Handling of QOE reports with measurement results collected with unfulfilled filter criteria

Abstract

A method is performed by a user equipment, UE, in a wireless communication network, the method comprises receiving (302) a measurement configuration for performing quality of experience, QoE, measurements, wherein the configuration comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements. The method comprises initiating (304) a QoE measurement session to perform the QoE measurements in accordance with the measurement configuration. The method comprises determining (306) during the QoE measurement session that the criterion has become unfulfilled; continuing (308) to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled. The method comprises generating (310) a QoE report including the measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled. The method comprises providing (312) the QoE report to a network node. The method comprises providing (314) an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

Description

[0001] HANDLING OF QOE REPORTS WITH MEASUREMENT RESULTS COLLECTED WITH UNFULFILLED FILTER CRITERIA

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates generally to the handling of Quality of Experience, QoE, reports, and more particularly to the handling of QoE reports when the criteria for performing measurements for the QoE reports is unfulfilled.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements, also referred to as “application layer measurements,” have been specified for LTE and UMTS and are being specified for NR in 3GPP Release 17. The purpose of the application layer measurements is to measure the end user experience when using certain applications. Currently, QoE measurements for streaming services and for MTSI (Mobility Telephony Service for IMS) services are supported. For NR, it is likely that at least VR is added to the list of services for which QoE measurements are specified and supported.

[0006] The solutions in LTE and UMTS are similar with the overall principles as follows. Quality of Experience Measurement Collection (QMC) enables configuration of application layer measurements in the UE and transmission of QoE measurement result files (commonly referred to as QoE reports) to the network by means of RRC signaling. An application layer measurement configuration (also called QoE measurement configuration or QoE configuration) that the RAN receives from the OAM system, or the CN is encapsulated in a transparent container and forwarded to a UE in a downlink RRC message. An application layer measurement report (also called QoE report) that the UE Access Stratum (UE AS) or UE RRC layer receives from the UE's higher layer (application layer) is encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in an uplink RRC message. The RAN then forwards the QoE report to a Measurement Collector Entity (MCE).

[0007] In 3GPP Release 17, a new study item for “Study on NR QoE management and optimizations for diverse services” for NR has been approved and concluded. The purpose of the study item is to study solutions for QoE measurements in NR. QoE management in NR will not just collect the quality of experience parameters of streaming services but also consider the typical performance requirements of diverse services (e.g., AR / VR and URLLC, of which at least VR seems to be covered in 3GPP Release 17). Based on requirements of services, the NR study also included more adaptive QoE management schemes that enable network optimization to satisfy user experience for diverse services.

[0008] The configuration data related to QoE measurements (in standard specifications typically referred to as application layer measurements) consists of a service type indication, an indication of an area in which the measurements are to be performed (denoted area scope), an IP address of the entity the collected measurement results (i.e. the QoE reports) should be sent to (often referred to as a MCE, spelled out as Measurement Collector Entity or Measurement Collection Entity, but the entity may sometimes also be referred to as a Trace Collection Entity) and a set of instructions of which type of measurements that should be performed and details of how these measurements are to be performed. These instructions are intended for the application layer in the UE and are placed in a “container” which the network entities handling it, e.g., forwarding it to the UE, as well as the UE Access Stratum, cannot interpret and do not try to read. The currently specified service types are MTSI and streaming service (DASH), and in 3GPP release 17, at least service type VR will be added. An area scope is defined in terms of cells or network related areas. In UMTS, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells, a list of routing areas or a list of tracking areas. In LTE, an area scope is defined as either a list of cells or a list of tracking areas. In NR, an area scope will be defined as either a list of cells or a list of tracking areas.

[0009] QoE, and in particular QoE configuration, comes in two flavors: management-based (m- based) QoE configuration and signaling-based (s-based) QoE configuration. In both cases the QoE configuration originates in the OAM system or some other administrational entity, e.g., dealing with customer satisfaction. All these entities are in this document and are referred to as the OAM system (where the OAM system also contains further entities). With management -based QoE (m-based QoE), the OAM system is typically interested in general QoE statistics from a certain area (which is configured as an area scope). The m-based QoE configuration is sent directly from the OAM system to the RAN nodes controlling the cells that are within the area scope. Each RAN node then selects UEs that are within the area scope (and fulfills any other relevant condition, such as supporting the concerned application / service type) and sends the m-based QoE configuration to these UEs.

[0010] With s-based QoE, the OAM system is interested in collecting QoE measurement results from a specific UE, e.g., because the user of the UE has filed a complaint. The OAM system sends the s- based QoE configuration to the HSS (in EPS / LTE) or UDM (in 5GS / NR), which forwards the QoE configuration to the UE’s current core network node (CN), e.g., an MME in EPS / LTE or an AMF in 5G / NR. The CN then forwards the s-based QoE configuration to the RAN node that serves the concerned UE, and the RAN forwards it to the UE.

[0011] Forwarded to the UE are the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions. The UE is not aware of whether a received QoE configuration is m-based or s-based. In legacy systems, the QoE framework is integrated with the Trace functionality and a Trace ID is associated with each QoE configuration. In NR, the QoE functionality will be logically separated from the Trace functionality, but it will still partly reuse the Trace signaling mechanisms. In NR and LTE, a globally unique QoE reference (formed of MCC+MNC+QMC ID, where the QMC ID is a string of 24 bits) will be associated with each QoE configuration. The QoE reference is included in the container with measurement instructions and sent to the RAN (i.e., the gNB in NR). For the communication between the gNB and the UE, the QoE reference is replaced by a shorter identifier denoted as measConfigAppLayerld, which is locally unique within a UE (i.e., there is a one-to-one mapping between a measConfigAppLayerld and a QoE reference for each QoE configuration provided to a UE. The measConfigAppLayerld is stored in the UE Access Stratum and forwarded in an AT Command (which is the type of instructions used in the communication between the UE’s modem part and the UE’s application layer) together with the service type indication and the container with the measurement instructions.

[0012] Reports with collected QoE measurement results (i.e., QoE reports) are sent from the UE application layer to the UE Access Stratum, which forwards them to the RAN, which forwards them to the MCE. These QoE measurement results are placed in a “container”, which is uninterpretable for the UE Access Stratum and the RAN. QoE reporting can be configured to be periodic or only sent at the end of an application session. Furthermore, the RAN can instruct the UE to pause QoE reporting, e.g., in case the cell / gNB is in a state of overload.

[0013] The RAN is not aware of when an application session with an associated QoE measurement session is ongoing, and the UE Access Stratum is also not automatically aware of this. To alleviate this session start / stop indications can be introduced, which will be sent from the application layer in the UE to the UE AS and from the UE AS to the RAN. A session stop indication may be implicit in the form of a QoE report sent when the application session and the associated QoE measurement session are concluded.

[0014] The RAN may decide to release a QoE configuration in a UE at any time, as an implementation-based decision. Typically, it is done when the UE has moved outside an area configured for the QoE measurements, commonly referred to as the area scope.

[0015] One opportunity provided by legacy solutions is also to be able to keep the QoE measurement for the whole session, even during a handover situation. It is also discussed to let the UE continue with the QoE measurements on an ongoing application session until the application session ends, even if the UE in the meantime moves out of the configured area scope.

[0016] RAN visible QoE (RVQoE) Measurements

[0017] QoE measurements and their results are intended for analysis in the O&M system (or in other entities that belong neither to the core network nor to the RAN) and subsequent possible non-real-time optimizations. The QoE reports are forwarded transparently by the RAN to a configured receiver, e.g., an MCE. However, the RAN could also benefit from receiving measurement results of metrics measured or collected at the application layer, e.g. as a complement to the more radio related measurements, i.e. the RRM measurements (e.g. RSRP, RSRQ, SINR. . .). For instance, the RAN could use such measurement results for real-time or semi-real-time adaptations, or for optimizations of the treatment of an ongoing application session, e.g. in terms of scheduling priorities.

[0018] For this reason, in 3GPP release 17, 3GPP introduced the so-called RAN Visible QoE, which comprises periodic reporting of measured application layer metrics in a format that the RAN can understand. These metrics, denoted as RVQoE metrics, are limited in release 17 to QoE metrics, and in particular, to the Buffer Level QoE metric for DASH (specified in 3GPP TS 26.247 v7.4.1, which in turn references annex D.4.5 in ISO / IEC 23009-1 and is represented in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 (i.e. the RRC specification) as the AppLayerBufferLevel-r 17 field) and to the Playout Delay for Media Start-up QoE metric for DASH (specified in 3GPP TS 26.247 v 17.4.1 and represented in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.6.0 (i.e. the RRC specification) as the playoutDelayForMediaStartup-rl7 field). In addition to these two RVQoE metrics, a MeasurementReportAppLayer message may contain a PDU session ID list (in the form of the pdu-Session!dList-rl7 field) as part of the reported RVQ information (i.e. in the RAN-VisibleMeasurements-rl7 IE).

[0019] The configuration for QoE and RVQoE are performed via an RRC reconfiguration message containing the AppLayerMeasConfig IE, whose ASN.l definition is shown in Table 1 below. The configuration of legacy QoE metrics is done via the measConfigAppLayerContainer IE, which specifies the configuration to the application-layer in the UE as an octet string (a compressed XML file). RVQoE parameters are specified as part of the RA -Visible Parameters IE.

[0020] Table 1 - AppLayerMeasConfig IE Definition

[0021] RRC signaling

[0022] The QoE measurements are configured in the UE by means of RRC signaling. The configuration is done using the RRC message RRCReconfiguration containing the IE appLayerMeasConfig. The UE starts collecting QoE measurements when the session starts in the application layer, and when a report is ready, it is sent to the network in the RRC message MeasurementReportAppLayer. The same RRC messages are used for both regular QoE and RAN visible QoE. Figure 1 illustrates configuration and reporting of QoE measurements using RRC signaling. AT-commands

[0023] AT commands are used for communication between the AS (radio) layer and the application layer in the UE. The AT commands are defined in 3GPP TS 27.007 v8.4.0. The AT commands are used in QoE for transferring of the configuration from the RRC layer in the UE Access Stratum (AS) to the application and for transferring of reports from the application layer to the RRC layer.

[0024] The AT command used for sending a QoE configuration (and / or an RVQoE configuration) from the UE AS to the UE application layer in NR is denoted as +CAPPLEVMCNR and is specified in 3GPP TS 27.007 V18.4.0. The +CAPPLEVMCNR command syntax is shown in Table 2.

[0025] Table 2 - +CAPPLEVMCNR Command Syntax

[0026] The AT command used for sending QoE reports (and / or RVQoE reports) from the UE application layer to the UE AS in NR is denoted as +CAPPLEVMRNR and is specified as follows in 3GPP TS 27.007 V18.4.0. The +CAPPLEVMRNR command syntax is shown in Table 3.

[0027]

[0028] Table 3 - +CAPPLEVMRNR Command Syntax

[0029] Multicast / Broadcast Services (MBS) overview

[0030] Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS) is a point-to-multipoint service in which services and data are transmitted from a single source entity to multiple recipients, either to all UEs in a Broadcast service area, or to users in a multicast group as defined in 3GPP TS 23.247 V18.3.0.

