Determination of pathloss offset for uplink-only nodes

Abstract

A method, performed by a user equipment (UE), for determining uplink (UL) transmission power for a UL communication to a first node is provided. The method includes receiving a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index. The method includes receiving an indication of a pathloss offset. The method includes transmitting the UL communication to the first node according to a transmission power based on a first pathloss, the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and a PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index.

Description

DETERMINATION OF PATHLOSS OFFSET FOR UPLINK-ONLY NODES BACKGROUND

[0001] NR

[0002] The 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced the fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks (5G). In 5G, New Radio (NR) is the standard radio access technology. Data scheduling in NR is typically based on a slot basis. An example is shown in FIG.1, which shows a 14-symbol slot, where the first two symbols contain a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the rest contains a physical shared data channel, either a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). As shown, there is 15kHZ subcarrier spacing.

[0003] Downlink (DL) transmissions can be dynamically scheduled in a slot-by-slot basis. The scheduling information, such as resource allocation and modulation order, is contained in downlink control information (DCI) carried by PDCCH. DL user data are carried in PDSCH.

[0004] Uplink (UL) data transmission can also be dynamically scheduled using DCI carried in PDCCH. A user equipment (UE) first decodes uplink grants in DCI and then transmits data in PUSCH based on the scheduling information in the uplink grant.

[0005] In addition to dynamic scheduling of PUSCH, semi-persistent transmission of periodic PUSCH using configured grants (CGs) is also supported in NR. In CG type 1, the periodicity as well as a slot offset are configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC). In CG type 2, the PUSCH transmission can be activated or deactivated dynamically by DCI.

[0006] For channel estimation purpose, channel state information (CSI) reference signals (RSs) (CSI-RSs) in the DL and sounding reference signals (SRSs) in the UL are also supported.

[0007] Synchronization signals (SS), including primary SS (PSS) and secondary SS (SSS), are used in NR to allow a user equipment (UE) to acquire DL synchronization to a cell 3602-2936WO1and the physical cell ID (PCI) associated to a cell. PSS and SSS are transmitted together with a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), referred to as a SS / PDCH block or SSB inshort. PBCH is used to transmit some critical information (i.e., master information block (MIB)) in a cell for a UE to acquire system information from other system information blocks (SIBs).

[0008] Uplink power control in NR

[0009] The base station, or gNodeB (gNB), may consist of a single transmission and reception point (TRP) or multiple TRPs. In case of multiple TRPs, a UE can be scheduled with downlink transmissions from one or more of the TRPs and uplink data transmission to one or more of the TRPs, either one TRP at a time or simultaneously.

[0010] Uplink power control in NR consists of two parts, i.e., open-loop power control and closed-loop power control. Open-loop power control is used to set the uplink transmit power based on a few factors such as pathloss estimation between the UE and a TRP in a serving cell, the target receive power, channel / signal bandwidth, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), fractional power control factor, and so on. Closed-loop power control is based on power adjustments signaled in power control commands received from the gNB. The power control commands are typically determined based on the difference between the actual received power and a desired received power at the gNB. Closed power control loops can be configured in NR for each UL channel or signal. Before Rel-19 NR, SRS can be configured with 3 closed-loop adjustment states: 2 adjustment states are tied to PUSCH adjustment states and 1 separate (not tied with PUSCH) adjustment state. In Rel-19, SRS can be configured with 4 closed-loop adjustment states: 2 tied with PUSCH + 2 not tied with PUSCH. Either cumulative or non- cumulative closed-loop power adjustments are supported in NR. A closed loop adjustment at a given time is also referred to as a power control adjustment state.

[0011] A DL reference signal (RS) is transmitted from each TRP, which can be used by a UE to estimate the pathloss between the UE and the TRP. Each DL RS has an associated index for identifying it. For UL transmission, power control can be performed separately for each TRP. For a UL channel or signal (e.g., PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS) to be transmitted in UL associated with a pathloss RS with index ^^, its transmit power in a transmission occasion i within a slot in a bandwidth part (BWP) of a carrier frequency of a serving cell and a closed-loop index^^ ^^^ ൌ 0,1^ can be expressed as:^^ ^, ^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^^^^^ ^ ^ெ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^,^,^^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^,^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ௗି^^^^^^^, ^^^where:^^^ெ^^,^,^^^^^ is a UE’s maximum output power for the carrier frequency, f, of the serving cell, c, in transmission occasion ^^ for the UL channel or signal;^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ is the open loop transmit power and ^^^^^^^ௗି^^^^^^^, ^^^ is the closed loop poweradjustment;^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ is given by:^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ∆^^^^where ^^ைis theand comprises a cell specific part ^^ை,^^^^and a UE specific part ^^ை,^ா, ^^ோ^^^^^is a power adjustment related to the bandwidth or number of RBs occupied by the channel or signal at transmission occasion ^^, ^^^^^^^^ is a pathloss (PL) estimation based on a downlink reference signal (RS) with index k,^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^ is a fractional pathloss compensation factor,∆^^^^ is a power offset determined by modulation and code rate of the UL channel or signal;^^^^^^^ௗି^^^^^^^, ^^^ is given by:ெ ^^^ ^ ^ ^^^ if cumulation is enablede. , absolute is enable^where ^^^^^, ^^^ is a power adjustment value indicated in a transmit power control (TPC) commandin a DCI associated with the UL channel or signal at transmission occasion ^^ and configured withclosed-loop index ^^; ∑ெ^ୀ^ ^^^^^, ^^^ is a sum of power adjustment values indicated in TransmitPower Controlthat the UE received for the channel or signal since the TPCcommand for transmission occasion ^^ െ ^^^.

[0012] Note that power control parameters ^^ை, ^^ோ^^^^^, ^^, ^^^^, ∆^^^^, ^^^^^, ^^^ are generallyconfigured separately for each UL channel or signal (e.g., PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS) and may be different for different UL channels or signals.

[0013] SRS

[0014] In NR, SRS is used for providing CSI to the gNB in the UL. The usage of SRS includes, e.g., deriving the appropriate transmission / reception beams and / or performing link adaptation (i.e., setting the transmission rank and the MCS), and selecting DL (e.g., for PDSCH transmissions) and UL (e.g., for PUSCH transmissions) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) precoding.

[0015] In LTE and NR, the SRS is configured via RRC, where parts of the configuration can be updated (for reduced latency) through medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE) signaling. The configuration includes, for example, the SRS resource allocation (the physical mapping and the sequence to use) as well as the time-domain behavior (aperiodic, semi-persistent, or periodic). For aperiodic SRS transmission, the RRC configuration does not activate an SRS transmission from the UE but instead a dynamic activation trigger is transmitted from the gNB in the DL, via the DCI in the PDCCH which instructs the UE to transmit the SRS once, at a predetermined time.

