Slice specific enhancements to shr

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method performed by a user equipment, UE, (302) for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, where the method includes performing (322) the mobility procedure The method also includes, after completing the mobility procedure, logging (324) a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or Quality of Service, QoS, flow. The method also includes providing (326, 328) the report to one or more radio access network nodes (RAN) (306, 304). Methods performed by a source RAN node and a target RAN nodes are also disclosed. Additionally, a UE, a source RAN node, and a target RAN node are provided to perform the methods are also disclosed.

Description

SLICE SPECIFIC ENHANCEMENTS TO SHRRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 573,108, filed April 2, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to methods for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure in a wireless communication system.BACKGROUND

[0003] The current Fifth Generation (5G) Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) NG) architecture is depicted and described in Third Generation Partnership Program (3 GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.401 V18.0.0 and reproduced as shown in Figure 1.

[0004] The NG-RAN consists of a set of gNBs (e.g., radio access network nodes or base station devices) connected to the 5G Core Network (5GC) through the NG interface.

[0005] As specified in TS 38.300, the NG-RAN could also consist of a set of ng-eNBs, an ng-eNB may consist of an ng-eNB-CU (Central Unit) and one or more ng-eNB-DU(s) (Distributed Units). An ng-eNB-CU and an ng-eNB-DU are connected via the W1 interface. The general principle described here also applies to ng-eNB and the W1 interface, if not explicitly specified otherwise

[0006] An gNB can support Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode, Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode or dual mode operation.

[0007] gNBs can be interconnected through the Xn interface.

[0008] A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DU(s). A gNB-CU and a gNB-DU is connected via the Fl interface.

[0009] One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU.

[0010] NG, Xn, and Fl are logical interfaces.

[0011] For NG-RAN, the NG and Xn-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, terminate in the gNB-CU. For E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), the Sl-U and X2-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, terminate in the gNB- CU. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DUs are only visible to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB.

[0012] The overall architecture for separation of gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU User Plane (gNB-CU-UP) is depicted in Figure 2. A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU-CP, multiple gNB-CU- UPs and multiple gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU-CP is connected to the gNB-DU through the Fl-C interface. The gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-DU through the Fl-U interface. The gNB- CU-UP is connected to the gNB-CU-CP through the El interface. One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. One gNB-CU-UP is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP.

[0013] The architecture shown above in Figures 1 and 2 is what 3GPP has defined for 5G. Other standardization groups, such as the Open-RAN (0-RAN) Alliance, have further extended the architecture above and have for example split the gNB-DU into two further nodes connected by a fronthaul interface. The lower node of the split gNB-DU would contain the physical layer (PHY) protocol and the radiofrequency (RF) parts, the upper node of the split gNB-DU would host the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC). In 0-RAN the upper node is called 0-DU, while the lower node is called 0-RU.

[0014] In TS 38.300 a description of the basics of Network Slicing is provided.

[0015] A network slice always consists of a RAN part and a Core Network (CN) part. The support of network slicing relies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled by different Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions. Network can realize the different network slices by scheduling and also by providing different LI / L2 configurations.

[0016] Each network slice is uniquely identified by a Slice Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI), as defined in TS 23.501. NSSAI includes one or a list of S- NSSAIs (Single NSSAI) where a S-NSSAI is a combination of:• mandatory SST (Slice / Service Type) field, which identifies the slice type and consists of 8 bits (with range is 0-255);• optional SD (Slice Differentiator) field, which differentiates among Slices with same SST field and consist of 24 bits.

[0017] The list includes at most 8 S-NSSAIs

[0018] The UE (User Equipment) provides NSSAI (Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) for network slice selection in RRCSetupComplete, if it has been provided by Non Access Stratum (NAS) (see clause 9.2.1.3 from TS 38.300). While the network can support large number of slices (hundreds), the UE need not support more than 8 slices simultaneously. A bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UE or a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE supports a maximum of 8 slices simultaneously.

[0019] Network Slicing is a concept to allow differentiated treatment depending on each customer’s requirements. With slicing, it is possible for Mobile Network Operators (MNO) toconsider customers as belonging to different tenant types with each having different service requirements that govern in terms of what slice types each tenant is eligible to use based on Service Level Agreement (SLA) and subscriptions.

[0020] The following key principles apply for support of Network Slicing in NG-RAN:

[0021] RAN awareness of slices

[0022] NG-RAN supports a differentiated handling of traffic for different network slices which have been pre-configured. How NG-RAN supports the slice enabling in terms of NG- RAN functions (i.e. the set of network functions that comprise each slice) is implementation dependent.

[0023] Selection of RAN part of the network slice

[0024] NG-RAN supports the selection of the RAN part of the network slice, by NS SAI provided by the UE or the 5GC which unambiguously identifies one or more of the preconfigured network slices in the PLMN.

[0025] Resource management between slices

[0026] NG-RAN supports policy enforcement between slices as per service level agreements. It should be possible for a single NG-RAN node to support multiple slices. The NG- RAN should be free to apply the best RRM policy for the SLA in place to each supported slice.

[0027] Support of QoS

[0028] NG-RAN supports QoS differentiation within a slice, and per Slice-Maximum Bit Rate may be enforced per UE, if feasible. How NG-RAN enables UE-Slice-MBR enforcement and rate limitation (see TS 23.501 [3]) is up to network implementation.

[0029] RAN selection of CN entity

[0030] For initial attach, the UE may provide NS SAI to support the selection of an AMF. If available, NG-RAN uses this information for routing the initial NAS to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). If the NG-RAN is unable to select an AMF using this information or the UE does not provide any such information the NG-RAN sends the NAS signaling to one of the default AMFs.

[0031] For subsequent accesses, the UE provides a Temp ID, which is assigned to the UE by the 5GC, to enable the NG-RAN to route the NAS message to the appropriate AMF as long as the Temp ID is valid (NG-RAN is aware of and can reach the AMF which is associated with the Temp ID). Otherwise, the methods for initial attach applies.

[0032] Resource isolation between slices

[0033] The NG-RAN supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN resource isolation may be achieved by means of RRM policies and protection mechanisms that should avoid thatshortage of shared resources in one slice breaks the service level agreement for another slice. It should be possible to fully dedicate NG-RAN resources to a certain slice. Some Random Access Channel (RACH) resources can be associated to specific Network Slice Access stratum Group (NSAG). Other aspects of how NG-RAN supports resource isolation are implementation dependent.

[0034] Access control

[0035] By means of the unified access control (see clause 7.4), operator-defined access categories can be used to enable differentiated handling for different slices. NG-RAN may broadcast barring control information (i.e. a list of barring parameters associated with operator- defined access categories) to minimize the impact of congested slices.

