Coordinated offloading of ues

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for making predictions and / or measurements to make mobility decisions based on which network node is ideal for a handover or other mobility event in a network. In certain embodiments, a first network node can receive, from a second network node, predictions and / or measurements in response to signaling to the second network node a request for at least one conditional (already prepared, but not executed) UE mobility actions. The predictions and / or measurements may consider at least one UE mobility action pending execution. Also, predictions and / or measurements may be derived by assuming that the pending UE mobility procedure is successfully executed.

Description

COORDINATED OFFLOADING OF UESCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States of America priority application 63 / 574,730 filed on April 04, 2024, titled “Coordinated Offloading of UEs.”TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for managing the connectivity of UEs.BACKGROUNDRAN Architecture

[0003] The current 5G RAN (NG-RAN) architecture is depicted in Figure 1 and described in TS 38.401 vl8.0.0. The NG-RAN consists of a set of gNBs (gNodeBs) connected to the 5GC (5thGeneration Core) through the NG (Next Generation) interface. As specified in TS 38.300, the NG-RAN (NG-Radio Access Network) could also consist of a set of ng-eNBs (next generation evolved NodeBs). An ng-eNB may consist of an ng-eNB-CU (ng-eNB-Central Unit) and one or more ng-eNB-DU (ng-eNB-Distributed Unit). An ng-eNB-CU and an ng- eNB-DU are connected via a W1 interface. The general principle described here also applies to ng-eNB and W1 interface, if not explicitly specified otherwise.

[0004] An gNB can support FDD (frequency division duplex) mode, TDD (time division duplex) mode or dual mode operation. gNBs can be interconnected through the Xn interface. A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DU(s). A gNB-CU and a gNB-DU are connected via a Fl interface. One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU. NG, Xn, and Fl are logical interfaces.

[0005] For NG-RAN, the NG and Xn-C interfaces for a gNB consist of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, and terminate in the gNB-CU. For EN-DC (Evolved Non-standalone Dual Connectivity), the Sl-U and X2-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs terminate in the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DUs are only visible to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB.

[0006] The overall architecture for separation of gNB-CU-CP (gNB-CU-Control Plane) and gNB-CU-UP (gNB-CU-user plane) is depicted in Figure 2. A gNB may consist of a gNB- CU-CP, multiple gNB-CU-UPs and multiple gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU-CP is connected to the gNB-DU through the Fl-C (Fl control plane) interface. The gNB-CU-UP is connected to thegNB-DU through the Fl-U (Fl user plane) interface. The gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-CU-CP through the El interface. One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. One gNB-CU-UP is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP.

[0007] The architecture of Figure 2 is what 3GPP (3rdGeneration Partnership Project) has defined for 5G. Other standardization groups, such as the 0-RAN Alliance, have further extended the architecture of Figure 2 and have, for example, split the gNB-DU into two further nodes connected by a fronthaul interface. The lower node of the split gNB-DU would contain the PHY (physical layer) protocol and the RF (radio frequency) parts, the upper node of the split gNB-DU would host the REC (radio link control) and MAC (media access control). In O- RAN the upper node is called 0-DU, while the lower node is called 0-RU.Network Slicing in 3gpp

[0008] A description of the basics of Network Slicing is provided in TS 38.300.««««««««< Begin Selection from TS 38.300»»»»»»»»>A network slice always consists of a RAN part and a CN part. The support of network slicing relies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled by different P DU sessions. A network can realize the different network slices by scheduling and also by providing different L1 / L2 configurations.Each network slice is uniquely identified by a S-NSSAT, as defined in TS 23.501. NSSAI (Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) includes one or a list ofS-NSSAIs (Single NSSAI), where a S-NSSAI is a combination of the following fields: (1) mandatory SST (Slice / Service Type) field, which identifies the slice type and consists of 8 bits (with range is 0-255), and (2) optional SD (Slice Differentiator) field, which differentiates among slices with same SST field and consist of 24 bits. A list of S-NSSAIs includes at most 8 S-NSSAI(s).The UE provides NSSAI for network slice selection in RRCSetupComplete, if it has been provided by NAS (see clause 9.2.1.3 ofTS 38.300). While the network can support a large number of slices (e.g., hundreds), the UE need not support more than 8 slices simultaneously. A BL UE or a NB-IoT UE supports a maximum of 8 slices simultaneously.Network Slicing is a concept to allow differentiated treatment depending on each customer requirements. With slicing, it is possible for Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to consider customers as belonging to different tenant types with each having different service requirements that govern in terms of what slice types each tenant is eligible to use based on Service Level Agreement (SLA) and subscriptions.The following key principles apply for support of Network Slicing in NG-RAN:RAN awareness of slicesNG-RAN supports a differentiated handling of traffic for different network slices which have been pre-configured. How NG-RAN supports the slice enabling interms of NG-RAN functions (the set of network functions that comprise each slice) is implementation dependent.Selection of RAN part of the network sliceNG-RAN supports the selection of the RAN part of the network slice by NSSAI provided by the UE or the 5GC, which unambiguously identifies one or more of the pre-configured network slices in the PLMN.Resource management between slicesNG-RAN supports policy enforcement between slices as per service level agreements. It should be possible for a single NG-RAN node to support multiple slices. The NG-RAN should be free to apply the best RRM policy for the SLA in place to each supported slice.Support of QoSNG-RAN supports QoS differentiation within a slice, and a per Slice-Maximum Bit Rate may be enforced per UE, if feasible. How NG-RAN enables UE-Slice- MBR enforcement and rate limitation (see TS 23.501 [3]) is up to network implementation.RAN selection of CN entityFor initial attach, the UE may provide NSSAI to support the selection of an AMF. If available, NG-RAN uses this information for routing the initial NAS to an AMF. If the NG-RAN is unable to select an AMF using this information or the UE does not provide any such information, the NG-RAN sends the NAS signaling to one of the default AMFs.For subsequent accesses, the UE provides a Temp ID, which is assigned to the UE by the 5GC, to enable the NG-RAN to route the NAS message to the appropriate AMF as long as the Temp ID is valid (NG-RAN is aware of and can reach the AMF which is associated with the Temp ID). Otherwise, the methods for initial attach applies.Resource isolation between slicesThe NG-RAN supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN resource isolation may be achieved by means of RRM policies and protection mechanisms that should avoid the shortage of shared resources if one slice breaks the service level agreement for another slice. It should be possible to fully dedicate NG-RAN resources to a certain slice. Some RACH resources can be associated to specific NSAG(s). Other aspects of how NG-RAN supports resource isolation is implementation dependent.Access controlBy means of the unified access control (see clause 7.4 ofTS 38.300), operator- defined access categories can be used to enable differentiated handling for different slices. NG-RAN may broadcast barring control information (a list of barring parameters associated with operator-defined access categories) to minimize the impact of congested slices.Slice AvailabilitySome slices may be available only in part of the network. A slice is considered available in a cell if it is supported by the TA comprising the cell and the slice is not configured with zero resources, as specified in TS 23.501. A slice is supported within a TA if it is included in the slice support list for the TA signaled from the NG-RAN to the AMF. The NG-RAN supported S-NSSAI(s), NSAG(s) and NSAG related information such as NSAG associated Cell Reselection Priority and / or NSAG associated RACH resources are configured by OAM. Awareness in the NG-RAN of the slices supported in the cells of its neighbors may be beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connected mode. In order to support the NSAG, the NG-RAN provides the AMF with the NSAG information per TA in the appropriate NG interface management procedures, as specified in TS 38.413. Awareness in the NG-RAN of the NSAG information supported in the list(s) of neighbor cells may be configured by OAM, or exchanged with neighbor NG-RAN nodes.The NG-RAN and the 5GC are responsible to handle a service request for a slice that may or may not be available in a given area. Admission or rejection of access to a slice may depend on factors such as support for the slice, availability of resources, support of the requested service by NG-RAN.The NG-RAN may be signaled with the Partially Allowed NSSAI from the AMF as specified in TS 23.501. The NG-RAN may decide to use the Partially Allowed NSSAI for mobility decision.Support for Network Slices with Network Slice Area of Service not matching deployed Tracking Areas is specified in TS 23.501. NG-RAN cells that are outside the Area of Service may be configured with zero resources for the concerned slice (s). The concerned slice (s) cannot use any dedicated, prioritized nor any shared resources of that cell. Awareness of zero resources configured for a slice in one or more cells may be exchanged with neighbor NG-RAN nodes for mobility reasons.Support for UE associating with multiple network slices simultaneouslyIn case a UE is associated with multiple slices simultaneously, only one signaling connection is maintained and for intra-frequency cell reselection, the UE always tries to camp on the best cell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, dedicated priorities can be used to control the frequency on which the UE camps.Granularity of slice awarenessSlice awareness in NG-RAN is introduced at PDU session level, by indicating the S-NSSAI corresponding to the PDU Session, in all signaling containing PDU session resource information.Validation of the UE rights to access a network sliceIt is the responsibility of the 5GC to validate that the UE has the rights to access a network slice. Prior to receiving the Initial Context Setup Request message, the NG-RAN may be allowed to apply some provisional / local policies, based on awareness of which slice the UE is requesting access to. During the initial context setup, the NG-RAN is informed of the slice for which resources are being requested.Network slice replacementNG-RAN may support network slice replacement for a PDU session as defined in TS 23.501.««««««««< End Selection from TS 38.300»»»»»»»»>Conditional HO for Network Energy Saving

[0009] A high-level description for Conditional Handover is provided in TS 38.300 vl8.0.0 section 9.2.3.4. There, a Conditional Handover, CHO, is defined as a handover that is executed by the UE when one or more handover execution conditions are met. The UE starts evaluating the execution condition(s) upon receiving the CHO configuration and stops evaluating the execution condition(s) once a handover is executed.

[0010] The following principles apply to a CHO.

[0011] The CHO configuration contains the configuration of CHO candidate cell(s) generated by the candidate gNB(s) and execution condition(s) generated by the source gNB.

[0012] An execution condition may consist of one or two trigger condition(s) (CHO eventsA3 / A5, as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331). Only single RS type is supported and at most two different trigger quantities (e.g., RSRP and RSRQ, RSRP and SINR) can be configured simultaneously for the evaluation of CHO execution condition of a single candidate cell.

[0013] Before any CHO execution condition is satisfied, upon reception of HO command (without CHO configuration), the UE executes the HO procedure, regardless of any previously received CHO configuration.

[0014] While executing CHO, from the time when the UE starts synchronization with target cell, UE does not monitor source cell.