[0016] When configuring SRS transmissions, the gNB configures, through the SRS- Config information element (IE), a set of SRS resources and a set of SRS resource sets, where each SRS resource set contains one or more SRS resources.

[0017] UL-only nodes

[0018] It is expected that the demand on capacity and user throughput will increase in the future. It is also expected that UL will become a limiting factor, partly due to the natural imbalance of spectral efficiency between UL and DL (which comes from, for instance, different number antennas, different power levels, etc.) but also partly due to an increase of UL heavy services like gaming, video-to-video (V2V) communication, etc.

[0019] A potential remedy to this is to densify the networks more in the UL than in the DL. This may be done, for instance, by providing radio nodes that only receive in the UL (theydo not perform any DL transmissions). We will refer to such a transmission node as a “UL-only node / TRP” herein. By using such UL-only nodes one could consequently enhance the UL without enhancing the DL. While there is obviously no direct improvement in downlink performance, as compared to normal DL+UL nodes, benefits of UL-only nodes include lower complexity, lower weight, smaller volumes, ease of deployment and avoiding the need for permits to deploy radio transmitters. A first step to better support UL-only nodes has been included in the NR MIMO Rel-19 work item description (WID) [Error! Reference source not found.], where the power control for frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2 (FR2) will be enhanced to better support UL-only nodes.

[0020] In the Rel-19 MIMO WID [Error! Reference source not found.], the following objective is included: 5. Specify enhancement for asymmetric DL sTRP / UL mTRP deployment scenarios, assuming intra-band intra-DU non-co-located mTRP scenarios, without changing existing cell definition or defining a new cell (e.g. UL-only cell), assuming the Rel-17 / 18 unified TCI framework and fully reusing the legacy QCL / UL spatial relation rules, targeting FR1 and FR2 Two closed-loop PC adjustment states for SRS, both separate from PUSCH; and pathloss offset configurations for pathloss calculation to UL TRP(s), when the pathloss RS is from DL sTRP.

[0021] In this disclosure, the terms UL-only node, UL-only TRP, UL-only reception point (RP) are interchangeable.

[0022] REFERENCES

[0023] [1] RWS-230248, Views on Rel-19 MIMO / UL enhancements, NTT DOCOMO, INC, 3GPP TSG RAN Rel-19 workshop, Taipei, June 15th – 16th, 2023.

[0024] [2] RWS-230290, Views on Rel-19 MIMO evolution, ZTE, Sanechips, 3GPP TSG RAN Rel-19 workshop, Taipei, June 15th – 16th, 2023.

[0025] [3] RP-234007, New WID: NR MIMO Phase 5, Samsung, RAN#102, Edinburgh, Scotland, December 2023.SUMMARY

[0026] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In existing NR multi-TRP operation, it is assumed that each node can be used for both DL transmission and UL reception. For NR Rel- 19, the idea of deploying UL-only nodes in a cell has been proposed in [Error! Reference source not found.][Error! Reference source not found.]. UL-only nodes may be useful in following scenarios: ^ UL-only nodes deployed at the cell edge to provide better UL coverage for cell edge UEs. ^ UL-only node deployed in a time division duplex (TDD) band where there is dominant UL allocation. ^ UL-only node deployed in a band that can only be used for UL transmission due to regulatory issues. ^ UL-only node deployed for network energy saving.

[0027] A UL-only node receives only and does not transmit any DL signals. For this reason, it can also be referred to as UL-only RP. One issue with enabling a UL-only node is UL power control for UL transmissions to those nodes. In NR, UL power control is based on the DL pathloss computation at the UE (e.g., based on the pathloss computed from DL pathloss reference signal (PL-RS)). Methods are needed to determine how the network (NW) configures and indicates the pathloss offset.

[0028] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments provide methods and devices to determine, configure and indicate the pathloss offset range for pathloss estimation at a UL-only node when the DL-RS is transmitted from an anchor node. The anchor node may provide DL transmissions. Embodiments enable an efficient and flexible signaling of the pathloss offset and allow a UE to derive the accurate pathloss between the UE and UL-only node.

[0029] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). One advantage of certain embodiments is that the value range of the pathloss offset covers the value range of the sounding reference signal - reference signal received power (SRS_RSRP) that is in NR legacy specifications. Another advantage is that certain embodimentsallow a configurable value range for pathloss offset to efficiently adapt to different deployment scenarios. A further advantage is that by introducing reserved values carrying specific notifications and defining default UE and NW behavior for cases when the pathloss offset value is outside the range defined by the specification, it can greatly prevent unexpected UE behaviors.

[0030] 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.

[0031] According to a first aspect, a method, performed by a user equipment (UE), for determining uplink (UL) transmission power for a UL communication to a first node is provided. The method includes receiving a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index. The method includes receiving an indication of a pathloss offset. The method includes transmitting the UL communication to the first node according to a transmission power based on a first pathloss, the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and a PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index.

[0032] According to a second aspect, a user equipment is provided. The user equipment includes processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment of the first aspect. The user equipment includes power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0033] According to a third aspect, a user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE includes an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE includes 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 UE includes the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment of the first aspect. The UE includes 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. The UE includes an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The UE includes a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0034] According to a fourth aspect, a method, performed by a network node, for signaling pathloss offset is provided. The method includes transmitting a set of power controlparameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index toward a user equipment (UE). The method includes determining a pathloss offset based on a first uplink received power and a second uplink received power, the first uplink received power associated with a first uplink signal received from the UE via a first network node, the second uplink received power associated with a second uplink signal received from the UE via a second network node. The first network node is an uplink-only node. The method includes signaling the pathloss offset to the UE.

[0035] According to a fifth aspect, a network node for signaling pathloss is provided. The network nodes includes processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any embodiment of the fourth aspect. The network nodes includes power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0036] According to a sixth aspect, a tangible, non-transient computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: any of the steps of any embodiment of the first and fourth aspects is provided.

[0037] According to a seventh aspect, a computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any embodiment of the first and fourth aspects is provided..

[0038] According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any embodiment of the first and fourth aspects is provided.

[0039] According to a ninth aspect, a carrier containing the computer program of the eight aspect is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer-readable medium.

[0040] According to a tenth aspect, a computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any embodiment of the first and fourth aspects is provided.

[0041] According to an eleventh aspect, a computer program product, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any embodiment of the first and fourth aspects is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0042] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments.

[0043] FIG.1 illustrates data scheduling in NR.

