Configuring synchronization signal block on demand

Abstract

Methods in a network are disclosed for supporting on-demand SSB transmission. A wireless device receives, from the network, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB), and sends a request for on-demand SSB in accordance with the received configuration. A network node receives, from the wireless device, the request for on-demand SSB, and transmits the SSB in accordance with the received request.

Description

CONFIGURING SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL BLOCK ON DEMANDTechnical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to configuring Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) on demand.Background

[0002] Energy consumption is a considerable challenge of fifth generation (5G) systems today where a major contributor to the energy consumption is the radio unit of the radio access network (RAN) system. The network power consumption for New Radio (NR) is said to be less compared to Long Term Evolution (LTE) because of its lean design, i.e., no cell reference signal (CRS) and the synchronization signal block (SSB) periodicity is by default 20 ms. However, NR in the current implementation might consume more energy compared to LTE, partly due to higher bandwidths, shorter transmission time intervals (TTIs) and massive number of antennas. This is still evident even at times when cells and beams are lightly loaded or serve no traffic or no users at all. To enable an energy efficient network, Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) initiated a study item (SI) on Network energy savings in NR, which was concluded with the outcome captured in TR 38.864.

[0003] Following the SI phase, the first work item (WI) on network energy savings (NES) for NR was specified in Rel-18 (RP-223540). For Release-19, a new work item description (WID): Enhancements of network energy savings for NR has been approved.

[0004] The objectives of the Rel-19 work item include the following. One objective is to specify procedures and signaling method(s) to support on-demand SSB SCell operation for user equipment (UEs) in connected mode configured with carrier aggregation (CA), for both intra- / inter-band CA.

[0005] Another objective is to specify triggering method(s) (select from UE uplink wake-up-signal using an existing signal / channel, cell on / off indication via backhaul,Scell activation / deactivation signaling). On-demand SSB transmission can be used by UE for at least SCell time / frequency synchronization, L1 / L3 measurements and SCell activation, and is supported for FR1 and FR2 in non-shared spectrum.

[0006] Another objective is to study procedures and signaling method(s) to support on-demand SIB1 for UEs in idle / inactive mode, including triggering method by uplink wake-up-signal using an existing signal / channel and wake-up-signal configuration provisioning to UE.

[0007] Another study item is information exchange between gNBs at least for the configuration of wake-up signal, if necessary.

[0008] One objective is to specify adaptation of common signal / channel transmissions, such as adaptation of SSB in time domain, e.g. adapting periodicity and adaptation of physical random access channel (PRACH) in time domain.

[0009] Another study item is adaptation of PRACH in spatial domain, e.g. non- uniform PRACH resources per SSB.

[0010] Another study item is adaptation of paging occasions including confining the paging occasions in the time domain.

[0011] Carrier Aggregation is generally used in NR (5G) and LTE systems to improve UE transmit receive data rate. With carrier aggregation (CA), the UE typically operates initially on single serving cell called a primary cell (PCell). The PCell is operated on a primary component carrier (PCC) in a frequency band. The UE is then configured by the network with one or more secondary serving cells (SCell(s)). Each SCell can correspond to a component carrier (CC) in the same frequency band (intraband CA) or different frequency band (inter-band CA) from the frequency band of the CC corresponding to the PCell. When the SCells are added by the Network (NW) node (e.g., serving base station), typically they will be in deactivated state for UE power saving purposes. Whenever there is a need for more data transmission to the UE, the network node can activate the SCells for the UE. When the data demand is reduced, to save UE power, the activated SCell(s) can also be deactivated by the network node.SCell activation / deactivation can be performed by the network as needed. The network performs SCell activation or deactivation using a SCell activation / deactivation medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) command.

[0012] Typically, the SCell activation procedure can take anywhere between a minimum activation delay (on order of a few milliseconds) and up to multiple 10’s or 100’s of milliseconds. Upon reception of an SCell activation command (e.g., via a MAC CE), a UE starts the activation procedure for the corresponding SCell, where in the activation delay includes a component related to a delay to receive first SSB after the slot in which the ACK is transmitted (in response to reception SCell activation MAC CE command). The activation procedure is assumed to be complete (i.e., the SCell is considered activated) when UE send a valid CSI report for the SCell. When a SCell is activated, it shall be able to receive data (e.g. PDSCH) from the NW node on that SCell.