[0036] Slice Availability

[0037] Some slices may be available only in part of the network. A slice is considered available in a cell if it is supported by the TA comprising the cell and the slice is not configured with zero resources, as specified in TS 23.501. A slice is supported within a TA if it is included in the slice support list for the TA signaled from the NG-RAN to the AMF. The NG-RAN supported S-NSSAI(s), NSAG(s) and NSAG related information such as NSAG associated Cell Reselection Priority and / or NSAG associated RACH resources are configured by Operations, Administration and Maintenance (0AM). Awareness in the NG-RAN of the slices supported in the cells of its neighbors may be beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connected mode. In order to support the NSAG, the NG-RAN provides the AMF with the NSAG information per TA in the appropriate NG interface management procedures, as specified in TS 38.413. Awareness in the NG-RAN of the NSAG information supported in the list(s) of neighbor cells may be configured by 0AM or exchanged with neighbor NG-RAN nodes.

[0038] The NG-RAN and the 5GC are responsible to handle a service request for a slice that may or may not be available in a given area. Admission or rejection of access to a slice may depend on factors such as support for the slice, availability of resources, support of the requested service by NG-RAN.

[0039] The NG-RAN may be signaled with the Partially Allowed NSSAI from the AMF as specified in TS 23.501. The NG-RAN may decide to use the Partially Allowed NSSAI for mobility decision.

[0040] Support for Network Slices with Network Slice Area of Service not matching deployed Tracking Areas is specified in TS 23.501. NG-RAN cells that are outside the Area of Service may be configured with zero resources for the concerned slice(s). The concerned slice(s) cannot use any dedicated, prioritized nor any shared resources of that cell. Awareness of zeroresources configured for a slice in one or more cells may be exchanged with neighbor NG-RAN nodes for mobility reasons.

[0041] Support for UE associating with multiple network slices simultaneously

[0042] In case a UE is associated with multiple slices simultaneously, only one signaling connection is maintained and for intra-frequency cell reselection, the UE always tries to camp on the best cell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, dedicated priorities can be used to control the frequency on which the UE camps.

[0043] Granularity of slice awareness

[0044] Slice awareness in NG-RAN is introduced at PDU session level, by indicating the S- NSSAI corresponding to the PDU Session, in all signaling containing PDU session resource information.

[0045] Validation of the UE rights to access a network slice

[0046] It is the responsibility of the 5GC to validate that the UE has the right to access a network slice. Prior to receiving the Initial Context Setup Request message, the NG-RAN may be allowed to apply some provisional / local policies, based on awareness of which slice the UE is requesting access to. During the initial context setup, the NG-RAN is informed of the slice for which resources are being requested.

[0047] Network slice replacement

[0048] NG-RAN may support network slice replacement for a PDU session as defined in TS 23.501.

[0049] The release 19 work item description (WID) for Data Collection for Self Organizing Networks (SON) / Minimization of Drive Training (MDT) in NR standalone and Multi Radio Access Technology (RAT) Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) as specified in RP -234038 specified the following as justification for the sought after SON / MDT enhancements:

[0050] Self-Organizing Networks (SON), which encompasses solutions for network selfconfiguration and self-optimization, was introduced in LTE to support deployment of the system and performance optimization. SON / MDT for NR was first introduced in Rel-16 and new features enabled by data collection for SON / MDT in NR were enhanced in Rel-17 and Rel-18.

[0051] Taking the tangible commercial interests and the stability and technological maturity into account, SON / MDT enhancements for some Rel-17 / Rel-18 new features are considered in Rel-19, potentially including MRO enhancement for Lower Layer Trigger Mobility (LTM), Condition Handover (CHO) with candidate Secondary Cell Groups (SCGs), SON / MDT enhancements for Intra Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) mobility, Network Slicing, etc.

[0052] The following is specified as the objective of the work item in the same WID:• The objective of this work item is to specify data collection enhancement in NR standalone and MR-DC for SON / MDT purpose. The specific objectives of this work item are:• Support of SON / MDT enhancements for [RAN3, RAN2]:• Network SlicingSUMMARY

[0053] Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a method for reporting slice- related performance in a mobility procedure such as a handover. A User Equipment (UE) can receive, from either a source Radio Access Network (RAN) node, or a target RAN node, a configuration to generate the report, and then after completing the mobility procedure (e.g., a handover, reconfiguration with synch, etc.) log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice, and then provide the report to a RAN node (e.g., source, target, etc.). The first set of information and measurements can include information about a user plane interruption time observed during the mobility procedure, as well as include various indicators, including whether a data radio bearer or protocol data unit (PDU) session associated to the network slice is not available at the target cell.

[0054] In an embodiment, a method is provided that is performed by a UE for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, the method comprising performing the mobility procedure, after completing the mobility procedure, logging a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or Quality of Service, QoS, flow, and providing the report to one or more radio access network nodes.

[0055] In an embodiment, the method further comprises receiving one or more configurations to generate the report from the one or more radio access network nodes.

[0056] In an embodiment, the one or more configurations comprise a first configuration received from a source radio access network node associated with a source cell or a second configuration received from a target radio access network node associated with a target cell.

[0057] In an embodiment, the method further comprises providing an indication to the one more radio access network nodes about a capability to provide per slice statistics.

[0058] In an embodiment, the mobility procedure is one of: a handover; a reconfiguration with synch; a conditional reconfiguration with synch; a dual active protocol stack handover; or a layerl / layer2 cell switch.

[0059] In an embodiment, the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following downlink measurements a user plane interruption time; or an indication that a data radio bearer or protocol data unit, PDU, session associated to the network slice is not available at a target cell.

[0060] In an embodiment the first set of information and measurements further comprise a plurality of user plane interruptions corresponding to different PDU sessions associated to one or more network slices.

[0061] In an embodiment the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following uplink measurements, a user plane interruption time and statistics associated with the user plane interruption time as measured from a point in time in which the UE sent a last packet in a specific data radio bearer or PDU session associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the specific data radio bearer or PDU session associated to the specific network slice in a target cell, or based on a reference time based on issuance of a handover command; or an indication that a quality of service, QoS, flow associated to the network slice in a target cell is not available.

[0062] In an embodiment the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following uplink measurements a user plane interruption time measured from a point in time in which the UE sent a last packet in a specific PDU session associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the specific PDU session associated to the specific network slice in a target cell; or a user plane interruption time measured from a point in time in which the UE sent a last packet in a specific data radio bearer associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in another specific data radio bearer associated to the specific network slice in a target cell.

[0063] In an embodiment the first set of information and measurements comprises a measurement of an uplink interruption time and a downlink interruption time and an indication that the uplink interruption time is shorter or longer than or equal to the downlink interruption time.

[0064] In an embodiment, the first set of information and measurements comprise an indication of a quantized value of interruption time.

[0065] In an embodiment the first set of information and measurements comprise an indication that observed interruption time satisfies a predefined criterion to trigger additional reporting.

[0066] In an embodiment a UE for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure is provided, where the UE includes processing circuitry that is configured to performthe mobility procedure, and after completing the mobility procedure, log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a PDU Session, PDU Set, or a QoS, flow and provide the report to one or more radio access network nodes. The processing circuitry can also perform any of the embodiments described above.

