Mechanism of selecting and configuring CWT in ambient IoT

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for supporting Ambient-IoT (A-IoT). A method performed by a network node for facilitating backscattered transmission from one or more target User Equipments (UEs) comprises determining one or more target UEs and selecting a carrier wave transmitter (CWT) node configured to transmit a carrier wave to one or more target UEs for backscattering by the one or more target UEs. The method further comprises initiating transmission, to the selected CWT node, of instructions for carrier wave transmission to at least one target UE. The network node selects the CWT node based on one or more conditions, including at least one of: a geographical location of the one or more target UEs; measurements of the channel quality between the network node and the CWT node; and measurements of the channel quality between the one or more target UEs and the CWT node.

Description

MECHANISM OF SELECTING AND CONFIGURING CWT IN AMBIENT IOTTechnical Field[1] The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for supporting Ambient loT (A- loT), in particular methods and apparatuses for managing carrier wave transmissions.BackgroundZero-Energy loT and Ambient loT[2] Wireless Internet of Things (loT) devices are often battery powered and both the need to change battery and the battery lifetime may be concerns for many potential applications such as asset tracking or environmental / industrial sensors. For this reason, the wireless communications industry has been interested in low energy wireless devices such as so- called zero-energy (ZE) devices. ZE devices refer to wireless loT devices that do not require battery replacement, and often harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of foodstuffs, the ZE devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries), rechargeable or have very limited capacity.[3] ZE-IoT devices can in addition be of very small form factor and could even be printable and they target ultra-low power consumption to enable operation based on either energy - harvesting from an ambient sources orback-scattering communication (for example, Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, systems). That is, instead of relying on energy for communication being provided by a battery it is instead harvested from an ambient source, such as vibrations, solar power, RF, etc. (harvesting), or a charge carrier wave is provided to the device which is modulated and reflected back to a reader (in the back-scattering communication case). This enables energy autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without need for either manual replacement or charging of the batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies this puts new requirements on the radio interface and the protocols[4] The 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) has begun work on low energy wireless devices, specifically Ambient-IoT (A-IoT) devices. TR 22.840 v 19.9.0, available at https: / / portal.3gpp.org / desktopmodules / Specifications / SpecificationDetails.aspx7specific ationld=4045 as of 8 February 2024captures potential use cases, traffic scenarios, device constraints of Ambient loT and identifies new potential service requirements as well as new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).[5] Meanwhile, a study item at Radio Access Network (RAN) plenary level RP-222685 (available at https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / TSG_RAN / TSG_RAN / TSGR_97e / Docs / RP- 222685.zip as of 8 February 2024), ‘Study on Ambient IoT’ is being carried out with a focus on the feasibility of meeting design targets for relevant use cases of Ambient IoT. The outcome is being reported in TR 38.848 v 1.0.0 (available at https: / / portal.3gpp.org / desktopmodules / Specifications / SpecificationDetails.aspx7specific ationld=4146 as of 8 February 2024) and the study item description is as follows:“This study targets at a new 3GPP IoT technology, suitable for deployment in a 3GPP system, which relies on ultra-low complexity devices with ultra-low power consumption for the very- low end IoT applications. The study shall provide clear differentiation, i.e. addressing use cases and scenarios that cannot otherwise be fulfilled based on existing 3GPP Low Power Wide Area (LWPA) IoT technology e.g. NB-IoT including with reduced peak Tx power.In terms of energy storage, the study will consider the following device characteristics:• Pure batteryless devices with no energy storage capability at all, and completely dependent on the availability of an external source of energy• Devices with limited energy storage capability that do not need to be replaced or recharged manually.Device categorization based on corresponding characteristics (e.g. energy source, energy storage capability, passive / active transmission, etc.) may be discussed during the study, in relation with the relevant use cases. The device’s peak power consumption shall be limited by its practical form factor for the intended use cases, and shall consider its energy source.Identify the suitable deployment scenarios and their characteristics, at least for the use cases / services agreed in SAl’s “Study on Ambient power-enabled internet of Things”, comprising among at least the following aspects• Indoor / outdoor environment• Basestation characteristics, e.g. macro / micro / pico cells-based deployments• Connectivity topologies, including which node(s) , e.g. basestation, UE, relay, repeater, etc. can communicate with target devices• TDD / FDD, and frequency bands in licensed or unlicensed spectrum• Coexistence with Ues and infrastructure in frequency bands for existing 3 GPP technologies• Device originated and / or device terminated traffic assumptionNOTE: There can be more than one deployment scenario identified for a use case, and a deployment scenario may be common to more than one use case.NOTE: Where more than one deployment scenario is identified for a use case, the trade-offs between them should also be studied.NOTE: The study shall not prioritize deployment aspects that should be coordinated with SA, e.g. public or private network, with or without CN connection.NOTE: A representative use case can be studied fora group of use cases that have similar requirements.Formulate a set of RAN design targets based on the identified deployment scenarios and their characteristics for the relevant use cases, at least includingPower consumptionComplexityCoverageData ratePositioning accuracyNOTE: The requirements from SAI on the relevant use cases shall be taken into consideration.NOTE: The study shall aim to provide better coverage compared to existing non-3GPP technologies for the relevant use cases.NOTE: Other RAN design targets in relation to connection density, mobility, security, latency, reliability etc. may be discussed, if necessary for the relevant use cases.NOTE: Detailed definitionsof the RAN design targets should be discussed during the study.Compare and assess the feasibility of meeting the design targets for relevant use case on the basis of the deployment scenario(s) appropriate to it, and identify assumptions on required functionality to be supported.NOTE: This is not to require a detailed WG-level of analysis.Note: This study shall targetforan loT segment well below theexisting 3GPP IoT technologies, e.g. NB-IoT, eMTC, RedCap, etc. The study shall not aim to replace existing 3 GPP LPWA technologies.”[6] Based on the outcome of the RAN study item, and future discussions including during RAN# 100 (RWS-230488), a WG-level study item is expected to continue in Rel-19. In addition, depending on the progress and outcome of the WG-level study, a work item may be started during Rel-19 as well.[7] Further issues include: a need to have focused scope on issues such as device type(s), deployment scenario(s), topology option(s), etc.; a need to address cross-TSG- dependencies; and determination of whether there a strong need and is it feasible to convert the study and hence specify ambient loT in Rel-19.Deployment scenarios, use cases, services for Ambient-IoT[8] The following Deployment scenarios, use cases, services are described in clause 4 of TR 38.848 V 1.0.0:Two sets or levels of grouping were defined. The first, Grouping A, is on the basis of the deployment environment(s) described for a use case in TR 22.840 [2], and the second, Grouping B, is on the basis of functionality / application described in TR 22.840 [2].Grouping A:- Indoor- Outdoor- Indoor / outdoorGrouping B :- Inventory- Sensors- Positioning- CommandThese two groupings are then used to form representative use cases (rUCs) as follows, which are used in Clause 4.2 - Deployment scenarios and connectivity topologies.- rUC 1 : Ind oor inventory- rUC2: Indoor sensors- rUC 3 : Ind oor po sitioning- rUC4: Indoor command- rUC5: Outdoor inventory- rUC6: Outdoor sensors- rUC7: Outdoor positioning- rUC8: Outdoor commandThis resulted in the following mapping from SAI use cases and traffic scenarios onto RAN rUCs:Table 1 / 4.1.1-1 : Mapping between RAN representative use cases and SA1 use cases in TR 38.848 V 1.0.0.Connectivity topologies[9] The connectivity topologies for Ambient loT networks and devices discussed below are examples for the purposes of the study. In all these topologies, the Ambient loT device may be provided with a carrier wave from other node(s) either inside or outside the topology. The links in each topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional.

