They may have different values for different endpoints. Beamforming capabilities may be both reported on an 0-Rll level and an endpoint level. It may also be possible to report capability for each array 0-Rll supported as well, those may be considered as array level capabilities.

[0013] Most of those capabilities may be declared using a simple data type, for example, uintS, uint16, Boolean. Sometimes, more complicated structures may be used to report a group of related capabilities. For each supported frequency band, max-num-component-carriers, max- num-sectors, and frequency range supported may be reported.

[0014] In M-plane clause 15.9, O-RAN Working Group 4 (Open Fronthaul Interfaces WG) Management Plane Specification, v. 13.00, an ‘advanced endpoint capability report’ method is defined. By this method, an 0-Rll may limit the allowed number of endpoints that may have a specific configuration combination of predefined parameter values.

[0015] Existing methods to handle capability information, such as to report capability information, may result in an inefficient use of resources in a communications network.

[0016] SUMMARY

[0017] It is an object of embodiments herein to improve the handling of capability information in a communications network.

[0018] According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by a first network node. The first network node is an Open Radio Unit (O-RU). The method is for handling capability information. The first network node operates in a communications network. The communications network comprises an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN). The first network node provides first information on one or more first capabilities of the first network node to a second network node operating in the communications network. The providing of the first information comprises refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node, independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

[0019] According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by the second network node. The method is for handling capability information. The second network node operates in the communications network. The communications network comprises the O-RAN. The second network node obtains the first information on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node operating in the communications network. The first network node is an O-RU. The first information lacks the complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node, independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the complete set of values of parameters.

[0020] According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the first network node. The first network node is configured to be an Open Radio Unit (O-RU). The first network node is for handling capability information. The first network node is configured to operate in the communications network. The communications network is configured to comprise an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN). The first network node is configured to provide the first information on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node to the second network node configured to operate in the communications network. The providing of the first information is configured to comprise refraining from providing the complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node, independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the a complete set of values of parameters.

[0021] The second network node 112 is for handling. The second network node 112 is configured to operate in the communications network 100.

[0022] According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the second network node. The second network node is for handling capability information. The second network node is configured to operate in the communications network. The communications network is configured to comprise an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN). The second network node is configured to obtain the first information on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node configured to operate in the communications network. The first network node is configured to be an Open Radio Unit (O-RU). The first information is configured to lack the complete set of values of all capabilities configured to be supported at the first network node, independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the complete set of values of parameters.

[0023] When an O-RU is in operation, the number of combination of related parameter values that may be configured may be understood to be much smaller than a combination of all possible values. For the example of delay profile capability, maybe only one bandwidth may be used for configured carriers on a radio, maybe only one PUSCH reordering method may be used for those DMRS-BF-EQ endpoints. By the first network node providing the first information and refraining from providing the complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node, independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters, the first network node may enable to simplify radio capability reporting for complicated capabilities. An O-RU such as the first network node may thereby avoid to have to list all combinations of related parameter values associated with a big amount of capability value sets. Support for use cases that may require such complicated capability may be easier. Using this method, the need to introduce a tailored complicated structure for each such capability may be reduced.

[0024] Instead of reporting all possible value combination of related parameter values, according to embodiments herein, an O-RU such as the first network node may then enabled to subsequently update capability based on real configuration. An O-DU such as the second network node may then be enabled to subsequently obtain the updated capability values, using either notification and / or by reading read-only parameter values.

[0025] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, according to the following description.

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a communications network, according to embodiments herein.

[0028] Figure 2 is a flowchart depicting a method in a first network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting a method in a second network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of aspects of a method according to embodiments herein.

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of aspects of a method according to embodiments herein.

[0032] Figure 6 is a signalling diagram depicting an example of a method according to embodiments herein.

[0033] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of aspects of a method according to embodiments herein.

[0034] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of aspects of a method according to embodiments herein.

[0035] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a first network node, according to embodiments herein. Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a second network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0036] Figure 11 is a flowchart depicting a method in a first network node, according to examples related to embodiments herein.

[0037] Figure 12 is a flowchart depicting a method in a second network node, according to examples related to embodiments herein.

[0038] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a communication system 1300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a UE 1400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a network node 1500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0041] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a host 1600, which may be an embodiment of the host 1316 of Figure 13, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

[0042] Figure 17 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a virtualization environment 1700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0043] Figure 18 shows a communication diagram of a host 1802 communicating via a network node 1804 with a UE 1806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

[0044] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] As part of the development of embodiments herein, one or more challenges with the existing technology will first be identified and discussed.

[0046] Capability reporting methods currently defined in Open FrontHaul (OFH) M-plane are assumed to be static and are predefined at design time based on Hardware (HW) type and software level.

[0047] This static way of capability reporting may be suitable for functionality support capability and some simple capacity and limitations.

[0048] For those capabilities that may be more complicated, which may depend on several other parameters and several optional feature activation statuses, using a static way for capability reporting is cumbersome.

[0049] To report such capability statically may be understood to imply that there may be a need to define a complicated structure in M-plane to be able to store a capability value set for all combination of values for related parameters. Sometimes, there may be many related parameters, and each related parameter may have multiple possible values. Therefore, the number of possible combinations may be very high.

[0050] One example may be the delay profile parameter settings supported by an O-RU. Currently, those parameters may be reported using a structure defined as ru-delay-profile. One set of values may be reported for each Subcarrier Spacing (scs) and bandwidth value combination. Since the number of supported bandwidths may be 13 for Frequency 1 (FR1) O-RU, and the number of supported scs for FR1 0-Rll may be 3, see TS 38.104, v. 18.3.0, table 5.3.2-1 , the number of combinations of related parameter values may be 39. Each ru-delay-profile structure may have 11 parameters. Hence, to cover the whole possible scenario, the 0-Rll may need to report 39*11=429 parameter values.

[0051] Recent work in O-RAN WG4 indicates that ru-delay-profile may also be impacted by parameter setting of different beamforming methods configured to be used, Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) configuration that may be allowed to be used and Physical Uplink Shared CHannel (PUSCH) channel symbol reordering method to be used.

[0052] Beamforming (BF) methods currently defined, and that may have to be defined e.g., in a specification, may be Channel-information-based beamforming (CIBF), Weight-based Dynamic Beamforming (WDBF), DMRS BF with equalization (DMRS-BF-EQ), and DMRS BF without equalization (DMRS-BF-NEQ). There may be 9 possible combinations of BF methods. 3 Reordering methods for PUSCH may have to be defined and 2 different last DMRS symbol position based on DMRS configurations may be allowed.

[0053] The total number of combination of scs, bandwidth, BF combinations, DMRS configuration allowed and reordering methods may be understood to be 39*9*3*2=2106. To report one ru- delay-profile for each related parameter value combination may be understood to mean that 11*2106= 23166 parameter values may need to be reported by O-RU. The data structure corresponding to the foregoing example is indicated below. Even if an O-RU may not need to support all those combinations, at design time, the O-RU may need to cover, e.g., report, all possible combinations it may be capable of supporting. The number of reporting parameter values for delay management alone may be quite high. The reporting may consume memory on the 0-Rll side. However, even when 0-Rll is used, maybe only a very low number of those reported values may be needed. The 0-Dll, on the other hand, may need to read all those possible combinations and find the relevant capability set and use it for intended configurations.

[0054] There may also be capabilities which may indicate limitation or capacity of the radio that may depend on activation status of several features. To report those capabilities statically, the O- Rll may need to report different values for each combination of support and activation status of related features. A feature may be supported, not supported, activated and deactivated.

[0055] There may be also the situation that when radio capacity is impacted due to HW fault or another reason, there is currently no way to report such change using capability reporting.

[0056] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments herein may be generally understood to relate to semidynamic 0-Rll capability reporting.

[0057] According to embodiments herein, instead of static capability reporting, which may be understood to assume that a reported capability value may have the same value during the O- Rll operation time, the semi-dynamic capability reporting method of embodiments herein be used for some more complicated capabilities. A value for semi-dynamic capability may be changed when related parameter(s) for the capability may be re-configured, or the related features may be activated or deactivated.

[0058] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be more suitable for capabilities that may have several related parameters or related features. For different values for related parameters and activation status of related features, those capabilities may be different values.

[0059] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be understood to introduce a unified pattern for capability reporting to simplify radio capability reporting for complicated capabilities. Using this method, the need to introduce a tailored complicated structure for each such capability may be reduced. An O-RU may thereby avoid to have to list all combinations of related parameter values associated with a big amount of capability value sets. Support for use cases that may require such complicated capability may be easier. An O- DU may obtain the updated capability value using either notification and / or by reading read-only parameter values.

[0060] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be used in combination with static capability reporting. For example, if a capability has 5 related parameters, maybe static capability reporting may cover the impact from 3 of those related parameters. Static reporting may be used as a capability baseline value. The capability value impact by the related parameters including the values of the 2 additional parameters may be presented as a delta value, also referred to herein as an offset value, to the baseline value and use the semi-dynamic capability reporting method described herein.

[0061] According to embodiments herein, the Open Lower Layer Split (O-LLS) protocol may be enhanced to allow a capacity value to be updated during O-RU operation. The Semi-dynamic capability reporting concept may be defined according to embodiments herein. It may be understood to allow capability value reporting based on an O-RU real configuration and condition, and not on all theoretical possible configuration combinations.

[0062] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be understood to enable a use case to report capability change due to HW fault or unpredictable and other O- RU conditions.

[0063] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be understood to simplify O-RU capability reporting for complicated capabilities. In comparison with static capacity reporting, semi-dynamic capacity reporting may be understood to be more suitable for complicated capacity, that may depend on several other parameters and feature activation status.

[0064] When an O-RU is in operation, the number of combination of related parameter values that may be configured may be understood to be much smaller than a combination of all possible values. For the example of delay profile capability, maybe only one bandwidth may be used for configured carriers on a radio, maybe only one PUSCH reordering method may be used for those DMRS-BF-EQ endpoints.

[0065] Instead of reporting all possible value combination of related parameter values, according to embodiments herein, an O-RU may update capability based on real configuration.

[0066] When those semi-dynamic capability values are changed, the O-RU may notify subscribers of capability changed notification about new capability value(s). Usage of a unified notification may also allow the O-DU to understand that a semi-dynamic capability may have changed, and simplify the O-DU and O-RU implementation that may be needed to support multiple notifications.

[0067] The protocol may be enhanced, as illustrated later with an example of ru-delay-profile reporting, where static capacity reporting and semi-static reporting may be used in combination according to embodiments herein. This method may ensure backward compatibility and to reduce further complicating delay related reporting by adding more capability related parameters.