[0031] 5G NR system enables delivery of Multicast Broadcast Services (MBS) in a resourceefficient way. Via the MBS, the same service and the same specific content data from a single source can be provided simultaneously to all UEs in a geographical area (in the broadcast communication service) or to a dedicated set of UEs (in the multicast communication service). That is, all UEs in a broadcast area can receive the data, while not all UEs are authorized to receive the data in a multicast area.

[0032] A UE can receive a broadcast MBS communication service independently of its RRC state, while a multicast MBS service can be received only by the UEs in the RRC_CONNECTED state. Multicast communication data can be delivered to a UE via Point-to-Point (PTP) and / or Point-To- Multipoint (PTM) mechanisms, and HARQ retransmission / feedback can be applied to both of these mechanisms, as specified in 3GPP TS 38.300 v7.6.0.

[0033] Figure 2 illustrates MBS delivery methods as shown in 3GPP TS 23.247 V18.3.0.

[0034] QoE measurements for MBS in RRC INACTIVE and RRC IDLE state

[0035] In Release 18 of the 3GPP standard, 3GPP is specifying QoE measurements for MBS in RRC_IN ACTIVE and RRC_IDLE state. To this end, the 3GPP working groups RAN3 and RAN2 have made a number of agreements and working assumptions related to QoE configuration / measurements for MBS in RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE state. In the agreements, MBS is regarded as a communication service carrying application sessions of various service types. That is, in the context of QoE, MBS is not regarded as a service type.

[0036] A UE can be configured to perform QoE measurements on application sessions carried by MBS in any RRC state (i.e. RRCJDLE, RRCJNACTIVE and RRC_CONNECTED state). Thus, a UE which is configured to perform QoE measurements on application sessions carried by MBS in RRC_IDLE state shall retain the QoE configuration in RRC_IDLE state (which is different from other QoE configurations which the UE releases when it transits to RRC_IDLE state).

[0037] Since the RAN (in contrast to the AMF in the core network) deletes the UE context (i.e. configuration and state information related to the UE) when the UE transits, e.g. is released by the RAN, to RRC_IDLE state, the RAN’ s configuration parameters related to the QoE configuration that the UE retains in RRC_IDLE state (which are herein referred to as “the network version of the QoE configuration”, abbreviated “NW-QoE configuration”) must be re-instated in the gNB when a UE (which has retained a QoE configuration in RRC_IDLE state) connects and transits from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED state in a cell controlled by the gNB. 3 GPP has agreed on a UE based solution for storing the NW-QoE configuration.

[0038] With this solution, the UE stores the NW-QoE configuration on behalf of the RAN while the UE is in RRC_IDLE state and sends the NW-QoE configuration to the gNB when the UE connects to the gNB and transits from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED state. This solution is the working assumption in RAN3.

[0039] When the UE (which has retained and applied a QoE configuration in RRC_IDLE state) transits from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE indicates availability of any stored QoE configuration(s) (NW-QoE configuration) and report(s) (e.g. QoE reports the UE has generated in RRC_IDLE state). If the UE indicates availability of such stored QoE configuration (s) and report(s), the gNB may retrieve the QoE report(s) by establishing SRB4, which triggers the UE to send the stored QoE report(s) to the gNB on SRB4.

[0040] For a multicast communication service, shared and individual delivery modes are specified in 3GPP TS 23.247 V18.3.0. Between 5GC and NG-RAN, there are two possible delivery methods to transmit the MBS data, namely a 5GC individual MBS traffic delivery method and a 5GC shared MBS traffic delivery method. The 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery method is only applied for multicast MBS sessions. 5GC receives a single copy of MBS data packets and delivers separate copies of those MBS data packets to individual UEs via per-UE PDU sessions. Hence, for each such UE, one PDU session is required to be associated with a Multicast MBS session. The MBS data received by the MB-UPF is replicated towards the UPF(s) where individual delivery is performed via unicast transport over N19mb interface.

[0041] The 5GC Shared MBS traffic delivery method is applied for both broadcast and multicast MBS sessions. 5GC receives a single copy of MBS data packets and delivers a single copy of those MBS packets to an NG-RAN node, which then delivers the packets to one or multiple UEs. These incoming MBS traffic packets are delivered from MB-UPF to NG-RAN node via the N3mb interface.

[0042] The 5GC Shared MBS traffic delivery method is required in all MBS deployments. The 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery method is required to enable mobility when there is an NG- RAN deployment with non-homogeneous support of MBS.

[0043] Between the NG-RAN and the UE, two delivery methods are available for the transmission of MBS data packets over radio interface: a Point-to-Point (PTP) delivery method in which NG- RAN delivers separate copies of MBS data packets over radio interface to individual UE(s), and a Point-to-Multipoint (PTM) delivery method in which NG-RAN delivers a single copy of MBS data packets over radio interface to multiple UEs.

[0044] NG-RAN may use a combination of PTP / PTM to deliver an MBS data packets to UEs.

[0045] MBS Radio Bearer

[0046] An MBS Session Resource may be associated with one or more MBS QoS flows, and each of those flows is associated with a QoS profile. gNB provides one or more multicast MBS Radio Bearer (MRB) configurations to the UE via RRC signaling, as described in clause 16.10.3 of 3GPP TS 38.300 v7.6.0. For a multicast session, the gNB may change the MRB type using RRC signaling. For a broadcast session, the gNB provides a broadcast MRB with one DL-only RLC-UM entity for PTM transmission, i.e. only one type of an MRB is specified at the moment for the broadcast communication transmission. Network and protocol architectures are described in detail in clauses 16.10.2 and 16.10.3 of 3GPP TS 38.300 v7.6.0.

[0047] MBS Interest Indication

[0048] To ensure service continuity of MBS broadcast, a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state may send MBS Interest Indication to the gNB, consisting of the following information:

[0049] 1. List of MBS frequencies UE is interested in receiving, sorted in decreasing order of interest.

[0050] 2. Priority between the reception of all listed MBS frequencies and the reception of any unicast bearer. 3. List of MBS broadcast services the UE is interested in receiving, in case SIB20 is scheduled by the UE's PCell.

[0051] 4. UE’s priority to MBS broadcast versus unicast reception.

[0052] MBS Interest Indication information reporting can be implicitly enabled / disabled by the presence of SIB21.

[0053] Mobility support during MBS session

[0054] Mobility support for service continuation when a UE is in an MBS session depends on whether a broadcast or multicast session is taking place, and on whether the source and target nodes support MBS. For the multicast MBS session, three cases can be distinguished: 1) handover from an NG-RAN node supporting MBS to a node not supporting MBS, 2) handover from an NG-RAN node not supporting MBS to a node supporting MBS, and 3) a handover from a node supporting MBS to another node supporting MBS.

[0055] In the Multicast MBS case, when the HO takes place from a node that supports MBS to a node that does not support MBS, or vice versa, the 5GC Shared MBS Traffic Delivery and 5GC Individual Traffic delivery methods can co-exist temporarily upon handover. Mapping information about unicast QoS flows for multicast data transmission and the information of associated multicast QoS flows are provided to an NG-RAN node. The delivery method is switched from 5GC Shared MBS Traffic delivery to 5GC Individual MBS delivery via establishing the N3 tunnel of the PDU Session for Individual delivery. When SMF realizes that the target node does not support MBS, a GTP tunnel between the UPF and the MB-UPF for 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery is activated by SMF and MBS-SMF

[0056] When the HO takes place from a RAN node that supports MBS to another node that also supports MBS, if the shared delivery for the MBS session has not been established towards the target NG-RAN node, it uses MB-SMF (Multicast Broadcast Session Management Function) and MB-UPF (Multicast Broadcast User Place Function) to establish the Shared delivery for the MBS session.

[0057] The PDU Sessions, including the one associated with the MBS Multicast session and used for the 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery, are handed over to the target ND-RAN node. To accomplish this, the SMF triggers the mode switch from the Individual to the Shared delivery mode, the Target node establishes the shared delivery for the MBS Session upon receiving the MBS Session Context, and the 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery is terminated by 5GC and changed to the 5GC shared MBS traffic delivery.

[0058] In the Broadcast MBS case, the UE may receive the same service in the target node (which supports MBS) if the same MBS session is established with the 5GC Shared MBS traffic delivery.

[0059] Currently, a case of when a UE is handed over to a node not supporting the MBS within the broadcast area, is not specified. SUMMARY

[0060] Embodiments of the present disclosure configure User Equipment, UEs, to perform Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements according to defined criteria. At times, one or more criterion may become unfulfilled, thereby causing both the QoE measurements performed by the UE, and the resultant QoE reports containing the QoE measurements, to become polluted. According to the present disclosure, however, the defined criteria also configures the UE to perform the QoE measurements even though one or more criterion is, or may become, unfulfilled. Additionally, when the UE sends the QoE reports to a network node, the UE provides an indication to network node indicating that the QoE report contains measurements taken by the UE while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0061] Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of reporting Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements. The method is implemented by a UE in a wireless communication network and comprises the UE initiating a QoE measurement session to perform QoE measurements in accordance with a measurement configuration, which comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements. The method then comprises the UE determining during the QoE measurement session that the measurement criterion has become unfulfilled. However, so determined, the method comprises the UE continuing to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled and then generating a QoE report including the QoE measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled. The method then comprises the UE providing the QoE report to a network node as well as an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0062] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of processing Quality of Experience, QoE, reports. In this aspect, the method is implemented at a network node in a wireless communication network and comprises the network node configuring a user equipment, UE, with a measurement configuration for performing QoE measurements. In this embodiment, the configuration comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements. The method then comprises the network node receiving a QoE report from the UE. The QoE report includes measurement information relating to the QoE measurements taken in accordance with the measurement configuration. Additionally, in this aspect, the method comprises the network node receiving an indication from the UE that the QoE report includes measurement information relating to measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0063] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a User Equipment, UE, in a wireless communication network configured to report Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements to a network node. In this aspect, the UE comprises processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the method of the first aspect, and the power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a network node in a wireless communication network configured to process Quality of Experience, QoE, reports. In this aspect, the network node comprises processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the method of the second aspect, and the power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0064] In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides a User Equipment UE, configured to report Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements. In this aspect, the UE comprises an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the first aspect. Additionally, the UE further comprises radio front-end circuitry, an input interface, an output interface, and a battery. The radio front-end circuitry is connected to the antenna and to the processing circuitry and is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry. The input interface is connected to the processing circuitry and is configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry. The output interface is also connected to the processing circuitry and is configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The battery is connected to the processing circuitry and is configured to supply power to the UE.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, the present disclosure provides a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service. In this aspect, the host comprises processing circuitry configured to provide user data, and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment ,UE. The network node in this aspect comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the second aspect to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system having a network node and a user equipment ,UE. In this aspect, the method comprises providing user data for the UE and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node. The network node in this aspect is configured to perform the method of the second aspect to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0067] In an eighth aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication system configured to provide an over-the-top, OTT, service. In this aspect, the communication system comprises a host that itself comprises processing circuitry and a network interface. The processing circuitry is configured to provide user data for a user equipment, UE, the user data being associated with the OTT service, while the network interface is configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE. Additionally, the network interface of this aspect comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the second aspect. In a ninth aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication system configured to provide an over-the-top, OTT, service. In this aspect, the communication system comprises a host. The host further comprises processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment, UE, with the user data being associated with the OTT service, and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE. In this aspect, the network node comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the second aspect to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0068] In a tenth aspect, a host is configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service. In this aspect, the host comprises host processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network. Additionally, the network node comprises a communication interface and network node processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the second aspect to receive the user data from a user equipment, UE, for the host.

