Indication of on demand synchronization signal block transmission availability

Abstract

A method (200) performed by a user equipment, UE (512), for receiving at least one on- demand Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, includes receiving (202), from a network, NW, node (510) information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission. Based on the information, the UE receives (204) the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

Description

[0001] INDICATION OF ON DEMAND SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL BLOCK TRANSMISSION

[0002] AVAILABILITY

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, systems and methods for indication of on demand Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmission availability.

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] Energy consumption is a considerable challenge of 5thGeneration (5G) systems today where a major contributor to the energy consumption is the radio unit of Radio Access Network (RAN) system. The Network (NW) power consumption for New Radio (NR) is said to be less compared to Long Term Evolution (LTE) because of its lean design, i.e., no Cell-Specific Reference Signal (CRS) and the SSB periodicity is, by default, 20 ms. However, NR in the current implementation might consume more energy compared to LTE, partly due to higher bandwidths (BWs), shorter Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) and massive number of antennas. This is still evident even at times when cells and beams are lightly loaded or serve no traffic or no users at all. To enable an energy efficient NW, 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3 GPP) initiated a study item (SI) on Network energy savings in NR, which was concluded with the outcome captured in TR 38.864. See, TR 38.864, Study on Network Energy Savings for NR (Release 18) version iOO.

[0007] Following the SI phase, the first work item (WI) on Network energy savings (NES) for NR was approved at RAN#98 and specified in Release-18. See, RP-223540, New WID: Network energy savings for NR.

[0008] For Release-19 New Work Item Description (WID): Enhancements of network energy savings for NR has been approved in RAN#102. See, RP-234065, New WID: Enhancements of network energy savings for NR. The objectives of the Release- 19 WI are the following:

[0009] 1. Specify procedures and signaling method(s) to support on-demand SSB Secondary Cell (SCell) operation for User Equipments (UEs) in connected mode configured with Carrier Aggregation (CA), for both intra- / inter-band CA. [RAN1 / 2 / 3 / 4],

[0010] • Specify triggering method(s) (select from UE uplink wake-up-signal using an existing signal / channel, cell on / off indication via backhaul, SCell activation / deactivation signaling).

[0011] • Note 1 : On-demand SSB transmission can be used by UE for at least SCell time / frequency synchronization, Layer 1 (Ll) / Layer 3 (L3) measurements and SCell activation, and is supported for Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2) in non-shared spectrum.

[0012] 2. Study procedures and signaling method(s) to support on-demand System Information Block- 1 (SIB1) for UEs in idle / inactive mode, including: [RAN1 / 2 / 3],

[0013] • Triggering method by uplink wake-up-signal using an existing signal / channel.

[0014] • Wake-up-signal configuration provisioning to UE.

[0015] Note: No modification of SSB will be discussed under this objective.

[0016] • Information exchange between gNodeB s (gNB s) at least for the configuration of wake-up signal, if necessary.

[0017] • Checkpoint for normative work in RAN# 105.

[0018] 3. Specify adaptation of common signal / channel transmissions. [RAN1 / 2 / 3 / 4],

[0019] • Adaptation of SSB in time domain, e.g. adapting periodicity.

[0020] • Adaptation of Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) in time domain.

[0021] • Study adaptation of PRACH in spatial domain, e.g. non-uniform PRACH resources per SSB, and specify if found beneficial.

[0022] This study is to be done in 2Q’2O24 only.

[0023] • Adaptation of paging occasions including confining the paging occasions in the time domain.

[0024] Note: There shall be no paging latency increase.

[0025] • Note: There shall be no negative impact to legacy UEs, unless significant benefits are shown.

[0026] 4. Specify the corresponding core requirements, for the above features [RAN4], Carrier Aggregation

[0027] Carrier Aggregation (CA) is generally used in NR (5G) and LTE systems to improve UE transmit and receive data rates. With CA, the UE typically operates initially on single serving cell called a primary cell (PCell). The PCell is operated on a primary component carrier (PCC) in a frequency band. The UE is then configured by the network with one or more secondary serving cells (SCell(s)). Each SCell can correspond to a component carrier (CC) in the same frequency band (intra-band CA) or different frequency band (inter-band CA) from the frequency band of the CC corresponding to the PCell. When the SCells are added by the NW node (e.g., serving base station), typically they will be in deactivated state for UE power saving purposes. Whenever there is a need for more data transmission to the UE, the NW node can activate the SCells for the UE. When the data demand is reduced, to save UE power, the activated SCell(s) can also be deactivated by the NW node. SCell activation / deactivation can be performed by NW as needed. The NW performs SCell activation or deactivation using an SCell activation / deactivation Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC CE) command.

[0028] Typically, the SCell activation procedure can take anywhere between a minimum activation delay (on order of a few milliseconds) and up to multiple 10’s or 100’s of milliseconds. Upon reception of an SCell activation command (e.g., via a MAC CE), a UE starts the activation procedure for the corresponding SCell, wherein the activation delay includes a component related to a delay to receive first SSB after the slot in which the Acknowledgment (ACK) is transmitted (in response to reception SCell activation MAC CE command). The activation procedure is assumed to be complete (i.e., the SCell is considered activated) when UE send a valid Channel State Information (CSI) report for the SCell. When a SCell is activated, it shall be able to receive data (e.g., Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) from the NW node on that SCell.

[0029] The UE is supposed to complete the activation procedure based on certain minimum delay requirements specified in the 3GPP RAN4 specifications TS 38.133 vl8.10. RAN4 specified many scenarios for which different delay requirements are applicable. SCell activation timeline contains, UE acquiring all or subset of following procedures such as cell search, Automatic Gain Control (AGC) settling (may typically require one or two samples of reference signals), fine timing, etc. The UE performs these procedures by using the reference signals such as SSB. RAN4 defined SCell activation requirements for two scenario such as the to be activated SCell is “known” and the to be activated SCell is “unknown”. If the SCell is known, delay required by the UE to activate the SCell is shorter and if the SCell is unknown (i.e., not known), delay required by the UE to activate the SCell is longer as the UE need to know the beams transmitted by SCell by performing receiver beam sweeping in all the directions. SCell activation delay for FR1 and FR2 varies as the UE need not acquire beam information for FR1 scenario.

