Medium access control (MAC) element for channel state information (CSI) content

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer readable storage media for medium access control (MAC) element for channel state information (CSI) content In a method a first apparatus determines at least one priority level for at least one MAC element carrying at least one CSI content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content. The first apparatus determines to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

Description

MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL (MAC) ELEMENT FOR CHANNELSTATE INFORMATION (CSI) CONTENTCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority from, and the benefit of, Finland Application No. 20245159, filed Feb. 14, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELDS

[0002] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for medium access control (MAC) element for channel state information (CSI) content.BACKGROUND

[0003] In some communication systems, CSI reference signal (RS) (CSI-RS) reference signals are user equipment (UE)-specifically configured, for example, in radio resource control (RRC). CSI-RS has many functions in new radio (NR), including but not limited to CSI-RS for downlink (DL) CSI acquisition, CSI-RS for beam management (BM) such as based on layer one (LI) reference signal received power (RSRP), CSI-RS for tracking such as tracking reference signal (TRS), uplink (UL) CSI acquisition in reciprocity-based UL precoding, or the like. In some applications, such as CSI-RS for BM, the CSI-RS may be spatially beamformed into different directions. However, CSI-RS reference signals may be shared among many UEs. That is, a plurality of UEs is configured to receive the same resource elements (RE).

[0004] In order to save on DL resources, the network may try to use cell-specific or group-specific CSI-RS resources. The worst case of DL overhead is with UE specific CSI-RS where the DL overhead increases linearly with the number of UEs in the cell.SUMMARY

[0005] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: determine at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and determine to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

[0006] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: determining, at a first apparatus, at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and determining to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

[0007] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for determining at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and means for determining to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

[0008] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the second aspect.

[0009] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. 3 A illustrates an example ordering of MAC elements;

[0014] FIG. 3B illustrates another example ordering of MAC elements;

[0015] FIG. 3C illustrates another example ordering of MAC elements;

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0020] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0021] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0022] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0023] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0024] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0025] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0026] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0027] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0028] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access(WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB- loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0029] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0030] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device mayalso be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0031] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resourcesin other domains.

[0032] As briefly mentioned, CSI-RS has many functions in NR. In general, a UE may be configured with up to 48 report configurations (CSI-ReportConfig) per component carrier (CC) / 4 per bandwidth part (BWP). One CSI resource config within 1 report configuration may be configured with up to 16 resource sets (aperiodic CSI) and 1 resource set (otherwise). In each CSI resource set up to 64 non-zero power (NZP) CSI- RS resources and 1 NZP-CSI-RS resource up to 32 antenna ports.

[0033] For CSI acquisition, the UE is configured also with a codebook type. Given the measured channel across a CSI-RS resource, the UE may choose a favorite codeword from the specified codebook, i.e., precoding matrix indicator (PMI), along with channel quality indicator (CQI), rank indicator (RI). UE may also be configured to measure several CSI-RS resources (up to 8) within a resource set and report the favorite resource, CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), along with PMI, CQI and RI which corresponds to that selected resource.

[0034] In the time domain, a CSI-RS resource may start at any orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of a slot and it spans 1, 2, or 4 OFDM symbols depending on the number of ports configured.

[0035] Likewise, also the UE measurement reporting of CSI may be also operated with periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner, which is so-called report types in NR report configuration. However, there are certain limitations, based on which the UE periodic report may operate only based on the configured periodic CSI-RS resource-set, the UE semi-persistent report may operate based on both configured periodic and semi- persistent CSI-RS resource-set, and finally the UE aperiodic report may operate based on all periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic CSI-RS resource-set.

[0036] In other words, the periodic CSI-RS resources may be used to generate any report type, the semi-persistent and periodic CSI-RS resources may be used to generate semi -persistent CSI reports, and the aperiodic CSI-RS may only be utilized only to generate the aperiodic report.

[0037] In frequency-granularity, CSI Report Setting also defines which part of the bandwidth the CSI should correspond to, and in addition, what granularity in frequency the CSI should have. To accomplish this, the bandwidth of a BWP is divided into a number of subbands. All CSI-RS resources within one set are configured with same density and same nrofPorts, except for the NZP CSI-RS resources used for interference measurement.