[0010] The references to Base Station (BS), User Equipment (UE), assisting node, or intermediate node should be understood to encompass multiple BSs, UEs, and so on. The mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice. It may be necessary to consider potential impact on device or node complexity. The connectivity topologies should not be understood to imply the existence or absence of multi-hop assisting or intermediate nodes. Different topologies are illustrated in Figure 1 to Figure 5), all of which can be found in TR 38.848 VI.0.0. Figure 1 is shown as Figure 4.2.1.1-1 in TR 38.848 VI.0.0. Figure 2 is shown as Figure 4.2.1.2-1 in TR 38.848 VI.0.0. Figure 3 is shown as Figure 4.2.1.3-1 in TR 38.848 VI.0.0. Figure 4 is shown as Figure 4.2.1.3-2 in TR 38.848 Vl.0.0. Figure 5 is shown as Figure 4.2.1.4-1 in TR 38.848 Vl.0.0.Topology 1: BS«-> Ambient loT device

[0011] In Topology 1, the Ambient loT device directly and bidirectionally communicates with a BS. The communication between the BS and the ambient loT device includes Ambient loT data and / or signalling. This topology includes the possibility that the BS transmitting to the Ambient loT device is a different from the BS receiving from the Ambient loT device.Topology 2: BS <-► intermediate node <-► Ambient loT device

[0012] In Topology 2, the Ambient loT device communicates bidirectionally with an intermediate node between the device and basestation. In this topology, the intermediate node can be a relay, IAB node, UE, repeater, etc. which is capable of Ambient loT. The intermediate node transfers Ambient loT data and / or signalling between BS and the Ambient loT device.Topology 3: BS <-► assisting node <-► Ambient loT device <-► BS

[0013] In Topology 3, the Ambient loT device transmits data / signalling to a basestation, and receives data / signalling from the assisting node (Figure 3); or the Ambient loT device receives data / signalling from a basestation and transmits data / signalling to the assistingnode (Figure 4). In this topology, the assisting node can be a relay, IAB, UE, repeater, etc. which is capable of ambient loT.Topology 4: UE <-► Ambient loT device

[0014] In Topology 4, the Ambient loT device communicates bidirectionally with a UE. The communication between UE and the ambient loT device includes Ambient loT data and / or signalling.

[0015] Some example deployment scenarios are:Deployment scenario 1: Device indoors, basestation indoorsDeployment scenario 2: Device indoors, basestation outdoorsDeployment scenario 3: Device indoors, UE -based readerDeployment scenario 4: Device outdoors, basestation outdoorsDeployment scenario 5: Device outdoors, UE -based readerDevice Categories

[0016] Ambient loT devices may be characterized according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating Radio Frequency (RF) signals for their transmissions.

[0017] Low energy wireless devices, such as A-IoT devices, may have:No energy storage at all; orLimited energy storageRelying on these storage capacities, the following classifications may be used for Ambient loT devices:Device A: No energy storage, no independent signal generation / amplification, i.e. backscattering transmission.Device B : Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals.Device C: Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

[0018] A limited energy storage can be different among implementations within Device B or implementations within Device C, and different between Device B and Device C. Such storage is expected to be order(s) of magnitude smaller than that a typical NB-IoT device would typically include.

[0019] Device A, B, and C are able to demodulate control, data, and so on, from the relevant entity in RAN according to connectivity topology.Functional and protocol simplifications for A / ZE loT

[0020] A-IoT is directed towards an loT segment well below the existing Cellular loT (CIoT) technologies rather than replacement of existing 3GPP PLWA technologies. It is expected that together with simplifications in physical layer design, the higher layer (L2 / L3) design will also be much more lightweighted than the existing higher layer design in 3GPP, that is, a minimal set of functionalities (both at access stratum and non-access stratum levels) that is simplified compared to that adopted for the existing CIoT technologies, should be used to operate A-IoT devices. One way of such simplifications is to design a communication protocol shifted from fully connection oriented with both NAS and RRC connections between device and network to connectionless type of communication w / o RRC connections or even also no NAS connections between device and network so that the protocol and signaling overhead associated with the handshaking between device and network is minimized. This means A loT devices do not setup and maintain an RRC connection with the network, also A loT devices do not setup and maintain AS context including (dedicated) radio bearer, logical channel, and so on.

[0021] One way to implement connectionless communication is to employ message -based or self-contained transmission where context / control information associated with the signaling / data traffic is transmitted together with or right after the signaling / data traffic where in the latter case (that is, the right after case) there is no other transmission between the context / control information and the associated signaling / data traffic carrying info that is needed for reception of the signaling / data traffic. One such example is that in DL the signaling / data traffic is transmitted within or right after the paging message.

[0022] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Ambient loT (A-IoT) is planned as one study and / or work item for 3GPP Rel-19. In RP-234058 (available at https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / tsg_ran / TSG_RAN / TSGR_102 / Docs as of 8 February 2024), the general scope of the SI / WI is defined as follows:A. “The overall objective shall be to study a harmonized air interface design with minimized differences (where necessary) for Ambient loT to enable the following devices:i. ~1 pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10xppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. ii. < a few hundred pW peak power consumption1, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10xppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission may be generated internally by the device, or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.• X is to be decided in WGs.• Coverage design target: Maximum distance of 10-50 m with device indoors as per TR 38.848: “ ...a range that WGs can sub -select within”.• For Topologies 1 & 2 (UE as intermediate node under NW control) per TR 38.848, with no RRC states, no mobility (i.e. at least no cell selection / re- selection -like function), no HARQ, no ARQ.NOTE 1 : It is to be understood that “< a few hundred pW” means WGs are not tasked with setting a particular value, and that it will be for WG discussions to determine if a presented design with corresponding power consumption satisfies the “< a few hundred pW” requirement.B. Deployment Scenarios with the following characteristics, referenced to the tables in Clause 4.2.2 of TR 38.848:• Deployment scenario 1 with Topology 1 o Basestation and coexistence characteristics: Micro-cell, co-site• Deployment scenario 2 with IA and UE as intermediate node, under network control o Basestation and coexistence characteristics: Macro-cell, co-site o The location of intermediate node is indoorC. FR1 licensed spectrum in FDD.D. Spectrum deployment in-band to NR, in guard -band to LTE / NR, in standalone band(s).E. Traffic types DO-DTT, DT, with focus on rUCl (indoor inventory) and rUC4 (indoor command).From RAN#104, the study will assess whether the harmonized air interface design (per bullet ‘A’ above) can address the DO-A (Device -originated autonomous) use case, only to identify which part(s) of the harmonized air interface design (per bullet ‘A’ above) is / are not sufficient for the DO-A use case.”

[0023] Transmission from Ambient loT device (including backscattering when used) can occur at least in the uplink (UL) spectrum. Based on thecited text from RP -234058, the following observations concerning connection topologies and transmissions can be made:An A-IoT UE can either directly connect to a network node (for example, the gNB) or via an intermediate node (e.g., another A-IoT UE or a normal UE).A UL transmission by an A-IoT UE can be either generated by the UE itself or backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

[0024] To enable UL transmission in a backscattered fashion, a prerequisite is that the low energy UE can obtain carrier wave. However, it is not efficient to keep carrier wave all the time. It is therefore desirable to determine how to allocate / obtain a carrier wave.

[0025] Another issue is that link-budget, especially UL link -budget, is the major limiting factor to the overall performance of A-IoT. On other hand, the output power of provided carrier wave cannot be boosted unlimited, one consequent problem is regulation limitation, another consequent problem is the interface between a carrier wave transmitter (CWT) and UE, CWT and network node also is increased. It is likely carrier wave will be provided beam wise, which can enhance the UL link -budget by directing all energy to few directions without introducing negative side effect; it is therefore desirable to determine how to manage beams efficiently.

[0026] Yet another issue is that a CWT may be capable of providing carrier wave using multiple frequency segment / ranges (e.g., frequency unit by subcarrier, resource block (RB), bandwidth (B W), bandwidth part (BWP), and so on) simultaneously or using time division multiplexing (TDM), and each frequency segment may serve / illuminate different low energy UEs / groups of UEs. It is therefore desirable to determine how to manage frequency allocation of carrier wave.

[0027] It is an object of the present disclosure to support CWT, thereby allowing improved A- loT performance.Summary

[0028] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments may provide mechanisms for network nodes managing / serving one or multiple Ambient loT (A-IoT) UE to manage / control carrier wave transmitters (CWT), and in turn the CWT manages, in beam / spatial wise, the carrier wave illuminating A-IoT UE, with respect to the rules presented herein.