[0013] The UE is supposed to complete the activation procedure based on certain minimum delay requirements specified in the 3GPP specifications TS 38.133 vl8.10. 3GPP specified many scenarios for which different delay requirements are applicable. SCell activation timeline contains, UE acquiring all or subset of following procedures such as cell search, automatic gain control (AGC) settling (may typically require one or two samples), fine timing, etc. The UE performs these procedures by using the reference signals such as SSB. 3GPP defined SCell activation requirements for two scenario such as the to be activated SCell is known and the to be activated SCell is unknown. If the SCell is known, delay required by the UE to activate the SCell is shorter and if the SCell is not known, delay required by the UE to activate the SCell is longer as the UE need to know the beams transmitted by SCell by performing receiver beam sweeping in all directions. SCell activation delay for FR1 and FR2 varies as the UE need not acquire beam information for FR1 scenario.

[0014] Prior to Rel-18 of the specifications it was only possible in NR to configure an SCell without SSB for intra-band case. For example, in 38.331 V17.10.0 clause6.3.2, such configuration is provided by the FrequencylnfoDL information element (IE) as follows:FrequencylnfoDLThe IE FrequencylnfoDL provides basic parameters of a downlink carrier and transmission thereon.FrequencylnfoDL information element— ASN1 START— TAG- FREQUENCYINFODL- STARTFrequencylnfoDL : := SEQUENCE { absoluteFrequencySSB ARFCN-ValueNROPTIONAL, — Cond SpCellAdd f requencyBandLis t MultiFrequencyBandListNR, absoluteFrequencyPointA ARFCN-ValueNR, scs- Specificcarrier Li st SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxSCSs ) ) OFSCS-Specif icCarrier,}— TAG-FREQUENCYINFODL-STOP— ASN1STOP

[0015] The parameter absoluteFrequencySSB is the frequency of the SSB to be used for the serving cell. SSB related parameters (e.g., SSB index) provided for a serving cell refer to this SSB frequency unless mentioned otherwise. The cell-defining SSB of the PCell is always on the sync raster. Frequencies are considered to be on the sync raster if they are also identifiable with a GSCN value (see TS 38.101-1). If the field is absent, the SSB related parameters should be absent, e.g. ssb-PositionsInBurst, ssb-periodicityServingCell and subcarrierSpacing in ServingCellConfigCommon information element (IE). If the field is absent, the UE obtains timing reference from the SpCell or an SCell if applicable as described in TS 38.213, clause 4.1. This is only supported when the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the same frequency band as the cell (i.e., the SpCell or the SCell, respectively) from which the UE obtains the timing reference.

[0016] For cells supporting RedCap, on handover, corresponds to the cell-defining SSB.

[0017] As of Rel-18, as mentioned in the TR for network energy savings (38.864), it is possible to allow Scell without SSB for inter- band case. The use case should be for co-located Scells, as also specified in the WI description described above.

[0018] There currently exist certain challenges. For example, normally SSB is used for UE to retune the AGC and acquire timing and frequency synchronization with a cell. According to Objective 1 of the new NES WID, UE is in connected mode and configured with CA with Scells that do not transmit SSBs, or have less frequent SSB transmissions than regular serving cells.

[0019] Another issue which is outside of the scope of Release- 19 NES but may be relevant for 6G scenarios is for idle mode UEs where UE is camping on an ’’anchor” cell and is receiving paging from that cell but accesses another cell (“non-anchor” cell) which does not transmit SSBs. Before accessing the other cell, the UE would ask the network to provide one or more SSBs, or alternatively the “anchor” node would, via network-internal interfaces, ask the “non-anchor” node to provide one or more SSBs.

[0020] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, particular embodiments enable transmission of additional SSB signals. In some embodiments, the network provides a configuration to a UE on “how” additional SSB signal transmission may be requested. This may include signaling parameters (e.g., PRACH resources to use) and rules (permissions and prohibition timer settings).

[0021] Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a wireless device. The method comprises: receiving, from a network, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB); sending a request for on-demand SSB in accordance with the received configuration; and receiving an on- demand SSB.

[0022] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request on one or more cells.

[0023] In some embodiments, sending the on-demand SSB transmission request comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using a random access channel, RACH, configuration for the one or more cells, the RACH configuration being provided in the received configuration.

[0024] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request in accordance with a timing indication provided in the received configuration and defining a timing at which sending of on- demand SSB transmission requests is permitted or prohibited.

[0025] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request in accordance with a location indication provided in the received configuration and defining a location in which sending of on-demand SSB transmission requests is permitted or prohibited.