[0067] In an embodiment a method performed by a source radio access network node for facilitating reporting slice-related performance by a UE in a mobility procedure is provided. The method includes providing to a user equipment, UE, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving the source radio access network node wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or Quality of Service, QoS, flow.

[0068] In an embodiment the method further includes receiving configuration parameters from a different network node, wherein the configuration provided to the UE comprises the configuration parameters.

[0069] In an embodiment the configuration comprises one or more of an indication to the UE to log user plane interruption time for one or more protocol data unit, PDU, sessions identified by one or more PDU session identifiers in the configuration; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session associated with the network slice that is identified by a network slice identifier; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more bearers associated to the network slice, wherein the one or more bearers are one or more of data radio bearers, signaling radio bearers, or multicast radio bearers; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more network slices; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU set associated to the network slice; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session in one PDU set; an indication to log user plane interruption time per one or more data radio bearers, DRB, identified by one or more DRB identifiers; an indication to log uplink and downlink user plan interruption time; an indication indicating a minimum value of an interruption time that is to be logged; and an indication indicating a maximum value of interruption time to be logged.

[0070] In an embodiment, a source radio access network node is provided for facilitating reporting slice-related performance by a UE in a mobility procedure and comprises processing circuitry configured to provide to the UE a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobilityprocedure involving the source radio access network node (304) wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a PDU Session, PDU Set, or a QoS flow. The processing circuitry can also perform any of the above embodiments.

[0071] In an embodiment a method performed by a target radio access network node is provided for facilitating reporting slice-related performance by a UE in a mobility procedure. The method includes providing to a user equipment, UE, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving the source radio access network node wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or Quality of Service, QoS, flow.

[0072] In an embodiment the method includes receiving configuration parameters from a different network node, wherein the configuration provided to the UE comprises the configuration parameters wherein the different network node is one of a core network node or an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM) node..

[0073] In an embodiment the configuration comprises one or more of an indication to the UE to log user plane interruption time for one or more protocol data unit, PDU, sessions identified by one or more PDU session identifiers in the configuration; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session associated with the network slice that is identified by a network slice identifier; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more bearers associated to the network slice, wherein the one or more bearers are one or more of data radio bearers, signaling radio bearers, or multicast radio bearers; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more network slices; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU set associated to the network slice; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session in one PDU set; an indication to log user plane interruption time per one or more data radio bearers, DRB, identified by one or more DRB identifiers; an indication to log uplink and downlink user plan interruption time; an indication indicating a minimum value of an interruption time that is to be logged; and an indication indicating a maximum value of interruption time to be logged.

[0074] In an embodiment a target radio access network node is provided for facilitating reporting slice-related performance by a UE in a mobility procedure. The target radio access network node comprises processing circuitry configured to provide to the UE in a mobility command message, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving asource radio access network node. The processing circuitry is further configured perform any of the embodiments above.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0076] Figure 1 shows an example of a Radio Access Network architecture in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0077] Figure 2 shows an example of a central units and distributed units in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0078] Figure 3 shows an example of a message sequence chart for a method for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0079] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0080] Figure 5 shows a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0081] Figure 6 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0082] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0083] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments.Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0084] 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.

[0085] There currently exist certain challenge(s). There is no inclusion of slice performance related metrics in Self Optimizing Networks (SON) reports as of now. This lack of observability needs improvement. Slice-dependent factors may affect User Equipment (UE) performance during and after a handover. A handover could be done for several reasons, such as coverage, capacity, load balancing, and other related reasons. A slice on which a UE had a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session prior to a handover may be unavailable after the Handover (HO) (either the slice itself is not available on the target, or the slice is deployed but has no available or allocated capacity).

[0086] While slicing can be used to realize different use-cases, e.g., geography specific services, subscription specific services, etc., having observability into how the slices are deployed and how they affect the services, and as a consequence the performance at the end-user needs better observability.

[0087] The problem of not having per slice observability in SON reports implies that it is not possible to check whether a slice is supported / available in the Area of Service where the slice services are assumed to be supported. This opens to the possibility of a mismatch between the slice area of service specified in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) signed by the operator with the customer for which slice services are provided and the actual area (e.g. in terms of cells) where a slice is supported / available. Similarly, it is not possible to check what are the quality-of- service (QoS) parameters according to which slice services are served. As an example, it is not possible to check what is the interruption time at mobility for slice services. Lack of such observability may end up in breaching QoS targets concerning handover interruption time or interruption time in general for a given service.

[0088] The problem of reduced observability therefore derives into the inability to prevent a breach of the SLA for the slice and an inability to take corrective actions once such breach is detected.

[0089] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a method for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure such as a handover. A User Equipment (UE) can receive, from either a source Radio Access Network (RAN) node, or a target RAN node, a configuration to generate the report, and then after completing the mobility procedure (e.g., a handover, reconfiguration with synch, etc.) log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice, and then provide the report to a RAN node (e.g., source, target, etc.). The first set of information and measurements can include information about a user plane interruption time observed during the mobility procedure,as well as include various indicators, including whether a data radio bearer or PDU session associated to the network slice is not available at the target cell.

[0090] The core of the techniques included herein is the extension of UE generated reports, like SON reports for successful handover or other similar reports, to include information corresponding to slice-related performance after a handover event. This disclosure specifically focuses on the interruption time experienced by the UE / application / service / session at different levels of granularities.

[0091] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The methods disclosed herein facilitate observability of slice-level performance after a handover event. The measured / ob served performance can be used by the RAN to better understand slice deployment and how the slice-level performance offered over its different cells are affecting services. The measured / ob served performance can be used by the UE to trigger additional reporting, such as radio access network (RAN) visible service Quality of Experience (QoE) (RVQoE), to enable further RAN-UE interaction.

[0092] In the proposed solution, the methods described for a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), or a combination of DRBs, can also apply to a Multicast Radio Bearer (MRB), or to a combination of MRBs, as well as to a combination of DRB(s) and MRB(s).

[0093] The methods herein are described by taking the NR radio access technology as an example. This is by no means limiting. Namely, the methods herein can be applied to any mobile access network where network slicing is supported, such as E-UTRA based networks. The methods herein are described by taking as an example the Successful Handover Report.However, the methods apply to any possible way the UE has to report the information described in this application to the RAN. Examples of alternative means for reporting such information are the Successful PSCell Report.

[0094] As of release 18, Successful Handover Report (SHR) includes a parameter called uplnterruptionTimeAtHO , that includes the time elapsed between the time of arrival of the last Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDU received from the source cell of the concerned handover and the time of arrival of the first non-duplicate PDCP PDU received from the target cell of the concerned handover, as measured at the time of arrival of the first non-duplicate PDCP PDU received from the target cell. The uplnterruptionTimeAtHO IE that is part of the SHR reports are intended only to be used for Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) handovers.