[0044] FIG.2 illustrates a system according to an embodiment.

[0045] FIG.3 illustrates a MAC CE field according to some embodiments.

[0046] FIG.4 illustrates a flowchart according to some embodiments.

[0047] FIG.5 illustrates a flowchart according to some embodiments.

[0048] FIG.6 illustrates a communication system according to some embodiments.

[0049] FIG.7 illustrates a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments.

[0050] FIG.8 illustrates a network node according to some embodiments.

[0051] FIG.9 illustrates a virtualization environment according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] 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.

[0053] FIG.2 illustrates a system according to an embodiment. As shown, it is a general diagram of a serving cell with an UL-only node, where an anchor node 202 (TRP0) provides a full coverage of a serving cell with both DL and UL transmissions and an UL-only node 204 (TRP1) is deployed, e.g., at the cell edge to improve UL performance of cell edge UEs 206. TRP0202 and TRP1204 are connected to a gNB via an ideal backhaul link (not shown). A UE 206 in the cell may perform initial access and network connection via TRP0. After initial access and / or network connection, if the UE 206 is closer to TRP1 than to TRP0 or if the gNB decidesto move the UE 206 to TRP1, e.g., to reduce the UL interference for TRP0 or to improve resource usage efficiency, the gNB may direct the UE 206 to transmit towards the TRP1. Alternatively, instead of performing initial access via TRP0, for UEs 206 close to TRP1, all UL transmissions including the ones in initial access can be performed via TRP1. The presence of TRP1 may be transparent to UEs 206 in the cell. Due to UE mobility and depending on the deployment, the distance between UE 206 and TRP0 could be considerably different from the distance between UE and TRP1. It will be useful to configure UE 206 with separate UL-RSs (e.g., SRS resource sets and / or SRS resources) targeting TRP0 and TRP1 (e.g., SRS0 vs. SRS1 in FIG.2).

[0054] In the following, the first node refers to a node with UL-only capabilities (such as UL-only node 204). The second node, sometimes referred to as an anchor node, refers to a node with both DL and UL capabilities (such as node 202).

[0055] A general description of how UE 206 estimates the pathloss between UE 206 and the UL-only node 204, and determines the transmit power for an UL channel / signal towards the UL-only node 204 includes the following steps:

[0056] Step 1: The network (NW) (e.g., a network node) configures the UL-only node and the default PL-RS associated with the transmission to the UL-only node to derive the transmission power to the UL-only node.

[0057] Step 2: The UE transmits UL signal(s) to both the first (e.g., UL-only node) and the second (e.g., the anchor node) in the same or different slots.

[0058] Step 3: The NW (e.g., a network node) computes the pathloss offset, i.e., the pathloss difference related to the first and the second nodes, based on e.g., UL reference signal received power (UL RSRP) at each of the two nodes.

[0059] There are different ways that the NW can compute the pathloss offset. In one example, the first UL signal, which may be denoted UL RS0, is targeting the anchor TRP, while the second UL signal, which may be denoted UL RS1, is targeting the UL-only TRP. The pathloss offset ^^^^௱between PL0 (between UE and the anchor TRP) and PL1 (between UE and the UL-only TRP) is given by^^^^௱ ൌ ^^^^^^^^1^^ோௌ^ െ ^^^^^^^^0^^ோௌ^ െ ^^^^^^ோௌ ^^^^^^where ^^^^^^ோௌ ൌ ^^^^ோௌ^ െ ^^^^ோௌ^ is the difference in the transmit power ^^^^ோௌ^and ^^^^ோௌ^,respectively; ^^^^^^^^0^^ோௌ^and ^^^^^^^^1^^ோௌ^denote the received RSRP of UL-RS0 at TRP0 and RSRP of UL-RS1 at TRP1, respectively. In the simplest case, the pathloss offset can be derived as ^^^^௱ ൌ ^^^^^^^^1^^ோௌ^ െ ^^^^^^^^0^^ோௌ^ ^^^^^^assuming the same ULRS0 is received by both the anchor TRP and the UL-only TRP.

[0060] Step 4: The NW (e.g., a network node) signals the pathloss offset to the UE.

[0061] Step 5: The UE computes a second pathloss associated to the anchor node based on a DL-RS (PL-RS) transmitted from the second node.

[0062] Step 6: The UE computes an updated first pathloss associated to the UL-only node based on the second pathloss, and the latest pathloss offset signaled from the NW.

[0063] Step 7: The UE computes a transmit power for an UL channel / signal towards the UL-only node based on the computed pathloss in step 6.

[0064] Step 8: The UE transmits the UL channel / signal with the computed transmit power.

[0065] Certain embodiments provided herein may focus on the determination (including configuration and indication) of the range of pathloss offset in Step 4.

[0066] The following description describes different embodiments on the configuration of the pathloss offset (including value range, etc.) which is indicated to the UE to estimate the pathloss between UE and UL-only node.

[0067] In one embodiment, the pathloss offset is an absolute pathloss offset between UL signal received at the anchor TRP and the UL-only TRP. In another embodiment, the pathloss offset is an absolute pathloss offset between UL signal received at the anchor TRP and the precomputed offset between anchor TRP and UL only TRP. Alternatively, the pathloss offset can also be a cumulative pathloss offset where the UE should sum together the indicated valuewith one, multiple or all previously indicated pathloss offset values associated with that power control loop.

[0068] In one embodiment, the range of pathloss offset values is determined regardless of which UL signal / channel is used by the NW to derive the pathloss. The value range is not specifically related to a special UL signal / channel. In one example the range can be {-30, -29, …29, 30}dB or {minus infinity, -40, -20, 0, 20, 40} dB. This may be expressed as a Pathloss- offset-Range IE: Pathloss-offset-Range information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-pathloss-offset-RANGE-START Pathloss-offset-Range-r19 ::= ENUMERATED {minuminfinity,minumsdB40, minumdB20,dB0, dB20, dB40, …} -- TAG-pathloss-offset-RANGE-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0069] In one embodiment, the range of pathloss offset is determined based on which UL signal / channel it is associated with. In one example the value “minimuminfinity” can only be configured for SRS, not for PUSCH or PUCCH.

[0070] In one embodiment, the values in the value range can have different step size: for example: ^ stepsize = 1dB: {-30, -29 …29, 30}dB. ^ Stepsize = 3dB: {-30, -27, …, 27, 30}dB.

[0071] In one embodiment the value range is fixed and specified in e.g., 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.331.

[0072] In one embodiment, the configurable stepsize and value range for a UE is associated with UE power class capability PPowerClass and / or the ΔPPowerClass, e.g a UE indicating capability of power class PC1.5 is more constrained in offset range and stepSize than a UE indicating capability of power class PC2.

