Virtual cell reference signal configuration

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a first network entity may transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support. The first network entity may receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

VIRTUAL CELL REFERENCE SIGNAL CONFIGURATIONCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This Patent Application claims priority to Greece Patent Application No. 20230101045, filed on December 18, 2023, entitled “VIRTUAL CELL REFERENCE SIGNAL CONFIGURATION,” and assigned to the assignee hereof. The disclosure of the prior Application is considered part of and is incorporated by reference into this Patent Application.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and specifically relate to techniques, apparatuses, and methods associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration.INTRODUCTION

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various services that may include carrying voice, text, messaging, video, data, and / or other traffic. The services may include unicast, multicast, and / or broadcast services, among other examples. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (for example, time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, and / or device transmit power, among other examples). Examples of such multiple-access RATs include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0004] The above multiple-access RATs have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, or global level. An example telecommunication standard is New Radio (NR). NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP). NR (and other mobile broadband evolutions beyond NR) may be designed to better support Internet of things (loT) and reduced capability device deployments, industrial connectivity, millimeter wave (mmWave) expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployment, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication technologies (for example, cellular vehicle-to-everything (CV2X) communication), massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), disaggregated network architectures and networktopology expansions, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, and / or radio frequency (RF) sensing, among other examples. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in NR may be implemented, and other radio access technologies such as 6G may be introduced, to further advance mobile broadband evolution.SUMMARY

[0005] In some aspects, a first network entity for wireless communication includes a processing system configured to: transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0006] In some aspects, a first network entity for wireless communication includes a processing system configured to: receive, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmit, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0007] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity includes transmitting, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receiving, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0008] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity includes receiving, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmitting, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0009] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions for wireless communication stored thereon that, when executed by a first network entity, causes the first network entity to: transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0010] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions for wireless communication stored thereon that, when executed by a first network entity, causes the first network entity to: receive, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmit, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0011] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for transmitting, to a network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and means for receiving, from the network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0012] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for receiving, from a network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and means for transmitting, to the network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0013] Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, network entity, network node, wireless communication device, and / or processing system as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings and specification.

[0014] The foregoing broadly outlines example features and example technical advantages of examples according to the disclosure. Additional example features and example advantages are described hereinafter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The appended drawings illustrate certain example aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not limiting in scope. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example environment in which apparatuses and / or methods described herein may be implemented, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0018] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example network node in communication with an example user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0019] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual cell, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig. 6 is a diagram of an example associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0022] Fig. 7 is a diagram of an example associated with an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP) for a virtual cell, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0023] Fig. 8 is a diagram of an example associated with an initial downlink BWP for a virtual cell, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a first network entity or an apparatus of a first network entity, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a first network entity or an apparatus of a first network entity, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig. 12 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig. 13 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Typically, a cell, carrier, or component carrier may use a bandwidth for wireless communications that is contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, a bandwidth of a cell, carrier, or component carrier may span a set of one or more resource blocks (RBs) that are contiguous in the frequency domain. In some examples, for component carriers to be aggregatedvia carrier aggregation, the bandwidth of each component carrier may satisfy a bandwidth threshold. The bandwidth threshold may be based on (e.g., may be) a minimum channel bandwidth of a user equipment (UE). For example, for component carriers to be aggregated for a UE, the bandwidth of each component carrier may be greater than or equal to the minimum channel bandwidth of the UE. If a bandwidth of a component carrier or sub-band does not satisfy the bandwidth threshold (e.g., is less than or equal to the bandwidth threshold), then the component carrier or sub-band may not be aggregated via carrier aggregation for the UE.

[0030] In some examples, a spectrum for wireless communication may include frequency domain resources that are allocated for different technologies. For example, some operating bands or frequency range designations may include cellular radio access technology (RAT) spectrums, personal area network (PAN) spectrums, wireless local area network (WLAN) spectrums (e.g., Wi-Fi spectrums), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) spectrums, and / or unlicensed spectrums, among other examples. Therefore, available frequency domain resources (e.g., subbands) may have relatively small bandwidths. As a result, the available frequency domain resources may be unavailable to be aggregated via carrier aggregation for a UE (e.g., because the bandwidth of the available frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) may not satisfy the bandwidth threshold for carrier aggregation). This may reduce coverage, reduce data capacity, and / or reduce performance, among other examples, for UEs because the UEs may be limited to communicating via the frequency domain resources that have relatively small bandwidths.

[0031] Therefore, in some examples, the network (e.g., one or more network nodes) may aggregate non-contiguous frequency domain resources to form a virtual cell. As used herein, a “virtual cell” refers to a spectrum that includes frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands, RBs, and / or RB groups) that are non-contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, a virtual cell may include one or more refarmed (or reallocated) frequency domain resources or spectrums. A virtual cell may include an anchor band. The anchor band may be a sub-band (e.g., included in an aggregated bandwidth of the virtual cell) in which a cell defining (CD) synchronization signal block (SSB) (CD-SSB) is transmitted for the virtual cell. Configuring a virtual cell enables the frequency domain resources or spectrums that are scattered in the frequency domain and / or that have relatively small (e.g., narrow) bandwidths to be aggregated into a virtual cell with a larger bandwidth, thereby improving coverage, improving data capacity, and / or improving performance, among other examples, for UEs. For example, a virtual cell may enable the network to overcome the bandwidth size restriction spectrum refarming and carrier aggregation. Additionally, configuring a virtual cell may improve a resource utilization efficiency for fragmented, refarmed, and / or reallocated resources. Further, a virtual cell may enable the co-existence of different UE types (e.g., UEs having different capabilities) and / or different types of UE functions or use cases that use the same virtual cell.

[0032] In some examples, a UE may receive and / or measure one or more downlink reference signals to perform operations for one or more control loops. A “control loop” may refer to an operation to determine, regulate, and / or optimize one or more parameters for ensuring efficient and reliable communication by the UE. For example, a UE may receive and / or measure one or more downlink reference signals to perform time tracking (e.g., for a time tracking loop (TTL) operation), frequency tracking (e.g., for a frequency tracking loop (FTL) operation), an automatic gain control (AGC) operation, a beam failure detection (BFD) operation, a beam management operation, and / or a radio link monitoring (RLM) operation, among other examples.

[0033] However, when the UE is configured to operate via a virtual cell, downlink reference signal configuration and / or measurement operations (e.g., for control loops) may not be defined. For example, because the frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) of the virtual cell may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain, the UE may have to monitor and / or tune RF components to different frequencies (e.g., for one or more, or each, sub-band included in the virtual cell) to monitor for the downlink reference signals because the UE may not receive an indication of the reference signal configuration and / or measurement operation (e.g., for control loops) for the virtual cell. This may consume processing resources and / or power resources associated with the UE monitoring for the downlink reference signals. Additionally, a network node may have to configure and / or transmit a downlink reference signal on each sub-band included in the virtual cell (e.g., because the network node may not know which sub-band a given UE is monitoring for the reference signal), thereby consuming network resources, reference signal resource overhead, processing resources, and / or power resources associated with configuring and / or transmitting a downlink reference signal on each sub-band included in the virtual cell. To conserve the overhead and network energy associated with configuring and / or transmitting a downlink reference signal on each sub-band included in the virtual cell, a downlink reference signal may not be configured for all sub-bands included in the virtual cell. However, in such examples, a UE may not know on which sub-band(s) the downlink reference signal is to be transmitted, resulting in an increased likelihood that the UE is unable to receive the downlink reference signal and / or increasing an overhead associated with the UE monitoring additional resources to improve the likelihood that the UE is able to receive the downlink reference signal.

[0034] Various aspects relate generally to a virtual cell reference signal configuration. Some aspects more specifically relate to a network entity (e.g., a UE or another network entity) being configured with a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell (e.g., for one or more control loop operations or other operations) where the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. In some aspects, the reference signal may be the CD-SSB. In other aspects, the reference signal may be a non-CD (NCD) SSB or another downlink reference signal.

[0035] In some aspects, the network entity may be configured with an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP) for the virtual cell. In some aspects, the initial downlink BWP may not include the anchor band of the virtual cell. In other words, the CD-SSB for the virtual cell may be transmitted outside of the initial downlink BWP. In some other aspects, the initial downlink BWP may include the anchor band (and one or more other sub-bands that may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain with the anchor band). In some aspects, the network entity may be configured with an initial control resource set (CORESET) for the virtual cell (sometimes referred to as a CORESETO or a CORESET#0). The initial CORESET may be configured in the initial downlink BWP. In some aspects, the initial CORESET may be configured in a different sub-band than the CD-SSB for the virtual cell. In some aspects, the initial CORESET may be configured to include non-contiguous frequency domain resources (e.g., the initial CORESET may be configured in two or more sub-bands that are not contiguous in the frequency domain or that are separated by at least one frequency gap).

[0036] The reference signal may be configured in an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell for the network entity. In some aspects, the reference signal may be configured in two or more sub-bands included in the active downlink BWP. The reference signal may be configured in noncontiguous frequency domain resources (e.g., multiple sub-configurations may configure respective portions of the reference signal that are separated by at least one frequency gap). In some aspects, the network entity may receive and / or measure the reference signal outside of an active downlink BWP for the virtual cell (e.g., based on a capability of the network entity).

[0037] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the described techniques can be used to improve a resource utilization for the virtual cell. For example, by configuring the reference signal for the virtual cell as described herein, a network entity (e.g., a network node) may conserve network resources, processing resources, and / or energy resources, among other examples, that would have otherwise been associated with transmitting a downlink reference signal in all sub-bands of the virtual cell. Additionally, by configuring the reference signal for the virtual cell as described herein, a UE is enabled to use a downlink reference for one or more operations, such as control loop operations, for the virtual cell in an efficient manner.

[0038] In some aspects, by configuring the initial downlink BWP to not include the anchor band of the virtual cell, a resource utilization efficiency for the virtual cell may be improved. For example, a CD-SSB may be used by a network entity (e.g., a UE) for one or more operations while the network entity is operating in a connected state, such as using the CD-SSB as a downlink reference signal to be measured for one or more tracking loops and / or for other operations, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. However, the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP (e.g., a system information block (SIB) type 1,remaining minimum system information (RMSI), and / or other system information) may not be useful for the network entity after initial access is completed. Therefore, by decoupling the CD- SSB from the initial downlink BWP, the CD-SSB can be included in an active downlink BWP without sub-band(s) in the initial downlink BWP also being included in the active downlink BWP. As a result, the network entity may be enabled to use the CD-SSB for one or more operations in the connected mode without having to also monitor for and / or receive the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP. This improves a resource utilization for the virtual cell and conserves network resources, processing resources, and / or power resources that would have otherwise been associated with monitoring for and / or receiving the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP.

[0039] Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to any specific structure, function, example, aspect, or the like presented throughout this disclosure. This disclosure includes, for example, any aspect disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure includes such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. Any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0040] Aspects and examples generally include a method, apparatus, network node, network entity, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, wireless communication device, and / or processing system as described or substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings and specification.

[0041] This disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the example concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated example advantages, are described in the following description and in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

[0042] While aspects are described in the present disclosure by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art understand that such aspects may be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. Techniques described herein may be implemented using differentplatform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and / or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects may be implemented via integrated chip embodiments or other non-modulecomponent based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / purchasing devices, medical devices, and / or artificial intelligence devices). Aspects may be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components, and / or system -level components. Devices incorporating described example aspects and example features may include additional example components and example features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspects. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders, and / or summers). Aspects described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements, and / or end-user devices of varying size, shape, and constitution.

[0043] Several aspects of telecommunication systems are presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques are described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, or the like (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0044] Multiple-access RATs have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, enterprise, national, regional, or global level. For example, 5G New Radio (NR) is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G NR supports various technologies and use cases including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), millimeter wave (mmWave) technology, beamforming, network slicing, edge computing, Internet of Things (loT) connectivity and management, and network function virtualization (NFV).

[0045] As the demand for broadband access increases and as technologies supported by wireless communication networks evolve, further technological improvements may be adopted in or implemented for 5G NR or future RATs, such as 6G, to further advance the evolution of wireless communication for a wide variety of existing and new use cases and applications. Such technological improvements may be associated with new frequency band expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, overlapping spectrum use, small cell deployments, non-terrestrialnetwork (NTN) deployments, disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansion, device aggregation, advanced duplex communication, sidelink and other device-to- device direct communication, loT (including passive or ambient loT) networks, reduced capability (RedCap) UE functionality, industrial connectivity, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, radio frequency (RF) sensing, and / or artificial intelligence or machine learning (AI / ML), among other examples. These technological improvements may support use cases such as wireless backhauls, wireless data centers, extended reality (XR) and metaverse applications, meta services for supporting vehicle connectivity, holographic and mixed reality communication, autonomous and collaborative robots, vehicle platooning and cooperative maneuvering, sensing networks, gesture monitoring, human-brain interfacing, digital twin applications, asset management, and universal coverage applications using non-terrestrial and / or aerial platforms, among other examples. The methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques described herein may enable one or more of the foregoing technologies and / or support one or more of the foregoing use cases.

[0046] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example environment 100 in which apparatuses and / or methods described herein may be implemented, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the environment 100 may include a network entity 102, a network entity 104, and a network entity 106, that may communicate with one another via a network 108. The network entities 102, 104, and 106, may be dispersed throughout the network 108, and each network entity 102, 104, and 106 may be stationary and / or mobile. The network 108 may include wired communication connections, wireless communication connections, or a combination of wired and wireless communication connections.

[0047] The network 108 may include, for example, a cellular network (e.g., a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a 4G network, a 5G network, a 6G network, or another type of next generation network, and / or the like), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber opticbased network, a cloud computing network, or the like, and / or a combination of these or other types of networks. The network 108 may include a wireless communication network 200, described in connection with Fig. 2.

[0048] As described herein, a network entity (which may alternatively be referred to as an entity, a node, a network node, or a wireless entity) may be, be similar to, include, or be included in (e.g., be a component of) a base station (e.g., any base station described herein, including a disaggregated base station), a UE (e.g., any UE described herein), a reduced capability (RedCap) device, an enhanced reduced capability (eRedCap) device, an ambient intemet-of-things (loT)device, an energy harvesting (EH)-capable device, a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, an integrated access and backhauling (IAB) node, a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), a remote / radio unit (RU) (which may also be referred to as a remote radio unit (RRU)), and / or another processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a network entity may be a UE. As another example, a network entity may be a base station. As used herein, “network entity” may refer to an entity that is configured to operate in a network, such as the network 108. For example, a “network entity” is not limited to an entity that is currently located in and / or currently operating in the network. Rather, a network entity may be any entity that is capable of communicating and / or operating in the network. A network entity may include a network node 210 or a UE 220, described in more detail in connection with Fig. 2.

[0049] The adjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” and so on are used for contextual distinction between two or more of the modified noun in connection with a discussion and are not meant to be absolute modifiers that apply only to a certain respective entity throughout the entire document. For example, a network entity may be referred to as a “first network entity” in connection with one discussion and may be referred to as a “second network entity” in connection with another discussion, or vice versa. As an example, a first network entity may be configured to communicate with a second network entity or a third network entity. In one aspect of this example, the first network entity may be a UE, the second network entity may be a base station, and the third network entity may be a UE. In another aspect of this example, the first network entity may be a UE, the second network entity may be a base station, and the third network entity may be a base station. In yet other aspects of this example, the first, second, and third network entities may be different relative to these examples.