[0095] Considering outside the realm of DAPS handovers, whenever there is a longer interruption time during a handover, one of the factors that might have led to this could have been slice-related, e.g., the slice on which PDU session was on may have not been available atthe target, or the performance available on the slice at the target was poor or the resources allocated to the slice did not match the expected characteristics of the application.

[0096] A method proposed in this disclosure is performed at the wireless terminal so-called User Equipment (UE). This method is shown in the message sequence chart of Figure 3.

[0097] Performing a mobility procedure is done by a UE 302 at step 322 (e.g., a handover, or a reconfiguration with synch for a normal handover, or conditional reconfiguration with synch, or Dual Active protocol stack (DAPS HO), or a layerl / layer2 Triggered Mobility (LTM)), and upon execution of the mobility procedure. After the mobility procedure is complete, the method includes logging at step 324 a first set of information and measurements in a report (successful handover report or another similar SON report, such as the successful Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell) report) for all bearers associated with a specific network slice, for one bearer associated with a specific network slice, or a combination of bearers associated with a specific network slice. Once logged, the UE 302 may optionally send the report to the source RAN node 304 or target RAN node 306 at steps 328 and 326 respectively.

[0098] The first set of information comprises one or more of the following downlink measurements.• The user plane interruption time as measured from the point in time at which the UE received the last packet in a specific Data Radio Bearer (DRB) associated to a specific network slice in the source cell (or in a specific MRB associated to a specific network slice) , until receiving either the first duplicate or non-duplicate packet in the same or different DRB (or Multicast Radio Bearer - MRB) associated to the same service delivered in the same network slice in the target cell.• The user plane interruption time as measured from the point in time at which the UE received the last packet in a specific PDU session associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until receiving either the first duplicate or non-duplicate packet in the same PDU session associated to the same network slice in the target cell. As an alternative, the PDU Session in question may be associated to a network slice in the source RAN and then mapped to a different network slice once the PDU Session is handed over to the target RAN. In this case, the embodiment concerns measuring the interruption time measured from the point in time at which the UE received the last packet in a specific PDU session associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until receiving either the first duplicate or non-duplicate packet in the same PDU session associated to an alternative network slice in the target cell.

[0099] The UE can calculate such interruption time by monitoring packets arrival on all DRBs associated to the same PDU Session ID and determining the last received packet at source and the first received packet at target for this set of DRBs.

[0100] In an embodiment the UE logs at least one of the longest / maximum / average / median uplink interruption time induced by the HO in one or more of the DRBs in the given PDU session (or one or more of the MRBs in the given PDU session), or a value corresponding to a certain percentile from the different uplink interruption times induced by the HO in one or more of the DRBs in the given PDU session).

[0101] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs at least one of the: longest / maximum / average / median interruption time for all the bearers associated to such PDU Session, or a value corresponding to a certain percentile from the different interruption time for all the bearers associated to such PDU Session, wherein the average or the other statistic is computed over the interruption time for all such bearers.

[0102] In an embodiment, the UE 302 logs at least one of longest / maximum average / median interruption times for the bearers associated to such PDU Session which have been accepted in the target cell, or a value corresponding to a certain percentile from the different interruption times for the bearers associated to such PDU Session which have been accepted in the target cell, wherein the average or the other statistic is computed over the interruption time for the bearers associated to such PDU Sessions which have been accepted in the target cell.

[0103] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs at least one of longest / maximum / average / median interruption time for all the bearers associated to a PDU Set, or a value corresponding to a certain percentile of interruption time for all the bearers associated to a PDU Set.

[0104] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs a value of uplink interruption time induced by the HO in one or more of the DRB (or one or more MRB) in the given PDU session which holds the meaning that all the DRBs or a certain DRB (or all MRBs, or a certain MRB) associated to the network slice was not (or were not) handed over to the target cell.

[0105] The user plane interruption time measured from the point in time at which the UE 302 received the last packet over all the bearers associated to a specific slice in the source cell, until receiving the first packet over any of the same set of DRBs in the target cell.

[0106] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs the longest / maximum / average / median interruption time induced by the HO between the last packet received for this group of DRBs and the first packet received for the same group of DRBs, or in one or more of the DRBs (or in one or more of the MRBs) or PDU sessions served / associated by / to the given slice, or the valuecorresponding to a certain percentile from the different interruption times induced by the HO between the last packet received for this group of DRBs and the first packet received for the same group of DRBs, or in one or more of the DRBs or PDU sessions served / associated by / to the given slice.

[0107] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs the average interruption time for all the bearers associated to such network slice, where the average is taken by averaging the interruption time for all such bearers.

[0108] In one embodiment the UE 302 logs an indication, substantially equivalent to indicating that no radio (and / or transport) resources were not assigned to a PDU session, or for a certain bearer (or for any bearer) associated to the network slice in the target cell. This can be regarded as a non-available value (or alternatively as an infinite value) for the user plane interruption time, indicating that user plane did not continue for a certain PDU Session, or for a certain bearer (or for any bearer) associated to the network slice due to radio (and / or transport) resources not being available at the target cell.

[0109] In one embodiment, the absence of a value for the downlink user plane interruption time is used as an implicit indication that no radio (or transport) resources were assigned to a PDU Session, or to a certain bearer, or to any bearer, associated to the network slice in the target cell.

[0110] The user plane interruption time measured from the point in time at which the UE 302 received the last packet in a specific DRB associated to a specific PDU session of a specific network slice in the source cell, until receiving the first packet in the same DRB (or a different DRB) associated to the same PDU session in the same network slice in the target cell.[OHl] In a separate embodiment, UE 302 logs and reports a list of user plane interruption times defined in any of the previous embodiments where each element of the list is calculated per PDU session associated to a given slice.

[0112] In a separate embodiment, UE 302 logs and reports a list of user plane interruption times defined in any of the previous embodiments where each entry of the list is associated to a PDU session and each of such entries is a list whose entries are the user plane interruption times calculated for a DRB associated to the said PDU session.

[0113] In a separate embodiment, UE 302 logs and reports a list of user plane interruption times defined in any of the previous embodiments, where each entry of the list is associated to the PDU session included in a PDU Set, and each of such entries is a list whose entries are the user plane interruption times obtained for a DRB associated to the said PDU session.

[0114] In one embodiment, the last received packet in the source cell, and the first received packet in the target cell is a PDCP PDU.

[0115] In one embodiment, the last received packet in the source cell, and the first received packet in the target cell is a MAC PDU.

[0116] The user plane interruption time measured from the point in time at which the UE 302 received the last packet for a specific QoS Flow Identity associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until receiving the first packet in the same or equivalent / mapped QoS Flow Identity associated to the same network slice in the target cell.

[0117] The user plane interruption time measured from the point in time in which the UE 302 received the last packet for a specific QoS Flow Identity associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until receiving the first packet for a QoS Flow Identity associated to the same network slice in the target cell.