[0073] In one embodiment, the configurable stepsize and value range for a UE is associated with the P-Max value configured in higher layer.

[0074] In one embodiment, the UL signals are Sounding Reference Signals, where the SRSs transmitted the UE can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. The value range is determined based on the SRS-RSRP-Range, see TS 38.331 and TS 38.133: TS 38.331: SRS-RSRP-Range information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-SRS-RSRP-RANGE-START SRS-RSRP-Range-r16 ::= INTEGER(0..98) -- TAG-SRS-RSRP-RANGE-STOP -- ASN1STOP TS 38.133: Table 10.1.22.1.2-1: SRS-RSRP measurement report mapping Reported Value Measured quantity value Unit SRS-RSRP_0 SRS-RSRP<-140 dBm SRS-RSRP_1 -140≤SRS-RSRSP<-139 dBmSRS-RSRP_2 -139≤SRS-RSRSP<-138 dBm SRS-RSRP_3 -138≤SRS-RSRSP<-137 dBm SRS-RSRP_4 -137≤SRS-RSRSP<-136 dBm … … … SRS-RSRP_95 -46≤SRS-RSRSP<-45 dBm SRS-RSRP_96 -45≤SRS-RSRSP<-44 dBm SRS-RSRP_97 -44≤SRS-RSRSP dBm SRS-RSRP_98 Infinity Note: ‘Infinity’ means that UE cannot detect SRS due to too strong signal to measure.

[0075] In one embodiment, the range of the pathloss offset contains one or more of the following configurable parameters: ^ Max / min pathloss offset ^ Stepsize ^ The total number of pathloss offsets ^ The length of the bitfield used to indicate pathloss offset

[0076] In one embodiment, the indicated pathloss offset is provided as an index value ^^ ∈^0,1, … 2ூ െ 1^. The value I determines the total number (2ூ) of pathloss offsets the networkcan indicate and the length of the bitfield used to indicate pathloss offset. The bitfield length ^^ may be configurable for different deployment scenarios, e.g., Macro / Micro / Pico node, or for different carrier frequencies, e.g., FR1, FR2, etc.

[0077] In one embodiment, the bitfield length I is explicitly indicated by RRC. Alternatively, the bitfield length I is implicitly provided by for example the max / min offset values and stepsize.

[0078] In one embodiment, the NW can configure the value range by the max / min values of PL offset and stepize.

[0079] In one embodiment, the NW can configure the value range by the min value of PL offset and the bitfield length I.

[0080] In one embodiment, the NW can configure the value range by the max value of PL offset and the bitfield length I.

[0081] In one embodiment, the pathloss offset value can have the same range (i.e., same max / min values and stepsize) as SRS-RSRP; alternatively, the pathloss offset value can have a subset of the SRS-RSRP value range (i.e., other max / min values and / or stepsize).

[0082] Below shows an example of the new RRC pathloss-offset-range information element containing the new RRC parameter Pathloss-offset-Range-r19 which is a list of 97 integer IE values / indices. Pathloss-offset-Range information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-pathloss-offset-RANGE-START Pathloss-offset-Range-r19 ::= INTEGER(0..96) -- TAG-pathloss-offset-RANGE-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0083] In one embodiment, the mapping to the IE values can contain only negative values (with or without 0), if assuming the UL RSRP at the anchor node is the reference nodeand the UL-only node is always closer to the UE (assuming only large scale pathloss is considered), see two examples below. IE value Range Unit PL_offset_0 Offset > -96 dB PL_offset_1 -94>Offset > -95 dB … PL_offset_96 Offset>0 dB PL_offset_97 Infinity Example 1 IE value Range Unit PL_offset_0 0 dB PL_offset_1 1 dB … PL_offset_95 95 dB PL_offset_96 96 dB Example 2

[0084] In one alternative embodiment, the mapping to the IE values can contain only positive values (with or without the value 0), if assuming the UL RSRP at the UL-only node is reference and the UL-only node is always closer to the UE (assuming only large scale pathloss is considered).

[0085] In one further embodiment, the mapping between the IE values can contain both positive and negative values (with or without the value 0), that given the fixed locations of the anchor TRP and UL-only TRP, UL RSRP received at the UL-only TRP can be bother larger or smaller or equal to the UL RSRP received at the anchor TRP. In one related embodiment, the mapping to the IE values can be asymmetric, such that a larger number and a larger range of negative values is used compared to the number of positive values (or vice versa).

[0086] In the example below, the RRC parameter Pathloss-offset-Range can be configured with a fixed set of values. Pathloss-offset-Range information element-- ASN1START -- TAG-pathloss-offset-RANGE-START Pathloss-offset-Range-r19 ::= INTEGER(0..193) -- TAG-pathloss-offset-RANGE-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0087] In one embodiment, the RRC Pathloss-offset-Range can have one or more values which are reserved for specific purpose. As illustrated below the index PL_offset_98 is used to indicate an infinity offset, while PL_offset_99 indicates NO VALID pathloss offset value at the NW. Correspondingly, the UE should no longer trust the latest pathloss estimation. PL_offset_97 offset>-96 dB PL_offset_98 Infinity PL_offset_99 No valid measurement available …

[0088] In some embodiments, upon receiving the indication on “No Valid Pathloss offset” from the NW, the UE behaviour is according to the specifications, or following certain pre-defined rule, e.g., ^ UE disregards the latest pathloss estimation ^ UE is not expected to perform UL transmission of certain UL signal / channel, e.g., scheduling request etc, until receiving a new valid pathloss offset ^ UE is expected to transmit e.g., PRACH etc.

[0089] In one embodiment, some PL_offset IE values (e.g., PL_offset_XX) can have spare value which is reserved for future use.

[0090] In one embodiment, pathloss-offset-range can be configured to different length of IE values depending on the deployment scenarios (e.g., carrier frequency, distance between anchor TRP and UL-only node, site distance between anchor TRPs etc.): ^ Example 1: pathloss-offset-range: PL_offset_0, PL_offset_1, PL_offset_2, … ^ Example 2: pathloss-offset-range: PL_offset_0, PL_offset_3, PL_offset_5, … ^ Example 3: pathloss-offset-range: PL_offset_30, PL_offset_32, PL_offset_34, … illustrating e.g., different stepsize, and / or different max / min values of pathloss offset etc.