[0029] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a network node may facilitate backscattered transmission from one or more target UEs. The network node method comprises determining one or more target UEs, and selecting a CWT node, wherein theCWT node is configured to transmit a carrier wave to one or more target UEs for backscattering by the one or more target UEs. The method further comprises initiating transmission, to the selected CWT node, of instructions for carrier wave transmission to at least one target UE. The network node selects the CWT node based on one or more conditions, including at least one of: a geographical location of the one or more target UEs; measurements of the channel quality between the network node and the CWT node; and measurements of the channel quality between the one or more target UEs and the CWT node.

[0030] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a CWT node may facilitate backscattered transmission from at least one target UE. The CWT method comprises receiving instructions, from a network node, for carrier wave transmission to the at least one target UE. The method further comprises emitting carrier waves based on the received instructions. The method also comprises performing a beam sweeping procedure, and sending a measurement report to the network node. The measurement report is based on results obtained in the beam sweeping procedure.

[0031] Further aspects of the disclosure provide network nodes, CWT nodes and communication systems configured to execute methods as discussed herein.

[0032] Embodiments may comprise, in network nodes, setup of connections to the CWT, which may at the least comprise connection management, registration management, mobility management.

[0033] Embodiments may comprise, in the network nodes, configuring and commanding the CWT to update the spatial filtering / working frequency of carrier wave through the proposed procedure involving the network node, the CWT and the A-IoT UE including instructing the CWT performing carrier wave beam and frequency sweeping, reception of backscattered / UL transmitted signal from the UE with respect to the carrier wave.

[0034] Embodiments provide examples of signaling / configurations between the network node and the CWT, the network node and the UE which serve the solutions.

[0035] Embodiments provide methods on how to select / reselect CWT nodes for intended A-IoT UEs / UE groups.Key steps of RAN node actions according to exemplary embodiments

[0036] Step 1 - RAN node determines target A-IoT UEs / devices.a. Alternatively, there is no specific A-IoT UEs / devices targeted, instead, all A-IoT UEs / devices in an area are the target.

[0037] Step 2 - RAN node selects a CWT node among all CWT node candidates.

[0038] Step 3 - RAN node determines beams / directions at which the selected CWT node shall emit / transmit carrier waves towards the target A-IoT UEs / devices.

[0039] Step 4 - RAN node sends the determined beam configurations concerning carrier wave to the selected CWT node.Key steps of CWT node actions according to exemplary embodiments

[0040] Step 1 - register / report its interest (whether the CWT node has interest to operate as a CWT node) to the RAN node.

[0041] Step 2: - perform / transmit probing carrier wave (at different directions / beams) towards the target A-IoT UEs / devices.

[0042] Step 3: - based on measurements of backscatter transmissions / responses from the target A-IoT UEs / devices, the CWT node sends a measurement report (e.g., carrier wave measurement report) to the RAN node.

[0043] Step 4: upon reception of the beam configuration for carrier wave from the RAN node, the CWT node starts to transmit / emit carrier wave at the configured beams / directions towards the target A-IoT UEs / devices.Key aspects of low energy UE (for example A-IoT UE) actions according to exemplary embodiments

[0044] Step 1 : upon detection of one or multiple probing / normal carrier wave, perform backscattered transmission / response on the carrier wave .

[0045] Accordingly, mechanisms for how to select and reselect CWT nodes for A-IoT devices are proposed.

[0046] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). According to embodiments, the RAN node may select a most suitable CWT node among a list of CWT node candidates. The selected CWT node may have strongest radio connection towards the RAN node and / or intended A-IoT UEs / UE groups.

[0047] According to embodiments, the RAN node may select a CWT nodebased on the node’s own pref erence / interest s .

[0048] According to embodiments, the RAN node can use a CWT node’s carrier wave report to determine beams / directions which the CWT node can apply towards intended A-IoT UEs / UE groups.

[0049] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0050] For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and to show how it may be put into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an A-IoT topology;Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a further A-IoT topology;Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a further A-IoT topology;Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a further A-IoT topology;Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a further A-IoT topology;Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 9 is a signalling diagram illustrating a beam sweeping procedure in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 10 is a signalling diagram illustrating a further beam sweeping procedure in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a CWT transmitting multiple carrier wave resources in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 12 is a signalling diagram illustrating a further beam sweeping procedure in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 13 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 14 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 15 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments;Fig. 16 is a block diagram of a host;Fig. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; andFig. 18 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.Detailed Description

[0051] 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.

[0052] Figure 6 depicts a method performed by a low energy user equipment (UE) for facilitating backscattered transmission in accordance with particular embodiments. The method is performed by a low energy UE or wireless device (e.g. the UE 1312 or UE 1400 as described later with reference to Figures 13 and 14 respectively), which may be a ZE-IoT or A-IoT UE. The method begins at step 602 with the low energy UE detecting an incident carrier wave. The method continues at step 604 with the low energy UE performing a backscattered transmission on the carrier wave.

[0053] Figure 7 depicts a method performed by a network node for facilitating backscattered transmission in accordance with particular embodiments. The method may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 1310 or network node 1500 as described later with reference to Figures 13 and 15 respectively). The method begins at step 702 with the network node determining one or more target low energy UEs. The method continues at step 704 with the network node selecting a CWT node. The method continues at step 706 with the network node initiating transmission, to the selected CWT node, of instructions for carrier wave transmission to at least one target low energy UE.

[0054] Figure 8 depicts a method performed by a carrier wave transmission (CWT) node for facilitating backscattered transmission in accordance with particular embodiments. The method 8 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 1310 or network node 1500 as described later with reference to Figures 13 and 15 respectively), a UE (e.g. the UE 1312 or UE 1400 as described later with reference to Figures 13 and 14 respectively), an intermediary node or an assisting node (either of which may be a UE, network node, or other type of node as discussed herein). The method begins at step 802with the CWT node receiving instructions, from a network node, for carrier wave transmission to at least one target low energy UE. The method continues at step 804 with the CWT node emitting carrier waves based on the received instructions.

[0055] The embodiments are applicable to any low energy UE, ultra-low power devices, zeroenergy or Ambient loT devices. However, embodiments are not limited to such devices, and can be extended other service / device classes or categories, e.g., related to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (massive-MTC), ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC), time sensitive networking (TSN), and so on. The applicable services are typically associated with a short data burst and large interval.

[0056] The term RAN node is used which can be a network node or a user equipment (UE). Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (I AB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BCS), relay, IAB, repeater, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MCS, MME etc), O&M, Operation Support System (OSS), Self-Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC), etc.

[0057] In particular, in A-IoT scenario the RAN nodes comprise intermediate node / UE (e.g., relay UE, IAB, repeater etc.) at least in connection topology 2.

[0058] A carrier wave may occupy a full or a part of a carrier, i.e., N PRBs or X Hzs. The occupied carrier parts / segments may span in the frequency domain in a consecutive or non- consecutive manner. In case a carrier wave occupies part of a carrier / band, multiple carrier waves may occur at the same time and occupy the full carrier / band.

[0059] In the present disclosure some examples are represented by two network nodes (one of them is the serving network node, the other one is the network node providing carrier wave), or a network node (that is, the serving network node) and a UE, an IAB node, a repeater or a relay UE, which provides carrier wave. Embodiments are not limited in thisway, and are applicable also to the case of more than two network nodes (one of them is the serving network node, the other ones are the network nodes providing carrier wave), or a network node (that is, the serving network node) and more than one of UE, IAB node, repeater or relay UE.

[0060] In the present disclosure, the network node or other device (such as a UE, intermediate node, and so on) providing carrier wave may be called as carrier wave transmitter (CWT), carrier wave node (CWN), anchor node (AN), etc. They are inter -changeably applicable without losing the meaning. A CWT node may only provide carrier wave, or provide carrier wave and manage the end-to-end communication flow with A-IoT UEs both simultaneously or in Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) fashion.