[0118] In one embodiment, the last received packet in the source cell, and the first received packet in the target cell are non-duplicate packets. According to this method, the UE 302 does not consider in the computation of the interruption time for any packet received from the target cell that is a duplicate of a packet previously received from the source cell. The method wherein the determination of duplication is done on the basis of the PDCP SN.

[0119] In one embodiment, the last received packet in the source cell, and the first received packet in the target cell are considered regardless of the sequence number or the duplication status. According to this method, the UE 302 considers reception of any packet from the target cell as a delimiter of user-plane interruption.

[0120] In one embodiment, the first received packet in the target cell is received in-sequence. According to this method, the UE 302 does not consider in the computation of the interruption time any packet received from the target cell that is not received in sequence with respect to any packet previously received from the source cell. The method wherein the determination of the insequence delivery is done on the basis of the PDCP SN.

[0121] In one embodiment, the first received packet in the target cell is a new packet. According to this method, the UE 302 does not consider in the computation of the interruption time any packet received from the target cell that has a PDCP SN lower than the PDCP PDU with highest PDCP SN received from the source.

[0122] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs the interruption time and information associated to the DRB (e.g. DRB ID), and / or PDU session (e.g. PDU session ID) and / or PDU Set, and / or slice (e.g. S-NSSAI).

[0123] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs an indication indicating whether a PDU session that was served by the source cell is served / configured or not served / configured by the target cell. In one example, the UE 302 can set the interruption time value associated to the said PDU sessions to a special value, in case the PDU session is not served / configured in the target cell.

[0124] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs an indication indicating whether a network slice that was served by the source cell is supported / available or not supported / not available by the target cell. In one example, the UE 302 can set the interruption time value associated to the said network slice to a special value, in case resources requested at mobility for a network slice were denied.

[0125] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs an indication indicating whether a DRB associated to a certain service that was served by the source cell is served / configured or not served / configured by the target cell. In one example, the UE 302 can set the interruption time value associated to the said DRB to a special value, in case the network slice is not served / configured in the target cell.

[0126] In one embodiment, if the interruption time reaches a certain value, the UE 302 stops computing the said interruption time, and it logs a special value of the interruption time, e.g. the maximum value, or a flag indicating that the interruption time may be larger than such a logged value. This can happen in case the interruption time is particularly long, or if e.g. a PDU session / DRB / network slice that was served by the source cell is configured sometime after the handover by the target cell.

[0127] The method wherein the UE 302 stops computing the interruption time if the PDU session / DRB / slice that was served by the source cell and for which the interruption time calculation started, is not served / configured by the target cell.

[0128] The first set of information comprises one or more of the following Uplink measurements.• The user plane interruption time as measured from the point in time in which the UE 302 sent the last packet in a specific DRB is associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the same or equivalent / mapped DRB in the target cell.• The user plane interruption time as measured as the point in time in which the UE 302 sent the last packet in a specific PDU session associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the same PDU session in the target cell.

[0129] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs at least one of the longest / maximum / median / uplink interruption time induced by the HO in one or more of the DRBs in the given PDU session, or a value corresponding to a certain percentile from the different uplink interruption times induced by the HO in one or more of the DRBs in the given PDU session.

[0130] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs the average interruption time for all the bearers associated to such PDU Session, where the average is taken by averaging the interruption time for all such bearers.

[0131] In one embodiment the UE 302 logs an indication, substantially equivalent to indicating that no radio (and / or transport) resources were available for a PDU Session, or for a certain bearer (or for any bearer) associated to the network slice in the target cell. This can be regarded as a non-available value (or alternatively as an infinite value) for the uplink user plane interruption time, indicating that user plane in uplink did not continue for a certain PDU Session, or a for a certain bearer (or for any bearer) associated to the network slice due to radio (and / or transport) resources not being available at the target cell.

[0132] In one embodiment, the absence of a value for the uplink user plane interruption time is used as an implicit indication that no radio (or transport) resources were available for a PDU Session, or for a certain bearer, or for any bearer, associated to the network slice in the target cell.

[0133] The user plane interruption time measured from the point in time in which the UE 302 sent the last packet over all the bearers associated to a specific slice in the source cell, until sending the first uplink packet over any of the same set of DRB in the target cell.

[0134] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs the longest / maximum interruption time induced by the HO between the last packet received for this group of DRBs and the first packet received for the same group of DRBs, or in one or more of the DRBs or PDU sessions served / associated by / to the given slice.

[0135] In an embodiment the UE 302 logs the average interruption time for all the bearers associated to such network slice, where the average is taken by averaging the interruption time for all such bearers.

[0136] The user plane interruption time measured as the point in time in which the UE 302 sent the last packet in a specific QoS Flow Identity associated to a specific network slice in the source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the same or equivalent / mapped QoS Flow Identity in the target cell

[0137] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs a value of uplink interruption time induced by the Handover in one or more of QoS Flow in the given PDU session which holds the meaningthat all the QoS Flow or a certain QoS Flow associated to the network slice was not (or were not) handed over to the target cell

[0138] In one embodiment the UE 302 logs an indication, substantially equivalent to indicating that no radio (and / or transport) resources were available for a QoS Flow, or for any QoS flow associated to the network slice in the target cell. This can be regarded as a non- available value (or alternatively as an infinite value) for the user plane interruption time, indicating that user plane did not continue for a certain QoS Flow, or for any QoS Flow associated to the network slice due to radio (and / or transport) resources not being available at the target cell.

[0139] In one embodiment, the absence of a value for the user plane interruption time is used as an implicit indication that no radio (or transport) resources were available for a QoS Flow, or for any / all QoS Flows associated to the network slice in the target cell.

[0140] In one embodiment, before the UE reports to the RAN node the information described above, it reports separately an indication stating that in addition to (or in alternative to) the reported information there exists the feasibility to report per slice specific statistics at optionally either step 314 to the source RAN node 304 or step 316 to the target RAN node 306. This can take the form of a capability report. The network slices for which this information is available may be indicated by the corresponding S-NSSAIs or slice IDs for which the information has been collected. If the RAN node (either the source RAN node 304 or the target RAN node 306) receiving such indication supports the network slices indicated by the UE 302, the RAN node retrieves the information logged by the UE 302. This can occur before the mobility procedure at step 322 as shown in Figure 3, or in other embodiments, can occur after the mobility procedure at step 322.

[0141] In one embodiment, the UE 302 logs an indication which takes into account both Uplink and Downlink. For instance, the UE 302 logs an indication that uplink interruption time is larger than downlink interruption time. In one variant, the UE 302 logs an indication according to one of the options described above (e.g., for UL) and this is used to implicitly indicate that DL interruption time is lower than (or lower than or equal to) UL interruption time. The reverse is also possible, i.e. the UE 302 logs an indication indicating DL interruption time which implicitly indicates that UL interruption time is lower than (or lower than or equal to) DL interruption time.