[0030] SSB-less SCell Operation

[0031] For the sake of NW energy savings, it is possible to, in certain deployments and scenarios, omit transmission of SSBs on an SCell. As such, the UE uses SSB from another cell as reference signal based on NW configuration. Up to Release- 18 of the 3 GPP specifications, it was only possible in NR to configure an SCell without SSB for the intra-band CA case. In TS 38.331 RRC Rel-17 v 17.3.0 such configuration is defined as follows:

[0032] Frequencylnf oDL : : = SEQUENCE { absoluteFrequencySSB ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL, — Cond SpCellAdd f requencyBandList Multi Er equencyBandListNR, absolute Frequency Point A ARFCN-ValueNR, scs-Speci f icCarrierList SEQUENCE ( S I ZE ( 1 . . maxSCSs ) ) OF SCS- Speci ficCarrier,

[0033] }

[0034] absoluteFrequencySSB

[0035] Frequency of the SSB to be used for this serving cell. SSB related parameters (e.g. SSB index) provided for a serving cell refer to this SSB frequency unless mentioned otherwise. The cell-defining SSB of the PCell is always on the sync raster. Frequencies are considered to be on the sync raster if they are also identifiable with a GSCN value (see TS 38.101-1

[0015] ). If the field is absent, the SSB related parameters should be absent, e.g. ssb-PositionsInBurst, ssb- periodicityServingCell and subcarrierSpacing in ServingCellConfigCommon IE. If the field is absent, the UE obtains timing reference from the SpCell or an SCell if applicable as described in TS 38.213

[0013] , clause 4.1. This is only supported in case the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the same frequency band as the cell (i.e. the SpCell or the SCell, respectively) from which the UE obtains the timing reference.

[0036] For cells supporting RedCap, on handover, corresponds to the cell-defining SSB.

[0037] As of Release- 18, as mentioned in the TR for NW Energy Savings, it is possible to additionally allow SCell without SSB for the inter-band CA case. The use case should be for colocated SCells, as also specified in RP-234065.

[0038] There currently exist certain challenge(s), however. For example, according to Objective 1 of the Release- 19 Network Energy Savings (NES) WID, a UE in connected mode may be configured with CA with SCells that do not transmit SSBs, or have less frequent SSB transmissions than regular serving cells. According to solutions to be agreed in Release-19, a UE may request and the NW may decide to activate additional (on-demand) SSB transmissions.

[0039] In another scenario, relevant for 6G, an idle mode UE may be camping on an ’’anchor” cell and be receiving paging from that cell but needs to access another (“non-anchor”) cell that does not transmit SSBs. Before accessing, the UE may ask the NW to provide one or more SSBs, or the “anchor” node would, via NW-intemal interfaces, ask the “non-anchor” node to provide one or more SSBs. In both these scenarios, if the additional (on-demand) SSBs (SSB transmissions) are activated by the NW, they may be used by UEs to, for example, retune the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) and acquire timing and frequency synchronization with a cell. However, the Applicant has appreciated that, according to current systems and techniques, the requesting UE and other UEs that may benefit from the additional (on-demand) SSBs do not know whether the additional (on- demand) SSBs will actually be transmitted and may not take full advantage of the transmissions.

[0040] SUMMARY

[0041] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are provided for informing UEs in the cell about the availability of the additional SSB transmissions.

[0042] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a UE for receiving at least one on-demand SSB includes receiving, from a NW node, information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission. Based on the information, the UE receives the at least one on- demand SSB transmission.

[0043] According to certain embodiments, a UE for receiving at least one on-demand SSB is configured to receive, from a NW node, information indicating availability of at least one on- demand SSB transmission. Based on the information, the UE is configured to receive the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0044] According to certain embodiments, a method by a NW node includes transmitting, to a UE information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0045] According to certain embodiments, a NW node is configured to transmit, to a UE information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0046] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of efficiently informing the requesting and other UEs about the additional (on-demand) SSBs transmitted. As a result, the UEs may minimize the duration of their SSB processing timeline, which may reduce NW procedure latencies.

[0047] As another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of reducing the need for each individual UE to request SSBs. Thus, uplink (UL) resources may be saved. Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.

[0048] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0050] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example method by a UE for using SSB availability information, according to certain embodiments;

[0051] FIGURE 2 illustrates another example method by a UE for receiving at least one additional SSB, according to certain embodiments;

[0052] FIGURE 3 illustrates an example method by a network node for providing SSB availability information, according to certain embodiments;

[0053] FIGURE 4 illustrates another example method performed by a NW node, according to certain embodiments;

[0054] FIGURE 5 illustrates an example communication system, according to certain embodiments;

[0055] FIGURE 6 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments;

[0056] FIGURE 7 illustrates an example network node, according to certain embodiments; and

[0057] FIGURE 8 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments.

[0058] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0060] As used herein, ‘node’ can be a NW node or a UE. Examples of NW nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi -standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, NW controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core NW node (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), etc.

[0061] Another example of a node is user equipment (UE), which is a non-limiting term and refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a NW node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, machine type communications (MTC) UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc.

[0062] In some embodiments, generic terminology, “radio network node” or simply “network node (NW node)”, is used. It can be any kind of NW node which may comprise base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, NW controller, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNodeB (gNB), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), etc.