[0026] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using a predetermined uplink resource associated with a cell, the uplink resource being identified in the received configuration.

[0027] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using one or more predetermined uplink resources associated with two or more cells, the one or more predetermined uplink resources being identified in the received configuration.

[0028] In some embodiments, receiving the on-demand SSB comprises receiving the on-demand SSB on a same cell as the cell on which the on-demand SSB transmission request was sent.

[0029] In some embodiments, receiving the on-demand SSB comprises receiving the on-demand SSB on a different cell than the cell on which the on-demand SSB transmission request was sent.

[0030] A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a network node. The method comprises: receiving, from a wireless device, a request foron-demand SSB; and transmitting an on-demand SSB in accordance with the received request.

[0031] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to not send SSB on a given cell, and wherein transmitting the on-demand SSB comprises sending the on- demand SSB on that cell.

[0032] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to send sparse SSB on a given cell, and wherein transmitting the on-demand SSB comprises sending the one or more additional SSB on that cell.

[0033] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, from a second network node, an indication of a RACH configuration; and transmitting the on- demand SSB only when a RACH of the received request for on-demand SSB is consistent with the indicated RACH configuration.

[0034] A still further aspect of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a network node. The method comprises transmitting, to a wireless device, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0035] In some embodiments, the configuration for on-demand SSB includes a random access channel, RACH, configuration for one or more cells, and the method further comprising sending, to a second node, an indication of the RACH configuration.

[0036] Embodiments of a wireless device and network node are also disclosed.

[0037] In some embodiments, the network provides a configuration for the on- demand SSB structure, including type, period, offset, duration, etc. In some embodiments, the additional SSB transmissions are of a different type than the always on SSB transmissions. This may also be fixed in specification like current SSB structure.

[0038] In some embodiments, the additional SSB transmissions comprise a burst of tightly occurring transmissions of a constrained length. In other embodiments, theadditional SSB transmissions form a set of periodic transmissions with a shorter period than the original set of SSB transmissions.

[0039] In some embodiments, different configurations are provided to the UE and / or other nodes for the different characteristics of SSBs. For example, one request (type or message) is used for requesting a burst of, e.g.3 SSBs, whereas another request is used for requesting a single SSB instance whereas, yet another is used for requesting SSBs with a specific period and / or during a specific duration; combinations are not precluded.

[0040] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, in particular embodiments the configuration and request procedures facilitate a flexible selection and application of suitable on-demand SSB activate options in a network. Thereby the SSB transmission when not needed can be avoided or minimized to reduce network energy consumption, without compromising SSB provision when needed, to satisfy relevant cell availability and access latency criteria.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0041] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain principals of the disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing principal steps in a process in a wireless device, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0043] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing principal steps in a process in a network node, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0044] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing principal steps in a process in a network node, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0045] FIG. 4 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a UE 500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0047] FIG. 6 shows a network node 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.Detailed Description

[0049] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0050] At least some of the following abbreviations and terms may be used in this disclosure.• 2D Two Dimensional• 3 GPP Third Generation Partnership Project• 5G Fifth Generation• AAS Antenna Array System• AoA Angle of Arrival• AoD Angle of Departure• ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit• BF Beamforming• BLER Block Error Rate• BW Beamwidth• CPU Central Processing Unit• CSI Channel State Information• dB Decibel• DCI Downlink Control InformationDFT Discrete Fourier TransformDSP Digital Signal Processor eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B FIR Finite Impulse ResponseFPGA Field Programmable Gate Array gNB New Radio Base Station ICC Information Carrying Capacity IIR Infinite Impulse Response LTE Long Term EvolutionMIMO Multiple Input Multiple OutputMME Mobility Management EntityMMSE Minimum Mean Square ErrorMTC Machine Type CommunicationNR New RadioOTT Over-the-TopPBCH Physical Broadcast ChannelPDCCH Physical Downlink Control ChannelPDSCH Physical Downlink Shared ChannelP-GW Packet Data Network GatewayRAM Random Access MemoryROM Read Only MemoryRRC Radio Resource ControlRRH Remote Radio HeadSCEF Service Capability Exposure FunctionSINR Signal to Interference plus Noise RatioTBS Transmission Block SizeUE User EquipmentULA Uniform Linear Array• URA Uniform Rectangular Array

[0051] Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” is either a radio access node or a wireless device.

[0052] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” is any node in a radio access network of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), and a relay node.

