Methods for carrier wave transmitters in ambient-internet-of-things

Abstract

Methods performed by a carrier wave transmitter and a network node are disclosed herein. Corresponding systems and apparatuses are also disclosed. A method performed by a carrier wave transmitter comprises sending capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter to a network node. The method further comprises receiving a configuration from the network node based on the capability information, and sending a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

Description

METHODS FOR CARRIER WAVE TRANSMITTERS IN AMBIENT-INTERNE T- OF-THINGSFIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems and, more specifically, to methods and systems for backs cattering communication using carrier wave transmitters. Such type of communication may for example be used in the context of Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Ambient-Intemet-of-Things (Ambient-IoT or A-IoT), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM), New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), passive devices, and energy harvesting.BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless loT devices are often battery powered. Both the need to change batteries and battery lifetime may be challenges for many potential applications, such as asset tracking or environmental / industrial sensors. For this reason, the wireless communications industry has been interested in Ambient-IoT or zero-energy (ZE) devices. Ambient-IoT devices generally refer to wireless loT devices that do not require frequent battery replacement because they often include capabilities to harvest energy from the environment. In some use cases, such as monitoring the temperature of food, Ambient-IoT devices may have small batteries that are disposable (e.g., organic, compostable batteries), rechargeable, or have very limited capacity.

[0003] In addition, Ambient-IoT devices can be of very small form factor and be constructed out of printable materials to target ultra-low power consumption by enabling operation based on either energy harvesting from ambient sources or backscattering communication (cf. active Radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices). That is, instead of relying on battery-powered energy for communication, the energy for Ambient-IoT devices can be harvested from an ambient source, e.g., vibrations, solar power, radio frequencies, etc., or a charge carrier wave may be provided to the Ambient-IoT device for backscattering communication, in which the carrier wave is modulated and reflected back to a reader. This enables energy-autonomous operation during the lifetime of the devices without the need for either manually replacing or charging batteries. Compared to existing radio access technologies, Ambient-IoT devices put new requirements on radio interfaces and protocols.SUMMARY

[0004] Various computer-implemented systems, methods, and articles of manufacture related to carrier wave transmitters are described herein. In one embodiment, a methodperformed by a carrier wave transmitter comprises sending capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter to a network node. The method further comprises receiving a configuration from the network node based on the capability information, and sending a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

[0005] In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node comprises receiving capability information regarding a carrier wave transmitter, and sending a configuration to the carrier wave transmitter based on the capability information, the carrier wave transmitter operative to send a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the sent configuration.

[0006] In one embodiment, a carrier wave transmitter, comprising processing circuitry is configured to send capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter to a network node. The carrier wave transmitter is further configured to receive a configuration from the network node based on the capability information, and send a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

[0007] In one embodiment, a network node, comprising processing circuitry is configured to receive capability information regarding a carrier wave transmitter, and send a configuration to the carrier wave transmitter based on the capability information, the carrier wave transmitter operative to send a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the sent configuration.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] For a better understanding of the various described embodiments, reference should be made to the Detailed Description below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

[0009] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a first communication system topology in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a second communication system topology in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart showing a method performed by a carrier wave transmitter in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart showing a method performed by a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary user equipment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Certain aspects of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. This concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the concept to those skilled in the art.

[0018] Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise:

[0019] The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

[0020] As used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator and is equivalent to the term “and / or,” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0021] The term “based on” is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0022] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is locatedbetween the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously. Within the context of a networked environment where two or more components or devices are able to exchange data, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are also used to mean “communicatively coupled with”, possibly via one or more intermediary devices.

[0023] Throughout the specification, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”.

[0024] Although some of the various embodiments presented herein constitute a single combination of inventive elements, it should be appreciated that the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements. As such, if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and another embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C, or D, even if not explicitly discussed herein. Further, the transitional term “comprising” means to have as parts or members, or to be those parts or members. As used herein, the transitional term “comprising” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.Terminology

[0025] As used herein, the non-limiting term “node” may refer to any type of network node or a user equipment (UE). Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, the following: a NodeB, a base station (BS), a multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as an MSR BS, an eNodeB, a gNodeB, an MeNB, an SeNB, a location measurement unit (LMU), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a network controller, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BCS), a relay, a donor node controlling relay, a base transceiver station (BTS), a central unit (e.g., within a gNB), a distributed unit (e.g., within a gNB), a baseband unit, a centralized baseband, a C-RAN, an access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an RRU, an RRH, one or more nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS), a core network node (e.g., MCS, MME etc.), an Operations, Maintenance, and Administration (O&M) node, an Operational Support Systems (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centre (E-SMLC) node), etc.

[0026] The non-limiting term “UE” as used herein may refer to any type of wireless device operable to communicate with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, the following devices:a target device, a device to device (D2D) UE, a vehicular to vehicular (V2V) device, a machine type UE, an MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a mobile terminal, a smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) dongle, etc.

[0027] As used herein, the non-limiting term “radio access technology” (RAT), may refer to any type of radio communication technology or protocol, including one or more of the following technologies or protocols: Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), Fourth Generation (4G), Fifth Generation (5G), Sixth Generation (6G), NR Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), loTNTN, Long- Term Evolution (LTE) NTN, etc. As used herein, any of the equipment denoted by the term node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single RAT or multiple RATs.

[0028] The non-limiting term “time resource” as used herein may refer to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of a length of time. Examples of time resources include the following: a symbol, a time slot, a subframe, a radio frame, a Transmission Time Interval (TTI), interleaving time, a slot, a sub-slot, a mini-slot, a system frame number (SFN) cycle, a hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle, etc.Connectivity topologies

[0029] Different exemplary connectivity topologies for networks and devices (e.g., Ambient-IoT networks and devices) are described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2, respectively. In the example topologies, a device (e.g., an Ambient-IoT device) may be provided with a carrier wave from other node(s) either inside or outside the topology. The links in each topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional.

[0030] Each base station (BS), User Equipment (UE), assisting node, or intermediate node in Figures 1 and 2 may represent one or more BSs or UEs, respectively. The mixture of indoor or outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice. For example, each base station (BS), User Equipment (UE), assisting node, or intermediate node may be placed / located at an indoor location or an outdoor location based on one or more implementation factors, including an accounting of potential impacts on device or node complexity. Further, the placement of the various nodes within the exemplary topologies may support the existence of multi-hop assisting or intermediate nodes, but one should not implythe existence of multi-hop assisting or intermediate nodes solely based on the locations of the various nodes.

[0031] Figure 1 shows an example of a first communication system topology (also referred to herein as “Topology 1”) 100 in accordance with some embodiments. Topology 1 has been outlined in the 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.848 v 1.0.0 “Study on Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in RAN”. In Topology 1, an Ambient-IoT device 110 (i.e., a device having Ambient-IoT capabilities) comprises processing circuitry configured to directly and bidirectionally communicate with a network node 120 (e.g., a base station or a gNB in New Radio). The communications between the network node 120 and the Ambient-IoT device 110 may include Ambient-IoT data and / or signaling and backscattering communication. One skilled in the art will understand that Topology 1 is a simplified topology shown to clarify carrier wave communications between an Ambient-IoT device 110 and a network node 120. While exemplary, a typical topology will comprise a plurality of devices 110 and / or network nodes 120 configured to communicate with each other in accordance with the embodiments described herein. For example, although not shown in Figure 1, Topology 1 includes the possibility that a first network node 120 sending a communication directly to the Ambient-IoT device 110 can be different from a second network node 120 receiving a communication (e.g., a backscattered response) directly from the Ambient-IoT device 110, where the first and second network nodes may or may not be in communication with each other.