[0069] In an eleventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that also includes a network node and a user equipment, UE. Particularly, in this aspect, the host initiates the receipt of user data from the UE. The user data originates from a transmission which the network node received from the UE. In this aspect, the network node performs the method of the second aspect to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0070] In a twelfth aspect, the present disclosure provides a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top, OTT, service. In this aspect, the host comprises host processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment, UE. In this aspect, the UE comprises a communication interface and UE processing circuitry configured to perform the method of the first aspect to receive the user data from the host.

[0071] In a thirteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a method implemented by a host operating in a communication system having a network node and a user equipment, UE. In this aspect, the method comprises the hose providing user data for the UE and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node. In this aspect, the UE performs the method of the first aspect to receive the user data from the host.

[0072] In a fourteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top, OTT, service. In this aspect, the host comprises host processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a network interface. The network interface is configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment, UE. Further, the UE in this aspect comprises a communication interface and UE processing circuitry. The communication interface and UE processing circuitry are configured to perform the method of the first aspect to transmit the user data to the host. In a fifteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that also includes a network node and a user equipment, UE. In this aspect, the method comprises the host receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, which is configured to perform the method of the first aspect to transmit the user data to the host.

[0073] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] Figure 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating a configuration and reporting of QoE measurements using RRC signaling.

[0075] Figure 2 is block diagram illustrating MBS delivery methods as specified in 3GPP.

[0076] Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0077] Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0078] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0079] Figure 6 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0080] Figure 7 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0081] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a host in accordance with various aspects described herein.

[0082] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.

[0083] Figure 10 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 of the present disclosure.

[0084] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] There currently exist certain challenge(s). For example, based on 3GPP TS 26.114 V18.5.0 and 3GPP TS 26.247 V18.5.0, a QoE configuration and the filtering criteria therein shall only be evaluated by the client at the start of a QoE measurement and reporting session (“QoE session”) associated with an application session. This requirement has at least two implications.

[0086] The first implication is that the area scope is a part of QoE configuration. Its purpose is to confine the measurement execution to certain cells, tracking areas, PLMNs, etc. For any QoE configuration, the UE checks the area scope only at application session start, to determine whether to start a QoE measurement session. Nevertheless, the UE may, during the session, move outside the area scope and continue to collect the measurements. This, in turn, causes that, for the present session, the measurement results collected while the UE was inside the area scope (which needs to hold at least at the start of measurement session) to be mixed with the results from inside the area scope. We refer to this “mix” of measurements compliant with the area scope criterion and the measurements collected outside area scope, as polluted QoE reports.

[0087] The second implication is that the issue is even more exacerbated in cases where the QoE measurements collected for application sessions are carried by the MBS Communication Service Type. Namely, for MBS, in addition to area scope, the QoE configuration also contains the filtering criterion pertaining to the MBS mode, also referred to as MBS Communication service type, (broadcast / multicast), which is also evaluated at the start of a QoE measurement session. If the UE changes the MBS mode during an ongoing session, the UE will continue with the QoE measurement, causing an even larger “pollution” of QoE reports. For MBS, the measurement results will be a mix of results from inside the area scope and outside the area scope and / or with results from both broadcast and multicast.

[0088] The issue is also relevant in case of QoE measurements whose configuration indicates a certain network slice, which is used at the beginning of a session, and the “original” network slice is remapped to another one during the session delivery.

[0089] Currently, the receiver of the QoE measurements, i.e. the MCE, and another consumer of the same QoE measurements (or measurements / statistics derived based on the above mentioned QoE measurements) is unaware of the QoE report “pollution”. Consequently, the MCE may receive a large amount of data collected under conditions different than intended, which may ultimately lead to the OAM - or another consumer of QoE measurements - drawing incorrect conclusions, resulting in suboptimal reactions, i.e., erroneous reconfigurations of the network, or intents sent to the network.

[0090] In other words, the above-described significant risk of polluted QoE reports results in that the consumer of the report, e.g. the MCE, will sometimes receive QoE measurement data that does not represent the scenario the report consumer intended to monitor and analyze. Since the consumer of the report cannot know if the report is polluted, this may result in incorrect analyses and suboptimal actions triggered by the analyses.

[0091] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0092] In particular, some embodiments provide a set of methods for ensuring that the network is aware that QoE reports contain results of measurements that were not in full compliance with the filtering criteria. Some further embodiments provide a set of methods for handling the reporting in that case.

[0093] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s).

[0094] In particular, by becoming aware of the report “pollution”, the network can account for the pollution so that it is able to analyze the QoE measurement results in a more accurate way and make better optimization decisions. As seen in more detail below, some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Additional exemplary embodiments and information are also provided below in more detail.

[0095] In the following description, the terms “UE”, “terminal equipment”, “wireless terminal” and “terminal” are used interchangeably, and the terms “network”, “node” and “network node” are used interchangeably.

[0096] A network node can, e.g., be: A RAN node, a gNB, an eNB, an en-gNB, a ng-eNB, a gNB- CU, a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, an eNB-CU, an eNB-CU-CP, an eNB-CU-UP, an lAB-node, an lAB-donor DU, an lAB-donor-CU, an IAB-DU, an IAB-MT, an O-CU, an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, an O-RU, an O-eNB, a Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC), a Real- Time RAN Intelligent Controller (RT-RIC), an OAM node or an MCE, and / or a Core Network node / function, a Cloud-based network function, a Cloud-based centralized training node.

[0097] Herein, the application layer in the UE is also referred to as the “UE application layer” or simply the “application layer”.

[0098] The terms “QoE measurement configuration”, “QMC”, “QoE configuration”, “QoE parameters”, “QoE information” and “QoE configuration information” are used interchangeably. The network, the UE AS and the UE application layer may store various parts thereof.

[0099] Embodiments described herein may be equally applicable to QoE and RVQoE measurements.

[0100] Embodiments described herein may be equally applicable to QoE configuration and RVQoE configuration.

[0101] The entity performing the QoE measurements and other actions related to a QoE configuration, such as receiving QoE information from the UE AS, and / or sending QoE information to the UE AS, is an application. The application resides on the application layer in the UE, and hence it is also correct to say that the application layer performs these actions. In the description of the solution, the performer of these various actions is sometimes said to be the application layer and sometimes said to be the application.

[0102] The terms “application layer measurement configuration”, “application measurement configuration”, “QoE measurement configuration”, “QoE configuration”, “QoE measurement and reporting configuration” and “QMC configuration” are used interchangeably. But note that the “QMC configuration file” is not an equivalent term, but instead refers to the part of the QoE configuration consisting of an XML file containing instructions of QoE metrics to be collected etc.

[0103] While the solutions are described for the interaction between the UE AS and UE application layer when handling / storing QoE information, they may also be applicable to RVQoE information.

[0104] All references to the application layer are with respect to the application layer of the UE.

[0105] The term “service” is often used as a short notation for “service type”, therefore “service” and “service types” can be seen as interchangeably unless explicitly stated. Some embodiments may apply to both signaling- and management-based QoE / RVQoE measurements (but may also optionally be restricted to apply to only one of them).

[0106] A QoE configuration includes various configuration parameters (such as an instruction on whether the UE should send session start / stop indications) as well as an XML file containing a configuration of QoE measurements to be performed and reported (e.g. indicating QoE metrics to be collected and reported). This XML file is herein referred to with different terms, including at least “QMC configuration file” and “QoE configuration file”.

[0107] The functionality in a UE which 3GPP has named Access Stratum (where there is corresponding Access Stratum functionality in the network) is herein referred to in various ways, including “Access Stratum”, “AS”, “UE Access Stratum”, “UE AS”, “Access Stratum layer”, “AS layer”, “UE Access Stratum layer”, “UE AS layer” or “radio layer”.

[0108] The terms “NR” and “NR node” imply that a network node that serves the UE is serving the UE by using the NR radio access technology on the air interface (Uu).

[0109] The terms information element (IE) and field are used interchangeably in this document. Also, the term parameter is sometimes used to denote the same concept.

[0110] Parameters / IEs / fields used in ASN.1 code as well as in procedural text in the 3GPP RRC specification for 5G / NR, i.e. 3GPP TS 38.331 version 18.0.0, are often named with a suffix indicating the number of the release of the 3GPP standard the parameter / IE / field was introduced in (e.g. the suffix “-rl7” for a parameter / IE / field introduced in release 17 of the 3GPP standard). Parameters / IEs / fields following this naming convention are typically referred to both with and without the suffix, where the name including the suffix is used in the ASN.l code (and thus defines the formal name from the ASN.l compiler’s perspective), while the name without the suffix is used in running text, e.g. in field descriptions and procedural text. Relevant examples in the context of this document include the parameters / IEs / fields AppLayerMeasConfig-rl7 / AppLayerMeasConfig and MeasConfigAppLayer-rl7 / MeasConfigAppLayer. In this document, both name variants may occur for various parameters / IEs / fields.

[0111] In this document, the term “flag” refers to an indication, i.e. a parameter indicating something. An indication referred to as a flag is typically, but not necessarily, an indication that can indicate one of only two possible values, e.g. implemented as a single-bit indicator.

[0112] The terms “QoE report” or “QoE measurement report”, when sent from a UE to a gNB, may primarily refer to the content of a measReportAppLayerContainer IE in a MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message. However, sometimes the terms may refer to a MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message, a MeasReportAppLayer IE in a MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message, or the content of a MeasReportAppLayer IE, excluding the ran-i IE, in a MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message. The terms “RVQoE report” or “RVQoE measurement report”, when sent from a UE to a gNB, refer to the content of a RAN-VisibleMeasurements IE in a MeasurementReportAppLayer RRC message.

[0113] Some embodiments may be primarily described in terms of NR, but can also be applied to UMTS, LTE and NR as well as future RATs such as 6G.

[0114] The terms “filter” and “scope filter” are regarded as equivalent in this document. Similarly, the terms “filter criteria” / ”filtering criteria” and “scope filter criteria” / ” scope filtering criteria” are regarded as equivalent in this document.