[0050] Similarly, reference to a UE, base station, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like may include disclosure of the UE, base station, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like being a network entity. For example, disclosure that a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network entity is configured to receive information from a second network entity. Consistent with this disclosure, once a specific example is broadened in accordance with this disclosure (e.g., a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network entity is configured to receive information from a second network entity), the broader example of the narrower example may be interpreted in the reverse, but in a broad open-ended way. In the example above where a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network entity is configured to receive information from a second network entity, the first network entity may refer to a first UE, a first base station, a first apparatus, a first device, a first computing system, a first set of one or more one or more components, a first processing entity, or the like configured toreceive the information; and the second network entity may refer to a second UE, a second base station, a second apparatus, a second device, a second computing system, a second set of one or more components, a second processing entity, or the like.

[0051] As described herein, communication of information (e.g., any information, signal, or the like) may be described in various aspects using different terminology. Disclosure of one communication term includes disclosure of other communication terms. For example, a first network entity may be described as being configured to transmit information to a second network entity. In this example and consistent with this disclosure, disclosure that the first network entity is configured to transmit information to the second network entity includes disclosure that the first network entity is configured to provide, send, output, communicate, or transmit information to the second network entity. Similarly, in this example and consistent with this disclosure, disclosure that the first network entity is configured to transmit information to the second network entity includes disclosure that the second network entity is configured to receive, obtain, or decode the information that is provided, sent, output, communicated, or transmitted by the first network entity.

[0052] As shown, the network entity 102 may include a processing system 110. Similarly, the network entity 106 may include a processing system 112. A processing system may include one or more components (or subcomponents), such as one or more components described herein. For example, a respective component of the one or more components may be, be similar to, include, or be included in at least one memory, at least one communication interface, or at least one processor. For example, a processing system may include one or more components. In such an example, the one or more components may include a first component, a second component, and a third component. In this example, the first component may be coupled to a second component and a third component. In this example, the first component may be at least one processor, the second component may be a communication interface, and the third component may be at least one memory. A processing system may generally be a system one or more components that may perform one or more functions, such as any function or combination of functions described herein. For example, one or more components may receive input information (e.g., any information that is an input, such as a signal, any digital information, or any other information), one or more components may process the input information to generate output information (e.g., any information that is an output, such as a signal or any other information), one or more components may perform any function as described herein, or any combination thereof.

[0053] As described herein, an “input” and “input information” may be used interchangeably. Similarly, as described herein, an “output” and “output information” may be used interchangeably. Any information generated by any component may be provided to one or more other systems or components of, for example, a network entity described herein. For example, aprocessing system may include a first component configured to receive or obtain information, a second component configured to process the information to generate output information, and / or a third component configured to provide the output information to other systems or components. In this example, the first component may be a communication interface (e.g., a first communication interface), the second component may be at least one processor (e.g., that is coupled to the communication interface and / or at least one memory), and the third component may be a communication interface (e.g., the first communication interface or a second communication interface). For example, a processing system may include at least one memory, at least one communication interface, and / or at least one processor, where the at least one processor may, for example, be coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one communication interface.

[0054] A processing system of a network entity described herein may interface with one or more other components of the network entity, may process information received from one or more other components (such as input information), or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a processing system may include a first component configured to interface with one or more other components of the network entity to receive or obtain information, a second component configured to process the information to generate one or more outputs, and / or a third component configured to output the one or more outputs to one or more other components. In this example, the first component may be a communication interface (e.g., a first communication interface), the second component may be at least one processor (e.g., that is coupled to the communication interface and / or at least one memory), and the third component may be a communication interface (e.g., the first communication interface or a second communication interface). For example, a chip or modem of the network entity may include a processing system. The processing system may include a first communication interface to receive or obtain information, and a second communication interface to output, transmit, or provide information. In some examples, the first communication interface may be an interface configured to receive input information, and the information may be provided to the processing system. In some examples, the second system interface may be configured to transmit information output from the chip or modem. The second communication interface may also obtain or receive input information, and the first communication interface may also output, transmit, or provide information.

[0055] For example, as shown in Fig. 1, the processing system 110 may include a (e.g., one or more) communication manager 114 and one or more communication interfaces 116. The communication manager 114 may be configured to perform one or more communication tasks as described herein. In some aspects, the communication manager 114 may direct the communication interface 120 and / or the processing system 110 to perform one or more communication tasks as described herein. Similarly, the processing system 112 may include a(e.g., one or more) communication manager 118 and one or more communication interfaces 120. The communication manager 118 may be configured to perform one or more communication tasks as described herein. In some aspects, the processing system 112 and / or the communication manager 118 may direct the communication interface 120 to perform one or more communication tasks as described herein. Although depicted, for clarity of description, with reference only to the network entities 102 and 104, any one or more of the network entities 102, 104, and 106 also may include a communication manager and a communication interface.

[0056] As used herein, “communication interface” refers to an interface that enables communication (e.g., wireless communication, wired communication, or a combination thereof) between a first network entity and a second network entity. A communication interface may include electronic circuitry that enables a network entity to transmit, receive, or otherwise perform the communication. A communication interface may be, be similar to, include, or be included in one or more components that are configured to enable communication between the first network entity and the second network entity. For example, a communication interface may include a transmission component, a reception component, and / or a transceiver, among other examples. For example, a communication interface may include one or more transceivers, one or more receivers, and / or one or more transmitters configured to communicate with other devices, such as via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. In some examples, a communication interface may include one or more RF components, an RF front end, one or more antennas, one or more transmit or receive processors, a demodulation component, and / or a modulation component, among other examples.

[0057] A communication interface may include a transmission component and / or a reception component. For example, a communication interface may include a transceiver and / or one or more separate receivers and / or transmitters that enable a network entity to communicate with other devices, such as via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. In some examples, a communication interface may include one or more radio frequency reflective elements and / or one or more radio frequency refractive elements. The communication interface may enable the network entity to receive information from another apparatus and / or provide information to another apparatus. In some examples, the communication interface may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, an RF interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, a wireless modem, an inter-integrated circuit (I2C), and / or a serial peripheral interface (SPI), among other examples.

[0058] As described herein, a network entity (e.g., the network entity 102 and / or the network entity 106) may be configured to perform one or more operations. Reference to a network entity being configured to perform one or more operations may refer to a processing system of thenetwork entity being configured to perform the one or more operations and / or the processing system being configured to cause one or more components of the network entity to perform the one or more operations. For example, reference to the processing system being configured to perform one or more operations may refer to one or more components (or subcomponents) of the processing system performing the one or more operations. For example, the one or more components of the processing system may include at least one memory, at least one processor, and / or at least one communication interface, among other examples, that are configured to perform one or more (or all) of the one or more operations, and / or any combination thereof. Where reference is made to the network entity and / or the processing system being configured to perform operations, the network entity and / or the processing system may be configured to cause one component to perform all operations, or to cause more than one component to collectively perform the operations. When the network entity and / or the processing system is configured to cause more than one component to collectively perform the operations, each operation need not be performed by each of those components (e.g., different operations may be performed by different components) and / or each operation need not be performed in whole by only one component (e.g., different components may perform different sub-functions of an operation).

[0059] As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the network entity 102 may (e.g., the processing system 110 may, or the processing system 110 may cause the communication manager 114 and / or the communication interface 116 to) transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and / or receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity 102 and / or the communication manager 114 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0060] As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the network entity 106 may (e.g., the processing system 112 may, or the processing system 112 may cause the communication manager 114 and / or the communication interface 116 to) receive, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and / or transmit, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity 106 and / or the communication manager 118 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0061] The number and arrangement of entities shown in Fig. 1 are provided as one or more examples. In practice, there may be additional network entities and / or networks, fewer networkentities and / or networks, different network entities and / or networks, or differently arranged network entities and / or networks than those shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, the network entity 102, 104, and 106 may be implemented using a single apparatus or multiple apparatuses.

[0062] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network 200 in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless communication network 200 may be or may include elements of a 5G (or NR) network or a 6G network, among other examples. The wireless communication network 200 may include multiple network nodes 210, shown as a network node (NN) 210a, a network node 210b, a network node 210c, and a network node 210d. The network nodes 210 may support communications with multiple UEs 220, shown as a UE 220a, a UE 220b, a UE 220c, a UE 220d, and a UE 220e.

[0063] The network nodes 210 and the UEs 220 of the wireless communication network 200 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, carriers, and / or channels. For example, devices of the wireless communication network 200 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In some aspects, multiple wireless communication networks 200 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless communication network 200 may support a particular RAT (which may also be referred to as an air interface) and may operate on one or more carrier frequencies in one or more frequency ranges. Examples of RATs include a 4G RAT, a 5G / NR RAT, and / or a 6G RAT, among other examples. In some examples, when multiple RATs are deployed in a given geographic area, each RAT in the geographic area may operate on different frequencies to avoid interference with one another.

[0064] Various operating bands have been defined as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz through 7.125 GHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz through 52.6 GHz), FR3 (7.125 GHz through 24.25 GHz), FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz through 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz through 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz through 300 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in some documents and articles. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in some documents and articles, despite being different than the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz through 300 GHz), which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies, which include FR3. Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Thus, “sub-6 GHz,” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, that are within FR1, and / or that are included in mid-band frequencies. Similarly, the term “millimeter wave,” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are included in mid-band frequencies, that are within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1,or FR5, and / or that are within the EHF band. Higher frequency bands may extend 5G NR operation, 6G operation, and / or other RATs beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, each of FR4a, FR4- 1, FR4, and FR5 falls within the EHF band. In some examples, the wireless communication network 200 may implement dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), in which multiple RATs (for example, 4G / LTE and 5G / NR) are implemented with dynamic bandwidth allocation (for example, based on user demand) in a single frequency band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (for example, FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein may be applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0065] A network node 210 may include one or more devices, components, or systems that enable communication between a UE 220 and one or more devices, components, or systems of the wireless communication network 200. A network node 210 may be, may include, or may also be referred to as an NR network node, a 5G network node, a 6G network node, a Node B, an eNB, a gNB, an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a mobility element, a core, a network entity, a network element, a network equipment, and / or another type of device, component, or system included in a radio access network (RAN).

[0066] A network node 210 may be implemented as a single physical node (for example, a single physical structure) or may be implemented as two or more physical nodes (for example, two or more distinct physical structures). For example, a network node 210 may be a device or system that implements part of a radio protocol stack, a device or system that implements a full radio protocol stack (such as a full gNB protocol stack), or a collection of devices or systems that collectively implement the full radio protocol stack. For example, and as shown, a network node 210 may be an aggregated network node (having an aggregated architecture), meaning that the network node 210 may implement a full radio protocol stack that is physically and logically integrated within a single node (for example, a single physical structure) in the wireless communication network 200. For example, an aggregated network node 210 may consist of a single standalone base station or a single TRP that uses a full radio protocol stack to enable or facilitate communication between a UE 220 and a core network of the wireless communication network 200.

[0067] Alternatively, and as also shown, a network node 210 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station), meaning that the network node 210 may implement a radio protocol stack that is physically distributed and / or logically distributed among two or more nodes in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations. For example, a disaggregated network node may have a disaggregated architecture. In some deployments, disaggregated network nodes 210 may be used in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) (such as a network configuration incompliance with the O-RAN Alliance), or in a virtualized radio access network (vRAN), also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN), to facilitate scaling by separating base station functionality into multiple units that can be individually deployed.

[0068] The network nodes 210 of the wireless communication network 200 may include one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), and / or one or more radio units (RUs). A CU may host one or more higher layer control functions, such as radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, and / or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, among other examples. A DU may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or one or more higher physical (PHY) layers depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as a functional split defined by the 3GPP. In some examples, a DU also may host one or more lower PHY layer functions, such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT), an inverse FFT (iFFT), beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, and / or scheduling of resources for one or more UEs 220, among other examples. An RU may host RF processing functions or lower PHY layer functions, such as an FFT, an iFFT, beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, among other examples, according to a functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, each RU can be operated to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 220.

[0069] In some aspects, a single network node 210 may include a combination of one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more RUs. Additionally or alternatively, a network node 210 may include one or more Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) and / or one or more Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RICs. In some examples, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU may be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), among other examples. A virtual unit may be implemented as a virtual network function, such as associated with a cloud deployment.

[0070] Some network nodes 210 (for example, a base station, an RU, or a TRP) may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a network node 210 or to a network node 210 itself, depending on the context in which the term is used. A network node 210 may support one or multiple (for example, three) cells. In some examples, a network node 210 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (for example, several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 220 with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 220 with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (for example, a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 220 having association with the femto cell (for example, UEs 220 in aclosed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 210 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 210 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. A network node 210 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or an in- home network node. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary. For example, the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of an associated mobile network node 210 (for example, a train, a satellite base station, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) network node).

[0071] The wireless communication network 200 may be a heterogeneous network that includes network nodes 210 of different types, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, aggregated network nodes, and / or disaggregated network nodes, among other examples. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 210a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 230a, the network node 210b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 230b, and the network node 210c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 230c.Various different types of network nodes 210 may generally transmit at different power levels, serve different coverage areas, and / or have different impacts on interference in the wireless communication network 200 than other types of network nodes 210. For example, macro network nodes may have a high transmit power level (for example, 5 to 40 watts), whereas pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (for example, 0.1 to 2 watts).

[0072] In some examples, a network node 210 may be, may include, or may operate as an RU, a TRP, or a base station that communicates with one or more UEs 220 via a radio access link (which may be referred to as a “Uu” link). The radio access link may include a downlink and an uplink. “Downlink” (or “DL”) refers to a communication direction from a network node 210 to a UE 220, and “uplink” (or “UL”) refers to a communication direction from a UE 220 to a network node 210. Downlink channels may include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. A downlink control channel may be used to transmit downlink control information (DCI) (for example, scheduling information, reference signals, and / or configuration information) from a network node 210 to a UE 220. A downlink data channel may be used to transmit downlink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 220) from a network node 210 to a UE 220. Downlink control channels may include one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs), and downlink data channels may include one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). Uplink channels may similarly include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. An uplink control channel may be used to transmit uplink control information (UCI) (for example, reference signals and / or feedback corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions) from a UE 220 to a network node 210. An uplink data channel may be used to transmit uplink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 220) from a UE 220 to anetwork node 210. Uplink control channels may include one or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs), and uplink data channels may include one or more physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs). The downlink and the uplink may each include a set of resources on which the network node 210 and the UE 220 may communicate.

[0073] Downlink and uplink resources may include time domain resources (frames, subframes, slots, and / or symbols), frequency domain resources (frequency bands, component carriers, subcarriers, resource blocks, and / or resource elements), and / or spatial domain resources (particular transmit directions and / or beam parameters). Frequency domain resources of some bands may be subdivided into BWPs. A BWP may be a block of frequency domain resources (for example, a block of resource blocks) that are allocated for one or more UEs 220. A UE 220 may be configured with both an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP (where the uplink BWP and the downlink BWP may be the same BWP or different BWPs). A BWP may be dynamically configured (for example, by a network node 210 transmitting a DCI configuration to the one or more UEs 220) and / or reconfigured, which means that a BWP can be adjusted in real-time (or near-real-time) based on changing network conditions in the wireless communication network 200 and / or based on the specific requirements of the one or more UEs 220. This enables more efficient use of the available frequency domain resources in the wireless communication network 200 because fewer frequency domain resources may be allocated to a BWP for a UE 220 (which may reduce the quantity of frequency domain resources that a UE 220 is required to monitor), leaving more frequency domain resources to be spread across multiple UEs 220. Thus, BWPs may also assist in the implementation of lower-capability UEs 220 by facilitating the configuration of smaller bandwidths for communication by such UEs 220.