[0063] The term radio access technology (RAT), may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0064] The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of downlink (DL) physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSLRS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) signals in SS / PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), Cell Specific Reference Signal (CRS), Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), etc. RS may be periodic. For example, RS occasions carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 20 ms, 40 ms, etc.). The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries New Radio-Primary Synchronization Signal (NR-PSS), New RadioSecondary Synchronization Signal (NR-SSS) and New Radio-Physical Broadcast Channel (NR- PBCH) in four successive symbols. One or multiple Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) are transmitted in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity such as, for example, 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g., serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms). Examples of uplink (UL) physical signals are reference signals such as Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS), etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels are Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Short PUSCH (sPUCCH), Short PDSCH (sPDSCH), Short PUCCH (sPUCCH), Short PUSCH (sPUSCH), MTC PDCCH (MPDCCH), Narrowband PBCH (NPBCH), Narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH), Narrowband PDSCH (NPDSCH), Narrowband PUSCH (NPUSCH), Enhanced PDCCH (E-PDCCH), etc.

[0065] The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, system frame number (SFN) cycle, hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle etc.

[0066] The terms cell without SSB(s) and SSB-less cell are used interchangeably. The term cell may be used to refer to a specific frequency or any other cell property such as, for example, PCell, Primary Secondary Cell Group Cell (PSCell), SCell and serving cell. Note that the systems, methods, techniques, and embodiments disclosed herein also apply to systems where the NW side antenna ports / elements do not from a cell similar for example LTE and NR do. A cell may correspond to a logical NW entity or a physical entity like a set of antennas, or a combination. Conversely, the term frequency that is used to acquire or maintain the power and timing reference for the S SB-less cell may refer to a cell or component carrier associated with that frequency and may be identified or mapped using the corresponding cell identifier (cell ID).

[0067] The term SSB refers to any of above described or derived from NR SSB as well as any synchronization signaling that can be or is used for time- and / or frequency-synchronization, unless otherwise stated.

[0068] As described above, according to a Release- 19 WI, a UE in connected mode may be configured with CA with SCells that do not transmit SSBs or with SCells that have less frequent SSB transmissions than regular serving cells. According to solutions to be agreed in Release-19, a UE may request additional (on-demand) SSB transmissions, which the NW may decide to activate.

[0069] In one example scenario described herein, the SCells where the SSBs are to be activated are currently not transmitting any SSBs. Though the variant where the SCell is currently transmitting a reduced set, or a sparse set, of SSB may not be explicitly mentioned, it is understood that “SSBs off’ includes the “sparse SSB” mode. Similarly, the term SSB transmission is understood as turning on SSB transmission in the SCell as a result of the on-demand process, but it should be understood that it also includes the action of transmitting additional SSBs if the SCell in the default state is transmitting sparse SSBs.

[0070] In another scenario, relevant for 6G, an idle mode UE may be camping on an ’’anchor” cell and be receiving paging from that cell but needs to access another (“non-anchor”) cell that does not transmit SSBs. Before accessing, the UE may ask the NW to provide one or more SSBs, or the “anchor” node would, via NW-intemal interfaces, ask the “non-anchor” node to provide one or more SSBs. Thus, even though PCells and SCells are exemplified in certain examples and embodiments described herein, the examples and embodiments equally apply to scenarios where “anchor” cell and “non-anchor” cells are used, wherein the “non-anchor” cell is providing limited SSBs instead of the SCell examples. Further, it may also be simply understood as NW action and applicable to NWs where a cell is not defined as today 3G / 4G / 5G.

[0071] In both these scenarios, if the additional (on-demand) SSBs (SSB transmissions) are activated by the NW, they may be used by the requesting UE to, for example, retune the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) and acquire timing and frequency synchronization with a cell. However, currently, the requesting UE does not know whether the additional (on-demand) SSBs will actually be transmitted and may not take full advantage of the transmissions. Other UEs may be present in the SCell, which may also need or could benefit from, additional SSBs and are not aware of their availability and may in turn request the SSB transmissions that have already been activated, which leads to unnecessary uplink (UL) signalling resource usage. Alternatively, a second UE that is not aware of the availability of the additional SSBs may simply not use them, leading to a longer SCell utilization delay or Handover (HO) delay, or causing the second UE to request the same SSBs (SSB transmissions), e.g., shortly afterwards, further leading to higher NW energy consumption. Lastly, a second UE may see the additional SSB, which may potentially only be temporarily provided by the NW, but wrongly assume that it is an instance of a regularly provided SSB according to a regular scheme.

[0072] Example Solution(s)

[0073] According to certain embodiments, a method in a UE for using additional SSB availability information includes receiving an indication from a network node such as, for example, a gNB that indicates availability of an additional SSB transmission and performing SSB reception according to the indication.

[0074] According to certain embodiments, for example, after activating additional SSB transmissions such as, for example, based on an SSBonDemand request, the NW may inform the requesting UE that the additional SSB transmissions have started or will start at a certain time.

[0075] According to certain embodiments, when a first UE has requested and activated additional SSB transmissions, the NW may similarly inform a second UE or a group of second UEs about the availability of the additional SSB transmissions.

[0076] The indication of additional SSB availability may carry additional information such as, for example, SSB type and configuration details, when and for how long the additional SSB will be available, cells or cell regions where it is provided, permissions for further additional SSB requests, etc. For example, according to certain embodiments, a broadcasted message, a group scheduled message, or a dedicated message may be used for such availability signaling.

[0077] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example method 100 by a UE for using SSB availability information, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes at least one of a first receiving step at 102 and a second receiving step at 104. For example, at step 102, the UE may receive, from a NW node, information indicating availability of at least one additional SSB transmission. At step 104, for example, based on the information, the UE may receive the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0078] FIGURE 2 illustrates another example method 200 by a UE for receiving at least one on- demand SSB, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes receiving, from a NW node, information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission, at step 202. Based on the information, the UE receives the at least one on- demand SSB transmission, at step 204.

[0079] In a particular embodiment, the at least one on-demand SSB transmission is received from another NW node.