[0061] The term ‘sweeping’ may be defined as a CWT updating / switching / changing, with respect to various rules / sequences, its carrier wave(s) in frequency domain / spatial domain for the network managing carrier wave (s) for the served UE(s); this process may also be referred to as ‘sensing / detecting / discovery’.Selection of CWT nodes

[0062] In some embodiments, a RAN node may select a CWT node (e.g., UE or a sub-RAN node) among a list of CWT node candidates for intended A-IoT UEs or UE groups based on one or multiple of the following criteria:1) the locations or areas that the A-IoT UEs are located2) the location of the reader, i.e., the node (a non-A-IoT UE or gNB) which intercepts the backscatter transmissions and forward or relay to gNB or other RAN node3) the size of intended UE groups, i.e., the number of intended A-IoT UEs4) the estimated propagation distance (range) between the CWT node and the intended UEs / UE groups5) capabilities of the CWT node• whether the node supports to be a CWT node• transmission power class of the node• other radio capabilities, e.g., number of supported operating carriers, whether the node supports beamforming based transmissions or receptions• whether the node can read backscattered transmissions, i.e., whether the node can operate as a reader for A-IoT devices6) measured radio channel quality of the connection between the node and the RAN node7) measured radio channel quality between the node and intended UEs / devices• the CWT capable node can measure radio channel quality when performing reception from intended UEs / devices8) measured signal quality at the RAN node over signal backscattered from the intended UEs / devices• the stronger the carrier wave strength that the intended UEs / devices receive from the CWT capable node, the higher the measured quality at the RAN node over the backscattered signal received from the intended UEs / devices.9) The spectrum or bandwidth, the CWT is compatible with or can be configured with10) The CW pattern, the CWT can generate, e.g., certain comb-OFDM generation, which can also determine the selection of CWT.11) The capabilities of A-IoT UEs, which can determine the selection of CWT transmitter, e.g., constraints related to RF energy or CW the A-IoT can work or process, which could be power, duty cycle of CW, and so on.

[0063] In some embodiments, the RAN node selects a CWT node which is closest to the intended A-IoT UEs or UE groups. In case there are more than one intended UEs, the distance used in the evaluation may be a function of the distance to each intended UE, where the function may be max, min, mean, n-th moment of distance, and so on.

[0064] In some embodiments, the RAN node may select a CWT node which has strongest radio channel quality towards the RAN node.

[0065] In some embodiments, the RAN node may select a CWT node which has strongest radio channel quality towards intended UEs or UE groups.

[0066] In some embodiments, given the channel can vary over time, the strongest radio channel may be considered over the configurable or some time window, that is, average (mean or n-th moment) channel quality is considered over the defined or implemented time window. In some embodiments, the CWT may be designed or allocated with some reference signal transmission which A-IoT UE may backscatter this reference signal CW and network can recording or analyzing the signal quality.

[0067] Where there is more than one intended UEs, the radio channel quality used in the evaluation may be a function of the radio channel quality to each intended UE, where the function may be max, min, mean, etc.

[0068] In some embodiments, the RAN node may select a CWT node which has highest transmission power class.

[0069] In some embodiments, the RAN node may select a CWT node with which it receives the strongest signal backscattered by the intended UEs or UE groups. Where there is more than one intended UE, the backscattered signal quality used in the evaluation may be a function of the backscattered signal quality from each intended UE, where the function may be max, min, mean, etc.

[0070] In some embodiments, the RAN node may select a CWT node which has highest reception power at gNB or non-A-IoT UE (which receive the backscatter traffic).

[0071] In some embodiments, a candidate CWT node may send a signaling to a RAN node indicating its preference / interest on at least one of the below: a. the node has interest to operate as a CWT node b. the node has no interest to operate as a CWT node any more c. the node has enough energy to operate as a CWT node. d. the node has no enough energy to operate as a CWT node any longer (or after how long time the node will not have enough energy to operate as a CWT node). e. the node has requirement to work with frequencies, spectrum, power constraints, etc., and indicate the selected CWT must adhere to the node’s requirements the related signaling may be carried using RRC signaling (for example, UEAssistancelnformation), a MAC CE or a LI signaling.

[0072] In some embodiments, when a node moves towards / away from a geographic area (e.g., a specific RAN area, or tracking area), or a group of A-IoT devices, the node may send a measurement report (for example, carrier wave report message as described herein) to the RAN node, including some or all of: a. whether the node may / need to operate as a CWT node b. if needed, beams / directions at which the node may transmit CW towards some intended A-IoT UEs

[0073] In some embodiments, when a node moves towards / away from a geographic area (e.g., a specific RAN area, or tracking area), or a group of A-IoT devices, the node may determine by itself whether the node may / need to operate as a CWT node, and how (e.g., at whichbeams / directions to transmit the CW), and may send a signaling to the RAN node to inform its determination.

[0074] In some embodiments, a RAN node may perform a reselection procedure to reselect another CWT node (according to the conditions as described in the above embodiments) to replace the current serving CWT node for intended A-IoT UEs or UE groups when one of the below conditions is met:• the current serving CWT node is experiencing RLF• the current serving CWT node has worse radio channel quality towards the RAN node or A-IoT UEs o e.g. measured radio channel quality is below a given threshold• the signal quality measured over backscattered transmission received from the A-IoT UEs with the current serving CWT node becomes worse (e.g., worse than a threshold).• the current serving CWT node is experiencing handover• the current serving CWT node switches to an inactive state (e.g., RRC_INACTIVE or RRCJDLE) o In case there no RRC states defined, and if the current CWT moved to CM idle or RM deregistered state• the number of A-IoT UEs that the RAN node cannot obtain any / expected backscattered transmissions / response is above a given threshold• the time period that the RAN node cannot obtain any / expected backscattered transmissions / response for a specific A-IoT UE is above a given threshold• the current serving CWT is being utilized to support or schedule or backscatter some A-IoT and the remaining A-IoT UEs associated with current CWT unbale to secure resource (CW) from CWT• the current serving CWT node serving another PLMN network or other network / operator in the PLMNCarrier Wave Sweeping

[0075] Some embodiments comprise methods of configuring and commanding the CWT to update the spatial filtering of carrier wave. The procedure may involve the network node, the CWT and the A-IoTUE, and may include instructing the CWT performing carrier wave beam sweeping, reception of backscattered / UL transmitted signal from the UE with respect to the carrier wave incident by the UE.

[0076] In some embodiments, the methods may comprise some or all of steps 1 to 3 as discussed below.

[0077] Step 1: the network node may signal / command the CWT node to perform the sweeping procedure, that is, transmitting carrier wave resource in spatial / beam wise and / or in frequency segment wise over the entire coverage.

[0078] In some embodiments, the network node signal / command (using, for example, a MAC- CE or a DCI) may carry the information or configuration, which the CWT should follow in beam sweeping. The signal may comprise at least one of:• Index of the associated beams• The resources (the segments on time domain and / or frequency domain) for transmitting carrier wave.• Information indicating the direction / beam at which the resource information is valid, such as: o Index of the carrier wave resource, or index of a reference signal carried by the carrier wave which are spatially related to the associated beam, i.e., the subsequent transmissions or receptions can be performed using a same spatial domain filter as for a transmission or reception.

[0079] In some embodiments, the information / configuration may be sent via lower layers, e.g., contained in bits of a MAC-CE or content of a DCI. Alternatively, the information / configuration may be carried by a higher layer signaling prior to the signal / command (e.g., a specific RRC message or a field in a legacy message by extension) and the signal / command only trigger transmitting of carrier wave.

[0080] In some embodiments, the CWT node may determines the information / configuration and in turn informs the network node of the information / / configuration in various ways, e.g., via UE capability message or UAI or a dedicated message. Subsequently, the network node may indicates / commands the CWT to start performing sweeping and expect the CWT to apply the information / configuration in sweeping.

[0081] In some embodiments, the information / configuration may be provided to the UE by the network node, depending on UE’s capability.

[0082] In some embodiments, the CWT node may inform the network node of carrier wave relevant assistance information, as input for the determination of carrier wave transmission by the network node. The information may comprise at least one of:• The beam sweeping capability, e.g., number of beams, beam sweeping time.• The supported frequency range / segment / band, further the frequency capability on different beam, e.g. 1 frequency per beam, 2 frequency ranges per beam.• The beam characteristic of the CWT, e.g., omnidirectional antenna or directional antenna.• The position of CWT.• The identity of the CWT.

[0083] In some embodiments, during or after connecting / registering to the network node, the CWT node may provide the information to the network node, e.g., via UE capability message or UAI or a dedicated message. Alternatively or additionally, during or after the CWT connecting / registering to the network node, the network node may request the CWT providing the formation prior to beam sweeping.

