Methods, apparatus and computer-readable media related to dual connectivity in radio networks
By segregating and reporting UE measurement results for conditional PSCell change configurations in separate containers based on MN and SN configurations, the solution addresses incomplete reporting in NR DC, enhancing network optimization and reducing radio link failures.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/SE2025/050109
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-04-04
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-11
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-09
AI Technical Summary
In New Radio (NR) DC operation, User Equipment (UE) configured with dual connectivity faces challenges in reporting measurement results for conditional PSCell change configurations, as the UE's measurement configurations from the master node (MN) and secondary node (SN) are different, leading to incomplete information in SCGFailurelnformation messages, which hinders network optimization.
The UE is configured to store and transmit information related to conditional PSCell change execution conditions in separate containers (MeasResultSCG-Failure IE and MeasResultFreqList IE) based on whether the configuration is from the MN or SN, ensuring comprehensive reporting of measurement results, including time elapsed between execution conditions.
This solution enables the network to analyze potential CPC configuration issues, reducing the likelihood of radio link failures by providing a more complete information set in SCGFailurelnformation messages.
Smart Images

Figure SE2025050109_09102025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
METHODS, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA RELATED TO DUAL CONNECTIVITY IN RADIO NETWORKSTECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to communication networks, and particularly to methods, apparatus and computer-readable media related to dual connectivity in radio networks.BACKGROUND
[0002] Multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) is a technique where a multiple Receive (Rx) / Transmit (Tx) capable User Equipment (UE) is configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes connected via non-ideal backhaul. One node acts as the master node (MN) and another node acts as the secondary node (SN). The MN and SN are connected via a network interface and at least the MN is connected to the core network. Detailed architectural description of MR-DC can be found in Technical Specification (TS) 37.340 V18.0.0.
[0003] A group of serving cells associated with the Master node is called the Master cell group (MCG). The master cell group consists of a primary cell (PCell) and optionally one or more Secondary Cells (SCell).
[0004] A group of serving cells associated with the Secondary node is called a Secondary cell Group (SCG). A SCG consists of a Primary secondary cell (PSCell) and optionally one or more SCells.
[0005] The PCell and PSCells together may be referred to as Special Cells (SpCells).
[0006] A conditional PSCell change (CPC) is defined as a PSCell change that is executed by the UE when the execution condition(s) for a PSCell change is met. The UE starts evaluating the execution condition(s) upon receiving the CPC configuration and stops evaluating the execution condition(s) once PSCell change is triggered. Intra-SN CPC without MN involvement and inter-SN CPC initiated by either MN or SN are supported.
[0007] While configured with MR-DC, a UE is configured to monitor the PSCell and a so-called SCG radio link failure (RLF) (S-RLF) can be detected. When that happens, the UE typically transmits an SCG failure report to the network via the MCG. The SCG Failure Information procedure is set out in section 5.7.3 of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) specification (TS 38.331 V18.0.0).
[0008] In the SCGFailurelnformation message, the UE includes measurement results in MeasResultFreqList Information Element (IE) and MeasResultSCG-Failure IE. The MeasResultSCG-Failure IE is forwarded to the SN for analysis purposes.SUMMARY
[0009] There currently exist certain challenge(s).
[0010] In New Radio (NR) DC operation, a UE can be configured with measurement configurations from both MN and SN. The measurement configuration configured by MN and SN can contain different measurement objects and the measurement results collected by the UE corresponding to MN and SN configurations are different.
[0011] A UE operating in DC may encounter radio link related problems in the secondary leg (e.g., one or more connections in the SCG) and declare failure. Upon declaring failure, if the radio link with MN is not suspended or deactivated, the UE sends a SCGFailurelnformation message to the MN as noted above. In SCGFailurelnformation, the UE includes the measurement results configured by the MCG in MeasResultFreqList IE and measurement results configured by the SCG in MeasResultSCG-Failure IE. The MeasResultSCG-Failure IE is forwarded to SN for analysis purposes.
[0012] Furthermore, if the UE is configured with conditional PSCell change configuration, the UE includes additional information, e.g., time difference between fulfillment of the configured event and which event condition was fulfilled first, as part of the MeasResultFreqList IE. However, since MeasResultFreqList IE is generated using corresponding measurement configuration from the MN, it does not include any results collected by the UE based on the measurement configuration from the SN. Moreover, no such information is logged in MeasResultSCG-Failure IE.
[0013] Hence, if the UE is configured with PSCell change configuration from SN and declares SCG failure while evaluating the conditions for a given target cell, it will not include information regarding the event evaluation if the MN did not configure the UE with a measurement configuration for such target cell.