[0032] In Topology 1, the device 110 with Ambient-IoT capabilities and the network node 120 can be deployed at various indoor or outdoor locations. For example, in a first deployment scenario, i.e., Deployment Scenario #1, both the device 110 with Ambient-IoT capabilities and the network node 120 may be deployed indoors. In another example, i.e., Deployment Scenario #2, the device 110 with Ambient-IoT capabilities may be deployed indoors and the network node 120 may be deployed outdoors.

[0033] Figure 2 shows an example of a second topology (also referred to herein as Topology 2) 200 in accordance with some embodiments. Topology 2 has been outlined in the 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.848 v 1.0.0 “Study on Ambient loT (Internet of Things) in RAN”. Topology 2 comprises an Ambient-IoT device 210 (i.e., a device having Ambient-IoT capabilities), a network node 220 (e.g., a base station or a gNB in New Radio), and an intermediate node 230 (e.g., a carrier wave transmitter) that comprises processing circuitry configured to bidirectionally communicate with the network node 220 and the device 210. For example, the intermediate node 230 in Topology 2 may be a base station, a relay, an IntegratedAccess and Backhaul (IAB) node, a UE, a repeater, etc., which is capable of carrier wave and / or self-powered communication with the device 210 and the network node 220. For example, the intermediate node 230 may relay or transfer Ambient-IoT data and / or signaling between the network node 220 and the Ambient-IoT device 210.In Topology 2, the device 210, intermediate node 230, and network node 220 can be deployed at various indoor or outdoor locations. For example, in a first deployment scenario, Deployment Scenario #1, both the device 210 and the network node 220 may be deployed indoors. In a second deployment scenario, Deployment Scenario #2, the device 210 may be deployed indoors and the network node 220 may be deployed outdoors. Further, the intermediate node 230 may be deployed either indoors or outdoors in either Deployment Scenario #1 or Deployment Scenario #2.Device categories

[0034] Ambient-IoT devices (also referred to herein as “devices having Ambient-IoT capabilities” or “devices”) as contemplated herein may be characterized as falling within one of three defined device categories according to their energy storage capacity and their capabilities for generating radio frequency (RF) signals for transmission. Specifically, a device may have either (1) no energy storage at all; or (2) limited energy storage. Relying on these storage capacity scenarios, devices with Ambient-IoT capabilities may be characterized as being one of the following devices:• Device A: A device that includes no energy storage capabilities, and no independent signal generation / amplification capabilities, i.e., no backscattering transmission capabilities.• Device B: A device that includes energy storage capabilities, but no independent signal generation capabilities, i.e., no backscattering transmission capabilities. For this type of device, the use of stored energy can include use for amplification of reflected signals.• Device C: A device that includes energy storage capabilities and independent signal generation capabilities, i.e., active RF components for signal generation / transmission.

[0035] The size of the limited energy storage capacity can be different among implementations within Device B or implementations within Device C, and different between Device B and Device C implementations. However, limited energy storage capacity, as contemplated herein, is generally expected to be one or more order(s) of magnitude smaller than the energy capacity of atypical Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) device.

[0036] Further, each of Devices A, B, and C as contemplated herein may include capabilities to demodulate control signals, data, etc., from a relevant entity (e.g., a network node, a UE, or an intermediate node) in a Radio Access Network (RAN) according to the connectivity topology, e.g., according to Topology 1 or Topology 2 as described above. Ambient-IoT in 3 GPP Rel-19

[0037] Recently, 3GPP stakeholders, in Technical Report (TR) 22.840, have started working on capturing potential use cases, traffic scenarios, and device constraints of Ambient- loT, and identifying new potential service requirements and new key performance indicators (KPIs) for Ambient-IoT implementation.

[0038] Meanwhile, a study item at RAN plenary level RP -222685, “Study on Ambient- IoT”, is being carried out with a focus on the feasibility of meeting design targets for relevant use cases of Ambient-IoT. The outcome is being reported in TR 38.848, a document that reports on the feasibility of meeting the design targets for relevant use cases of a new 3GPP loT technology.

[0039] Further, the stakeholders have agreed to a new SID RP-234058, “Study on solutions for Ambient-IoT (Internet of Things) in NR”, for the purposes of studying A-IoT in 3GPP Rel-19, in which, part of study scope is captured as follows in Table 1 below.General ScopeThe definitions provided in TR 38.848 are taken into this SI, and the following are the exclusive general scope:A. The overall objective shall be to study a harmonized air interface design with minimized differences (where necessary) for Ambient loT to enable the following devices: i. ~1 / zW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10 ppm, neither DL nor UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. ii. < a few hundred «W peak power consumption1, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10 ppm, both DL and / or UL amplification in the device. The device’ s UL transmission may be generated internally by the device, or be backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.• X is to be decided in WGs.• Coverage design target: Maximum distance of 10-50 m with device indoors as per TR 38.848: “ .. a range that WGs can sub-select -within” .• For Topologies 1 & 2 (UE as intermediate node under NW control) per TR 38.848, with no RRC states, no mobility (i.e. at least no cell selection / re-selection -like function), no HARQ, no ARQ.NOTE 1: It is to be understood that “< a few hundred / zW” means WGs are not tasked with setting a particular value, and that it will be for WG discussions to determine if a presented design with corresponding power consumption satisfies the “< a few hundred / zW” requirement.B. Deployment Scenarios with the following characteristics, referenced to the tables in Clause 4.2.2 of TR 38.848:• Deployment scenario 1 with Topology 1 o Base station and coexistence characteristics: Micro-cell, co-site• Deployment scenario 2 with Topology 2 and UE as intermediate node, under network control o Base station and coexistence characteristics: Macro-cell, co-site o The location of intermediate node is indoorC. FR1 licensed spectrum in FDD.D. Spectrum deployment in-band to NR, in guard-band to LTE / NR, in standalone band(s).E. Traffic types DO-DTT, DT, with focus on rUCl (indoor inventory) and rUC4 (indoor command).• From RAN#104, the study will assess whether the harmonized air interface design (per bullet ‘A’ above) can address the DO-A (Device-originated autonomous) use case, only to identify which part(s) of the harmonized air interface design (per bullet ‘A’ above) is / are not sufficient for the DO- A use case.Transmission from Ambient loT device (including backscattering when used) can occur at least in UL spectrum.Table 1

[0040] The 3GPP specification for A-IoT is expected to support both active and passive devices having A-IoT capabilities. Passive A-IoT devices require a carrier wave transmitted from a radio frequency (RF) transmitter to communicate via backscattering communications. This is because they cannot generate a carrier wave themselves due to limited capabilities (low power, low complexity, low-cost operation). The carrier wave transmitter can have very different capabilities but there is no mechanism to categorize them. Therefore, certain challenges currently exist.