[0038] For semi-persistent (SP) and aperiodic CSI-RS, the actual triggering of CSI-RS transmission is per CSI-RS resource-set via either MAC control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI). A resource set may be used as part of UE report configurations describing what to be measured and, correspondingly, which measurement reporting are to be done by the UE. Specifically, if a CSI-RS resource-set is configured as ‘aperiodic’ by RRC, the CSI-RS resource set configuration includes a slot offset, aperiodicTriggeringOffset which defines the time interval between the triggering DCI and the CSI-RS transmission.

[0039] For A-CSI reporting up to 16 different reporting settings may be triggered with single DCI (e.g. for multiple component carriers) while SP-CSI reporting may trigger only one report setting with a single DCI. In order to trigger several SP-CSI reports (each in different slots), multiple DCIs are needed.

[0040] For Type I and Type II CSI feedback on PUSCH, a CSI report comprises of two parts. Part 1 has a fixed payload size and is used to identify the number of information bits in Part 2. Part 1 may be transmitted in its entirety before Part 2.

[0041] For Type I CSI feedback, Part 1 contains RI (if reported), CRI (if reported), CQI for the first codeword. Part 2 contains PMI (if reported), LI (if reported), and contains the CQI for the second codeword when RI (if reported) is larger than 4.

[0042] For Type II CSI feedback, Part 1 contains RI (if reported), CQI, and an indication of the number of non-zero wideband amplitude coefficients per layer for the Type II CSI. The fields of Part 1 - RI (if reported), CQI, and the indication of the number of non-zero wideband amplitude coefficients for each layer - are separately encoded. Part2 contains the PMI of the Type II CSI. Part 1 and 2 are separately encoded.

[0043] The precoder matrices W in Type-I and Rel-15 Type-II codebooks may be described as being decomposed into two matrix factors which are each matrix factor such that W(ii, iz) = Wl(ii)W2(i2), where W1 is precoder matrix targeting the long-term channel which is selected on a wide-band basis while W2 targets the short- term / frequency-selective properties of the channel and can be reported on a per-subband basis.

[0044] Rel-15 provide supports for both UE non-group and group-based beam reporting schemes. Network may configure up to four CRIs or beams with layer one (LI) reference signal received power (RSRP) values to be reported via physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or PUSCH.

[0045] MAC subheader may be used for downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) and uplink shared channel (UL-SCH). The MAC subheader may consist of the following fields:- LCID: The Logical Channel ID field identifies the logical channel instance of the corresponding MAC SDU or the type of the corresponding MAC CE or padding for the DL-SCH and UL-SCH respectively. There is one LCID field per MAC subheader. The LCID field size is 6 bits. If the LCID field is set to 34, one additional octet is present in the MAC subheader containing the eLCID field and follow the octet containing LCID field. If the LCID field is set to 33, two additional octets are present in the MAC subheader containing the eLCID field and these two additional octets follow the octet containing LCID field;- eLCID: The extended Logical Channel ID field identifies the logical channel instance of the corresponding MAC SDU for the DL-SCH and UL-SCH respectively. The size of the eLCID field is either 8 bits or 16 bits.- L: The Length field indicates the length of the corresponding MAC SDU or variablesized MAC CE in bytes. There is one L field per MAC subheader except for subheaders corresponding to fixed-sized MAC CEs, padding, and MAC SDUs containing UL CCCH. The size of the L field is indicated by the F field;- F: The Format field indicates the size of the Length field. There is one F field per MAC subheader except for subheaders corresponding to fixed-sized MAC CEs, padding, and MAC SDUs containing UL CCCH. The size of the F field is 1 bit. The value 0 indicates 8 bits of the Length field. The value 1 indicates 16 bits of the Length field;- R: Reserved bit, set to 0.

[0046] However, CSI-RS reference signals may be shared among many UEs. That is, a plurality of UEs is configured to receive the same resource elements (RE). In order to save on DL resources, the network may try to use cell-specific or group-specific CSI-RS resources. The worst case of DL overhead is with UE specific CSI-RS where the DL overhead increases linearly with the number of UEs in the cell.