[0091] Below shows one example that the new RRC parameters Pathloss-offset-config is a pathloss offset list with configurable length for which the values are given by pathloss-offset- range-r19. Pathloss-offset-config-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { pathlossoffsetList-r17 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..xx)) OF pathloss-offset-range-r19 OPTIONAL, -- Need M ... }

[0092] In one embodiment, the field length of pathloss offset in DCI or MAC CE is fixed, regardless the RRC configured length of pathloss-offset-range.

[0093] In an alternative embodiment, the field length of pathloss offset in DCI or MAC CE is determined by the length of RRC configured pathloss-offset-range, e.g., ⌈^^^^^^ଶ^^^^^^^^^^^ℎ ^^^^^^^ℎ^^^^^^^^ െ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ െ ^^^^^^^^^^^^⌉A configurable field length of pathloss offset makes L1 signalling more efficient.

[0094] In one embodiment, the pathloss offset range is different depending on if the UE is configured with absolute values or cumulative values (either differently according to the specification, or that separate RRC configuration parameters are used for absolute andcumulative pathloss offset indications). In one related embodiment, the range is larger, and more values are used in case the UE is configured with absolute pathloss offset, compared to cumulative pathloss offset.

[0095] In some embodiments the two SRSs are configured in two SRS resources of respective SRS resource sets. There can be one or more SRS antenna ports in the SRS resource. The SRS resource or resource set is configured with a set of power control parameters including a pathloss reference signal index. The pathloss RS is associated to and transmitted from the anchor TRP (i.e., TRP0).

[0096] In one alternative embodiment, the SRS is transmitted from different UL panels or SRS antenna ports. The different UL panels can be associated with different SRS resource sets. For a UE supporting only 1 UL transmission at a time, the SRS is transmitted from different panels on different symbols or slots. For a UE supporting 2 simultaneous UL transmissions, the SRS can be transmitted from 2 different UL panels at the same time. The transmission power of the both SRS transmission is associated with the DL-RS (PL-RS) from the anchor TRP (i.e., TRP0).

[0097] In one embodiment, both TRP0 and TRP1 know the configuration of the UL signals. Each of the TRPs measures received power of one UL signal. The uplink received power is denoted as UL RSRP0 (dBm) at TRP0 and UL RSRP1 (dBm) at TRP1. The measurement can be done either at each TRP or at the gNB.

[0098] In one embodiment, the RRC configured defaultPathlossOffset is cell level or TRP specific pathloss-offset that UE needs to apply for initial UL transmission before getting updated pathlossOffset information per TCI state or SRS resource. defaultPathloss-offset-r19 pathloss-offset-Range-r19

[0099] In one embodiment, the RRC configured pathlossOffset contains both srs- ResourceId and pathloss-offset. pathlossOffset-r19 ::= SEQUENCE { srs-ResourceId-r16 SRS-ResourceId, pathloss-offset-r19 pathloss-offset-Range-r19}

[0100] In one embodiment a flag can be configured optimally in an transmission configuration indicator (TCI)-UL-state information element as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.5.0. If the flag is configured (e.g. to be true), the UE should apply a pathloss offset associated with that UL TCI state. The default pathloss offset value when the flag is configured can be set to 0 or another fixed value, either pre-configured using RRC or pre-configured according to specification. The pathloss RS offset can then be further updated using e.g. MAC- CE as described in this invention disclosure.

[0101] Below gives an example of the Pathloss Offset MAC CE which can indicate pathloss offset for one or more UL-TCIs. The MAC CE can one or more of the following files as (please note that the size of the fields might differ compared to the example below, the order of the fields might differ and / or the R fields might be removed or used for other purposes): ^ Serving cell ID ^ UL BWP ID ^ The TCI-UL state ID ^ The corresponding pathloss offset ^ field ^^^indicates if octet(s) containing the PL offset and the TCI-ULstate ID corresponding to the ith TCI state is present or not. For instance, if Xi=1, then the field pathloss offset and corresponding field for TCI-UL state ID is present in the MAC CE. For example, see FIG.3 for an illustration of this field.

[0102] In some embodiments, the indicated pathloss offset is independent from the “α” inopen loop power control equation: ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^,^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ∆^^^^, i.e. thepathloss offset is not multiplied with “α”. The open loop equation can then look like this: ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^_∆ ^ ∆^^^^where ^^^^_∆ is the

[0103] One benefit with this embodiment is that if “α” is set to 0, we can still use the pathloss offset (^^^^_∆) to update the UL output power towards the UL only node.

[0104] In some embodiments the indicated pathloss offset should be multiplied with “α”. One example of how this can look is illustrated in the equaltion below: ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆^ ^ ∆^^^^

[0105] InRRC configured or pre-configured in the specification ) is scaled with “α” of the associated power control loop, i.e the actual indicated pathloss offset the UE should apply is equal to [pathloss range] / α, where the [pathloss range] is the pathloss range values that are RRC configured and / or pre-configured according specification and α is the “α” associated with the power control loop associated with the indicated pathloss offset values. In one related embodiment, when “α” is zero, the [pathloss range] should not be scaled with “α”.

[0106] FIG.4 is a flowchart illustrating a process 400, performed by a user equipment (UE), for determining uplink (UL) transmission power for a UL communication to a first node, according to an embodiment. Process 400 may begin in step s402.

[0107] Step s402 comprises receiving a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index.

[0108] Step s404 comprises receiving an indication of a pathloss offset.

[0109] Step s406 comprises transmitting the UL communication to the first node according to a transmission power based on a first pathloss, the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and a PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index.

[0110] In some embodiments, the method further includes, prior to transmitting the UL communication to the first node: computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index; and determining the transmit power based on the first pathloss. In some embodiments, the set of power control parameters further comprises pathloss offset range information and a flag enabling pathloss adjustment by pathloss offset, wherein the pathloss offset range information determines a range of available pathloss offset values. In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values is (i) fixed; (ii)configurable by network signaling; (iii) associated to some downlink (DL) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and / or UL RSRP; (iv) associated with UE power classification and / or UE capability; or (v) some combination of the foregoing. In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values map to a sequence of indices.

[0111] In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values that can be indicated include one or more of: (i) only negative values; (ii) only positive values; (iii) both negative and positive values; (iv) infinity; and (v) non-valid. In some embodiments, the indication of the pathloss offset is sent in a downlink control information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, and a length of the sequence of indices for the available pathloss offset values determines a length of a bitfield in the DCI or MAC CE message. In some embodiments, the PL-RS index is received from a second node. In some embodiments, the first node is an UL-only node. In some embodiments, the first pathloss represents a pathloss between the first node and the UE.