[0014] Since the SN can configure the UE with CPC configuration and corresponding measurement configuration without MN involvement (e.g., using Signalling Radio Bearer (SRB) 3 (SRB3)), the MN would not configure the UE with a measurement configuration and the SN would not receive information regarding the execution of the CPC and thus cannot perform any necessary optimization.
[0015] This problem is exemplified in the following:
[0016] Assume that a UE is configured with DC. The MN has configured the UE with Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements configurations for cells A, B and C. The SN has configured the UE with a RRM measurement configuration for cell D. The SN later configures the UE with CPC configuration toward cell D as candidate PSCell.
[0017] The UE declares SCG failure, e.g., S-RLF. When the UE compiles SCGFailur eInformation, it includes CPC related information in the MeasResultFreqList IE based on the MCG RRM configuration, which means the UE includes measurements of cells A, B and C. No CPC-related information relating to cell D may be included. Hence if SN configured cell D with the CPC configuration, any information related to cell D, such as the corresponding radio measurement, the first triggered event associated to cell D, and the time between the fulfillment of the first and second events associated to cell D can be missing from the report.
[0018] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.
[0019] In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a UE. The method comprises: while configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising a first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, detecting a failure in a connection to the second group of network nodes; and transmitting, via a connection to the first group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration. The information comprises one or more second measurements. The one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration. The one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more network nodes of the second group of network nodes.
[0020] In a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a first network node. The method comprises: while a UE is configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group ofone or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising the first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while the UE configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, receiving, from the UE, upon failure in its connection to the second group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration. The information comprises one or more second measurements. The one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration. The one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes.
[0021] Further aspects of the disclosure include user equipment, network nodes and computer-readable storage medium in which the methods described above and / or variants of such methods are implemented.
[0022] Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantage(s), in that the UE includes a more complete information set in the SCGFailur eInformation message. Thus, upon reception of the message, the network is enabled to analyze any potential CPC configuration related problems in the SN. This means that conditional mobility configurations can be improved with a view to reducing the likelihood of radio link failures for other served UEs.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and to show how it may be put into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0024] Fig. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;
[0025] Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments;
[0026] Fig. 3 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;
[0027] Fig. 4 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;
[0028] Fig. 5 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments; and
[0029] Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] 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.
[0031] The terms “MCG” and “MN” may be used interchangeably herein. Similarly, “SCG” and “SN” may be used interchangeably. A Radio Access Network (RAN) node encompasses any network node enabling wireless access to the UE, where a UE is any device getting support from the network.
[0032] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a method is proposed whereby a UE operating in DC operation, configured with CPC configuration, declares failure in the SCG and includes information regarding the CPC execution condition in a report to the network.
[0033] The method comprises a UE configured with Conditional PSCell change configuration:• Detecting a failure in the SCG and for each candidate target cell included in the Conditional PSCell change configuration: o Storing information associated to CPC execution condition for the candidate target cell in a second container (measResultSCGFailure in SCGFailurelnformatiori) if for the said cell the RRM measurement configuration is at least configured by the SN. o Examples of the information:■ Time between fulfillment of the conditions of the CPC■ Information regarding which triggering condition was fulfilled first.■ Information regarding which triggering condition was fulfilled second. o Storing the same information associated to the CPC execution condition for the candidate target cell in a first container (e.g., measResultFreqList in SCGFailurelnformatiori) if for the said cell the RRM measurement configuration is also configured by the MN.• Transmitting the containers to the network.• MN reading information available in first container• SN reading information available in second container
[0034] In a variant of the method above, a method comprises a UE configured with Conditional PSCell change configuration:• Detecting a failure in the SCG and for each candidate target cell included in the Conditional PSCell change configuration: o Storing information associated to CPC execution condition for the candidate target cell in a second container (measResultSCGFailure in SCGFailurelnformation) if for the said cell the RRM measurement configuration is at least configured by the SN and if the Conditional PSCell change configuration was configured by the SN; or o Storing information associated to CPC execution condition for the candidate target cell in a first container (e.g., measResultSCGFailure or measResultFreqList in SCGFailurelnformation) if for the said cell the RRM measurement configuration is at least configured by the MN and if the Conditional PSCell change configuration was configured by the MN; o Examples of the information:■ Time between fulfillment of the conditions of the CPC■ Information regarding which triggering condition was fulfilled first.■ Information regarding which triggering condition was fulfilled second.• Transmitting the containers to the network.
[0035] In a related method, the MN reads information available in the first container if included by the UE (e.g., depending on whether the Conditional PSCell change configuration was configured by the MN).
[0036] In another related method, the SN reads information available in the second container if included by the UE (which depends on whether the Conditional PSCell change configuration was configured by the SN)
[0037] The RRM measurement configuration for a cell may be considered as configured by the SN if the cell is associated with aMeasObjectNR configured by aMeasConflg associated with the SCG.