[0068] Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in more detail by a number of exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

[0069] Figure 1 depicts two non-limiting examples, in panel a) and panel b), respectively, of a wireless network or communications network 100, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications system, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. The communications network 100 may support an O-RAN specification, e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization. The communications network 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, or Next Gen System. In other examples, the communications network 100 may be a newer system with similar functionality. In other examples, the communications network 100 may, e.g., in addition or alternatively, support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g., LTE for Machines (LTE-M), LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, such as LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced LAA (eLAA), further enhanced LAA (feLAA) and / or MulteFire. Yet in other examples, the communications network 100 may further support other technologies such as, for example Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network, GSM / Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network, network comprising any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as e.g. Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RAT base stations etc., any 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, WiFi networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or any cellular network or system. The communications network 100 may support Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), Internet of Things (loT) and / or Narrow Band loT (NB-loT). Thus, although terminology from 5G / NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system.

[0070] The communications network 100 may comprise a plurality of network nodes, whereof a first network node 111 and a second network node 112 are depicted in the non-limiting examples of Figure 1. Any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be a radio network node. That is, a transmission point such as a radio base station, for example a gNB, or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the communications network 100. The first network node 111 may be a distributed node, and may partially perform its functions in collaboration with the second network node 112. In some examples, such as that depicted in Figure 1 b, the second network node 112 may operate in a cloud 115. The first network node 111 may be an O-RU. The second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll or a node running a NETCONF client. Any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, e.g., to one or more network nodes in the one or more core networks.

[0071] The communications network 100 may cover a geographical area, which in some embodiments may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a radio network node, although, one radio network node may serve one or several cells. In the example of Figure 1 , the first network node 111 serves a cell 120. Any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro, home or pico, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. In some examples, the first network node 111 may serve receiving nodes with serving beams. Any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may support one or several communication technologies, and its name may depend on the technology and terminology used.

[0072] A plurality of devices may be located in the wireless communication network 100, whereof a device 130, is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 1. The device 130 comprised in the communications network 100 may be a wireless communication device such as a User Equipment (UE), e.g., 5G UE or nUE, which may also be known as e.g., mobile terminal, wireless terminal and / or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The device 130 may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or a vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, goggles, a sensor, loT device, NB-loT device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in a communications system. The device 130 comprised in the communications network 100 may be enabled to communicate wirelessly in the communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN, and possibly the one or more core networks, which may be comprised within the communications network 100.

[0073] The first network node 111 may be configured to communicate within the communications network 100 with the second network node 112 over a first link 141 , e.g., a wired link. The device 130 may be configured to communicate within the communications network 100 with the first network node 111 over a second link 142, e.g., a radio link.

[0074] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0075] In general, the usage of “first”, “second” and / or “third” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities, and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

[0076] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

[0077] More specifically, the following are embodiments related to a first network node, such as the first network node 111 , e.g., an O-RU, and embodiments related to a second network node, such as the second network node 112, e.g., an 0-Dll.

[0078] Some embodiments herein will now be further described with some non-limiting examples, which may be combined with the embodiments just described.

[0079] In the following description, any reference to a / the O-RU, or simply “0-Rll” may be understood to equally refer the first network node 111 ; any reference to a / the 0-Dll, or simply “0-Dll”, and / or a / the “NETCONF client” may be understood to equally refer to the second network node 112; any reference to a / the “O-RAN” may be understood to equally refer to the communications network 100.

[0080] Embodiments of a method, performed by a first network node, such as the first network node 111 , will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 2. The first network node is an Open Radio Unit (O-RU). The method is for handling capability information. The first network node 111 operates in a communications network, such as the communications network 100. The communications network 100 comprises an O-RAN.

[0081] The method may be understood to be computer-implemented.

[0082] The first network node 111 may be an 0-Rll.

[0083] In some embodiments, the communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0084] Several embodiments are comprised herein. The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In particular examples, the method comprises Action 201, yet in other examples, the method may comprise Action 201 and Action 205. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first network node 111 is depicted in Figure 2. In Figure 2 optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. In some embodiments, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted in Figure 2.

[0085] Action 201

[0086] In this Action 201 , the first network node 111 provides first information.

[0087] The providing in this Action 201 may be to the second network node 112 operating in the communications network 100. The second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll, a NETCONF client, or another network node.

[0088] The providing in this Action 201 may be, in some examples, sending, and may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0089] The first information is on one or more first capabilities of the first network node 111.

[0090] The first information may indicate one or more first values of the one or more first capabilities.

[0091] The first information may be, in some embodiments, to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111. That is, in such embodiments, the first information may be understood to be static information. Accordingly, in such embodiments, the providing of the first information in this Action may be understood to correspond to static capability reporting.

[0092] Some capability of the first network node 111 , that is, some 0-Rll capability, may be understood to have dependency to other parameters. Some capabilities may depend on activation status of several features. Some other capabilities may depend on other parameters and activation status of several features. For example, a capacity, cap1 , may have different values for different value combinations for a first parameter, par-a, a second parameter, par-b and a third parameter, par-c. Another capacity, cap2, may have different values for a first feature, FEAT-xx, a second feature, FEAT-yy and a third feature, FEAT-zz’s support status and activation status and par-c value. For each feature, the following conditions may need to be considered: is the feature supported, not supported, is the feature activated, deactivated. Cap3 may be impacted by some specific HW fault or other internal conditions of the first network node 111.

[0093] The providing in this Action 201 of the first information comprises refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node 111 , independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

[0094] As stated earlier, capability may be understood as the ability to provide a functionality, the ability to perform special processing, or a capacity related to a functionality.

[0095] A feature may be understood to represent an optional functionality that may be supported.

[0096] A parameter may be understood as a name of a specific configuration. It may be assigned with different values and the system may be understood to behave based on those values.

[0097] In some examples, static capability reporting may be used to cover the impact from parameters: BF methods, scs and bandwidth. The static delay profile capability with these parameters may be used as a baseline capability value set.

[0098] In some examples, after the first network node 111 , e.g., the 0-Rll, may start up, the first network node 111 may declare all supported static delay-profile capabilities which may be grouped by BF methods supported, scs and bandwidth. The second network node 112, e.g., the O-DU, may get the information by reading the data node value of the first network node 111 defined by an O-RAN YANG model. After the second network node 112 may obtain those capability values, in such examples, the second network node 112 may assume those capabilities may be static and may not be changed.

[0099] This static way of capability reporting may be suitable for functionality support capability and some simple capacity and limitations.

[0100] This Action 201 may be performed at start up of the first network node 111.

[0101] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise one or more of the following actions 202-206.

[0102] Action 202

[0103] For those capabilities that may be more complicated, which may depend on several other parameters and several optional feature activation statuses, using a static way for capability reporting may be understood to be cumbersome. In some embodiments, as will be described later, the first network node 111 may provide second information. The second information may indicate at least one of: one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111, previously unreported by the first network node 111 , e.g., one or more “new” capabilities, and further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities. Accordingly, the providing on the second information, in some examples, may be understood to correspond to a semi-dynamic capability reporting.

[0104] With respect to support of semi-dynamic capability functionality, support of a semidynamic capacity reporting method according to embodiments herein may be declared by a YANG feature or some other data node.

[0105] It may also be possible for the first network node 111 to report which capability parameters may be expected to be semi-dynamic. That is, those for whom their value may be changed.

[0106] In some embodiments, in this Action 202, the first network node 111 may provide a first indication.

[0107] The first indication may indicate which second information may be going to be provided after the first information to the second network node 112. The providing in this Action 202 may be understood to be to the second network node 112.

[0108] Instead of reporting all possible value combination of related parameter values, according to embodiments herein, the first network node 111 may update capability based on real configuration.

[0109] According to examples of embodiments herein, when those semi-dynamic capability values may be changed, the first network node 111 may notify subscribers of capability changed notification about new capability value(s). Usage of a unified notification may also allow the second network node 112 to understand that a semi-dynamic capability may have changed, and simplify the implementation of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 that may be needed to support multiple notifications.

[0110] Action 203

[0111] In this Action 203, the first network node 111 may obtain a second indication.

[0112] The obtaining of the second indication may be from the second network node 112, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0113] The second indication may indicate a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. That is, the second indication may indicate a subscription to receive notification of a change in, or new, one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. Different may be understood to be with respect to one or more first values of the one or more first capabilities, as indicated in the first information. The second network node 112, an 0-Dll and other NETCONF client(s), such as e.g., a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) node, may subscribe to capability change notifications in this Action 203. The second network node 112, e.g., the 0-Dll and other NETCONF client(s), e.g., SMO, may manage the first network node 111, e.g., an 0-Rll, based on the updated capability value(s). Such semi-dynamic capability may be stored on a data store of the first network node 111 using read-only parameter(s).

[0114] Action 204

[0115] In this Action 204, the first network node 111 may determine the different one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111.

[0116] Determining may be understood as calculating or deriving.

[0117] For example, it may be assumed that a certain capability, e.g., cap1 , may depend on parameters par-a, par-b and YANG feature FEAT-xx. Cap1 may be impacted by some HW fault or other conditions in the first network node 111.

[0118] Alternatively, when a value of either par-a, par-b or FEAT-xx activation status may be changed by configuration, the value of cap1 may be changed. For example, when the second network node 112 may configure dmrs-bf-used-reordering-method and / or dmrs-bf-allowed- DMRS-config, the read-only parameter dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta may be determined and set by the first network node 111. The second network node 112, a Netconf client 1, may send a configuration of related parameters or activation / deactivation of related features edit-config, other specific defined NETCONF Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs), upload config file etc

[0119] Or, if some specific HW fault happens, the value of cap1 may also be changed according to this Action 204. A HW fault may be detected or an internal condition of the first network node 111 may be changed according to Action 204.

[0120] Action 205

[0121] In this Action 205, the first network node 111 may provide second information.

[0122] The providing in this Action 205 may be, in some examples, sending, and may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0123] The providing in this Action 205 of the second information may be to the second network node 112.

[0124] The providing in this Action 205 of the second information may comprise at least one of sending and storing in a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112.

[0125] This static way of capability reporting may be suitable for functionality support capability and some simple capacity and limitations.

[0126] For those capabilities that may be more complicated, which may depend on several other parameters and several optional feature activation statuses, using a static way for capability reporting is cumbersome.

[0127] The providing in this Action 205 of the second information may be responsive to the obtained second indication.

[0128] The providing in Action 205 of the second information may be triggered by the determination in Action 204.

[0129] The second information may indicate at least one of the following options. According to one option, the second information may indicate one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111 , previously unreported by the first network node 111, e.g., one or more “new” capabilities.