[0112] In some embodiments, prior to receiving the pathloss offset, the UE transmits an UL signal to both the first node and a second node. In some embodiments, the UL signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble. In some embodiments, the UL signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). In some embodiments, the indication of the pathloss offset can indicate a non-valid pathloss offset. In some embodiments, in response to receiving a non- valid pathloss offset, the UE uses a default value as the pathloss offset. In some embodiments, the pathloss offset represents a pathloss difference between the first node and a second node. In some embodiments, the pathloss offset is a relative pathloss offset with respect to an initial value. In some embodiments, the pathloss offset comprises one or more of: an absolute value, such that a value indicated in the indication of the pathloss offset is directly used by the UE in the step of computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index; and a cumulative value, such that a value indicated in the indication of the pathloss offset is part of a summation of multiple pathloss offset values used by the UE in the step of computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index.

[0113] In some embodiments, determining a transmit power based on the first pathlosscomprises calculating an open-loop power control equation of the form ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆ ^ ∆^^^^, where: i represents a transmission occasion, k represents thePL-RS index, ^^ைrepresents a nominal target receive power for the UL communication, ^^^^^^^^represents a pathloss (PL) estimation, ^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^ represents a fractional pathlosscompensation factor, ^^^^∆represents the pathloss offset, and ∆^^^^represents a power offset, such that the pathloss offset is not multiplied with ^^. In some embodiments, determining a transmit power based on the first pathloss comprises calculating an open-loop power control equation ofthe form ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆^ ^ ∆^^^^, where: i represents atransmission occasion, k represents the PL-RS index, ^^ைrepresents a nominal target receivepower for the UL communication, ^^^^^^^^ represents a pathloss (PL) estimation, ^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^represents a fractional pathloss compensation factor, ^^^^∆represents the pathloss offset, and ∆^^^^ represents a power offset, such that the pathloss offset is multiplied with ^^. In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values is scaled with ^^.

[0114] FIG.5 is a flowchart illustrating a process 500, performed by a network node, for signaling pathloss offset, according to an embodiment. Process 500 may begin in step s502.

[0115] Step s502 comprises transmitting a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index toward a user equipment (UE).

[0116] Step s504 comprises determining a pathloss offset based on a first uplink received power and a second uplink received power, the first uplink received power associated with a first uplink signal received from the UE via a first network node, the second uplink received power associated with a second uplink signal received from the UE via a second network node. The first network node is an uplink-only node.

[0117] Step s506 comprises signaling the pathloss offset to the UE.

[0118] In some embodiments, the set of power control parameters further comprises pathloss offset range information and a flag enabling pathloss adjustment by pathloss offset, wherein the pathloss offset range information determines a range of available pathloss offset values. In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values is (i) fixed; (ii) configurable by network signaling; (iii) associated to some downlink (DL) Reference SignalReceived Power (RSRP) and / or UL RSRP; (iv) associated with UE power classification and / or UE capability; or (v) some combination of the foregoing. In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values map to a sequence of indices. In some embodiments, the range of available pathloss offset values that can be indicated include one or more of: (i) only negative values; (ii) only positive values; (iii) both negative and positive values; (iv) infinity; and (v) non- valid. In some embodiments, the pathloss offset is signaled in a downlink control information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, and a length of the sequence of indices for the available pathloss offset values determines a length of a bitfield in the DCI or MAC CE message.

[0119] In some embodiments, the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble. In some embodiments, the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). In some embodiments, the pathloss offset represents a pathloss difference between the first node and the second node. In some embodiments, the pathloss offset is a relative pathloss offset with respect to an initial value.

[0120] In certain embodiments, UE 206 may be implemented as described below with respect to UE 612 of FIG.6 and / or UE 700 of FIG.7. In certain embodiments, a TRP (such as node 202 and / or node 204) may be implemented as a type of network node, such as described below with respect to network node 610 of FIG.6 and / or network node 800 of FIG.8.

[0121] FIG.6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes includedisaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 602 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 602, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.

[0122] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU- CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0123] 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 600 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 dataand / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0124] The UEs 612 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 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 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 602.

[0125] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 616. 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 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) 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 608. 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).

[0126] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunication network 602, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. 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.

[0127] As a whole, the communication system 600 of Figure 6 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.

[0128] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 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 IoT services to yet further UEs.

[0129] In some examples, the UEs 612 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 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. 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).

[0130] In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 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 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 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 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0131] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to a machine-to-machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 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 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub – that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 610b, but which isadditionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0132] FIG.7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0133] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0134] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a power source 708, a memory 710, a communication interface 712, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 7. 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.

[0135] The processing circuitry 702 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 710. The processing circuitry 702 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 702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0136] In the example, the input / output interface 706 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 700. 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.

[0137] In some embodiments, the power source 708 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 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the powerfrom the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0138] The memory 710 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 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0139] The memory 710 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 710 may allow the UE 700 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 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0140] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712. The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remotetransceivers 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 718 and / or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0141] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 712 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.

[0142] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, 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).

[0143] 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 surfacesor 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.

[0144] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) 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 IoT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0145] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-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.

[0146] 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 mayadjust 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.

[0147] FIG.8 shows a network node 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0148] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0149] 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).

[0150] The network node 800 includes a processing circuitry 802, a memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808. The network node 800 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 800 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 800 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, 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 800.

[0151] The processing circuitry 802 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 800 components, such as the memory 804, to provide network node 800 functionality.

[0152] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814 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 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0153] The memory 804 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 802. The memory 804 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 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and memory 804 is integrated.

[0154] The communication interface 806 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 806 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio front-end circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. Radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to an antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 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 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 820 and / or amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0155] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818, instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front- end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio front-end circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0156] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0157] The antenna 810, communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 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 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 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.

[0158] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 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 808. As a further example, the power source 808 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.

[0159] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 8 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 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800.

[0160] FIG.9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 900 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 900 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0161] Applications 902 (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.

[0162] Hardware 904 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 906 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 908a and 908b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 908), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 906 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 908.

[0163] The VMs 908 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 906. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 902 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 908, 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.

[0164] In the context of NFV, a VM 908 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 908, and that part of hardware 904 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 908 on top of the hardware 904 and corresponds to the application 902.

[0165] Hardware 904 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 904 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 910, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 902. In some embodiments, hardware 904 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include oneor 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 9512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0166] In certain embodiments, the methods disclosed herein as being performed by a UE (such as the method of FIG.4 above or the method of the Group A embodiments below) may be performed by UE 206 of FIG.2, UE 612 of FIG.6, or UE 700 of FIG.7. As an example, in certain embodiments, the UE performing the disclosed methods may comprise at least one processor (which may be implemented in processing circuitry 702) configured to perform one or more steps of the method. In certain embodiments, the UE comprises a computer-readable medium (such as memory 710) comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the steps of the method.