[0142] In another embodiment, the UE 302 does not log the measured interruption time in the Uplink and Downlink but logs a quantized value of the interruption time that may correspond to the level of observability required at the RAN, e.g., low, medium, high.

[0143] In another embodiment, the measured interruption time may be compared with a threshold to determine if the observed interruption time satisfies criterion to trigger additional reporting. For e.g., a measured interruption time higher than a configured / specified threshold may trigger RVQoE reports to be sent to the target node.

[0144] In another embodiment, when no resources are provided by the target cell for the PDU Session / DRB(s) / MRB(s) / QoS flows associated to the network slice, only one special value for the user interruption time (representative of both UL and DL) is logged by the UE 302. In a dependent embodiment the above information and measurements (associated to the user plane interruption time in DL and or UL) upon executing the HO is logged by the UE based on a first and / or a second set of configurations received from the network (either from the source cell or the target cell).

[0145] A first and / or a second set of configurations can refer to: only logging of Downlink user plane interruption time, only logging of Uplink user plane interruption time, or logging both Downlink and Uplink user plane interruption time. A common set of parameters can be used within the first and / or the second set of configurations to configure a UE 302 for logging both Downlink and Uplink user plane interruption times. Alternatively, within the first and / or the second set of configurations, one set of parameters can be used to configure a UE 302 for logging Downlink user plane interruption time, and another set of parameters to configure a UE 302 for logging Uplink user plane interruption time. In one variant, a common set of parameters can be used for configuring a UE for logging both Downlink and Uplink user plane interruption time (e.g., indicating that logging is requested per-PDU Session in DL and UL), accompanied by a separate set of parameters specific for configuring a UE for logging UL user plane interruption time (e.g., the criteria to use for logging UL user plane interruption time for a PDU Session), and yet another set of parameters specific for configuring a UE 302 for logging DL user plane interruption time (e.g., the criteria to use for logging UL user plane interruption time for a PDU Session).

[0146] In an embodiment, at step 320, the source RAN node 304 can configure the UE 302 to prepare the report. The first set of configuration comprises one or more or the following:

[0147] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for one or more specific PDU session identified by a list of one or more PDU session ID in the first set of configurations.

[0148] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time per PDU session associated to a given slice identified by a S-NSSAI or network slice ID.

[0149] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for all the bearers associated to one or more specific network slices identified by a list of one or more A-NSSAI or network slice IDs.

[0150] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for a specific network slice (or more network slices) by means of monitoring all the bearers of such network slice (or slices) and derive a per slice measurement, where such one or more network slice is identified by a list of one or more S-NSSAI or slice IDs.

[0151] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time per PDU Set associated to a given network slice identified by an S-NSSAI or network slice ID.

[0152] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for a specific PDU Session in one PDU Set, the PDU Session associated to a given network slice identified by an S-NSSAI or network slice ID.

[0153] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for one or more specific data radio bearer (DRBs) identified by a list of one or more DRB IDs in the first set of configurations.

[0154] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for one or more specific data radio bearer (DRBs) identified by a list of one or more DRB IDs associated to a specific PDU session in the first set of configurations (or identified by a list of one or more DRB IDs associated to a specific PDU Set in the first set of configurations).

[0155] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the Downlink and / or Uplink user plane interruption time per one or more of the above-mentioned granularities in the first set of configurations.

[0156] An indication indicating the minimum value of the interruption time that should be logged and for which the report is generated by the UE 302. For example, the source RAN node 304 may provide a threshold on the minimum interruption time.

[0157] An indication indicating the maximum value of the interruption time that should be logged by the UE 302. For example, the source RAN node 304 may provide a threshold for the maximum interruption time. If this value is reached, the UE 302 stops computing the interruption time and it logs a special value of the interruption time, e.g. the maximum value of the interruption time, or a flag indicating that that the interruption time may be larger than such a logged value.

[0158] At step 318, a similar configuration can be provided to the UE 302 by the target RAN node 306.

[0159] The second set of configuration comprises one or more of the following:

[0160] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for one or more specific PDU session identified by a list of one or more PDU session ID in the first set of configurations.

[0161] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time per PDU session associated to a given slice identified by a S-NSSAI or network slice ID.

[0162] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for all the bearers associated to one or more specific network slices identified by a list of one or more S- NSSAI or slice IDs,

[0163] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for a specific network slice by means of monitoring all the bearers of such network slice and derive a per slice measurement, where such one or more network slice is identified by a list of one or more A-NSSAI or slice IDs.

[0164] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the user plane interruption time for one or more specific data radio bearer (DRBs) identified by a list of one or more DRB IDs in the first set of configurations.

[0165] An indication indicating to the UE 302 to log the Downlink and / or Uplink user plane interruption time per one or more of the above-mentioned granularities in the first set of configurations.

[0166] An indication indicating to the UE 302 that in case that the last packet in the downlink / uplink direction was transmitted before the reception of the second set of configurations described here, the UE 302 shall use an alternative reference, e.g., the reception of the handover command, using reference time computed based on timers used for retransmission / duplicate detection, etc., from which the interruption time may be computed. The UE may in addition explicitly indicate that the computation of the interruption time was performed using these alternate metrics.

[0167] In both the first and second set of configurations, the entity configuring the UE 302 can specify the type of statistic that should be measured / reported when there are more than one corresponding DRB / PDU sessions / QoS Flow / PDU Set on which the interruption time shall be measured on. The statistic could specify to report the raw measurements, or it may specify only to report the longest / maximum / average / median / value corresponding to a certain percentile from the different interruption times or other metrics specified in the earlier described embodiments.

[0168] In one embodiment, a RAN node, either the target RAN node 306 or the source RAN node 304 can receive from another network node 308 (e.g., an 0AM node, or another RAN node, or a CN node) at steps 310 and 312 respectively, configuration parameters concerning howto obtain UL and / or UL interruption time for a PDU session / DRB(s) / MRB(s) / QoS Flow(s) (according to one of options and variants described earlier), and sends at least part of these configuration parameters to the UE 302.