[0084] In some embodiments the CWT node may transmit the carrier wave resource at one or multiple spatial / beam direction at one or multiple frequency range carrying information, the information may comprise at least one of the below:• The identity of the CWT.• An indicator indicating the carrier wave resource for beam sweeping purpose.• Information indicating the direction / beam at which the resource information is valid, such as: o Index of the carrier wave resource, or index of a reference signal carried by the carrier wave which are spatially related to the associated beam, i.e., the subsequent transmissions or receptions can be performed using a same spatial domain filter as for a transmission or reception.The information may be carried along with / on the carrier wave resource, e.g., by a pre -defined LI bit sequence or a pre-defined waveform or a message.

[0085] Step 2: the network node signals / commands the UE to receive, backscatter / response the carrier wave resource transmitted by the CWT node.

[0086] The UE may be configured to backscatter / respond the carrier wave resource transmitted by the CWT.

[0087] In some embodiments, once receiving and demodulating the signal / command from the network node, the A-IoT UE may backscatters / responses UL signal(s) to the network node, which may be carried on backscattered signal or in report on UL transmission, on the provided reserved response frequency / time resource(s) (or provided time window(s)) by the network node) information at the least one of the below:The identity of the UE, individual identity or group identity.The identity of the CWT.An indicator indicating that the UL transmission is a response of the beam sweeping purpose carrier wave by the CWT, it also represents the available carrier wave in each positioning resource.The information originally for the CWTs, which the UE only forwards them to the network node.Strength level / quality (SNR / SINR) of the received carrier wave resource.

[0088] In case of backscattering, the network may determine the strength level / quality (SNR / SINR) of each carrier wave resource which are backscattered by the UE without or with constant amplification, or at the least the relative strength level among each carrier wave.

[0089] In some embodiments, in cases of UL signal generated by the A-IoT UE, the UE may report strength level / quality (SNR / SINR) of the received carrier wave resource associated with the index of the carrier wave resource, or index of a reference signal carried by the carrier wave resource.In some embodiments, the UE may report each carrier wave resource information and corresponding strength level / quality.In some embodiments, the UE may report the information carried by the carrier wave resource which has highest strength level / quality.In some embodiments, the UE may report the information carried by the carrier wave resource which strength level / quality is higher than a threshold.

[0090] In some embodiments, the step 2 signaling may be additionally utilized to indicate near non-A-IOT UEs to receive any backscatter transmission coming from A-IoT UE and forward / relay to gNB or network.

[0091] In some embodiments, the signal to beam sweeping (Step 1 signaling) and the signal to UE for reception (Step 2 signaling) may be done using one or more PHY signaling where both CWT and A-IoTUEs and optional other UEs (specific to Topology 2) within the range of CWT intercept or receive same PHY signaling and prepare:To transmit by CWTTo receive by A-IOT UEsAdditionally UEs to receive backscattered transmissions from A-IoT UEs.

[0092] Step 3: the network may determine and indicate the CWT of Information indicating the direction / beam and frequency range of the carrier wave resource, for example, through the index of the carrier wave resource or index of a reference signal resource carried by the carrier wave resource, for serving one or more than one UE / UE group. The CWT may activate the carrier wave accordingly.

[0093] In some embodiments, the network node may obtain the information of the carrier wave resource sent by the UE, for example, the network obtains the association between index of the carrier wave resource and the index of UE / UE group in the coverage the CWT. In other words, the network may know which carrier wave (in spatial domain and / or frequency domain) shall be activated, to reach / illuminate a particular UE / UE group.

[0094] In some embodiments, if theUE doesn’t support reporting its identity, the network node may obtain the association between index of the carrier wave resource and the UE / UE group reached / illuminated by the carrier wave resource, with respect to the corresponding response resources provided by the network node.

[0095] In some embodiments, despite of identifying any UE, the network at the least may obtain the association between index of the carrier wave and the number of UE / UE group reached / illuminated by the carrier wave. By this, the network node to serve / manage the A- loT UE may determine the direction / beam and / or frequency range of the carrier wave resource of CWT which is able to reach / illuminate the UE.

[0096] In some embodiments, if the network node targets to reach / communicate with a particular UE, the network may firstly signals / commands the CWT to transmit carrier wave resource at the direction / beam and / or on the frequency range which reaches the UE by indicating the index of the carrier wave resource before or upon initiating operation to reach / communicate with the UE. To enable this, the signals / commands may include at the least one of below:Frequency resource, which indicates the start frequency, frequency range, stop frequency of carrier wave.Indicator (e.g., index) of carrier wave indicating spatial filtering of transmitting carrier wave.Time resource, which indicates the start time, time length, end time of carrier wave.Note: each signal / command may contain single set or multiple set of the above parameters.

[0097] Sweeping procedures in accordance with embodiments are illustrated by Figure 9 and Figure 10.

[0098] In some embodiments, the network node may perform the sweeping in above steps when at the least one of below conditions are fulfilled:• One or more than one UE moves inside / outside of the coverage of the network node or the coverage of one or more than one CWT, e.g., the network determines more or less UEs than previous determination.• One or more than one CWT is added to / removed from under control of the network node.• One or more than one UE doesn’t respond on UL transmission to the network DL transmission.• A request from core network, e.g. on application layer.• A request from one or more than one CWT.• A request from other network node, e.g., transfer / handover one or more than one CWT or UE to / from under the control of the network node.• Periodically performed by the network.• Request by one or more than one UE.• The network node (first time) handles / setups connection with / polls / pages one or more than one UEs.

[0099] In some embodiments, when the CWT performs polling / paging w / o knowing the location of the UEs, and (some of) the carrier waves associated with different beams are sent in different time resource, the network node may first send a normal polling / paging message with carrier waves sent in the first time resource, then it may send a special polling / paging message with carrier waves sent in the subsequent time resource, when receiving the special polling / paging message, the UE does not reset / d ecrease the counter for multiple access, that is, it will perform accessing again only if its counter is already zero. By this the network node will receive multiple backscattered transmissions from the same UE with carrier waves transmitted in different time resource and associated with different beams, and can then select a beam which results in the best quality measured over the backscattered transmissions received from the same UE. Alternatively, the polling / paging message may indicate that the UE shall response more than one times, where each response shall depart from each other with a certain time interval, where the time interval may be indicated based on the length of the calibration symbol in the preamble preceding the polling / paging command and a multiply factor indicated in the polling / paging command. Meanwhile, the network node informs the relevant CWT(s) to only transmit carrier wave(s) associated with specific beams in a certain time resource within which the UE will send its n-th response. Similarly, the network node selects a beam based on all the responses from the UE.

[0100] Depending on the purpose, the network may signal / command the CWT of different configurations in multiple operations containing the above the sweeping in above steps. In one example, the network may configure CWT of a broad beam to find / discovery a UE which isn’t in the narrow beam carrier wave resource coverage range, moreover, the network may configure CWT of a narrow beam carrier wave resource to serve a known UE. To the end, the network node may repeat broad beam / narrow beam, with pre -definedor configurable periodicity or up to the network’s determination, to maintain both detecting unknown / moved UE and serving known / fixed UEs.

[0101] In some embodiments, if the network node targets to reach / communicate with more than one UE, the network may complete the operation to the first UE and repeat the operation to the second UE, and so on. If the CWT is capable to transmit multiple carrier wave resources at more than one direction simultaneously, the network may signals / command s the CWT to transmit carrier wave resources at the multiple directions and / or on the frequency range which reaches the UEs; this method is illustrated in Figure 11.

[0102] An extra benefit from the beam / frequency wise carrier wave operation is that the carrier wave from the CWT has less chance to reach the network node directly, subsequently avoiding / mitigate the interference to the reception of UL transmission from the UE.

[0103] In some embodiments, in step 3, the network node may signals / command s the CWT to conduct beam sweeping with the beam number less than the capable beam number (or, beam direction less than the capable of beam direction) e.g., 1,2 and so on, and or with the frequency range less than the capable entire frequency e.g., 1 RB, 1MHz, 10MHz and so one, the overall steps are repeated until the carrier wave going through all beam directions and entire frequency; an example is shown in Figure 12.