[0047] In some mechanisms, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) scope such as release (Rel) 19 MIMO scope is supported. Enhancement to facilitate UE-initiated / event- driven beam management for reducing overhead and / or latency is specified, assuming the unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) while leveraging (as much as possible) legacy CSI measurement and reporting configuration frameworks, targeting frequency range 2 (FR2) and single transmission-reception point (sTRP) with intra-cell and intercell beam management.

[0048] In some mechanisms, UL signaling content(s) (and procedure(s) as required) for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting facilitating fast beam switching is specified. For example, UL signaling medium / container considering the UE-initiated / event-driven nature of the UL transmission has been designed primarily for the purpose of beam reporting.

[0049] In some mechanisms, CSI support for up to 128 CSI-RS ports, targeting frequency range 1 (FR1) is specified. For example, Type-I codebook refinement supports up to a total of 128 CSI-RS ports across all resources, assuming legacy CSI-RS resources (with up to 32 CSI-RS ports per resource), based on extension of legacy codebooks. For another example, Type-II codebook refinement supports up to a total of 128 CSI-RS ports across all resources, assuming legacy CSI-RS resources (with up to 32 CSI-RS ports perresource), based on extension of legacy codebooks, without modifying any codebook parameter other than introducing additional values for the number of ports codebook parameter(s).

[0050] In some mechanisms, extension of CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)(s)-based CSI reporting (such as channel quality indicator (CQI) / precoding matric indicator (PMI) / rank indicator (RI) calculated per CRI for > 1 CRIs) for hybrid beamforming supports up to a total of 128 CSI-RS ports across all resources, with up to 32 CSI-RS ports per resource, without new codebook design.

[0051] In some mechanisms, UE reporting enhancement for coherent joint transmission (CJT) deployments under non-ideal synchronization and backhaul is specified, targeting FR1, both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, inter-TRP time misalignment and frequency / phase offset measurement and reporting are designed, assuming legacy CSI-RS design, with stand-alone aperiodic reporting on physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0052] Rel-19 MIMO scope includes CSI related objectives. Anyhow, Release-19, or even future releases, may introduce reporting CSI at MAC level, that is, through MAC elements such as MAC CEs. It should then be addressed how the CSI content(s) / report(s) should be prioritized (at MAC layer).

[0053] In order to solve at least part of the above problems or other potential problems, a solution on MAC element for CSI content is proposed. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first apparatus such as a terminal device determines at least one priority level for at least one MAC element carrying at least one CSI content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content. The first apparatus determines whether to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level. The present solution provides efficient solutions for the prioritization of MAC elements that contains CSI reports or CSI contents (for example, at MAC layer). For example, the prioritization can be with respect to each other and / or with respect to other MAC elements.

[0054] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0055] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices, including a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120, can communicate with each other.

[0056] In the example of FIG. 1, the first apparatus 110 may include a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 may include a network device serving the terminal device. The serving area of the second apparatus 120 may be called as a cell 102.

[0057] It is to be understood that the number of devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell 102, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the communication environment 100. It is noted that although illustrated as a network device, the second apparatus 120 may be another device than a network device. Although illustrated as a terminal device, the first apparatus 110 may be a device other than a terminal device.

[0058] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0059] In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 is a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a link from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, thesecond apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver). In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX device (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX device (or a receiver).

[0060] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0061] As discussed, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, a first apparatus such as a terminal device determines at least one priority level for at least one MAC element carrying at least one CSI content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content. It thus provides efficient solutions for the prioritization of MAC elements that contains CSI reports or CSI contents (for example, at MAC layer).

[0062] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an example method 200 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 200 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0063] At block 210, the first apparatus 110 determines at least one priority level for atleast one MAC element carrying at least one CSI content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content. In some example embodiments, the at least one MAC element comprises at least one of: at least one MAC CE, at least one MAC logical channel (LCH), at least one MAC packet data unit (PDU), or at least one MAC sub-packet data unit (subPDU). For example, the first apparatus 110 determines or obtains at least one priority level for the at least one MAC element wherein the priority level is at least partially based on information associated with the one or more CSI contents.