[0015] In case the source cell is using a network energy saving solution, TS 38.300 V18.0.0, in section 15.4.2.4, indicates that the same principle as described in 9.2.3.4 applies and one or more UEs may use a Network Energy Saving, NES, specific CHO event for executing CHO to a candidate cell.

[0016] The same principle as described in 9.2.3.4 applies to conditional handover in case the source cell is using a network energy saving solution (e.g., the cell is activating or turning off cell DTX / DRX), unless hereunder specified. In this case, the following additional triggering conditions are supported, upon which UE may use an NES-specific CHO event for executing CHO to a candidate cell, as defined in TS 38.331. The UE may be notified via DCI to enable CHO conditions(s) configured with NES event indication.

[0017] In TS 38.331 vl8.0.0, the nesEvent-rl8 IE is introduced as an extension of the CondTriggerConfig-rl 6 1 E. The description for the nesEvent-rl8 IE states that it “indicates theevent is a NES-specific CHO event and the event is only considered to be satisfied if indication from lower layers is received indicating the applicability of NES-specific CHO event and the related entry condition(s) is fulfilled. This field can only be configured for condEventA3, condEventA4 or condEventA5.”

[0018] The TS 38.212 vl8.1.0, in section 7.3.1.3.10, specifies that DCI format 2_9 can be used to indicate NES-specific CHO execution condition. The TS 38.213 vl8.1.0, in section 11.5, in relation to the DCI format 2_9 indicates that if nesEvent is configured, the NES-mode indication field includes one bit indicating NES-specific CHO execution condition. A 'O' value for the NES-mode indication field indicates NES-specific CHO execution condition is disabled while a T value indicates NES-specific CHO execution condition is enabled.Current 3GPP Discussion on AI / ML for NG-RAN

[0019] As detailed in RP-234054, agreed at RAN Plenary meeting #102, it has been agreed that new AI / ML-based used cases will be studied as part of a Rel-19 Study Item (SI). The same SI will also include possible solutions for previously studied AI / ML-based use cases which were not finalized. Among the objectives of the SI, the study will focus on AI / ML-based Network Slicing and AI / ML-based Network Energy Saving, as reported below:The aim of this study item is to further investigate new AI / ML based use cases and identify enhancements to support AI / ML functionality, and further discussions on the Rel-18 leftovers. The detailed objectives of the SI are listed as follows:Study two new AI / ML based use cases, i.e., Network Slicing and CCO, with existing NG-RAN interfaces and architecture (including non-split architecture and split architecture).Rel-18 leftovers as candidates for normative work, based on the Rel-18 principles, as follows: o Mobility optimization for NR-DC o Split architecture support for Rel- 18 use cases based on the conclusions from Rel-18 WI o Energy Saving enhancements, e.g., Energy Cost Prediction o Continuous MDT collection targeting the same UE across RRC states o Multi-hop UE trajectory across gNBsNote: RAN3 should take the Rel-18 discussions into account.

[0020] One open point from the Rel-18 discussion, the Energy Cost prediction, is related to a prediction of the energy consumption at a NG-RAN node. This prediction may be relatedto a potential load being offloaded at the NG-RAN node, for example, by handing over multiple UEs. However, there is no agreement on how a source NG-RAN node signals the “potential load” to the target NG-RAN node in order to obtain the predicted Energy Cost.

[0021] There currently exist certain challenges. According to published technology, there is presently no mechanism to signal from a source NG-RAN node to a target NG-RAN node detailed information related to UEs to be handed over in order to obtain accurate measurements and / or predictions considering the future load in the target NG-RAN node. In other words, there is no means for a target NG-RAN node to accurately predict the performance a UE will experience after being handed over if it does not have sufficient information about the UE before the handover takes place.

[0022] Examples for missing information include UE capabilities. A single UE without a certain capability may force the target NG-RAN node to exit, or stop using, a Network Energy Saving (NES) mode / technique such as Cell DTX / DRX. This may result in a much larger impact on the Energy Cost of the target node than many other UEs.

[0023] Additionally, there is no solution for executing coordinated offloading actions without additional signaling between the source and target NG-RAN nodes. Published technology relies on dedicated signaling with a description of the additional load from source to target node in a preceding step. There is no solution relying on existing signaling for providing information about the additional load and triggering the target node to collect or generate and signal measurements or predictions (related to a potential offloading action from the source node to the target node) to the source node.

[0024] Another problem, identified in Rell8, concerning network energy saving remains unsolved. Namely, it is not possible to understand what predicted Energy Cost a RAN node will have assuming that a certain traffic is offloaded to that node. In other words, there is no mechanism in place to determine a predicted status of a RAN node assuming that a certain amount of traffic is offloaded to that node. The RAN node’s status in this case may consist of various aspects, such as whether the node is able to fulfill requirements for a specific network slice, or whether the node is able to serve UEs with a given performance, or whether the node is able to achieve a given Energy Cost.

[0025] An additional problem with the published technology is that, even after coordinating a potential offloading action between the source and target NG-RAN nodes, the affected UEs are not yet admitted at the target node - they still have to be admitted one by one. Hence, there is no guarantee that all UEs will be admitted and that the offloading action can be executed altogether, even after coordinating the offloading action as per published technology.

[0026] In lack of such mechanisms it is not possible to determine whether an offloading action towards a given RAN node / cell: (1) has positive or negative effects and (2) can even take place.SUMMARY

[0027] One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a first network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between the first network node and a second network node. The method comprises: sending, to the second network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; receiving one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the second network node measures and / or predicts the one or more event metrics based at least in part on the information; measuring and / or predicting at least one event metric related to the first network node, wherein the first network node measures or predicts the at least one event metric based at least in part on the information; comparing the one or more event metrics and the at least one event metric to attempt to identify an operational benefit of either the first network node or the second network node participating in the one or more associated mobility events; and if an operational benefit exists, then making a decision regarding the one or more associated mobility events based at least in part on the comparing.

[0028] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a second network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs, between the second network node and a first network node. The method comprises: receiving, from the first network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; measuring and / or predicting one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the measuring or predicting is based at least in part on the information; and sending, to the first network node, the one or more event metrics.

[0029] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node. The method comprises: receiving, by the UE, a configuration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: an indication stating that only the first network node may trigger the mobility event; and one or more conditions to be fulfilled before the mobility event. Next, if the first network node determines the mobility event to be beneficial, then receiving from the first network node, a trigger to execute the mobility event and a reconfiguration message; or if the first network nodedetermines the mobility event to be not beneficial, then receiving a reconfiguration to remove the configuration message.

[0030] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a first network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between the first network node and a second network node. The method comprises: sending, to the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or energy cost prediction; receiving, from the second network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST; identifying at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; sending, to the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; receiving, from the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; sending, to the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message comprising; the one or more configurations; and one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each of which is associated to one of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells; receiving, from the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration complete message; receiving, from the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group; analyzing the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; and if the benefit was successfully identified, then triggering the handover, to the one or more UEs.

[0031] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a second network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between a first network node and the second network node. The method comprises: receiving, from the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or an energy cost prediction; transmitting, to the first network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy costmeasurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST and for use by the first network node to identify at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; receiving, from the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; transmitting, to the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; transmitting, to the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group, the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction for use by the first network node to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; and if the benefit was successfully identified, receiving, from one of the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message.

[0032] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a network node for managing dual connectivity of one or more UEs. The method comprises: detecting that dual connectivity is possible for one or more UEs; receiving, from one or more target nodes, a predicted or measured UE metric; configuring the one or more UEs for Conditional PSCell Addition toward the one or more target nodes based at least in part on the predicted or measured UE performance; receiving, from the one or more target nodes, an additional predicted or measured UE metric; and transmitting, to the one or more UEs, a notification that Conditional PSCell Addition is to be executed.

[0033] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node. The method comprises: receiving, by the UE, a reconfiguration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: one or more configurations, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; and an NES indication bit set to 1. The method further includes: sending, to the first network node, a reconfigurationcomplete message; if the NES indication bit was received and at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions is fulfilled, then performing the steps of; applying the configuration of the one or more configurations that is associated to the cell of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells that is associated with the fulfilled at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions; synchronizing to the cell; and sending, from the UE, a further reconfiguration complete message.

[0034] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a first network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between a first network node and a second network node. The network node comprises processing circuitry; and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of: sending, to the second network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; receiving one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the second network node measures and / or predicts the one or more event metrics based at least in part on the information; measuring and / or predicting at least one event metric related to the first network node, wherein the first network node measures or predicts the at least one event metric based at least in part on the information; comparing the one or more event metrics and the at least one event metric to attempt to identify an operational benefit of either the first network node or the second network node participating in the one or more associated mobility events; and if the operational benefit exists, then making a decision regarding the one or more associated mobility events based at least in part on the comparing.

[0035] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a second network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between a first network node and a second network node. The network node comprises: processing circuitry; and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of: receiving, from the first network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; measuring and / or predicting one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the measuring or predicting is based at least in part on the information; and sending, to the first network node, the one or more event metrics.

[0036] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a first network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between a first network node and a second network node. The network node comprises processing circuitry; and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of:sending, to the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or energy cost prediction; receiving, from the second network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST; identifying at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; sending, to the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; receiving, from the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; sending, to the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message comprising; the one or more configurations; and one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each of which is associated to one of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells; receiving, from the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration complete message; receiving, from the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group; analyzing the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; and if the benefit was successfully identified, then sending, to the one or more UEs, a handover message.

[0037] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a second network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between a first network node and a second network node. The second network node comprises processing circuitry; and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving, from the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or an energy cost prediction; transmitting, to the first network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST and for use by the first network node to identify at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; receiving, from the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUESTmessage comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; transmitting, to the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; transmitting, to the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group, the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction for use by the first network node to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; and if the benefit was successfully identified, receiving, from one of the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message.

[0038] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a network node for managing dual connectivity of one or more UEs. The network node comprises processing circuitry; and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; detecting that dual connectivity is possible for one or more UEs; receiving, from one or more target nodes, a predicted or measured UE metric; configuring the one or more UEs for Conditional PSCell Addition toward the one or more target nodes based at least in part on the predicted or measured UE performance; receiving, from the one or more target nodes, an additional predicted or measured UE metric; and transmitting, to the one or more UEs, a notification that Conditional PSCell Addition is to be executed.