[0115] A QoE / RVQoE measurements and / or a QoE / RVQoE report is called “polluted” when it contains measurements that were collected but not in accordance with one or more filtering criteria (e.g., area scope or MBS mode) as indicated in the corresponding QoE (or RVQoE) configuration. The corresponding phenomenon leading to a polluted QoE / RVQoE measurements and / or QoE / RVQoE report is described in the solution as “pollution”. This terminology should not be regarded as limiting, and other terms can be used to identify situations where QoE / RVQoE measurements, and / or corresponding QoE / RVQoE reports, do not fully adhere to the corresponding QoE / RVQoE configuration parameters. Other terms that might be used to indicate the full adherence to QoE / RVQoE configuration parameters can be: “coherent”, “conformant”, “conformance”, “coherence”, “in-scope”, “compliant”, “fulfilling filter criteria”, “fulfilling scope filter criteria”, “meeting filter criteria”, “meeting scope filter criteria”. Corresponding terms indicating QoE / RVQoE measurements and / or QoE / RVQoE reports which do not respect, at least in part, the QoE / RVQoE configuration parameters can be: “mixed”, “merged”, “out-of-scope”, “blended”, “in-scope and out- of-scope”, “non-conformant”, “non-coherent”, “non-compliant”, “not fulfilling filter criteria”, “not fulfilling scope filter criteria”, “not meeting filter criteria”, “not meeting scope filter criteria”, etc.

[0116] Furthermore, the term / expression “entering the filtering criteria” means that the UE goes from having unfulfilled filtering criteria to having fulfilled filtering criteria, and the terms / expressions “leaving the filtering criteria” and “exiting the filtering criteria” means that the UE goes from having fulfilled filtering criteria to having unfulfilled filtering criteria. That filtering criteria are fulfilled means that all the configured filtering criteria, where as that filtering criteria are unfulfilled means that at least one configured filtering criteria is not fulfilled.

[0117] In an example scenario, a UE is configured for QoE measurements. The configuration contains the area scope, and, if the measurement pertains to MBS, it may additionally contain a measurement criterion stating that the measurement should be executed for one of the MBS modes (multicast or broadcast). The solution is also applicable when other filter criteria are used, such as a slice scope or any future type of scope filter criterion.

[0118] During the QoE measurement session, the UE exits the area scope and / or changes the MBS mode (or MBS Communication service type) from the one stipulated by the configuration to another one, or changes from fulfilling to not fulfilling any other filter criterion applicable to the QoE measurement session. If the UE continues to measure despite these deviations, the reports will contain measurement results that pertain to a session with properties that are different than originally intended. This is referred to as the QoE report pollution (or in other words, non-conforming QoE report, non-compliant QoE report, QoE report incoherence, etc.), and the term may be generalized refer to measurements executed in conditions that differ in any way from the parameters specified in the QoE configuration received by the RAN or the UE. QoE report pollution is a consequence of a lack of continuous evaluation (or re-evaluation), i.e., conformance to the configuration stipulated for measurements to the RAN or the UE by the QMC.

[0119] Indication of OoE / RVQoE report pollution to the network

[0120] Some embodiments described herein deal with making the network aware of the QoE report pollution.

[0121] For example, the pollution may include measurements taken outside area scope. This may also include measurements taken across several consecutive transitions of outside and back inside into area scope again.

[0122] The pollution may include measurements taken in an MBS mode that is different than the one indicated in the QoE measurement configuration as received by the RAN or as indicated by the RAN in a QoE (or a RVQoE) configuration sent to the UE. For example, the measurement configuration pertains to MBS broadcast, but, during the session, one or more transitions between broadcast and multicast occur.

[0123] The pollution may also include measurements taken when any other filtering criterion stipulated by the QoE configuration is not satisfied (e.g., slice scope, due to slice remapping during the session).

[0124] In some embodiments, this may apply to filtering criteria delivered to the UE in the QMC configuration file (i.e., the XML file, i.e. the measConfigAppLayerContainer-rl7 field in the RRC protocol). In other embodiments, this may apply to filtering criteria delivered to the UE among the QoE configuration parameters outside the QMC configuration file. In yet other embodiments, this may apply to both filtering criteria delivered to the UE in the QMC configuration file and filtering criteria delivered to the UE among the QoE configuration parameters outside the QMC configuration file.

[0125] In some embodiments, the network is explicitly notified when pollution occurs, by means of an indication. Any combination of the indications below can be notified.

[0126] The indication may state that “pollution has occurred” and “pollution has ceased”. In an example of area scope-related pollution, the indication may state “UE left area scope”, “UE returned into area scope”, etc. In an example of MBS mode-related pollution, the indication may state “MBS session switched to broadcast / multicast / unicast”.

[0127] The indication may, e.g., be a flag, which, if present, indicates that the QoE report (or RVQoE report) is polluted. That is, the QoE report contains at least one measurement collected not in accordance with at least one of the filtering criteria comprised in the QoE / RVQoE configuration, but nothing indicates which filtering criteria was not fulfilled.

[0128] The indication may indicate whether a certain QoE / RVQoE report only contains measurement data collected while at least one of the configured filtering criteria was not fulfilled.

[0129] The indication may indicate whether a certain QoE / RVQoE report only contains measurement data collected while a certain configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled (e.g., QoE / RVQoE report containing measurement data collected outside the area scope).

[0130] The indication may, e.g., be a string, or a bitmap, which, if present, explicitly indicates that the QoE report (or RVQoE report) is polluted. The indication may explicitly indicate (e.g., in a binary format) which filtering criteria included in the QoE / RVQoE configuration were not fulfilled during the delivery of the session to which the report pertains to. For example, if the bit in first position has value 1, it indicates that UE has left area scope at least once during the measurement data collection, if the bit in second position has value 1, it indicates that MBS mode has changed at least once during the measurement data collection, etc.

[0131] The indication may state the type of deviation from the parameters stipulated by the configuration, e.g., “UE left area scope” or “MBS mode of session changed”, or the network slice was remapped.

[0132] In one option, the indication may indicate the part of the time that the report contains measurement results collected outside the configured filtering criteria, i.e. the amount of “pollution” in the reports. The indication may e.g. be a percentage number indicating the percentage of the measurement collected outside the configured filtering criteria, i.e., while the configured filtering criteria were not fulfilled) or indicating the percentage of measurements collected with fulfilled filtering criteria (i.e., while the filtering criteria were fulfilled).

[0133] The indication may either indicate report pollution for every individual QoE report or it may indicate QoE report pollution at a QoE / RVQoE measurement session-level or application session level.

[0134] In one option, the indication of leaving the configured filtering criteria (i.e., going from fulfilled filtering criteria to unfulfilled filtering criteria) may be sent separate from the report. The UE may transmit an indication when the UE leaves the configured filtering criteria (i.e., goes from fulfilled filtering criteria to unfulfilled filtering criteria) and when the UE re-enters the configured filtering criteria (i.e. goes from unfulfilled filtering criteria to fulfilled filtering criteria), for a certain QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration (e.g., identified by measConfigAppLayerld or the QoE reference). The report(s) may be sent at another point in time (or other points in time), e.g. when the measurement session is completed. In this solution, the network receives the time(s) for when the UE exited / reentered the configured filtering criteria (i.e., switched between fulfilled and unfulfilled filtering criteria). In one option, the network stores information about the UE exiting / reentering the configured filtering criteria. This option may for example be applied when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED state. In this option, there may be a switch of responsibility between the UE and the network regarding which entity that keeps track of when the UE exists / reenters the configured filtering criteria. In one solution the switch of responsibility is linked to some condition, e.g., the RRC state, so that the network is responsible for keeping track of the criteria in RRC_CONNECTED and the UE is responsible for keeping track of the criteria in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE. In another solution, the switch of responsibility is explicitly signaled between the network and the UE, so that one entity informs the other entity when it is time to take over the responsibility for the filtering.

[0135] The indication may be generated by the UE application layer and forwarded to the UE AS layer, and further on to the network. The UE application layer may be capable of performing this either independently or assisted by another UE layer or network. For example, the UE application layer could include the cell ID (NCGI) in the report whenever the cell changes. The existing +C5GREG AT command could be used to support this, allowing the application to subscribe to notifications of changes of the location from the UE AS.

[0136] Alternatively, the indication may be generated by the UE AS layer and sent to the network.

[0137] Alternatively, the indication may be generated by the UE AS layer and forwarded to the UE application layer, which sends it to the network. For example, the RAN may send the area scope to the UE (regardless of whether the measurement is for MBS or not) and the UE AS can monitor the UE’s location in relation to the area scope, so that it can indicate exits and entrances to the application, which in turn can include such indications in its report.

[0138] An indication transferred between the UE AS layer and UE application layer, may be transferred by a new or modified AT-command.

[0139] The indication may be sent by the UE to the network, or the indication may be sent by the RAN to other network entities. The indication may be sent to the network in an RRC message, e.g, a MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0140] In some embodiments, the indication can be inserted into the QoE report, i.e. inside the container transferred as an OCTET STRING in the RRC message (e.g. in the measReportAppLayerContainer-rl7 IE in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message, in which the report content may be coded as an XML file.

[0141] In some embodiments, the indication can be sent together with a QoE report, i.e. as RRC information element in the RRC message. The indication may be sent in the first QoE report sent after the pollution has occurred, and then sent in the first report after the pollution has ceased. Alternatively, the indication can either be sent only with the polluted reports or a positive / negative indication of pollution may be sent with every QoE report.

[0142] In some embodiments, the indication can be sent in a message other than a QoE report. For example, the UE / RAN may indicate the pollution to the RAN, in a message sent right after the pollution has occurred, and this message need not carry the measurement results. The indication may be sent in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message, or in a different message, e.g.

[0143] RRCReconfigurationComplete.

[0144] In the case where the pollution indication is sent separately from the QoE reports, additional information needed to correlate / identify the reports that are affected may also be provided, e.g., an additional indication in the QoE report and the pollution indication that may be used to correlate.

[0145] In some embodiments, the indication may be sent in an RVQoE report. For example, the indication may be included in the ran-VisibleMeasurements-rl7 IE in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0146] In some embodiments, the indication may be sent at the end of the QoE / RVQoE measurement session, e.g. together with the appLayerSessionStatus-rl7 field (set to “stop”) in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message. This may be suitable, e.g., when the indication only indicates whether some reported QoE / RVQoE measurement data was collected while the configured filtering criteria were not fulfilled, or when the indication indicates the amount, fraction or percentage of the reported QoE / RVQoE measurement data that was collected while the configured filtering criteria were not fulfilled, or the amount, fraction, or percentage of the reported QoE / RVQoE measurement data that was collected while the configured filtering criteria were fulfilled.

[0147] In all of the above examples, unless otherwise stated, the indication may be either included in, or separate from, the measurement report XML file, i.e. in the measurement report container (e.g. the meas Report AppLayerContainer-r 17 IE) .

[0148] In one solution, the network is implicitly notified when pollution occurs. For example, the network node has configured the UE to report RVQoE reports on a periodical basis. The absence of a periodic RVQoE report indicates to the network that the RVQoE report was not sent by the UE since it was polluted or generated based on measurement data collected completely during a period when at least one filter criterion was not fulfilled, or because the UE refrained from collecting RVQoE measurement data because at least one filter criterion was not fulfilled.

[0149] As another example, if the network has configured the UE to report RVQoE reports on a periodic basis, the absence of a RVQoE report indicates to the network that the RVQoE report was not sent by the UE because it was polluted, or because the UE refrained from collecting RVQoE measurement data because at least one filter criterion was not fulfilled.