[0064] In some example embodiments, the at least one CSI content comprises at least one of: at least one CSI report, at least one part of at least one CSI report, at least one CSI sub-report, at least one beam report, at least one part of at least one beam report, or at least one CSI quantity. That is, at least one MAC element such as MAC CE, PDU, logical channel, subPDU carries one or more CSI contents such as at least one CSI report or CSI report part or CSI quantity.

[0065] At block 220, the first apparatus 110 determines to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level. For example, the first apparatus 110 may determine, based at least partially on the at least one priority level, if the at least one MAC element may be generated or may be included / mapped into a MAC PDU or transport block (TB) (or physical uplink shared channel).

[0066] In some example embodiments, the information associated with the at least one CSI content is related to at least one priority of the at least one CSI content determined at a physical (PHY) layer. For example, the information associated with the one or more CSI contents may be a priority (level) determined at PHY layer.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the information associated with the at least one CSI content is related to or included in at least one of: a CSI report configuration, a CSI report sub-configuration, a codebook configuration, a type of a CSI report including the at least one CSI content, a type of a beam report including the at least one CSI content, a frequency configuration for CSI, a part of CSI, at least one CSI report element or parameter, at least one reference signal resource, at least one antenna port set or subset,at least one power or energy level, at least one component carrier associated with the at least one CSI content, at least one bandwidth associated with the at least one CSI content, or at least one cell associated with the at least one CSI content. For example, the information associated with the one or more CSI contents may comprise or may be based on one or more of corresponding: CSI report configuration, CSI report type (e.g., periodic or semi -persistent or aperiodic reporting), frequency configuration (e.g., wideband or sub-band CSI), CSI part (e.g., CSI part 1 or CSI part 2), component carrier, Cell.

[0068] As used herein, the term “reference signal” may refer to any suitable kinds of reference signal, including but not limited to synchronization signal block (SSB), CSI- RS, demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or the like.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the type of the CSI report or the beam report comprises at least one of a periodic report, a semi-persistent report, an aperiodic report, an event-based report, a predicted report, a Type I CSI report, a Type II CSI report, a report for partial update of precoding matrix indicator (PMI) components, a report for partial update of any other CSI quantity (such as channel quality indicator, rank indicator, layer indicator, RSRP, signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), time domain related quantity, frequency domain related quantity, spatial domain related quantity), a report for wideband CSI components, a report for sub-band CSI components, a multi-TRP noncoherent joint transmission report, a single-TRP report, a number of TRPs report, a coherent joint transmission report, a time domain channel properties report, a report of at least one timing offset or at least one frequency offset (e.g., offset(s) between or among TRPs or cells or downlink reference signals), a multi-panel report, a capability value set index report, a panel ID report, report containing at least one cell identifier or at least one bandwidth identifier or at least one TRP identifier (such as TRP ID, control resource set (CORESET) Pool Index, physical cell ID, remote radio head ID, downlink reference signal resource set), a report for channel measurements, a report for interference measurements, a report for channel and interference measurements a network energy saving CSI report, a transmission configuration indicator state(s) report, a report triggeredby the first apparatus 110, or a report configured or triggered by the second apparatus 120.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the CSI configuration comprises event information about at least one event triggering at least one of the CSI report or the beam report. By way of example, the at least one event may include but not limited to: an RRC configuration or reconfiguration, a serving cell activation, a bandwidth part change, CSI quantity change, beam quantity change, TCI state change, a CSI prediction, a beam prediction, a beam failure, a radio link failure, a panel change (at the UE), a beam blockage, a (lower layer or higher layer) mobility, a (lower layer or higher layer) handover, or a (UE) rotation, or the like.