[0039] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a UE for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node. The UE comprises: processing circuitry and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving, by the UE, a reconfiguration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: one or more configurations, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; and an NES indication bit set to 1; sending, to the first network node, a reconfiguration complete message; if the NES indication is received and at least one of the one or more conditional handoverexecution conditions is fulfilled, then performing the steps of; applying the configuration of the one or more configurations that is associated to the cell of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells that is associated with the fulfilled at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions; synchronizing to the cell; and sending, from the UE, a further reconfiguration complete message.

[0040] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a UE, for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node. The UE comprises processing circuitry; and a memory. The memory contains instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving, by the UE, a configuration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: an indication stating that only the first network node may trigger the mobility event; and one or more conditions to be fulfilled before the mobility event; and if the first network node determines the mobility event to be beneficial, then receiving from the first network node, a trigger to execute the mobility event and a reconfiguration message; and if the first network node determines the mobility event to be not beneficial, then receiving a cancellation message.

[0041] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an indication of the scope of the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0043] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of NG-RAN network architecture;

[0044] Fig. 2 illustrates an example of architecture for separation of gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP;

[0045] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0046] Fig. 4 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0047] Fig. 5 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0048] Fig. 6 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0049] Fig. 7 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0050] Fig. 8 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0051] Fig. 9 illustrates a flow-chart of amethod embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0052] Fig. 10 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0053] Fig. 11 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0054] Fig. 12 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0055] Fig. 13 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0056] Fig. 14 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0057] Fig. 15 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure; and

[0058] Fig. 16 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the parameters of the particularly exemplified systems, methods, apparatus, products, processes, and / or kits, which may, of course, vary. Thus, while certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, with reference to specific configurations, parameters, components, elements, etc., the descriptions are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed embodiments. In addition, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments. 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.

[0060] As described above, there currently exist certain challenges. According to published technology, there is presently no mechanism to signal from a source NG-RAN node to a target NG-RAN node detailed information related to UEs to be handed over in order to obtain accurate measurements and / or predictions considering the future load in the target NG- RAN node. In other words, there is no means for a target NG-RAN node to accurately predict the performance a UE will experience after being handed over if it does not have sufficient information about the UE before the handover takes place. Additionally, there is no solutionfor executing coordinated offloading actions without additional signaling between the source and target NG-RAN nodes. There is no solution relying on existing signaling for providing information about the additional load and triggering the target node to collect or generate and signal measurements or predictions (related to a potential offloading action from the source node to the target node) to the source node. In addition, it is not possible to understand what predicted Energy Cost a RAN node will have assuming that a certain traffic is offloaded to that node. A further problem with the published technology is that, even after coordinating a potential offloading action between the source and target NG-RAN nodes, the affected UEs are not yet admitted at the target node - they still have to be admitted one by one. In lack of such mechanisms it is not possible to determine whether an offloading action towards a given RAN node / cell: (1) has positive or negative effects and (2) can even take place.

[0061] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. One solution provides a method for a first network node to receive, from a second network node, predictions and / or measurements in response to signaling to the second network node a request for at least one conditional (already prepared, but not executed) UE mobility action. The predictions and / or measurements may consider at least one UE mobility action pending execution. Also, predictions and / or measurements may be derived by assuming that the pending UE mobility procedure is successfully executed.

[0062] A solution may also have the first network node decide whether to execute or to cancel the at least one prepared and not yet executed UE mobility action. This may occur after the first network node analyzes the received predictions and / or measurements and determines that, according to such predictions and / or measurements, it is beneficial / opportune to enable execution of the UE mobility actions.

[0063] Additionally, a solution may have a source network node of a conditional offloading action (e.g., a potential handover of one or more UEs to a target network node) receive, from the target network node, predictions and / or measurements of metrics / KPIs at the target network node relating to one or more prepared but not yet executed UE mobility actions (e.g., handovers), and then decide to enable UEs to execute the UE mobility actions or not.

[0064] The present disclosure also includes solutions where a first network node may prepare and queue (keep pending) UE mobility actions towards a neighbor node. The first network node may also decide whether and when to: (1) execute, or enable UEs to execute, these actions or (2) cancel them based on the neighbor node’s reported predicted impact that these actions would have on the neighbor node’s performance and status and / or the UE’s performance after the execution of the actions.

[0065] Figure 3 depicts a flowchart giving an overview of an embodiment. As discussed herein, it is assumed that a handover (or another UE mobility action) is prepared and executed with the goal of optimizing at least one network metric / KPI and / or at least one UE metric / KPI. The handover may occur while: (1) the UE is in good coverage of the source cell (serving cell) so the handover is not necessitated by deteriorating radio conditions or (2) the UE is about to leave the coverage area of the source cell, but there are at least two potential (coverage-wise suitable) target cells. In both cases the network has the option to execute or not execute a certain handover.

[0066] A first network node, which is the source node of potential handover (or another UE mobility action) for a set of UEs, may receive from the potential target network node(s) predictions and / or measurements considering that the potential handover(s) have been completed before they are actually executed. The predictions and / or measurements enable the source network node to evaluate the impact of the handover(s) before they are executed and to decide whether they shall be executed or not. The source network node may also cancel the handover(s) that shall not be executed.

[0067] The source network node may receive the said predictions and / or measurements in response to signaling to the target network node at least one handover request message comprising indication(s) indicating that the handover execution is pending (the handover execution is not to be initiated immediately after handover preparation is completed, for example as in the case of CHO). The target network node may use the information comprised in the handover request message(s) to derive the predictions and / or measurements assuming that the handover(s) will be executed. The source network node may receive the predictions and / or measurements after, or as part of, receiving at least one handover request acknowledge message. Hence, the handover(s) may already be prepared when the said predictions and / or measurements are received. The source network node may immediately execute the handover(s), or trigger execution, if the handover(s) is(are) deemed beneficial with respect to the at least one network metric / KPI and / or at least one UE metric / KPI or optimization goals.

[0068] One way of preparing one or more handovers but delaying / postponing their execution is to use NES CHO, an extension to CHO originally intended for Network Energy Saving (NES) purposes, introduced in Rel-18.

[0069] As suggested in Figure 3, other embodiments may include other types of UE mobility events beyond handover, such as Dual Connectivity related events that include PSCell addition, change, or removal.

[0070] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). One advantage of a proposed solution is that the use of a request for UE mobility action can also act as a trigger at the node receiving the request for computing or deriving measurements and / or predictions. The receiving node can use the information contained in the request in the computation or derivation of said measurements and / or predictions.

[0071] The request message used by a network node to initiate a mobility action for a UE contains detailed information about the UE(s) involved in the process. This information is very valuable when computing or deriving measurements and / or predictions in the second network node. By using the request message to trigger the computation or derivation of said measurements and / or predictions, the node receiving the request (second network node) can assume that the mobility action will be successfully executed and therefore derive metrics and predictions taking such action into account. This enables the requesting node to know in advance of the mobility action’s execution what will be the impact of such mobility action on the performance and status of the target node. Therefore, the requesting node is able to either enable the UEs to execute the mobility action (if their effects at the target node are beneficial) or to cancel such mobility action (if their effects are not beneficial). Some embodiments may include more than one mobility action.

[0072] Alternatively, in other embodiments, it may be considered that significant overhead is removed by not needing to transmit the same information both for the request for UE mobility action and the request for measurements and / or predictions.

[0073] By delaying the execution of the UE mobility action until the reception and analysis of the measurements and / or predictions from the second network node, the first network node may prevent bad / degraded future performance by canceling UE mobility actions towards suboptimal target nodes.

[0074] The UE mobility action can be executed immediately after positive evaluation of its effect because it is fully prepared and without uncertainty on whether the target node will admit the UE since UE admission already happened (the UE is already admitted). Also, the proposed solution avoids negative and unpredicted consequences such as not being able to fully execute an offloading action if one or more UEs subject to the offloading action are not admitted at the target node. The one or more UEs may not be admitted because they do not have a certain capability that the target node requires, or they require a certain service that the target node cannot serve at that time. The teachings of certain embodiments may at least improve latency and power consumption in a network by improving transmission overhead andavoiding at least some UE mobility actions that would otherwise lead to bad or degraded future performance.

[0075] The embodiments disclosed herein are described for NR, however they should not be regarded as limited to NR. The embodiments may be applied to any radio access technology where the execution of a mobility event that has been prepared can be conditionally activated towards a UE. The embodiments may comprise signaling between two functional entities of the same RAN node (i.e., intra-RAN node signaling) and signaling between two RAN nodes (i.e., inter-RAN node signaling). An example of intra-RAN node signaling being between a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU served by the gNB-CU, while an example of inter-RAN node signaling is between two gNBs.

[0076] In the provided non-limiting disclosure, NR is used as an example radio access technology, and the gNB-CU is the logical function in the radio access network, RAN, making use of an AEML inference function. However, the case where the AEML inference function is deployed at another location, such as the gNB-DU, is also possible and should be regarded as covered by the presented solution. The solution can apply as well to other radio access technologies, such as 4G and 6G. The logical entities hosting the AEML algorithms deriving the predictions described can consist of any of such radio access technology nodes.

[0077] One embodiment described herein allows a first (source) network node, e.g., an NG-RAN node, to receive measurements and / or predictions of certain metrics related to at least one potential UE mobility event towards one or more second (target) network nodes and cells. The received measurements and / or predictions of the metrics assume that the potential mobility events at the target node / cell are successfully executed and that they enable the first network node to assess the benefit of carrying out the at least one potential UE mobility event towards the one or more target network node / cells.

[0078] A UE mobility event (or action) is when a UE and / or a certain associated load is transferred from one cell in one network node to another cell in another network node (e.g., by handing over a UE to the other network node, reconfiguring a UE to multi-connectivity with the other network node).

[0079] The disclosure herein includes a description of an embodiment for a Network Energy Saving (NES) use case. However, other use cases may also apply, such as network slices related (e.g., ce concerning Service-Level Agreement (SLA) and per network slice requirements fulfilment), or dual connectivity. For use cases other than NES, indications described for NES use cases may be reused (e.g., as in the case of nesEvent indication), or other indication(s), specific to the use case in context may be used.

[0080] In one scenario (or use case) where an embodiment is used, an NG-RAN node, in the role of source NG-RAN node for mobility procedure(s), determines that it would / may be beneficial to offload some UEs (e.g., due to a planned Network Energy Saving action) or to be able to fulfill target requirements for a given network slice. Depending on the type of action, for example how aggressive / greedy the planned Network Energy Saving action can be (e.g., to modify the coverage shape of a cell or beam without a complete removal of the coverage), the source RAN node may have determined that at least (or at most, or exactly) a group of UEs comprising ‘n’ UEs is to be handed over to one or more target RAN nodes. In another case, the source RAN node may have determined that all the UEs served by the source RAN node are to be handed over (e.g., to perform a cell switch off).