[0150] As yet another example, the application layer of the UE is configured to report QoE reports on a periodic basis, and the QoE report is not sent when the QoE report is polluted, and / or does the QoE measurement data is not collected while at least one configured filter criterion is unfulfilled. The absence of the QoE report indicates to the receiver (e.g., the MCE) that the QoE report was polluted, or that the UE refrained from collecting RVQoE measurement data because at least one filter criterion was not fulfilled. Note that it could be either the UE which, upon determining that a certain QoE report is polluted, does not send the QoE report to the RAN, or it could be the RAN which, upon determining that the QoE report is polluted, does not send it to the intended receiver.

[0151] In some embodiments, when the QoE is measured during RRC_CONNECTED mode, the RAN node can generate the indication with the solutions described above and implicitly or explicitly notify the intended receiver of the QoE reports, e.g., the MCE, when the pollution occurs. For example, in RRC_CONNECTED mode, the inside / outside area is handled by RAN, when UE moves out of the area, RAN can decide to continue the QoE measurement and report the pollution issue to the MCE directly after UE reports the QoE measurements.

[0152] In some embodiments, for a QoE report generated by measurements for which the UE monitors one or more filter criterion / criteria, e.g., a QoE report generated in RRCJDLE and / or RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE (e.g. the UE AS) should set and send the pollution indication (based on the filter criterion / criteria the UE monitors) to the gNB, and the gNB should forward it together with the QoE report to the MCE. Note that this does not preclude the UE from including related information (such as indications of switches between fulfilled and unfulfilled filter criteria) in the report. For a QoE report generated by measurements for which the gNB monitors one or more filter criterion / criteria, e.g., a QoE report generated in RRC_CONNECTED state, the gNB should set the pollution indication (based on the filter criterion / criteria the gNB monitors) and send it together with the QoE report to the MCE. Optionally, for a QoE report generated by measurements for which both the UE and the gNB each monitor one or more filter criterion / criteria, the UE (e.g. the UE AS) should set a pollution indication (based on the filter criterion / criteria the UE monitors) and send it to the gNB. The gNB then combines it with the pollution indication that it determines itself (based on the filter criterion / criteria the gNB monitors), e.g., such that a final pollution indication may be sent together with the QoE report to the MCE. The final pollution indication indicates that the report is polluted if at least one of the pollution indication generated by the UE (based on the filter criterion / criteria the UE monitors) and the pollution indication determined by the gNB (based on the filter criterion / criteria the gNB monitors) indicates that the report is polluted.

[0153] In further embodiments, which may be combined with these embodiments, the pollution indication may be extended with, or complemented by, or combined with an indication of which filter criterion / criteria that was / were violated / unfulfilled (e.g. "area scope", "slice scope", "MBS mode scope", etc.).

[0154] Handling of QoE configuration aspects with respect to “pollution”

[0155] This section describes aspects of the solution that relate to the configuration of parameters / indications which a network node, or a UE, can receive / obtain as guidance, or commands, instructions, or requests) with respect to how QoE / RVQoE measurements (or QoE / RVQoE reports), should be handled when such measurements or reports are polluted.

[0156] In some embodiments, a RAN node or a UE may receive, as part of the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, one or more of the following: • an indication indicating whether collection of polluted QoE / RVQoE measurements is allowed / not allowed / desired / requested.

[0157] • an indication indicating the interest to receive polluted QoE / RVQoE measurement results (e.g., in QoE / RVQoE measurement reports).

[0158] • an indication indicating the interest to receive polluted QoE / RVQoE reports.

[0159] • an indication indicating the interest to receive QoE / RVQoE reports that contain only polluted measurements (i.e. reports containing only measurement data collected while at least one configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled). (Note that such an indication is not intended to express lack of interest in receiving non-polluted QoE / RVQoE reports or QoE / RVQoE reports containing a mixture of measurement data collected while all configured filtering criteria were fulfilled, and measurement data collected while at least one configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled.)

[0160] • a request to send an indication, identifier, or a flag, within a QoE / RVQoE report, or together with a QoE / RVQoE report, to let the receiver know that the QoE / RVQoE report is polluted.

[0161] • a request to send an indication, identifier, or a flag, within a QoE / RVQoE report, or together with a QoE / RVQoE report, to let the receiver know that a QoE / RVQoE report contains only measurement data collected while none of the filtering criteria was fulfilled.

[0162] • a request to send an indication, identifier, or a flag, within a QoE / RVQoE report, or together with a QoE / RVQoE report, to let the receiver know that a QoE / RVQoE report contains only measurement data collected while a certain configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled (e.g., the QoE report only contains measurements collected outside the area scope).

[0163] • In cases / scenarios where the UE may be responsible for checking the fulfillment of one or more filtering criterion / criteria: a request to send an indication, identifier, or a flag, within a QoE / RVQoE report, or together with a QoE / RVQoE report, to let the receiver know whether polluted measurement data was collected while the UE was responsible for checking the fulfillment of a certain filtering criterion.

[0164] • a request to send an indication, identifier, or a flag, within a QoE / RVQoE report, or together with a QoE / RVQoE report, to let the receiver know whether polluted measurement data was collected while the network was responsible for checking the fulfillment of a certain filtering criterion.

[0165] • a request to send an indication, identifier, or a flag, within a QoE / RVQoE report, or together with a QoE / RVQoE report, to let the receiver know whether polluted measurement data was collected when the UE was in a certain RRC state (or certain RRC states).

[0166] • a request to send non-compliant (or polluted) QoE / RVQoE reports in addition to compliant (non-polluted) QoE / RVQoE reports.

[0167] • a request to not send non-compliant (or polluted) QoE / RVQoE reports in addition to compliant (non-polluted) QoE / RVQoE reports. • an indication indicating whether reporting of polluted QoE / RVQoE reports is allowed / not allowed / desired.

[0168] • an indication indicating a percentage of polluted QoE / RVQoE reports that is acceptable to be received. This may indicate a maximum percentage of the QoE / RVQoE reports that are sent, or it may indicate a maximum percentage of the measurement data included in a single QoE / RVQoE report that may be collected while one or more filtering criterion / criteria was / were unfulfilled.

[0169] • an indication indicating a percentage of pollution that is admittable (or not admittable) for sending QoE / RVQoE reports (this can apply e.g., to the sending from a RAN node to the MCE, or from a UE to the RAN). For example, if a QoE report contains 100 measurement results, of which 10 are collected in full adherence to the filter criteria indicated in the QoE configuration (while 90 were collected while at least one filter criterion was not fulfilled), and the indicated admittable percentage is 80%, then the QoE report should not be sent by the RAN to the MCE or from the UE to the RAN, whichever the indication applies to. Or, if a RVQoE report contains 100 measurement results, of which 10 are collected in full adherence to the filter criteria indicated in the RVQoE configuration (while 90 were collected while at least one filter criterion was not fulfilled), and the percentage in question is 80%, then the RVQoE report should not be sent by the UE to the RAN.

[0170] • an indication indicating that polluted QoE / RVQoE measurements, or QoE / RVQoE reports, wherein the pollution is due to only a partial adherence to a certain filter criterion or certain filter criteria, can still be sent (or vice versa, cannot be sent).

[0171] • an indication indicating whether polluted QoE / RVQoE reports should be discarded (or can / may) be sent to the MCE.

[0172] • an indication indicating whether polluted QoE / RVQoE reports should be tagged / labelled as “polluted”.

[0173] • an indication indicating whether polluted QoE / RVQoE reports should be discarded by the UE or sent to the RAN.

[0174] • an indication indicating whether the UE is allowed to or should stop the measurements during the pollution.

[0175] • an indication indicating whether the UE should suspend the measurement when pollution occurs and resume the measurement when pollution ceases.

[0176] • an indication indicating whether the UE should refrain from generating an QoE / RVQoE report if at least one filter criterion was unfulfilled at some time during the time period the QoE / RVQoE report was intended to cover.

[0177] • an indication indicating whether the UE should refrain from generating an QoE / RVQoE report if at least one measurement result intended for the QoE / RVQoE report was generated while at least one filter criterion was unfulfilled. • an indication indicating whether the UE, when having collected measurement data intended for a QoE / RVQoE report, should discard all of the collected measurement data that was collected while at least one filter criterion was unfulfilled and include in the QoE / RVQoE report only the part of (which may be all of) the collected measurement data that was collected while all the filter criteria were fulfilled.

[0178] In all of the above examples, where it is described an expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to receive (i.e. a configuration to send) QoE / RVQoE measurement reports which contain only measurement data collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled, it should not be interpreted as an expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to not receive (i.e. a configuration to not send) QoE / RVQoE reports which contain only measurement data that was collected while all filtering criteria were fulfilled or QoE / RVQoE reports which contain a mixture of measurement data collected while all configured filtering criteria were fulfilled and measurement data collected while at least one configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled. That is, the expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to receive (i.e. the configuration to send) QoE / RVQoE measurement reports which contain only measurement data collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled should be interpreted as an expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to receive (i.e. a configuration to send) such reports in addition to QoE / RVQoE reports containing only measurement data collected while all the filter criteria were fulfilled, and QoE / RVQoE reports containing a mixture of measurement data collected while all configured filtering criteria were fulfilled and measurement data collected while at least one configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled.

[0179] In all of the above examples, where it is described an expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to receive (i.e. a configuration to send) QoE / RVQoE measurement reports which contain a mixture of measurement data collected while all configured filtering criteria were fulfilled and measurement data collected while at least one configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled, it should not be interpreted as an expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to not receive (i.e. a configuration to not send) QoE / RVQoE reports which contain only measurement data that was collected while all filtering criteria were fulfilled. That is, the expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to receive (i.e. the configuration to send) QoE / RVQoE measurement reports which contain a mixture of measurement data collected while all configured filtering criteria were fulfilled, and measurement data collected while at least one configured filtering criterion was not fulfilled, should be interpreted as an expression of interest to, or desire to, or request to receive (i.e. a configuration to send) such reports in addition to QoE / RVQoE reports containing only measurement data collected while all the filter criteria were fulfilled.

[0180] In some embodiments, a gNB-CU determines, based on a received configuration parameter, not to transfer a RVQoE report to a gNB-DU if the RVQoE report is “polluted” (wherein either the gNB-CU itself determines that a certain RVQoE report is polluted, or the gNB-CU receives an indication of “pollution” for the RVQoE report from the UE - together with or within the RVQoE report itself).

[0181] In some embodiments, a gNB-CU, upon transferring RVQoE measurement results to a gNB- DU, indicates (e.g., using a label, or a flag) to the gNB-DU whether the RVQoE measurement results are polluted or not.

[0182] In some embodiments, a gNB-DU indicates to the controlling gNB-CU whether transfer of polluted QoE / RVQoE measurement results is allowed / not allowed.

[0183] In some embodiments, a gNB-DU requests the controlling gNB-CU to stop (or start) transfer of polluted RVQoE measurements (in addition to non-polluted RVQoE measurement results).