[0071] In an example embodiment, the CSI report setting contains information of the events that trigger a CSI report including parameters / thresholds for the first apparatus 110 to determine if an event has occurred which triggers a CSI measurement and reporting. The priority level for the MAC elements carrying such a report may be derived by the type of events and associated parameters. As an example, after an RRC (re)configuration, serving cell activation, and / or BWP change, the first apparatus 110 may be configured to report an (aperiodic) CSI without waiting for triggering to reduce latency for initial CSI reporting. This initial ‘event-driven’ CSI report may be associated with the highest priority for the MAC element carrying the report. The information associated with the one or more CSI contents may be whether the one or more CSI contents correspond to CSI report(s) triggered / configured by the second apparatus 120.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the information associated with the at least one CSI content is predefined. For example, the information associated with the one or more CSI contents may correspond to hardcoded information in a standard such as the third- generation partnership project (3GPP) specifications.

[0073] Alternatively, or in addition, in some example embodiments, the information associated with the at least one CSI content may be received from the second apparatus 120 via at least one of downlink control information, a MAC CE, or a RRC or anotherhigher layer signaling. That is, the information associated with the one or more CSI contents may correspond to an indication sent by the second apparatus 120, through DCI or MAC CE or RRC. In some example embodiments, the information may be provided as by a CSI configuration, such as CSI report configuration (or sub-configuration), corresponding to or associated with the at least one CSI content.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the at least one MAC element is included in or mapped to at least one of at least one MAC packet data unit (PDU) or at least one transport block (or physical uplink shared channel) based on the at least one priority level.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the method 200 may further comprise: determining that the at least one MAC element is included in or mapped to the at least one of the at least one MAC PDU or the at least one transport block (or physical uplink shared channel) based on the at least one priority level and a logical channel prioritization associated with at least one of the at least one MAC PDU or the at least one transport block (or physical uplink shared channel). That is, the first apparatus 110 may use the priority level to determine, based on e.g., logical channel prioritization, whether the at least one MAC element may be included / mapped to a MAC PDU or transport block.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the method 200 further comprises: determining that an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) resource is available for a transmission of the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level; and generating the at least one MAC element. For example, if UL-SCH resources are available for a (new) transmission and the UL-SCH resources may accommodate the at least one MAC element as a result of logical channel prioritization, a multiplexing and assembly procedure is instructed to generate the at least one MAC element (such as CSI MAC CE). In some example embodiments, the method 200 may further comprise: transmitting the at least one MAC element on the uplink shared channel resource to the second apparatus 120.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the method 200 further comprises: determining an order for ranking the plurality of MAC elements based on the plurality of priority levels. For example, the priority level for the at least one MAC element may be used forordering, in descending or ascending order of priority, a list of MAC elements (such as MAC CEs, logical channels, subPDUs).

[0078] In some example embodiments, the method 200 further comprises: performing a transmission of at least one of the plurality of MAC elements based on the order.

[0079] In some example embodiments, the at least one priority level of the at least one MAC element is higher than at least one of: a priority level of data from a logical channel carrying the at least one MAC element, or a priority level of data or a further MAC element carrying no CSI content. In some example embodiments, MAC element(s) which contains CSI report / content may be assigned higher priority than data from any Logical Channel (except data from UL-common control channel (CCCH)). In some embodiments, MAC element(s) which contains CSI report / content may be assigned higher priority than data or than MAC CEs which e.g., don’t carry CSI.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the at least one priority level of the at least one MAC element is lower than at least one of: a priority level of data from a logical channel carrying the at least one MAC element, or a priority level of data or a further MAC element carrying no CSI content. For example, MAC element(s) which contains CSI report / content may be assigned lower priority than data or than MAC CEs which e.g., don’t carry CSI.

[0081] FIG. 3 A illustrates an example ordering of MAC elements. As illustrated, the MAC element #1 includes a first part 305 and a second part 310. The first part 305 may be a Part 1 of CSI report #1, and the second part 310 may be a Part 1 of CSI report #2. The MAC element #2 includes a first part 315 and a second part 320. The first part 315 may be a Part 2 wideband (WB) of CSI report #1, and the second part 320 may be a Part 2 WB of CSI report #2. The MAC element #3 includes a first part 325 and a second part 330. The first part 325 may be a Part 2 even subband (SB) of CSI report #1, and the second part 330 may be a Part 2 even SB of CSI report #2. The MAC element #4 includes a first part 335 and a second part 340. The first part 335 may be a Part 2 odd SB of CSI report #1, and the second part 340 may be a Part 2 odd SB of CSI report #2. These MACelements such as MAC CEs may be ordered based on respective priority levels, such as in a descending order of priority.