[0081] The pursued goal of the action, such as a Network Energy Saving action, can be a concem / target of the source NG-RAN node only, or alternatively, a concem / target of a group of RAN nodes, including the source RAN node and one or more target RAN nodes.

[0082] For the case of NES, the metrics measured / predicted could consist of the Energy Cost (EC). Measurements and / or predictions of the Energy Cost received by the source RAN node from one or more target RAN nodes can be collected to assess, for example:- Whether the current level of Energy Cost and / or the predicted level of Energy Cost at the target NG-RAN node(s), assuming that the potential mobility actions are successfully executed, would allow the target RAN node(s) to receive a certain number of UEs from the source RAN node while still maintaining an optimal EC- Whether the current level of Energy Cost and / or the predicted level of Energy Cost at the target RAN node(s), assuming that the potential mobility actions are successfully executed, would allow to achieve a net gain in Energy Cost (an overall Network Energy Saving) together with the current level of Energy Cost and / or the predicted level of Energy Cost at the source NG-RAN node (and potentially other RAN nodes as well).

[0083] For the case of Network Slicing, the metrics measured / predicted may consist of, or relate to, the established target requirements for a network slice, such as the target requirement fulfillment status. Measurements and / or predictions of, or relating to, the target requirements for a network slice received by the source RAN node from one or more target RAN nodes can be collected to assess, for example:- Whether the current level of target requirements for a network slice and / or the predicted level of target requirements for a network slice at the target RANnode(s), assuming that the potential mobility actions are successfully executed, would allow the target RAN node(s) to receive a certain number of UEs from the source RAN node while still fulfilling the established requirements- Whether the current level of target requirements for a network slice and / or the predicted level of target requirements for a network slice at the target RAN node(s), assuming that the potential mobility actions are successfully executed, would allow to achieve an overall improvement of the target requirements per network slice (across multiple RAN nodes)

[0084] After deciding which UEs should / may be offloaded (at this stage, the choice of UEs to be selected may be performed based on the UEs satisfying a selection criteria), the source RAN node triggers HO preparation with the target RAN node and configures selected UEs for a potential handover to one or more target NG-RAN nodes. This may be achieved, for example, by triggering a conditional handover (CHO) preparation for one or more candidate cells belonging to one or more candidate target RAN nodes. As part of such conditional HO preparation request, the source RAN node includes an indication towards the target RAN node stating that the prepared handover should be considered as successfully executed when specific metrics are requested to be measured / predicted and reported. An example of such indication could be a specific HO cause value, e.g. the “additional Load HO” cause value, which may indicate to the target RAN node that the additional load consisting of the prepared mobility procedure shall be considered when calculating specific measured / predicted metrics. After the candidate target RAN nodes have successfully responded to the CHO preparation for the UEs, the source NG-RAN node configures each UE with the appropriate CHO configuration (note here that the source NG-RAN node sends to the UE a CHO configuration which can be expected to be prepared at least in part by the target NG-RAN nodes). Such CHO configuration may also include an event indication, for example the nesEvent indication. Other events may be defined, such as an event related to network slice target requirements. The role of the event indication is that of informing the UE that, for reasons associated to the event (e.g. energy saving or network slice target requirement fulfilment), the UEs should not activate the CHO conditions and execute the HO (if conditions are satisfied) until the source RAN node sends an appropriate command to the UE, such as by using DCI format 2 9.

[0085] The source RAN node may further configure the one or more target RAN nodes signal measurements and / or predictions to be calculated under the assumption that the potential (already prepared) UE handovers are successfully executed (e.g., predicted EC at the target). This configuration may be done simultaneously with the CHO request to the said target NG-RAN nodes. Based on received and / or updated measurements and / or predictions received from the target NG-RAN node(s) after the preparation of some / each of the potential mobility action(s), the source NG-RAN node may determine how many and which UEs to send a notification to at a given time or within a certain time window. The notification indicates to each UE to activate the conditions for the HO execution and, if the conditions are fulfilled, to start execution of the HO (e.g., using DCI format 2 9). The determined UEs constitute a group of targeted UE - for CHO execution - and the size of the group is ’n* ” . As an example, the source RAN node, may have initially determined that to pursue its own target of the Network Energy Saving action (or a cluster-level target of the Network Energy Saving action), a group of ‘n’ UEs need to be handed over, and ‘n’ can be the same or different compared to ’n*’. The source RAN node may then send to each UE in the group of ’n* ’ UEs a signal / notification, indicating to activate the CHO conditions and to execute the HO if the conditions are fulfilled (e.g., using a DCI 2_9 with a NES indication bit set to 1). If ‘n* ’ is lower than ’n’, the process can be repeated. The source node may also have initially determined a target of 'n' UEs to be handed over, and, with time (e.g., as the predictions / measurements arrive at the source network node from the target network node(s)), the source node may have determined a new target ‘m’, so that the total number of UEs in the group of UEs to be handed over in total is changed, and optionally also the number of UEs within this total that will be handed over in a single batch may be updated.

[0086] The source RAN node may keep on receiving from the UEs selected for potential mobility neighboring cell measurements that reveal whether the conditions established for the potential handovers are fulfilled or not at the UE location. With this information the source RAN node may signal an indication to the UE for activation of the HO execution conditions when the source RAN node knows that the conditions are fulfilled. This would guarantee that, upon receiving the indication, the UE will measure whether the conditions are fulfilled, realize that the conditions are indeed fulfilled, and immediately execute the HO.Embodiment in a First Network Node

[0087] In one possible embodiment, a first network node may receive from a second network node predictions and / or measurements in response to signaling to the second network node at least one UE mobility preparation request (e.g., a handover request). The predictions and / or measurements are derived by the second network node as if the mobility of the one or more UE(s) specified in the initial signaling are(were) completed - that the UE mobility events prepared have been successfully executed with the UE(s) being served by the second networknode. Such measurements and / or predictions may be used by the first network node to decide whether to enable at the UE the execution of the at least one UE mobility action, where such decision is taken on the basis of whether the measurements / predictions received from the second network node reveal an overall advantage in executing the mobility actions.

[0088] The embodiment may comprise one or more steps, as shown e.g., in Figures 3, 4, and 5.

[0089] Referring to Figure 3 showing method 100, in an optional step (not shown), the second network node (or target node, or candidate node) 115 can be configured to signal measurements and / or predictions of metrics to source node 110. In optional step 120, measurements and / or predictions of metrics from the second network node 115 are received before any mobility event is prepared at the first network node 110 or the second network node 115. Namely, these metrics, when reported before any mobility event has been prepared, do not take into account the effects of mobility events prepared after the metrics have been reported. For example, the second network node could, upon request from the first network node, periodically report the measured Energy Cost, EC.

[0090] In step 130, one or more UEs 105 are selected for offloading towards the second network node 115. For example, if the first network node 110 wants to deactivate one of its cells to reduce energy consumption, it may select all active UEs 105 served by such cell to be offloaded to an overlapping cell of the second network node 115. In step 130, one or more potential UE mobility actions towards the second network node 115 are prepared with delayed / triggered / pending execution and / or condition evaluation. This step prepares the second network node 115 (the potential target node of the UE mobility action) to receive the selected UE 105 and it configures the UEs 105 with information on how to execute the mobility action. As part of this step, the UE 105 may be configured with an indication stating that the execution of the mobility action can be triggered at the UE 105 only if the first network node 110 initiates / triggers the execution of this mobility action, or if the first network node 110 activates at the UE 105 the conditions upon fulfilment of which the execution of this mobility action can be carried out. For example, the first network node 110 may request preparation of a Conditional Handover (CHO) to the second network node 115 for each of the one or more selected UEs 105. After receiving an acknowledgement from the second network node 115, the UEs 105 are configured with conditional HO preparation information including a flag (e.g. the RRC nesEvent) indicating that the activation of the CHO conditions for execution will be triggered later (if / when a DCI 2_9 is received with a NES indication bit set to 1).

[0091] Step 130 may also implicitly or explicitly signal to the second network node 115 the need to assume successful completion of the prepared mobility events for the computation of measurements and / or predictions of metrics. This signaling may be done as part of the handover preparation, however using a different procedure / message is not precluded. For example, the Handover Request message towards the second network node 115 requesting preparation of a CHO may include an indication that the UE 105 and its associated cost at the target node 115, is to be considered in the computation of predicted EC. This identifier may be a cause value (e.g., “NES” or alike) and / or an identifier of a different process to report measurements and / or predictions (e.g., a Data Collection ID IE which identifies a Data Collection Reporting context), or a combination thereof. For instance, the first network node 110 may have initiated a request to collect EC from the second network node 115, and the process Data Collection ID is identified by the combination of a first identifier NG-RAN node 1 Measurement ID assigned by the first network node 110 and a second identifier NG-RAN node2 Measurement ID assigned by the second network node 115. Furthermore, a cause value (e.g., “NES” or alike) may be associated to the request for measurements and / or predictions. The presence of either one of the cause values, “NES” or the “Data Collection ID”, or the presence of both the cause values and the process identifier indicates to the second network node 115 that the UE 105 is to be considered in the computation of predicted EC.

[0092] In step 140, measurements and / or predictions of metrics from the second network node 115 are received assuming that the prepared mobility actions for the selected UEs 105 are successfully completed towards the second network node 115. For example, in case that predicted EC was requested, the second network node 115 should provide the predicted EC considering that the prepared handovers for the selected UEs 105 are successfully completed and that such UEs 105 are served by the second network node 115. This signaling may be part of the handover procedure or part of a different process (e.g., a Data Collection Reporting procedure). In step 150, the received measurements and / or predictions of metrics are evaluated to decide whether to execute the one or more prepared UE mobility actions. For example, if the sum of the first and second network node's EC after the offloading is lower than the same sum before offloading, the offloading action may be deemed beneficial (step 160) in terms of energy savings, or non-beneficial (step 190).

[0093] In case 1 (beneficial), at 170 a trigger to the UE 105 may be signaled, enabling the execution of the mobility action, in case it was deemed beneficial. As part of this step, the first network node 110 may signal to the UE 105 an indication stating that the conditions for mobility execution are active. For example, the first network node 105 may signal the DCI 2_9with a NES indication bit set to 1 to the prepared UEs. This signaling may enable at the UE 105 the activation of the CHO execution conditions. If UE measurements reveal that such conditions are fulfilled, the UE executes mobility.