[0053] Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), or the like.

[0054] Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by wirelessly transmitting (and / or receiving) signals to (and / or from) a radio access node. Some examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3 GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device. The nonlimiting term UE refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

[0055] Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network / system. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MSC, MME etc), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC), etc.

[0056] Cell: As used herein, a “cell” is a combination of radio resources (such as, for example, antenna port allocation, time and frequency) that a wireless device may use to exchange radio signals with a radio access node, which may be referred to as a host node or a serving node of the cell. However, it is important to note that beams may be used instead of cells, particularly with respect to 5G NR. As such, it should be appreciated that the techniques described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0057] The term radio access technology, or RAT, may refer to any RAT e.g. UTRA, E-UTRA, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), 4G, 5G, 6G, future generation RAT etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the term node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0058] The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of downlink physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, DMRS signals in SS / PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS, PRS etc. RS may be periodic e.g. RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g. 20 ms, 40 ms etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols.One or multiple SSBs are transmit in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset wrt reference time (e.g. serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. Examples of UL physical signals are reference signal such as SRS, DMRS etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels include PBCH, NPBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, sPUCCH, sPDSCH. sPUCCH. sPUSCH, MPDCCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, E-PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH, etc.

[0059] The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, etc.

[0060] The terms cell without SSB(s) and SSB-less cell are used interchangeably. The term cell may be used to refer to a specific frequency or any other cell property e.g. Primary Cell (PCell), Primary Secondary Cell Group Cell (PSCell), Secondary Cell (SCell) and serving cell.

[0061] Conversely, the term “frequency” that is used to acquire or maintain the power and timing reference for the SSB-less cell may refer to a cell or component carrier associated with that frequency and may be identified or mapped using the corresponding cell ID.

[0062] Unless otherwise clear from the description, references in this disclosure to various technical standards should be understood to refer to the specific version(s) of such standard(s) that is(were) current at the time the present application was filed, and may also refer to applicable counterparts and successors of such versions.

[0063] The description herein focuses on a 3 GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3 GPP system.

[0064] Systems and methods are disclosed herein that provide support for on- demand SSB on the network.

[0065] FIG. l is a flowchart showing principal steps in a process 100 in a wireless device, in accordance with some embodiments. As may be seen in FIG. 1, the wireless device receives 102, from a network, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB). Subsequently, the wireless device sends 104 a request for on- demand SSB in accordance with the received configuration. Thereafter, the wireless device receives 106 an on-demand SSB.

[0066] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request on one or more cells.

[0067] In some embodiments, sending the on-demand SSB transmission request comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using a random access channel, RACH, configuration for the one or more cells, the RACH configuration being provided in the received configuration.

[0068] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request in accordance with a timing indication provided in the received configuration and defining a timing at which sending of on- demand SSB transmission requests is permitted or prohibited.

[0069] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request in accordance with a location indication provided in the received configuration and defining a location in which sending of on-demand SSB transmission requests is permitted or prohibited.

[0070] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using a predetermined uplinkresource associated with a cell, the uplink resource being identified in the received configuration.

[0071] In some embodiments, sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using one or more predetermined uplink resources associated with two or more cells, the one or more predetermined uplink resources being identified in the received configuration.

[0072] In some embodiments, receiving the on-demand SSB comprises receiving the on-demand SSB on a same cell as the cell on which the on-demand SSB transmission request was sent.

[0073] In some embodiments, receiving the on-demand SSB comprises receiving the on-demand SSB on a different cell than the cell on which the on-demand SSB transmission request was sent.

[0074] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing principal steps in a process 200 in a network node, in accordance with some embodiments. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the network node receives 202, from a wireless device, a request for on-demand SSB. The network node subsequently transmits 204 an on-demand SSB in accordance with the received request.

[0075] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to not send SSB on a given cell, and wherein transmitting the on-demand SSB comprises sending the on- demand SSB on that cell.

[0076] In some embodiments, the network node is configured to send sparse SSB on a given cell, and wherein transmitting the on-demand SSB comprises sending the one or more additional SSB on that cell.

[0077] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, from a second network node, an indication of a RACH configuration; and transmitting the on- demand SSB only when a RACH of the received request for on-demand SSB is consistent with the indicated RACH configuration.