[0038] Correspondingly, the RRM measurement configuration for a cell may be considered as configured by the MN if the said cell is associated with a MeasObjectNR configured by aMeasConflg associated with the MCG.
[0039] Thus, according to embodiments of the disclosure, CPC execution condition related information is included as part of the MeasResultSCG-Failure IE in the SCGFailur eInformation message.
[0040] Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantage(s), in that the UE includes a more complete information set in the SCGFailur eInformation message. Thus, upon reception of the message, the network is enabled to analyze any potential CPC configuration related problems in the SN. This means that conditional mobility configurations can be improved with a view to reducing the likelihood of radio link failures for other served UEs.
[0041] Figure 1 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method of Figure 1 may be performed by a UE or wireless device (e.g. the UE 312 or UE 400 as described later with reference to Figures 3 and 4 respectively). The method includes the UE being configured with dual connectivity, and thus the signalling also involves a first network node (e.g., a serving node, which becomes a MN for the UE), a second network node (e.g., a SN which serves a PSCell in the SCG), and one or more third candidate network nodes (e.g., candidate network nodes serving cells which may replace the PSCell served by the second network node). The method of Figure 2 below sets out complementary actions and signalling performed by a first network node (e.g., the MN).
[0042] The method begins at step 102, in which the UE receives a first configuration message (e.g., from the first network node), configuring the UE with dual connectivity. The UE is therefore configured with one or more connections to a first group of one or more network nodes (e.g., the MCG), which comprise the first network node and potentially one or more further network nodes (e.g., SNs); and one or more connections to a second group of one or more network nodes (e.g., the SCG), which comprise the second network node and potentially one or more further network nodes (e.g., further SNs).
[0043] In step 104, the UE receives one or more measurement configurations (e.g., measurements for RRM). For example, the UE may receive one or more first measurement configurations from the first network node. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may receive one or more second measurement configurations from the second network node. Each measurement configuration may comprise one or more measurement objects, defining one or more of: frequency and / or time resources on which the measurements are to be performed; subcarrier spacing of reference signals to be measured; identifiers for cells or other entities on which the measurements are to be performed, etc.
[0044] In step 106, the UE receives a conditional mobility configuration. The configuration may be received from the first network node or the second network node (for example). In one embodiment, the conditional mobility configuration is a CPC configuration.
[0045] The conditional mobility configuration comprises a list of one or more third candidate network nodes (or equivalently cells or other logical entities served by those candidate network nodes) to which the UE may execute a mobility procedure (e.g., handover). In the configuration, each cell is associated with one or more execution conditions and the UE initiates or executes the mobility procedure upon one or more (or all) of the execution conditions being fulfilled. The execution conditions may relate to radio measurements performed by the UE on reference signals transmitted by one or more of: the first network node, the second network node, and the one or more third candidate network nodes. In one embodiment, the execution conditions are associated with measurement object and / or measurement configurations received in step 104. For example, the conditional mobility configuration may comprise an indication of an execution condition and an associated measurement object; alternatively, the conditional mobility configuration may comprise an indication of a measurement object, which itself comprises an execution condition.
[0046] Upon receipt of the conditional mobility configuration, the UE begins monitoring the execution condition(s), and stops monitoring the execution condition(s) once an execution condition is fulfilled and / or the UE initiates or executes a mobility procedure.
[0047] In step 108, the UE detects a failure (e.g., radio link failure) in a connection to the second group of network nodes. For example, the failure may comprise an S-RLF. The failure may be detected while the conditional mobility procedure is being executed (e.g., one or more execution conditions have been fulfilled, and the UE has initiated a mobility procedure to a third candidate network node associated with those one or more execution conditions).
[0048] In step 110, the UE transmits, via a connection to the first group of network nodes, a report message (e.g., an SCGFailurelnformation message) comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration.
[0049] In one embodiment, the information comprises one or more second measurements, which relate to the third candidate network node. The one or more second measurements may have been configured by the second network node.
[0050] The one or more second measurements may comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution conditionspecified in the conditional mobility configuration. The first and second execution conditions may be specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
[0051] Additionally or alternatively, the one or more second measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first (i . e. , the first execution condition to have been fulfilled in time). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more second measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled second (i.e., the second execution condition to have been fulfilled in time, after the first). For example, such indications may comprise an index or other identifier which is associated with the execution condition and / or the measurement object or measurement configuration on which the execution condition depends.
[0052] The one or more second measurements may be provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes (e.g., an information element such as a measResultSCGFailure information element). The one or more second measurements may be included in the second container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the second network node. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more second measurements may be included in the response message responsive to a determination that the second network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration which has been executed.
[0053] The report message may further comprise one or more first measurements configured by the first network node. Such first measurements may be provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes (e.g., an information element such as a measResidtFreqList information element). The one or more first measurements may be included in the response message responsive to a determination that the first network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more first measurements may be included in the first container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the first network node.