[0094] In case 2, at 195 (an alternative step to steps 160, 170, 180) used in case the offloading action was not deemed beneficial, the received measurements and / or predictions of metrics are evaluated to decide whether to cancel or modify the offloading action. The first network node 110 may cancel any of the one or more prepared UE mobility actions and prepare new offloading actions, and then go back to evaluating the new received measurements and / or predictions of metrics when they arrive.

[0095] In one embodiment, a cause value may be included in the message used by the first network node to request for a UE mobility action (e.g., in a handover request). The cause value is used to indicate to the second network node to initiate the reporting of measurements and / or predictions related to the UE mobility action and may indicate the reason for requesting the measurements and / or predictions. The cause value may also be used to cancel the sending of the measurements and / or predictions. This cause value may be “Network Energy Saving” (NES), CHO for NES. Other non-limiting examples include: CHO with RAN activation, CHO with RAN deactivation, CHO for RAN-SLA, CHO for slicing, CHO with RAN trigger, and CHO for dual-connectivity. For example implementations refer to Figures W, X, and Z in the Appendix.

[0096] In another embodiment, a cause value may be included in the message used by the first network node to cancel a not yet executed UE mobility action (e.g., in a conditional handover cancel), and the cause value is used to indicate to the second network node to terminate the reporting of measurements and / or predictions related to the UE mobility action. For an example implementation refer to Figure Y in the Appendix.

[0097] In yet another embodiment, if the first network node cancels any of the prepared mobility actions towards the second network node, the second network node may not consider such mobility actions when calculating the metrics / predictions requested by the first network node.

[0098] In the case that the received measurements and / or predictions of metrics considering the prepared mobility actions for potential UE mobility are aggregated for all the potential UE mobility actions, the first network node may not be able to assess the benefit of a partial offloading. In this embodiment, the first network node may cancel a few of the UE mobility actions (and potentially prepare new UE mobility actions) and obtain a new set ofmeasurements and / or predictions of metrics considering the new set of UE mobility actions. Additionally, cancelled mobility actions may not be taken into account for metrics calculation.

[0099] In some embodiments, each new UE mobility action preparation request, or UE mobility action cancellation, message from the first network node to the second network node may trigger the second network node to redo / renew / update the measurements and / or predictions considering all the UE mobility actions still pending thereafter and report them to the first network node.

[0100] In the case that the received measurements and / or predictions of metrics considering the prepared UEs for potential UE mobility actions are not aggregated for all the potential UE mobility actions (e.g., they are reported per UE or groups of UEs), the first network node may be able to assess the benefit of a partial offloading. In this embodiment, the first network node may trigger some but not all of the UE mobility actions. It may then decide to wait and obtain a new set of measurements and / or predictions of metrics considering the non-triggered UE mobility actions.

[0101] In an embodiment, the second network node may additionally or alternatively derive and report the requested predictions and / or measurements considering a subset of UEs prepared for mobility.

[0102] In another embodiment, the first network node, when triggering the request for the measurements and / or the predictions of metrics, may also specify reporting for a subset of UEs that may optimize the solution towards different specified goals.

[0103] A second embodiment may comprise multiple second network nodes. To facilitate explanation in this disclosure, only two second network nodes (B and C) are utilized, but additional second network nodes may exist in an embodiment. For example, the first network node may decide to offload all UEs to either node B or node C, or to offload part of the UEs to either node B or node C . In this case, the first network node would prepare, for all UEs, mobility actions towards both node B and node C, or it would prepare for part of the UEs, mobility actions towards node B and node C. The first network node may then send to the relevant UE(s) configurations for mobility actions towards the applicable second network nodes (e.g., one configuration related to node B and one to node C).

[0104] After receiving the measurements and / or predictions of metrics from both nodes, the first network node may decide which offloading is more beneficial. It may then trigger all UE mobility actions towards the best node and cancel all UE mobility actions towards the other node (or the other way round).

[0105] In one embodiment, for each UE that was pre -configured with mobility actions towards multiple target nodes (e.g. the two target nodes B and C), when the first network node determines the suitable node (e.g. the suitable node is C), the first network node may first instruct the UE to discard the configuration for the mobility action towards the other nodes (e.g., the node B) and then give the UE the command to execute the mobility action described by the only one remaining configuration in the UE.

[0106] In another embodiment, the first network node may decide to offload some UEs to node B and other UEs to node C. In this case, each UE is prepared to be offloaded to either node B or node C. After receiving the measurements and / or predictions of metrics from both nodes, the first network node may decide to offload all prepared UEs, or only those UEs prepared to node B, or only those UE prepared to node C, or to cancel all UE mobility actions.

[0107] It is possible, in some embodiments, to have a set of UEs prepared to be offloaded to multiple second network nodes and a set of UEs prepared to be offloaded to only one second network node.

[0108] In an embodiment where a second network node additionally or alternatively derives and reports the requested predictions and / or measurements considering a subset of UEs prepared for mobility, in the context of UE mobility actions towards multiple second nodes, the different second nodes may each report for different subsets of UEs. To choose a solution that results in unique sets of UEs being offloaded to different second nodes, the first network node may choose one of the second nodes first based on, for example, network configuration or history information.

[0109] In another embodiment, the first network node, when triggering the request for the measurements and / or the predictions of metrics from several second network nodes, may specify reporting for a subset of UEs that may optimize the solution towards different specified goals.

[0110] It might also be the case in an embodiment that the first network node may be involved in procedures for two mobility actions targeting different optimizations. For example, one mobility action can target energy saving and the other SLA fulfillment. In that case the first network node can decide based on weights / priorities, or highest gain which mobility event to pursue first.[oni] In one embodiment, the Data Collection Reporting Initiation procedure can be enhanced to enable requesting the predictions and / or measurements as disclosed herein. The first network node may request from the second network node the predictions and / or measurements using an enhanced version of the DATA COLLECTION REQUEST messageand receive a positive or negative acknowledgement about this request in an enhanced version of the DATA COLLECTION RESPONSE message, or the DATA COLLECTION FAILURE message. Note that the predictions and / or measurements are still only produced by the second network node and reported to the first network node upon initiation of a UE mobility action / procedure between the first network node and the second network node.

[0112] In another embodiment, the Data Collection Reporting procedure can be enhanced to enable receiving the predictions and / or measurements as disclosed herein. The first network node may receive from the second network node the predictions and / or measurements using an enhanced version of the DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message.Embodiment in a Second Network Node

[0113] Certain embodiments can comprise implementations in a second network node. The embodiments in the second network node can be similar to the embodiments in the first network node. In some embodiments the second network node may assume that the prepared mobility actions for selected UEs are successfully completed and that the associated UEs are served by the second network node for the purpose of deriving measurements and / or predictions of specific metrics requested by the first network node. Whenever a certain potential UE mobility action is either executed or canceled, the corresponding UE(s) associated to that action may no longer be considered in the computation of measurements and / or predictions of metrics.

[0114] In an embodiment, a UE mobility action, for a UE or a group of UEs, has been successfully prepared by a first node but has neither been executed or cancelled. When one or more further UE mobility actions preparations are completed at a second node, the second node may compute the measurement and / or predictions of metrics corresponding to the new prepared mobility actions either independently of the first potential UE mobility actions, or consider the non-executed or non-cancelled actions as part of the existing load in the network, or probabilistically model the additional load based on a likelihood of the actions being executed or cancelled.Network Energy Savings Embodiments

[0115] In some embodiments, a first (source) RAN node may be enabled to offload, in a coordinated manner, a certain number of UEs towards one or more second (target) RAN nodes, based on predicted and / or measured Energy Cost. The source RAN node may determine a set of UEs to be offloaded and treats this set of UEs as a single group. The source RAN node mayprepare the one or more candidate target RAN nodes for conditional handover of the UEs in the group of UEs. Such decision may be taken on the basis of predicted and / or measured Energy Cost received from the candidate RAN nodes. For CHO preparation, all the UEs in the group of UEs may be configured for CHO towards the same set of candidate target RAN nodes, or different UEs in the group of UEs may be configured for CHO towards different candidate target RAN nodes. Later, the source RAN node, based on further predictions and / or measurements of Energy Cost received from the target RAN nodes towards which CHO was prepared, may send to the UEs in the group of UEs a notification indicating that the CHO execution conditions are active and that, if such conditions are fulfilled, the UE can execute CHO. A target RAN node, when providing to the source RAN node a new / updated prediction of Energy Cost, may consider the number of CHOs already prepared, and not yet executed from the source RAN node to the target RAN node, as if they were successfully completed.

[0116] Certain embodiments may extend the Conditional Handover (CHO) as it is used for Network Energy Saving (NES). The extension relates to at least one of the following aspects:- the source RAN node initiates CHO preparation for a group of UEs towards a certain candidate target RAN node based on Energy Cost predictions and / or Energy Cost measurements received by the source RAN node from the target RAN node- the source RAN node determines to notify the UEs in the group of UEs to execute the CHO based on further Energy Cost predictions and / or Energy Cost measurements received from the target RAN nodeThe target RAN node determines predictions of Energy Cost considering the number of CHOs already prepared, and not yet executed from the source RAN node to the target RAN node, as if it was successfully completed

[0117] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart wherein a group of UEs 305 is prepared for CHO due to Network Energy savings. The source NG-RAN node 310 may trigger CHO preparation and CHO execution based on predicted Energy Cost at the target NG-RAN node 315. Specifically, the source NG-RAN 310 node may first receive measurements and / or prediction of Energy Cost from the target NG-RAN node 315. The source NG-RAN 310 node may determine (or has already determined) to offload a number N of UEs, and initiates CHO towards the target NG-RAN node 315. The target NG-RAN node 315 receives a HANDOVER REQUEST message indicating that the CHO is prepared due to Network Energy Saving. The UEs may be configured with a flag (nesEvent) indicating that the activation of CHO conditionsfor execution will be triggered later if / when a DCI 2_9 will be received with a NES indication bit set to 1. The source NG-RAN node 310 may later receive from the target NG-RAN node 315 new / updated measurements and / or predictions of Energy Cost, the new / updated predictions derived assuming that the number of prepared CHOs are successfully completed. The source NG-RAN node 310, based on the received information, may determine that CHO for the group of UEs 305 is to be executed, and sends to each UE 305 in the group of UE the notification to execute CHO. A flow of steps comprising this embodiment is detailed below.