[0082] FIG. 3B illustrates another example ordering of MAC elements. In the example of FIG. 3B, MAC element #1 such as a MAC CE #1 may include a gNB-triggered CSI report 350. The MAC element #2 such as a MAC CE #2 may include an event -based CSI report 360. The MAC element #1 and MAC element #2 may be ordered based on a descending order of priority of respective MAC elements.

[0083] FIG. 3C illustrates another example ordering of MAC elements. In FIG. 3, a MAC element such as a MAC CE may include a CSI report 370, and another MAC element such as data from logical channel(s) may include data 380 from any logical channel. These two MAC elements may be ordered based on a descending order of respective priority of these MAC elements.

[0084] It is to be understood that these example embodiments shown in FIG. 3 A to FIG. 3C are only for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any limitation. It's to be understood that the splitting or mapping of CSI contents to MAC elements in FIG. 3 A is just one example, and any other splitting or mapping of CSI contents to MAC elements may be valid. Any suitable MAC elements carrying any suitable CSI contents or other contents may be ordered based on their priority levels. Scope of the present disclosure is not limited here.

[0085] With these example embodiments, efficient solutions for the prioritization of MAC elements that contains CSI reports / contents (at MAC layer) can be achieved, where the prioritization can be with respect to each other and / or with respect to other MAC elements. In this way, the CSI reporting procedure can be enhanced.

[0086] It is to be understood that the CSI reports in the present disclosure are not restricted to a specific type, and various types benefit from the present solution. For example, more classical CSI report such as ones triggered in a periodic, semi-persistent, or event aperiodic fashion by the gNB as well as more advanced types such as UE- triggered or event triggered CSI report may also be applied. It is to be also understoodthat the present disclosure is not restricted to those objectives or cases described, and may be relevant for any other suitable objectives or cases.

[0087] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 200 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and means for determining to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the information associated with the at least one CSI content is related to at least one of at least one priority of the at least one CSI content determined at a physical layer, a CSI report configuration, a CSI report sub -configuration, a codebook configuration, a type of a CSI report including the at least one CSI content, a type of a beam report including the at least one CSI content, a frequency configuration for CSI, a part of CSI, at least one CSI report element or parameter, at least one reference signal resource, at least one antenna port set or subset, at least one power or energy level, at least one component carrier associated with the at least one CSI content, at least one bandwidth associated with the at least one CSI content, or at least one cell associated with the at least one CSI content.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the type of the CSI report or the beam report comprises at least one of a periodic report, a semi-persistent report, an aperiodic report, an event-based report, a predicted report, a Type I CSI report, a Type II CSI report, a report for partial update of precoding matrix indicator (PMI) components, a report for partial update of any other CSI quantity (such as channel quality indicator, rank indicator,layer indicator, RSRP, SINR, time domain related quantity, frequency domain related quantity, spatial domain related quantity), a report for wideband CSI components, a report for sub-band CSI components, a multi-transmission reception point (TRP) noncoherent joint transmission report, a single-TRP report, a coherent joint transmission report, a number of TRPs report, a time domain channel properties report, a report of at least one timing offset or at least one frequency offset (e.g., offset(s) between or among TRPs or cells or downlink reference signals), a multi-panel report, a capability value set index report, a panel ID report, report containing at least one cell identifier or at least one bandwidth identifier or at least one TRP identifier (such as TRP ID, CORESETPoolIndex, physical cell ID, remote radio head ID, downlink reference signal resource set), a report for channel measurements, a report for interference measurements, a report for channel and interference measurements a network energy saving CSI report, a transmission configuration indicator state(s) report, a report triggered by the first apparatus, or a report configured or triggered by the second apparatus.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the CSI configuration comprises event information about at least one event triggering corresponding to at least one of the CSI report or the beam report.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the at least one event comprises at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration or reconfiguration, a serving cell activation, a bandwidth part change, a CSI quantity change, a beam quantity change, a TCI state change a CSI prediction, a beam prediction, a beam failure, a radio link failure, a panel change (at the UE), a beam blockage, a (lower layer or higher layer) mobility, a (lower layer or higher layer) handover, or a (UE) rotation.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the information associated with the at least one CSI content is predefined, or received from a second apparatus via at least one of downlink control information, a MAC control element (CE) or a radio resource control or another higher layer signaling.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the at least one MAC element is included in ormapped to at least one of: at least one MAC packet data unit (PDU) or at least one transport block (or at least one physical uplink shared channel) based on the at least one priority level.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining that the at least one MAC element is included in or mapped to the at least one of the at least one MAC PDU or the at least one transport block (or the physical uplink shared channel) based on the at least one priority level and a logical channel prioritization associated with at least one of the at least one MAC PDU or the at least one transport block (or the physical uplink shared channel).