[0169] In a variation of the above embodiment, the configuring entity may configure the measurement of different metrics at a per-UE granularity, or at a UE-group granularity, or at a slice-level granularity, or other means to group UEs based on geography, slice use, etc.,

[0170] In an embodiment, a proposed modification to the UE Configuration example using SuccessHO-Config from 3GPP TS 38.331 NR RRC protocol specification version 18.0.0 is shown below with the amendments shown in underlined form:Begin ChangesSuccessHO-Config-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { thresholdPercentageT304-rl7 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare 1 } OPTIONAL, —Need R thresholdPercentageT310-rl7 ENUMERATED {p40, p60, p80, spare5, spared, spare3, spare2, spare 1 } OPTIONAL, —Need R thresholdPercentageT312-rl7 ENUMERATED {p20, p40, p60, p80, spared, spare3, spare2, spare 1 } OPTIONAL, —Need R sourceDAPS-FailureReporting-rl7 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -Need R pduSessionlnterruptionTimeReporting ENUMERATED {none, average, max, min, median, percentile} _ OPTIONAL. —Need R_ drbSessionlnterruptionTimeReporting ENUMERATED {none, average, max, min, median, percentile} _ OPTIONAL. —Need R_ qosFlowSessionlnterruptionTimeReporting ENUMERATED {none, average, max, min, median, percentile} _ OPTIONAL. —Need R_ pduSetSessionlnterruptionTimeReporting ENUMERATED {none, average, max, min, median, percentile} _ OPTIONAL. —Need R} End Changes Similarly, a proposed modification to the UE reporting example using SuccessHO-Report from 3GPP TS 38.331 NR RRC protocol specification version 18.0.0 is shown below with the amendments shown in underlined form::Begin ChangesSuccessHO-Report-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { sourceCelllnfo-r 17 SEQUENCE { sourcePCellId-rl7 CGI-Info-Logging-r 16, sourceCellMeas-r 17 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r 17OPTIONAL, rlf-InSourceDAPS-rl 7 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL}, targetCelllnfo-r 17 SEQUENCE { targetPCellId-rl7 CGI-Info-Logging-r 16, targetCellMeas-r 17 MeasResultSuccessHONR-r 17 OPTIONAL}, measResultNeighCells-rl7 SEQUENCE { measResultListNR-rl 7 MeasResultLi st2NR-r 16 OPTIONAL, measResultListEUTRA-r 17 MeasResultList2EUTRA-r 16OPTIONAL} OPTIONAL, locati onlnfo-r 17 Locati onlnfo-r 16 OPTIONAL, timeSinceCHO-Reconfig-rl7 TimeSinceCHO-Reconfig-rl7OPTIONAL, shr-Cause-r!7 SHR-Cause-rl7 OPTIONAL, ra-InformationCommon-rl 7 RA-InformationCommon-r 16OPTIONAL, uplnterruptionTimeAtHO-r 17 UPInterruptionTimeAtHO-r 17OPTIONAL, pduSessionsInterruptionTimeAtHoListPDUSessionsInterruptionTimeAtHoListOPTIONAL,— or - drb Interrupt! onTimeAtHoList DRB Interrupt! onTimeAtHoListOPTIONAL,— or - qosFlowInterruptionTimeAtHoListOPTIONAL— or -eutraTargetCelllnfo-rl 8 SEQUENCE { targetPCellld-rl 8 CGI-InfoEUTRALogging, targetCellMeas-rl 8 MeasQuantityResultsEUTRA OPTIONAL} OPTIONAL. measResultServCell-RSSI-rl 8 RSSI-Range-rl6 OPTIONAL, measResultNeighFreqList-RSSI-rl 8 MeasResultNeighFreqList-RSSI-rl 8OPTIONAL, eutra-C-RNTI-rl8 EUTRA-C-RNTI OPTIONAL, timeSinceSHR-rl 8 TimeSinceSHR-r 18 OPTIONAL ]]PDUSessionsInterruptionTimeAtHoList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxPDUSessionsT) OFPDUSessionsInterruptionTimeAtHo— or -DRBSessionsInterruptionTimeAtHoList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxDRBSessionsI) OFDRB SessionsInterruptionTimeAtHo— or -QOSFlowInterruptionTimeAtHoList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxQOSFlows)) OFQOSFlowInterruptionTimeAtHo— or -PDUSetlnterruptionTimeAtHoList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxPDUSets)) OFPDUSetlnterruptionTimeAtHoEnd Changes

[0171] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system 400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0172] In the example, the communication system 400 includes a telecommunication network 402 that includes an access network 404, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 406, which includes one or more core network nodes 408. The access network 404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 410A and 410B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 410), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Source RAN node 304 and target RAN node 306 can be implemented by network nodes 410. 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 402 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 402 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 402, including one or more network nodes 410 and / or core network nodes 408.

[0173] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non- real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 412A, 412B, 412C, and 412D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 412) to the core network 406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0174] 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 400 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 400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0175] The UEs 412 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 410 and other communication devices. The UEs 412 can for example perform the same functionality as described above with regard to UE 302. Similarly, the network nodes 410 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 402 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 402.

[0176] In the depicted example, the core network 406 connects the network nodes 410 to one or more hosts, such as host 416. 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 406 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 408) 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 408. 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).

[0177] The host 416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 404 and / or the telecommunication network 402 and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of suchapplications 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.

[0178] As a whole, the communication system 400 of Figure 4 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 400 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 Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (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.

[0179] In some examples, the telecommunication network 402 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 402. For example, the telecommunication network 402 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 Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0180] In some examples, the UEs 412 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 404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 404. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi -Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0181] In the example, a hub 414 communicates with the access network 404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 412C and / or 412D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 410B). In some examples, the hub 414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 414 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 406 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 414 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 410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 414. As another example, the hub 414 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 414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0182] The hub 414 may have a constant / persi stent or intermittent connection to the network node 410B. The hub 414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 414 and UEs (e.g., UE 412C and / or 412D), and between the hub 414 and the core network 406. In other examples, the hub 414 is connected to the core network 406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 414 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 410 while still connected via the hub 414 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 414 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 410B. In other embodiments, the hub 414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 410B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0183] Figure 5 shows a UE 500 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 500 can perform the functionality as described above with regard to UE 302. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly withnetwork nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0184] 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 which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0185] The UE 500 includes processing circuitry 502 that is operatively coupled via a bus 504 to an input / output interface 506, a power source 508, memory 510, a communication interface 512, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 5. 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.

[0186] The processing circuitry 502 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 510. The processing circuitry 502 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 502 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0187] In the example, the input / output interface 506 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 500. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0188] In some embodiments, the power source 508 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 508 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 508 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 500 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 508. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 508 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 500 to which power is supplied.

[0189] The memory 510 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 510 includes one or more application programs 514, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 516. The memory 510 may store, for use by the UE 500, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0190] The memory 510 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 RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (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 a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 510 may allow the UE 500 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 510, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0191] The processing circuitry 502 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 512. The communication interface 512 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 522. The communication interface 512 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 518 and / or a receiver 520 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 518 and receiver 520 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 522) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0192] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 512 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, 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 according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax,Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0193] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 512, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected, an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0194] 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.

[0195] A UE, when in the form of an 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 television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 500 shown in Figure 5.

[0196] 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 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0197] 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.

[0198] Figure 6 shows a network node 600 in accordance with some embodiments Examples of the network node 600 can perform the functionalities as describe above with regard to source RAN node 304 and target RAN node 306. 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, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0199] 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 0-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs 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).

[0200] 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 BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0201] The network node 600 includes processing circuitry 602, memory 604, a communication interface 606, and a power source 608. The network node 600 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an 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 600 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 600 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 604 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 610 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (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 the network node 600.

[0202] The processing circuitry 602 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, 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 600 components, such as the memory 604, to provide network node 600 functionality.