[0041] Currently, methods and signaling are needed to help the network in configuring frequency bands for carrier wave transmitters. Also, the data / control signaling and protocols between a carrier wave transmitter and other nodes (e.g., a gNB, a UE, etc.) need to be designed.

[0042] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0043] The proposed solutions provide a mechanism for a network-controlled carrier wave transmitter and include the following features:• Carrier wave transmitter device categorization;• Uplink / downlink (UL / DL) frequency band selection for carrier wave transmission;• Data / control signal transmission from carrier wave transmitter / emitter device; and• Interference handling due to carrier wave transmitter transmissions.

[0044] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Carrier wave transmitter device categorization will enable the network to configure the operation of such devices / nodes based on their capabilities. The proposed solution provides methods for configuring frequency bands for carrier wave transmitter transmission. The proposed solution also provides methods and signaling for transmitting control / data from a carrier wave transmitter.

[0045] The teachings of certain embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and power consumption for devices having Ambient-IoT capabilities in New Radio (NR) and / or other types of wireless communication systems.

[0046] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0047] As used herein, a carrier wave transmitter (which may also be referred to herein as a “CWT” or a “CWT node”) is a node that is capable of at least transmitting a carrier wave (CW) to a device, e.g., an Ambient-IoT device (also referred to herein as an “A-IoT device” or a “device having A-IoT capabilities”). In some embodiments, a carrier wave transmitter may be a new type of 3GPP node (i.e., not an existing 3GPP node like a gNB / eNB, UE, repeater, etc.) or, alternatively, one or more of the existing 3GPP nodes (e.g., a gNB / eNB or a UE) may function as a carrier wave transmitter.

[0048] Further, in various embodiments described herein, a Uu interface (as shown in Figure 2) may be used for communication between a network node and a carrier wave transmitter. However, the embodiments are equally applicable if a different interface is used (e.g., a new interface is defined or an alternative existing interface is used).Carrier wave transmitter device category

[0049] In one embodiment, a new UE category is defined for the carrier wave transmitters (e.g., a UE belonging to this new category has the capability to act as a carrier wave transmitter). In one example, this new UE category requires a carrier wave transmitter to at least be able to camp on a cell and read carrier wave transmitter-related system information (SI) sent from the network. In another example, the carrier wave transmitter UE category can support one or more of the features supported by the existing 3GPP NR / LTE device categories. These features can be specified in a standard specification.

[0050] In one embodiment, one or more new node categories (separate from the UE) may be defined for the carrier wave transmitters. For example, there can be different types of carrierwave transmitters, each serving a designated purpose. A carrier wave transmitter that is less capable may only broadcast a time-continuous carrier wave based on a certain format, while there might be a set of more capable carrier wave transmitters which can handle data transmissions along with a carrier wave transmission, e.g., data transmissions that piggyback data on the carrier wave to a network node, e.g., a gNB. In some embodiments, some carrier wave transmitters may comprise a wired backhaul to a network node, while some carrier wave transmitters may comprise mobile devices (e.g., a NR UE) configured to communicate with a network node via over the air transmissions. Further, in some embodiments, different carrier wave transmitters may be configured to transmit different types of waveforms based on one or more capabilities of the individual carrier wave transmitters or groups of carrier wave transmitters.

[0051] In one embodiment, instead of defining a new UE category, one or more new UE features for carrier wave transmitters may be defined. For example, if a NR UE indicates a capability of supporting carrier wave transmission, then the network may enable / disable and / or configure its operation for carrier wave transmission. In one embodiment, there may be one or more categories defined for carrier wave transmitters. Alternatively, there may be one or more UE features defined for carrier wave transmitters (i.e., instead of or in addition to having multiple categories). For example, carrier wave transmitter device categories or features may be based one or more of the following characteristics: whether the carrier wave transmitter can support transmission in uplink only, downlink only or both uplink and downlink bands; whether the carrier wave transmitter can support reception in uplink only, downlink only or both uplink and downlink bands; whether the carrier wave transmitter can only transmit the carrier wave to A-IoT devices; whether the carrier wave transmitter can transmit control information to A-IoT devices; whether the carrier wave transmitter can transmit data information to A-IoT devices; a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission; a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission; frequency bands supported for a carrier wave transmission; or an operating bandwidth.

[0052] In one embodiment, a network node may broadcast this information (which may be referred to as carrier wave transmitter information), e.g., using system information (SI). For example, a new SI block or a new SI message may be defined for carrier wave transmitter information transmission. For example, this information may be sent via dedicated signaling, e.g., using RRC, MAC or DCI signaling. In one scenario, a carrier wave transmitter may camp on a NR cell and read the SI, where the SI provides carrier wave transmitter-related informationto the carrier wave transmitter. In another expanded scenario, a carrier wave transmitter may camp on a NR cell and read SI, where the SI provides carrier wave transmitter-related information to the carrier wave transmitter. The carrier wave transmitter may then establish a connection with the cell and share its capability information with the network via a network node. The network may then configure the operation of the device as a carrier wave transmitter and send additional information using dedicated signaling.Frequency band selection for carrier wave transmitters

[0053] It should be noted that the following embodiments are not limited to whether the frequency band is an uplink band or a downlink band or both an uplink and downlink band. Frequency band selection may also refer to one or more characteristics of the frequency band such as carrier frequency, bandwidth, spectral requirements, etc.

[0054] In one embodiment, one or more general frequency bands supported by a carrier wave transmitter for transmission and / or reception with a network node can be used for carrier wave transmissions (e.g., where the carrier wave transmitter can act as a UE or as a new 3 GPP node that can communicate with the network or as an existing 3GPP node such as a repeater, etc.). That is, the one or more frequency bands for carrier wave transmission need not be indicated separately from those indicated for uplink transmission / reception.

[0055] In one embodiment, the one or more frequency bands supported by carrier wave transmitters for transmission and / or reception with other UEs or with other carrier wave transmitters can be used for transmission as a carrier wave transmitter (e.g., where the carrier wave transmitter can act as a UE or as a new node that can communicate with the UEs and / or carrier wave transmitters). That is, the one or more frequency bands for carrier wave transmission need not be indicated separately from those indicated for transmission / reception with other nodes.

[0056] In one embodiment, the carrier wave transmitter may indicate the one or more bands supported for carrier wave transmission to a network node, e.g., a base station. For example, the network node may then configure and allow, or disallow, the one or more indicated bands for carrier wave transmission.

[0057] In one embodiment, the network node may indicate the one or more frequency bands that can be used for carrier wave transmitter operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the network may indicate whether the carrier wave transmission is allowed in downlink bands oruplink bands or both uplink and downlink bands. For example, this indication may be communicated to the carrier wave transmitter via cell-specific or dedicated signaling. The carrier wave transmitter may then indicate to the network which of the one or more bands indicated by the network the carrier wave transmitter will be using for carrier wave transmission.

[0058] In one embodiment, the carrier wave transmitter may indicate to the network whether it can transmit in uplink only or downlink only or in both uplink and downlink frequency bands. The network may then indicate to the carrier wave transmitter whether it can transmit in an uplink band or a downlink band or both uplink and downlink bands. Alternatively, a standard specification may provide for whether a carrier wave transmitter can transmit in the uplink band or the downlink band. Additionally, the band numbers to be supported for carrier wave transmitters may also be fixed.