[0130] According to another option, the second information may indicate further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities. The further information may be, for example a new value or one or more delta, or e.g., offset, values compared to baseline delay profile values, such as that provided in Action 201 by the first information. For example, the name dmrs-bf-used-reordering-method may be understood to be used as an example name for a parameter that may represent a reordering method configured to be used for DMRS-BF. The name dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta may be understood to be used as an example name for a parameter that may represent a capability delta of ta3-max to a baseline value reported for statically defined ta3-max for those endpoints for the carrier.

[0131] Any of the new value and a value resulting from the delta value may be a changed value. A value for semi-dynamic capability may be changed when related parameter(s) for the capability may be re-configured, or the related features may be activated or deactivated.

[0132] Accordingly, the providing on the second information in this Action 205 may be understood to correspond to a semi-dynamic capability reporting. As stated earlier, semidynamic reporting capacity may be understood to be delta, or e.g., offset, values compared to baseline delay profile values. Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be used in combination with static capability reporting. For example, if a capability has 5 related parameters, maybe static capability reporting, according to Action 201 , may cover the impact from 3 of those related parameters. Static reporting, according to Action 201, may be used as a capability baseline value. The capability value impact by the related parameters including the values of the 2 additional parameters may be presented as a delta value, also referred to herein as an offset value, to the baseline value and use the semi-dynamic capability reporting method described herein.

[0133] The further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of the following options.

[0134] According to a first option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability may have a previously reported dependency from. It may be understood that any dependency disclosed herein may not need to have been previously reported in an explicit manner, but may have also been reported implicitly, e.g., as part of a YANG model, or simply by having reported how values of one e.g., capability, vary when the values of another, e.g., feature, parameter, capability, status of any of them or condition, does.

[0135] According to a second option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have a previously reported dependency from.

[0136] According to a third option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, According to a fourth option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from.

[0137] According to a fifth option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features.

[0138] According to a sixth option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters.

[0139] According to a seventh option, the further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions. The one or more second conditions may comprise at least one of: a hardware fault at the first network node 111, and a changed internal condition at the first network node 111.

[0140] In some examples, at least one of the following options may apply.

[0141] According to one option, the second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll, a NETCONF client, or another network node.

[0142] According to another option, the providing in this Action 205 of the second information may comprise at least one of sending and storing in a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112.

[0143] According to another option, the first information may be to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111.

[0144] According to yet another option, the first information may be provided at an earlier time period than the providing in this Action 205 of the second information. According to an additional option, the earlier time period may be at start up of the first network node 111.

[0145] According to a further option, the one or more second conditions may comprise at least one of: a hardware fault at the first network node 111 , and a changed internal condition at the first network node 111.

[0146] According to yet a further option, the providing in this Action 205 of the second information may be performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node 111.

[0147] According to yet another option, the providing in this Action 205 of the second information may be performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split (O-LLS), protocol.

[0148] According to another option, the second information may indicate a configuration to be used by the second network node 112.

[0149] Action 206

[0150] In this Action 206, the first network node 111 may send a third indication.

[0151] The sending in this Action 206 of the third indication may be to the second network node 112.

[0152] The sending in this Action 206 of the third indication may be responsive to the obtained second indication.

[0153] When the value of a capability is changed, capability changed notifications may be sent to all subscribers.

[0154] One of the following may apply. According to one option, the third indication may comprise the second information. Notification may comprise an instance identifier for the capability and, optionally, an updated capability value. In case the notification may only comprise a semi-dynamic capability instance identifier, the second network node 112, e.g., the NETCONF clients, may also read the data store to get detailed updated values.

[0155] For example, when the second network node 112 may configure dmrs-bf-used- reordering-method and / or dmrs-bf--allowed-DMRS-config, the read-only parameter dmrs-bf- ta3-max-delta may be determined and set by the first network node 111. A notification of capability changed may be sent to the second network node 112 with the dmrs-bf-ta3-max- delta value.

[0156] According to another option, the third indication may indicate the second information may be retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112. Optionally, for a complex capability structure, the first network node 111 , e.g., O- RU, may choose to only send the instance identifier for the capability in the notification. Then, the second network node 112, e.g., a NETCONF client, may need to retrieve the changed capability value using the capability instance identifier. Using semi-dynamic capacity reporting according to embodiments herein, when a capability value may be changed due to related parameters being configured or reconfigured, and related features being activated or deactivated, a changed capacity value may be stored using read-only data node or data structure, and a capacity changed notification may be sent to notification subscribers. The second network node 112, e.g., an O-DU, may subscribe to receive this notification and obtain the changed value via notification or retrieve the updated capacity from the first network node 111 , e.g., an O-RU.

[0157] The semi-dynamic capability reporting method may be understood to be suitable for those more complicated capabilities that may depend on other parameters and other feature activation status.

[0158] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may also be used to update the client about the capability having changed course by HW fault or some O-RU internal condition of the first network node 111.

[0159] Semi-dynamic capability reporting according to embodiments herein may be used in combination with static capability reporting defined in M-plane.

[0160] By sending the third indication in this Action 206, the first network node 111 may then enable that anew capability value may be used by the second network node 112, e.g., the NETCONF client, for following Operation and Maintenance (O&M) operations and may also be used by Control User Synchronization (CUS)-plane operations.

[0161] An O-RU, such as the first network node 111 , that may support semi-dynamic capability reporting, may have support capability changed notification. It may be preferable that all semidynamic capabilities may use the same notification to update the change of capabilities.

[0162] Below is a non-limiting example of a notification, that is, the third indication, that may be used according to embodiments herein.

[0163] Notification may be used notification capability-changed-notif { leaf identifier { type string; description

[0164] "Identifies the capability which the value is changed.";

[0165] } leaf new-value{ type uint32; description

[0166] "Value of the capability which the value is changed. This leaf is used for simple capability } description

[0167] "Notification that indicates capability value is changed. For different type of capability, when those change are going to be applied can be found in the specification";

[0168] }

[0169] The above notification may be used for all semi-dynamic capabilities. In case a capability may be of a simple type, the new value may be part of notification. If the capability has a complex structure, then the second network node 112, e.g., the NETCONF client, may use the identifier to retrieve the new value of the capability.

[0170] Semi-dynamic reporting capacity may be understood to be delta, or e.g., offset, values compared to baseline delay profile values.

[0171] When a new semi-dynamic capability value may take effect may depend on the affected capability, the reported new value may take effect in a different occasion.

[0172] Some capabilities may take effect directly. Some may may take effect for a new transport session, some of them may take effect at a next carrier activation, etc.

[0173] When a new semi-dynamic capability value may take effect, it may need to be defined for each semi-dynamic capability separately.

[0174] O-RAN WG4 M-plane specification and CUS specification may need to be updated according to embodiments herein.

[0175] M-plane specification may need to be updated with a semi-dynamic capability reporting method according to embodiments herein, including notification used and later, for each capacity that may utilize semi-dynamic capacity reporting methods. CUS plane specification may need to define concrete usage of such capacity, for example, delay profile parameter delta reporting and how to use ta3-max-delta.

[0176] Instead of reporting all possible value combination of related parameter values, according to embodiments herein, in some examples, the first network node 111 may update capability based on real configuration.

[0177] A value for semi-dynamic capability may be changed when related parameter(s) for the capability may be re-configured, or the related features may be activated or deactivated.

[0178] When those semi-dynamic capability values are changed, the first network node 111 may notify subscribers of capability changed notification about new capability value(s). Usage of a unified notification may also allow the O-DU to understand that a semi-dynamic capability may have changed, and simplify the implementation of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112 that may be needed to support multiple notifications. Embodiments of a method performed by a second network node, such as the second network node 112, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 3. The method is for handling the capability information. The second network node 112 operates in a communications network, such as the communications network 100. The communications network 100 comprises the O-RAN.

[0179] The method may be understood to be computer-implemented.

[0180] In some embodiments, the communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0181] The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In a particular nonlimiting example, Action 301 is performed, in other examples, Action 305 may be also performed. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the second network node 112 is depicted in Figure 3. In Figure 3, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, the first information may be static information.

[0182] Action 301

[0183] In this Action 301 , the second network node 112 obtains the first information.

[0184] The obtaining in this Action 301 may be from first network node 111, directly or indirectly, from the read-only memory.

[0185] The obtaining in this Action 301 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0186] The first information is on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node 111 operating in the communications network 100.

[0187] The first network node 111 is an 0-Rll.

[0188] The first information lacks the complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node 111 , independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the complete set of values of parameters.

[0189] In some embodiments, the first information may be to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111.

[0190] In some embodiments, the method may further, or alternatively, comprise the following actions: Action 302

[0191] In this Action 302, the second network node 112 may obtain the first indication.

[0192] The obtaining of the first indication may be receiving from the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0193] The first indication may indicate which second information is to be obtained after the first information from the first network node 111.

[0194] Action 303

[0195] In this Action 303, the second network node 112 may send the second indication.

[0196] The sending of the second indication may be to the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0197] The second indication may indicate the subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. That is, the second indication may indicate the subscription to receive notification of the change in, or new, one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111.

[0198] Action 304

[0199] In this Action 304, the second network node 112 may receive the third indication.

[0200] The receiving of the third indication may be from the first network node 111, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0201] The receiving in this Action 304 of the third indication may be responsive to the sent second indication.

[0202] One of the following may apply: i) the third indication may comprise the second information, and ii) the third indication may indicate the second information may be retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112.

[0203] Action 305

[0204] In this Action 305, the second network node 112 may obtain the second information.

[0205] The obtaining in this Action 305 may be, e.g., extracting the second information from the third indication, or retrieving the second information from the memory.

[0206] The obtaining in this Action 305 may be from the first network node 111.

[0207] The obtaining in this Action 305 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0208] The second information may be different from the first information.

[0209] The second information may indicate at least one of: i) the one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111, previously unreported by the first network node 111, e.g., one or more “new” capabilities, and ii) the further information on the at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities.

[0210] The obtaining in this Action 305 of the second information may be responsive to the sent second indication.

[0211] The further information may comprise the one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) the first one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first features the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, b) the second one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, c) the change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, d) the change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, e) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second features, f) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second parameters, and g) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second conditions.

[0212] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: i) the second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll, a NETCONF client, or another network node, ii) the obtaining in this Action 305 of the second information may comprise at least one of receiving and retrieving from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112, iii) the first information may be to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111 , iv) the first information may be obtained at the earlier time period than the obtaining in this Action 305 of the second information, v) the earlier time period may be at start up of the first network node 111 , vi) the one or more second conditions may comprise at least one of: the hardware fault at the first network node 111 , and the changed internal condition at the first network node 111 , vii) the obtaining in this Action 305 of the second information may be performed responsive to the configuration of the first network node 111 , viii) the obtaining in this Action 305 of the second information may be performed according to the O-LLS, protocol, and ix) the second information may indicate the configuration to be used by the second network node 112.