[0167] In certain embodiments, a network node (such as a TRP of FIG.2, network node 110 of FIG.6, or network node 300 of FIG.8) may perform operations reciprocal to or in support of those performed by the UE (such as the method of FIG.5 above or the method of the Group C embodiments below). For example, a message sent from a wireless device to a network node may be received by the network node from the wireless device, and vice versa. Thus, a method performed by the UE may include any suitable steps or features to support the network node performing a related (e.g., reciprocal) method, and vice versa.

[0168] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. 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. Thus, the components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated in any suitable manner, and the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components.

[0169] 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.

[0170] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0171] Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, the description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0172] EMBODIMENTS Group A Embodiments A1. A method, performed by a user equipment (UE), for determining uplink (UL) transmission power for a UL communication to a first node, the method comprising: receiving a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL- RS) index; receiving an indication of a pathloss offset; and transmitting the UL communication to the first node according to a transmission power based on a first pathloss, the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and a PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index. A1a. The method of embodiment A1, further comprising, prior to transmitting the UL communication to the first node: computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index; and determining the transmit power based on the first pathloss. A1b. The method of embodiment A1 or A1a, wherein the set of power control parameters further comprises pathloss offset range information and a flag enabling pathloss adjustment by pathloss offset, wherein the pathloss offset range information determines a range of available pathloss offset values. A2. The method of embodiment A1b, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is (i) fixed; (ii) configurable by network signaling; (iii) associated to some downlink (DL) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and / or UL RSRP; (iv) associated with UE power classification and / or UE capability; or (v) some combination of the foregoing.A3. The method of embodiment A2, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values map to a sequence of indices. A4. The method of any one of embodiments A1b-A3, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values that can be indicated include one or more of: (i) only negative values; (ii) only positive values; (iii) both negative and positive values; (iv) infinity; and (v) non-valid. A5. The method of embodiment A3, wherein the indication of the pathloss offset is sent in a downlink control information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, and a length of the sequence of indices for the available pathloss offset values determines a length of a bitfield in the DCI or MAC CE message. A6. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A5, wherein the PL-RS index is received from a second node. A7. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A6, wherein the first node is an UL- only node. A8. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A7, wherein the first pathloss represents a pathloss between the first node and the UE. A9. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A8, wherein, prior to receiving the pathloss offset, the UE transmits an UL signal to both the first node and a second node. A10. The method of embodiment A9, wherein the UL signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble. A11. The method of embodiment A9, wherein the UL signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).A12. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A11, wherein the indication of the pathloss offset can indicate a non-valid pathloss offset. A13. The method of embodiment A12, wherein in response to receiving a non-valid pathloss offset, the UE uses a default value as the pathloss offset. A14. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A13, wherein the pathloss offset represents a pathloss difference between the first node and a second node. A15. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A14, wherein the pathloss offset is a relative pathloss offset with respect to an initial value. A16. The method of any one of embodiments A1a-A15, wherein the pathloss offset comprises one or more of: an absolute value, such that a value indicated in the indication of the pathloss offset is directly used by the UE in the step of computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index; and a cumulative value, such that a value indicated in the indication of the pathloss offset is part of a summation of multiple pathloss offset values used by the UE in the step of computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index. A17. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A16, wherein determining a transmit power based on the first pathloss comprises calculating an open-loop power control equation ofthe form ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆ ^ ∆^^^^, where:ik represents the PL-RS index, ^^ைrepresents a nominal target receive power for the UL communication, ^^^^^^^^ represents a pathloss (PL) estimation, ^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^ represents a fractional pathloss compensation factor,^^^^∆represents the pathloss offset, and∆^^^^ represents a power offset, such that the pathloss offset is not multiplied with ^^. A18. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A16, wherein determining a transmit power based on the first pathloss comprises calculating an open-loop power control equation ofthe form ^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆^ ^ ∆^^^^, where:i^^ைrepresents a nominal target receive power for the UL communication, ^^^^^^^^ represents a pathloss (PL) estimation, ^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^ represents a fractional pathloss compensation factor,^^^^∆represents the pathloss offset, and ∆^^^^ represents a power offset, such that the pathloss offset is multiplied with ^^. A19. The method of embodiment A18, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is scaled with ^^. Group B Embodiments B1. A user equipment (206, 612, 700), comprising: processing circuitry (702) configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry (708) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. B2. A user equipment (UE) (206, 612, 700), the UE comprising: an antenna (722) configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry (712) connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry (702), 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 embodiments; an input interface (706) 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 (706) connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery (708) connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. Group C Embodiments C1. A method, performed by a network node, for signaling pathloss offset, the method comprising: transmitting a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index toward a user equipment (UE); determining a pathloss offset based on a first uplink received power and a second uplink received power, the first uplink received power associated with a first uplink signal received from the UE via a first network node, the second uplink received power associated with a second uplink signal received from the UE via a second network node, wherein the first network node is an uplink-only node; and signaling the pathloss offset to the UE. C1a. The method of embodiment C1, wherein the set of power control parameters further comprises pathloss offset range information and a flag enabling pathloss adjustment by pathloss offset, wherein the pathloss offset range information determines a range of available pathloss offset values. C2. The method of embodiment C1a, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is (i) fixed; (ii) configurable by network signaling; (iii) associated to some downlink (DL) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and / or UL RSRP; (iv) associated with UE power classification and / or UE capability; or (v) some combination of the foregoing.C3. The method of embodiment C2, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values map to a sequence of indices. C4. The method of any one of embodiments C1a-C3, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values that can be indicated include one or more of: (i) only negative values; (ii) only positive values; (iii) both negative and positive values; (iv) infinity; and (v) non-valid. C5. The method of embodiment C3, wherein the pathloss offset is signaled in a downlink control information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, and a length of the sequence of indices for the available pathloss offset values determines a length of a bitfield in the DCI or MAC CE message. C6. The method of embodiment C1, wherein the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble. C7. The method of embodiment C1, wherein the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). C8. The method of any one of embodiments C1-C6, wherein the pathloss offset represents a pathloss difference between the first node and the second node. C9. The method of any one of embodiments C1-C8, wherein the pathloss offset is a relative pathloss offset with respect to an initial value. Group D Embodiments D1. A network node (202, 610, 800) for signaling pathloss, the network node comprising:processing circuitry (702) configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group C embodiments; and power supply circuitry (708) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. Group E Embodiments E1. A tangible, non-transient computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments or Group C embodiments. E2. A computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of the Group A embodiments or Group C embodiments. E3. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of the Group A embodiments or Group C embodiments. E4. A carrier containing the computer program of the previous claim, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer-readable medium. E5. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of the Group A embodiments or Group C embodiments. E6. A computer program product, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of the Group A embodiments or Group C embodiments.