[0074] As indicated above, a BWP may be configured as a subset or a part of a total or full component carrier bandwidth and generally forms or encompasses a set of common resource blocks (CRBs) within the full component carrier bandwidth. In other words, within the carrier bandwidth, a BWP starts at a CRB and may span a set of CRBs. Each BWP may be associated with its own numerology (indicating a sub-carrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP)). A UE 220 may be configured with up to four downlink BWPs and up to four uplink BWPs for each serving cell. To enable reasonable UE battery consumption, only one BWP in the downlink and one BWP in the uplink are generally active at a given time on an active serving cell under typical operation. The active BWP defines the operating bandwidth of the UE 220 within the operating bandwidth of the serving cell while all other BWPs with which the UE 220 is configured are deactivated. On deactivated BWPs, the UE 220 does not transmit or receive any communications.

[0075] As described above, in some aspects, the wireless communication network 200 may be, may include, or may be included in, an IAB network. In an IAB network, at least one network node 210 is an anchor network node that communicates with a core network. An anchor networknode 210 may also be referred to as an IAB donor (or “lAB-donor”). The anchor network node 210 may connect to the core network via a wired backhaul link. For example, an Ng interface of the anchor network node 210 may terminate at the core network. Additionally or alternatively, an anchor network node 210 may connect to one or more devices of the core network that provide a core access and mobility management function (AMF). An IAB network also generally includes multiple non-anchor network nodes 210, which may also be referred to as relay network nodes or simply as IAB nodes (or “lAB-nodes”). Each non-anchor network node 210 may communicate directly with the anchor network node 210 via a wireless backhaul link to access the core network, or may communicate indirectly with the anchor network node 210 via one or more other non-anchor network nodes 210 and associated wireless backhaul links that form a backhaul path to the core network. Some anchor network node 210 or other non-anchor network node 210 may also communicate directly with one or more UEs 220 via wireless access links that carry access traffic. In some examples, network resources for wireless communication (such as time resources, frequency resources, and / or spatial resources) may be shared between access links and backhaul links.

[0076] In some examples, any network node 210 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay network node, a relay station, or simply as a relay. A relay may receive a transmission of a communication from an upstream station (for example, another network node 210 or a UE 220) and transmit the communication to a downstream station (for example, a UE 220 or another network node 210). In this case, the wireless communication network 200 may include or be referred to as a “multi-hop network.” In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 210d (for example, a relay network node) may communicate with the network node 210a (for example, a macro network node) and the UE 220d in order to facilitate communication between the network node 210a and the UE 220d. Additionally or alternatively, a UE 220 may be or may operate as a relay station that can relay transmissions to or from other UEs 220. A UE 220 that relays communications may be referred to as a UE relay or a relay UE, among other examples.

[0077] The UEs 220 may be physically dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 200, and each UE 220 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 220 may be, may include, or may be included in an access terminal, another terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. A UE 220 may be, include, or be coupled with a cellular phone (for example, a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (for example, a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, and / or smart jewelry, such as a smart ring or a smart bracelet), an entertainment device(for example, a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio), an extended reality (XR) device, a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter or sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) device (such as a Global Positioning System device or another type of positioning device), a UE function of a network node, and / or any other suitable device or function that may communicate via a wireless medium.

[0078] A UE 220 and / or a network node 210 may include one or more chips, system -on-chips (SoCs), chipsets, packages, or devices that individually or collectively constitute or comprise a processing system (such as the processing system 110 and / or the processing system 112). The processing system includes processor (or “processing”) circuitry in the form of one or multiple processors, microprocessors, processing units (such as central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), neural processing units (NPUs) and / or digital signal processors (DSPs)), processing blocks, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “processors” or collectively as “the processor” or “the processor circuitry”). One or more of the processors may be individually or collectively configurable or configured to perform various functions or operations described herein. A group of processors collectively configurable or configured to perform a set of functions may include a first processor configurable or configured to perform a first function of the set and a second processor configurable or configured to perform a second function of the set, or may include the group of processors all being configured or configurable to perform the set of functions.

[0079] The processing system may further include memory circuitry in the form of one or more memory devices, memory blocks, memory elements or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry, each of which may include tangible storage media such as random-access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “memories” or collectively as “the memory” or “the memory circuitry”). One or more of the memories may be coupled (for example, operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled) with one or more of the processors and may individually or collectively store processor-executable code (such as software) that, when executed by one or more of the processors, may configure one or more of the processors to perform various functions or operations described herein. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, one or more of the processors may be preconfigured to perform various functions or operations described herein without requiring configuration by software. The processing system may further include or be coupled with one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (for example, IEEE compliant) modem or a cellular (for example, 3GPP 4G LTE, 5G, or 6G compliant) modem). In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing systeminclude or implement one or more of the modems. The processing system may further include or be coupled with multiple radios (collectively “the radio”), multiple RF chains, or multiple transceivers, each of which may in turn be coupled with one or more of multiple antennas. In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the radios, RF chains or transceivers. The UE 220 may include or may be included in a housing that houses components associated with the UE 220 including the processing system.

[0080] Some UEs 220 may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC), UEs, further enhanced eMTC (feMTC) UEs, or enhanced feMTC (efeMTC) UEs, or further evolutions thereof, all of which may be simply referred to as “MTC UEs”. An MTC UE may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with a robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle or drone, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and / or a location tag. Some UEs 220 may be considered loT devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband loT) devices. An loT UE or NB-IoT device may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with an industrial machine, an appliance, a refrigerator, a doorbell camera device, a home automation device, and / or a light fixture, among other examples. Some UEs 220 may be considered Customer Premises Equipment, which may include telecommunications devices that are installed at a customer location (such as a home or office) to enable access to a service provider's network (such as included in or in communication with the wireless communication network 200).

[0081] Some UEs 220 may be classified according to different categories in association with different complexities and / or different capabilities. UEs 220 in a first category may facilitate massive loT in the wireless communication network 200, and may offer low complexity and / or cost relative to UEs 220 in a second category. UEs 220 in a second category may include mission-critical loT devices, legacy UEs, baseline UEs, high-tier UEs, advanced UEs, fullcapability UEs, and / or premium UEs that are capable of ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and / or precise positioning in the wireless communication network 200, among other examples. A third category of UEs 220 may have mid-tier complexity and / or capability (for example, a capability between UEs 220 of the first category and UEs 220 of the second capability). A UE 220 of the third category may be referred to as a reduced capacity UE (“RedCap UE”), a mid-tier UE, an NR-Light UE, and / or an NR-Lite UE, among other examples. RedCap UEs may bridge a gap between the capability and complexity of NB-IoT devices and / or eMTC UEs, and mission-critical loT devices and / or premium UEs. RedCap UEs may include, for example, wearable devices, loT devices, industrial sensors, and / or cameras that are associated with a limited bandwidth, power capacity, and / or transmission range, among other examples. RedCap UEs may support healthcare environments,building automation, electrical distribution, process automation, transport and logistics, and / or smart city deployments, among other examples.

[0082] In some examples, two or more UEs 220 (for example, shown as UE 220a and UE 220e) may communicate directly with one another using sidelink communications (for example, without communicating by way of a network node 210 as an intermediary). As an example, the UE 220a may directly transmit data, control information, or other signaling as a sidelink communication to the UE 220e. This is in contrast to, for example, the UE 220a first transmitting data in an UL communication to a network node 210, which then transmits the data to the UE 220e in a DL communication. In various examples, the UEs 220 may transmit and receive sidelink communications using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication protocols, device-to-device (D2D) communication protocols, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication protocols (which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, and / or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), and / or mesh network communication protocols. In some deployments and configurations, a network node 210 may schedule and / or allocate resources for sidelink communications between UEs 220 in the wireless communication network 200. In some other deployments and configurations, a UE 220 (instead of a network node 210) may perform, or collaborate or negotiate with one or more other UEs to perform, scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations for sidelink communications.

[0083] In various examples, some of the network nodes 210 and the UEs 220 of the wireless communication network 200 may be configured for full -duplex operation in addition to halfduplex operation. A network node 210 or a UE 220 operating in a half-duplex mode may perform only one of transmission or reception during particular time resources, such as during particular slots, symbols, or other time periods. Half-duplex operation may involve time-division duplexing (TDD), in which DL transmissions of the network node 210 and UL transmissions of the UE 220 do not occur in the same time resources (that is, the transmissions do not overlap in time). In contrast, a network node 210 or a UE 220 operating in a full-duplex mode can transmit and receive communications concurrently (for example, in the same time resources). By operating in a full-duplex mode, network nodes 210 and / or UEs 220 may generally increase the capacity of the network and the radio access link. In some examples, full-duplex operation may involve frequency-division duplexing (FDD), in which DL transmissions of the network node 210 are performed in a first frequency band or on a first component carrier and transmissions of the UE 220 are performed in a second frequency band or on a second component carrier different than the first frequency band or the first component carrier, respectively. In some examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a UE 220 but not for a network node 210. For example, a UE 220 may simultaneously transmit an UL transmission to a first network node 210 and receive a DL transmission from a second network node 210 in the same time resources. In some otherexamples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a network node 210 but not for a UE 220. For example, a network node 210 may simultaneously transmit a DL transmission to a first UE 220 and receive an UL transmission from a second UE 220 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for both a network node 210 and a UE 220.

[0084] In some examples, the UEs 220 and the network nodes 210 may perform MIMO communication. “MIMO” generally refers to transmitting or receiving multiple signals (such as multiple layers or multiple data streams) simultaneously over the same time and frequency resources. MIMO techniques generally exploit multipath propagation. MIMO may be implemented using various spatial processing or spatial multiplexing operations. In some examples, MIMO may support simultaneous transmission to multiple receivers, referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). Some RATs may employ advanced MIMO techniques, such as mTRP operation (including redundant transmission or reception on multiple TRPs), reciprocity in the time domain or the frequency domain, single-frequency-network (SFN) transmission, or noncoherent joint transmission (NC-JT).

[0085] The network node 210 may provide the UE 220 with a configuration of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states that indicate or correspond to beams that may be used by the UE 220, such as for receiving one or more communications via a physical channel. For example, the network node 210 may indicate (for example, using DCI) an activated TCI state to the UE 220, which the UE 220 may use to generate a beam for receiving one or more communications via the physical channel. A beam indication may be, or may include, a TCI state information element, a beam identifier (ID), spatial relation information, a TCI state ID, a closed loop index, a panel ID, a TRP ID, and / or a sounding reference signal (SRS) set ID, among other examples. A TCI state information element (sometimes referred to as a TCI state herein) may indicate particular information associated with a beam. For example, the TCI state information element may indicate a TCI state identification (for example, a tci-Statell)). a quasi-co-location (QCL) type (for example, a qcl-Typel . qcl-Type2. qcl-TypeA. qcl-TypeB. qcl-TypeC. or a qcl-Type . among other examples), a cell identification (for example, a ServCelllndex), a bandwidth part identification (bwp-Id), or a reference signal identification, such as a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) identification (for example, an NZP-CSI-RS-Resourceld or an SSB-Index, among other examples). Spatial relation information may similarly indicate information associated with an uplink beam. The beam indication may be a joint or separate DL / UL beam indication in a unified TCI framework. In a unified TCI framework, a network node 210 may support common TCI state ID update and activation, which may provide common QCL and / or common UL transmission spatial filters across a set of configured component carriers. This type of beam indication may apply to intra-band carrier aggregation, as well as to joint DL / UL and separate DL / UL beam indications. The common TCI state ID may imply thatone reference signal determined according to the TCI state(s) indicated by a common TCI state ID is used to provide QCL Type-D indication and to determine UL transmission spatial fdters across the set of configured CCs.

[0086] In some aspects, the UE 220 may include a communication manager 240. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 240 may transmit, to a network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receive, from the network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 240 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0087] In some aspects, the network node 210 may include a communication manager 250. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 250 may receive, from a network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmit, to the network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 250 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0088] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example network node 210 in communication with an example UE 220 in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0089] As shown in Fig. 3, the network node 210 may include a data source 312, a transmit processor 314, a transmit (TX) MIMO processor 316, a set of modems 332 (shown as 332a through 332t, where t > 1), a set of antennas 334 (shown as 334a through 334v, where v > 1), a MIMO detector 336, a receive processor 338, a data sink 339, a controller / processor 340, a memory 342, a communication unit 344, a scheduler 346, and / or a communication manager 250, among other examples. In some configurations, one or a combination of the antenna(s) 334, the modem(s) 332, the MIMO detector 336, the receive processor 338, the transmit processor 314, and / or the TX MIMO processor 316 may be included in a transceiver of the network node 210. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 340, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 342, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, and / or operations described herein. In some aspects, the network node 210 may include one or more interfaces, communication components, and / or other components that facilitate communication with the UE 220 or another network node.

[0090] The terms “processor,” “controller,” or “controller / processor” may refer to one or more controllers and / or one or more processors. For example, reference to “a / the processor,” “a / the controller / processor,” or the like (in the singular) refers to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 3, such as a single processor or a combination of multiple different processors. Reference to “one or more processors” refers to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 3. For example, one or more processors of the network node 210 may include transmit processor 314, TX MIMO processor 316, MIMO detector 336, receive processor 338, and / or controller / processor 340. Similarly, one or more processors of the UE 220 may include MIMO detector 356, receive processor 358, transmit processor 364, TX MIMO processor 366, and / or controller / processor 380.

[0091] In some aspects, a single processor may perform all of the operations described as being performed by the one or more processors. In some aspects, a first set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a first operation described as being performed by the one or more processors, and a second set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a second operation described as being performed by the one or more processors. The first set of processors and the second set of processors may be the same set of processors or may be different sets of processors. Reference to “one or more memories” refers to any one or more memories of a corresponding device, such as the memory described in connection with Fig. 3. For example, operation described as being performed by one or more memories can be performed by the same subset of the one or more memories or different subsets of the one or more memories.

[0092] For downlink communication from the network node 210 to the UE 220, the transmit processor 314 may receive data (“downlink data”) intended for the UE 220 (or a set of UEs that includes the UE 220) from the data source 312 (such as a data pipeline or a data queue). In some examples, the transmit processor 314 may select one or more MCSs for the UE 220 in accordance with one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 220. The network node 210 may process the data (for example, including encoding the data) for transmission to the UE 220 on a downlink in accordance with the MCS(s) selected for the UE 220 to generate data symbols. The transmit processor 314 may process system information (for example, semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and / or control information (for example, CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and / or control symbols. The transmit processor 314 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (for example, a cellspecific reference signal (CRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a CSI-RS) and / or synchronization signals (for example, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signals (SSS)).

[0093] The TX MIMO processor 316 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, T output symbol streams) to the set of modems 332. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 332. Each modem 332 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 332 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, fdter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a time domain downlink signal. The modems 332a through 332t may together transmit a set of downlink signals (for example, T downlink signals) via the corresponding set of antennas 334.

[0094] A downlink signal may include a DCI communication, a MAC control element (MAC- CE) communication, an RRC communication, a downlink reference signal, or another type of downlink communication. Downlink signals may be transmitted on a PDCCH, a PDSCH, and / or on another downlink channel. A downlink signal may carry one or more transport blocks (TBs) of data. A TB may be a unit of data that is transmitted over an air interface in the wireless communication network 200. A data stream (for example, from the data source 312) may be encoded into multiple TBs for transmission over the air interface. The quantity of TBs used to carry the data associated with a particular data stream may be associated with a TB size common to the multiple TBs. The TB size may be based on or otherwise associated with radio channel conditions of the air interface, the MCS used for encoding the data, the downlink resources allocated for transmitting the data, and / or another parameter. In general, the larger the TB size, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted in a single transmission, which reduces signaling overhead. However, larger TB sizes may be more prone to transmission and / or reception errors than smaller TB sizes, but such errors may be mitigated by more robust error correction techniques.