[0080] In a particular embodiment, the UE transmits, to the NW node, a request for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0081] In a particular embodiment, the UE has not requested the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0082] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a start time for the at least one on- demand SSB transmission.

[0083] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a configuration of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0084] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates one or more parameters for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0085] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a type of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0086] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a time duration associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0087] In a particular embodiment, the information includes a format indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0088] In a particular embodiment, the information includes a location indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0089] In a particular embodiment, the information includes a cell coverage indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission. In a particular embodiment, the information indicates at least one cell area, at least one SSB indices and / or at least one cell identifier associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0090] In a particular embodiment, prior to receiving the information indicating availability of the at least one additional SSB transmission, the UE receives additional information comprising at least one configuration parameter associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0091] In a particular embodiment, the information indicating availability of the at least one on- demand SSB transmission indicates the additional information.

[0092] In a particular embodiment, the additional information is received, via higher layer configuration signaling, and the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission includes a pointer to the at least one configuration parameter. The additional information may be received from the NW node or from another NW node.

[0093] In a further particular embodiment, the at least one configuration parameter includes one or more of: time duration information, location information and format information for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0094] In a particular embodiment, the information is received in a dedicated message.

[0095] In a particular embodiment, the information is received in a MAC CE.

[0096] In a particular embodiment, the method further includes the UE receives the one or more on-demand SSBs when the availability of the at least one on-demand SSB is indicated.

[0097] In a particular embodiment, the method further includes the UE using the at least one on- demand SSB transmission for at least one of: time / frequency synchronization; layer 1 / layer 3 measurements; and SCell activation.

[0098] In a particular embodiment, the NW node is a gNB associated with a serving / anchor / PCell not performing the on-demand SSB transmission.

[0099] In a particular embodiment, the NW node is a gNB associated with a second cell performing the on-demand SSB transmission.

[0100] In a particular embodiment, the UE is a first UE, where the first UE has requested the on- demand SSB transmission.

[0101] In a particular embodiment, the UE is a second UE, where the second UE has not requested the on-demand SSB transmission. FIGURE 3 illustrates an example method 300 by a network node for providing SSB availability information, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes at least one of a first transmitting step at 302 and a second transmitting step at 304. For example, at step 302, the network node transmits, to a UE, information indicating availability of at least one additional SSB transmission. At step 304, for example, based on the information, the network node may transmit the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0102] FIGURE 4 illustrates another example method 400 performed by a NW node for indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes, at step 402, transmitting, to a UE, information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0103] In a particular embodiment, the NW node transmits at least one on-demand SSB transmission to the UE.

[0104] In a particular embodiment, the NW node receives, from the UE, a request for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0105] In a particular embodiment, the UE has not requested the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0106] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a start time for the at least one on- demand SSB transmission.

[0107] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a configuration of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission, the information indicates one or more parameters for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0108] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a type of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0109] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates a time duration associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0110] In a particular embodiment, the information comprises a format indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0111] In a particular embodiment, the information comprises a location indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0112] In a particular embodiment, the information comprises a cell coverage indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission. In a particular embodiment, the information indicates at least one cell area, at least one SSB indices and / or at least one cell identifier associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

[0113] In a particular embodiment, prior to transmitting the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission, the NW node transmits, to the UE, additional information comprising at least one configuration parameter associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0114] In a further particular embodiment, the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission indicates the additional information.

[0115] In a further particular embodiment, the additional information is transmitted, to the UE, via higher layer configuration signaling, and the information includes a pointer to the at least one configuration parameter.

[0116] In a particular embodiment, the at least one configuration parameter comprises one or more of: time duration information, location information and format information for the at least one on- demand SSB transmission. The information may be transmitted in a dedicated message.

[0117] In a particular embodiment, the information is transmitted in a MAC CE.

[0118] Indication of Additional / On-demand SSB Configuration: Duration, Type, Format, and Location

[0119] In a particular embodiment, the information includes an indication of a type and parameter indication for the additional (on-demand) SSB transmission (e.g., periodic (period / offset), one- shot (linked to which other signal), burst (inter-SSB interval)).

[0120] In a particular embodiment, the information includes a duration indication of the additional (on-demand) SSB transmission (e.g., a timer indicating remaining time, in ms, slots, frames).

[0121] In a particular embodiment, the information includes a format indication of the additional (on-demand) SSBs (e.g., full, partial (no MIB, no SIB pointer, no / partial control information, no / partial reference signals. . .).

[0122] In a particular embodiment, the information includes a location indication of the additional (on-demand) SSB transmission to a baseline SSB such as, for example, a frequency offset (kHz, PRBs), a time offset (ms, slots, frames), etc.

[0123] In a particular embodiment, the information itself does not include information about duration and / or location and / or format, but instead one or more of the aforementioned duration / time / location / format are received from the NW via earlier dedicated or broadcast signaling or configuration.

[0124] In a particular embodiment, the information itself does not include information about duration and / or location and / or format, but instead one or more of the aforementioned duration / time / location / format options are received from the NW via earlier higher layer configuration signaling and the indication includes a pointer to this configuration.

[0125] Indication of “When ”

[0126] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates current or immediate availability.

[0127] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates future availability, comprising a timer value (e.g., number of ms, frames, slots) or a time label (e.g., SFN value, slot number, etc.) associated with a start time of additional (on-demand) SSB transmission.

[0128] In a particular embodiment, the information indicates scheduled availability for certain time of the day that predicted to have high demand for UE initial access.

[0129] Indication of “Where ”

[0130] In a particular embodiment, the information comprises a coverage indication of the additional (on-demand) SSB transmission such as, for example, which cell areas (SSB indices) or cell IDs.

[0131] In a further particular embodiment, the information comprises bits in inOneGroup and groupPresense of ssb-PositionsInBurst that tells which beams and SSBs are activated for small coverage area.