[0213] Action 306

[0214] In this Action 306, the second network node 112 may initiate performing an action. Initiating performing the action may be understood as starting itself or triggering, enabling, or facilitating that itself or another node may perform the action.

[0215] The performing of the action may be applying the obtained second information. That is, in this Action 306, the second network node 112 may initiate using the obtained second information. In some embodiments, the action may comprise applying the obtained second information to operate towards the first network node 111 according to a value of the respective first capability. The value may be one of: indicated by the second information, and determined by the second network node 112 as a combination of the second information and the first information. For example, the second network node 112 may, according to Action 301 , search from previously obtained delay-capabilities and may find the baseline delay capabilities that may match a BF method DMRS-BF-EQ, scs=30KHz and bandwidth= 100MHz. The baseline value including the baseline value for ta3-max may also be obtained. When the first network node 111 may configure dmrs-bf-used-reordering-method and / or dmrs-bf--allowed-DMRS- config, the read-only parameter dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta may be determined according to Action 204 and set by the first network node 111. A notification of capability changed may be sent to the second network node 112 with the dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta value according to Action 206 and Action 305. For each low-level-rx-endpoint that uses DMRS-BF-EQ in a certain carrier, the second network node 112 may apply ta3-max=ta3-max(baseline)+ dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta according to this Action 306.

[0216] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating capacity parameter dependency. For example, in the diagram depicted in Figure 4, a first capability, cap1 , may have different values for different value combinations for a first parameter, par-a, a second parameter, par-b, and a third parameter, par-c. A second capability, cap2, may have different values for a first feature, FEAT-xx, a second feature, FEAT-yy and a third feature, FEAT-zz’s support status and activation status and par-c value. For each feature, the following conditions may need to be considered: is the feature supported, not supported, is the feature activated, deactivated. A third capability, cap3, may be impacted by some specific HW fault or other internal conditions of the first network node 111 , an 0-Rll.

[0217] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the combined usage of static and semidynamic capability reporting. Particularly, Figure 5 illustrates how according to embodiments herein, the first network node 111 may combine two capability reporting methods. Semidynamic capability reporting may be used together with a static capability reporting method. For example, if a capability, such as the capability cap 1 , as illustrated in the bottom of Figure 5, has 5 related parameters, a first parameter, par-a, a second parameter, par-b, a third parameter, par-c, a fourth parameter, par-d, and a fifth parameter, par-e. maybe static capability reporting may cover the impact from 3 of those related parameters. Static reporting may be used as a capability baseline value in accordance with Action 201. As depicted in the top of Figure 5, the first network node 111, may report the capability cap 1 baseline in dependency from par-a, par-b, and par-c, via static capability reporting, according to Action 201 to enable the second network node 112 to consider some of the impact parameters. The capability value impact by the related parameters including the values of the 2 additional parameters may be presented as a delta value, also referred to herein as an offset value, to the baseline value and use the semi-dynamic capability reporting method described herein according to Action 205 to enable the second network node 112 to consider additional impact parameters. According to Action 205, the first network node 111 may report the cap1 -offset in dependency from par-a, par-b, par-c, par-d and par-e. The combination of the cap1 baseline via static reporting and the cap1 offset via semi-dynamic reporting may constitute the delayprofile capability reporting.

[0218] Figure 6 is another schematic diagram illustrating the combined usage of static and semi-dynamic capability reporting, two capability reporting methods. Particularly, a nonlimiting example is given in Figure 6 for delay profile reporting for the first network node 111 being a 0-Rll that may support DMRS-BF. In the example of Figure 6, as illustrated in the bottom of Figure 6, delay-profile capability may depend on 5 parameters: scs, bandwidth, BF methods, allowed DMRS-configurations and reordering method. As depicted in the top of Figure 6, The last two parameters may be applicable only for endpoints using DMRS-BF. Static capability reporting according to Action 201 may be used to cover the impact from parameters: BF methods, scs and bandwidth. The static delay profile capability with these parameters may be used as a baseline capability value set. The semi-dynamic capability reporting method according to Action 205 and 206 of embodiments herein may be used to cover the impact to the delay-profile capability caused by the additional parameters: allowed DMRS-configurations and reordering method. Semi-dynamic reporting capacity may be understood to be delta, or e.g., offset, values compared to baseline delay profile values.

[0219] A non-limiting example of a semi-dynamic capability reporting sequence according to embodiments herein is illustrated in the sequence depicted in Figure 7. In such example, it may be assumed that capability cap1 depends on parameters par-a, par-b and YANG feature FEAT-xx. Cap1 may also be impacted by some HW fault or other conditions in the first network node 111 , an 0-Rll Netconf server in this example. Alternatively, when a value of either par-a, par-b or FEAT-xx activation status may be changed by configuration, the value of cap1 may be changed. This is depicted in Figure 7 as alternative 1 (alt 1), when the second network node 112, a Netconf client 1 , sends a configuration of related parameters or activation / deactivation of related features edit-config, RPC , upload config file etc at 701. Or, if some specific HW fault happens, the value of cap1 may also be changed according to Action 204. This is depicted in Figure 7 as alternative 2 (alt 2), when a HW fault may be detected or an internal condition of the first network node 111 may be changed according to Action 204. According to Action 205, the new value of cap1 may be presented using a read-only parameter by providing the second information. According to Action 206, when the value of cap1 is changed, capability changed notifications may be sent to all subscribers as the third indications. In this case, the subscribers are two second network nodes 112: Netconf client 1 and Netconf client x, who may receive the notification that the capability has changed by receiving the third indication according to Action 304. Notification may comprise an instance identifier for capability cap1 and, optionally, an updated capability value. Optionally, for a complex capability structure, the first network node 111 may choose to only send the instance identifier for the capability in the notification. Then, the second network node 112, e.g., a NETCONF client, may need to retrieve the changed capability value using the capability instance identifier, according to Action 305, if not in the notification. The second network nodes 112 may then, according to Action 306, use the new capability value.

[0220] Figure 8 is another schematic diagram that depicts another non-limiting example of embodiments herein, using carrier configuration, with 8 low-level-rx-endpoints 801 that may be configured to use DMRS-BF. Each low-level-rx-endpoint is depicted as a square shape. The non-limiting example depicted relates to delay capabilities related to a carrier. Assumed, that is, possible, parameter names may be understood to be provided in Figure 8. The name dmrs- bf--allowed-DMRS-config 802 may be understood to be used as an example name for a parameter that may represent DMRS-configuration allowed for endpoints using DMRS-BF. The name dmrs-bf-used-reordering-method 803 may be understood to be used as an example name for a parameter that may represent a reordering method configured to be used for DMRS-BF. The name dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta 804 may be understood to be used as an example name for a parameter that may represent a capability delta of ta3-max to a baseline value reported for statically defined ta3-max for those endpoints 801 for the carrier. For a specific rx-array-carrier 805, it may be assumed that all low-level-rx-endpoints 801 that may be configured to use DMRS-BF may have the same configuration for DMRS-configuration allowed 802, configured via M-plane, and reordering method 803. The impact of a delayprofile parameter value due to DMRS-configuration allowed and reordering method may be the same for those endpoints in an rx-array-carrier. So those three parameters may be defined on carrier level as part of rx-array-carrier 805. After the first network node 111 , in this example an 0-Rll, may start up, the first network node 111 may, according to Action 201, declare all supported static delay-profile capabilities which may be grouped by BF methods supported, scs and bandwidth. There may be reported ru-delay-profile capabilities, with one set of values per combination of scs,BF profile, bandwidth. The second network node 112, in this example an 0-Dll, may, according to Action 301 , get the information by reading the data node value of the first network node 111 defined by an O-RAN YANG model. After the second network node 112 may obtain those capability values, the second network node 112 may assume those capabilities may be static and may not be changed. When an rx-array- carrier 805 is created as in the diagram of Figure 8, the second network node 112 may know that bandwidth for this carrier may be defined by parameter channel-bandwidth=100MHz. The second network node 112 may know that for all endpoints that may be configured to use DMRS-BF, the parameter scs may have a value of 30KHz. The second network node 112 may, according to Action 301 , search from previously obtained delay-capabilities and may find the baseline delay capabilities that may match the BF method DMRS-BF-EQ, scs=30KHz and bandwidth= 100MHz. The baseline value including the baseline value for ta3-max may also be obtained. When the first network node 111 may configure dmrs-bf-used-reordering-method and / or dmrs-bf-allowed-DMRS-config, the read-only parameter dmrs-bf-ta3-max-delta may be determined according to Action 204 and set by the first network node 111 . A notification of capability changed may be sent to the second network node 112 with the dmrs-bf-ta3-max- delta value according to Action 206. For each low-level-rx-endpoint that uses DMRS-BF-EQ in this carrier, the second network node 112 may apply ta3-max=ta3-max(baseline)+ dmrs-bf- ta3-max-delta according to Action 306. The second network node 112 may further use those updated ta3-max values for endpoints using DMRS-BF in this carrier according to Action 306. For all other endpoints, the baseline value for delay profile may be applied

[0221] Certain embodiments disclosed herein may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s), which may be summarized as follows.

[0222] Embodiments herein, may be understood to enable to simplify capability reporting for the first network node 111 , e.g., 0-Rll capability reporting, for complicated capability that may depend on multiple other parameter values and may depend on activation status of related features.

[0223] Sometimes, it may not be feasible to use static capacity reporting since it may imply a need to exhaust a list of all possible related parameter allowed values, and all combination of related parameter values.

[0224] Currently, when such a capability may need to be introduced, a separate YANG structure may need to be defined to be able to store all those combination of related parameters. Different capability may use different YANG structure to store that information. Both the first network node 111 , e.g., 0-Rll, and the second network node 112, e.g., 0-Dll, may need to add code complexity to handle those new structures.

[0225] The first network node 111 may report those capabilities using a relatively uniformed pattern to avoid having to define a complicated structure for each such capability, avoiding to list all combinations of related parameter values associated with a large set of capability values and simply support use cases that may require such complicated capability. The second network node 112 may obtain the updated capability value using either notification and / or by reading readonly parameter values.

[0226] Combined usage of static capability reporting and semi-dynamic capacity reporting according to embodiments herein may be understood to enable a backward compatible way to introduce new features. Existing static capability reporting may remain and may be extended, according to embodiments herein, with semi-dynamic reporting when needed, to reduce further complex structure to be introduced to M-plane YANG model.