[0054] The one or more first measurements may comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution conditionspecified in the conditional mobility configuration. The first and second execution conditions may be specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
[0055] Additionally or alternatively, the one or more first measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first (i. e. , the first execution condition to have been fulfilled in time). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more first measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled second (i. e. , the second execution condition to have been fulfilled in time, after the first). For example, such indications may comprise an index or other identifier which is associated with the execution condition and / or the measurement object or measurement configuration on which the execution condition depends.
[0056] Figure 2 depicts a method in accordance with particular embodiments. The method of Figure 2 may be performed by a network node (e.g. the network node 310 or network node 500 as described later with reference to Figures 3 and 5 respectively). The method includes a UE being configured with dual connectivity, and thus the first network node may be, for example, a serving node, which becomes a MN for the UE. The signalling may also involve a second network node (e.g., a SN which serves a PSCell in the SCG), and one or more third candidate network nodes (e.g., candidate network nodes serving cells which may replace the PSCell served by the second network node). The method of Figure 1 above sets out complementary actions and signalling performed by the UE.
[0057] The method begins at step 202, in which the first network node transmits a first configuration message to the UE, configuring the UE with dual connectivity. The UE is therefore configured with one or more connections to a first group of one or more network nodes (e.g., the MCG), which comprise the first network node and potentially one or more further network nodes (e.g., SNs); and one or more connections to a second group of one or more network nodes (e.g., the SCG), which comprise the second network node and potentially one or more further network nodes (e.g., further SNs).
[0058] In step 204, optionally, the first network node transmits one or more first measurement configurations (e.g., measurements for RRM) to the UE. The UE may additionally or alternatively receive one or more second measurement configurations from the second network node. Each measurement configuration may comprise one or more measurement objects, defining one or more of: frequency and / or time resources on which the measurements are to be performed; subcarrier spacing of reference signals to be measured; identifiers for cells or other entities on which the measurements are to be performed, etc.
[0059] In step 206, optionally, the first network node transmits, to the UE, a conditional mobility configuration. The configuration may additionally or alternatively be transmitted to the UE by the second network node (for example). In one embodiment, the conditional mobility configuration is a CPC configuration.
[0060] The conditional mobility configuration comprises a list of one or more third candidate network nodes (or equivalently cells or other logical entities served by those candidate network nodes) to which the UE may execute a mobility procedure (e.g., handover). In the configuration, each cell is associated with one or more execution conditions and the UE initiates or executes the mobility procedure upon one or more (or all) of the execution conditions being fulfilled. The execution conditions may relate to radio measurements performed by the UE on reference signals transmitted by one or more of: the first network node, the second network node, and the one or more third candidate network nodes. In one embodiment, the execution conditions are associated with measurement object and / or measurement configurations transmitted in step 204. For example, the conditional mobility configuration may comprise an indication of an execution condition and an associated measurement object; alternatively, the conditional mobility configuration may comprise an indication of a measurement object, which itself comprises an execution condition.
[0061] Upon receipt of the conditional mobility configuration, the UE begins monitoring the execution condition(s), and stops monitoring the execution condition(s) once an execution condition is fulfilled and / or the UE initiates or executes a mobility procedure.
[0062] At some point, the UE detects a failure (e.g., radio link failure) in a connection to the second group of network nodes. For example, the failure may comprise an S-RLF. The failure may be detected while the conditional mobility procedure is being executed (e.g., one or more execution conditions have been fulfilled, and the UE has initiated a mobility procedure to a third candidate network node associated with those one or more execution conditions.
[0063] In step 208, the first network node receives, from the UE, a report message (e.g., an SCGFailur eInformation message) comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration.
[0064] In one embodiment, the information comprises one or more second measurements, which relate to the third candidate network node. The one or more second measurements may have been configured by the second network node.
[0065] The one or more second measurements may comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in theconditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration. The first and second execution conditions may be specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
[0066] Additionally or alternatively, the one or more second measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first (i . e. , the first execution condition to have been fulfilled in time). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more second measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled second (i.e., the second execution condition to have been fulfilled in time, after the first). For example, such indications may comprise an index or other identifier which is associated with the execution condition and / or the measurement object or measurement configuration on which the execution condition depends.
[0067] The one or more second measurements may be provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes (e.g., an information element such as a measResultSCGFailure information element). The one or more second measurements may be included in the second container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the second network node. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more second measurements may be included in the response message responsive to a determination that the second network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration which has been executed.
[0068] The method of Figure 2 may further comprise the step of transmitting the second container to a network node in the second group of network nodes (e.g., the second network node). Using the information in the second container, the second network node may be enabled to update the conditional handover parameters configured for other UEs, so as to prevent or reduce the likelihood of RLFs occurring in future.