[0059] In one embodiment, whether the carrier wave transmitter can transmit in an uplink band or a downlink band may be dependent on the network / topology or scenario for 3GPP Ambient-IoT signaling, RFID, Backscattering communication, OFDM, NR, LTE, passive device communication, energy harvesting, or the like. For example, if Topology 1 is supported, then the carrier wave transmitter will be allowed to transmit in an uplink band. As another example, if Topology 2 is supported, then the carrier wave transmitter may be configured to transmit in a downlink band. In yet another example, whether the carrier wave transmitter will be allowed to transmit in the uplink or downlink band may depend on the capability of the intended receiver for the A-IoT device’s transmission. For example, if the receiver is a UE that can only receive the A-IoT device’s transmission in a downlink band, then the carrier wave transmitter will also transmit in a downlink band. However, if the receiver is a UE that can receive in both uplink and downlink bands, then carrier wave transmitter can also transmit in an uplink band if configured by the network.

[0060] In one embodiment, a network node may share an A-IoT device’s capability information with the carrier wave transmitter and the carrier wave transmitter may determine which band to transmit on from the one or more bands that the network configuration allows the carrier wave transmitter to transmit on. For example, the shared device capability information may be on a per A-IoT device basis. Alternatively, the shared device capability information may be applicable to a group of A-IoT devices to be served by the carrier wave transmitter (e.g., within the coverage area of the A-IoT devices or within a certain geographic area or cell area), where device capability information may comprise an average, a weightedaverage, or a median for the reported A-IoT device capabilities of the group of devices. In another example, the shared device capability information may comprise a lowest capability or a highest capability applicable to the group of devices, or both the lowest and the highest capabilities applicable to the group of devices.

[0061] In one embodiment, whether the carrier wave transmitter can transmit in an uplink band or a downlink band may depend on the categories or features of A-IoT devices to be served by the carrier wave transmitter. For example, if the supported operating bandwidth or supported frequency bands in which an A-IoT device can operate are known to a network node or the carrier wave transmitter, then the carrier wave transmitter may transmit in a known band. In another example, if the A-IoT devices to be served by the carrier wave transmitter support operation in one or more frequency bands, then the carrier wave transmitter may be configured to transmit at least in a band that is commonly supported by each of the A-IoT devices (or supported by most of the devices if there is no single band supported by each of the devices).

[0062] In some embodiments, the network node, e.g., a gNB, may control carrier wave transmitters by controlling their activity, e.g., by switching certain frequency resources or bands on or off.Information transmission from carrier wave transmitters to A-IoT devices / network nodes

[0063] In one embodiment, the carrier wave transmitter may provide a carrier wave to an A-IoT device, which provides data or control information to the A-IoT device (i.e., the carrier wave may provide information to the device in addition to being used by the device for backscattering). For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be configured to send a transmission with control information or signaling comprising one or more of the following:• downlink control signaling carrying LI control information, e.g., where the LI signaling may be associated with a downlink or DT transmission scheduled or transmitted over / in a carrier wave transmission (from a carrier wave transmitter) or a downlink band (a non-carrier wave resource), uplink transmissions, or non-scheduling information (e.g., a slot or resource indication) similar to a Slot Format Indicator (SFI);• a Device Terminated (DT) or downlink transmission which carries data (e.g., CP or UP based data), and / or HL control information, e.g., MAC Control Elements (MAC CEs) with relatively small amounts of data accompanying control information can be sent on the carrier wave, e.g., LI control plus DT data or LI control plus MAC CE;• System information; or• Reference signals.

[0064] In one embodiment, the carrier wave transmitter may receive data or control information from an A-IoT device, e.g., in a backscattering communication, comprising one or more of the following:• a RACH / random-access preamble or sequence;• uplink data without a preamble;• uplink data with a preamble (e.g., where both preamble and data are multiplexed or appended in the carrier wave resource);• uplink control information, e.g., similar to UCI or LI control information;• higher layer uplink control information, uplink MAC CEs (e.g., Buffer Status Reporting (BSR)); or• an uplink reference signal, e.g., a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)

[0065] It should be noted that the uplink backscattering communication can be received at a network node (e.g., a gNB) or at a UE. If the uplink backscattering communication is received at a UE, then the uplink communication (from the device to the UE) may be regarded as one or more of the following:• an uplink communication, e.g., if the interface remains Uu, the UE is forwarding the communication under policies in accordance with the Uu interface;• a sidelink (SL) communication, e.g., if the interface between the A-IoT device and the UE is based on direct communications (PC5) (e.g., utilizing L2 / L3 relaying); or• a new transmission link, if the interface between the A-IoT device and the UE is defined or standardized as something other than a Uu interface or a PC5 interface.

[0066] In one embodiment, the transmission from the carrier wave transmitter may contain data directed to the network (e.g., data intended for a network node / gNB), which the A-IoT device need not decode. For example, the data may be an identifier of the carrier wave transmitter, which the network node may use for various applications, e.g., for positioning the Ambient-IoT device by mapping the location from which the backscattering reflection was received in relation to an already known position of the carrier wave transmitter. In another example, the carrier wave transmitter may piggyback information from a different source, e.g., a UE, relay, etc., on the carrier wave signal. For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be a UE capable of generating a carrier wave which can be used for both transmitting the UE’s data to the network node as well as a carrier wave for A-IoT devices such that that they can transmit data, e.g., by backscattering the carrier wave. In an embodiment, the carrier wavetransmitter may be a moving entity maintaining a connection to the network node over the air (e.g., over an existing or new signaling interface). In such case, the carrier wave transmitter may send its positioning related information, e.g., location coordinates, to the network node. In combination with any of the above, if the carrier wave transmitter is a UE (applicable for Topology 2), the transmission from the carrier wave transmitter / UE may contain information that the UE is configured to send to a network node.Interference handling with carrier wave transmitters

[0067] In one embodiment, the carrier wave transmitter may be capable of beamforming, e.g., based on a pre-stored grid of beams table. For example, the network may control the carrier wave transmitter to select a beam that minimizes interference with other network nodes or UEs in a cell. Alternatively, the carrier wave transmitter may select one or more beams that enhance the illumination of devices within a sector of a cell, e.g., with the aim to improve the backs cattering transmissions.

[0068] In an embodiment, the carrier wave transmitter maybe co-located with a network node. For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be collocated with a gNB (e.g., in a monostatic setup) with dedicated antennas, where the network controls the beamforming at the carrier wave transmitter in a way that creates a null towards the gNB antennas to reduce radiation leakage and minimize interference through spatial isolation.Synchronization among carrier wave transmitters

[0069] In one embodiment, a synchronization may be enabled among multiple carrier wave transmitters in a centralized manner (e.g., all CWTs directly connected to the gNB) or in a distributed manner (e.g., a distributed MIMO setup with a possible master carrier wave transmitter connected to the gNB). The synchronization may enable procedures such as inventory management for a larger set of A-IoT devices to be handled as smaller subgroups. For example, a set of A-IoT devices may be separated geographically with the nearest carrier wave transmitter serving a subgroup of A-IoT devices.