[0227] Figure 9 depicts an example of the arrangement that the first network node 111 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 2, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8. The first network node 111 is configured to be an Open Radio Unit (O-RU). The first network node 111 is for handling capability information. The first network node 111 is configured to operate in the communications network 100. The communications network 100 is configured to comprise an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN).

[0228] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the communications network 100 may be an O-RAN network.

[0229] In Figure 9, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

[0230] The first network node 111 is configured and / or operable to perform the providing in Action 201 , e.g. by means of a processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111 configured to, provide the first information on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node 111 to the second network node 112 configured to operate in the communications network 100. The providing of the first information is configured to comprise refraining from providing the complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node 111 , independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the a complete set of values of parameters.

[0231] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured with one or more of, that is, at least one of, the following configurations.

[0232] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the providing in Action 205, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111 configured to, provide the second information to the second network node 112. The second information may be configured to be different from the first information. The second information may be configured to indicate at least one of: i) the one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111 , previously unreported by the first network node 111, and ii) the further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities. The further information may be configured to comprise the one or more further values of the respective first capability.

[0233] In some embodiments, the further information may be configured to comprise the one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of the following: a) the first one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first features the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, b) the second one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, c) the change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, d) the change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, e) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second features, f) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second parameters, and g) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second conditions.

[0234] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: i) the second network node 112 may be configured to be an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), a NETCONF client, or another network node, ii) the providing of the second information may be configured to comprise at least one of sending and storing in the memory as read-only information configured to be retrievable by the second network node 112, iii) the first information may be configured to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111, iv) the first information may be configured to be provided at an earlier time period than the providing of the second information, v) the earlier time period may be configured to be at start up of the first network node 111 , vi) the one or more second conditions may be configured to comprise at least one of: a) the hardware fault at the first network node 111, and b) the changed internal condition at the first network node 111 , vi) the providing of the second information may be configured to be performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node 111, viii) the providing of the second information may be configured to be performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split (O-LLS) protocol, and ix) the second information may be configured to indicate a configuration to be used by the second network node 112.

[0235] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the providing in Action 202, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111 configured to, provide the first indication configured to indicate which second information may be to be provided after the first information to the second network node 112.

[0236] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform at least one of the following two configurations.

[0237] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in Action 203, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111 configured to, obtain the second indication from the second network node 112. The second indication may be configured to indicate the subscription to receive notification of different the one or more capability values configured to be supported at the first network node 111. The providing of the second information may be configured to be responsive to the second indication configured to be obtained.

[0238] The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the determining in Action 204, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111 configured to, determine the different one or more capability values configured to be supported at the first network node 111. The providing of the second information may be configured to be triggered by the determination.

[0239] The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the sending in Action 206, e.g. by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111 configured to, send, responsive to the second indication configured to be obtained, the third indication to the second network node 112. One of the following may apply. According to a first option, the third indication may be configured to comprise the second information. According to a second option, the third indication may be configured to indicate the second information may be retrievable from the memory as read-only information by the second network node 112.

[0240] The embodiments herein in the first network node 111 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 901 in the first network node 111 depicted in Figure 9, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the first network node 111. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the first network node 111.

[0241] The processing circuitry 901 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 2, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8.

[0242] The first network node 111 may further comprise a memory 902 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 902 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the first network node 111.

[0243] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may receive information from, e.g., the second network node 112, the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100, through a receiving port 903. In some embodiments, the receiving port 903 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in first network node 111. In other embodiments, the first network node 111 may receive information from another structure in the communications network 100 through the receiving port 903. Since the receiving port 903 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 901 , the receiving port 903 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 901. The receiving port 903 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0244] The processing circuitry 901 in the first network node 111 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the second network node 112, the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100, through a sending port 904, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 901 , and the memory 902.

[0245] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 901 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 901 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0246] The first network node 111 may be configured to perform any of the Actions described in relation to Figure 2, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the first network node 111, configured to perform any of such actions.

[0247] Also, in some embodiments, different units comprised within the first network node 111 may be configured to perform the different actions described above, implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 901.

[0248] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first network node 111 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 905 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 901 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 901 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 111. The computer program 905 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 906. The computer-readable storage medium 906, having stored there on the computer program 905, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 901 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 901 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 111. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 906 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 905 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 905 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 906, as described above.

[0249] The first network node 111 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the first network node 111 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the second network node 112, the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0250] In other embodiments, the first network node 111 may also comprise a radio circuitry 907, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 903 and the sending port 904. The radio circuitry 907 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the second network node 112, the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0251] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the first network node 111 comprising the processing circuitry 901 and the memory 902, said memory 902 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 901 , whereby the first network node 111 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the first network node 111 , e.g., in Figure 2, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8.

[0252] Figure 10 depicts an example of the arrangement that the second network node 112 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 3, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8. The second network node 112 is for handling capability information. The second network node 112 is configured to operate in the communications network 100. The communications network 100 is configured to comprise an Open Radio Access Network (O- RAN).

[0253] The second network node 112 may be configured to be an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU).

[0254] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the second network node 112 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, the communications network 100 may be an O-RAN network.

[0255] In Figure 10, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

[0256] The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in Action 301 , e.g., by means of a processing circuitry 1001 within the second network node 112 configured to, obtain the first information on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node 111 configured to operate in the communications network 100. The first network node 111 is configured to be an Open Radio Unit (O-RU). The first information is configured to lack the complete set of values of all capabilities configured to be supported at the first network node 111 , independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the complete set of values of parameters.

[0257] In some embodiments, the second network node 112 may be further configured with at least one of the following configurations.

[0258] The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in Action 305, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 1001 within the second network node 112 configured to, obtain the second information from the first network node 111. The second information may be configured to be different from the first information. The second information may be configured to indicate at least one of: i) the one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111 , previously unreported by the first network node 111 , and ii) the further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities. The further information may be configured to comprise the one or more further values of the respective first capability.

[0259] In some embodiments, the further information may be configured to comprise the one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of the following: a) the first one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first features the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, b) the second one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, c) the change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, d) the change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may be configured to have the previously reported dependency from, e) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second features, f) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second parameters, and g) the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second conditions.

[0260] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: i) the second network node 112 may be configured to be an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), a NETCONF client, or another network node, ii) the obtaining of the second information may be configured to comprise at least one of receiving and retrieving from the memory as read-only information configured to be retrievable by the second network node 112, iii) the first information may be configured to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111, iv) the first information may be configured to be obtained at an earlier time period than the obtaining of the second information, v) the earlier time period may be configured to be at start up of the first network node 111, vi) the one or more second conditions may be configured to comprise at least one of: a) the hardware fault at the first network node 111, and b) the changed internal condition at the first network node 111 , vii) the obtaining of the second information may be configured to be performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node 111, viii) the obtaining of the second information may be configured to be performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split (O-LLS) protocol, and ix) the second information may be configured to indicate a configuration to be used by the second network node 112.

[0261] The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in Action 302, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 1001 within the second network node 112 configured to, obtain the first indication configured to indicate which second information may be to be obtained after the first information from the first network node 111.

[0262] In some embodiments, the second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform at least one of the following two configurations.

[0263] The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the sending in Action 303, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 1001 within the second network node 112 configured to, send the second indication to the first network node 111. The second indication may be configured to indicate the subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values configured to be supported at the first network node 111. The obtaining of the second information may be configured to be responsive to the second indication configured to be sent.

[0264] The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the initiating in Action 306, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 1001 within the second network node 112 configured to, initiate performing the action applying the second information configured to be obtained.

[0265] In some embodiments, the action may be configured to comprise applying the second information configured to be obtained to operate towards the first network node 111 according to the value of the respective first capability. The value may be configured to be one of: indicated by the second information, and determined by the second network node 112 as the combination of the second information and the first information.

[0266] The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the receiving in this Action 304, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 1001 within the second network node 112 configured to, receive, responsive to the second indication configured to be sent, the third indication from the first network node 111. One of the following may apply: i) the third indication may be configured to comprise the second information, and ii) the third indication may be configured to indicate the second information may be retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112.

[0267] The embodiments herein in the second network node 112 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1001 in the second network node 112 depicted in Figure 10a, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the second network node 112. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the second network node 112.

[0268] The processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 3, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8.

[0269] The second network node 112 may further comprise a memory 1002 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1002 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the second network node 112.

[0270] In some embodiments, the second network node 112 may receive information from, e.g., the first network node 111 , the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100, through a receiving port 1003. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1003 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in second network node 112. In other embodiments, the second network node 112 may receive information from another structure in the communications network 100 through the receiving port 1003. Since the receiving port 1003 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1001 , the receiving port 1003 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1001. The receiving port 1003 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0271] The processing circuitry 1001 in the second network node 112 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first network node 111, the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100, through a sending port 1004, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1001 , and the memory 1002.

[0272] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1001 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1001, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0273] The second network node 112 may be configured to perform any of the Actions described in relation to Figure 3, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 901 within the second network node 112, configured to perform any of such actions.

[0274] Also, in some embodiments, different units comprised within the second network node 112 may be configured to perform the different actions described above, implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1001.

[0275] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second network node 112 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1005 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1001 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1001 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second network node 112. The computer program 1005 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1006. The computer-readable storage medium 1006, having stored thereon the computer program 1005, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1001 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1001 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second network node 112. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1006 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1005 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1005 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1006, as described above.

[0276] The second network node 112 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the second network node 112 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first network node 111, the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0277] In other embodiments, the second network node 112 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1007, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1003 and the sending port 1004. The radio circuitry 1007 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first network node 111 , the device 130, or another structure in the communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component. Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the second network node 112 comprising the processing circuitry 1001 and the memory 1002, said memory 1002 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1001 , whereby the second network node 112 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the second network node 112, e.g., in Figure 3, Figure 5 and / or any of Figures 6-8.

[0278] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0279] As used herein, the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “and” term, may be understood to mean that only one of the list of alternatives may apply, more than one of the list of alternatives may apply or all of the list of alternatives may apply. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “or” term.

[0280] EXAMPLES related to embodiments herein

[0281] The following are examples related to embodiments herein. Any of the features described in relation to Figures 1-10 may be combined with the actions of the examples related to embodiments herein, described in relation to Figures 11-12.

[0282] The first network node 111 examples relate to Figure 11 , Figure 4-Figure 8 and Figures 13-18.

[0283] A method, performed by a first network node, such as the first network node 111 is described herein. The method may be understood to be for capability information. The first network node 111 may be operating in a communications network, such as the communications network 100. The first network node 111 may be an 0-Rll.