[0132] Blocking Further Requests

[0133] In a particular embodiment, the information includes an indication of a prohibition to perform further requests of additional (on-demand) SSB transmission such as, for example, if a UE does not “like” the current additional (on-demand) SSB and would prefer some other configuration.

[0134] Signaling Type In a particular embodiment, the information is carried in a broadcast message such as, for example, a SIB / / , where z / =l, 2, 3, etc.

[0135] In a particular embodiment, the information is carried in a group message such as, for example, a group DCI.

[0136] In a particular embodiment, the information is carried in a dedicated message such as, for example, a DCI, MAC CE, and / or RRC.

[0137] In a particular embodiment, the information is embedded in the additional (on-demand) SSB transmission. In a further particular embodiment, the information in the SSB comprises information that this SSB is “additional” such as, for example, by using the reserved bit. In a further particular embodiment, the information in the SSB includes information about the additional SSB type (e.g., periodic, one-shot, and / or burst), its period / spacing, its remaining availability time, etc. and may be, for example, embedded in the PBCH, replacing legacy MIB fields.

[0138] In a particular embodiment, the information is embedded in a paging message to a UE, or in a short message format in the paging DCI.

[0139] SSB Availability Information

[0140] According to certain embodiments, when the NW is transmitting SSB based on a UE’s request, the NW sends a notification as broadcast or groupcast, or per UE scheduling, in order to let other UEs know the SSB is going to be transmitted or is being transmitted. These other UEs may be UEs that are also configured with the same CA feature and may potentially request SSB transmissions, or they may be UE’s with such capability.

[0141] In a particular embodiment, when the NW is transmitting on-demand SSB requested by a UE, the NW also broadcast or groupcast the information that this SSB is on-demand SSB and may not last long after the sync for UE is done or after the UE that requests on-demand SSB is gone. For example, related to the above embodiments, if the NW increases a provision rate of SSBs after the UE requests on-demand SSB, the NW will broadcast or groupcast an indication that this provision rate of SSBs is temporary. For those UEs camping on this cell, it is not necessary to increase the frequency of the SSB measurements, which can help UE to save power.

[0142] In a particular embodiment, the NW may automatically transmit on-demand SSB without the request of the UE for a certain time and place predicted to have high demand of UE requests. This is relevant for places like airports, sea ports, train stations, etc. where a sudden high number of UEs are deployed in a certain period of time. The NW can also broadcast information indicating that the additional (on-demand) SSB may not last long. For example, in a particular embodiment, the NW may transmit the information a minute before and after the expected time of sudden high demand UE arrivals.

[0143] In a particular embodiment, the NW activates a small number SSBs or beams that point to a direction where the expected sudden high demand of UE will occur for additional NW energy saving gain. This may result in saved power, reduced initial access delay, and reduced UL resources in the UE side if the UE does not send the on-demand SSB request.

[0144] In a particular embodiment, if the SSB transmission in the SCell is activated based on on- demand NW signaling from another cell, the NW may similarly inform UEs in the potential SCell coverage area that SSBs are available such as, for example, inOneGroup and groupPresence of ssb-PositionlnBurst that tells which beams are activated in a particular coverage area.

[0145] In another particular embodiment, the NW informs on which cells the SSBs are transmitted. For connected mode, the information may include a list of serving cell indexes and / or a corresponding bitmap. For idle mode UEs, the information may include a list of frequencies.

[0146] In a particular embodiment, the availability indication may include a prohibition to perform further requests of additional (on-demand) SSB transmission during a certain time duration. This may be relevant, for example, when one or more UEs do not find the current additional SSB format preferable and would like to request some other configuration, which could impose excessive UL signaling.

[0147] Additional / On-Demand SSB Location / Resources

[0148] In yet another particular embodiment, which may be relevant to either CA or idle mode scenario, the SSBs that may be requested have nominal locations which are indexed by offset and nominal SSB location with respect to the offset. When the NW informs the UEs on SSBs transmitted, the NW also informs about the offset that is applied. The offsets could be in relation to a certain activity such as, for example, a SFN of one of the cells, or in relation to an SSB instance of the SSB providing cell, in relation to the paging occasion, in relation to an UL activity such as the OnDemand request, etc. For a one-time SSB or SSB burst, the offset may be defined in relation to another cell’ s SSB timing or frame timing, or in relation to the timing of a procedure that benefits from the on-demand SSBs such as, for example, a PO occasion or PRACH window timing. In another example, the offset such as, for example, X ms, Y subframes / slot, etc., may be defined in relation to the time instant of the transmission of the SSB transmission request by the UE, and this offset may be configured by the NW or, alternatively, specified in standards documents such as, for example, 3GPP specifications.

[0149] A vailability Signaling Mechanisms

[0150] In a particular embodiment, the additional (on-demand) SSB availability signaling may be performed by a NW node such as, for example, a gNB associated with a serving / anchor / primary cell that is not performing the actual additional (on-demand) SSB transmission. Alternatively, in a particular embodiment, the additional (on-demand) SSB availability signaling may be performed by a NW node associated with a cell that is performing the additional (on-demand) SSB transmission. The indications may be provided at least while the additional (on-demand) SSB transmissions are ongoing.

[0151] The indications may be signaled via one of the following legacy mechanisms or their extensions:

[0152] • in a broadcast message such as, for example, in SI fields SIBw, where «=1, 2, 3, etc.;

[0153] • in a group message such as, for example, a group DCI transmission to UEs configured to monitor a specific RNTI, including a new RNTI associated with additional (on-demand) SSB availability indication; and / or

[0154] • in a dedicated message such that individual UEs may receive DCI, MAC CE, or RRC containing additional (on-demand) SSB configuration and availability info, including, for example, providing multiple configurations via RRC and indicating a currently valid configuration or availability pattern via DCI.

[0155] In a particular embodiment, the availability indication may also be in the additional (on- demand) SSB transmission itself.