[0078] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing principal steps in a process 300 in a network node, in accordance with some embodiments. As may be seen in FIG. 3, the network node transmits 302, to a wireless device, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB). Optionally, in some embodiments, the configuration for on-demand SSB includes a random access channel, RACH, configuration for one or more cells, and the process 300 further comprising sending 304, to a second node, an indication of the RACH configuration.

[0079] According to some embodiments, the network configures the UE or a neighbor node with an SSB request procedure. The network (such as a Pcell of the UE or an “anchor” cell, for example) may provide configuration information to the UE about how to perform on-demand SSB requests. The signaling may be performed, e.g. via RRC or via SIB1 or another SI broadcast.

[0080] In one embodiment, when the UE is configured with CA of SCells, or if the network has deployed “non-anchor” cells, that do not transmit SSB signals, or transmit less SSBs than other cells on that or other SSB raster points, the UE receives a configuration comprising rules on how and / or when and / or where (e.g., geographical region, or based on coverage such as when at cell edge) and / or towards which entity (e.g., towards the Pcell, or towards the Scell) SSB transmissions may be requested.

[0081] In one embodiment, the channel raster point on which less SSBs are transmitted may be any channel raster point used by the cell. In a variant, these may be only specific channel raster points, such as, for example, only channel raster points belonging to a specific public land mobile network (PLMN). In one embodiment, the system information of the anchor cell informs the Rel- 19 NES UEs about these channel raster points and legacy UEs are barred. The barring may be by having these raster points to look like non-cell defining SSBs

[0082] Particular embodiments and examples describe the S cells where the SSBs are to be activated as currently not transmitting any SSBs. These embodiments and examples also include the variant where the Scell is currently transmitting a reduced set, or a sparse set, of SSB, but it is understood that “SSBs off’ includes the “sparseSSB” mode. Similarly, some embodiments and examples refer to SSB transmission as turning on SSB transmission in the Scell as a result of the on-demand process, but it should be understood that it also includes the action of transmitting additional SSBs if the Scell in the default state is transmitting sparse SSBs. Furthermore, even though PCells and SCells are exemplified, the examples equally apply to scenarios where “anchor” cell and “non-anchor” cells are used wherein the “non-anchor” cell is providing limited SSBs instead of the SCell examples. Further, it may also be understood as network action and applicable to networks where a cell is not defined as today 3G / 4G / 5G.

[0083] In one embodiment, there may be an indication towards which serving cell the request shall be sent, e.g. on PCell or one of the configured SCell, dormant SCell, active SCells or one of the non-active SCells.

[0084] In a particular case, the UE is configured to send the SSB transmission request towards (the same cell as) the cell on which the SSB transmission is requested to happen, i.e., the UE is configured to send the SSB transmission request on an uplink resource of the cell on which the SSB transmission is requested to happen.Alternatively or additionally, the UE is configured to send the SSB transmission request towards a different cell than the cell on which the SSB transmission is requested to happen, i.e., the UE is configured to send the SSB transmission request on an uplink resource of a different cell than the cell on which the SSB transmission is requested to happen. If the UE is configured with both these options, in one embodiment, the UE may be able to choose towards which cells it sends the SSB transmission request (for requesting SSB transmission in a given cell). For example, the UE may decide to send the SSB transmission request in the cell with the earliest upcoming (or next) uplink resource (or occasion) for sending an the SSB transmission request from the point in time where the need for the SSB transmission is identified.

[0085] In one embodiment, the UE configuration for sending an SSB transmission request identifies one or more uplink resources and one or more associated cells, where a specific uplink resource is associated to a specific cell, such that sending an SSBtransmission request using a certain uplink resource means requesting SSB transmission in the associated cell. In one example, the UE configuration for sending an SSB transmission request may identify the associated cell(s) by including corresponding cell identifier(s). Similarly, the UE configuration for sending an SSB transmission request may identify the associated cell(s) by including identifier(s) for, or pointer(s) to, cell configuration(s) provided to the UE. In another example, the UE configuration may identify the one or more uplink resources as part of, or in some other relation to, the cell configuration(s) provided to the UE, e.g., the SCell configuration(s) of the UE. The one or more uplink resources may be separated in time, frequency and / or code (by codes). In this case the UE does not have to include a cell identifier or alike when sending an SSB transmission request.