[0284] In some examples, the communications network 100 may comprise, or be, an O-RAN.

[0285] In some examples, the communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0286] The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In particular examples, the method may comprise Action 201, in other examples, the method may comprise Action 205, yet in other examples, the method may comprise Action 201 and Action 205. In some examples, all the actions may be performed. One or more examples may be combined, where applicable. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary examples. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first network node 111 is depicted in Figure 11. In Figure 11 optional actions in some examples may be represented with dashed lines. In some examples, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 11. o Providing 201 first information. The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the providing in this Action 201.

[0287] The providing in this Action 201 may be to the second network node 112 operating in the communications network 100.

[0288] The providing in this Action 201 may be, in some examples, sending, and may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0289] The first information may be on one or more first capabilities of the first network node 111.

[0290] The first information may indicate one or more first values of the one or more first capabilities.

[0291] The first information may be to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111.

[0292] The providing in this Action 201 of the first information may comprise refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node 111 , e.g., independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

[0293] The first information may be understood to be static information.

[0294] The second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll, a NETCONF client, or another network node.

[0295] In some examples, the method may further comprise one or more of the following actions: o Providing 205 second information. The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the providing in this Action 205. The providing in this Action 205 may be, in some examples, sending, and may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0296] The providing in this Action 205 may be to the second network node 112.

[0297] The second information may be different from the first information.

[0298] The second information may indicate at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111, previously unreported by the first network node 111 , e.g., one or more “new” capabilities, and ii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities

[0299] The further information may comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability may have a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions.

[0300] In some examples, at least one of the following may apply:

[0301] - the second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll, a NETCONF client, or another network node,

[0302] - the providing in this Action 205 may comprise at least one of sending and storing in a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112,

[0303] - the first information may be provided at an earlier time period than the providing in this Action 205 of the second information, - the earlier time period may be at start up of the first network node 111,

[0304] - the one or more second conditions may comprise at least one of: i. a hardware fault at the first network node 111 , and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node 111,

[0305] - the providing in this Action 205 may be performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node 111,

[0306] - the providing in this Action 205 may be performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split (O-LLS), protocol, and

[0307] - the second information may indicate a configuration to be used by the first network node 111. o Providing 202 a first indication. The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the providing in this Action 202.

[0308] The first indication may indicate which second information may be going to be provided after the first information to the second network node 112.

[0309] The providing in this Action 202 may be understood to be to the second network node 112. o Obtaining 203 a second indication. The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in this Action 203.

[0310] The obtaining of the second indication may be from the second network node 112, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0311] The second indication may indicate a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. That is, the second indication may indicate a subscription to receive notification of a change in, or new, one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. Different may be understood to be with respect to one or more first values of the one or more first capabilities, as indicated in the first information.

[0312] The providing in Action 205 of the second information may be responsive to the obtained second indication. o Determining 204 the different one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the determining in this Action 204.

[0313] Determining may be understood as calculating or deriving.

[0314] The providing in Action 205 of the second information may be triggered by the determination in this Action 204. o Sending 206 a third indication. The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the sending in this Action 203. The sending in this Action 206 of the third indication may be to the second network node

[0315] 112.

[0316] The sending in this Action 206 of the third indication may be responsive to the obtained second indication.

[0317] One of the following may apply: i. the third indication may comprise the second indication, and ii. the third indication may indicate the second indication may be retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112.

[0318] In Figure 9, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

[0319] The first network node 111 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 9 or in Figure 18.

[0320] The second network node 112 examples relate to Figure 12, Figure 4-Figure 8 and Figures 13-18.

[0321] A method, performed by a second network node, such as the second network node 112 is described herein. The method may be understood to be for handling the capability information. The second network node 112 may be operating in a communications network, such as the communications network 100.

[0322] In some examples, the communications network 100 may comprise, or be, the O-RAN.

[0323] In some examples, the communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0324] The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In a particular nonlimiting example, Action 301 may be performed, in other examples, Action 305 may be performed. In some examples, all the actions may be performed. One or more examples may be combined, where applicable. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary examples. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the second network node 112 is depicted in Figure 12. In Figure 12, optional actions in some examples may be represented with dashed lines.

[0325] The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, the first information may be static information. o Obtaining 301 the first information. The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in this Action 301. The obtaining in this Action 301 may be from first network node 111, directly or indirectly, from the read-only memory.

[0326] The obtaining in this Action 301 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0327] The first information may be on the one or more first capabilities of the first network node 111 operating in the communications network 100.

[0328] The first information may be to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node 111.

[0329] The first network node 111 may be an 0-Rll.

[0330] The first information may lack the complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node 111 , independently or in dependency with the complete set of values of features and the complete set of values of parameters.

[0331] In some examples, the method may further, or alternatively, comprise the following actions: o Obtaining 305 the second information. The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in this Action 305.

[0332] The obtaining in this Action 305 may be from the first network node 111.

[0333] The obtaining in this Action 305 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0334] The second information may be different from the first information.

[0335] The second information may indicate at least one of: i. the one or more second capabilities of the first network node 111, previously unreported by the first network node 111, e.g., one or more “new” capabilities, and ii. the further information on the at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities.

[0336] The further information may comprise the one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: i. the first one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first features the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, ii. the second one or more unreported additional values of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, iii. the change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, iv. the change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability may have the previously reported dependency from, v. the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second features, vi. the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second parameters, and vii. the previously unreported dependency of the one or more second conditions.

[0337] In some examples, at least one of the following may apply:

[0338] - the second network node 112 may be an 0-Dll, a NETCONF client, or another network node,

[0339] - the obtaining in this Action 305 may comprise at least one of receiving and retrieving from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112,

[0340] - the first information may be obtained at the earlier time period than the obtaining in this Action 305 of the second information,

[0341] - the earlier time period may be at start up of the first network node 111,

[0342] - the one or more second conditions may comprise at least one of: i. the hardware fault at the first network node 111, and ii. the changed internal condition at the first network node 111,

[0343] - the obtaining in this Action 305 may be performed responsive to the configuration of the first network node 111,

[0344] - the obtaining in this Action 305 may be performed according to the O-LLS, protocol, and

[0345] - the second information may indicate the configuration to be used by the first network node 111. o Obtaining 302 the first indication. The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining in this Action 302.

[0346] The obtaining of the first indication may be receiving from the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0347] The first indication may indicate which second information is to be obtained after the first information from the first network node 111. o Sending 303 the second indication. The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the sending in this Action 303.

[0348] The sending of the second indication may be to the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0349] The second indication may indicate the subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111. That is, the second indication may indicate the subscription to receive notification of the change in, or new, one or more capability values supported at the first network node 111.

[0350] The obtaining in Action 305 of the second information may be responsive to the sent second indication. o Initiating 306 performing an action. The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the initiating in this Action 306.

[0351] Initiating performing the action may be understood as starting itself or triggering, enabling, or facilitating that itself or another node may perform the action.

[0352] The performing of the action may be applying the obtained second information. That is, in this Action 306, the second network node 112 may initiate using the obtained second information.

[0353] In some examples, the action may comprise applying the obtained second information to operate towards the first network node 111 according to a value of the respective first capability. The value may be one of:

[0354] - indicated by the second information, and

[0355] - determined by the second network node 112 as a combination of the second information and the first information. o Receiving 304 the third indication. The second network node 112 may be configured and / or operable to perform the receiving in this Action 304.

[0356] The receiving of the third indication may be from the first network node 111, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0357] The receiving in this Action 304 of the third indication may be responsive to the sent second indication.

[0358] One of the following may apply: i. the third indication may comprise the second indication, and ii. the third indication may indicate the second indication may be retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node 112.

[0359] In Figure 10, optional units are indicated with dashed boxes.

[0360] The second network node 112 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 10 or in Figure 18.

[0361] Selected examples related to examples herein

[0362] EXAMPLE 1. A method performed by a first network node (111), wherein the first network node (111) is an Open Radio Unit, O-RU, the method being for handling capability information, the first network node (111) operating in a communications network (100), wherein the communications network (100) comprises an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, and wherein the method comprises:

[0363] - providing (201) first information on one or more first capabilities of the first network node (111) to a second network node (112) operating in the communications network (100), wherein the first information is to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node (111), wherein the providing (201) of the first information comprises refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

[0364] EXAMPLE 2. The method according to example 1, further comprising:

[0365] - providing (205) second information to the second network node (112), wherein the second information is different from the first information, and wherein the second information indicates at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node (111), previously unreported by the first network node (111), and ii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities, the further information comprising one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions. EXAMPLE 3. The method according to example 2, wherein at least one of: the second network node (112) is an Open Distributed Unit, O-DU, a NETCONF client, or another network node,

[0366] - the providing (205) comprises at least one of sending and storing in a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112),

[0367] - the first information is provided at an earlier time period than the providing (205) of the second information,

[0368] - the earlier time period is at start up of the first network node (111),

[0369] - the one or more second conditions comprise at least one of: i. a hardware fault at the first network node (111), and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node (111),

[0370] - the providing (205) is performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node (111),

[0371] - the providing (205) is performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split, O-LLS, protocol, and

[0372] - the second information indicates a configuration to be used by the first network node (111).

[0373] EXAMPLE 4. The method according to any of examples 2-3, further comprising:

[0374] - providing (202) a first indication indicating which second information is to be provided after the first information to the second network node (112).

[0375] EXAMPLE 5. The method according to any of examples 2-4, further comprising at least one of:

[0376] - obtaining (203) a second indication from the second network node (112), the second indication indicating a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the providing (205) of the second information is responsive to the obtained second indication, and

[0377] - determining (204) the different one or more capability values supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the providing (205) of the second information is triggered by the determination.

[0378] EXAMPLE 6. The method according to example 3 and example 5, wherein the method further comprises: sending (206), responsive to the obtained second indication, a third indication to the second network node (112), wherein one of: i. the third indication comprises the second indication, and ii. the third indication indicates the second indication is retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112).

[0379] EXAMPLE 7. A method performed by a second network node (112), the method being for handling capability information, the second network node (112) operating in a communications network (100), wherein the communications network (100) comprises an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, and wherein the method comprises:

[0380] - obtaining (301) first information on one or more first capabilities of a first network node (111) operating in the communications network (100), wherein the first information is to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node (111), and wherein the first network node (111) is an Open Radio Unit, O-RU, wherein the first information lacks a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

[0381] EXAMPLE 8. The method according to example 7, further comprising:

[0382] - obtaining (305) second information from the first network node (111), wherein the second information is different from the first information, and wherein the second information indicates at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node (111), previously unreported by the first network node (111), and ii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities, the further information comprising one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions.