[0095] For uplink communication from the UE 220 to the network node 210, uplink signals from the UE 220 may be received by an antenna 334, may be processed by a modem 332 (for example, a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of a modem 332), may be detected by the MIMO detector 336 (for example, a receive (Rx) MIMO processor) if applicable, and / or may be further processed by the receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and / or control information. The receive processor 338 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 339 (which may be a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or another type of data sink) and provide the decoded control information to a processor, such as the controller / processor 340.

[0096] The network node 210 may use the scheduler 346 to schedule one or more UEs 220 for downlink or uplink communications. In some aspects, the scheduler 346 may use DCI to dynamically schedule DL transmissions to the UE 220 and / or UL transmissions from the UE 220. In some examples, the scheduler 346 may allocate recurring time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources that the UE 220 may use to transmit and / or receive communications using an RRC configuration (for example, a semi-static configuration), for example, to perform semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or to configure a configured grant (CG) for the UE 220.

[0097] One or more of the transmit processor 314, the TX MIMO processor 316, the modem 332, the antenna 334, the MIMO detector 336, the receive processor 338, and / or the controller / processor 340 may be included in an RF chain of the network node 210. An RF chain may include one or more filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and / or other devices that convert between an analog signal (such as for transmission or reception via an air interface) and a digital signal (such as for processing by one or more processors of the network node 210). In some aspects, the RF chain may be or may be included in a transceiver of the network node 210.

[0098] In some examples, the network node 210 may use the communication unit 344 to communicate with a core network and / or with other network nodes. The communication unit 344 may support wired and / or wireless communication protocols and / or connections, such as Ethernet, optical fiber, common public radio interface (CPRI), and / or a wired or wireless backhaul, among other examples. The network node 210 may use the communication unit 344 to transmit and / or receive data associated with the UE 220 or to perform network control signaling, among other examples. The communication unit 344 may include a transceiver and / or an interface, such as a network interface.

[0099] The UE 220 may include a set of antennas 352 (shown as antennas 352a through 352r, where r > 1), a set of modems 354 (shown as modems 354a through 354u, where u > 1), a MIMO detector 356, a receive processor 358, a data sink 360, a data source 362, a transmit processor 364, a TX MIMO processor 366, a controller / processor 380, a memory 382, and / or a communication manager 240, among other examples. One or more of the components of the UE 220 may be included in a housing 384. In some aspects, one or a combination of the antenna(s) 352, the modem(s) 354, the MIMO detector 356, the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, or the TX MIMO processor 366 may be included in a transceiver that is included in the UE 220. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 380, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 382, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, or operations described herein. In some aspects, the UE 220 may include another interface, another communication component,and / or another component that facilitates communication with the network node 210 and / or another UE 220.

[0100] For downlink communication from the network node 210 to the UE 220, the set of antennas 352 may receive the downlink communications or signals from the network node 210 and may provide a set of received downlink signals (for example, R received signals) to the set of modems 354. For example, each received signal may be provided to a respective demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem 354. Each modem 354 may use the respective demodulator component to condition (for example, fdter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 354 may use the respective demodulator component to further demodulate or process the input samples (for example, for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from the set of modems 354, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 358 may process (for example, decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 220 to the data sink 360 (which may include a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 220), and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 380.

[0101] For uplink communication from the UE 220 to the network node 210, the transmit processor 364 may receive and process data (“uplink data”) from a data source 362 (such as a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 220) and control information from the controller / processor 380. The control information may include one or more parameters, feedback, one or more signal measurements, and / or other types of control information. In some aspects, the receive processor 358 and / or the controller / processor 380 may determine, for a received signal (such as received from the network node 210 or another UE), one or more parameters relating to transmission of the uplink communication. The one or more parameters may include a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RS SI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, a channel quality indicator (CQI) parameter, or a transmit power control (TPC) parameter, among other examples. The control information may include an indication of the RSRP parameter, the RS SI parameter, the RSRQ parameter, the CQI parameter, the TPC parameter, and / or another parameter. The control information may facilitate parameter selection and / or scheduling for the UE 220 by the network node 210.

[0102] The transmit processor 364 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals, such as an uplink DMRS, an uplink SRS, and / or another type of reference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 366, if applicable, and further processed by the set of modems 354 (for example, for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM). The TX MIMO processor 366 may perform spatial processing (forexample, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, U output symbol streams) to the set of modems 354. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 354. Each modem 354 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 354 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, fdter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain an uplink signal.

[0103] The modems 354a through 354u may transmit a set of uplink signals (for example, R uplink signals or U uplink symbols) via the corresponding set of antennas 352. An uplink signal may include a UCI communication, a MAC-CE communication, an RRC communication, or another type of uplink communication. Uplink signals may be transmitted on a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and / or another type of uplink channel. An uplink signal may carry one or more TBs of data. Sidelink data and control transmissions (that is, transmissions directly between two or more UEs 220) may generally use similar techniques as were described for uplink data and control transmission, and may use sidelink-specific channels such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0104] One or more antennas of the set of antennas 352 or the set of antennas 334 may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or one or more antenna elements coupled with one or more transmission or reception components, such as one or more components of Fig. 3. As used herein, “antenna” can refer to one or more antennas, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays. “Antenna panel” can refer to a group of antennas (such as antenna elements) arranged in an array or panel, which may facilitate beamforming by manipulating parameters of the group of antennas. “Antenna module” may refer to circuitry including one or more antennas, which may also include one or more other components (such as fdters, amplifiers, or processors) associated with integrating the antenna module into a wireless communication device.

[0105] In some examples, each of the antenna elements of an antenna 334 or an antenna 352 may include one or more sub-elements for radiating or receiving radio frequency signals. For example, a single antenna element may include a first sub-element cross-polarized with a secondsub-element that can be used to independently transmit cross-polarized signals. The antenna elements may include patch antennas, dipole antennas, and / or other types of antennas arranged in a linear pattern, a two-dimensional pattern, or another pattern. A spacing between antenna elements may be such that signals with a desired wavelength transmitted separately by the antenna elements may interact or interfere constructively and destructively along various directions (such as to form a desired beam). For example, given an expected range of wavelengths or frequencies, the spacing may provide a quarter wavelength, a half wavelength, or another fraction of a wavelength of spacing between neighboring antenna elements to allow for the desired constructive and destructive interference patterns of signals transmitted by the separate antenna elements within that expected range.

[0106] The amplitudes and / or phases of signals transmitted via antenna elements and / or subelements may be modulated and shifted relative to each other (such as by manipulating phase shift, phase offset, and / or amplitude) to generate one or more beams, which is referred to as beamforming. The term “beam” may refer to a directional transmission of a wireless signal toward a receiving device or otherwise in a desired direction. “Beam” may also generally refer to a direction associated with such a directional signal transmission, a set of directional resources associated with the signal transmission (for example, an angle of arrival, a horizontal direction, and / or a vertical direction), and / or a set of parameters that indicate one or more aspects of a directional signal, a direction associated with the signal, and / or a set of directional resources associated with the signal. In some implementations, antenna elements may be individually selected or deselected for directional transmission of a signal (or signals) by controlling amplitudes of one or more corresponding amplifiers and / or phases of the signal(s) to form one or more beams. The shape of a beam (such as the amplitude, width, and / or presence of side lobes) and / or the direction of a beam (such as an angle of the beam relative to a surface of an antenna array) can be dynamically controlled by modifying the phase shifts, phase offsets, and / or amplitudes of the multiple signals relative to each other.

[0107] Different UEs 220 or network nodes 210 may include different numbers of antenna elements. For example, a UE 220 may include a single antenna element, two antenna elements, four antenna elements, eight antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. As another example, a network node 210 may include eight antenna elements, 24 antenna elements, 64 antenna elements, 128 antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. Generally, a larger number of antenna elements may provide increased control over parameters for beam generation relative to a smaller number of antenna elements, whereas a smaller number of antenna elements may be less complex to implement and may use less power than a larger number of antenna elements. Multiple antenna elements may support multiple-layer transmission, in which a first layer of a communication (which may include a first data stream) and a secondlayer of a communication (which may include a second data stream) are transmitted using the same time and frequency resources with spatial multiplexing.

[0108] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture 400 in accordance with the present disclosure. One or more components of the example disaggregated base station architecture 400 may be, may include, or may be included in one or more network nodes (such one or more network nodes 210). The disaggregated base station architecture 400 may include a CU 410 that can communicate directly with a core network 420 via a backhaul link, or that can communicate indirectly with the core network 420 via one or more disaggregated control units, such as a Non-RT RIC 450 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 460 and / or a Near-RT RIC 470 (for example, via an E2 link). The CU 410 may communicate with one or more DUs 430 via respective midhaul links, such as via Fl interfaces. Each of the DUs 430 may communicate with one or more RUs 440 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 440 may communicate with one or more UEs 220 via respective RF access links. In some deployments, a UE 220 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 440.

[0109] Each of the components of the disaggregated base station architecture 400, including the CUs 410, the DUs 430, the RUs 440, the Near-RT RICs 470, the Non-RT RICs 450, and the SMO Framework 460, may include one or more interfaces or may be coupled with one or more interfaces for receiving or transmitting signals, such as data or information, via a wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0110] In some aspects, the CU 410 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. A CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with a CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the El interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 410 may be deployed to communicate with one or more DUs 430, as necessary, for network control and signaling. Each DU 430 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 440. For example, a DU 430 may host various layers, such as an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or one or more PHY layers, such as one or more high PHY layers or one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (which also may be referred to as a module) may be implemented with an interface for communicating signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 430, or for communicating signals with the control functions hosted by the CU 410. Each RU 440 may implement lower layer functionality. In some aspects, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU(s) 440 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 430.[OHl] The SMO Framework 460 may support RAN deployment and provisioning of nonvirtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 460 may support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coveragerequirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface, such as an 01 interface. For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 460 may interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 490) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface, such as an 02 interface. A virtualized network element may include, but is not limited to, a CU 410, a DU 430, an RU 440, a non-RT RIC 450, and / or a Near-RT RIC 470. In some aspects, the SMO Framework 460 may communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, a 5G NR RAN, and / or a 6G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 480, via an 01 interface. Additionally or alternatively, the SMO Framework 460 may communicate directly with each of one or more RUs 440 via a respective 01 interface. In some deployments, this configuration can enable each DU 430 and the CU 410 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0112] The Non-RT RIC 450 may include or may implement a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / MU) workflows including model training and updates, and / or policybased guidance of applications and / or features in the Near-RT RIC 470. The Non-RT RIC 450 may be coupled to or may communicate with (such as via an Al interface) the Near-RT RIC 470. The Near-RT RIC 470 may include or may implement a logical function that enables near-realtime control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions via an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 410, one or more DUs 430, and / or an O-eNB with the Near-RT RIC 470.

[0113] In some aspects, to generate AI / MU models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 470, the Non-RT RIC 450 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 470 and may be received at the SMO Framework 460 or the Non-RT RIC 450 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 450 or the Near-RT RIC 470 may tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 450 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and may employ AI / MU models to perform corrective actions via the SMO Framework 460 (such as reconfiguration via an 01 interface) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as Al interface policies).

[0114] The network node 210, the controller / processor 340 of the network node 210, the UE 220, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 220, the CU 410, the DU 430, the RU 440, or any other componcnt(s) of Figures 1, 2, 3 or 4 may implement one or more techniques or perform one or more operations associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 340 of the network node 210, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 220, any other component(s) of Fig. 3, the CU 410, the DU430, or the RU 440 may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, or other processes as described herein (alone or in conjunction with one or more other processors). The memory 342 may store data and program codes for the network node 210, the network node 210, the CU 410, the DU 430, or the RU 440. The memory 382 may store data and program codes for the UE 220. In some examples, the memory 342 or the memory 382 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions (for example, code or program code) for wireless communication. The memory 342 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types). The memory 382 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types). For example, the set of instructions, when executed (for example, directly, or after compiling, converting, or interpreting) by one or more processors of the network node 210, the UE 220, the CU 410, the DU 430, or the RU 440, may cause the one or more processors to perform process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and / or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.

[0115] In some aspects, a first network entity includes means for transmitting, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and / or means for receiving, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. In some aspects, the means for the first network entity to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 250, transmit processor 314, TX MIMO processor 316, modem 332, antenna 334, MIMO detector 336, receive processor 338, controller / processor 340, memory 342, or scheduler 346. In some other aspects, the means for the first network entity to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 240, antenna 352, modem 354, MIMO detector 356, receive processor 358, transmit processor 364, TX MIMO processor 366, controller / processor 380, or memory 382.

[0116] In some aspects, a first network entity includes means for receiving, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and / or means for transmitting, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell. In some aspects, the means for the first network entity to perform operations described herein may include, for example, oneor more of communication manager 250, transmit processor 314, TX MIMO processor 316, modem 332, antenna 334, MIMO detector 336, receive processor 338, controller / processor 340, memory 342, or scheduler 346. In some other aspects, the means for the first network entity to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 240, antenna 352, modem 354, MIMO detector 356, receive processor 358, transmit processor 364, TX MIMO processor 366, controller / processor 380, or memory 382.

[0117] Carrier aggregation is a technology that enables two or more component carriers (CCs, sometimes referred to as carriers) to be combined (e.g., into a single channel) for a single UE 220 to enhance data capacity. Carriers can be combined in the same or different frequency bands. Additionally, or alternatively, contiguous or non-contiguous carriers can be combined. A network node 210 may configure carrier aggregation for a UE 220, such as in a RRC message, DCI, and / or another signaling message.

[0118] In some examples, carrier aggregation may be configured in an intra-band contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are contiguous to one another and are in the same band. In some examples, carrier aggregation may be configured in an intra-band non-contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are non-contiguous to one another and are in the same band. In some examples, carrier aggregation may be configured in an inter-band non-contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are non-contiguous to one another and are in different bands.

[0119] In carrier aggregation, a UE 220 may be configured with a primary carrier or primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary carriers or secondary cells (SCells). In some examples, the primary carrier may carry control information (e.g., downlink control information and / or scheduling information) for scheduling data communications on one or more secondary carriers, which may be referred to as cross-carrier scheduling. In some aspects, a carrier (e.g., a primary carrier or a secondary carrier) may carry control information for scheduling data communications on the carrier, which may be referred to as self-carrier scheduling or carrier self-scheduling.

[0120] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of a virtual cell, in accordance with the present disclosure. Typically, a cell, carrier, or component carrier may use a bandwidth for wireless communications that is contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, a bandwidth of a cell, carrier, or component carrier may span a set of one or more resource blocks (RBs) that are contiguous in the frequency domain.

[0121] Time-frequency resources in a radio access network may be partitioned into RBs. An RB is sometimes referred to as a physical resource block (PRB). An RB may include a set of subcarriers (e.g., 12 subcarriers) and a set of symbols (e.g., 14 symbols) that are schedulable by a network node 210 as a unit. In some examples, an RB may include a set of subcarriers in a single slot. A single time-frequency resource included in an RB may be referred to as a resource element (RE). An RE may include a single subcarrier (e.g., in frequency) and a single symbol(e.g., in time). A symbol may be referred to as an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. An RE may be used to transmit one modulated symbol, which may be a real value or a complex value. In some examples, some resources (such as a control resource set (CORESET)) may be defined with reference to a common reference point for resource block grids, which may be referred to as a “Point A,” an “absolute frequency point A,” or a “common RB (CRB) 0.”

[0122] In some examples, for component carriers to be aggregated via carrier aggregation, the bandwidth of each component carrier may satisfy a bandwidth threshold. The bandwidth threshold may be based on (e.g., may be) a minimum channel bandwidth of a UE 220. For example, for component carriers to be aggregated for a UE 220, the bandwidth of each component carrier may be greater than or equal to the minimum channel bandwidth of the UE 220. If a bandwidth of a component carrier or sub-band does not satisfy the bandwidth threshold (e.g., is less than or equal to the bandwidth threshold), then the component carrier or sub-band may not be aggregated via carrier aggregation for the UE 220.