[0086] Alternatively, the UE configuration for sending an SSB transmission request identifies one or more uplink resources that can be used to request SSB transmission in two or more cells. In this variant, a specific uplink resource may be used to request SSB transmission in two or more specific cells or any (non-specific) cells. The UE can include a cell identifier (or a list of those)or alike when sending an SSB transmission request. For example, the UE may be configured with a PUSCH occasion for sending a PUSCH message that comprises the cell identified or a list of those) or alike. In the case where a specific uplink resource can be used to request SSB transmission in two or more specific cells, in some way identified in the UE configuration, the UE may not need to, or may not be able to, include a cell identifier. In this case, the SSB transmission request may apply to all of the two or more specific cells, such that the UE can expect SSB transmission in all of those cells, provided that the request is accepted / fullfilled. The UE request may also include a bitmap stating on which cells the additional SSB is useful for this UE.

[0087] In one embodiment, several SSB-less cells (i.e., a group of SCells) can share one common SSB source as reference (aforementioned absolute FrequencySSB). For example, SCell i and SCell_2 may use S / PCell_refi as SSB source, while SCell_3 and SCell_4 use SCell_ref2 as SSB reference. In such scenario, the configuration of theOnDemand SSB can be such that rather than asking for SSB transmission from all of the SCells the UE is to operate on, the OnDemand SSB is requested for onlyS / PCell refi if the UE is going to operate on SCell i and / or SCell_2 , and the OnDemand SSB is requested for only SCell_ref2 if the UE is going to operate on SCell_2 and / or SCell_4.

[0088] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to send the SSB transmission request towards multiple cells to minimize the delay of providing on-demand SSB if a specific uplink resource is associated to a specific cell. The network, then, decides which cell is going to provide on-demand SSB for the UE, e.g., one or more or all of the cells.

[0089] In some embodiments, the UE is given a RACH configuration for the serving cell or serving cells on which the SSB request may be sent. The RACH configuration may include one or more of RACH-ConfigGeneric which gives generic RACH parameters for contention free random access (CFRA) occasions, ssb- perRACH-Occasion which gives the number of SSBs per RACH occasion, prach- RootSequencelndex, msg 1 -SubcarrierSpacing, which gives the subcarrier spacing of PRACH when prach-RootSequencelndex has value set to 1139.

[0090] In another embodiment (related the first embodiment), Pcell notifies Scell or Scells about the RACH configuration which is given to the UE. If a Scell receives a RACH request for on-demand SSB that is inconsistent with the notified RACH configuration, Scell ignores the request. This avoids request abuse or request interference.

[0091] In some embodiments, the UE is configured with prohibit timer that after n requests for SSB transmissions, UE may not send a request for SSB transmissions until the timer is expired. Such prohibit timer may only apply to requests for SSB transmissions that were fulfilled, or it may apply to all requests for SSB transmissions, i.e., regardless of whether the requested SSB transmission took (or takes) place or not.

[0092] In yet another embodiment, the prohibit timer is cell specific, if a specific uplink resource is associated to a specific cell. If the UE does not receive on-demand SSB providing after n requests towards a specific cell for SSB transmissions, the UE turns to another cell for on-demand SSB and a new prohibit timer is launched.

[0093] In another embodiment, the UE is configured to increase its transmission power for requesting SSB transmissions by a step. UE may stop sending request when the transmission power reaches a maximum or after the UE repeats its requests several times at the maximum power strength.

[0094] In one embodiment, the network may separately signal the request configuration and a request permission indication. For example, the configuration may be provided via RRC or SI broadcast, while an indication whether a request is currently permitted may be signaled via PBCH / MIB, dedicated DCI or MAC CE, group DCI, etc.

[0095] In some embodiments, the network configures the UE with on-demand SSB structure. In the operating mode where no SSB is transmitted currently / by default, the on-demand SSB may be characterized by its period, its timing relationship (offset) to another signal, e.g. a Pcell frame and / or SSB timing, and duration. These parameters may be provided by the network signaling as described in previous section.

[0096] In the operating mode where the always-on SSB transmission is sparse and the on-demand process results in additional SSB transmission, the additional SSBs may be provided in the form of: increased provision rate of SSBs - the shorter period value is configured; an additional periodic SSB sequence - the offset value and / or period values are configured; and / or an additional one-time burst of SSBs - the period and starting and ending time instants (or duration, and / or number of SSBs (SSB transmissions) n > 1).

[0097] For one-time SSB or SSB burst, the offset may be defined in relation to another cell’s SSB timing or frame timing, or in relation to the timing of a procedure that benefits from the on-demand SSBs, e.g. PO occasion or PRACH window timing. In another example, the offset, e.g., X ms, Y subframes / slot, etc., may be defined inrelation to the time instant of the transmission of the SSB transmission request by the UE, and this offset may be configured by the network or, alternatively, specified in standards documents, e.g., 3 GPP specifications.