[0173] While various embodiments are described herein, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth andscope of this disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. Moreover, any combination of the above-described embodiments in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

[0174] Additionally, while the processes described above and illustrated in the drawings are shown as a sequence of steps, this was done solely for the sake of illustration. Accordingly, it is contemplated that some steps may be added, some steps may be omitted, the order of the steps may be re-arranged, and some steps may be performed in parallel.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method, performed by a user equipment (UE) (206), for determining uplink (UL) transmission power for a UL communication to a first node (204), the method comprising: receiving (s402) a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index; receiving (s404) an indication of a pathloss offset; and transmitting (s406) the UL communication to the first node (204) according to a transmission power based on a first pathloss, the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and a PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to transmitting the UL communication to the first node: computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index; and determining the transmit power based on the first pathloss.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first node is an UL-only node and the first pathloss represents a pathloss between the first node and the UE and is computed based on a second pathloss, wherein the second pathloss is computed based on the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index, and the PL-RS is from a second node which provides downlink transmission.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the set of power control parameters further comprises pathloss offset range information, wherein the pathloss offset range information determines a range of available pathloss offset values.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is asymmetric such that there is a larger number of positive values than negative values.

6. The method of any one of claims 4-5, wherein the pathloss offset range information indicates a stepsize.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the stepsize is configurable.

8. The method of any one of claims 4-7, wherein the available pathloss offset values includes zero.

9. The method of any one of claims 4-6, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is fixed according to a specification.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a notification indicating that a value of the pathloss offset is outside of the range of available pathloss offset values fixed according to the specification.

11. The method of any one of claims 9-10, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values map to a sequence of indices.

12. The method of any one of claims 4-11, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values that can be indicated include both negative and positive values.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of the pathloss offset is sent in a downlink control information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, and a length of the sequence of indices for the available pathloss offset values determines a length of a bitfield in the DCI or MAC CE message.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-13, wherein the PL-RS index is received from a second node which provides downlink transmission.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-14, wherein the first node is an UL-only node.

16. The method of any one of claims 1-15, wherein the first pathloss represents a pathloss between the first node and the UE.

17. The method of any one of claims 1-16, wherein, prior to receiving the pathloss offset, the UE transmits an UL signal to both the first node and a second node.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the UL signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the UL signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

20. The method of any one of claims 1-19, wherein the indication of the pathloss offset can indicate a non-valid pathloss offset.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein in response to receiving a non-valid pathloss offset, the UE uses a default value as the pathloss offset.

22. The method of any one of claims 1-21, wherein the pathloss offset represents a pathloss difference between the first node and a second node.

23. The method of any one of claims 1-22, wherein the pathloss offset is a relative pathloss offset with respect to an initial value.

24. The method of any one of claims 2-23 wherein the pathloss offset comprises an absolute value, such that a value indicated in the indication of the pathloss offset is directly used by the UE in the step of computing the first pathloss based on the pathloss offset and the PL-RS associated with the PL-RS index.

25. The method of any one of claims 1-24, wherein determining a transmit power based on the first pathloss comprises calculating an open-loop power control equation of the form^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆ ^ ∆^^^^, where:i represents a transmission occasion, k represents the PL-RS index, ^^ைrepresents a nominal target receive power for the UL communication, ^^^^^^^^ represents a pathloss (PL) estimation, ^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^ represents a fractional pathloss compensation factor,^^^^∆represents the pathloss offset, and ∆^^^^represents a power offset,such that the pathloss offset is not multiplied with ^^.

26. The method of any one of claims 1-24, wherein determining a transmit power based on the first pathloss comprises calculating an open-loop power control equation of the form^^^^^^ି^^^^^^^, ^^^ ൌ ^^ை ^ ^^ோ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^∆^ ^ ∆^^^^, where:k represents the PL-RS index, ^^ைrepresents a nominal target receive power for the UL communication, ^^^^^^^^ represents a pathloss (PL) estimation, ^^ ^0 ^ ^^ ^ 1^ represents a fractional pathloss compensation factor,^^^^∆represents the pathloss offset, and ∆^^^^represents a power offset,such that the pathloss offset is multiplied with ^^.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is scaled with ^^.

28. A user equipment (206, 612, 700), comprising: processing circuitry (702) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1-27; andpower supply circuitry (708) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

29. A user equipment (UE) (206, 612, 700), the UE comprising: an antenna (722) configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry (712) connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry (702), 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 claims 1- 27; an input interface (706) 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 (706) connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery (708) connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

30. A method, performed by a network node, for signaling pathloss offset, the method comprising: transmitting (s502) a set of power control parameters comprising a pathloss reference signal (PL-RS) index toward a user equipment (UE) (206); determining (s504) a pathloss offset based on a first uplink received power and a second uplink received power, the first uplink received power associated with a first uplink signal received from the UE (206) via a first network node (204), the second uplink received power associated with a second uplink signal received from the UE (206) via a second network node (202), wherein the first network node is an uplink-only node; and signaling (s506) the pathloss offset to the UE (206).

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the set of power control parameters further comprises pathloss offset range information, wherein the pathloss offset range information determines a range of available pathloss offset values.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is asymmetric such that there is a larger number of positive values than negative values.

33. The method of any one of claim 31, wherein the pathloss offset range information indicates a stepsize.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the stepsize is configurable.

35. The method of any one of claims 30-34, wherein the available pathloss offset values includes zero.

36. The method of any one of claims 30-35, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values is fixed according to a specification.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising sending a notification indicating that a value of the pathloss offset is outside of the range of available pathloss offset values fixed according to the specification.

38. The method of any one of claims 32-37, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values map to a sequence of indices.

39. The method of any one of claims 30-38, wherein the range of available pathloss offset values that can be indicated include both negative and positive values.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the pathloss offset is signaled in a downlink control information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message, and a length of the sequence of indices for the available pathloss offset values determines a length of a bitfield in the DCI or MAC CE message.

41. The method of claim 30, wherein the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble.

42. The method of claim 30, wherein the first uplink signal and / or the second uplink signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

43. The method of any one of claims 30-41, wherein the pathloss offset represents a pathloss difference between the first node and the second node.

44. The method of any one of claims 30-43, wherein the pathloss offset is a relative pathloss offset with respect to an initial value.

45. A network node (202, 610, 800) for signaling pathloss, the network node comprising: processing circuitry (702) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 30-44; and power supply circuitry (708) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

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