[0104] Where there is more than one CWT, the network node may signal / command more than one CWTs to conduct sweeping in a pre-defined or implement wise sequence, e.g., one CWT by another CWT in TDM wise, the overall steps for single CWT may be repeated until going through all CWTs. Additionally, the network node may select one or some of them as the determined CWT illuminating the served UEs, and stop / disable / release other CWTs, i.e., the network node doesn’t signal those CWTs and the CWTs may enter sleep mode until further waking up signals.

[0105] Figure 13 shows an example of a communication system 1300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0106] In the example, the communication system 1300 includes a telecommunication network 1302 that includes an access network 1304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1306, which includes one or more core network nodes 1308. The access network 1304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1310a and 1310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1310), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPPaccess points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1302 includes one or more Open- RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1302 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or togetherwith other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1302, including one or more network nodes 1310 and / or core network nodes 1308.

[0107] 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 Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O -Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O- RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, and 1312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1312) to the core network 1306 over one or more wireless connections.

[0108] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1300 may include any number of wired or wireless networks,network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1300 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0109] The UEs 1312 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1310 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1312 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1302 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1302.

[0110] In the depicted example, the core network 1306 connects the network nodes 1310 to one or more hosts, such as host 1316. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1308. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDE), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0111] The host 1316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1304 and / or the telecommunication network 1302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1316 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include the provision of live and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services, for example, retrieving and compiling data on various ambient 1conditions 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.

[0112] As a whole, the communication system 1300 of Figure 13 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low -power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0113] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1302. For example, the telecommunications network 1302 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0114] In some examples, the UEs 1312 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1304. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multistandard 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).

[0115] In the example illustrated in Figure 13, the hub 1314 communicates with the access network 1304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1312c and / or 1312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1310b). In some examples, the hub 1314 may be a controller, router, a content source and analytics node, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1314 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1314. As another example, the hub 1314 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or datarelated to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0116] The hub 1314 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1310b. The hub 1314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1314 and UEs (e.g., UE 1312c and / or 1312d), and between the hub 1314 and the core network 1306. In other examples, the hub 1314 is connected to the core network 1306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1304 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1310 while still connected via the hub 1314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1314 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1310b. In other embodiments, the hub 1314 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0117] Figure 14 shows a UE 1400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless camera, 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. Further examples include a low energy UE, A-IoT UE or ZE-UE.

[0118] 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).

[0119] The UE 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a power source 1408, a memory 1410, a communication interface 1412, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 14. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0120] The processing circuitry 1402 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine -read able computer programs in the memory 1410. The processingcircuitry 1402 may be implemented as one or more hard ware -implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field -programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 1402 may be operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other UE 1400 components, such as the memory 1410, UE 1400 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to cause the UE 1402 to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0121] In the example, the input / output interface 1406 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1400. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0122] In some embodiments, the power source 1408 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1408 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or othermodification to the power from the power source 1408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1400 to which power is supplied.

[0123] The memory 1410 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1410 includes one or more application programs 1414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1416. The memory 1410 may store, for use by the UE 1400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0124] The memory 1410 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini -dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1410 may allow the UE 1400 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non -transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1410, which may be or comprise a device -read able storage medium.

[0125] The processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1412. The communication interface 1412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1422. The communication interface 1412 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include atransmitter 1418 and / or a receiver 1420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1418 and receiver 1420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0126] In some embodiments, communication functions of the communication interface 1412 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0127] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1412, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0128] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or controls a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0129] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, citywearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are devices which are or which are embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head -mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence on the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1400 shown in Figure 14.

[0130] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-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.

[0131] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0132] Figure 15 shows a network node 1500 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable tocommunicate 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).

[0133] B ase 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).

[0134] 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).

[0135] The network node 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502, a memory 1504, a communication interface 1506, and a power source 1508, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. The network node 1500 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1500 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, thenetwork node 1500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1500, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1500.

[0136] The processing circuitry 1502 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1500 components, such as the memory 1504, network node 1500 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 7 or, when acting as CWT node, the methods as described with reference to Figure 8.

[0137] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and the baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0138] The memory 1504 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), readonly 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 computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may beused by the processing circuitry 1502. The memory 1504 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1502 and utilized by the network node 1500. The memory 1504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 and memory 1504 is integrated.

[0139] The communication interface 1506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1506 also includes radio front -end circuitry 1518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1510. Radio front -end circuitry 1518 comprises filters 1520 and amplifiers 1522. The radio front-end circuitry 1518 may be connected to an antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front -end circuitry 1518 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front -end circuitry 1518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1520 and / or amplifiers 1522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front -end circuitry 1518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0140] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1518, instead, the processing circuitry 1502 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1512 is part of the communication interface 1506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1506 includes one or more ports or terminals 1516, the radio front-end circuitry 1518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).31

[0141] The antenna 1510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1510 may be coupled to the radio frontend circuitry 1518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1510 is separate from the network node 1500 and connectable to the network node 1500 through an interface or port.

[0142] The antenna 1510, communication interface 1506, and / or the processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other net w oik equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1510, the communication interface 1506, and / or the processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0143] The power source 1508 provides power to the various components of network node 1500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1508. As a further example, the power source 1508 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0144] Embodiments of the network node 1500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 15 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1500 and to allow output of information from the network node 1500. This may allow a user toperform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the net work node 1500.

[0145] Figure 16 is a block diagram of a host 1600, which may be an embodiment of the host 1316 of Figure 13, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1600 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud -implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1600 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0146] The host 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1604 to an input / output interface 1606, a network interface 1608, a power source 1610, and a memory 1612. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 14 and 15, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1600.

[0147] The memory 1612 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1614 and data 1616, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1600 or data generated by the host 1600 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1600 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1614 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1614 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1600 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1614 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0148] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context,virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1700 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1700 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0149] Applications 1702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0150] Hardware 1704 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1706 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1708a and 1708b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1708), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1708.

[0151] The VMs 1708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1708, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types ontoindustry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0152] In the context of NFV, a VM 1708 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non -virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1708, and that part of hardware 1704 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1708 on top of the hardware 1704 and corresponds to the application 1702.

[0153] Hardware 1704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1704 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1710, which, among others, oversees lif ecycle management of applications 1702. In some embodiments, hardware 1704 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0154] Figure 18 shows a communication diagram of a host 1802 communicating via a network node 1804 with a UE 1806 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1312a of Figure 13 and / or UE 1400 of Figure 14), network node (such as network node 1310a of Figure 13 and / or network node 1500 of Figure 15), and host (such as host 1316 of Figure 13 and / or host 1600 of Figure 16) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 18.

[0155] Eike host 1600, embodiments of host 1802 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1802 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1802 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remoteuser, such as theUE 1806 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1850 extending between the UE 1806 and host 1802. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1850.

[0156] The network node 1804 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1802 and UE 1806. The connection 1860 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1306 of Figure 13) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0157] The UE 1806 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1806 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1806 with the support of the host 1802. In the host 1802, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1850 terminating at the UE 1806 and host 1802. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1850 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1850.

[0158] The OTT connection 1850 may extend via a connection 1860 between the host 1802 and the network node 1804 and via a wireless connection 1870 between the network node 1804 and the UE 1806 to provide the connection between the host 1802 and the UE 1806. The connection 1860 and wireless connection 1870, over which the OTT connection 1850 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1802 and the UE 1806 via the network node 1804, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0159] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1850, in step 1808, the host 1802 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1806. In other embodiments, the user datais associated with aUE 1806 that shares data with the host 1802 without explicit human interaction. In step 1810, the host 1802 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1806. The host 1802 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1806. The request may becaused by human interaction with the UE 1806 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1806. The transmission may pass via the network node 1804, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1812, the network node 1804 transmits to the UE 1806 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1802 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1814, the UE 1806 receives the user datacarried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1806 associated with the host application executed by the host 1802.

[0160] In some examples, the UE 1806 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1802. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1802. Accordingly, in step 1816, the UE 1806 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1806. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1806 initiates, in step 1818, transmission of the user data to wards the ho st 1802 via the network node 1804. In step 1820, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1804 receives user data from the UE 1806 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1802. In step 1822, the host 1802 receives the user datacarried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1806.