[0184] In some embodiments, a UE may receive, as part of the QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, one or more indications of:

[0185] • Whether polluted QoE / RVQoE reports should be discarded, or can / may be sent to the RAN

[0186] • Whether polluted QoE / RVQoE reports should be tagged / labelled as “polluted”

[0187] • Whether the UE is allowed to or should stop the measurements during the pollution.

[0188] • Whether the UE should suspend the measurement when pollution occurs and resume the measurement when pollution ceases.

[0189] • Whether the UE should refrain from generating an QoE / RVQoE report if at least one filter criterion was unfulfilled at some time during the time period the QoE / RVQoE report was intended to cover.

[0190] • Whether the UE should refrain from generating an QoE / RVQoE report if at least one measurement result intended for the QoE / RVQoE report was generated while at least one filter criterion was unfulfilled.

[0191] • Whether the UE, when having collected measurement data intended for a QoE / RVQoE report, should discard all of the collected measurement data that was collected while at least one filter criterion was unfulfilled and include in the QoE / RVQoE report only the part of (which may be all of) the collected measurement data that was collected while all the filter criteria were fulfilled.

[0192] For all of the above, the configuration towards the UE may, e.g., be implemented in the IE AppLayerMeasConfig IE (e.g., in the MeasConfigAppLayer IE in the AppLayerMeasConfig IE) within the RRCReconfiguration message. Implementation examples are provided below.

[0193] Depending on whether the UE was asked to stop the measurements during the pollution interval, the UE may further be instructed on whether to re-start measurements after the pollution has ended or abandon any QoE / RVQoE reporting for the session if pollution has been encountered.

[0194] Special cases of pollution where QoE configuration ma be changed

[0195] In addition to explicitly or implicitly adding information to QoE / RVQoE reports to identify the time or instances of the reporting where the report may be polluted, the configuring entity may want to log additional information during the time at which QoE / RVQoE reporting is considered polluted or does not conform to the base configuration under which QoE / RVQoE measurements are to be performed.

[0196] Under this scenario, the UE, in addition to the configuration corresponding to the measurements to be performed when all filtering criteria are fulfilled, e.g., when the UE is in area scope / slice scope / MBS mode of delivery / etc., may be configured with additional configuration information that pertains to the case where the UE does not conform to the base conditions for the configured QoE measurements, i.e., when at least one filtering criterion is unfulfilled. In such situations, the additional configuration information may indicate:

[0197] • that the UE may be requested to send QoE report(s) to a different measurement collection entity, e.g., when for each report that is polluted or all reports if the measurement session is polluted,

[0198] • that the UE is to collect / report different QoE / RVQoE metrics when the measurements are polluted, either in addition to or replacing the QoE / RVQoE metrics indicated in the configuration to be collected / reported when the measurements are not considered polluted,

[0199] • that the UE is to collect / report different QoE / RVQoE metrics with a different periodicity when the measurements are polluted, either in addition to or replacing the collection / reporting periodicity configured to be used when the measurements are not considered polluted, and / or

[0200] • that the UE is to apply changes to the existing QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, reporting configuration, periodicity or all the above.

[0201] Through these changes applied to the reporting during the period in which the UE is non- conformant to the QoE measurement configuration (e.g., during the period when at least one filtering criterion is unfulfilled), the configuring entity may be interested in gathering more information that helps to increase the observability of the performance during the period of non-conformance, which may help in a better characterization and understanding of QoE measurement reports, additional observability into why a non-conformance was encountered, etc.

[0202] Handling of QoE RVQoE reporting during the “pollution”

[0203] QoE / RVQoE reporting during “pollution” can be handled in different ways. In some embodiments, the UE may be instructed whether to continue reporting or not during the pollution, while in some cases, the UE may independently decide whether or not to keep reporting during pollution.

[0204] In some embodiments, the UE may be instructed whether to continue the measurements or not during the pollution, while in some cases, the UE may independently decide whether or not to keep measuring during pollution.

[0205] In some embodiments, QoE / RVQoE reporting can proceed during the pollution, but the measurements (e.g., measurement samples) collected during the pollution can either be left out of the reports or they can be marked in the reports (e.g., the UE can either leave them out of the reports or include them in the reports but mark or label them). For example, this may result in some of the reports sent being empty. Such reports may, for example, contain an indication that the results were collected during the pollution. As another option, if all the measurement data collected with the intention to put in a certain report are collected while at least one filtering criterion is not fulfilled, the report is not sent (e.g. the UE does not send the report rather than sending an empty report).

[0206] In some embodiments, to reduce the burden of the MCE having to process the polluted reports, the RAN (e.g., a gNB) may discard the polluted reports. As one option, the RAN (e.g. a gNB) discards a report only if all the measurement data in the report was collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled.

[0207] As another option, the RAN (e.g. a gNB) discards a report if at least some of the measurement data in the report was collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled.

[0208] As another option the RAN (e.g. a gNB) discards a report if at least a certain minimum fraction / percentage of the measurement data in the report was collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled.

[0209] In some cases, the RAN may be instructed whether to discard the polluted reports by the OAM. As one option, the RAN (e.g. a gNB) may be instructed to discard a report only if all the measurement data in the report was collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled.

[0210] As another option, the RAN (e.g. a gNB) may be instructed to discard a report if at least some of the measurement data in the report was collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled.

[0211] As another option, the RAN (e.g. a gNB) may be instructed to discard a report if at least a certain minimum fraction / percentage of the measurement data in the report was collected while at least one filtering criterion was unfulfilled.

[0212] The RAN (e.g. a gNB) may receive the instruction directly from the OAM system or from the OAM system via the core network.

[0213] In some cases, the RAN may decide on its own whether to discard the polluted reports.

[0214] UE capabilities

[0215] For the embodiments described herein, UE capability signaling may be defined to indicate to the network which of the features described herein the UE is able to support

[0216] Figure 3 illustrates a method performed by a UE in a wireless communication network. The method includes receiving a measurement configuration for performing QoE measurements (block 302). The configuration includes a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements. The UE initiates a QoE measurement session to perform the QoE measurements in accordance with the measurement configuration (block 304).

[0217] The UE determines during the QoE measurement session that the criterion has become unfulfilled (block 306), and continues to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled (block 308). The UE generates a QoE report including the measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled (block 310) and provides the QoE report to a network node (block 312). The UE further provides an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled (block 314).

[0218] The method may further include, after receiving the measurement configuration, determining that the measurement criterion has been fulfilled, wherein initiating the QoE measurement session is performed in response to determining that the measurement criterion has been fulfilled.

[0219] In some embodiments, the measurement report identifies measurements included in the measurement report that were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0220] In some embodiments, the measurement report identifies a time during which measurements included in the measurement report were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0221] In some embodiments, the measurement criterion includes an area scope. The measurement criterion may become unfulfilled when the UE exits the area scope.

[0222] In some embodiments, the measurement configuration pertains to multicast / broadcast services, MBS, and wherein the measurement criterion indicates that measurements should be performed for a multicast mode or a broadcast mode.

[0223] In some embodiments, the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE changes an MBS mode.

[0224] In some embodiments, the measurement criterion includes a filtering criterion provided to the UE in a configuration file.

[0225] In some embodiments, the indication is provided as an explicit indication. The explicit indication may be provided as a flag, a string, or a bitmap in a message to the network node. The explicit indication may indicate how the measurement criterion has been unfulfilled.

[0226] In some embodiments, the explicit indication is provided in the QoE report. In some embodiments, the explicit indication is provided in a message along with the QoE report.

[0227] In some embodiments, the explicit indication is provided in the QoE report. In some embodiments, the explicit indication is provided in a message separate from a message containing the QoE report.

[0228] In some embodiments, the indication is provided as an implicit indication. The implicit indication may be provided by an absence of a periodic QoE report.

[0229] The method may further include receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether collection of QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled is allowed or not allowed.

[0230] In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether QoE reports including QoE measurements taken while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled should be sent, or not sent, by the UE. In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether the UE should continue to perform measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

[0231] In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether the UE should continue to send QoE reports including measurements performed while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

[0232] In some embodiments, the method may further include providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

[0233] Figure 4 illustrates a method performed by a network node in a wireless communication network. The method includes configuring a UE with a measurement configuration for performing QoE measurements (block 402). The configuration includes a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements. The method further includes receiving a QoE report from the UE (block 404). The QoE report includes measurement information relating to measurements taken in accordance with the measurement configuration. The method further includes receiving an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurement information relating to measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled (block 406).

[0234] The following illustrates an implementation example as shown in chapter 6.3.2 of TS 38.331 v 18.0.0.

[0235] Configuration of the Handling of Measurement / report Pollution:

[0236] AppLayerMeasConfig-. The IE AppLayerMeasConfig indicates configuration of application layer measurements.

[0237]

[0238]

[0239] In a possible variation of the above field description for the unfulfilledFilterCriteriaConfig field, the value indicate indicates that the UE shall continue the measurement and reporting and indicate that the report is polluted. In another possible variation of the above field description for the unfulfilledFilterCriteriaConfig field, the value indicate indicates that the UE shall continue the measurement and reporting and indicate that the report is polluted and which filter criterion or which filter criteria that was / were not fulfilled.

[0240] In an alternative implementation example, the UE is configured with an indication whether or not it should continue the measurements and reporting when the configured filtering criteria are not fulfilled: unfulfilledFilterCriteriaMeas ENUMERATED {true, false} OPTIONAL — Need M [-] u n fulfilledFilterCriteriaMeas

[0241] The field indicates whether the UE shall continue the measurement and reporting when the configured filtering criteria are not fulfilled. Value true indicates that the UE shall continue the measurement and reporting, value false indicates that the UE shall not continue the measurement and reporting.

[0242] An implementation example of, and indication attached to the report in RRC signaling:

[0243] MeasurementReportAppLayer. The MeasurementReportAppLayer message is used for sending application layer measurement report.