[0156] In a particular embodiment, the SSB contents may indicate that the SSB is “additional” such as on-demand, for example by using the reserved bit in PBCH or via the choice of PSS / SSS sequences. In a particular embodiment, the SSB comprises information about the additional SSB type (e.g., whether it is periodic, one-shot, or a burst), its period / spacing, its remaining availability time (e.g., how many SSB instances will be transmitted, or for how long that additional (on- demand) SSB transmission will continue, etc.). This may be conveyed, for example, in the PBCH, replacing legacy MIB fields, in a particular embodiment.

[0157] In a particular embodiment, the requesting UE may use a NW-provided configuration for sending an additional (on-demand) SSB transmission request, where a specific UL resource is associated to a specific cell, such that sending an SSB transmission request using a certain UL resource means requesting SSB transmission in the associated cell. The UE may then assume that the additional (on-demand) SSB(s) in the specified cells will be available (i.e., the availability indication is implicit), the UE may receive an acknowledgement that the request transmission has been received (i.e., the availability indication is implied in the reception acknowledgement), or the UE may receive explicit request acknowledgement message for the one or more requested cells (i.e., the indication is explicit).

[0158] In another particular embodiment, when UE is paged by the anchor cell, the paging message includes information on SSB of the non-anchor cells to which the UE may access. In a related embodiment, a UE paged by an anchor cell is expected or indicated to perform cell reselection, now also measuring on and considering additional (on-demand) SSBs transmitted by cells that haven't been transmitting SSBs before.

[0159] In an alternative embodiment, the additional (on-demand) SSB availability information may be carried in the paging DCI, in a short message-like representation, similar to an SI update, Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) message, etc.

[0160] FIGURE 5 shows an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 506, which includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510a and 510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 506 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0161] The UEs 512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 502.

[0162] In the depicted example, the core network 506 connects the network nodes 510 to one or more hosts, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0163] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0164] As a whole, the communication system 500 of FIGURE 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0165] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0166] In some examples, the UEs 512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0167] In the example, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 510b). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0168] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d), and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 510b. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels. FIGURE 6 shows a UE 600, which may be an embodiment of the UE 512 of FIGURE 5, in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0169] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0170] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 6. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0171] The processing circuitry 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 610. The processing circuitry 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0172] In the example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0173] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0174] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0175] The memory 610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0176] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0177] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0178] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0179] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0180] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or itemtracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 600 shown in FIGURE 6.

[0181] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0182] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’ s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0183] FIGURE 7 shows a network node 700, which may be an embodiment of the network node 510 of FIGURE 5, in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0184] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0185] The network node 700 includes a processing circuitry 702, a memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 700.

[0186] The processing circuitry 702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality.

[0187] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0188] The memory 704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 702. The memory 704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and memory 704 is integrated.

[0189] The communication interface 706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 706 also includes radio frontend circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 710. Radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 720 and amplifiers 722. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to an antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio frontend circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 720 and / or amplifiers 722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0190] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718, instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0191] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0192] The antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0193] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 708. As a further example, the power source 708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0194] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 7 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 700 and to allow output of information from the network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 700.

[0195] FIGURE 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0196] In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[0197] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0198] Hardware 804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808a and 808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0199] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0200] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of hardware 804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802. Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0201] EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0202] Group A Example Embodiments

[0203] Example Embodiment Al. A method performed by a user equipment for using SSB availability information, the method comprising: any of the user equipment steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0204] Example Embodiment A2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional user equipment steps, features or functions described above.

[0205] Example Embodiment A3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the network node.

[0206] Group B Example Embodiments

[0207] Example Embodiment Bl. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: - any of the network node steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0208] Example Embodiment B2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above. Example Embodiment B3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0209] Group C Example Embodiments

[0210] Example Embodiment Cl. A method performed by a UE for using SSB availability information, the method comprising at least one of: receiving, from a network node, information indicating availability of at least one additional SSB transmission, and based on the information, receiving the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0211] Example embodiment C2. The method of Example Embodiment Cl, wherein the network node is at least one of a serving node, an anchor node, and / or a primary cell node.

[0212] Example Embodiment C3. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C2, wherein the at least one additional SSB transmission to the UE is received from another network node.

[0213] Example Embodiment C4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C3, wherein the network node is associated with a second cell performing the sending of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0214] Example Embodiment C5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C4, comprising transmitting, to the network node, a request for the information associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0215] Example Embodiment C6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C5, wherein the UE has not requested the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0216] Example Embodiment C7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C6, wherein at least one of: the information comprises a type and / or parameter indication for the at least one additional SSB transmission; the information indicates a period and / or offset for the at least one additional SSB transmission; the information indicates that the at least one additional SSB transmission is a one-shot transmission and / or that the at least one additional SSB transmission is linked to another signal; the information indicates that the at least one additional SSB transmission is associated with a burst and / or an inter-SSB interval.

[0217] Example Embodiment C8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C7, wherein the information indicates a time duration associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission. Example Embodiment C9. The method of Example Embodiment C8, wherein the time duration comprises an amount of time as measured in at least one of ms, slots, and frames.

[0218] Example Embodiment CIO. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C9, the information comprises a format indication of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0219] Example Embodiment C 11. The method of Example Embodiment CIO, wherein the format indication indicates full or partial transmission.

[0220] Example Embodiment C12. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 1, wherein the information comprises a location indication of the at least one additional SSB transmission relative to another SSB, and wherein the location indication comprises at least one of a frequency offset (kHz, PRBs) and / or a time offset (ms, slots, frames).

[0221] Example Embodiment C13. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 2, comprising: prior to receiving the information, receiving additional information via a dedicated signal, a broadcast signal, or a configuration from the network node or another network node, and wherein the additional information indicating a time duration and / or location indication and / or format indication associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0222] Example Embodiment C14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C12, comprising: prior to receiving the information, receiving, via higher layer configuration signaling, a pointer to a configuration, wherein the configuration indicates a time duration and / or location indication and / or format indication associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0223] Example Embodiment Cl 5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 4, wherein the information indicates a current or immediate availability.