[0123] In some examples, a spectrum for wireless communication may include frequency domain resources that are allocated for different technologies. For example, some operating bands or frequency range designations may include cellular RAT spectrums, personal area network (PAN) spectrums, wireless local area network (WLAN) spectrums (e.g., Wi-Fi spectrums), V2X spectrums, and / or unlicensed spectrums, among other examples. Therefore, available frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) may have relatively small bandwidths. As a result, the available frequency domain resources may be unavailable to be aggregated via carrier aggregation for a UE 220 (e.g., because the bandwidth of the available frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) may not satisfy the bandwidth threshold for carrier aggregation). This may reduce coverage, reduce data capacity, and / or reduce performance, among other examples, for UEs because the UEs may be limited to communicating via the frequency domain resources that have relatively small bandwidths.

[0124] For example, a network (e.g., one or more network nodes 110) may allocate frequency domain resources to a new RAT that were previously allocated to a legacy RAT. For example, the new RAT may be the 6G RAT and the legacy RAT may be a 2G RAT or a 3G RAT. For example, as the subscribers of the new RAT increase, the network may configure UEs to reallocate more frequency domain resources reserved for a legacy RAT to the new RAT. The reallocation of frequency domain resources may be referred to as “refarming” the frequency domain resources. However, if the refarmed frequency domain resources (e.g., the reallocated spectrum that was previously allocated to a legacy RAT) is scattered in the frequency domain and / or is associated with relatively small (e.g., narrow) bandwidths, then the network may be unable to aggregate the reallocated spectrum using carrier aggregation or dynamic spectrumsharing. Without the use of spectrum aggregation with other component carriers to meet requirements for a minimum channel bandwidth of a UE, one or more refarmed component carriers with bandwidths that do not satisfy the bandwidth threshold may not be suitable for standalone (SA) deployment for the new RAT.

[0125] Therefore, in some examples, the network (e.g., one or more network nodes) may aggregate non-contiguous frequency domain resources to form a virtual cell. As used herein, a “virtual cell” refers to a spectrum that includes frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands, RBs, and / or RB groups) that are non-contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, a virtual cell may include one or more refarmed (or reallocated) frequency domain resources or spectrums. This enables the frequency domain resources or spectrums that are scattered in the frequency domain and / or that have relatively small (e.g., narrow) bandwidths to be aggregated into a virtual cell with a larger bandwidth, thereby improving coverage, improving data capacity, and / or improving performance, among other examples, for UEs. For example, a virtual cell may enable the network to overcome the bandwidth size restriction spectrum refarming and carrier aggregation. Additionally, configuring a virtual cell may improve a resource utilization efficiency for fragmented, refarmed, and / or reallocated resources. Further, a virtual cell may enable the coexistence of different UE types (e.g., UEs having different capabilities) and / or different types of UE functions or use cases that use the same virtual cell.

[0126] As shown in Fig. 5, a virtual cell may include an aggregated bandwidth 505. The aggregated bandwidth 505 may be referred to as a system bandwidth or WSYS- The aggregated bandwidth may include a bandwidth of one or more frequency domain resources, such as one or more sub-bands (e.g., K+N sub-bands as shown in Fig. 5). A sub-band may include one or more RBs and / or one or more RB groups (e.g., where an RB group includes one or more RBs). As shown in Fig. 5, some of the sub-bands included in the aggregated bandwidth 505 (e.g., shown as sub-band K and sub-band +l in Fig. 5) may be separated in the frequency domain by a frequency gap 510. For example, two adjacent sub-bands in the aggregated bandwidth 505 may be separated in the frequency domain by the frequency gap 510. Some sub-bands included in the aggregated bandwidth 505 may be contiguous in the frequency domain.

[0127] UEs having different capabilities (e.g., different bandwidth capabilities) may operate via the virtual cell with the aggregated bandwidth 505. For example, a maximum bandwidth supported by a UE may be greater than, equal to, or less than the aggregated bandwidth 505. When operating via the virtual cell, the UE may be configured with an initial downlink BWP and / or an initial uplink BWP (e.g., when the UE is operating in an RRC idle or an RRC inactive state). The UE may be configured with a dedicated BWP (e.g., from the aggregated bandwidth 505) for downlink and / or uplink when the UE is operating in an RRC connected state. A maximum bandwidth of an initial BWP and a maximum bandwidth of a dedicated BWP may beless than or equal to the maximum bandwidth supported by the UE. Additionally, the maximum bandwidth of an initial BWP and the maximum bandwidth of a dedicated BWP may be less than or equal to the aggregated bandwidth 505.

[0128] In some examples, a UE may receive and / or measure one or more downlink reference signals to perform operations for one or more control loops. A “control loop” may refer to an operation to determine, regulate, and / or optimize one or more parameters for ensuring efficient and reliable communication by the UE. For example, a UE may receive and / or measure one or more downlink reference signals to perform time tracking (e.g., for a time tracking loop (TTL) operation), frequency tracking (e.g., for a frequency tracking loop (FTL) operation), an automatic gain control (AGC) operation, a beam failure detection (BFD) operation, a beam management operation, and / or a radio link monitoring (RLM) operation, among other examples.

[0129] For example, a UE may perform measurements (e.g., layer 1 (LI) measurements and / or layer 3 (L3) measurements) while connected to a wireless network. Many measurements are performed on an SSB. As used herein, “SSB” refers to a signal that carries information used for initial network acquisition and synchronization, such as primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and a PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS). Accordingly, an SSB is sometimes referred to as a synchronization signal / PBCH (SS / PBCH) block. A UE may also use different bandwidth parts (BWPs) for communicating on the wireless network. As used herein, “bandwidth part” or “BWP” may refer to a contiguous set of physical resource blocks (PRBs), where each PRB includes a set of frequencies corresponding to one or more subcarriers. “Subcarrier” may refer to a frequency based at least in part on a “carrier” frequency, and subcarriers may be aggregated (e.g., using carrier aggregation (CA)) to convey information wirelessly (e.g., using OFDM symbols and / or other RF symbols). When a UE switches BWPs in the case of BWP with restriction, each active BWP includes a CD-SSB. As used herein, a “CD-SSB” refers to an SSB that indicates an SIB message including an identifier associated with the cell (e.g., an NR cell global identity (NCGI)). In some aspects, a CD-SSB may carry system information, such as remaining minimum system information (RMSI). For example, the SIB included in the CD-SSB may be a SIB type 1 (SIB1), as defined or otherwise fixed by a wireless communication standard, such as the 3GPP. In some aspects, the CD-SSB may enable RMSI acquisition. A non-cell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB) refers to an SSB that does not indicate the SIB message and / or indicates a SIB message not including the identifier associated with the cell.

[0130] However, when the UE is configured to operate via a virtual cell, downlink reference signal configuration and / or measurement operations (e.g., for control loops) may not be defined. For example, because the frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) of the virtual cell may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain, the UE may have to monitor and / or tune RFcomponents to different frequencies (e.g., for one or more, or each, sub-band included in the virtual cell) to monitor for the downlink reference signals because the UE may not receive an indication of the reference signal configuration and / or measurement operation (e.g., for control loops) for the virtual cell. This may consume processing resources and / or power resources associated with the UE monitoring for the downlink reference signals. Additionally, a network node may have to configure and / or transmit a downlink reference signal on each sub-band included in the virtual cell (e.g., because the network node may not know which sub-band a given UE is monitoring for the reference signal), thereby consuming network resources, reference signal resource overhead, processing resources, and / or power resources associated with configuring and / or transmitting a downlink reference signal on each sub-band included in the virtual cell. To conserve the overhead and network energy associated with configuring and / or transmitting a downlink reference signal on each sub-band included in the virtual cell, a downlink reference signal may not be configured for all sub-bands included in the virtual cell. However, in such examples, a UE may not know on which sub-band(s) the downlink reference signal is to be transmitted, resulting in an increased likelihood that the UE is unable to receive the downlink reference signal and / or increasing an overhead associated with the UE monitoring additional resources to improve the likelihood that the UE is able to receive the downlink reference signal.

[0131] As indicated above, Fig. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 5.

[0132] Fig. 6 is a diagram of an example 600 associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 6, a first network entity 605 may communicate with a second network entity 610. The first network entity 605 may be the network entity 102, the network entity 106, a network node 210, a UE 220, a base station, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU. The second network entity 610 may be the network entity 102, the network entity 106, a network node 210, a UE 220, a base station, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU In some aspects, the first network entity 605 may be a network node 210 and the second network entity 610 may be a UE 220. In some aspects, the first network entity 605 and the second network entity 610 may be part of a wireless network (e.g., the wireless communication network 200). The first network entity 605 and the second network entity 610 may have established a wireless connection prior to operations shown in Fig. 6.

[0133] In some aspects, as shown by reference number 615, the second network entity 610 may transmit, and the first network entity 605 may receive, a capability report. The capability report may indicate capability information of the second network entity 610. The second network entity 610 may transmit the capability report via an uplink communication, a UE assistance information (UAI) communication, an uplink control information (UCI) communication, an uplink MAC-CE communication, an RRC communication, a physical uplink control channel(PUCCH), and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), among other examples. The capability report may indicate one or more parameters associated with respective capabilities of the second network entity 610. The one or more parameters may be indicated via respective information elements (IEs) included in the capability report.

[0134] The capability report may indicate whether the second network entity 610 supports a feature and / or one or more parameters related to the feature. For example, the capability report may indicate a capability and / or parameter for a virtual cell, a downlink reference signal configuration for a virtual cell, and / or a configuration of a downlink reference signal for a control loop associated with a virtual cell, among other examples. One or more operations described herein may be based on capability information of the capabilities report. For example, the second network entity 610 may perform a communication in accordance with the capability information, or may receive configuration information that is in accordance with the capability information.

[0135] In some aspects, the capability report may indicate whether the second network entity 610 supports being configured with a virtual cell, as described herein. For example, the capability report may indicate whether the second network entity 610 supports being configured with a virtual cell having non-contiguous frequency domain resources. In some aspects, the capability report may indicate information (e.g., capability information) for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell (e.g., that the first network entity 605 is configured to support).

[0136] For example, the capability report may indicate whether the second network entity 610 supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell. As another example, the capability report may indicate whether the second network entity 610 supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP without a time domain measurement gap. As another example, the capability report may indicate whether the second network entity 610 supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP with a time domain measurement gap.

[0137] For example, in some examples, the second network entity 610 may have a capability for measuring a downlink reference signal (e.g., for one or more control loops) when an active downlink BWP of the second network entity 610 is not configured with the downlink reference signal. In one type of capability (e.g., Type-1 capability), the second network entity 610 may support measuring the downlink reference signal outside of the active downlink BWP (e.g., for control loops, RLM, beam management, BFD, and / or another operation) without a time domain interruption (e.g., without a time gap or a measurement gap for antenna switching or retuning). For the Type-1 capability, the second network entity 610 may support measuring the downlink reference signal outside of the active downlink BWP if the downlink reference signal is within a maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second network entity 610 on the virtual cell. Insuch examples, no gap may be configured for layer 1 (LI) measurements of the reference signal performed by the second network entity 610.

[0138] In some other aspects, the second network entity 610 may support a different type of capability (e.g., Type-2 capability) for measuring the downlink reference signal outside of the active downlink BWP. In such examples, the second network entity 610 may support measuring the downlink reference signal outside of the active downlink BWP with interruptions (e.g., with a time gap or a measurement gap for antenna switching or retuning). For example, the second network entity 610 may support measuring the downlink reference signal outside of the active downlink BWP if the second network entity 610 is configured with a time gap for performing the measurements. For example, gap-assisted LI measurements on a serving cell (e.g., the virtual cell) can be configured by the first network entity 605 using assistance information of the second network entity 610. The duration of the time gap may be based on whether the downlink reference signal is outside of the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second network entity 610 on the virtual cell, and / or whether the second network entity 610 is to perform antenna switch (e.g., Rx antenna switching or Tx-to-Rx antenna switching) to measure the downlink reference signal, among other examples.

[0139] As shown by reference number 620, the first network entity 605 may transmit, and the second network entity 610 may receive, configuration information. In some aspects, the second network entity 610 may receive the configuration information via one or more of system information signaling (e.g., a master information block (MIB) and / or a system information block (SIB), among other examples), RRC signaling, MAC signaling (e.g., one or more MAC-CEs), and / or DCI signaling, among other examples.

[0140] In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate one or more candidate configurations and / or communication parameters. In some aspects, the one or more candidate configurations and / or communication parameters may be selected, activated, and / or deactivated by a subsequent indication. For example, the subsequent indication may select a candidate configuration and / or communication parameter from the one or more candidate configurations and / or communication parameters. In some aspects, the subsequent indication (e.g., an indication described herein) may include a dynamic indication, such as one or more MAC-CEs and / or one or more DCI messages, among other examples.

[0141] In some aspects, the configuration information may include a virtual cell configuration. For example, the configuration information may indicate one or more frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) that are included in a bandwidth of the virtual cell. As described elsewhere herein, the one or more frequency domain resources (e.g., sub-bands) may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain (e.g., there may be at least one frequency gap between resources included in the bandwidth of the virtual cell).

[0142] In some aspects, the virtual cell may be configured as a serving cell for the second network entity 610. In some aspects, the virtual cell may be configured as a PCell, a primary SCell (PSCell), or an SCell. In some aspects, if the virtual cell is configured as a PCell or a PSCell, then the first network entity 605 may transmit system information via the virtual cell. For example, the first network entity 605 may transmit a CD-SSB via the virtual cell.

[0143] In some aspects, the configuration information may indicate one or more BWPs configured for the second network entity 610 within a bandwidth of the virtual cell. For example, the configuration information may indicate frequency domain resources and / or sub-bands included in a downlink carrier for the virtual cell. Additionally, the configuration information may indicate an initial downlink BWP, an initial uplink BWP, and / or one or more other BWPs for the second network entity 610.

[0144] In some aspects, the configuration information may include a configuration for one or more CORESETs. The potential control region of a slot may be referred to as a CORESET and may be structured to support an efficient use of resources, such as by flexible configuration or reconfiguration of resources of the CORESET for one or more PDCCHs and / or one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). In some aspects, the CORESET may occupy the first symbol of a slot, the first two symbols of a slot, or the first three symbols of a slot. Thus, a CORESET may include multiple RBs in the frequency domain, and either one, two, or three symbols in the time domain. In 5G, a quantity of resources included in the CORESET may be flexibly configured, such as by using RRC signaling to indicate a frequency domain region (e.g., a quantity of resource blocks) and / or a time domain region (e.g., a quantity of symbols) for the CORESET. One type of CORESET is an initial CORESET, sometimes referred to as CORESET#0 or CORESETO. The initial CORESET may include a PDCCH with DCI indicating a configuration for receiving SIB 1. The initial CORESET may be used to communicate scheduling information for RMSI (e.g., for initial access). The initial CORESET may be configured to carry RMSI. For example, the second network entity 610 may monitor the initial CORESET according to various hypotheses to obtain DCI indicating the configuration to receive SIB1. A CD-SSB may include an indication of the initial CORESET (e.g., the CORESET#0).

[0145] For example, the second network entity 610 may search for the CD-SSB that is transmitted via the virtual cell. In some aspects, a wireless communication standard, such as the 3GPP, may define, or otherwise fix, a location of the CD-SSB. The second network entity 610 may receive the CD-SSB. The CD-SSB may indicate a configuration and / or location (e.g., in time-frequency resources) of the initial CORESET. The initial CORESET may include scheduling information for RMSI (e.g., a SIB1). The second network entity 610 may use the RMSI to identify initial access resources (e.g., random access channel (RACH) resources) to be used for initial access to establish a connection with the first network entity 605. For example,the second network entity 610 may receive an indication of an initial downlink BWP. The initial CORESET may be included in the initial downlink BWP.