[0069] The report message may further comprise one or more first measurements configured by the first network node. Such first measurements may be provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes (e.g., an information element such as a measResidtFreqList information element). The one or more first measurements may be included in the response message responsive to a determination that the first network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more first measurements may be included in the first containerresponsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the first network node.
[0070] The one or more first measurements may comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration. The first and second execution conditions may be specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
[0071] Additionally or alternatively, the one or more first measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first (i. e. , the first execution condition to have been fulfilled in time). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more first measurements may comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled second (i. e. , the second execution condition to have been fulfilled in time, after the first). For example, such indications may comprise an index or other identifier which is associated with the execution condition and / or the measurement object or measurement configuration on which the execution condition depends.
[0072] The method of Figure 2 may further comprise the step of decoding or reading the information in the first container. Using the information in the first container, the first network node may be enabled to update the conditional handover parameters configured for other UEs, so as to prevent or reduce the likelihood of RLFs occurring in future.
[0073] Embodiments of the disclosure encompass a scenario where a UE configured with CPC configuration identifies a radio link problem in the SCG and declares SCG failure. The UE stores information regarding execution condition of the CPC configuration in a first container and a second container and transmits the containers to the network. Some nonlimiting examples of the information include one or more of: Time between fulfillment of the conditions of the CPC; Information regarding which triggering condition was fulfilled first; Information regarding which triggering condition was fulfilled second.
[0074] The CPC configuration may be configured by SN to the UE, or by MN to the UE.
[0075] In one embodiment, the UE includes the information for a candidate target cell for which at least one CPC execution condition is fulfilled in the second container, only if the CPC configuration is configured by the SN. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may include the information for a candidate target cell for which at least one CPC execution condition is fulfilled in the first container, only if the CPC configuration is configured by the MN.
[0076] In another embodiment, UE includes the information in second container, only if for a candidate target cell for which at least one CPC execution condition is fullfilled the RRM measurement configuration is at least configured by the SN. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may include the information in the first container, only if for a candidate target cell for which at least one CPC execution condition is fullfilled the RRM measurement configuration is at least configured by the MN.
[0077] The second container may be the MeasResultSCG-Failure IE and the first container may be MeasResultFreqList IE.
[0078] The UE may transmit the containers as part of the SCGFailur eInformation message. Alternatively, if the UE identifies a problem or connection failure at the MCG, or the MCG is deactivated or suspended, the UE may log a RLF report, and include the information above as part of the RLF report.
[0079] The following text sets out one example implementation of the embodiments disclosed herein, as applied to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TS 38.331. In this example, the UE transmits the information as part of the SCGFailurelnformation message, and additions relative to the existing standards are underlined.5.7.3.4 Setting the contents of MeasResultSCG-FailureThe UE shall set the contents of the MeasResultSCG-Failure as follows:1> for each MeasObjectNR configured on NR SCG for which a measld is configured and measurement results are available:2> include an entry in measResultPerMOList,'2> if there is a measld configured with the MeasObjectNR and a reportConflg which has rsType set to ssb3> set ssbFrequency to the value indicated by ssbFrequency as included in the MeasObjectNR,'2> if there is a measld configured with the MeasObjectNR and a reportConflg which has rsType set to csi-rs'.3> set reJFreqCSI-RS to the value indicated by refFreqCSI-RS as included in the associated measurement object;2> if a serving cell is associated with the MeasObjectNR-.3> set measResultServingCell to include the available quantities of the concerned cell and in accordance with the performance requirements in TS 38.133
[0014] ; 2> set the measResultNeighCellList to include the best measured cells, ordered such that the best cell is listed first, and based on measurements collected up to the moment the UE detected the failure, and set its fields as follows;3> ordering the cells with sorting as follows:4> based on SS / PBCH block if SS / PBCH block measurement results are available and otherwise based on CSI-RS;4> using RSRP if RSRP measurement results are available, otherwise using RSRQ if RSRQ measurement results are available, otherwise using SINR;3> if the UE supports SCG failure information for mobility robustness optimization for conditional PSCell change, for each neighbour cell, if any, included in measResultListNR in measResultFreqList4> if the neighbour cell is one of the candidate cells for which the reconfigurationWithSync is included in the secondaryCellGroup in the SCG VarConditionalReconflg (for intra-SN CPC) at the moment of the detected SCG failure (radio link failure at PSCell or PSCell change or addition failure):5> if the first entry of condExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG associated to the neighbour cell corresponds to a fulfilled execution condition at the moment of SCG failure; or5> if the second entry of condExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG associated to the neighbour cell, if available, corresponds to a fulfilled execution condition at the moment of SCG failure:6> set flrstTriggeredEvent to the execution condition condFirstEvent corresponding to the first entry of condExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG associated to the neighbour cell or to the execution condition condSecondEvent corresponding to the second entry of choConflg, whichever execution condition was fulfilled first in time;6> set timeBetweenEvents to the elapsed time between the point in time of fulfilling the condition in condExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG associated to the neighbour cell that was fulfilled first in time, and the point in time of fulfilling the condition incondExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG associated to the neighbour cell that was fulfilled second in time, if both the first execution condition corresponding to the first entry and the second execution condition corresponding to the second entry in the condExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG associated to the neighbour cell were fulfilled;3> for each neighbour cell included:4> include the optional fields that are available.NOTE: The measured quantities are filtered by the L3 filter as configured in the mobility measurement configuration. The measurements are based on the time domain measurement resource restriction, if configured. Exclude-listed cells are not required to be reported.1> if available, set the locationinfo as in 5.3.3.7 according to the otherConfig associated with the NR SCG.