[0244] Signalling radio bearer: SRB4, SRB5

[0245] RLC-SAP: AM

[0246] Logical channel: DCCH

[0247] Direction: UE to Network

[0248] MeasurementReportAppLayer Message

[0249] - ASN1START

[0250] - TAG-MEASUREMENTREPORTAPPLAYER-START

[0251] Measuremen tReport AppLayer-r 17 ::= SEQUENCE { criticalExtensions CHOICE { measurementReport AppLayer-r 17 MeasurementReport AppLayer-r 17 -IEs, criticalExtensionsFuture SEQUENCE { }

[0252] }

[0253] }

[0254] MeasurementReport AppLayer-r 17 -IES : : = SEQUENCE { measurementReport AppLayerList-r 17 MeasurementReport AppLayerList-r 17, lateNonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING

[0255] OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension MeasurementReport AppLayer-v 1800-IEs

[0256] OPTIONAL

[0257] } Measuremen tReport AppLayer- v 1800-IEs : : = SEQUENCE { measurementReport AppLayerList-r 18 MeasurementReport AppLayerList-r 18

[0258] OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE} }

[0259] OPTIONAL

[0260] }

[0261] MeasurementReportAppLayerList-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofAppLayerMeas-rl7)) OF

[0262] Meas Report AppLayer-r 17

[0263] MeasurementReport AppLayerList-r 18 :: = SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofAppLayerMeas-rl7)) OF

[0264] Meas Report AppLayer-r 18

[0265] MeasReportAppLayer-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { measConfig AppLayerld-r 17 MeasConfigAppLayerId-rl7, measReportAppLay erContainer-r 17 OCTET STRING

[0266] OPTIONAL, appLayerSessionStatus-r!7 ENUMERATED {start, stop}

[0267] OPTIONAL, ran- VisibleMeasurements-r 17 RAN -VisibleMeasurements-r 17

[0268] OPTIONAL

[0269] }

[0270] MeasReportAppLayer-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE { idlelnactiveConfig-r 18 AppLayerldlelnactiveConfig-r 18

[0271] OPTIONAL,

[0272] [[ resultWithUnfulfilledFilterCriterion-rl8 ENUMERATED {true, false}

[0273] OPTIONAL

[0274] ]]

[0275] RAN-VisibleMeasurements-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { appLayerBufferLevelList-r!7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..8)) OF AppLayerBufferLevel-rl7

[0276] OPTIONAL, playoutDelayForMediaStartup-rl7 INTEGER (0..30000)

[0277] OPTIONAL, pdu-SessionIdList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofPDU-Sessions-rl7)) OF PDU-SessionlD OPTIONAL,

[0278] [[ pdu-SessionIdList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofPDU-Sessions-rl7)) OF

[0279] QFLList-rl8 OPTIONAL

[0280] ]] }

[0281] AppLayerBufferLevel-rl7 ::= INTEGER (0..30000)

[0282] QFI-List-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofQFIs)) OF QFI - TAG-MEASUREMENTREPORTAPPLAYER-STOP

[0283] - ASN1STOP

[0284] Another example of implementation, for TS 38.413 (NGAP) (based on version 18.0.0 of the TS), is provided below.

[0285] 9.3.1.224 UE Application Layer Measurement Configuration Information This IE defines configuration information for the QMC functionality.

[0286]

[0287] The following illustrates some of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0288] Group A Embodiments Al. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: receiving (302) a measurement configuration for performing quality of experience, QoE, measurements, wherein the configuration comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements; initiating (304) a QoE measurement session to perform the QoE measurements in accordance with the measurement configuration; determining (306) during the QoE measurement session that the criterion has become unfulfilled; continuing (308) to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled; generating (310) a QoE report including the measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled; providing (312) the QoE report to a network node; and providing (314) an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0289] A2. The method of Embodiment Al, further comprising: after receiving the measurement configuration, determining that the measurement criterion has been fulfilled, wherein initiating the QoE measurement session is performed in response to determining that the measurement criterion has been fulfilled.

[0290] A3. The method of Embodiment Al or A2, wherein the measurement report identifies measurements included in the measurement report that were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0291] A4. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A3, wherein the measurement report identifies a time during which measurements included in the measurement report were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0292] A5. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A4, wherein the measurement criterion comprises an area scope.

[0293] A6. The method of Embodiment A5, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE exits the area scope.

[0294] A7. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A6, wherein the measurement configuration pertains to multicast / broadcast services, MBS, and wherein the measurement criterion indicates that measurements should be performed for a multicast mode or a broadcast mode.

[0295] A8. The method of Embodiment A7, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE changes an MBS mode.

[0296] A9. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A8, wherein the measurement criterion comprises a filtering criterion provided to the UE in a configuration file. A10. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A9, wherein the indication is provided as an explicit indication.

[0297] All. The method of Embodiment A10, wherein the indication is provided as a flag, a string, or a bitmap in a message to the network node.

[0298] A12. The method of Embodiment All, wherein the indication indicates how the measurement criterion has been unfulfilled.

[0299] A13. The method of any of Embodiments A10 to A12, wherein the indication is provided in the QoE report.

[0300] A14. The method of any of Embodiments A10 to A12, wherein the indication is provided in a message along with the QoE report.

[0301] A15. The method of any of Embodiments A10 to A12, wherein the indication is provided in a message separate from a message containing the QoE report.

[0302] A16. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A9, wherein the indication is provided as an implicit indication.

[0303] A17. The method of Embodiment A16, wherein the indication is provided by an absence of a periodic QoE report.

[0304] A18. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A17, further comprising: receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether collection of QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled is allowed or not allowed.

[0305] A19. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A18, further comprising: receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether QoE reports including QoE measurements taken while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled should be sent, or not sent, by the UE.

[0306] A20. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A19, further comprising: receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether the UE should continue to perform measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled. A21. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A20, further comprising: receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether the UE should continue to send QoE reports including measurements performed while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

[0307] A22. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

[0308] Group B Embodiments

[0309] Bl. A method performed by a network node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: configuring (402) a user equipment, UE, with a measurement configuration for performing quality of experience, QoE, measurements, wherein the configuration comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements; receiving (404) a QoE report from the UE, wherein the QoE report includes measurement information relating to measurements taken in accordance with the measurement configuration; and receiving (406) an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurement information relating to measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0310] B2. The method of Embodiment B 1, wherein the measurement report identifies measurements included in the measurement report that were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0311] B3. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B2, wherein the measurement report identifies a time during which measurements included in the measurement report were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

[0312] B4. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B3, wherein the measurement criterion comprises an area scope.

[0313] B5. The method of Embodiment B4, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE exits the area scope.

[0314] B6. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B5, wherein the measurement configuration pertains to multicast / broadcast services, MBS, and wherein the measurement criterion indicates that measurements should be performed for a multicast mode or a broadcast mode. B7. The method of Embodiment B6, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE changes an MBS mode.

[0315] B8. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B7, wherein the measurement criterion comprises a filtering criterion provided to the UE in a configuration file.

[0316] B9. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B8, wherein the indication is provided as an explicit indication.

[0317] BIO. The method of Embodiment B9, wherein the indication is provided as a flag, a string, or a bitmap in a message to the network node.

[0318] B 11. The method of Embodiment B 110 wherein the indication indicates how the measurement criterion has been unfulfilled.

[0319] B 12. The method of any of Embodiments B9 to B 11, wherein the indication is provided in the QoE report.

[0320] B 13. The method of any of Embodiments B9 to B 11, wherein the indication is provided in a message along with the QoE report.

[0321] B 14. The method of any of Embodiments B9 to B 11, wherein the indication is provided in a message separate from a message containing the QoE report.

[0322] B15. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B8, wherein the indication is provided as an implicit indication.

[0323] B16. The method of Embodiment B15, wherein the indication is provided by an absence of a periodic QoE report.

[0324] B17. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to Bl 6, further comprising: transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether collection of QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled is allowed or not allowed.

[0325] B18. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B17, further comprising: transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether QoE reports including QoE measurements taken while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled should be sent, or not sent, by the UE.

[0326] B19. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B18, further comprising: transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether the UE should continue to perform measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

[0327] B20. The method of any of Embodiments Bl to B19, further comprising: transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether the UE should continue to send QoE reports including measurements performed while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

[0328] B21. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0329] Group C Embodiments

[0330] Cl. A user equipment, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0331] C2. A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0332] C3. A user equipment (UE), comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. C4. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0333] C5. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

[0334] C6. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0335] C7. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0336] C8. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0337] C9. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

[0338] CIO. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and / or the UE.

[0339] Cll. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host.

[0340] C12. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0341] C13. The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

[0342] C14. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

[0343] C15. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

[0344] C16. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0345] C17. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

[0346] C18. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0347] C19. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host.

[0348] C20. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the host application.

[0349] C21. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0350] C22. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0351] C23. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

[0352] C24. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0353] C25. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments to transmit the user data to the host.

[0354] C26. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

[0355] C27. The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

[0356] REFERENCES

[0357] 3GPP TS 26.247 v7.4.1

[0358] 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0

[0359] 3GPP TS 27.007 V18.4.0

[0360] 3GPP TS 23.247 V18.3.0

[0361] 3GPP TS 26.247 V18.5.0

[0362] 3GPP TS 38.300 v7.6.0

[0363] 3GPP TS 26.114 V18.5.0

[0364]

[0365]

[0366]

[0367] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system 1100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0368] In the example, the communication system 1100 includes a telecommunication network 1102 that includes an access network 1104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1106, which includes one or more core network nodes 1108. The access network 1104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1110a and 1110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1102, including one or more network nodes 1110 and / or core network nodes 1108.

[0369] 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 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1112a, 1112b, 1112c, and 1112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1112) to the core network 1106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0370] 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 1100 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 1100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0371] The UEs 1112 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 1110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1102 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 1102.

[0372] In the depicted example, the core network 1106 connects the network nodes 1110 to one or more hosts, such as host 1116. 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 1106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1108) 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 1108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0373] The host 1116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1104 and / or the telecommunication network 1102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0374] As a whole, the communication system 1100 of Figure 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0375] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1102. For example, the telecommunications network 1102 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)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0376] In some examples, the UEs 1112 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 1104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0377] In the example, the hub 1114 communicates with the access network 1104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1110b). In some examples, the hub 1114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1114 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 1110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1114. As another example, the hub 1114 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 1114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0378] The hub 1114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1110b. The hub 1114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1114 and UEs (e.g., UE 1112c and / or 1112d), and between the hub 1114 and the core network 1106. In other examples, the hub 1114 is connected to the core network 1106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1110 while still connected via the hub 1114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1114 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 1110b. In other embodiments, the hub 1114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0379] Figure 6 shows a UE 1200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customerpremise 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.

[0380] 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).

[0381] The UE 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1204 to an input / output interface 1206, a power source 1208, a memory 1210, a communication interface 1212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 6. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0382] The processing circuitry 1202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1210. The processing circuitry 1202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0383] In the example, the input / output interface 1206 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 1200. 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.

[0384] In some embodiments, the power source 1208 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 1208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1200 to which power is supplied.

[0385] The memory 1210 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 1210 includes one or more application programs 1214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1216. The memory 1210 may store, for use by the UE 1200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0386] The memory 1210 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 1210 may allow the UE 1200 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 1210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0387] The processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1212. The communication interface 1212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1222. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1218 and / or a receiver 1220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1218 and receiver 1220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0388] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0389] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1 12, 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).

[0390] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0391] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or 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 of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1200 shown in Figure 12.

[0392] 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.

[0393] 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.

[0394] Figure 7 shows a network node 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0395] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0396] 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).

[0397] The network node 1300 includes a processing circuitry 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306, and a power source 1308. The network node 1300 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 1300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, 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 1300.

[0398] The processing circuitry 1302 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 1300 components, such as the memory 1304, to provide network node 1300 functionality.

[0399] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314 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 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0400] The memory 1304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non- transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1302. The memory 1304 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 1302 and utilized by the network node 1300. The memory 1304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 and memory 1304 is integrated.