[0070] In one embodiment, different carrier wave transmitters may operate independently. In such a scenario, passive A-IoT devices may select from a strongest carrier wave to reflect, and utilize any received carrier wave broadcast for energy harvesting purposes.

[0071] In one embodiment, a network node (gNB) may indicate synchronization corrections to carrier wave transmitters to coordinate transmissions between a network node and the carrier wave transmitter, between the network node and one or more carrier wavetransmitters, or among one or more carrier wave transmitters. For example, the corrections may be related to transmit timing and / or frequency.Example flow charts

[0072] Figures 3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating methods performed by a carrier wave transmitter and network node, respectively. For example, the methods may be performed for, or in relation to, one or more of the following: 3GPP Ambient-IoT signaling, RFID, Backscattering communication, OFDM, NR, LTE, passive device communication, or energy harvesting.

[0073] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 performed by a carrier wave transmitter in accordance with some embodiments. For example, a carrier wave transmitter, e.g., a network node or a user equipment (UE) , may comprise processing circuitry, e.g., the processing circuitry 602 described in Figure 6 below with respect to UE 600 or the processing circuitry 702 described in Figure 7 below with respect to network node 700, configured to perform one or more of the following operations. The processing circuitry may be configured by one or more software instructions stored in a memory, e.g., the memory 610 described in Figure 6 below or the memory 704 described in Figure 7 below, such that, when executed, the one or more software instructions cause the carrier wave transmitter to be operative to perform one or more of the following operations. The carrier wave transmitter may for example act as the intermediate node 230 in Figure 2.

[0074] At operation 310, a carrier wave transmitter is operative to send capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter to a network node. For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be a network node, e.g., a base station or a gNB in NR. In other embodiments, the carrier wave transmitter may be a UE; e.g., a mobile device, an loT device, or an A-IoT device having carrier wave transmitter capabilities. Thus, the capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter (or a group of carrier wave transmitters to which the carrier wave transmitter belongs) may be based on one or more of the following: an average of reported device capabilities, a weighted average of reported device capabilities, a median of reported device capabilities, a lowest reported device capability, or a highest reported device capability.

[0075] At operation 320, the carrier wave transmitter is further operative to receive a configuration from the network node based on the capability information. For example, the configuration may comprise at least one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control (MAC), or Downlink Control Information (DCI) signal transmission. In someembodiments, the configuration may be received from the network node via a broadcast transmission comprising a System Information (SI) block or message defined for configuration data transmissions, or via a dedicated configuration signal transmission. For example, the configuration may comprise a downlink control signal including Layer 1 (LI) control information, where the LI control information may relate to at least one of the following: a downlink or Device Terminated (DT) transmission scheduled or transmitted via a carrier wave transmission or a downlink band transmission, an uplink (UL) transmission, or at least one of a slot or resource indication. For example, the DT or downlink data transmission may comprise at least one of Cyclic Prefix (CP) or User Plane (UP) based data or Higher Layer (HL) control information, system information data, or reference signal data.

[0076] The configuration may comprise data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, or beamforming information.

[0077] In one embodiment, the configuration received from the network node may include additional carrier wave transmission data, e.g., location information for a target device, or an indication to coordinate the carrier wave transmission with another transmission. For example, the configuration may comprise synchronization correction related to at least one of transmission timing or transmission frequency of the carrier wave transmission in relation to another transmission, e.g., before, after, or during another transmission. For example, the configuration may provide information related to when, or in which circumstances, the transmission should be sent, including criteria or conditions to be satisfied to instantiate the carrier wave transmission. In another example, the configuration may indicate one or more frequency bands supported for transmissions between the carrier wave transmitter and the network node, or one or more frequency bands supported for the carrier wave transmission to the device. An indication of whether uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands are allowed for the carrier wave transmission may be based, for example, on one or more characteristics of a network topology (e.g., characteristics of topologies 1 and 2 discussed above), or categories, features, or capability information related to a device or a group of devices to be served by the carrier wave transmitter. For example, the capability information related to the device, or the group of devices, may be based on one or more of the following: an average of reported device capabilities, a weighted average of reported devicecapabilities, a median of reported device capabilities, a lowest reported device capability, or a highest reported device capability.

[0078] In one embodiment, the configuration may indicate whether a carrier wave transmission is allowed in one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands. For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be operative to send, to the network node, a transmission indicating which of the one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands will be used for a carrier wave transmission. Similarly, the carrier wave transmitter may be further operative to send, to the network node, a transmission indicating uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands for a carrier wave transmission. In such cases, the configuration may indicate whether the uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands are allowed for a carrier wave transmission. Thus, the carrier wave transmission may be sent to the device in a downlink frequency band or an uplink frequency band based on the configuration.

[0079] In some embodiments, the carrier wave transmitter may be further operative to receive, from the network node, a transmission operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to select or switch a frequency resource or band used for the carrier wave transmission to the device. For example, the configuration may comprise data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, a geographical location, or beamforming information. For example, the transmission may be operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to select a beam for the transmission to the device based on the beamforming information, or a geographical location of the device.

[0080] In some embodiments, the transmission may be operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to switch from an uplink frequency band to a downlink frequency band, or vice versa. For example, the transmission may be operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to switch from a first uplink frequency band to a second uplink frequency band, or from a first downlink frequency band to a second downlink frequency band.

[0081] At operation 330, the carrier wave transmitter is further operative to send a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattered communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the received configuration. For example, the device may be a device having Ambient-IoT capabilities operative to be configured based on the transmission. Further, the transmission to the devicemay comprise a transmission to a group or subgroup of devices (e.g., a group or subgroup of devices having A-IoT capabilities).

[0082] At operation 340, the carrier wave transmitter may be further operative to receive a backscattered transmission from the device, where the backscattered transmission is based on the configuration. For example, the backscattered transmission may comprise at least one of the following: a random-access preamble or sequence, uplink data without a preamble, uplink data with a preamble, uplink control information, higher layer uplink control information, or an uplink reference signal. In some embodiments, the carrier wave transmitter may be operative to be configured based on the backscattered transmission.

[0083] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 performed by a network node in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the network node, e.g., network nodes 220 or 700 described with respect to Figures 2 or 7, may be located remote from, or collocated with, a carrier wave transmitter, e.g., a carrier wave transmitter acting as an intermediate node 230 described with respect to Figure 2. The network node may comprise processing circuitry configured to perform one or more of the following operations. The processing circuitry, e.g., the processing circuitry 702 described in Figure 7 below with respect to network node 700, may be configured by one or more software instructions stored in a memory, e.g., the memory 704 described in Figure 7 below, such that, when executed, the one or more software instructions cause the network node to be operative to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0084] At operation 410, the network node is operative to receive capability information regarding a carrier wave transmitter. For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be a user equipment (UE), e.g., UE 600 described with respect to Figure 6 below, or network node, e.g., network node 700 described with respect to Figure 7 below.

[0085] At operation 420, the network node is further operative to send a configuration to the carrier wave transmitter based on the capability information, and, at operation 430, the carrier wave transmitter operative to send a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, where the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the sent configuration. For example, the configuration may comprise data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, or beamforming information.