[0146] The virtual cell may include an anchor band. For example, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands. The anchor band may be a sub-band, of the one or more sub-bands, in which the CD-SSB is configured and / or transmitted. In some aspects, initial downlink BWP for the second network entity 610 includes the anchor band. In other aspects, the initial downlink BWP for the second network entity 610 does not include the anchor band. In other words, the CD-SSB may be configured to be transmitted via the virtual cell outside of the initial downlink BWP. This is because the CD-SSB may be used by the second network entity 610 as a downlink reference signal to be measured for one or more tracking loops and / or for other operations, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. However, the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP (e.g., SIB1, RMSI, and / or other system information) may not be useful for the second network entity 610 after initial access is completed. Therefore, by decoupling the CD-SSB from the initial downlink BWP, the CD-SSB can be included in an active downlink BWP without the initial downlink BWP also being included in the active downlink BWP. As a result, the second network entity 610 may be enabled to use the CD-SSB as a downlink reference signal to be measured for one or more tracking loops and / or for other operations, as described in more detail elsewhere herein, without having to also monitor for and / or receive the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP. This improves a resource utilization for the virtual cell and conserves network resources, processing resources, and / or power resources that would have otherwise been associated with monitoring for and / or receiving the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP.

[0147] In some aspects, the initial CORESET (e.g., the CORESET#0) may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, the initial downlink BWP for the second network entity 610 may include multiple sub-bands of the virtual cell. The initial CORESET may be configured to include frequency domain resources from the multiple sub-bands included in the initial downlink BWP. In some aspects, the multiple sub-bands included in the initial downlink BWP may be separate by one or more frequency gaps. Therefore, in some examples, the initial CORESET may include frequency domain resources that are not contiguous in the frequency domain (e.g., that are separated by one or more frequency gaps).

[0148] The second network entity 610 may configure itself based at least in part on the configuration information. In some aspects, the second network entity 610 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein based at least in part on the configuration information.

[0149] In some aspects, the configuration information described in connection with reference number 620 and / or the capability report described in connection with reference number 615 mayinclude information transmitted via multiple communications. Additionally, or alternatively, the first network entity 605 may transmit the configuration information, or a communication including at least a portion of the configuration information, before and / or after the second network entity 610 transmits the capability report. For example, the first network entity 605 may transmit a first portion of the configuration information before the second network entity 610 transmits the capability report, the second network entity 610 may transmit at least a portion of the capability report, and the first network entity 605 may transmit a second portion of the configuration information after receiving the capability report.

[0150] In some aspects, as shown by reference number 625, the second network entity 610 may transmit, and the first network entity 605 may receive, a request for a reference signal configuration (e.g., for control loops, time tracking, frequency tracking, AGC, BFD, beam management, and / or RLM). For example, the second network entity 610 may transmit, and the first network entity 605 may receive, a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell. The second network entity 610 may transmit the request via assistance information, an uplink communication, an RRC communication, and / or other signaling.

[0151] As shown by reference number 630, the first network entity 605 may transmit, and the second network entity 610 may receive, a virtual cell reference signal configuration. The virtual cell reference signal configuration may include a configuration for one or more downlink reference signals, such as an SSB, a CSI-RS, a tracking reference signal, a positioning reference signal, and / or another type of downlink reference signal. For example, the first network entity 605 may transmit, and the second network entity 610 may receive a reference signal configuration of the virtual cell. In some aspects, the virtual cell reference signal configuration may be included in the configuration information (e.g., transmitted by the first network entity 605 as described in connection with reference number 620). In other aspects, the virtual cell reference signal configuration may be transmitted by the first network entity 605 in a separate communication, such as an RRC communication, a MAC-CE communication, and / or a DCI communication, among other examples. The reference signal may be configured within an active downlink BWP of the second network entity 610. In other examples, the reference signal may be configured outside of the active downlink BWP of the second network entity 610.

[0152] The reference signal may be configured as a periodic reference signal, a semi-persistent reference signal, and / or an aperiodic reference signal. In some aspects, the virtual cell reference signal configuration may indicate that the reference signal is configured to be transmitted using frequency domain resources that are outside of the anchor band of the virtual cell. For example, the virtual cell reference signal configuration may indicate that the reference signal is configured to be transmitted in a sub-band of the virtual cell that is not the anchor band. In other words, on avirtual cell, a periodic, a semi-persistent, and / or an aperiodic downlink reference signal can be configured outside the anchor band on an active downlink BWP of the second network entity 610.

[0153] In some aspects, the reference signal may be an NCD-SSB or another periodic downlink reference signal. In such examples, the reference signal may be configured via an RRC configuration. As described elsewhere herein, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell may include one or more sub-bands. The virtual cell reference signal configuration may indicate that the reference signal (e.g., the NCD-SSB or another periodic downlink reference signal) is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands. In other words, when an NCD-SSB burst is configured on an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell, the NCD-SSB beams may be mapped to a single sub-band only. In some aspects, the reference signal configuration may indicate that the NCD-SSB has a QCL relationship with the CD-SSB of the virtual cell. In such examples, the CS-SSB and the NCD-SSB may have the same SSB block index. For example, an NCD-SSB beam may be QCL’ed with the CD-SSB beam that is transmitted on the anchor band and the NCD-SSB and the CD-SSB may have the same SSB block index.

[0154] The virtual cell reference signal configuration may indicate that the reference signal (e.g., a periodic downlink reference signal) is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands included in the virtual cell and / or the active downlink BWP. For example, if the reference signal is a periodic reference signal (e.g., other than an NCD-SSB) configured in the active downlink BWP of the second network entity 610, then a resource of the reference signal may be mapped to one or more multiple sub-bands. Additionally, the reference signal may have a QCL relationship with the CD-SSB of the virtual cell (e.g., that is transmitted via the anchor band).

[0155] In some aspects, the reference signal may be a semi-persistent downlink reference signal or an aperiodic downlink reference signal. In such examples, the reference signal configuration may indicate that the semi-persistent downlink reference signal or the aperiodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands included in the active downlink BWP. For example, a semi-persistent or aperiodic downlink reference signal can be configured for the second network entity 610 via RRC signaling, and can activated by MAC signaling (e.g., one or more MAC-CEs) or DCI signaling. If an aperiodic downlink reference signal is activated, then the first network entity 605 may transmit the reference signal via one or more sub-bands of the active downlink BWP.

[0156] In some aspects, the reference signal configuration may be a first resource unit size for the reference signal that is less than a second resource unit size used to configure SSBs. For example, a finer granularity can be configured for the downlink reference signal (e.g., except if the downlink reference signal is an SSB). For example, a minimum resource unit for configuration of the reference signal may be one RB, two RBs, three RBs, four RBs, five RBs, oranother quantity of RBs. This may enable the reference signal to be configured in sub-bands of the virtual cell that have a narrower bandwidth than traditional carriers or CCs.

[0157] In some aspects, the first network entity 605 may transmit, and the second network entity 610 may receive, an indication of the active downlink BWP. In some aspects, the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band of the virtual cell. In such examples, the reference signal configuration may indicate that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP. For example, the active downlink BWP may include a set of frequency domain resources (e.g., one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell), and the reference signal configuration may indicate that the reference signal is configured in a subset of frequency domain resources of the set of frequency domain resources. In some aspects, the subset of frequency domain resources may be non-contiguous frequency domain resources. For example, the reference signal may be configured in two (or more) sub-bands of the virtual cell that are not contiguous in the frequency domain.

[0158] In some aspects, the first network entity 605 may transmit, and the second network entity 610 may receive, one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal. The one or more sub-configurations may configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal. For example, the downlink reference signal may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain and may occupy a subset of the sub-bands or RBs on the active downlink BWP. The virtual cell reference signal configuration may include multiple sub-configurations for respective contiguous (in the frequency domain) portions of the reference signal configuration. For example, a first sub-configuration may configure the reference signal in a first one or more frequency domain resources (e.g., a first one or more RBs) and a second sub-configuration may configure the reference signal in a second one or more frequency domain resources (e.g., a second one or more RBs). The first one or more frequency domain resources and the second one or more frequency domain resources may not be contiguous (e.g., may be separated by a frequency gap). For example, a sub-configuration may indicate a starting RB and an ending RB for a portion of the frequency domain resources configured for the reference signal by the sub-configuration. As another example, a sub-configuration may indicate a starting RB and a quantity of RBs for a portion of the frequency domain resources configured for the reference signal by the subconfiguration.

[0159] In some aspects, the reference signal may be associated with a single pseudo-random sequence generator that is configured to be initialized by one pseudo-random seed. For example, the reference signal may be associated with frequency domain resources that are non-contiguous in the frequency domain and the reference signal may be associated with one pseudo-random sequence generator initialized by one seed. In some other aspects, the reference signal may be associated with one or more pseudo-random sequence generators that are configured to beinitialized by a plurality of pseudo-random seeds. For example, the reference signal may be associated with frequency domain resources that are non-contiguous in the frequency domain and the reference signal may be associated with one or more pseudo-random sequence generators initialized by multiple seeds.

[0160] As shown by reference number 635, the first network entity 605 may transmit, and the second network entity 610 may receive, the downlink reference signal. In some aspects, the second network entity 610 may receive the downlink reference signal in an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell. In some other aspects, the second network entity 610 may receive the downlink reference signal in an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell (e.g., subject to a capability of the second network entity 610, as described elsewhere herein). In such example, the first network entity 605 may, or may not, configure a time gap for measuring the downlink reference signal (e.g., depending on a capability of the second network entity 610, as described elsewhere herein).

[0161] In some aspects, the first network entity 605 and the second network entity 610 may communicate, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal. The target signal and the source reference signal have a QCL relationship. The target reference signal may be a data channel, a control channel, or another reference signal.

[0162] In some aspects, the source reference signal and the target reference signal may be transmitted on the same sub-band of the virtual cell. Alternatively, the source reference signal and the target reference signal may be transmitted across multiple sub-band. In some aspects, whether the source reference signal and the target reference signal are transmitted on the same sub-band or on different sub-bands may be based on the type of QCL relationship between the source reference signal and the target reference signal. For example, some QCL types (e.g., QCL Type-A) may be associated with (e.g., may require that) that the source reference signal and the target reference signal being transmitted via the same sub-band. Additionally, whether the source reference signal and the target reference signal are transmitted on the same sub-band or on different sub-bands may be based on a type or capability of the second network entity 610. For example, some type of network entities (e.g., some types of UEs) may only support the source reference signal and the target reference signal being transmitted on the same sub-band.

[0163] In some aspects, the downlink reference signal (e.g., transmitted as described in connection with reference number 635) may be a source reference signal, a target reference signal, or both a source reference signal and a target reference signal. For example, a downlink reference signal used by the second network entity 610 for control loops can be a source reference signal, a target reference, or both.

[0164] In some aspects, the first network entity 605 and the second network entity 610 may communicate, via a first sub-band of the virtual cell, the target signal. The first network entity605 and the second network entity 610 may communicate, via a second sub-band of the virtual cell, the source reference signal. In some aspects, a frequency domain gap between the first subband and the second sub-band may satisfy a threshold. In some aspects, the threshold may be based on a frequency range of the one or more sub-bands. For example, if a downlink reference signal transmitted via a first sub-band is a QCL source of a data channel, a control channel, or another reference signal in a second sub-band, then the frequency gap between the first sub-band and the second sub-band should be small (e.g., should be less than or equal to a threshold). The threshold can be specified based at least on the frequency range of the sub-bands aggregated by the virtual cell. Additionally, or alternatively, the threshold may be based on a capability of the second network entity 610.

[0165] In some aspects, the target signal may have QCL relationships with multiple source reference signals including the source reference signal. For example, multiple QCL source reference signals may be configured for a given target reference signal. The multiple QCL source reference signals may be transmitted via respective sub-bands included in the bandwidth of the virtual cell. This may enable the second network entity 610 to obtain QCL information for different sub-bands of the virtual cell for a single target reference signal. For example, based on a capability of the second network entity 610 and / or a network configuration (e.g., based on a subband in which the downlink reference signal is configured), the second network entity 610 may measure one or more of the multiple QCL source reference signals.

[0166] As shown by reference number 640, the second network entity 610 may perform an operation. The operation may be based on, or may use a measurement of, the downlink reference signal (e.g., transmitted as described in connection with reference number 635). For example, the second network entity 610 may measure the downlink reference signal. The second network entity 610 may perform one or more control loop operations using the measurement of the downlink reference signal, such as time tracking (e.g., for a TTL operation), frequency tracking (e.g., for an FTL operation), an AGC operation, a BFD operation, a beam management operation, and / or an RLM operation, among other examples.

[0167] As indicated above, Fig. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 6.

[0168] Fig. 7 is a diagram of an example 700 associated with an initial downlink BWP for a virtual cell, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 7, the virtual cell may include an aggregated bandwidth of a downlink carrier 705 of the virtual cell. The downlink carrier 705 may include one or more sub-bands (e.g., K sub-bands), shown as sub-band 0 through sub-band K- 1. As described elsewhere herein, the virtual cell may include an anchor band. The anchor band may be a sub-band via which a CD-SSB 710 is transmitted. Although the anchor band is shown in Fig. 7 as the sub-band 0 (e.g., a sub-band having a lowest frequency in thedownlink carrier 705), the anchor band may be any sub-band in which the CD-SSB 710 is transmitted.

[0169] The downlink carrier 705 may include an initial downlink BWP 715. The initial downlink BWP 715 may be associated with initial access that is performed via the virtual cell. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, the initial downlink BWP 715 may include an initial CORESET 720 (e.g., a CORESET#0). In some aspects, as shown in Fig. 7, the initial downlink BWP 715 may not include the anchor band. This may enable the anchor band to be configured in an active downlink BWP (e.g., where the CD-SSB 710 can be used as a downlink reference signal for one or control loops, as described elsewhere herein), without the sub-band(s) in which the initial CORESET 720 is configured being included in the active downlink BWP. This improves a resource utilization for the virtual cell and conserves network resources, processing resources, and / or power resources that would have otherwise been associated with monitoring for and / or receiving the system information transmitted via the initial downlink BWP 715 and / or the initial CORESET 720.

[0170] As indicated above, Fig. 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 7.

[0171] Fig. 8 is a diagram of an example 800 associated with an initial downlink BWP for a virtual cell, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 8, the virtual cell may include an aggregated bandwidth of a downlink carrier 805 of the virtual cell. The downlink carrier 805 may include one or more sub-bands (e.g., K sub-bands), shown as sub-band 0 through sub-band K- 1. As described elsewhere herein, the virtual cell may include an anchor band. The anchor band may be a sub-band via which a CD-SSB 810 is transmitted.

[0172] The downlink carrier 805 may include an initial downlink BWP 815. The initial downlink BWP 815 may be associated with initial access that is performed via the virtual cell. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, the initial downlink BWP 715 may include an initial CORESET 820 (e.g., a CORESET#0). In some aspects, as shown in Fig. 8, the initial downlink BWP 815 may include the anchor band. For example, the initial downlink BWP 815 may include multiple sub-bands (e.g., that may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain). In some aspects, the initial CORESET 820 may be non-contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, the initial downlink BWP 815 may include multiple sub-bands of the virtual cell. The initial CORESET 820 may be configured to include frequency domain resources from the multiple sub-bands included in the initial downlink BWP 815. In some aspects, the multiple sub-bands included in the initial downlink BWP 815 may be separate by one or more frequency gaps. Therefore, in some examples, the initial CORESET 820 may include frequency domain resources that are not contiguous in the frequency domain (e.g., that are separated by one or more frequency gaps). Asshown in Fig. 8, the initial downlink BWP 815 may include both the CD-SSB 810 and the initial CORESET 820.