[0080] Figure 3 shows an example of a communication system 300 in accordance with some embodiments.
[0081] In the example, the communication system 300 includes a telecommunication network 302 that includes an access network 304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 306, which includes one or more core network nodes 308. The access network 304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 310a and 310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 310), 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 302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 302 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 302, including one or more network nodes 310 and / or core network nodes 308.
[0082] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 312a, 312b, 312c, and 312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 312) to the core network 306 over one or more wireless connections.
[0083] 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 300 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 300 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.
[0084] The UEs 312 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 310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 310 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 312 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 302 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 302.
[0085] In the depicted example, the core network 306 connects the network nodes 310 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 316. 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 306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 308) 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 308. 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).
[0086] The host 316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 304 and / or the telecommunication network 302. The host 316 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
[0087] As a whole, the communication system 300 of Figure 3 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.
[0088] In some examples, the telecommunication network 302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 302. For example, the telecommunications network 302 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.
[0089] In some examples, the UEs 312 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 304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 304. 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).
[0090] In the example, the hub 314 communicates with the access network 304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 312c and / or 312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 310b). In some examples, the hub 314 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 314 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 310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 314. As another example, the hub 314 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 314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
[0091] The hub 314 may have a constant / persistent or intermitent connection to the network node 310b. The hub 314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 314 and UEs (e.g., UE 312c and / or 312d), and between the hub 314 and the core network 306. In other examples, the hub 314 is connected to the core network 306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 304 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 310 while still connected via the hub 314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 314 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 310b. In other embodiments, the hub 314 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.
[0092] Figure 4 shows a UE 400 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 400 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 312 of Figure 1. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / 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.
[0093] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP 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 whichmay 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).
[0094] The UE 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input / output interface 406, a power source 408, a memory 410, a communication interface 412, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 4. 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.
[0095] The processing circuitry 402 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 410. The processing circuitry 402 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 402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuitry 402 may be configured to cause the UE 402 to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 1.
[0096] In the example, the input / output interface 406 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 400. 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 anycombination 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.
[0097] In some embodiments, the power source 408 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 408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 408 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 400 to which power is supplied.
[0098] The memory 410 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 410 includes one or more application programs 414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 416. The memory 410 may store, for use by the UE 400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
[0099] The memory 410 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 410 may allow the UE 400 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memorymedia, 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 410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
[0100] The processing circuitry 402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 412. The communication interface 412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 422. The communication interface 412 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 418 and / or a receiver 420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 418 and receiver 420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
[0101] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 412 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.
[0102] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 412, 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 issent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
[0103] 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.
[0104] 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 400 shown in Figure 4.
[0105] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
[0106] 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.
[0107] Figure 5 shows a network node 500 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).
[0108] 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).
[0109] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi -cell / multi cast 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).
[0110] The network node 500 includes a processing circuitry 502, a memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508. The network node 500 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 500 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 500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, 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 500.
[0111] The processing circuitry 502 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 500 components, such as the memory 504, to provide network node 500 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to cause the network node to perform the methods as described with reference to Figure 2.
[0112] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
[0113] The memory 504 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 502. The memory 504 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 502 and utilized by the network node 500. The memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 and memory 504 is integrated.
[0114] The communication interface 506 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 506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510. Radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises filters 520 and amplifiers 522. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to an antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 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 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 520 and / or amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.
[0115] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518, instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-endcircuitry and is connected to the antenna 510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 506 includes one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio front-end circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
[0116] The antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port.
[0117] The antenna 510, communication interface 506, and / or the processing circuitry 502 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 510, the communication interface 506, and / or the processing circuitry 502 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.
[0118] The power source 508 provides power to the various components of network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 500 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 508. As a further example, the power source 508 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.