[0086] For example, the configuration may comprise at least one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control (MAC), or Downlink Control Information (DCI) signal transmission. In some embodiments, the network node may send the configuration via a broadcast transmission comprising a System Information (SI) block or message defined for configuration data transmissions, or via a dedicated configuration signal transmission. For example, the configuration may comprise a downlink control signal including Layer 1 (LI) control information, where the LI control information may relate to at least one of the following: a downlink or Device Terminated (DT) transmission scheduled or transmitted via a carrier wave transmission or a downlink band transmission, an uplink (UL) transmission, or at least one of a slot or resource indication. For example, the DT or downlink data transmission may comprise at least one of Cyclic Prefix (CP) or User Plane (UP) based data or Higher Layer (HL) control information, system information data, or reference signal data.

[0087] The configuration may comprise data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, or beamforming information.

[0088] In an embodiment, the network node may send a configuration including additional carrier wave transmission data, e.g., location information for a target device, or an indication to coordinate the carrier wave transmission with another transmission. For example, the configuration may comprise synchronization correction related to at least one of transmission timing or transmission frequency of the carrier wave transmission in relation to another transmission, e.g., before, after, or during another transmission. For example, the configuration may provide information related to when, or in which circumstances, the transmission should be sent, including criteria or conditions to be satisfied to instantiate the carrier wave transmission. In another example, the configuration may indicate one or more frequency bands supported for transmissions between the carrier wave transmitter and the network node, or one or more frequency bands supported for the carrier wave transmission to the device. An indication of whether uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands are allowed for the carrier wave transmission may be based, for example, on one or more characteristics of a network topology (e.g., characteristics of topologies 1 and 2 discussed above), or categories, features, or capability information related to a device or a group of devices to be served by the carrier wave transmitter. For example, the capability information related to the device, or the group of devices, may be based on one or more of the following:an average of reported device capabilities, a weighted average of reported device capabilities, a median of reported device capabilities, a lowest reported device capability, or a highest reported device capability.

[0089] In an embodiment, the configuration may indicate whether a carrier wave transmission is allowed in one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands. For example, the carrier wave transmitter may be operative to send, to the network node, a transmission indicating which of the one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands will be used for a carrier wave transmission. Similarly, the carrier wave transmitter may be further operative to send, to the network node, a transmission indicating uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands for a carrier wave transmission. In such cases, the configuration may indicate whether the uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands are allowed for a carrier wave transmission. Thus, the carrier wave transmission may be sent to the device in a downlink frequency band or an uplink frequency band based on the configuration.

[0090] In some embodiments, the network node may be further operative to send to the carrier wave transmitter a transmission operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to select or switch a frequency resource or band used for the carrier wave transmission to the device. For example, the configuration may comprise data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, a geographical location, or beamforming information. For example, the transmission may be operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to select a beam for the transmission to the device based on the beamforming information, or a geographical location of the device.

[0091] In some embodiments, the transmission may be operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to switch from an uplink frequency band to a downlink frequency band, or vice versa. For example, the transmission may be operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to switch from a first uplink frequency band to a second uplink frequency band, or from a first downlink frequency band to a second downlink frequency band.Further description

[0092] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0093] In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 506, which includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510a and 510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access 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 502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 502 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 502, including one or more network nodes 510 and / or core network nodes 508.

[0094] 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 anon-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0095] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmiting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0096] The UEs 512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 502.

[0097] In the depicted example, the core network 506 connects the network nodes 510 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0098] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502. The host 516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examplesof 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.

[0099] As a whole, the communication system 500 of Figure 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Micro wave 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.

[0100] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0101] In some examples, the UEs 512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0102] In the example, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d) and networknodes (e.g., network node 510b). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0103] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d), and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 510b. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0104] Figure 6 shows a UE 600 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 600 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 512 of Figure 5. 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 smartphone, 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 / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0105] 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).

[0106] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 6. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0107] The processing circuitry 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 610. The processing circuitry 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signalprocessor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0108] In the example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0109] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0110] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 maystore, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.[oni] The memory 610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0112] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0113] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location,another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0114] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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 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 600 shown in Figure 6.

[0117] 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.

[0118] 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.

[0119] Figure 7 shows a network node 700 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 NRNodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0120] 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).

[0121] 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).

[0122] The network node 700 includes a processing circuitry 702, a memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 700.

[0123] The processing circuitry 702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logicoperable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality.

[0124] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0125] The memory 704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 702. The memory 704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and memory 704 is integrated.

[0126] The communication interface 706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 710. Radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 720 and amplifiers 722. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to an antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wirelessconnection. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 720 and / or amplifiers 722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0127] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718, instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0128] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0129] The antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0130] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 700 may beconnectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 708. As a further example, the power source 708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0131] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 7 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 700 and to allow output of information from the network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 700. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 5, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 718 and the RF transceiver circuitry 712 may be omitted.

[0132] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 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 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 800 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. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0133] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0134] Hardware 804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808a and 808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0135] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0136] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of hardware 804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802.

[0137] Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0138] Additional embodiments are described below.

[0139] Group A Embodiments

[0140] (1) A method performed by a first device, the method comprising: receiving a configuration from a network node; and sending a transmission to a second device for the second device to use for backscattering communication and / or energy harvesting, wherein the transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

[0141] (2) The method of embodiment 1, wherein: the first device is a carrier wave transmitter (CWT); and / or the transmission is a carrier wave (CW); and / or the received configuration is a CWT configuration.

[0142] (3) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the method is for ambient internet of things (A-IoT) signaling.

[0143] (4) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration is received from the network node via a broadcast transmission comprising a System Information (SI) block or message defined for configuration data transmissions.

[0144] (5) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration is received from the network node via a dedicated configuration signal transmission.

[0145] (6) The method of embodiment 5, wherein the configuration signal transmission comprises at least one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control (MAC), or Downlink Control Information (DCI) signal transmission.

[0146] (7) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: sending device capability information to the network node; and receiving the configuration from the network node based on the device capability information, wherein the received configuration is a CWT configuration.

[0147] (8) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:

[0148] receiving additional CWT data from the network node via a dedicated signal transmission.

[0149] (9) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for transmissions between the first device and a network node.

[0150] (10) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for the transmission to the second device (and / or supported for carrier wave (CW) transmissions between the first device and the second device).

[0151] (11) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration indicates whether a CW transmission is allowed in one or more DL frequency bands or UL frequency bands.

[0152] (12) The method of embodiment 11 , further comprising:

[0153] sending, to the network node, a transmission indicating which of the one or more DL frequency bands or UL frequency bands will be used for a CW transmission.

[0154] (13) The method of any of embodiments 11-12, further comprising:

[0155] sending, to the network node, a transmission indicating UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands for a CW transmission.

[0156] (14) The method of any of embodiments 11-13, further comprising:

[0157] receiving, from the network node, a transmission indicating whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for a CW transmission.

[0158] (15) The method of embodiment 14, wherein the indication of whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for the CW transmission is based on a network topology.

[0159] (16) The method of any of embodiments 14-15, wherein the indication of whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for the CW transmission is based on capability information related to a device or a group of devices (for example, an A-IoT device or a group of A-IoT devices).