[0098] In one embodiment, the UE may include a preference for on-demand SSB type in its request.

[0099] The additional SSBs may have the same structure or a different structure compared to the always-on SSBs. In one embodiment, the always on SSB transmissions may e.g. be CD-SSB type signals while the additional SSB transmissions may be NCD- SSB signals. If a future standard defines new types of SSB signals (e.g., idle mode SSB signals or I-SSB signals, mobility SSB signals or M-SSB signals, dedicated SSB signals ot D-SSB signals, etc.) the additional SSB signals may be different from SSB signals detectable by idle mode UEs (e.g., I-SSB signals) such as M-SSB or D-SSB types of signals.

[0100] In some embodiments, a UE performs on-demand SSB request. Using the request procedure configuration info described above, the UE may request on-demand SSB transmission, e.g., by transmitting a PRACH preamble according to the provided configuration. If a permission indicator is configured, the request may be sent only if the permission indication currently permits it.

[0101] The UE may then receive the on-demand SSB according to the provided SSB configuration and use it for, e.g., synchronization or measurement activities towards the Scell.

[0102] In some embodiments, where idle mode is camping on an anchor cell, the onDemand configuration (see above examples for when / where / ... ) for SSB provision on non-anchor cells may be provided in the system information of the anchor cell.

[0103] In some embodiments, when a UE is paged by the anchor cell, the paging message includes information on SSB of the non-anchor cells the UE may access to.

[0104] In yet another embodiment, which may be relevant to either CA of idle mode scenario, The SSBs that may be requested have nominal locations which are indexed byoffset and nominal SSB location with respect to the offset. The offsets may be in relation to a certain activity such as, e.g., a system frame number of one of the cells, or in relation to an SSB instance of the SSB providing cell, in relation to the paging occasion, in relation to an UL activity such as the OnDemand request, etc.

[0105]

[0106] FIG. 4 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 400 includes a telecommunication network 402 that includes an access network 404, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 406, which includes one or more core network nodes 408. The access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 410a and 410b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 410), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 412a, 412b, 412c, and 412d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 412) to the core network 406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0107] 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 400 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 400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0108] The UEs 412 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 410 and other communication devices. Similarly, thenetwork nodes 410 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 402 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 402.

[0109] In the depicted example, the core network 406 connects the network nodes 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. 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 406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) 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 408. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0110] The host 416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 404 and / or the telecommunication network 402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and prerecorded 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 withremote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0111] As a whole, the communication system 400 of FIG. 4 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.

[0112] In some examples, the telecommunication network 402 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 402. For example, the telecommunications network 402 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0113] In some examples, the UEs 412 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 404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 404. 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-radiodual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0114] In the example, the hub 414 communicates with the access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 412c and / or 412d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 410b). In some examples, the hub 414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 414 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 410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 414. As another example, the hub 414 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 414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0115] The hub 414 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 410b. The hub 414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE 412c and / or 412d), and between the hub 414 and the core network 406. In other examples, the hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 410 whilestill connected via the hub 414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 414 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 410b. In other embodiments, the hub 414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 410b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0116] FIG. 5 shows a UE 500 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-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0117] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that isnot 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).

[0118] The UE 500 includes processing circuitry 502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 504 to an input / output interface 506, a power source 508, a memory 510, a communication interface 512, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 5. 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.

[0119] The processing circuitry 502 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 510. The processing circuitry 502 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 502 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0120] In the example, the input / output interface 506 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 500. 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 maybe, 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.

[0121] In some embodiments, the power source 508 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 508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 508 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 500 to which power is supplied.

[0122] The memory 510 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 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516. The memory 510 may store, for use by the UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0123] The memory 510 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 (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 510 may allow the UE 500 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 510, which may be or comprise a device- readable storage medium.

[0124] The processing circuitry 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 512. The communication interface 512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 522. The communication interface 512 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 518 and / or a receiver 520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 522) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0125] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 512 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.

[0126] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 512, 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).

[0127] 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.

[0128] 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 / windowsensor, 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 500 shown in FIG. 5.

[0129] 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 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0130] 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.

[0131] FIG. 6 shows a network node 600 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)).

[0132] 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 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).

[0133] 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).