[0118] In steps 320, 330, the source gNB 310 may request and receive Energy Cost predictions and / or Energy Cost measurements from the target RAN node 315 (e.g., by a previously configured Data Collection Reporting procedure). In step 340, the source gNB 310 may decide to use CHO, and the source gNB 310 may request CHO for one or more candidate cells belonging to one or more candidate gNBs 315. A CHO request message is sent for each candidate cell. In one example where the HANDOVER REQUEST message is sent, the Data Collection ID IE is included, which indicates the NG-RAN Node Measurement IDs to identify the Data Collection Reporting context. In step 350, the target gNB 315 may perform admission control and the candidate gNB(s) may send CHO response (HO REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) including configuration of CHO candidate cell(s) to the source gNB 310. The CHO response message may be sent for each candidate cell. In step 360, the source gNB 310 may send an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE 305, containing the configuration of CHO candidate cell(s) and CHO execution condition(s). The message may include the nesEvent indication, which indicates the event is a NES-specific CHO event and the event is only considered to be satisfied if indication from lower layers is received indicating the applicability of NES-specific CHO event and the related entry condition(s) is fulfilled. In essence the CHO execution will not start until the nesEvent condition is fulfilled. In step 370, the UE 305 may send an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the source gNB 310. In step 380, the candidate gNB(s) 315 may signal to the source gNB 310 the Energy Cost predictions and / or Energy Cost measurements considering the prepared UEs 305 for CHO. In step 390, the source gNB 310 may evaluate the received Energy Cost predictions and / or Energy Cost measurements, and the source gNB 310 may trigger the CHO by sending the DCI 2_9 with a NES indication bit set to 1.

[0119] In step 395, various actions may happen. The UE 305 may maintain connection with the source gNB 310 after receiving CHO configuration, and may start evaluating the CHO execution conditions for the candidate cell(s). If the nesEvent condition is fulfilled, and at least one CHO candidate cell satisfies the corresponding CHO execution condition, the UE 305detaches from the source gNB 310, applies the stored corresponding configuration for that selected candidate cell, synchronizes to that candidate cell and completes the RRC handover procedure by sending RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target gNB 315. The UE 305 releases stored CHO configurations after successful completion of RRC handover procedure. Further the target gNB 315 may send the HANDOVER SUCCESS message to the source gNB 310 to inform that the UE 305 has successfully accessed the target cell. And the source gNB 310 may send the HANDOVER CANCEL message toward the other signaling connections or other candidate target gNBs 315, if any, to cancel CHO for the UE 305.

[0120] Another possible method embodiment is shown in Figure 5. One or more UEs 505 can be prepared / managed for connectivity between a source (first) network node 510 and target (candidate / second) network node 515. At 520, UEs 505 can be selected for handover or another mobility event(s). At 530, mobility event(s) can be generated by source network node 510. At 540, a preparation message can be communicated to the target network node 515 by the source network node 510. At 550, configuration message(s) are communicated to the one or more UEs 505 by the source network node 510. At 560, event metrics are communicated amongst the source network node 510 and target network node 515. At 570, the source network node 510 analyzes the event metrics (e.g. by comparing measurements or predictions from either the source network node 510 and / or the target network node 515) and makes a mobility decision. At 580, the source network node 510 communicates a trigger and / or condition active to the one or more UEs.SLA fulfillment in RAN

[0121] Certain embodiments can entail SLA fulfillment. In one embodiment, a first (source) RAN node is enabled to offload, in a coordinated manner, a certain number of UEs towards one or more second (target) RAN nodes, based on predicted indicators and / or measured indicators of Service Level Agreement (SLA) fulfillment in RAN or in general of per network slice specific target requirements fulfilment. An indicator of network slice specific target requirements fulfillment in RAN can be a metric, understandable by a RAN node - or by a function of RAN node (e.g., a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU) - indicating whether a certain network slice target requirement or a set of network slice target requirements is fulfilled or not fulfilled by the RAN node, or by a function of RAN node. An indicator of network slice target requirement fulfillment in RAN can also be a metric, understandable by a RAN node or by a function of RAN node (e.g., a gNB-CU, a gNB-DU) indicating a delta (positive or negative)with respect to a specific network slice target requirement or a set of network slice target requirements.

[0122] Indicators of network slice target requirement fulfilment in RAN may be one or more of the following:• DRB Accessibility for UE services (average per cell or per beam)• DRB Retainability (average per cell or per beam)• Downlink latency in gNB-DU (average per cell or per beam)• Downlink latency (average per cell or per beam)• Uplink latency (average per cell or per beam)• Downlink latency variation or jitter (average per cell or per beam)• Uplink latency variation or jitter (average per cell or per beam)• Integrated downlink delay in RAN (sum of average DE delay in gNB-CU-UP and average DL delay in gNB-DU)• Integrated uplink delay in RAN (sum of average UL delay in gNB-DU and average UL delay in gNB-CU-UP)• DL RAN UE throughput (average per cell or per beam)• UL RAN UE throughput (average per cell or per beam)• Energy efficiency of MIoT network slice, based on the average number of active UEs in the network slice• UL PDCP SDU Loss Rate (average per CUUPFunction)• UL Fl-U Packet Loss Rate (average per CUUPFunction)• DL Fl-U Packet Loss Rate (average per CUUPFunction)• DL PDCP SDU Drop rate in gNB-CU-UP (average per CUUPFunction)• DL Packet Drop Rate in gNB-DU (average per cell or per beam)• Downlink packet error rate (average per cell or per beam)• Uplink packet error rate (average per cell or per beam)• Downlink packet loss rate (average per cell or per beam)• Uplink packet loss rate (average per cell or per beam)• Distribution of delay DL in CU-UP• Distribution of delay DL on Fl-U• Distribution of delay DL in gNB-DU• Distribution of delay DL air-interface• Distribution of DL delay between NG-RAN and UE• Distribution of UL delay between NG-RAN and UE• Distribution of DL GTP packet delay between PSA UPF and NG-RAN• Distribution of IP Latency DL in gNB-DU• Distribution of DL UE throughput in gNB• Distribution of UL UE throughput in gNB• Percentage of unrestricted DL UE data volume in gNB• Percentage of unrestricted UL UE data volume in gNB• DL PRB used for data traffic (average per cell or per beam)• UL PRB used for data traffic (average per cell) or per beam• An expression specified by a combination of two or more of the above parameters.• An expression that may be specified as a function of different parameters above.• Number of PDU Sessions requested to setup• Number of PDU Sessions successfully setup• Mean Time of requested handover executions• Max Time of requested handover executions• Max number of Active UEs in the DL per cell• Max number of Active UEs in the UL per cell• DL PDCP PDU Data Volume (average per CUUPFunction and link)• UL PDCP PDU Data Volume (average per CUUPFunction and link)• DL PDCP SDU Data Volume (average per CUUPFunction and link)• UL PDCP SDU Data Volume (average per CUUPFunction and link)• Counters for accessibility and retainability for QoSFlow• Counters for QoSFlow modification• Higher layer packet loss rate in uplink and / or downlink, e.g., TCP• Higher layer average download rate in uplink and / or downlink, e.g., TCP• Higher layer QoE values, e.g., RVQoE metrics. The RAN in this case may use preset rules to map the RVQoE metrics to metrics that the RAN may have control over

[0123] In another embodiment, a first network node may select a number of UEs for handover preparation towards a second network node, where such mobility actions are considered to enable the fulfilment of per slice target requirements at the first network node.By executing such mobility actions, the first network node would lower its load and therefore it would be able to fulfil the per slice target requirements established.

[0124] The first network node may also ensure that per network slice target requirements fulfilment is ensured or not degraded at the second network node once the UEs are offloaded. For this reason, the first network node may prepare handovers towards the second network node for the selected UEs but signals to the UEs that the conditions for handover execution are not active and that they will be activated upon explicit indication from the first network node towards each selected UE.

[0125] The first network node may receive from the second network node measured and predicted indications of per network slice target requirement fulfilment. These metrics may consist of a measured / predicted indication of whether each per slice target is fulfilled and / or a representation of the deviation from the level of fulfilment. Such metrics are derived by the second network node assuming that the prepared mobility actions have been all executed and concluded successfully. If the first network node determines that, upon offloading of the selected UEs to the target network node, the target network node per slice requirement target fulfilment levels are optimized and not degraded, the first network node signals to the selected UEs that the handover conditions for execution are activated. UEs can therefore execute the mobility action prepared, assuming that their execution conditions are fulfilled. This approach allows for the mobility actions to be executed only if they bring an advantage with respect to the targets the source network node has established for itself and for its neighboring network nodes.Dual Connectivity

[0126] In some embodiments, a first (MN) RAN node may be enabled to initiate for a certain number of UEs towards one or more second (SN) RAN node based on predicted and / or measured UE performance. The first RAN node may determine a set of UEs for which dual connectivity is desirable and treats this set of UEs as a single group. The first RAN node may then prepare the UEs in the group of UEs for Conditional PSCell Addition towards one or more candidate target SN nodes based on predicted and / or measured UE performance received from the candidate RAN nodes. For Conditional PSCell Addition preparation, all the UEs in the group of UEs can be prepared for Conditional PSCell Addition towards the same set of candidate target SNs, or different UEs in the group of UEs can be prepared for Conditional PSCell Addition towards different candidate target SNs. Later, the first RAN node, based on further predictions and / or measurements of UE performance received from the target SNstowards which Conditional PSCell Addition was prepared, may send to the UEs in the group of UEs a notification indicating that a Conditional PSCell Addition is to be executed. A target SN, when providing to the first RAN node a new / updated prediction of UE Performance, considers the number of Conditional PSCell Additions already prepared and not yet executed from the first RAN node to the target SN. The configured and already prepared Conditional PSCell additions which are not executed by the UE can be canceled using methods substantially equivalent to the ones described herein for the CHO (e.g., sending to the UE an index to the cell / configuration used for PSCell Addition and the UE removing the other configurations).