[0160] (17) The method of embodiment 16, wherein the capability information related to the device or the group of devices (for example, an A-IoT device or a group of A-IoT devices is based on one or more of the following: an average of reported device capabilities, a weighted average of reported device capabilities, a median of reported device capabilities, a lowest reported device capability, or a highest reported device capability.

[0161] (18) The method of any of embodiments 14-17, wherein the indication of whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for the CW transmission is based on categories or features of devices (for example, A-IoT devices) to be served by the first device.

[0162] (19) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: receiving, from the network node, a transmission operative to cause the first device to switch a frequency resource or band used for the transmission to the second device.

[0163] (20) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the first device is a network node, or a gNB, or a User Equipment (UE).

[0164] (21) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the second device is an Ambient-IoT device operative to be configured based on the transmission.

[0165] (22) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the transmission to the second device comprises a carrier wave.

[0166] (23) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the transmission to the second device comprises a transmission to at least one other device.

[0167] (24) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration comprises a downlink (DL) control signal including Layer 1 (LI) control information.

[0168] (25) The method of embodiment 24, wherein the LI control information relates to a DL or Device Terminated (DT) transmission scheduled or transmitted via a carrier wave transmission or a DL band transmission.

[0169] (26) The method of any of embodiments 24-25, wherein the LI control information relates to an uplink (UL) transmission.

[0170] (27) The method of any of embodiments 24-26, wherein the LI control information relates to at least one of a slot or resource indication.

[0171] (28) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the transmission to the second device comprises a DT or DL data transmission.

[0172] (29) The method of embodiment 28, wherein the DT or DL data transmission comprises at least one of the following: Cyclic Prefix (CP) or User Plane (UP) based data or Higher Layer (HL) control information.

[0173] (30) The method of any of embodiments 28-29, wherein the DT or DL data transmission comprises system information data.

[0174] (31) The method of any of embodiments 28-30, wherein the DT or DL data transmission comprises reference signal data.

[0175] (32) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration comprises data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, or an operating bandwidth.

[0176] (33) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: receiving a backscattered transmission from the second device, wherein the backscattered transmission is based on the configuration.

[0177] (34) The method of embodiment 33, wherein the backscattered transmission comprises at least one of the following: a RACH / random-access preamble or sequence, UL data without a preamble, UL data with a preamble, UL control information, higher layer UL control information, or a UL reference signal.

[0178] (35) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the configuration comprises beamforming information.

[0179] (36) The method of embodiment 35, further comprising: selecting a beam for the transmission to the second device based on the beamforming information.

[0180] (37) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: selecting a beam for the transmission to the second device based on a geographical location of the second device.

[0181] (38) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the first device is co-located with a base station or gNB.

[0182] (39) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the first device is operative to send the transmission to a subgroup of devices (for example, a subgroup of A-IoT devices).

[0183] (40) The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: receiving, from the network node, a transmission related to coordinating the transmission to the second device.

[0184] (41) The method of embodiment 40, wherein the transmission related to coordinating the transmission to the second device comprises an indication of a synchronization correction related to at least one of transmission timing or transmission frequency.

[0185] (42) A method performed by a first device, comprising:receiving a backscattered transmission from a second device, wherein the backscattered transmission is based on a configuration.

[0186] (43) The method of embodiment 42, wherein the second device is an Ambient- loT (A-IoT) device operative to be configured based on the configuration.

[0187] (44) The method of any of embodiments 42-43, wherein the first device is operative to be configured based on the backscattered transmission.

[0188] (45) The method of any of embodiments 42-44, wherein the configuration is received by the second device from one of the first device or a third device.

[0189] (46) The method of embodiment 45, wherein the third device is a network node.

[0190] (47) The method of any of embodiments 42-46, wherein the backscattered transmission comprises at least one of the following: a RACH / random-access preamble or sequence, UL data without a preamble, UL data with a preamble, UL control information, higher layer UL control information, or a UL reference signal.

[0191] Group B Embodiments

[0192] (48) A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: sending a configuration to a first device operative to send a transmission to a second device for the second device to use for backscattering communication and / or energy harvesting, wherein the transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

[0193] (49) The method of embodiment 1 , wherein: the first device is a carrier wave transmitter (CWT); and / or the transmission is a carrier wave (CW); and / or the received configuration is a CWT configuration.

[0194] (50) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the method is for ambient internet of things (A-IoT) signaling.

[0195] (51) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration is sent to the first device via a broadcast transmission comprising a System Information (SI) block or message defined for configuration data transmissions.

[0196] (52) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration is received from the network node via a dedicated configuration signal transmission.

[0197] (53) The method of embodiment 52, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC), Medium Access Control (MAC), or Downlink Control Information (DCI) signal transmission.

[0198] (54) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, further comprising: receiving device capability information from the first device; and sending the configuration to the first device based on the device capability information, wherein the sent configuration is a CWT configuration.

[0199] (55) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, further comprising: sending additional CWT data to the first device via a dedicated signal transmission.

[0200] (56) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for transmissions between the first device and the network node.

[0201] (57) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for the transmission to the second device (and / or supported for carrier wave (CW) transmissions between the first device and the second device).

[0202] (58) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration indicates whether a CW transmission is allowed in one or more DL frequency bands or UL frequency bands.

[0203] (59) The method of embodiment 58, further comprising:

[0204] receiving, from the first device, a transmission indicating which of the one or more DL frequency bands or UL frequency bands will be used for a CW transmission.

[0205] (60) The method of any of embodiments 58-59, further comprising:

[0206] receiving, from the first device, a transmission indicating UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands for a CW transmission.

[0207] (61) The method of any of embodiments 58-60, further comprising:

[0208] sending, to the first device, a transmission indicating whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for a CW transmission.

[0209] (62) The method of embodiment 61, wherein the indication of whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for the CW transmission is based on a network topology.

[0210] (63) The method of any of embodiments 61-62, wherein the indication of whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for the CWtransmission is based on capability information related to a device or group of devices (for example, an A-IoT device or a group of A-IoT devices).

[0211] (64) The method of embodiment 63, wherein the capability information is related to the device or group of devices (for example, an A-IoT device or a group of A-IoT devices is based on one or more of the following: an average of reported device capabilities, a weighted average of reported device capabilities, a median of reported device capabilities, a lowest reported device capability, or a highest reported device capability).

[0212] (65) The method of any of embodiments 61-64, wherein the indication of whether the UL only, DL only, or both UL and DL frequency bands are allowed for the CW transmission is based on categories or features of devices (for example, A-IoT devices) to be served by the first device.

[0213] (66) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, further comprising: sending, to the first device, a transmission operative to cause the first device to switch a frequency resource or band used for the transmission to the second device.

[0214] (67) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the first device is a network node, or a gNB, or a User Equipment (UE).

[0215] (68) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the second device is an Ambient-IoT device operative to be configured based on the transmission.

[0216] (69) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the transmission to the second device comprises a carrier wave.

[0217] (70) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the transmission to the second device comprises a transmission to at least one other device.

[0218] (71) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration comprises a downlink (DL) control signal including Layer 1 (LI) control information.

[0219] (72) The method of embodiment 71, wherein the LI control information relates to a DL or Device Terminated (DT) transmission scheduled or transmitted via a carrier wave transmission or a DL band transmission.