[0134] The network node 600 includes a processing circuitry 602, a memory 604, a communication interface 606, and a power source 608. The network node 600 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 eachhave their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 600 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 600 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 604 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 610 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 600, 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 600.

[0135] The processing circuitry 602 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 600 components, such as the memory 604, to provide network node 600 functionality.

[0136] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 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 ofRF transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0137] The memory 604 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 602. The memory 604 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 602 and utilized by the network node 600. The memory 604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 606. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 and memory 604 is integrated.

[0138] The communication interface 606 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 606 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 606 also includes radio frontend circuitry 618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 610. Radio front-end circuitry 618 comprises filters 620 and amplifiers 622. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be connected to an antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 610 and processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 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 618 may convert thedigital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 620 and / or amplifiers 622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 602. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0139] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 618, instead, the processing circuitry 602 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 is part of the communication interface 606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 606 includes one or more ports or terminals 616, the radio front-end circuitry 618, and the RF transceiver circuitry 612, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0140] The antenna 610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 610 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 610 is separate from the network node 600 and connectable to the network node 600 through an interface or port.

[0141] The antenna 610, communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 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 610, the communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Anyinformation, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0142] The power source 608 provides power to the various components of network node 600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 608 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 600 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 608. As a further example, the power source 608 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.

[0143] Embodiments of the network node 600 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 6 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 600 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 600 and to allow output of information from the network node 600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 600.

[0144] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 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 thefunctions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 700 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.

[0145] Applications 702 (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.

[0146] Hardware 704 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 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708a and 708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.

[0147] The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, 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.

[0148] In the context of NFV, a VM 708 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, nonvirtualized machine. Each of the VMs 708, and that part of hardware 704 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 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702.

[0149] Hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 704 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 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 702. In some embodiments, hardware 704 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 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0150] 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 executinginstructions 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.

[0151] While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is representative, and that alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.

[0152] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving, from a network, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB); sending a request for on-demand SSB in accordance with the received configuration; and receiving an on-demand SSB.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the request for on-demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request on one or more cells.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the on-demand SSB transmission request comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using a random access channel, RACH, configuration for the one or more cells, the RACH configuration being provided in the received configuration.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein sending the request for on- demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request in accordance with a timing indication provided in the received configuration and defining a timing at which sending of on-demand SSB transmission requests is permitted or prohibited.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein sending the request for on- demand SSB comprises sending an on-demand SSB transmission request in accordance with a location indication provided in the received configuration and defining a location in which sending of on-demand SSB transmission requests is permitted or prohibited.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein sending the request for on- demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using a predetermined uplink resource associated with a cell, the uplink resource being identified in the received configuration.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein sending the request for on- demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB transmission request using one or more predetermined uplink resources associated with two or more cells, the one or more predetermined uplink resources being identified in the received configuration.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein receiving the on-demand SSB comprises receiving the on-demand SSB on a same cell as the cell on which the on-demand SSB transmission request was sent.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein receiving the on-demand SSB comprises receiving the on-demand SSB on a different cell than the cell on which the on-demand SSB transmission request was sent.

10. A wireless device comprising: processing circuitry; and a memory storing non-transitory machine readable instructions which, when executed on the processing circuitry, cause the network node to perform any of the steps of claims 1 to 9.

11. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: receiving, from a wireless device, a request for on-demand SSB; and transmitting an on-demand SSB in accordance with the received request.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the network node is configured to not send SSB on a given cell, and wherein transmitting the on-demand SSB comprises sending the on-demand SSB on that cell.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the network node is configured to send sparse SSB on a given cell, and wherein transmitting the on-demand SSB comprises sending the one or more additional SSB on that cell.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, from a second network node, an indication of a RACH configuration; transmitting the on-demand SSB only when a RACH of the received request for on-demand SSB is consistent with the indicated RACH configuration.

15. A network node comprising: processing circuitry; and a memory storing non-transitory machine readable instructions which, when executed on the processing circuitry, cause the network node to perform any of the steps of claims 11 to 14.

16. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising transmitting, to a wireless device, a configuration for on-demand synchronization signal block (SSB).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the configuration for on-demand SSB includes a random access channel, RACH, configuration for one or more cells, and the method further comprising sending, to a second node, an indication of the RACH configuration.

18. A network node comprising: processing circuitry; anda memory storing non-transitory machine readable instructions which, when executed on the processing circuitry, cause the network node to perform any of the steps of claims 16 to 17.

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