[0224] Example Embodiment Cl 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 5, wherein the information indicates a future availability, and / or wherein the information indicates a timer value or a time label associated with a start time of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0225] Example Embodiment Cl 7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 6, wherein the information indicates a scheduled availability and / or a certain time of the day that is predicted to have high demand for UE initial access.

[0226] Example Embodiment Cl 8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to Cl 7, wherein the information comprises a cell coverage indication of the at least one additional SSB transmission. Example Embodiment C19. The method of Example Embodiment C18, wherein the cell coverage indication indicates at least one cell area, at least one SSB indices, and / or at least one cell identifier.

[0227] Example Embodiment C20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl 8 to C 19, wherein the information comprises an indication of bits in inOneGroup and / or groupPresense of ssb-PositionsInBurst.

[0228] Example Embodiment C21. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C20, wherein the information indicates a prohibition for the UE to perform further request of additional SSB transmission.

[0229] Example Embodiment C22. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C21, wherein the information is received via a broadcast message [e.g., SIBn, where n=l, 2, 3, etc.].

[0230] Example Embodiment C23. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C21, wherein the information is received in a group DCI.

[0231] Example Embodiment C24. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C21, wherein the information is received in a dedicated message via DCI, MAC CE, and / or RRC.

[0232] Example Embodiment C25. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C21, wherein the information is embedded in one of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0233] Example Embodiment C26. The method of Example Embodiment C25, wherein the information embedded in the additional SSB transmission comprises an indication that the additional SSB transmission is additional.

[0234] Example Embodiment C27. The method of Example Embodiment C26, wherein the indication is in a reserved bit of the additional SSB transmission.

[0235] Example Emboidment C28. The method of Example embodiment C26, wherein the indication in the additional SSB comprises information associated with at least one of: an additional SSB type [e.g., periodic, one-shot, burst], a period / spacing, and a remaining availability time.

[0236] Example Embodiment C29. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C28, wherein the information is embedded in a paging message received by the UE and / or the information is embedded in a short message format in a paging DCI.

[0237] Example Embodiment C30. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C29, wherein receiving the at least one additional SSB transmission based on the information comprises: receiving one or more additional SSBs when the availability of the at least one additional SSB is indicated.

[0238] Example Embodiment C31. The method of any one of Example Embodiments Cl to C30, comprising using the at least one additional SSB transmission for at least one of: time / frequency synchronization; L1 / L3 measurements; and early SCell activation.

[0239] Example Embodiment C32. The method of Example Embodiments Cl to C31, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

[0240] Example Embodiment C33. A user equipment comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C32.

[0241] Example Embodiment C34. A user equipment configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C32.

[0242] Example Embodiment C35. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C32.

[0243] Example Embodiment C36. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C32.

[0244] Example Embodiment C37. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to C32.

[0245] Example Embodiment C38. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments Cl to 32.

[0246] Group D Example Embodiments

[0247] Example Embodiment DI. A method performed by a network node for providing Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) availability information, the method comprising at least one of: transmitting, to a User Equipment (UE), information indicating availability of at least one additional SSB transmission, and based on the information, transmitting the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0248] Example embodiment D2. The method of Example Embodiment DI, wherein the network node is at least one of a serving node, an anchor node, and / or a primary cell node. Example Embodiment D3. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D2, wherein another network node transmits the at least one additional SSB transmission to the UE.

[0249] Example Embodiment D4. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D3, wherein the network node is associated with a second cell performing the sending of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0250] Example Embodiment D5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D4, comprises receiving, from the UE, a request for the information associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0251] Example Embodiment D6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D4, wherein the UE has not requested the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0252] Example Embodiment D7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D6, wherein at least one of: the information comprises a type and / or parameter indication for the at least one additional SSB transmission; the information indicates a period and / or offset for the at least one additional SSB transmission, the information indicates that the at least one additional SSB transmission is a one-shot transmission and / or that the at least one additional SSB transmission is linked to another signal, the information indicates that the at least one additional SSB transmission is associated with a burst and / or an inter-SSB interval.

[0253] Example Embodiment D8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D7, wherein the information indicates a time duration associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0254] Example Embodiment D9. The method of Example Embodiment D8, wherein the time duration comprises an amount of time as measured in at least one of ms, slots, and frames.

[0255] Example Embodiment DIO. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D9, the information comprises a format indication of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0256] Example Embodiment Dl l. The method of Example Embodiment DIO, wherein the format indication indicates full or partial transmission.

[0257] Example Embodiment D 12. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 1, wherein the information comprises a location indication of the at least one additional SSB transmission relative to another SSB, and wherein the location indication comprises at least one of a frequency offset (kHz, PRBs) and / or a time offset (ms, slots, frames). Example Embodiment D13. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 2, comprising: prior to transmitting the information, transmitting, to the UE, additional information via a dedicated signal, a broadcast signal, or a configuration, and wherein the additional information indicating a time duration and / or location indication and / or format indication associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0258] Example Embodiment D14. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D12, comprising: prior to transmitting the information, transmitting, via higher layer configuration signaling, a pointer to a configuration, wherein the configuration indicates a time duration and / or location indication and / or format indication associated with the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0259] Example Embodiment DI 5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 4, wherein the information indicates a current or immediate availability.

[0260] Example Embodiment DI 6. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 5, wherein the information indicates a future availability, and / or wherein the information indicates a timer value or a time label associated with a start time of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0261] Example Embodiment DI 7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 6, wherein the information indicates a scheduled availability and / or a certain time of the day that is predicted to have high demand for UE initial access.