[0383] EXAMPLE 9. The method according to example 8, wherein at least one of:

[0384] - the second network node (112) is an Open Distributed Unit, O-DU, a NETCONF client, or another network node,

[0385] - the obtaining (305) comprises at least one of receiving and retrieving from a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112),

[0386] - the first information is obtained at an earlier time period than the obtaining (305) of the second information,

[0387] - the earlier time period is at start up of the first network node (111),

[0388] - the one or more second conditions comprise at least one of: i. a hardware fault at the first network node (111), and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node (111),

[0389] - the obtaining (305) is performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node (111),

[0390] - the obtaining (305) is performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split, O-LLS, protocol, and

[0391] - the second information indicates a configuration to be used by the first network node (111).

[0392] EXAMPLE 10. The method according to any of examples 8-9, further comprising:

[0393] - obtaining (302) a first indication indicating which second information is to be obtained after the first information from the first network node (111).

[0394] EXAMPLE 11. The method according to any of examples 8-10, further comprising at least one of:

[0395] - sending (303) a second indication to the first network node (111), the second indication indicating a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the obtaining (305) of the second information is responsive to the sent second indication, and

[0396] - initiating (306) performing an action applying the obtained second information. EXAMPLE 12. The method according to example 11 , wherein the action comprises applying the obtained second information to operate towards the first network node (111) according to a value of the respective first capability, wherein the value is one of:

[0397] - indicated by the second information, and

[0398] - determined by the second network node (112) as a combination of the second information and the first information.

[0399] EXAMPLE 13. The method according to example 9 and any of examples 11-12, wherein the method further comprises:

[0400] - receiving (304), responsive to the sent second indication, a third indication from the first network node (111), wherein one of: i. the third indication comprises the second indication, and ii. the third indication indicates the second indication is retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112).

[0401] Figure 11 is a flowchart depicting a method performed by the first network node 111, according to a non-limiting example associated to embodiments herein. The actions depicted correspond to those described in Figure 2. In Figure 11 , optional actions are represented with dashed lines. In some examples, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 11. The method may comprise one or more of the actions. In some examples, Action 205 may be performed. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed.

[0402] Figure 12 is a flowchart depicting a method performed by the second network node 112, according to a non-limiting example associated to embodiments herein. The actions depicted correspond to those described in Figure 3. In Figure 12, optional actions are represented with dashed lines. In some examples, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 12. The method may comprise one or more of the actions. In some examples, Action 305 may be performed. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed.

[0403] Further Extensions And Variations Figure 13 shows an example of a communication system 1300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0404] In the example, the communication system 1300, such as the communications network 100, includes a telecommunication network 1302 that includes an access network 1304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1306, which includes one or more core network nodes 1308. The access network 1304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112. For example, network nodes 1310a and 1310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1310), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1302 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 1302, including one or more network nodes 1310 and / or core network nodes 1308.

[0405] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O- Cll 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 O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, and 1312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1312) to the core network 1306 over one or more wireless connections. Any of the UEs 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, and 1312d are examples of the device 130. 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 1300 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 1300 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0406] The device 130, exemplified in Figure 13 as the UEs 1312 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the first network node 111 , exemplified in Figure 13 as network nodes 1310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1310 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1312 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1302 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 1302.

[0407] In the depicted example, the core network 1306 connects the network nodes 1310 to one or more hosts, such as host 1316. 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 1306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308) 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 1308. 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 Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0408] The host 1316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1304 and / or the telecommunication network 1302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1316 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.

[0409] As a whole, the communication system 1300 of Figure 13 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.

[0410] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1302. For example, the telecommunications network 1302 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.

[0411] In some examples, the UEs 1312 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 1304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1304. 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).

[0412] In the example, the hub 1314 communicates with the access network 1304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1312c and / or 1312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1310b). In some examples, the hub 1314 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1314 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 1310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1314. As another example, the hub 1314 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 1314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0413] The hub 1314 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1310b. The hub 1314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1314 and UEs (e.g., UE 1312c and / or 1312d), and between the hub 1314 and the core network 1306. In other examples, the hub 1314 is connected to the core network 1306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1304 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1310 while still connected via the hub 1314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1314 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 1310b. In other embodiments, the hub 1314 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0414] Figure 14 shows a UE 1400 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.

[0415] 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).

[0416] The UE 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a power source 1408, a memory 1410, a communication interface 1412, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 14. 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.

[0417] The processing circuitry 1402 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 1410. The processing circuitry 1402 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 1402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0418] In the example, the input / output interface 1406 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 1400. 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.

[0419] In some embodiments, the power source 1408 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 1408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1408 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1400 to which power is supplied.

[0420] The memory 1410 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 1410 includes one or more application programs 1414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1416. The memory 1410 may store, for use by the UE 1400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0421] The memory 1410 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 and / or ISIM, 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 1410 may allow the UE 1400 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 1410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0422] The processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1412. The communication interface 1412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1422. The communication interface 1412 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 1418 and / or a receiver 1420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1418 and receiver 1420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0423] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1412 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0424] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1412, 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).

[0425] 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.

[0426] 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 1400 shown in Figure 14.

[0427] 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.

[0428] 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.

[0429] Figure 15 shows a network node 1500 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).

[0430] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0431] 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).

[0432] The network node 1500 includes a processing circuitry 1502, a memory 1504, a communication interface 1506, and a power source 1508. The network node 1500 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 1500 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 1500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1500, 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 1500.

[0433] The processing circuitry 1502 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 1500 components, such as the memory 1504, to provide network node 1500 functionality.

[0434] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 includes a system on a chip (SOO). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and the baseband processing circuitry 1514 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 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0435] The memory 1504 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 1502. The memory 1504 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 1502 and utilized by the network node 1500. The memory 1504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 and memory 1504 is integrated.

[0436] The communication interface 1506 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 1506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1510. Radio front-end circuitry 1518 comprises filters 1520 and amplifiers 1522. The radio front-end circuitry 1518 may be connected to an antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front-end circuitry 1518 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 1518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1520 and / or amplifiers 1522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0437] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1518, instead, the processing circuitry 1502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1512 is part of the communication interface 1506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1506 includes one or more ports or terminals 1516, the radio front- end circuitry 1518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0438] The antenna 1510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1510 is separate from the network node 1500 and connectable to the network node 1500 through an interface or port.

[0439] The antenna 1510, communication interface 1506, and / or the processing circuitry 1502 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 1510, the communication interface 1506, and / or the processing circuitry 1502 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.

[0440] The power source 1508 provides power to the various components of network node 1500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1500 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 1508. As a further example, the power source 1508 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.

[0441] Embodiments of the network node 1500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 15 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 1500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1500 and to allow output of information from the network node 1500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1500.

[0442] Figure 16 is a block diagram of a host 1600, which may be an embodiment of the host 1316 of Figure 13, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1600 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 1600 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0443] The host 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1604 to an input / output interface 1606, a network interface 1608, a power source 1610, and a memory 1612. 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 14 and 15, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1600.

[0444] The memory 1612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1614 and data 1616, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1600 or data generated by the host 1600 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1600 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAG, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1614 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 1600 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1614 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.

[0445] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1700 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 1700 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 1700 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0446] Applications 1702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0447] Hardware 1704 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 1706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1708a and 1708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1708), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1708.

[0448] The VMs 1708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1708, 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.

[0449] In the context of NFV, a VM 1708 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 1708, and that part of hardware 1704 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 1708 on top of the hardware 1704 and corresponds to the application 1702.

[0450] Hardware 1704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1704 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 1710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1702. In some embodiments, hardware 1704 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 1712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0451] Figure 18 shows a communication diagram of a host 1802 communicating via a network node 1804 with a UE 1806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1312a of Figure 13 and / or UE 1400 of Figure 14), network node (such as network node 1310a of Figure 13 and / or network node 1500 of Figure 15), and host (such as host 1316 of Figure 13 and / or host 1600 of Figure 16) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 18.

[0452] Like host 1600, embodiments of host 1802 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1802 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1802 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 1806 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1850 extending between the UE 1806 and host 1802. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1850.

[0453] The network node 1804 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1802 and UE 1806. The connection 1860 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1306 of Figure 13) 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.

[0454] The UE 1806 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1806 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 1806 with the support of the host 1802. In the host 1802, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1850 terminating at the UE 1806 and host 1802. 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 1850 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 1850.

[0455] The OTT connection 1850 may extend via a connection 1860 between the host 1802 and the network node 1804 and via a wireless connection 1870 between the network node 1804 and the UE 1806 to provide the connection between the host 1802 and the UE 1806. The connection 1860 and wireless connection 1870, over which the OTT connection 1850 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1802 and the UE 1806 via the network node 1804, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0456] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1850, in step 1808, the host 1802 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 1806. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1806 that shares data with the host 1802 without explicit human interaction. In step 1810, the host 1802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1806. The host 1802 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1806. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1806 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1806. The transmission may pass via the network node 1804, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1812, the network node 1804 transmits to the UE 1806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1802 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1814, the UE 1806 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1806 associated with the host application executed by the host 1802.

[0457] In some examples, the UE 1806 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1802. Accordingly, in step 1816, the UE 1806 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 1806. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1806 initiates, in step 1818, transmission of the user data towards the host 1802 via the network node 1804. In step 1820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1804 receives user data from the UE 1806 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1802. In step 1822, the host 1802 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1806.

[0458] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1806 using the OTT connection 1850, in which the wireless connection 1870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve data rate, latency, power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and extended battery lifetime. In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1802. As another example, the host 1802 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1802 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1802 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1802 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 1802 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.

[0459] 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 1850 between the host 1802 and UE 1806, 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 1802 and / or UE 1806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1850 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 1850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1804. 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 1802. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1850 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0460] 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.

[0461] 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.

[0462] The first network node 111 embodiments relate to Figure 2, Figure 4-Figure 8 and Figures 13-18.

[0463] The first network node 111 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 9 or in Figure 18.

[0464] The second network node 112 embodiments relate to Figure 3, Figure 4-Figure 8 and Figures 13-18.

[0465] The second network node 112 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 10 or in Figure 18.

[0466] Further numbered embodiments

[0467] 1. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112.

[0468] 2. The host of the previous embodiment, 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.

[0469] 3. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112.

[0470] 4. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0471] 5. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, 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.

[0472] 6. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112. 7. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and / or the user equipment.

[0473] 8. The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing 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.

[0474] 9. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112.

[0475] 10. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing 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.

[0476] 11. The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0477] 12. 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 one or more of the actions described herein as performed by any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112.