[0161] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1806 using the OTT connection 1850, in which the wireless connection 1870 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the management of low energy UEs and thereby provide benefits such as improved energy efficiency and / or improved signalling efficiency, improved selection of CWT nodes on a per UE basis.

[0162] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1802. As another example, the host 1802 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1802 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1802 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1802 may store or control access to mediacontent such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1802 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of nontime critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0163] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1850 between the host 1802 and UE 1806, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1802 and / or UE 1806. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1850 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1850 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1804. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1802. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1850 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0164] 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 obtainedinformation 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.

[0165] 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 -read able 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.

[0166] The following numbered statements provide additional information on the disclosure1. A method performed by a low energy user equipment, UE, for facilitating backscattered transmission, the method comprising: detecting an incident carrier wave; and performing a backscattered transmission on the carrier wave.2. The method of statement 1, wherein: the incident carrier wave is a probing carrier wave, or wherein the incident carrier wave is a standard carrier wave.3. The method of any preceding statement, wherein: the backscattered transmission isdirected towards a carrier wave transmitter, CWT, node that is a source of the incident carrier wave, and / or wherein the backscattered transmission is directed towards a further device. The method of statement 3, wherein at least one of the CWT node and the further device comprises: a network node; an intermediate node; an assisting node;- a UE. The method of any of statements 3 and 4 further comprising receiving, from a network node, a first signal instructing the low energy UE to receive the incident carrier wave from the CWT node. The method of statement 5, wherein the first signal comprises configuration information allowing the low energy UW to receive the incident carrier wave. The method of any of statements 5 and 6, wherein the backscattered transmission on the carrier wave comprises one or more of: an identity of the UE; an identity of the CWT node; an indicator indicating that the backscattered transmission is a response to a beam sweeping purpose carrier wave from the CWT node; information from the CWT node; and a measurement of the incident carrier wave. The method of any preceding statement, wherein detecting an incident carrier wave comprises detecting a plurality of incident carrier waves. The method of statement 8, wherein performing a backscattered transmission comprises performing backscattered transmissions using one or more of the plurality of incident carrier waves. The method of any preceding statement, wherein the low energy UE is a Zero Energy Device, ZED, or an Ambient Internet of Things, A-IoT, device. The method of any of the previous statements, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node. A method performed by a network node for facilitating backscattered transmission,the method comprising: determining one or more target low energy user equipments, UEs; selecting a carrier wave transmitter, CWT, node; initiating transmission, to the selected CWT node, of instructions for carrier wave transmission to at least one target low energy UE. The method of statement 12, wherein the target low energy UEs are selected based on a geographical area. The method of statement 13, wherein all the low energy UEs within a target geographical area are selected as target low energy UEs. The method of any of statements 12 to 14, further comprising configuring beams or directions at which the selected CWT node will transmit carrier waves. The method of any of statements 12 to 15, wherein the networknode selects theCWT node based on one or more conditions, wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of: a geographical location of the one or more target low energy UEs; a geographical location of one or more further devices that are configured to receive backscattered transmissions from one or more of the target low energy UEs; the number of target low energy UEs; the propagation distance between the CWT node and the one or more target low energy UEs; the capabilities of the CWT node; measurements of the channel quality between the network node and the CWT node; measurements of the channel quality between the one or more target low energy UEs and the CWT node; measurements of the channel quality between the network node and the one or more target low energy UEs; the spectral capabilities of the CWT node; the capabilities of the target low energy UEs. The method of any of statements 12 to 16, further comprising receiving a second signal from a candidate CWT node prior to selecting the CWT node.The method of statement 17, wherein the second signal comprises indications of one or more of: the candidate CWT node desires to be the selected CWT node; the candidate CWT node does not desire to be the selected CWT node; the candidate CWT node has enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node; the candidate CWT node does not have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node, and optionally when the candidate CWT node will have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node; candidate CWT node requirements for operating as the selected CWT node. The method of any of statements 12 to 18, further comprising receiving, from a candidate CWT node, a measurement report. The method of statement 19, wherein the measurement report comprises one or more of: an indication of whether or not the candidate CWT node is capable of operating as selected CWT node; beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node is capable of transmitting carrier wave transmissions; and a determination made by the CWT node of whether or not to operate as selectedCWT node, optionally including beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node will transmit carrier wave transmissions. The method of any of statements 12 to 20 further comprising a CWT node reselection. The method of statement 21, wherein the CWT node reselection is performed when one or more of the following criteria is satisfied:- the selected CWT node is experiencing radio link failure, RLF; the selected CWT node has worse radio channel quality towards the network node or low energy UEs; signal quality of backscattered transmissions from the low energy UEs drops below a predetermined threshold; the selected CWT node is experiencing handover; the selected CWT node switches to an inactive state; a number of unresponsive low energy UEs exceeds a given threshold; a time period over which a specific low energy UE is unresponsive is above a given time threshold; the selected CWT cannot support further low energy UEs;the selected CWT node is serving another public land mobile network, PLMN, or other network / operator in the PLMN. The method of any of statements 12 to 22 further comprising instructing one or more candidate CWT nodes to perform a beam sweeping procedure. The method of statement 23 further comprising initiating transmission, to one or more candidate CWT nodes, of beam sweeping configuration information. The method of any of statements 23 and 24 further comprising receiving, from one or more candidate CWT nodes, beam sweeping capability information. The method of any of statements 23 to 25 further comprising instructing one or more low energy UEs to receive carrier waves, and perform backscattered transmissions on the carrier waves. The method of any of statements 23 to 26, further comprising configuring the selected CWT node using the results of the beam sweeping procedure. The method of any of statements 23 to 27, wherein the network node initiates the beam sweeping procedure when one or more criteria are satisfied. The method of statement 28, wherein the one or more criteria include one or more of: one or more low energy UEs move out of range of existing selected CWT; one or more candidate CWTs enter or leave the control of the network node; low energy UE responsiveness falls below a predetermined threshold; a request from a core network, a low energy UE, a candidate CWT and / or another network node; a predetermined beam sweeping schedule indicates that a beam sweep is due; the network node begins providing coverage for a particular group of low energy UEs. The method of any of statements 12 to 29, further comprising receiving backscattered transmission from at least one low energy UE. The method of any of statements 12 to 30, wherein the network node is: a radio access network, RAN, node; or a core network node. A method performed by a carrier wave transmission, CWT, node for facilitating backscattered transmission, the method comprising:-receiving instructions, from a network node, for carrier wave transmission to at least one target low energy UE; and-emitting carrier waves based on the received instructions. The method of statement 32 further comprising initiating transmission, to the network node, of a second signal. The method of statement 33, wherein the second signal comprises indications of one or more of: the CWT node desires to be a selected CWT node; the CWT node does not desire to be the selected CWT node; the CWT node has enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node; the CWT node does not have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node, and optionally when the CWT node will have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node;CWT node requirements for operating as the selected CWT node. The method of any of statements 32 to 34 further comprising performing a beam sweeping procedure. The method of statement 35, wherein the beam sweeping procedure is performed in response to instructions from the network node. The method of any of statements 35 and 36 further comprising sending a measurement report to the network node, wherein the measurement report is based on results obtained in the beam sweeping procedure. The method of statement 37, wherein the measurement report comprises one or more of: an indication of whether or not the candidate CWT node is capable of operating as selected CWT node; beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node is capable of transmitting carrier wave transmissions; and a determination made by the CWT node of whether or not to operate as selectedCWT node, optionally including beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node will transmit carrier wave transmissions. The method of any of statements 32 to 38 further comprising sending reselection information to the network node, wherein the reselection information causes the network node to perform a CWT node reselection.40. The method of statement 39, wherein the reselection information comprises:- an indication that the CWT node is experiencing radio link failure, RLF; an indication that the CWT node is experiencing handover; an indication that the CWT node is to switch to an inactive state; an indication that the CWT node cannot support further low energy UEs; an indication that the CWT node is serving another public land mobile network, PLMN, or other network / operator in the PLMN.41. The method of any of statements 32 to 40, wherein the CWT node is: a UE, a radio access network, RAN, node; an intermediate node; or an assisting node.42. The method of any of statements 12 to 41, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.43. A low energy user equipment for facilitating backscattered transmission, comprising : processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 11.44. A network node for facilitating backscattered transmission, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of statements 12 to 42; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.45. A user equipment (UE) for facilitating backscattered transmission, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processingcircuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of statements 1 to 11; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry.