[0262] Example Embodiment DI 8. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to DI 7, wherein the information comprises a cell coverage indication of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0263] Example Embodiment D19. The method of Example Embodiment D18, wherein the cell coverage indication indicates at least one cell area, at least one SSB indices, and / or at least one cell identifier.

[0264] Example Embodiment D20. The method of any one of Example Embodiments D18 to DI 9, wherein the information comprises an indication of bits in inOneGroup and / or groupPresense of ssb-PositionsInBurst.

[0265] Example Embodiment D21. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D20, wherein the information indicates a prohibition for the UE to perform further request of additional SSB transmission. Example Embodiment D22. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D21, wherein the information is transmitted via a broadcast message [e.g., SIBn, where n=l, 2, 3, etc.].

[0266] Example Embodiment D23. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D21, wherein the information is transmitted in a group DCI.

[0267] Example Embodiment D24. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D21, wherein the information is transmitted in a dedicated message via DCI, MAC CE, and / or RRC.

[0268] Example Embodiment D25. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D21, wherein the information is embedded in one of the at least one additional SSB transmission.

[0269] Example Embodiment D26. The method of Example Embodiment D25, wherein the information embedded in the additional SSB transmission comprises an indication that the additional SSB transmission is additional.

[0270] Example Embodiment D27. The method of Example Embodiment D26, wherein the indication is in a reserved bit of the additional SSB transmission.

[0271] Example Emboidment D28. The method of Example embodiment D26, wherein the indication in the additional SSB comprises information associated with at least one of: an additional SSB type [e.g., periodic, one-shot, burst], a period / spacing, and a remaining availability time.

[0272] Example Embodiment D29. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D28, wherein the information is embedded in a paging message transmitted to the UE and / or the information is embedded in a short message format in a paging DCI.

[0273] Example Embodiment D30. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D29, wherein transmitting the at least one additional SSB transmission based on the information comprises: transmitting one or more additional SSBs when the availability of the at least one additional SSB is indicated.

[0274] Example Embodiment D31. The method of any one of Example Embodiments DI to D30, comprising configuring the UE to use the at least one additional SSB transmission for at least one of: time / frequency synchronization; L1 / L3 measurements; and early SCell activation.

[0275] Example Embodiment D32. The method of any of the previous Example Embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Example Embodiment D33. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D32.

[0276] Example Embodiment D34. A network node configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D32.

[0277] Example Embodiment D35. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D32.

[0278] Example Embodiment D36. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D32.

[0279] Example Embodiment D37. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments DI to D32.

[0280] Group E Example Embodiments

[0281] Example Embodiment El. A user equipment for using SSB availability information, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0282] Example Embodiment E2. A network node for providing SSB availability information, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0283] Example Embodiment E3. A user equipment (UE) for using SSB availability information, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0284] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0285] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method (200) performed by a user equipment, UE (512), for receiving at least one on- demand Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, the method comprising: receiving (202), from a network, NW, node (510) information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission, and based on the information, receiving (204) the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

2. The method according to Claim 1, wherein the at least one on-demand SSB transmission is received from another NW node.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising transmitting, to the NW node, a request for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

4. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a start time for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

5. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a configuration of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

6. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates one or more parameters for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

7. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a type of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

8. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a time duration associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

9. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information comprises a format indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

10. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the information comprises a location indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

11. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information comprises a cell coverage indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information indicates at least one cell area, at least one SSB indices and / or at least one cell identifier associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

13. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising: prior to receiving the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission, receiving additional information comprising at least one configuration parameter associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein: the additional information comprising the at least one configuration parameter associated with the at least one on-demand SSB is received via higher layer configuration signaling, and the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission comprises a pointer to the at least one configuration parameter.

15. The method according to any of claims 13 to 14, wherein the at least one configuration parameter comprises one or more of: time duration information, location information and format information for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

16. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information is received in a dedicated message.

17. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information is received in a Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE.

18. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein receiving the at least one on- demand SSB transmission based on the information comprises: receiving one or more on-demand SSBs when the availability of the at least one on-demand SSB is indicated.

19. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising using the at least one on-demand SSB transmission for at least one of: time / frequency synchronization; layer 1 / layer 3 measurements; and SCell activation.

20. A method (400) performed by a network, NW, node (510), the method comprising: transmitting (410), to a User Equipment, UE (512), information indicating availability of at least one on-demand Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, transmission.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising transmitting at least one on-demand SSB transmission to the UE.

22. The method according to claim 20 to 21, comprising receiving, from the UE, a request for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

23. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a start time for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

24. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a configuration of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

25. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates one or more parameters for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

26. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a type of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

27. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates a time duration associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

28. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information comprises a format indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

29. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the information comprises a location indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

30. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information comprises a cell coverage indication of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

31. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicates at least one cell area, at least one SSB indices and / or at least one cell identifier associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

32. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising: prior to transmitting the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission, transmitting, to the UE, additional information comprising at least one configuration parameter associated with the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

33. The method of Claim 32, wherein:the additional information indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the at least one on-demand SSB is transmitted, to the UE, via higher layer configuration signaling, and the information indicating availability of the at least one on-demand SSB transmission comprises a pointer to the at least one configuration parameter.

34. The method according to any of claims 32 to 33, wherein the at least one configuration parameter comprises one or more of: time duration information, location information and format information for the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

35. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information is transmitted in a dedicated message.

36. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the information is transmitted in a Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE.

37. A user equipment, UE (512), for receiving at least one on-demand Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, the UE configured to: receive, from a network, NW, node (510), information indicating availability of at least one on-demand SSB transmission, and based on the information, receive the at least one on-demand SSB transmission.

38. The UE of Claim 37, further configured to perform any of the methods of Claims 2 to 19.

39. A network, NW, node (510) configured to: transmit, to a User Equipment, UE (512), information indicating availability of at least one on-demand Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, transmission.

40. The NW node of Claim 39, further configured to perform any of the methods of Claims 21

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