[0173] As indicated above, Fig. 8 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 8.

[0174] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example 900 associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0175] As described elsewhere herein, a virtual cell may include an aggregated bandwidth 905. The aggregated bandwidth 905 may include a bandwidth of one or more frequency domain resources, such as one or more sub-bands (e.g., K+N sub-bands as shown in Fig. 9). As shown in Fig. 9, some of the sub-bands included in the aggregated bandwidth 905 (e.g., shown as sub-band K and sub-band K+ 1 in Fig. 9) may be separated in the frequency domain by a frequency gap 910. For example, two adjacent sub-bands in the aggregated bandwidth 905 may be separated in the frequency domain by the frequency gap 910. Some sub-bands included in the aggregated bandwidth 905 may be contiguous in the frequency domain.

[0176] An active downlink BWP 915 may be configured for the virtual cell. As shown in Fig. 9, the active downlink BWP 915 may have a bandwidth that includes one or more sub-bands included in the aggregated bandwidth 905. A downlink reference signal 920 may be configured in the active downlink BWP 915. As shown in Fig. 9, a bandwidth of the downlink reference signal 920 may include one or more sub-bands included in the aggregated bandwidth 905. For example, the downlink reference signal 920 may be transmitted via the sub-band K and the subband +l. The downlink reference signal 920 may be configured by multiple sub-configurations. For example, a first sub-configuration may configure a portion of the downlink reference signal 920 that is included in the sub-band K and a second sub-configuration may configure a portion of the downlink reference signal 920 that is included in the sub-band +l. The downlink reference signal 920 may be configured such that the downlink reference signal 920 is not transmitted in the frequency gap 910.

[0177] As indicated above, Fig. 9 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect to Fig. 9.

[0178] Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1000 performed, for example, at a first network entity or an apparatus of a first network entity, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1000 is an example where the apparatus or the first network entity (e.g., the second network entity 610, the network entity 102, the network entity 106, a network node 210, a UE 220, a base station, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU) performs operations associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration.

[0179] As shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include transmitting, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signalconfiguration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support (block 1010). For example, the first network entity (e.g., using transmission component 1204 and / or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support, as described above. In some aspects, the communication may be a capability report or a request for the reference signal configuration, among other examples.

[0180] As further shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include receiving, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, where the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell (block 1020). For example, the first network entity (e.g., using reception component 1202 and / or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, where the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell, as described above.

[0181] Process 1000 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0182] In a first aspect, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and the anchor band is a sub-band, of the one or more sub-bands, in which a cell -defining SSB is configured.

[0183] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process 1000 includes receiving an indication of an initial downlink BWP, where the initial downlink BWP includes a CORESET that is configured to carry RMSI.

[0184] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the initial downlink BWP includes the anchor band.

[0185] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

[0186] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and the CORESET is configured to be included in two or more sub-bands, of the plurality of sub-bands, that are noncontiguous in a frequency domain.

[0187] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the reference signal is a non-cell-defining SSB.

[0188] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands.

[0189] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB has a QCL relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0190] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the cell-defining SSB and the non-cell-defining SSB have a same SSB block index.

[0191] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the reference signal is a periodic downlink reference signal.

[0192] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

[0193] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal has a QCL relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0194] In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, where the reference signal is a semi-persistent downlink reference signal or an aperiodic downlink reference signal, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the semi-persistent downlink reference signal or the aperiodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

[0195] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the reference signal configuration uses a first resource unit size for the reference signal that is less than a second resource unit size used to configure SSBs.

[0196] In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourteenth aspects, process 1000 includes receiving an indication of an active downlink BWP, the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

[0197] In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifteenth aspects, the active downlink BWP includes a set of frequency domain resources, and thereference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is configured in a subset of frequency domain resources of the set of frequency domain resources.

[0198] In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixteenth aspects, the subset of frequency domain resources are non-contiguous frequency domain resources.

[0199] In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, receiving the reference signal configuration includes receiving one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, where the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

[0200] In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, the reference signal is associated with a single pseudo-random sequence generator that is configured to be initialized by one pseudo-random seed.

[0201] In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through nineteenth aspects, the reference signal is associated with one or more pseudo-random sequence generators that are configured to be initialized by a plurality of pseudo-random seeds.

[0202] In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twentieth aspects, the information is capability information indicating whether the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell.

[0203] In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-first aspects, the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP without a time domain measurement gap.

[0204] In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-second aspects, the reference signal configuration configures the reference signal within a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell based on the capability information.

[0205] In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-third aspects, the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP with a time domain measurement gap.

[0206] In a twenty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fourth aspects, the reference signal configuration configures one or more time domain measurement gaps for measuring the reference signal based on the capability information.

[0207] In a twenty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fifth aspects, a duration of the one or more time domain measurement gaps is based on at least one of whether the reference signal is configured outside of a supported channel bandwidthon the virtual cell, or whether the first network entity is configured to perform antenna switching to measure the reference signal.

[0208] In a twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-sixth aspects, process 1000 includes communicating, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal, where the target signal and the source reference signal have a QCL relationship.

[0209] In a twenty-eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-seventh aspects, the target signal includes at least one of the reference signal, a data channel signal, or a control channel signal.

[0210] In a twenty-ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-eighth aspects, the one or more sub-bands include a single sub-band.

[0211] In a thirtieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-ninth aspects, communicating the target signal and the source reference signal includes communicating, via a first sub-band of the virtual cell, the target signal, and communicating, via a second sub-band of the virtual cell, the source reference signal.

[0212] In a thirty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirtieth aspects, a frequency domain gap between the first sub-band and the second sub-band satisfies a threshold.

[0213] In a thirty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-first aspects, the threshold is based on a frequency range of the one or more sub-bands.

[0214] In a thirty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-second aspects, the target signal has QCL relationships with multiple source reference signals including the source reference signal.

[0215] In a thirty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-third aspects, communicating the target signal and the source reference signal includes communicating the multiple source reference signals via respective sub-bands of the virtual cell.

[0216] In a thirty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-fourth aspects, process 1000 includes performing, using measurement information of the reference signal, one or more tracking loop operations.

[0217] In a thirty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-fifth aspects, transmitting the communication includes transmitting a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell.

[0218] In a thirty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-sixth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and the one or more sub-bands are non-contiguous in a frequency domain.

[0219] In a thirty-eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-seventh aspects, the virtual cell is a primary cell or a primary secondary cell.

[0220] Although Fig. 10 shows example blocks of process 1000, in some aspects, process 1000 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 10. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1000 may be performed in parallel.

[0221] Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1100 performed, for example, at a first network entity or an apparatus of a first network entity, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1100 is an example where the apparatus or the first network entity (e.g., the first network entity 605, the network entity 102, the network entity 106, a network node 210, a UE 220, a base station, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU) performs operations associated with a virtual cell reference signal configuration.

[0222] As shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include receiving, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support (block 1110). For example, the first network entity (e.g., using reception component 1302 and / or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may receive, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support, as described above. In some aspects, the communication may be a capability report or a request for the reference signal configuration, among other examples.

[0223] As further shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include transmitting, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, where the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell (block 1120). For example, the first network entity (e.g., using transmission component 1304 and / or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may transmit, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, where the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell, as described above.

[0224] Process 1100 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0225] In a first aspect, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and the anchor band is a sub-band, of the one or more sub-bands, in which a cell -defining SSB is configured.

[0226] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process 1100 includes transmitting an indication of an initial downlink BWP, where the initial downlink BWP includes a CORESET that is configured to carry RMSI.

[0227] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the initial downlink BWP includes the anchor band.

[0228] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

[0229] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and the CORESET is configured to be included in two or more sub-bands, of the plurality of sub-bands, that are noncontiguous in a frequency domain.

[0230] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the reference signal is a non-cell-defining SSB.

[0231] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands.

[0232] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB has a QCL relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0233] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the cell-defining SSB and the non-cell-defining SSB have a same SSB block index.

[0234] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the reference signal is a periodic downlink reference signal.

[0235] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

[0236] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal has a QCL relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0237] In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, the reference signal is a semi-persistent downlink reference signal or an aperiodic downlink referencesignal, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the semi-persistent downlink reference signal or the aperiodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

[0238] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the reference signal configuration uses a first resource unit size for the reference signal that is less than second resource unit size used to configure SSBs.

[0239] In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourteenth aspects, process 1100 includes transmitting an indication of an active downlink BWP, the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

[0240] In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifteenth aspects, the active downlink BWP includes a set of frequency domain resources, and the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is configured in a subset of frequency domain resources of the set of frequency domain resources.

[0241] In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixteenth aspects, the subset of frequency domain resources are non-contiguous frequency domain resources.

[0242] In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, receiving the reference signal configuration includes transmitting one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, where the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

[0243] In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, the reference signal is associated with a single pseudo-random sequence generator that is configured to be initialized by one pseudo-random seed.

[0244] In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through nineteenth aspects, the reference signal is associated with one or more pseudo-random sequence generators that are configured to be initialized by a plurality of pseudo-random seeds.

[0245] In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twentieth aspects, the information is capability information indicating whether the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink BWP of the virtual cell.

[0246] In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-first aspects, the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP without a time domain measurement gap.

[0247] In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-second aspects, the reference signal configuration configures the reference signal within a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell based on the capability information.

[0248] In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-third aspects, the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP with a time domain measurement gap.

[0249] In a twenty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fourth aspects, the reference signal configuration configures one or more time domain measurement gaps for measuring the reference signal based on the capability information.

[0250] In a twenty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fifth aspects, a duration of the one or more time domain measurement gaps is based on at least one of whether the reference signal is configured outside of a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell, or whether the first network entity is configured to perform antenna switching to measure the reference signal.

[0251] In a twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-sixth aspects, process 1100 includes communicating, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal, where the target signal and the source reference signal have a QCL relationship.

[0252] In a twenty-eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-seventh aspects, the target signal includes at least one of the reference signal, a data channel signal, or a control channel signal.

[0253] In a twenty-ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-eighth aspects, the one or more sub-bands include a single sub-band.

[0254] In a thirtieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-ninth aspects, communicating the target signal and the source reference signal includes communicating, via a first sub-band of the virtual cell, the target signal, and communicating, via a second sub-band of the virtual cell, the source reference signal.

[0255] In a thirty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirtieth aspects, a frequency domain gap between the first sub-band and the second sub-band satisfies a threshold.

[0256] In a thirty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-first aspects, the threshold is based on a frequency range of the one or more sub-bands.

[0257] In a thirty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-second aspects, the target signal has QCL relationships with multiple source reference signals including the source reference signal.

[0258] In a thirty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-third aspects, communicating the target signal and the source reference signal includes communicating the multiple source reference signals via respective sub-bands of the virtual cell.

[0259] In a thirty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-fourth aspects, transmitting the communication includes receiving a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell.

[0260] In a thirty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-fifth aspects, a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and the one or more sub-bands are non-contiguous in a frequency domain.

[0261] In a thirty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-sixth aspects, the virtual cell is a primary cell or a primary secondary cell.

[0262] Although Fig. i l shows example blocks of process 1100, in some aspects, process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 11. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1100 may be performed in parallel.

[0263] Fig. 12 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1200 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1200 may be a network entity, or a network entity may include the apparatus 1200. In some aspects, the network entity may be a UE. In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 includes a reception component 1202, a transmission component 1204, and / or a communication manager 1206, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). In some aspects, the communication manager 1206 is the communication manager 114 described in connection with Fig. 1 and / or the communication manager 240 described in connection with Fig. 2. As shown, the apparatus 1200 may communicate with another apparatus 1208, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station), using the reception component 1202 and the transmission component 1204.

[0264] In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 6-9. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1000 of Fig. 10, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 12 may include one or more components of the UE or network node described in connection with Fig. 3. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 12 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 3. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codestored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.

[0265] The reception component 1202 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1208. The reception component 1202 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1200. In some aspects, the reception component 1202 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1200. In some aspects, the reception component 1202 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE or the network node described in connection with Fig. 3.

[0266] The transmission component 1204 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1208. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1200 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1204 for transmission to the apparatus 1208. In some aspects, the transmission component 1204 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1208. In some aspects, the transmission component 1204 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE or the network node described in connection with Fig. 3. In some aspects, the transmission component 1204 may be co-located with the reception component 1202 in one or more transceivers.

[0267] The communication manager 1206 may support operations of the reception component 1202 and / or the transmission component 1204. For example, the communication manager 1206 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1202 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1204. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1206 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 1202 and / or the transmission component 1204 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.

[0268] The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support. The reception component 1202 may receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0269] The reception component 1202 may receive an indication of an initial downlink BWP, wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a CORESET that is configured to carry RMSI. In some aspects, the initial downlink BWP may not include the anchor band.

[0270] The reception component 1202 may receive an indication of an active downlink BWP, wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

[0271] The communication manager 1206 may communicate, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal, wherein the target signal and the source reference signal have a QCL relationship.

[0272] The communication manager 1206 may perform, using measurement information of the reference signal, one or more tracking loop operations.

[0273] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 12 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 12. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 12 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 12 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components.Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 12 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 12.

[0274] Fig. 13 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1300 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1300 may be a network entity, or a network entity may include the apparatus 1300. In some aspects, the network entity may be a network node (e.g., a network node 210). In some aspects, the apparatus 1300 includes a reception component 1302, a transmission component 1304, and / or a communication manager 1306, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). In some aspects, the communication manager 1306 is the communication manager 118 described in connection with Fig. 1 and / or the communication manager 250 described in connection with Fig. 2. As shown, the apparatus 1300 may communicate with another apparatus 1308, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU,an RU, or a base station), using the reception component 1302 and the transmission component 1304.

[0275] In some aspects, the apparatus 1300 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 6-9. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1300 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1100 of Fig. 11, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1300 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 13 may include one or more components of the network node or the UE described in connection with Fig. 3. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 13 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 3. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.

[0276] The reception component 1302 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1308. The reception component 1302 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1300. In some aspects, the reception component 1302 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1300. In some aspects, the reception component 1302 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network node or the UE described in connection with Fig. 3.

[0277] The transmission component 1304 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1308. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1300 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1304 for transmission to the apparatus 1308. In some aspects, the transmission component 1304 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1308. In some aspects, the transmission component 1304 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmitprocessors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network node or the UE described in connection with Fig. 3. In some aspects, the transmission component 1304 may be co-located with the reception component 1302 in one or more transceivers.

[0278] The communication manager 1306 may support operations of the reception component 1302 and / or the transmission component 1304. For example, the communication manager 1306 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1302 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1304. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1306 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 1302 and / or the transmission component 1304 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.

[0279] The reception component 1302 may receive, from another network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support. The transmission component 1304 may transmit, to the other network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0280] The transmission component 1304 may transmit an indication of an initial downlink BWP, wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a CORESET that is configured to carry RMSI. In some aspects, the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

[0281] The transmission component 1304 may transmit an indication of an active downlink BWP, wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

[0282] The communication manager 1306 may communicate, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal, wherein the target signal and the source reference signal have a QCL relationship.

[0283] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 13 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 13. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 13 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 13 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components.Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 13 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 13.

[0284] The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure:

[0285] Aspect 1 : A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, comprising: transmitting, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receiving, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0286] Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the anchor band is a sub-band, of the one or more sub-bands, in which a cell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB) is configured.

[0287] Aspect 3: The method of any of Aspects 1-2, further comprising: receiving an indication of an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a control resource set (CORESET) that is configured to carry remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

[0288] Aspect 4: The method of Aspect 3, wherein the initial downlink BWP includes the anchor band.