Claims

Claims1. A method performed by a network node (1500) for facilitating backscattered transmission from one or more target user equipments, UEs (1400), the method comprising: determining one or more target UEs (1400); selecting a carrier wave transmitter, CWT, node, wherein the CWT node is configured to transmit a carrier wave to one or more target UEs (1400) for backscattering by the one or more target UEs (1400); initiating transmission, to the selected CWT node, of instructions for carrier wave transmission to at least one target UE (1400), wherein the network node (1500) selects the CWT node based on one or more conditions, and wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of: a geographical location of the one or more target UEs (1400); measurements of the channel quality between the network node (1500) and the CWT node; and measurements of the channel quality between the one or more target UEs (1400) and the CWT node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein all the UEs (1400) within a target geographical area are determined to be target UEs (1400).

3. The method of any of claims 1 and 2, further comprising configuring beams or directions at which the selected CWT node will transmit carrier waves.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conditions used by the network node (1500) to select the CWT further include one or more of: a geographical location of one or more further devices that are configured to receive backscattered transmissions from one or more of the target low energy UEs (1400); the number of target low energy UEs (1400); the propagation distance between the CWT node and the one or more target UEs (1400); the capabilities of the CWT node; measurements of the channel quality between the network node (1500) and the one or more target UEs (1400); the spectral capabilities of the CWT node;the capabilities of the target UEs (1400).

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising receiving a second signal from a candidate CWT node prior to selecting the CWT node, wherein the second signal comprises an indication of one or more of: the candidate CWT node desires to be the selected CWT node; the candidate CWT node does not desire to be the selected CWT node; the candidate CWT node has enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node; the candidate CWT node does not have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node, and optionally when the candidate CWT node will have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node; candidate CWT node requirements for operating as the selected CWT node.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising receiving, from a candidate CWT node, a measurement report.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the measurement report is based on measurements by the candidate CWT node of backscatter transmissions from one or more target UEs (1400).

8. The method of any of claims 6 and 7, wherein the measurement report comprises one or more of: an indication of whether or not the candidate CWT node is capable of operating as selected CWT node; beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node is capable of transmitting carrier wave transmissions; and a determination made by the CWT node of whether or not to operate as selected CWT node, optionally including beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node will transmit carrier wave transmissions.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8 further comprising a CWT node reselection.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the CWT node reselection is performed when one or more of the following criteria is satisfied:- the selected CWT node is experiencing radio link failure, RLF; the selected CWT node has worse radio channel quality towards the network node (1500) or UEs (1400); signal quality of backscattered transmissions from the UEs (1400) drops below a predetermined threshold; the selected CWT node is experiencing handover;the selected CWT node switches to an inactive state; a number of unresponsive UEs (1400) exceeds a given threshold; a time period over which a specific UE (1400) is unresponsive is above a given time threshold; the selected CWT cannot support further UEs (1400); the selected CWT node is serving another public land mobile network, PLMN, or other network / operator in the PLMN.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10 further comprising instructing one or more candidate CWT nodes to perform a beam sweeping procedure.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising initiating transmission, to one or more candidate CWT nodes, of beam sweeping configuration information.

13. The method of any of claims 11 and 12 further comprising receiving, from one or more candidate CWT nodes, beam sweeping capability information.

14. The method of any of claims 11 to 13 further comprising instructing one or more UEs (1400) to: receive carrier waves during the beam sweeping procedure; and perform backscattered transmissions on the carrier waves.

15. The method of any of claims 11 to 14, further comprising: selecting one of the candidate CWT nodes as the selected CWT node using the results of the beam sweeping procedure; and / or configuring the selected CWT node using the results of the beam sweeping procedure.

16. The method of any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the network node (1500) initiates the beam sweeping procedure when one or more criteria are satisfied.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more criteria include one or more of: one or more UEs (1400) move out of range of existing selected CWT; one or more candidate CWTs enter or leave the control of the network node (1500);UE (1400) responsiveness falls below a predetermined threshold; a request from a core network node (1308), a UE (1400), a candidate CWT and / or another network node (1500); a predetermined beam sweeping schedule indicates that a beam sweep is due; the network node begins providing coverage for a particular group of UEs (1400).

18. The method of any of claims 1 to 17, further comprising receiving backscattered transmission from at least one UE (1400).

19. The method of any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the network node is: a radio access network, RAN, node (1310); or a core network node (1308).

20. A method performed by a carrier wave transmission, CWT, node for facilitating backscattered transmission from at least one target User Equipment, UE (1400), the method comprising:-receiving instructions, from a network node (1500), for carrier wave transmission to the at least one target UE (1400); and-emitting carrier waves based on the received instructions, wherein the method further comprises: performing a beam sweeping procedure; and sending a measurement report to the network node (1500), wherein the measurement report is based on results obtained in the beam sweeping procedure.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising initiating transmission, to the network node (1500), of a second signal, wherein the second signal comprises indications of one or more of: the CWT node desires to be a selected CWT node; the CWT node does not desire to be the selected CWT node; the CWT node has enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node; the CWT node does not have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node, and optionally when the CWT node will have enough energy to operate as the selected CWT node;CWT node requirements for operating as the selected CWT node.

22. The method of any of claims 20 and 21, wherein the beam sweeping procedure is performed in response to instructions from the network node (1500).

23. The method of any of claims 20 to 22, wherein the beam sweeping procedure comprises transmitting carrier waves towards the one or more target UEs (1400), and measuring backscattered transmissions from the one or more target UEs (1400).

24. The method of any of claims 20 to 23, wherein the measurement report comprisesone or more of: an indication of whether or not the candidate CWT node is capable of operating as selected CWT node; beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node is capable of transmitting carrier wave transmissions; and a determination made by the CWT node of whether or not to operate as selected CWT node, optionally including beams or directions at which the candidate CWT node will transmit carrier wave transmissions.

25. The method of any of claims 20 to 24 further comprising sending reselection information to the network node (1500), wherein the reselection information causes the network node (1500) to perform a CWT node reselection.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the reselection information comprises:- an indication that the CWT node is experiencing radio link failure, RLF; an indication that the CWT node is experiencing handover; an indication that the CWT node is to switch to an inactive state; an indication that the CWT node cannot support further UEs (1400); an indication that the CWT node is serving another public land mobile network, PLMN, or other network / operator in the PLMN.

27. The method of any of claims 20 to 26, wherein the CWT node is: a UE (1400), a radio access network, RAN, node (1310); an intermediate node; or an assisting node.

28. A network node (1500) for facilitating backscattered transmission from one or more target user equipments, UEs (1400), the network node comprising: processing circuitry (1502) configured to cause the network node (1500) to: determine one or more target UEs (1400); select a carrier wave transmitter, CWT, node, wherein the CWT node is configured to transmit a carrier wave to one or more target UEs (1400) for backscattering by the one or more target UEs (1400); initiate transmission, to the selected CWT node, of instructions for carrier wave transmission to at least one target UE (1400),wherein the network node (1500) selects the CWT node based on one or more conditions, and wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of: a geographical location of the one or more target UEs (1400); measurements of the channel quality between the network node (1500) and the CWT node; and measurements of the channel quality between the one or more target UEs (1400) and the CWT node, and; power supply circuitry (1508) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry (1502).

29. The network node (1500) of claim 28, wherein the processing circuitry (1502) is further configured to cause the network node (1500) to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 19.

30. A carrier wave transmission, CWT, node for facilitating backscattered transmission to at least one target User Equipment, UE, the CWT node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the CWT node to: receive instructions, from a network node (1500), for carrier wave transmission to the at least one target UE (1400); and emit carrier waves based on the received instructions, wherein the CWT node is further configured to: perform a beam sweeping procedure; and send a measurement report to the network node (1500), wherein the measurement report is based on results obtained in the beam sweeping procedure, and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

31. The CWT node of claim 30, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the CWT node to perform the method of any of claims 21 to 26.

32. A communication system comprising at least one of: the network node (1500) of claim 28 or 29; and the CWT node of claim 30 or 31, and further comprising one or more target UEs (1400).

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