[0119] Embodiments of the network node 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 5 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary tosupport the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 3, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 518 and the RF transceiver circuitry 512 may be omitted.
[0120] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 600 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 600 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 600 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.
[0121] Applications 602 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
[0122] Hardware 604 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 606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 608a and 608b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 608), and / or perform any ofthe functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 608.
[0123] The VMs 608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 606. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 602 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 608, 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.
[0124] In the context of NFV, a VM 608 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 608, and that part of hardware 604 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 608 on top of the hardware 604 and corresponds to the application 602.
[0125] Hardware 604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 604 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 604 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 610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 602. In some embodiments, hardware 604 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 612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
[0126] 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 thesecomputing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
[0127] 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.
[0128] The following groups of numbered statements set out some embodiments of the disclosure:Group A Embodiments1. A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: while configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group ofnetwork nodes comprising a first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, detecting a failure in a connection to the second group of network nodes; and transmitting, via a connection to the first group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration.2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements.3. The method of embodiment 2, wherein the one or more second measurement are configured by the second network node.4. The method of embodiment 2 or 3, wherein the one or more second measurements relate to the third candidate network node5. The method of any one of embodiments 2 to 4, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration.6. The method of embodiment 5, wherein the first and second execution conditions are specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.7. The method of any one of embodiments 2 to 6, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first.8. The method of any one of embodiments 2 to 7, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled second.9. The method of any one of embodiments 2 to 8, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise radio resource management, RRM, measurements.10. The method of any one of embodiments 2 to 9, wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes.11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the second container comprises an information element.12. The method of embodiment 11, wherein the information element comprises a measResultSCGFailure information element.13. The method of any one of embodiments 10 to 12, wherein the one or more second measurements are included in the second container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the second network node.14. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the one or more second measurements are included in the response message responsive to a determination that the second network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration.15. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the report message further comprises one or more first measurements configured by the first network node.16. The method of embodiment 15, wherein the one or more first measurements are provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes.17. The method of embodiment 16, wherein the first container comprises an information element.18. The method of embodiment 17, wherein the information element comprises a measResultFreqList information element.19. The method of any one of embodiments 15 to 18, wherein the one or more firstmeasurements are included in the response message responsive to a determination that the first network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration.20. The method of any one of embodiments 15 to 19, wherein the one or more first measurements are included in the first container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the first network node.21. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the report message comprises an SCGFailur eInformation message.22. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the conditional mobility configuration comprises a Conditional PSCell Change, CPC, configuration.23. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the second network node serves a Primary Secondary cell or a Primary SCG cell, PSCell, in the second group of network nodes.24. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the first network node serves a Primary cell, PCell, in the first group of network nodes.25. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the first group of network nodes comprises a Master Cell Group, MCG.26. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the second group of network nodes comprises a Secondary Cell Group, SCG.Group B Embodiments27. A method performed by a first network node, the method comprising: while a UE is configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising the first network node being a master node and the second groupof network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while the UE configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, receiving, from the UE, upon failure in its connection to the second group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration.28. The method of embodiment 27, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements.29. The method of embodiment 28, wherein the one or more second measurements are configured by the second network node.30. The method of embodiment 28 or 29, wherein the one or more second measurements relate to the third candidate network node.31. The method of any one of embodiments 28 to 30, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration.32. The method of embodiment 31, wherein the first and second execution conditions are specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.33. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 32, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first.34. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 33, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled second.35. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 34, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise radio resource management, RRM, measurements.36. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 35, wherein the one or more secondmeasurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes.37. The method of embodiment 36, wherein the second container comprises an information element.38. The method of embodiment 37, wherein the information element comprises a measResultSCGFailure information element.39. The method of any one of embodiments 36 to 38, further comprising forwarding the second container to one or more of the second group of network nodes.40. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 39, wherein the one or more second measurements are included in the response message responsive to a determination that the second network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration.41. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 40, wherein the report message further comprises one or more first measurements configured by the first network node.42. The method of embodiment 41 , wherein the one or more first measurements are provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes.43. The method of embodiment 42, wherein the first container comprises an information element.44. The method of embodiment 43, wherein the information element comprises a measResultFreqList information element.45. The method of any one of embodiments 41 to 44, wherein the one or more first measurements are included in the response message responsive to a determination that the first network node configured the user equipment with the conditional mobility configuration.46. The method of any one of embodiments 41 to 45, further comprising decoding the firstcontainer.47. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 46, wherein the report message comprises an SCGFailur eInformation message.48. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 47, wherein the conditional mobility configuration comprises a Conditional PSCell Change, CPC, configuration.49. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 48, wherein the second network node serves a Primary Secondary cell or a Primary SCG cell, PSCell, in the second group of network nodes.50. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 49, wherein the first network node serves a Primary cell, PCell, in the first group of network nodes.51. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 50, wherein the first group of network nodes comprises a Master Cell Group, MCG.52. The method of any one of embodiments 27 to 51, wherein the second group of network nodes comprises a Secondary Cell Group, SCG.Group C Embodiments53. A user equipment, comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.54. A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.55. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to cause the user equipment to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.