[0289] Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 3, wherein the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

[0290] Aspect 6: The method of any of Aspects 3-5, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and wherein the CORESET is configured to be included in two or more sub-bands, of the plurality of sub-bands, that are non-contiguous in a frequency domain.

[0291] Aspect 7: The method of any of Aspects 1-6, wherein the reference signal is a non-cell- defining synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0292] Aspect 8: The method of Aspect 7, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands.

[0293] Aspect 9: The method of any of Aspects 7-8, wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0294] Aspect 10: The method of Aspect 9, wherein the cell-defining SSB and the non-cell- defining SSB have a same SSB block index.

[0295] Aspect 11 : The method of any of Aspects 1-10, wherein the reference signal is a periodic downlink reference signal.

[0296] Aspect 12: The method of Aspect 11, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of subbands.

[0297] Aspect 13: The method of any of Aspects 11-12, wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0298] Aspect 14: The method of any of Aspects 1-13, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, wherein the reference signal is a semi-persistent downlink reference signal or an aperiodic downlink reference signal, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the semi-persistent downlink reference signal or the aperiodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

[0299] Aspect 15: The method of any of Aspects 1-14, wherein the reference signal configuration uses a first resource unit size for the reference signal that is less than a second resource unit size used to configure synchronization signal blocks (SSBs).

[0300] Aspect 16: The method of any of Aspects 1-15, further comprising: receiving an indication of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

[0301] Aspect 17: The method of Aspect 16, wherein the active downlink BWP includes a set of frequency domain resources, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is configured in a subset of frequency domain resources of the set of frequency domain resources.

[0302] Aspect 18: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources are non-contiguous frequency domain resources.

[0303] Aspect 19: The method of any of Aspects 1-18, wherein receiving the reference signal configuration comprises: receiving one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, wherein the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

[0304] Aspect 20: The method of any of Aspects 1-19, wherein the reference signal is associated with a single pseudo-random sequence generator that is configured to be initialized by one pseudo-random seed.

[0305] Aspect 21: The method of any of Aspects 1-20, wherein the reference signal is associated with one or more pseudo-random sequence generators that are configured to be initialized by a plurality of pseudo-random seeds.

[0306] Aspect 22: The method of any of Aspects 1-21, wherein the information is capability information indicating whether the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) of the virtual cell.

[0307] Aspect 23 : The method of Aspect 22, wherein the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP without a time domain measurement gap.

[0308] Aspect 24: The method of Aspect 23, wherein the reference signal configuration configures the reference signal within a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell based on the capability information.

[0309] Aspect 25 : The method of any of Aspects 22-24, wherein the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP with a time domain measurement gap.

[0310] Aspect 26: The method of Aspect 25, wherein the reference signal configuration configures one or more time domain measurement gaps for measuring the reference signal based on the capability information.

[0311] Aspect 27 : The method of Aspect 26, wherein a duration of the one or more time domain measurement gaps is based on at least one of: whether the reference signal is configured outside of a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell, or whether the first network entity is configured to perform antenna switching to measure the reference signal.

[0312] Aspect 28: The method of any of Aspects 1-27, further comprising: communicating, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal, wherein the target signal and the source reference signal have a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship.

[0313] Aspect 29: The method of Aspect 28, wherein the target signal includes at least one of: the reference signal, a data channel signal, or a control channel signal.

[0314] Aspect 30: The method of any of Aspects 28-29, wherein the one or more sub-bands include a single sub-band.

[0315] Aspect 31 : The method of any of Aspects 28-29, wherein communicating the target signal and the source reference signal comprises: communicating, via a first sub-band of the virtual cell, the target signal; and communicating, via a second sub-band of the virtual cell, the source reference signal.

[0316] Aspect 32: The method of Aspect 31, wherein a frequency domain gap between the first sub-band and the second sub-band satisfies a threshold.

[0317] Aspect 33: The method of Aspect 32, wherein the threshold is based on a frequency range of the one or more sub-bands.

[0318] Aspect 34: The method of any of Aspects 28-33, wherein the target signal has QCL relationships with multiple source reference signals including the source reference signal.

[0319] Aspect 35: The method of Aspect 34, wherein communicating the target signal and the source reference signal comprises: communicating the multiple source reference signals via respective sub-bands of the virtual cell.

[0320] Aspect 36: The method of any of Aspects 1-35, further comprising: performing, using measurement information of the reference signal, one or more tracking loop operations.

[0321] Aspect 37: The method of any of Aspects 1-36, wherein transmitting the communication comprises: transmitting a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell.

[0322] Aspect 38: The method of any of Aspects 1-37, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the one or more sub-bands are noncontiguous in a frequency domain.

[0323] Aspect 39: The method of any of Aspects 1-38, wherein the virtual cell is a primary cell or a primary secondary cell.

[0324] Aspect 40: A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, comprising: receiving, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmitting, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

[0325] Aspect 41 : The method of Aspect 40, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the anchor band is a sub-band, of the one or more sub-bands, in which a cell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB) is configured.

[0326] Aspect 42: The method of any of Aspects 40-41, further comprising: transmitting an indication of an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a control resource set (CORESET) that is configured to carry remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

[0327] Aspect 43: The method of Aspect 42, wherein the initial downlink BWP includes the anchor band.

[0328] Aspect 44: The method of Aspect 42, wherein the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

[0329] Aspect 45 : The method of any of Aspects 42-44, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and wherein the CORESET is configured to be included in two or more sub-bands, of the plurality of sub-bands, that are non-contiguous in a frequency domain.

[0330] Aspect 46: The method of any of Aspects 40-45, wherein the reference signal is a noncell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0331] Aspect 47: The method of Aspect 46, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defming SSB is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands.

[0332] Aspect 48: The method of any of Aspects 46-47, wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defming SSB has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0333] Aspect 49: The method of Aspect 48, wherein the cell-defining SSB and the non-cell- defming SSB have a same SSB block index.

[0334] Aspect 50: The method of any of Aspects 40-49, wherein the reference signal is a periodic downlink reference signal.

[0335] Aspect 51 : The method of Aspect 50, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of subbands.

[0336] Aspect 52: The method of any of Aspects 50-51, wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

[0337] Aspect 53: The method of any of Aspects 40-52, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, wherein the reference signal is a semi-persistent downlink reference signal or an aperiodic downlink reference signal, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the semi-persistent downlink reference signal or the aperiodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

[0338] Aspect 54: The method of any of Aspects 40-53, wherein the reference signal configuration uses a first resource unit size for the reference signal that is less than second resource unit size used to configure synchronization signal blocks (SSBs).

[0339] Aspect 55: The method of any of Aspects 40-54, further comprising: transmitting an indication of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

[0340] Aspect 56: The method of Aspect 55, wherein the active downlink BWP includes a set of frequency domain resources, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that thereference signal is configured in a subset of frequency domain resources of the set of frequency domain resources.

[0341] Aspect 57: The method of Aspect 56, wherein the subset of frequency domain resources are non-contiguous frequency domain resources.

[0342] Aspect 58: The method of any of Aspects 40-57, wherein receiving the reference signal configuration comprises: transmitting one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, wherein the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

[0343] Aspect 59: The method of any of Aspects 40-58, wherein the reference signal is associated with a single pseudo-random sequence generator that is configured to be initialized by one pseudo-random seed.

[0344] Aspect 60: The method of any of Aspects 40-59, wherein the reference signal is associated with one or more pseudo-random sequence generators that are configured to be initialized by a plurality of pseudo-random seeds.

[0345] Aspect 61 : The method of any of Aspects 40-60, wherein the information is capability information indicating whether the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) of the virtual cell.

[0346] Aspect 62: The method of Aspect 61, wherein the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP without a time domain measurement gap.

[0347] Aspect 63 : The method of Aspect 62, wherein the reference signal configuration configures the reference signal within a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell based on the capability information.

[0348] Aspect 64: The method of any of Aspects 61-63, wherein the capability information indicates that the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of the active downlink BWP with a time domain measurement gap.

[0349] Aspect 65 : The method of Aspect 64, wherein the reference signal configuration configures one or more time domain measurement gaps for measuring the reference signal based on the capability information.

[0350] Aspect 66: The method of Aspect 65, wherein a duration of the one or more time domain measurement gaps is based on at least one of: whether the reference signal is configured outside of a supported channel bandwidth on the virtual cell, or whether the first network entity is configured to perform antenna switching to measure the reference signal.

[0351] Aspect 67: The method of any of Aspects 40-66, further comprising: communicating, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal,wherein the target signal and the source reference signal have a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship.

[0352] Aspect 68: The method of Aspect 67, wherein the target signal includes at least one of: the reference signal, a data channel signal, or a control channel signal.

[0353] Aspect 69: The method of any of Aspects 67-68, wherein the one or more sub-bands include a single sub-band.

[0354] Aspect 70: The method of any of Aspects 67-68, wherein communicating the target signal and the source reference signal comprises: communicating, via a first sub-band of the virtual cell, the target signal; and communicating, via a second sub-band of the virtual cell, the source reference signal.

[0355] Aspect 71 : The method of Aspect 70, wherein a frequency domain gap between the first sub-band and the second sub-band satisfies a threshold.

[0356] Aspect 72: The method of Aspect 71, wherein the threshold is based on a frequency range of the one or more sub-bands.

[0357] Aspect 73: The method of any of Aspects 67-72, wherein the target signal has QCL relationships with multiple source reference signals including the source reference signal.

[0358] Aspect 74: The method of Aspect 73, wherein communicating the target signal and the source reference signal comprises: communicating the multiple source reference signals via respective sub-bands of the virtual cell.

[0359] Aspect 75: The method of any of Aspects 40-74, wherein transmitting the communication comprises: receiving a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell.

[0360] Aspect 76: The method of any of Aspects 40-75, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the one or more sub-bands are noncontiguous in a frequency domain.

[0361] Aspect 77: The method of any of Aspects 40-76, wherein the virtual cell is a primary cell or a primary secondary cell.

[0362] Aspect 78: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0363] Aspect 79: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0364] Aspect 80: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0365] Aspect 81 : A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0366] Aspect 82: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0367] Aspect 83: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0368] Aspect 84: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-77.

[0369] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is neither exhaustive nor limiting of the scope of this disclosure. For example, various aspects and examples are disclosed herein, but this disclosure is not limited to the precise form in which such aspects and examples are described. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

[0370] As used herein, the term “component” shall be broadly construed as hardware or a combination of hardware and at least one of software or firmware. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a “processor” is implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software. Systems or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, because those skilled in the art understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein. A component being configured to perform afunction means that the component has a capability to perform the function, and does not require the function to be actually performed by the component, unless noted otherwise.

[0371] As used herein, “satisfying a threshold” may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, or not equal to the threshold, among other examples.

[0372] As used herein, the term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), inferring, ascertaining, and / or measuring, among other examples. Also, “determining” can include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data stored in memory), and / or transmitting (such as transmitting information), among other examples. As another example, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, obtaining, choosing, establishing, and / or other such similar actions.

[0373] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of’ a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of’ a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” covers a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (for example, a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a + a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0374] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” may include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” may include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” and similar terms are open-ended terms that do not limit an element that they modify (for example, an element “having” A may also have B). Further, the phrase “based on” means “based on or otherwise in association with” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is inclusive when used in a seriesand may be used interchangeably with “and / or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (for example, if used in combination with “either” or “only one of’). Further, “one or more” may be equivalent to “at least one.”

[0375] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not limiting of the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A first network entity for wireless communication, comprising: a processing system configured to: transmit, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receive, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

2. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the anchor band is a sub-band, of the one or more sub-bands, in which a cell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB) is configured.

3. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to: receive an indication of an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a control resource set (CORESET) that is configured to carry remaining minimum system information (RMSI), wherein the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

4. The first network entity of claim 3, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and wherein the CORESET is configured to be included in two or more sub-bands, of the plurality of sub-bands, that are non-contiguous in a frequency domain.

5. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the reference signal is a non-cell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell- defining SSB is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands.

6. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the reference signal is a non-cell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell-defining SSB.

7. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the reference signal configuration uses a first resource unit size for the reference signal that is less than a second resource unit size used to configure synchronization signal blocks (SSBs).

8. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to: receive an indication of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

9. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the processing system, to receive the reference signal configuration, is configured to: receive one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, wherein the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

10. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the information is capability information indicating whether the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) of the virtual cell.

11. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to: communicate, via one or more sub-bands of the virtual cell, a target signal and a source reference signal, wherein the target signal and the source reference signal have a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship.

12. The first network entity of claim 11, wherein the processing system, to communicate the target signal and the source reference signal, is configured to: communicate, via a first sub-band of the virtual cell, the target signal; and communicate, via a second sub-band of the virtual cell, the source reference signal, wherein a frequency domain gap between the first sub-band and the second sub-band satisfies a threshold.

13. The first network entity of claim 1, wherein the processing system, to transmit the communication, is configured to:transmit a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell.

14. A first network entity for wireless communication, comprising: a processing system configured to: receive, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmit, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

15. The first network entity of claim 14, wherein the processing system is further configured to: transmit an indication of an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a control resource set (CORESET) that is configured to carry remaining minimum system information (RMSI), wherein the initial downlink BWP does not include the anchor band.

16. The first network entity of claim 14, wherein the reference signal is a non-cell-defining synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the non-cell-defining SSB has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell-defining SSB, and wherein the cell-defining SSB and the non-cell-defining SSB have a same SSB block index.

17. The first network entity of claim 14, wherein the reference signal is a periodic downlink reference signal, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes a plurality of sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal is configured in one or more sub-bands of the plurality of sub-bands.

18. The first network entity of claim 14, wherein the reference signal is a periodic downlink reference signal, wherein the anchor band is a sub-band of the virtual cell in which a cell-defining SSB is configured, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the periodic downlink reference signal has a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship with the cell -defining SSB.

19. The first network entity of claim 14, wherein the processing system is further configured to: transmit an indication of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP, wherein the active downlink BWP includes a set of frequency domain resources, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is configured in a subset of frequency domain resources of the set of frequency domain resources.

20. The first network entity of claim 14, wherein the processing system, to receive the reference signal configuration, is configured to: transmit one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, wherein the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

21. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, comprising: transmitting, to a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and receiving, from the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving an indication of an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a control resource set (CORESET) that is configured to carry remaining minimum system information (RMSI), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes the anchor band.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein a downlink carrier of the virtual cell includes one or more sub-bands, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is configured in a single sub-band of the one or more sub-bands.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:receiving an indication of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein receiving the reference signal configuration comprises: receiving one or more sub-configurations of the reference signal, wherein the one or more sub-configurations configure respective non-contiguous frequency domain ranges of the reference signal.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the information is capability information indicating whether the first network entity supports measuring reference signals outside of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) of the virtual cell, and wherein the reference signal configuration configures one or more time domain measurement gaps for measuring the reference signal based on the capability information.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein transmitting the communication comprises: transmitting a request for the reference signal configuration on the virtual cell.

28. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network entity, comprising: receiving, from a second network entity, a communication indicating information for a reference signal configuration of a virtual cell that the second network entity is configured to support; and transmitting, to the second network entity and based on the communication, the reference signal configuration of the virtual cell, wherein the reference signal configuration configures a reference signal in a frequency band that is outside of an anchor band of the virtual cell.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising: transmitting an indication of an initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the initial downlink BWP includes a control resource set (CORESET) that is configured to carry remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising: transmitting an indication of an active downlink bandwidth part (BWP), wherein the active downlink BWP does not include the anchor band, and wherein the reference signal configuration indicates that the reference signal is included in the active downlink BWP.

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