[0127] Predicted / measured UE performance is used as an example. It is understood that other types of predictions / measurements can be used in addition or instead of the UE performance metrics (e.g., Energy Cost). In another embodiment, the first RAN node in the role of MN prepares the UEs, and later triggers or cancels for MN initiated Conditional PSCell Change.Additional Embodiments

[0128] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 6. Method 1000 comprises a method performed by a first network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between the first network node and a second network node. Step 1010 is sending, to the second network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events. Step 1020 is receiving one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the second network node measures and / or predicts the one or more event metrics based at least in part on the information. Step 1030 is measuring and / or predicting at least one event metric related to the first network node, wherein the first network node measures or predicts the at least one event metric based at least in part on the information. Step 1040 is comparing the one or more event metrics and the at least one event metric to attempt to identify an operational benefit of either the first network node or the second network node participating in the one or more associated mobility events. At 1050 is, if an operational benefit exists, then making a decision regarding the one or more associated mobility events based at least in part on the comparing. Method 1000 can comprise multiple variations and embodiments and / or additional and / or alternative steps.

[0129] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 7. Method 1200 comprises a method performed by a second network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between the second network node and a first networknode. Step 1210 is receiving, from the first network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events. Step 1220 is measuring and / or predicting one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the measuring or predicting is based at least in part on the information. Step 1230 is sending, to the first network node, the one or more event metrics. Method 1200 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.

[0130] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 8. Method 1400 comprises a method performed by a UE, for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node. Step 1410 is receiving, by the UE, a configuration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: an indication stating that only the first network node may trigger the mobility event; and one or more conditions to be fulfilled before the mobility event. Step 1420 is, if the first network node determines the mobility event to be beneficial, then receiving from the first network node, a trigger to execute the mobility event and a reconfiguration message. Step 1430 is, if the first network node determines the mobility event to be not beneficial, then receiving a reconfiguration to remove the configuration message. Method 1400 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.

[0131] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 9. Method 1600 comprises a method performed by a first network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs between the first network node and a second network node. Step 1610 is sending, to the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or energy cost prediction. Step 1620 is receiving, from the second network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST. Step 1630 is identifying at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node. Step 1640 is sending, to the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction. Step 1650 is receiving, from the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node. Step 1660 is sending, to the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message comprising; the one or moreconfigurations; and one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each of which is associated to one of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells. Step 1670 is receiving, from the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration complete message. Step 1675 is receiving, from the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group. Step 1680 is analyzing the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs. Step 1685 is, if the benefit was successfully identified, then triggering the handover, to the one or more UEs. Method 1600 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.

[0132] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 10. Method 1800 comprises a method performed by a second network node for managing the connectivity of one or more UEs, between a first network node and the second network node. Step 1810 is receiving, from the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or an energy cost prediction. Step 1820 is transmitting, to the first network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST and for use by the first network node to identify at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node. Step 1830 is receiving, from the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction. Step 1840 is transmitting, to the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node. Step 1850 is transmitting, to the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group, the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction for use by the first network node to attempt toidentify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs. Step 1860 is, if the benefit was successfully identified, receiving, from one of the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message. Method 1800 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.

[0133] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 11. Method 2000 comprises a method performed by a network node for managing dual connectivity of one or more UEs. Step 2010 is detecting that dual connectivity is possible for one or more UEs. Step 2020 is receiving, from one or more target nodes, a predicted or measured UE metric. Step 2030 is configuring the one or more UEs for Conditional PSCell Addition toward the one or more target nodes based at least in part on the predicted or measured UE performance. Step 2040 is receiving, from the one or more target nodes, an additional predicted or measured UE metric. Step 2050 is transmitting, to the one or more UEs, a notification that Conditional PSCell Addition is to be executed. Method 2000 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.

[0134] Another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure is shown in Figure 12. Method 2200 comprises a method performed by a UE, for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node. Step 2210 is receiving, by the UE, a reconfiguration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: one or more configurations, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; and an NES indication bit set to 1. Step 2220 is sending, to the first network node, a reconfiguration complete message. Step 2230 is if the NES indication bit was received and at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions is fulfilled, then performing the steps of; applying (2240) the configuration of the one or more configurations that is associated to the cell of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells that is associated with the fulfilled at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions; synchronizing (2250) to the cell; and sending (2260), from the UE, a further reconfiguration complete message. Method 2200 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.

[0135] Figure 13 shows an example of a communication system 3100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0136] In the example, the communication system 3100 includes a telecommunication network 3102 that includes an access network 3104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 3106, which includes one or more core network nodes 3108. The access network 3104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 3110a and 3110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 3110), 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 3102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 3102 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 3102, including one or more network nodes 3110 and / or core network nodes 3108.

[0137] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 3110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 3112a, 3112b, 3112c, and 3112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 3112) to the core network 3106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0138] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 3100 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 3100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0139] The UEs 3112 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 3110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 3110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 3112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 3102 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 3102.

[0140] In the depicted example, the core network 3106 connects the network nodes 3110 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 3116. 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 3106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 3108) 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 3108. 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).

[0141] The host 3116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 3104 and / or the telecommunication network 3102. The host 3116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, datacollection 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.

[0142] As a whole, the communication system 3100 of Figure 13 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0143] In some examples, the telecommunication network 3102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 3102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 3102. For example, the telecommunications network 3102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0144] In some examples, the UEs 3112 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 3104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 3104. 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).

[0145] In the example, the hub 3114 communicates with the access network 3104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 3112c and / or 3112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 3110b). In some examples, the hub 3114 may be acontroller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 3114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 3106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 3114 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 3110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 3114. As another example, the hub 3114 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 3114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 3114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 3114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 3114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0146] The hub 3114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 3110b. The hub 3114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 3114 and UEs (e.g., UE 3112c and / or 3112d), and between the hub 3114 and the core network 3106. In other examples, the hub 3114 is connected to the core network 3106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 3114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 3104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 3110 while still connected via the hub 3114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 3114 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 3110b . In other embodiments, the hub 3114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 3110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0147] Figure 14 shows a UE 3200 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 3200 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 3112 of Figure 13. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming consoleor 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 (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0148] 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).

[0149] The UE 3200 includes processing circuitry 3202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 3204 to an input / output interface 3206, a power source 3208, a memory 3210, a communication interface 3212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 14. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0150] The processing circuitry 3202 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 3210. The processing circuitry 3202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 3202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0151] In the example, the input / output interface 3206 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 3200. 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.

[0152] In some embodiments, the power source 3208 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 3208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 3208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 3200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 3208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 3208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 3200 to which power is supplied.

[0153] The memory 3210 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 3210 includes one or more application programs 3214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 3216. The memory 3210 may store, for use by the UE 3200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0154] The memory 3210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, externalhard 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 3210 may allow the UE 3200 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 3210, which may be or comprise a device -readable storage medium.

[0155] The processing circuitry 3202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 3212. The communication interface 3212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 3222. The communication interface 3212 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 3218 and / or a receiver 3220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 3218 and receiver 3220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 3222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0156] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 3212 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.

[0157] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 3212, 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).

[0158] 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.

[0159] 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 3200 shown in Figure 14.

[0160] 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 ofsuch 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] Figure 15 shows a network node 3300 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)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0163] 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).

[0164] 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), basetransceiver 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).

[0165] The network node 3300 includes a processing circuitry 3302, a memory 3304, a communication interface 3306, and a power source 3308. The network node 3300 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 3300 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 3300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 3304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 3310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 3300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 3300, 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 3300.

[0166] The processing circuitry 3302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 3300 components, such as the memory 3304, to provide network node 3300 functionality.

[0167] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and the baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio unitsand digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0168] The memory 3304 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 3302. The memory 3304 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 3302 and utilized by the network node 3300. The memory 3304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 3302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 3306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 and memory 3304 is integrated.

[0169] The communication interface 3306 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 3306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 3316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 3306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 3318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 3310. Radio front-end circuitry 3318 comprises filters 3320 and amplifiers 3322. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may be connected to an antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 3320 and / or amplifiers 3322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 3310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 3310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 3318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 3302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0170] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 3300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 3318, instead, the processing circuitry 3302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 3312 is part of the communication interface 3306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 3306 includes one or more ports or terminals 3316, the radio front-end circuitry 3318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 3312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 3306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 3314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0171] The antenna 3310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 3310 may be coupled to the radio frontend circuitry 3318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 3310 is separate from the network node 3300 and connectable to the network node 3300 through an interface or port.

[0172] The antenna 3310, communication interface 3306, and / or the processing circuitry 3302 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 3310, the communication interface 3306, and / or the processing circuitry 3302 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.

[0173] The power source 3308 provides power to the various components of network node 3300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 3308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 3300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 3300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 3308. As a further example, the power source 3308 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.

[0174] Embodiments of the network node 3300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 15 for providing certain aspects of the network node’sfunctionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 3300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 3300 and to allow output of information from the network node 3300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 3300. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 31, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 3318 and the RF transceiver circuitry 3312 may be omitted.

[0175] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 3400 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 3400 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 3400 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.

[0176] Applications 3402 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 3400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0177] Hardware 3404 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 3406 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 3408a and 3408b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 3408), and / orperform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 3406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 3408.

[0178] The VMs 3408 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 3406. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 3402 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 3408, 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.

[0179] In the context of NFV, a VM 3408 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 3408, and that part of hardware 3404 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 3408 on top of the hardware 3404 and corresponds to the application 3402.

[0180] Hardware 3404 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 3404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 3404 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 3410, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 3402. In some embodiments, hardware 3404 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 3412 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0181] 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 softwareneeded to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0182] 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

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method (1000) performed by a first network node (110) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (105), between the first network node and a second network node (115), the method comprising: sending (1010), to the second network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; receiving (1020) one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the second network node measures and / or predicts the one or more event metrics based at least in part on the information; measuring and / or predicting (1030) at least one event metric related to the first network node, wherein the first network node measures or predicts the at least one event metric based at least in part on the information; comparing (1040) the one or more event metrics and the at least one event metric to attempt to identify an operational benefit of either the first network node or the second network node participating in the one or more associated mobility events; and if an operational benefit exists, then making (1050) a decision regarding the one or more associated mobility events based at least in part on the comparing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more event metrics and / or the at least one event metric comprise at least one of: a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a metric of the one or more UEs; and UE KPI of the one or more UEs.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the operational benefit is related to at least one of: a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a metric of the one or more UEs; and UE KPI of the one or more UEs.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising transmitting, to the one or more UEs, a configuration message.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising transmitting, to the one or more UEs, if the benefit was successfully identified, at least one of: a trigger to execute at least one of the one or more associated mobility events, anda condition active message.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one or more associated mobility events comprises at least one of: a handover event; a dual connectivity event; Primary Secondary Cell, PSCell, Addition.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6. further comprising, prior to the sending, receiving one or more preliminary metrics related to the second network node.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more preliminary metrics comprise at least one of: one or more measurements and / or one or more predictions related to the second network node.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the preparation message comprises instructions to assume successful completion of the one or more associated mobility events when the second network node measures or predicts.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising, if the benefit was not identified, then evaluating the one or more event metrics to decide whether to cancel or modify at least one of the one or more associated mobility events.