Claims
CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment (400), the method comprising: while configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes (500) and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising a first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, detecting (108) a failure in a connection to the second group of network nodes; and transmitting (110), via a connection to the first group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration, and wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more network nodes of the second group of network nodes.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second execution conditions are specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
3. The method of any one of claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first.
4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second container comprises an information element.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information element comprises a measResultSCGFailure information element.
6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more secondmeasurements are included in the second container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the second network node.
7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the report message further comprises one or more first measurements configured by the first network node, wherein the one or more first measurements are provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes.
8. A method performed by a first network node (500), the method comprising: while a user equipment, UE, (400) is configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising the first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while the UE configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, receiving (208), from the UE, upon failure in its connection to the second group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration, and wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and second execution conditions are specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise anindication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first.
11. The method of any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the second container comprises an information element.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information element comprises a measResultSCGFailure information element.
13. The method of any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising forwarding the second container to one or more of the second group of network nodes.
14. The method of any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the report message further comprises one or more first measurements configured by the first network node, wherein the one or more first measurements are provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes.
15. A user equipment (400), comprising: processing circuitry (402) configured to cause the user equipment to: while configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes (500) and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising a first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, detect (108) a failure in a connection to the second group of network nodes; and transmit (110), via a connection to the first group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration, and wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more network nodes of the second group of network nodes.
16. The user equipment of claim 15, wherein the first and second execution conditions are specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
17. The user equipment of claim 15 or 16, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first.
18. The user equipment of any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the second container comprises an information element.
19. The user equipment of claim 18, wherein the information element comprises a measResultSCGFailure information element.
20. The user equipment of any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the one or more second measurements are included in the second container responsive to a determination that an execution condition for conditional mobility to the third candidate network node is fulfilled, and a measurement configuration for the third candidate network node is configured by the second network node.
21. The user equipment of any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the report message further comprises one or more first measurements configured by the first network node, wherein the one or more first measurements are provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes.
22. A user equipment (400) configured to: while configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes (500) and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising a first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, detect (108) a failure in a connection to the second group of network nodes; and transmit (110), via a connection to the first group of network nodes, a report messagecomprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration, and wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more network nodes of the second group of network nodes.
23. The user equipment of claim 22, wherein the user equipment is further configured to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 7.
24. A first network node (500), comprising: processing circuitry (502) configured to cause the first network node to: while a user equipment, UE, (400) is configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising the first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while the UE configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, receive (208), from the UE, upon failure in its connection to the second group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration, and wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes.
25. The first network node of claim 24, wherein the first and second execution conditions are specified for initiation of a mobility procedure to the third candidate network node.
26. The first network node of claim 24 or 25, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an execution condition that was fulfilled first.
27. The first network node of any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the second container comprises an information element.
28. The first network node of claim 27, wherein the information element comprises a measResultSCGFailure information element.
29. The first network node of any one of claims 24 to 28, wherein the first network node is further caused to forward the second container to one or more of the second group of network nodes.
30. The first network node of any one of claims 24 to 29, wherein the report message further comprises one or more first measurements configured by the first network node, wherein the one or more first measurements are provided in a first container for one or more of the first group of network nodes.
31. A first network node (500) configured to: while a user equipment, UE, (400) is configured with dual connectivity comprising connections to a first group of one or more network nodes and a second group of one or more network nodes, the first group of network nodes comprising the first network node being a master node and the second group of network nodes comprising at least a second network node being a secondary node, and while the UE configured with a conditional mobility configuration for replacing the second network node with a third candidate network node, receive (208), from the UE, upon failure in its connection to the second group of network nodes, a report message comprising information related to the conditional mobility configuration, wherein the information comprises one or more second measurements, wherein the one or more second measurements comprise an indication of an amount of time elapsed between initial fulfillment of a first execution condition specified in the conditional mobility configuration and subsequent fulfillment of a second execution conditionspecified in the conditional mobility configuration, and wherein the one or more second measurements are provided in a second container to be forwarded to one or more of the second group of network nodes.
32. The first network node of claim 31, wherein the first network node is further configured to perform the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.
33. A computer-readable storage medium storing code which, when executed by processing circuitry (402) of a user equipment (400), causes the user equipment to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
34. A computer-readable storage medium storing code which, when executed by processing circuitry (502) of a first network node (502), causes the first network node to perform a method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.
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