[0401] The communication interface 1306 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 1306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1310. Radio front-end circuitry 1318 comprises filters 1320 and amplifiers 1322. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may be connected to an antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 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 1318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1320 and / or amplifiers 1322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0402] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1318, instead, the processing circuitry 1302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 is part of the communication interface 1306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1316, the radio front-end circuitry 1318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0403] The antenna 1310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1310 is separate from the network node 1300 and connectable to the network node 1300 through an interface or port.

[0404] The antenna 1310, communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1310, the communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 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.

[0405] The power source 1308 provides power to the various components of network node 1300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1300 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 1308. As a further example, the power source 1308 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.

[0406] Embodiments of the network node 1300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 7 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1300 and to allow output of information from the network node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1300.

[0407] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a host 1400, which may be an embodiment of the host 1116 of Figure 5, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1400 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 1400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0408] The host 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a network interface 1408, a power source 1410, and a memory 1412. 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 6 and 7, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1400.

[0409] The memory 1412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1414 and data 1416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1400 or data generated by the host 1400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1414 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 1414 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 1400 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1414 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.

[0410] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1500 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 1500 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 1500 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.

[0411] Applications 1502 (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.

[0412] Hardware 1504 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 1506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1508a and 1508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1508.

[0413] The VMs 1508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0414] In the context of NFV, a VM 1508 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 1508, and that part of hardware 1504 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 1508 on top of the hardware 1504 and corresponds to the application 1502.

[0415] Hardware 1504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1504 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 1510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1502. In some embodiments, hardware 1504 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 1512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0416] Figure 10 shows a communication diagram of a host 1602 communicating via a network node 1604 with a UE 1606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1112a of Figure 5 and / or UE 1200 of Figure 6), network node (such as network node 1110a of Figure 5 and / or network node 1300 of Figure 7), and host (such as host 1116 of Figure 5 and / or host 1400 of Figure 8) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 10.

[0417] Like host 1400, embodiments of host 1602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1650 extending between the UE 1606 and host 1602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1650.

[0418] The network node 1604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1602 and UE 1606. The connection 1660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1106 of Figure 5) 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.

[0419] The UE 1606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1606 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 nonhuman user via UE 1606 with the support of the host 1602. In the host 1602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1650 terminating at the UE 1606 and host 1602. 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 1650 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 1650.

[0420] The OTT connection 1650 may extend via a connection 1660 between the host 1602 and the network node 1604 and via a wireless connection 1670 between the network node 1604 and the UE 1606 to provide the connection between the host 1602 and the UE 1606. The connection 1660 and wireless connection 1670, over which the OTT connection 1650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 1604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0421] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1650, in step 1608, the host 1602 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 1606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1606 that shares data with the host 1602 without explicit human interaction. In step 1610, the host 1602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1606. The host 1602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1606. The transmission may pass via the network node 1604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1612, the network node 1604 transmits to the UE 1606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1614, the UE 1606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1606 associated with the host application executed by the host 1602.

[0422] In some examples, the UE 1606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1602. Accordingly, in step 1616, the UE 1606 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 1606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1606 initiates, in step 1618, transmission of the user data towards the host 1602 via the network node 1604. In step 1620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1604 receives user data from the UE 1606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1602. In step 1622, the host 1602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1606.

[0423] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1606 using the OTT connection 1650, in which the wireless connection 1670 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the ability of a network to analyze and act on measurement reports and thereby provide benefits such as reduced overhead, improved throughput and / or extended battery lifetime.

[0424] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1602. As another example, the host 1602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time 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.

[0425] 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 1650 between the host 1602 and UE 1606, 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 1602 and / or UE 1606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1650 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 1650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1604. 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 1602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0426] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0427] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally. The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, in a wireless communication network, of reporting Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements, the method comprising: initiating (304) a QoE measurement session to perform QoE measurements in accordance with a measurement configuration, wherein the measurement configuration comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements; determining (306) during the QoE measurement session that the measurement criterion has become unfulfilled; continuing (308) to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled; generating (310) a QoE report including the QoE measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled; providing (312) the QoE report to a network node; and providing (314) an indication to the network node that the QoE report includes measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

2. The method of Claim 1, further comprising receiving (302) the measurement configuration for performing the QoE measurements, wherein the measurement configuration comprises the measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements.

3. The method of Claim 2, further comprising, after receiving the measurement configuration, determining that the measurement criterion has been fulfilled, and wherein initiating the QoE measurement session is performed in response to determining that the measurement criterion has been fulfilled.

4. The method of any of Claims 1-3, wherein the QoE report identifies the measurements included in the QoE report that were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

5. The method of any of Claims 1-4, wherein the QoE report identifies a time during which the measurements included in the measurement report were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

6. The method of any of Claims 1-5, wherein the measurement criterion comprises an area scope.

7. The method of Claim 6, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE exits the area scope.

8. The method of any of Claims 1-7, wherein the measurement configuration pertains to multicast / broadcast services, MBS, and wherein the measurement criterion indicates that the QoE measurements should be performed for a multicast mode or a broadcast mode.

9. The method of Claim 8, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE changes from an MBS mode to a Unicast mode.

10. The method of any of Claims 1-9, wherein the measurement criterion comprises a filtering criterion provided to the UE in a configuration file.

11. The method of any of Claims 1-10, wherein the indication is provided to the network node as an explicit indication.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the indication is provided as a flag, a string, or a bitmap in a message to the network node.

13. The method of Claim 11, wherein the indication indicates how the measurement criterion has been unfulfilled.

14. The method of any of Claims 11-13, wherein the indication is provided to the network node in the QoE report.

15. The method of any of Claims 11-14, wherein the indication is provided in a message along with the QoE report.

16. The method of any of Claims 11-14, wherein the indication is provided in a message separate from a message comprising the QoE report.

17. The method of any of Claims 1-10, wherein the indication is provided to the network node as an implicit indication.

18. The method of Claim 17, wherein the indication is provided by an absence of a periodic QoE report.

19. The method of any of Claims 1-18, further comprising receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether collection of QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled is allowed or not allowed.

20. The method of any of Claims 1-18, further comprising receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether QoE reports including the measurements taken while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled should be sent, or not sent, by the UE.

21. The method of any of Claims 1-20, further comprising receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether the UE should continue to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

22. The method of any of Claims 1-21, further comprising receiving an indication from the network node indicating whether the UE should continue to send QoE reports including the measurements performed while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

23. The method of any of the previous claims, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via a transmission to the network node.

24. A method performed by a network node in a wireless communication network of processing Quality of Experience, QoE, reports, the method comprising: configuring (402) a user equipment, UE, with a measurement configuration for performing QoE measurements, wherein the configuration comprises a measurement criterion for performing the QoE measurements; receiving (404) a QoE report from the UE, wherein the QoE report includes measurement information relating to the QoE measurements taken in accordance with the measurement configuration; and receiving (406) an indication from the UE that the QoE report includes measurement information relating to measurements taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein the QoE report identifies the measurements included in the QoE report that were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

26. The method of any of Claims 24-25, wherein the QoE report identifies a time during which measurements included in the QoE report were taken while the measurement criterion was unfulfilled.

27. The method of any of Claims 24-26, wherein the measurement criterion comprises an area scope.

28. The method of Claim 27, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE exits the area scope.

29. The method of any of Claims 24-28, wherein the measurement configuration pertains to multicast / broadcast services, MBS, and wherein the measurement criterion indicates that the QoE measurements should be performed for a multicast mode or a broadcast mode.

30. The method of Claim 29, wherein the measurement criterion becomes unfulfilled when the UE changes from an MBS mode to a Unicast mode.

31. The method of any of Claims 24-30, wherein the measurement criterion comprises a filtering criterion provided to the UE in a configuration file.

32. The method of any of Claims 24-31, wherein the indication is provided as an explicit indication.

33. The method of Claim 32, wherein the indication is provided as a flag, a string, or a bitmap in a message to the network node.

34. The method of Claim 24-32 wherein the indication indicates how the measurement criterion has been unfulfilled.

35. The method of any of Claims 32-34, wherein the indication is provided in the QoE report.

36. The method of any of Claims 32-35, wherein the indication is provided in a message along with the QoE report.

37. The method of any of Claims 32-36, wherein the indication is provided in a message separate from a message comprising the QoE report.

38. The method of any of Claims 24-31, wherein the indication is provided as an implicit indication.

39. The method of Claim 38, wherein the indication is provided by an absence of a periodic QoE report.

40. The method of any of Claims 24-39, further comprising transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether collection of the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled is allowed or not allowed.

41. The method of any of Claims 24-40, further comprising transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether QoE reports including the measurements taken while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled should be sent, or not sent, by the UE.

42. The method of any of Claims 24-41, further comprising transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether the UE should continue to perform the QoE measurements while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

43. The method of any of Claims 24-42, further comprising transmitting an indication to the UE indicating whether the UE should continue to send QoE reports including the measurements performed while the measurement criterion is unfulfilled.

44. The method of any of Claims 24-43, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

45. A user equipment, UE, in a wireless communication network configured to report Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements, the UE comprising: processing circuitry configured to: perform the method of any of claims 1-23; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

46. A network node in a wireless communication network configured to process Quality of Experience, QoE, reports, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of claims 24-44; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

47. A user equipment UE, configured to report Quality of Experience, QoE, measurements, the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-23; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to the processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

48. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment ,UE, the network node comprising a communication interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of claims 24-44 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

49. The host of Claim 48, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

50. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment ,UE, the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs the method of any of claims 24-44 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

51. The method of Claim 50, further comprising the network node transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

52. The method of any of Claims 50-51, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

53. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top ,OTT, service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment ,UE, the user data being associated with the OTT service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node comprising: a communication interface; and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of claims 24-44 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

54. The communication system of Claim 53, further comprising: the network node; and / or the UE.

55. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: host processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node comprising: a communication interface; and network node processing circuitry, the network node processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of claims 24-44 to receive the user data from a user equipment ,UE, for the host.

56. The host of Claim 55, wherein: the host processing circuitry is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

57. The host of Claims 55-56, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.

58. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment ,UE, the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node received from the UE, and wherein the network node performs the method of any of claims 24-44 to receive the user data from the UE for the host.

59. The method of Claim 58, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

60. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: host processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment ,UE, the UE comprising a communication interface and UE processing circuitry, the communication interface and UE processing circuitry being configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-23 to receive the user data from the host.

61. The host of Claim 60, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host.

62. The host of Claims 60-61, wherein: the host processing circuitry is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

63. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment ,UE, the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs the method of any of claims 1-23 to receive the user data from the host.

64. The method of Claim 63, further comprising, at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the host application.

65. The method of Claims 63-64, further comprising, at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, and wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

66. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: host processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment ,UE, wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and UE processing circuitry, the communication interface and UE processing circuitry being configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-23 to transmit the user data to the host.

67. The host of Claim 66, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host.

68. The host of Claims 66-67, wherein: the host processing circuitry is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

69. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment ,UE, the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs the method of any of claims 1-23 to transmit the user data to the host.

70. The method of Claim 69, further comprising, at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE.

71. The method of Claims 69-70, further comprising, at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, and wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application.

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