[0096] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining that an uplink shared channel resource is available for a transmission of the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level; and means for generating the at least one MAC element.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting the at least one MAC element on the uplink shared channel resource to a second apparatus.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the at least one MAC element comprises a plurality of MAC elements, the at least one priority level comprises a plurality of priority levels of the plurality of MAC elements, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining an order for ranking the plurality of MAC elements based on the plurality of priority levels.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for performing a transmission of at least one of the plurality of MAC elements based on the order.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the at least one priority level of the at least one MAC element is higher than at least one of: a priority level of data from a logical channel carrying the at least one MAC element, or a priority level of data or a further MAC element carrying no CSI content.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the at least one priority level of the at least one MAC element is lower than at least one of: a priority level of data from a logical channel carrying the at least one MAC element, or a priority level of data or a further MAC element carrying no CSI content.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the at least one CSI content comprises at least one of: at least one CSI report, at least one part of at least one CSI report, at least one CSI sub-report, at least one beam report, at least one part of at least one beam report, or at least one CSI quantity.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the at least one MAC element comprises, or corresponds to, at least one of: at least one MAC control element (CE), at least one MAC logical channel, or at least one MAC sub-packet data unit (subPDU).

[0104] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 200 or the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the first apparatus.

[0105] FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a device 400 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 400 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 400 includes one or more processors 410, one or more memories 420 coupled to the processor 410, and one or more communication modules 440 coupled to the processor 410.

[0106] The communication module 440 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 440 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 440 may include at least one antenna.

[0107] The processor 410 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 400 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0108] The memory 420 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 424, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 422 and other volatile memories that will not last in the powerdown duration.

[0109] A computer program 430 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 410. The instructions of the program 430 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 430 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 424. The processor 410 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 430 into the RAM 422.

[0110] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 430 so that the device 400 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 3C. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.[OHl] In some example embodiments, the program 430 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 400 (such as in the memory 420) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 400. The device400 may load the program 430 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 422 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0112] FIG. 5 shows an example of the computer readable medium 500 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 500 has the program 430 stored thereon.

[0113] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0114] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in variousembodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0115] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0116] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0117] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0118] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular ordershown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0119] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims or any of the below additional embodiments.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A first apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: determine at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and determine to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information associated with the at least one CSI content is related to at least one of: at least one priority of the at least one CSI content determined at a physical layer, a CSI report configuration, a CSI report sub-configuration, a codebook configuration, a type of a CSI report including the at least one CSI content, a type of a beam report including the at least one CSI content, a frequency configuration for CSI, a part of CSI, at least one CSI report element or parameter, at least one reference signal resource, at least one antenna port set or subset, at least one power or energy level, at least one component carrier associated with the at least one CSI content, at least one bandwidth associated with the at least one CSI content, or at least one cell associated with the at least one CSI content.

3. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the type of the CSI report or the beam report comprises at least one of:a periodic report, a semi-persistent report, an aperiodic report, an event-based report, a predicted report, a Type I CSI report, a Type II CSI report, a report for partial update of precoding matrix indicator (PMI) components, a report for partial update of a CSI quantity, a report for wideband CSI components, a report for sub-band CSI components, a multi -transmission reception point (TRP) noncoherent joint transmission report, a single-TRP report, a coherent joint transmission report, a number of TRPs report, a time domain channel properties report, a report of at least one timing offset or at least one frequency offset between or among TRPs or cells or downlink reference signals, a multi-panel report, a capability value set index report, a panel identifier (ID) report, a report containing at least one cell identifier or at least one bandwidth identifier or at least one TRP identifier, a report for channel measurements, a report for interference measurements, a report for channel and interference measurements a network energy saving CSI report, a transmission configuration indicator state(s) report, a report triggered by the first apparatus, or a report configured or triggered by the second apparatus.

4. The first apparatus of claim 3, wherein the TRP identifier comprises at least one of: a TRP ID, a control resource set pool index (CORESETPoolIndex), a physical cell ID, aremote radio head ID, or a downlink reference signal resource set.

5. The first apparatus of claim 3, wherein the CSI quantity comprises at least one of a channel quality indicator, a rank indicator, a layer indicator, a reference signal received power, a signal to interference plus noise ratio, a time domain related quantity, a frequency domain related quantity, or a spatial domain related quantity6. The first apparatus of any of claims 2-5, wherein the CSI configuration comprises event information about at least one event triggering at least one of the CSI report or the beam report.

7. The first apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one event comprises at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration or reconfiguration, a serving cell activation, a bandwidth part change, a CSI quantity change, a beam quantity change, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state change, a CSI prediction, a beam prediction, a beam failure, a radio link failure, a panel change at the first apparatus, a beam blockage, a lower layer or higher layer mobility, a lower layer or higher layer handover, or a rotation of the first apparatus.

8. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the information associated with the at least one CSI content is predefined, or received from a second apparatus via at least one of downlink control information, a MAC control element (CE) or a radio resource control or another higher layer signaling.

9. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-8, wherein the at least one MAC element is included in or mapped to at least one of at least one MAC packet data unit (PDU) or at least one transport block based on the at least one priority level.

10. The first apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: determine that the at least one MAC element is included in or mapped to the at least one of the at least one MAC PDU or the at least one transport block based on the at least one priority level and a logical channel prioritization associated with at least one of the at least one MAC PDU or the at least one transport block.

11. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-10, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: determine that an uplink shared channel resource is available for a transmission of the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level; and generate the at least one MAC element.

12. The first apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: transmit the at least one MAC element on the uplink shared channel resource to a second apparatus.

13. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-12, wherein the at least one MAC element comprises a plurality of MAC elements, the at least one priority level comprises a plurality of priority levels of the plurality of MAC elements, and the first apparatus is further caused to: determine an order for ranking the plurality of MAC elements based on the plurality of priority levels; and perform a transmission of at least one of the plurality of MAC elements based on the order.

14. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-13, wherein the at least one priority level of the at least one MAC element is higher than at least one of: a priority level of data from a logical channel carrying the at least one MAC element, or a priority level of data or a further MAC element carrying no CSI content; and / orwherein the at least one priority level of the at least one MAC element is lower than at least one of: a priority level of data from a logical channel carrying the at least one MAC element, or a priority level of data or a further MAC element carrying no CSI content.

15. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-14, wherein the at least one CSI content comprises at least one of: at least one CSI report, at least one part of at least one CSI report, at least one CSI sub-report, at least one beam report, at least one part of at least one beam report, or at least one CSI quantity; and / or wherein the at least one MAC element comprises at least one of: at least one MAC control element (CE), at least one MAC logical channel, or at least one MAC sub-packet data unit (subPDU).

16. A method comprising: determining, at a first apparatus, at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and determining to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

17. A first apparatus comprising: means for determining at least one priority level for at least one medium access control (MAC) element carrying at least one channel state information (CSI) content, based on information associated with the at least one CSI content; and means for determining to generate the at least one MAC element based on the at least one priority level.

18. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 16.

Images