[0220] (73) The method of any of embodiments 71-72, wherein the LI control information relates to an uplink (UL) transmission.

[0221] (74) The method of any of embodiments 71-73, wherein the LI control information relates to at least one of a slot or resource indication.

[0222] (75) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the transmission to the second device comprises a DT or DL data transmission.

[0223] (76) The method of embodiment 75, wherein the DT or DL data transmission comprises at least one of the following: Cyclic Prefix (CP) or User Plane (UP) based data or Higher Layer (HL) control information.

[0224] (77) The method of any of embodiments 75-29, wherein the DT or DL data transmission comprises system information data.

[0225] (78) The method of any of embodiments 75-77, wherein the DT or DL data transmission comprises reference signal data.

[0226] (79) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration comprises data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, or an operating bandwidth.

[0227] (80) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, further comprising: receiving a backscattered transmission from the second device, wherein the backscattered transmission is based on the configuration.

[0228] (81) The method of embodiment 80, wherein the backscattered transmission comprises at least one of the following: a RACH / random-access preamble or sequence, UL data without a preamble, UL data with a preamble, UL control information, higher layer UL control information, or a UL reference signal.

[0229] (82) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration comprises beamforming information.

[0230] (83) The method of embodiment 82, wherein the configuration causes the first device to select a beam for the transmission to the second device based on the beamforming information.

[0231] (84) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the configuration causes the first device to select a beam for the transmission to the second device based on a geographical location of the second device.

[0232] (85) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the first device is co-located with a base station or gNB.

[0233] (86) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, wherein the first device is operative to send the transmission to a subgroup of devices (for example, a subgroup of A-IoT devices).

[0234] (87) The method of any of the preceding Group B embodiments, further comprising: sending, to the first device, a transmission related to coordinating the transmission to the second device.

[0235] (88) The method of embodiment 87, wherein the transmission related to coordinating the transmission to the second device comprises an indication of a synchronization correction related to at least one of transmission timing or transmission frequency.

[0236] (89) A method performed by a network node for Ambient-IoT signaling, the method comprising: receiving a backscattered transmission from a first device, wherein the backscattered transmission is based on a configuration.

[0237] (90) The method of embodiment 89, wherein the first device is an Ambient-IoT(A-IoT) device operative to be configured based on the configuration.

[0238] (91) The method of any of embodiments 89-90, wherein the network node is operative to be configured based on the backscattered transmission.

[0239] (92) The method of any of embodiments 89-91, further comprising: sending the configuration to a second device configured to transmit to the first device.

[0240] (93) The method of embodiment 92, wherein the second device is another network node.

[0241] (94) The method of any of embodiments 89-93, wherein the backscattered transmission comprises at least one of the following: a RACH / random-access preamble or sequence, UL data without a preamble, UL data with a preamble, UL control information, higher layer UL control information, or a UL reference signal.

[0242] Group C Embodiments

[0243] (95) A first device, 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.

[0244] (96) A 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.

[0245] (97) A first device, comprising:

[0246] an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;

[0247] 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;

[0248] the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments;

[0249] an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the first device to be processed by the processing circuitry;

[0250] an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the first device that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and

[0251] a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the first device.

[0252] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) 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 anyof such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0253] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a carrier wave transmitter, the method comprising: sending (310) capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter to a network node; receiving (320) a configuration from the network node based on the capability information; and sending (330) a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backs cattering communication or energy harvesting, wherein the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the carrier wave transmitter is a network node or a user equipment (UE).

3. The method of any of claims 1 and 2, wherein the configuration comprises an indication to coordinate sending the carrier wave transmission to the device with another transmission.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the indication is related to at least one of transmission timing or transmission frequency.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for transmissions between the carrier wave transmitter and the network node.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for the carrier wave transmission to the device.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the configuration indicates whether a carrier wave transmission is allowed in one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:sending, to the network node, a transmission indicating which of the one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands will be used for a carrier wave transmission.

9. The method of any of claims 7-8, further comprising: sending, to the network node, a transmission indicating uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands for a carrier wave transmission.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the configuration indicates whether the uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands are allowed for a carrier wave transmission.

11. The method of any of claims 7-10, wherein the carrier wave transmission is sent to the device in a downlink frequency band or an uplink frequency band based on the configuration.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11, further comprising: receiving, from the network node, a transmission operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to switch a frequency resource or band used for the carrier wave transmission to the device.

13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein the configuration comprises data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, or beamforming information.

14. The method of any of claims 1-13, further comprising: receiving (340) a backscattered transmission from the device, wherein the backscattered transmission is based on the configuration and comprises at least one of the following: a random-access preamble or sequence, uplink data without a preamble, uplink data with a preamble, uplink control information, higher layer uplink control information, or an uplink reference signal.

15. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: receiving (410) capability information regarding a carrier wave transmitter; and sending (420) a configuration to the carrier wave transmitter based on the capability information, the carrier wave transmitter operative to send (430) a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, wherein the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the sent configuration.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the carrier wave transmitter is a network node or a user equipment (UE).

17. The method of any of claims 15 and 16, wherein the configuration comprises an indication to coordinate sending the carrier wave transmission to the device with another transmission.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication is related to at least one of transmission timing or transmission frequency.

19. The method of any of claims 15-18, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for transmissions between the carrier wave transmitter and the network node.

20. The method of any of claims 15-19, wherein the configuration indicates one or more frequency bands supported for the carrier wave transmission to the device.

21. The method of any of claims 15-20, wherein the configuration indicates whether a carrier wave transmission is allowed in one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving, from the carrier wave transmitter, a transmission indicating which of the one or more downlink frequency bands or uplink frequency bands will be used for a carrier wave transmission.

23. The method of any of claims 21-22, further comprising: receiving, from the carrier wave transmitter, a transmission indicating uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands for a carrier wave transmission.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the configuration indicates whether the uplink only, downlink only, or both uplink and downlink frequency bands are allowed for a carrier wave transmission.

25. The method of any of claims 21 -24, wherein the carrier wave transmission is sent to the device in a downlink frequency band or an uplink frequency band based on the configuration.

26. The method of any of claims 15-25, further comprising: sending, to the carrier wave transmitter, a transmission operative to cause the carrier wave transmitter to switch a frequency resource or band used for the carrier wave transmission to the device27. The method of any of claims 15-26, wherein the configuration comprises data related to at least one of the following: a transmit power level supported for a carrier wave transmission, a modulation scheme or waveform supported for a carrier wave transmission, a frequency band supported for a carrier wave transmission, an operating bandwidth, or beamforming information.

28. A carrier wave transmitter, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: send (310) capability information regarding the carrier wave transmitter to a network node; receive (320) a configuration from the network node based on the capability information; and send (330) a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, wherein the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the received configuration.

29. The carrier wave transmitter of claim 28, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-14.

30. A network node, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive (410) capability information from a carrier wave transmitter; and send (420) a configuration to the carrier wave transmitter based on the capability information, the carrier wave transmitter operative to send (430) a carrier wave transmission to a device for the device to use for backscattering communication or energy harvesting, wherein the carrier wave transmission is in accordance with the sent configuration.

31. The network node of claim 30, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the method of any of claims 16-27.

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