[0478] 13. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host. 14. 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 cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the device 130.

[0479] 15. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

[0480] 16. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing 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.

[0481] 17. A method implemented by a host operating 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 UE performs one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the device 130.

[0482] 18. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0483] 19. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application. 20. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to utilize user data; and a network interface configured to receipt of transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the device 130.

[0484] 21 . The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0485] 22. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing 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.

[0486] 23. 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, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs one or more of the actions described herein as performed by the device 130.

[0487] 24. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0488] 25. The method of the previous embodiments, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0489] REFERENCE

[0490] 1. Management Plane Specification”, O-RAN WG4,v13.00,2023. 2. “Control, User and Synchronization Plane Specification”, O-RAN WG4, v13.00, 2023.

[0491] 3. “Base Station (BS) radio transmission and reception”, 3GPP TS 38.104, v. 18.3.0.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method performed by a first network node (111), wherein the first network node (111) is an Open Radio Unit, O-RU, the method being for handling capability information, the first network node (111) operating in a communications network (100), wherein the communications network (100) comprises an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, and wherein the method comprises:- providing (201) first information on one or more first capabilities of the first network node (111) to a second network node (112) operating in the communications network (100), wherein the providing (201) of the first information comprises refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:- providing (205) second information to the second network node (112), wherein the second information is different from the first information, and wherein the second information indicates at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node (111), previously unreported by the first network node (111), and ii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities wherein the further information comprises one or more further values of the respective first capability.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the further information comprises one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from,d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein at least one of:- the second network node (112) is an Open Distributed Unit, O-DU, a NETCONF client, or another network node,- the providing (205) of the second information comprises at least one of sending and storing in a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112),- the first information is to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node (111),- the first information is provided at an earlier time period than the providing (205) of the second information,- the earlier time period is at start up of the first network node (111),- the one or more second conditions comprise at least one of: i. a hardware fault at the first network node (111), and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node (111),- the providing (205) of the second information is performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node (111),- the providing (205) of the second information is performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split, O-LLS, protocol, and- the second information indicates a configuration to be used by the second network node (112).

5. The method according to any of claims 2-4, further comprising:- providing (202) a first indication indicating which second information is to be provided after the first information to the second network node (112).

6. The method according to any of claims 2-5, further comprising at least one of:- obtaining (203) a second indication from the second network node (112), the second indication indicating a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the providing (205) of the second information is responsive to the obtained second indication, and- determining (204) the different one or more capability values supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the providing (205) of the second information is triggered by the determination.

7. The method according to claim 4 and claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:- sending (206), responsive to the obtained second indication, a third indication to the second network node (112), wherein one of: i. the third indication comprises the second information, and ii. the third indication indicates the second information is retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112).

8. A method performed by a second network node (112), the method being for handling capability information, the second network node (112) operating in a communications network (100), wherein the communications network (100) comprises an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, and wherein the method comprises:- obtaining (301) first information on one or more first capabilities of a first network node (111) operating in the communications network (100), and wherein the first network node (111) is an Open Radio Unit, O-RU, wherein the first information lacks a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:- obtaining (305) second information from the first network node (111), wherein the second information is different from the first information, and wherein the second information indicates at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node (111), previously unreported by the first network node (111), andii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities, the further information comprising one or more further values of the respective first capability.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the further information comprises one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability has a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability has the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein at least one of:- the second network node (112) is an Open Distributed Unit, O-DU, a NETCONF client, or another network node,- the obtaining of the second information (305) comprises at least one of receiving and retrieving from a memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112),- the first information is to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node (111),- the first information is obtained at an earlier time period than the obtaining (305) of the second information,- the earlier time period is at start up of the first network node (111),- the one or more second conditions comprise at least one of:i. a hardware fault at the first network node (111), and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node (111),- the obtaining (305) of the second information is performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node (111),- the obtaining (305) of the second information is performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split, O-LLS, protocol, and- the second information indicates a configuration to be used by the first network node (111).

12. The method according to any of claims 9-11, further comprising:- obtaining (302) a first indication indicating which second information is to be obtained after the first information from the first network node (111).

13. The method according to any of claims 9-12, further comprising at least one of:- sending (303) a second indication to the first network node (111), the second indication indicating a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the obtaining (305) of the second information is responsive to the sent second indication, and- initiating (306) performing an action applying the obtained second information.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the action comprises applying the obtained second information to operate towards the first network node (111) according to a value of the respective first capability, wherein the value is one of:- indicated by the second information, and- determined by the second network node (112) as a combination of the second information and the first information.

15. The method according to claim 11 and any of claims 13-14, wherein the method further comprises:- receiving (304), responsive to the sent second indication, a third indication from the first network node (111), wherein one of: i. the third indication comprises the second information, and ii. the third indication indicates the second information is retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112).

16. A first network node (111), configured to be an Open Radio Unit, O-RU, the first network node (111) being for handling capability information, the first network node (111) being configured to operate in a communications network (100), wherein the communications network (100) is configured to comprise an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, and wherein the first network node (111) is further configured to:- provide first information on one or more first capabilities of the first network node (111) to a second network node (112) configured to operate in the communications network (100), wherein the providing of the first information is configured to comprise refraining from providing a complete set of values of all capabilities supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

17. The first network node (111) according to claim 16, being further configured to:- provide second information to the second network node (112), wherein the second information is configured to be different from the first information, and wherein the second information is configured to indicate at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node (111), previously unreported by the first network node (111), and ii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities, wherein the further information is configured to comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability.

18. The first network node (111) according to claim 17, wherein the further information is configured to comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability is configured to have a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability is configured to have a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability is configured to have the previously reported dependency from,d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability is configured to have the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions.

19. The first network node (111) according to claim 18, wherein at least one of:- the second network node (112) is configured to be an Open Distributed Unit, O- DU, a NETCONF client, or another network node,- the providing of the second information is configured to comprise at least one of sending and storing in a memory as read-only information configured to be retrievable by the second network node (112),- the first information is configured to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node (111),- the first information is configured to be provided at an earlier time period than the providing of the second information,- the earlier time period is configured to be at start up of the first network node (111),- the one or more second conditions are configured to comprise at least one of: i. a hardware fault at the first network node (111), and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node (111),- the providing of the second information is configured to be performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node (111),- the providing of the second information is configured to be performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split, O-LLS, protocol, and- the second information is configured to indicate a configuration to be used by the second network node (112).

20. The first network node (111) according to any of claims 17-19, being further configured to: provide a first indication configured to indicate which second information is to be provided after the first information to the second network node (112).

21. The first network node (111) according to any of claims 17-20, being further configured to at least one of:- obtain a second indication from the second network node (112), the second indication being configured to indicate a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values configured to be supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the providing of the second information is configured to be responsive to the second indication configured to be obtained, and- determine the different one or more capability values configured to be supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the providing of the second information is configured to be triggered by the determination.

22. The first network node (111) according to claim 19 and claim 21 , wherein the first network node (111) is further configured to:- send, responsive to the second indication configured to be obtained, a third indication to the second network node (112), wherein one of: i. the third indication is configured to comprise the second information, and ii. the third indication is configured to indicate the second information is retrievable from the memory as read-only information by the second network node (112).

23. A second network node (112), for handling capability information, the second network node (112) being configured to operate in a communications network (100), wherein the communications network (100) is configured to comprise an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, and wherein the second network node (112) is further configured to:- obtain first information on one or more first capabilities of a first network node (111) configured to operate in the communications network (100), and wherein the first network node (111) is configured to be an Open Radio Unit, O-RU, wherein the first information is configured to lack a complete set of values of all capabilities configured to be supported at the first network node (111), independently or in dependency with a complete set of values of features and a complete set of values of parameters.

24. The second network node (112) according to claim 23, being further configured to:- obtain second information from the first network node (111), wherein the second information is configured to be different from the first information, and wherein the second information is configured to indicate at least one of: i. one or more second capabilities of the first network node (111), previously unreported by the first network node (111), and ii. further information on at least one respective first capability, of the one or more first capabilities, the further information being configured to comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability.

25. The second network node (112) according to claim 24, wherein the further information is configured to comprise one or more further values of the respective first capability, based on at least one of: a) first one or more unreported additional values of one or more first features the respective first capability is configured to have a previously reported dependency from, b) second one or more unreported additional values of one or more first parameters the respective first capability is configured to have a previously reported dependency from, c) a change of status of the one or more first features the respective first capability is configured to have the previously reported dependency from, d) a change of status of the one or more first parameters the respective first capability is configured to have the previously reported dependency from, e) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second features, f) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second parameters, and g) a previously unreported dependency of one or more second conditions.

26. The second network node (112) according to claim 25, wherein at least one of:- the second network node (112) is configured to be an Open Distributed Unit, O- DU, a NETCONF client, or another network node,- the obtaining of the second information is configured to comprise at least one of receiving and retrieving from a memory as read-only information configured to be retrievable by the second network node (112),- the first information is configured to remain unchanged during the operation of the first network node (111),- the first information is configured to be obtained at an earlier time period than the obtaining of the second information,- the earlier time period is configured to be at start up of the first network node (111),- the one or more second conditions are configured to comprise at least one of: i. a hardware fault at the first network node (111), and ii. a changed internal condition at the first network node (111),- the obtaining is configured to be performed responsive to a configuration of the first network node (111),- the obtaining is configured to be performed according to an Open Lower Layer Split, O-LLS, protocol, and- the second information is configured to indicate a configuration to be used by the second network node (112).

27. The second network node (112) according to any of claims 24-26, being further configured to:- obtain a first indication configured to indicate which second information is to be obtained after the first information from the first network node (111).

28. The second network node (112) according to any of claims 24-27, being further configured to at least one of:- send a second indication to the first network node (111), the second indication being configured to indicate a subscription to receive notification of different one or more capability values configured to be supported at the first network node (111), and wherein the obtaining of the second information is configured to be responsive to the second indication configured to be sent, and- initiate performing an action applying the second information configured to be obtained.

29. The second network node (112) according to claim 28, wherein the action is configured to comprise applying the second information configured to be obtained to operate towards the first network node (111) according to a value of the respective first capability, wherein the value is configured to be one of: - indicated by the second information, and- determined by the second network node (112) as a combination of the second information and the first information.

30. The second network node (112) according to claim 26 and any of claims 28-29, wherein the second network node (112) is further configured to:- receive, responsive to the second indication configured to be sent, a third indication from the first network node (111), wherein one of: i. the third indication is configured to comprise the second information, and ii. the third indication is configured to indicate the second information is retrievable from the memory as read-only information retrievable by the second network node (112).

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