11. The method of claim 4 or claim 10 when dependent on claim 4, further comprising reconfiguring the one or more UEs to remove the configuration message.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting a cancellation message to the second network node.

13. A method (1200) performed by a second network node (115) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (105), between the second network node and a first network node (110), the method comprising: receiving (1210), from the first network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; and measuring and / or predicting (1220) one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the measuring or predicting is based at least in part on the information;sending (1230), to the first network node, the one or more event metrics.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first network node: measures and / or predicts at least one event metric related to the first network node based at least in part on the information; and compares the one or more event metrics and the at least one event metric to attempt to identify an operational benefit of either the first network node or the second network node participating in the one or more associated mobility events.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the preparation message comprises instructions to assume successful completion of the one or more associated mobility events when the second network node measures or predicts.

16. The method of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the one or more event metrics and / or the at least one event metric comprise at least one of: a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a metric of the one or more UEs; and UE KPI of the one or more UEs.

17. The method of claim 15, or l6 to l7 when dependent on claim 15 , wherein the operational benefit is related to at least one of: a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a metric of the one or more UEs; and UE KPI of the one or more UEs.

18. The method of any of claims 13 to 17, further comprising, before receiving the preparation message, sending one or more preliminary metrics to the first network node.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more preliminary metrics comprise at least one of: one or more measurements and / or one or more predictions related to the second network node.

20. A method (1400) performed by a user equipment, UE (105), for managing connectivity between a first network node (110) and a second network node (115), the method comprising: receiving (1410), by the UE, a configuration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: an indication stating that only the first network node may trigger the mobility event; andone or more conditions to be fulfilled before the mobility event; and if the first network node determines the mobility event to be beneficial, then receiving (1420) from the first network node, a trigger to execute the mobility event and a reconfiguration message; and if the first network node determines the mobility event to be not beneficial, then receiving (1430) a reconfiguration to remove the configuration message.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: receiving, by the UE, a trigger configured to indicate that the one or more conditions are active; and executing the mobility event.

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

23. A method (1600) performed by a first network node (110) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (105), between the first network node and a second network node (115), the method comprising: sending (1610), to the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or energy cost prediction; receiving (1620), from the second network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST; identifying (1630) at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; sending (1640), to the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; receiving (1650), from the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node;sending (1660), to the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message comprising; the one or more configurations; and one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each of which is associated to one of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells; receiving (1670), from the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration complete message; receiving (1675), from the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group; analyzing (1680) the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; if the benefit was successfully identified, then triggering the handover (1685), to the one or more UEs.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

25. A method (1800) performed by a second network node (115) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (105), between a first network node (110) and the second network node, the method comprising: receiving (1810), from the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or an energy cost prediction; transmitting (1820), to the first network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST and for use by the first network node to identify at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node;receiving (1830), from the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; transmitting (1840), to the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; transmitting (1850), to the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group, the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction for use by the first network node to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; if the benefit was successfully identified, receiving (1860), from one of the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, reconfiguration message.

27. A method (2000) performed by a network node (110) for managing dual connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (105), the method comprising: detecting (2010) that dual connectivity is possible for one or more UEs; receiving (2020), from one or more target nodes, a predicted or measured UE metric; configuring (2030) the one or more UEs for Conditional Primary Secondary Cell, PSCell, Addition toward the one or more target nodes based at least in part on the predicted or measured UE performance; receiving (2040), from the one or more target nodes, an additional predicted or measured UE metric; and transmitting (2050), to the one or more UEs, a notification that Conditional PSCell Addition is to be executed.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more target nodes, when calculating the additional predicted or measure UE metric, considers a number of Conditional PSCell Additions already prepared, and not yet executed from the first network node to the one or more target nodes.

29. The method of claim 27 or 28, further comprising transmitting to the one or more UEs an index to a cell or configuration used for PSCell Addition, wherein in response the one or more UEs remove the configuration for Conditional PSCell Addition toward the one or more target nodes.

30. The method of any of claims 27 to 29, wherein the each of the one or more UEs are configured for at least one of: the same one or more target nodes; different of the one or more target nodes.

31. The method of any of claims 27 to 30, wherein the first network node comprises a master node, MN, and the method further comprises: preparing the one or more UEs for MN-initiated Conditional PSCell Change.

32. A method (2200) performed by a user equipment, UE (105), for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node, the method comprising: receiving (2210), by the UE, a reconfiguration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: one or more configurations, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; and an NES indication bit set to 1; sending (2220), to the first network node, a reconfiguration complete message; if the NES indication bit was received and at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions is fulfilled, then performing (2230) the steps of; applying (2240) the configuration of the one or more configurations that is associated to the cell of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells that isassociated with the fulfilled at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions; synchronizing (2250) to the cell; and sending (2260), from the UE, a further reconfiguration complete message.

33. A network node (3300) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (3200), between a first network node and a second network node, comprising: processing circuitry (3302) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1 to 19 and 23 to 31; and power supply circuitry (3308) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

34. A user equipment, UE (3200), for managing connectivity between a first network node and a second network node, comprising: processing circuitry (3202) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 20 to 22 and 32; and power supply circuitry (3308) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

35. A first network node (3300) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (3200), between a first network node and a second network node, comprising: processing circuitry (3302); and a memory containing (3304) instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; sending (1010), to the second network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; receiving (1020) one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the second network node measures and / or predicts the one or more event metrics based at least in part on the information; measuring and / or predicting (1030) at least one event metric related to the first network node, wherein the first network node measures or predicts the at least one event metric based at least in part on the information comparing (1040) the one or more event metrics and the at least one event metric to attempt to identify an operational benefit of either the first network node or the second network node participating in the one or more associated mobility events if the operational benefit exists (1050), then making a decision regarding the one ormore associated mobility events based at least in part on the comparing.

36. A second network node (3300) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (3200), between a first network node (3300) and a second network node (3300), comprising: processing circuitry (3302); and a memory (3304) containing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving (1210), from the first network node, a preparation message that includes information regarding the one or more UEs and / or one or more associated mobility events; measuring and / or predicting (1220) one or more event metrics related to the second network node, wherein the measuring or predicting is based at least in part on the information sending (1230), to the first network node, the one or more event metrics.

37. A first network node (3300) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (3200), between a first network node (3300) and a second network node (3300), comprising: processing circuitry (3302); and a memory (3304) containing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; sending (1610), to the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or energy cost prediction; receiving (1620), from the second network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of a HANDOVER REQUEST ; identifying (1630) at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; sending (1640), to the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; receiving (1650), from the second network node, a HANDOVER REQUESTACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; sending (1660), to the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message comprising; the one or more configurations; and one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each of which is associated to one of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells; receiving (1670), from the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration complete message; receiving (1675), from the second network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group; analyzing (1680) the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; if the benefit was successfully identified, then sending (1685), to the one or more UEs, a handover message.

38. A second network node (3300) for managing the connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (3200), between a first network node (3300) and a second network node (3300), comprising: processing circuitry (3302); and a memory (3304) containing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving (1810), from the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION REQUEST message that comprises a request for an energy cost measurement and / or an energy cost prediction; transmitting (1820), to the first network node, a message comprising an acknowledgement that at least one of the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction related to the second network node will be provided upon preparation of aHANDOVER REQUEST and for use by the first network node to identify at least one of the one or more UEs to be offloaded to the second network node; receiving (1830), from the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST message comprising a conditional handover based on the energy cost measurement and / or the energy cost prediction; transmitting (1840), to the first network node, a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message comprising one or more configurations, each of the one or more configurations associated with one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; transmitting (1850), to the first network node, a DATA COLLECTION UPDATE message comprising at least one of the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction related to the second network node, wherein the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction are based in part on an assumption that the conditional handover was completed for each UE in the UE group, the energy cost measurement and the energy cost prediction for use by the first network node to attempt to identify a benefit to at least one of; a network metric; a network key performance indicator, KPI; a UE metric of at least one of the one or more UEs; a UE KPI of at least one of the one or more UEs; if the benefit was successfully identified, receiving (1860), from one of the one or more UEs, a reconfiguration message.

39. A network node (3300) for managing dual connectivity of one or more user equipments, UEs (3200), comprising: processing circuitry (3302); and a memory (3304) containing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; detecting (2010) that dual connectivity is possible for one or more UEs; receiving (2020), from one or more target nodes, a predicted or measured UE metric; configuring (2030) the one or more UEs for Conditional Primary Secondary cell,PSCell, Addition toward the one or more target nodes based at least in part on the predicted or measured UE performance;receiving (2040), from the one or more target nodes, an additional predicted or measured UE metric; and transmitting (2050), to the one or more UEs, a notification that Conditional PSCell Addition is to be executed.

40. A user equipment, UE (3200), for managing connectivity between a first network node (3300) and a second network node (3300), comprising: processing circuitry (3202); and a memory (3204) containing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving (2210), by the UE, a reconfiguration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: one or more configurations, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; one or more conditional handover execution conditions, each associated with at least one of one or more conditional handover candidate cells associated with the second network node; and an NES indication bit set to 1 ; sending (2220), to the first network node, a reconfiguration complete message; if the NES indication is received and at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions is fulfilled, then performing (2230) the steps of; applying (2240) the configuration of the one or more configurations that is associated to the cell of the one or more conditional handover candidate cells that is associated with the fulfilled at least one of the one or more conditional handover execution conditions; synchronizing (2250) to the cell; and sending (2260), from the UE, a further reconfiguration complete message.

41. A user equipment, UE (3200), for managing connectivity between a first network node (3300) and a second network node (3300), comprising: processing circuitry (3202); and a memory (3204) containing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of;receiving (1410), by the UE, a configuration message comprising instructions for executing a mobility event, wherein the instructions comprise at least one of: an indication stating that only the first network node may trigger the mobility event; and one or more conditions to be fulfilled before the mobility event; and if the first network node determines the mobility event to be beneficial, then receiving (1420) from the first network node, a trigger to execute the mobility event and a reconfiguration message; and if the first network node determines the mobility event to be not beneficial, then receiving (1430) a reconfiguration to remove the configuration message.

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