[0203] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 612 and baseband processing circuitry 614. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. Inalternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 and the baseband processing circuitry 614 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0204] The memory 604 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, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 602. The memory 604 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 602 and utilized by the network node 600. The memory 604 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 602 and / or any data received via the communication interface 606. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 602 and the memory 604 are integrated.

[0205] The communication interface 606 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 606 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 616 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 606 also includes radio front-end circuitry 618 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 610. The radio front-end circuitry 618 comprises filters 620 and amplifiers 622. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be connected to the antenna 610 and the processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 610 and the processing circuitry 602. The radio front-end circuitry 618 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 618 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 620 and / or the amplifiers 622. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 610. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 610 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 618. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 602. In other embodiments, the communication interface 606 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0206] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 600 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 618; instead, the processing circuitry 602 includes radio front-endcircuitry and is connected to the antenna 610. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 612 is part of the communication interface 606. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 606 includes the one or more ports or terminals 616, the radio front-end circuitry 618, and the RF transceiver circuitry 612 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 606 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 614, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0207] The antenna 610 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 610 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 618 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 610 is separate from the network node 600 and connectable to the network node 600 through an interface or port.

[0208] The antenna 610, the communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 600. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 610, the communication interface 606, and / or the processing circuitry 602 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 600. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0209] The power source 608 provides power to the various components of the network node 600 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 608 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 600 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 600 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 608. As a further example, the power source 608 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.

[0210] Embodiments of the network node 600 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 6 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 600 may include userinterface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 600 and to allow output of information from the network node 600. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 600. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 4, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 618 and the RF transceiver circuitry 612 may be omitted.

[0211] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 700 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 virtualization environments 700 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a 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 700 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, a UE, a core network node, or a host.

[0212] Applications 702 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 700 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0213] Hardware 704 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, an input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 706 (also referred to as hypervisors or Virtual Machine Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 708A and 708B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 708), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments describedherein. The virtualization layer 706 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 708.

[0214] The VMs 708 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 706. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 702 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 708, 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.

[0215] In the context of NFV, a VM 708 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 708, and that part of the hardware 704 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 708 on top of the hardware 704 and corresponds to the application 702.

[0216] The hardware 704 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 704 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 704 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 710, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 702. In some embodiments, the hardware 704 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 712 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0217] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software neededto 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.

[0218] 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.

[0219] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0220] Some of the embodiments of the present disclosure include:

[0221] Embodiment 1 : A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for reporting slice- related performance in a mobility procedure, the method comprising: performing the mobility procedure; after completing the mobility procedure, logging a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice wherein the bearer is atleast one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or Quality of Service, QoS, flow; providing the report to one or more radio access network nodes.

[0222] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, further comprising: receiving one or more configurations to generate the report from the one or more radio access network nodes.

[0223] Embodiment 3 : The method of embodiment 2, wherein the one or more configurations comprise a first configuration received from a source radio access network node associated with a source cell or a second configuration received from a target radio access network node associated with a target cell.

[0224] Embodiment 4: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 3, further comprising: providing an indication to the one more radio access network nodes about a capability to provide per slice statistics.

[0225] Embodiment 5: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the mobility procedure is one of: a handover; a reconfiguration with synch; a conditional reconfiguration with synch; a dual active protocol stack handover; or a layerl / layer2 cell switch.

[0226] Embodiment 6: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following downlink measurements: a user plane interruption time; or an indication that a data radio bearer or protocol data unit, PDU, session associated to the network slice is not available at a target cell.

[0227] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6, wherein the first set of information and measurements further comprise a plurality of user plane interruptions corresponding to different PDU sessions associated to one or more network slices.

[0228] Embodiment 8: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following uplink measurements: a user plane interruption time and statistics associated with the user plane interruption time as measured from a point in time in which the UE sent a last packet in a specific data radio bearer or PDU session associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the specific data radio bearer or PDU session associated to the specific network slice in a target cell, or based on a reference time based on issuance of a handover command; or an indication that a quality of service, QoS, flow associated to the network slice in a target cell is not available.

[0229] Embodiment 9: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following uplink measurements: a user plane interruption time measured from a point in time in which the UE sent a last packet ina specific PDU session associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in the specific PDU session associated to the specific network slice in a target cell; or a user plane interruption time measured from a point in time in which the UE sent a last packet in a specific data radio bearer associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until sending the first uplink packet in another specific data radio bearer associated to the specific network slice in a target cell.

[0230] Embodiment 10: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprises a measurement of an uplink interruption time and a downlink interruption time and an indication that the uplink interruption time is shorter or longer than or equal to the downlink interruption time.

[0231] Embodiment 11 : The method of any of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise an indication of a quantized value of interruption time.

[0232] Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise an indication that observed interruption time satisfies a predefined criterion to trigger additional reporting.

[0233] Embodiment 13: A user equipment for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of embodiments 1 to 12.

[0234] Embodiment 14: A method performed by a source radio access network node for facilitating reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, the method comprising: providing to a user equipment, UE, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving the source radio access network node wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or Quality of Service, QoS, flow.

[0235] Embodiment 15: The method of embodiment 14, further comprising: receiving configuration parameters from a different network node, wherein the configuration provided to the UE comprises the configuration parameters.

[0236] Embodiment 16: The method of any of embodiments 14 to 15, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of: an indication to the UE to log user plane interruption time for one or more protocol data unit, PDU, sessions identified by one or more PDU session identifiers in the configuration; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session associated with the network slice that is identified by a network slice identifier; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more bearers associated to the network slice, whereinthe one or more bearers are one or more of data radio bearers, signaling radio bearers, or multicast radio bearers; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more network slices; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU set associated to the network slice; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session in one PDU set; an indication to log user plane interruption time per one or more data radio bearers, DRB, identified by one or more DRB identifiers; an indication to log uplink and downlink user plan interruption time; an indication indicating a minimum value of an interruption time that is to be logged; and an indication indicating a maximum value of interruption time to be logged.

[0237] Embodiment 17: A source radio access network node for facilitating reporting slice- related performance in a mobility procedure, comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of embodiments 14 to 16.

[0238] Embodiment 18: A method performed by a target radio access network node for facilitating reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, the method comprising: providing to a user equipment, UE, in a mobility command message, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving the source radio access network node.

[0239] Embodiment 19: The method of embodiment 18, further comprising: receiving configuration parameters from a different network node, wherein the configuration provided to the UE comprises the configuration parameters.

[0240] Embodiment 20: The method of any of embodiments 18 to 19, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of: an indication to the UE to log user plane interruption time for one or more protocol data unit, PDU, sessions identified by one or more PDU session identifiers in the configuration; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session associated with the network slice that is identified by a network slice identifier; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more bearers associated to the network slice, wherein the one or more bearers are one or more of data radio bearers, signaling radio bearers, or multicast radio bearers; an indication to log user plane interruption time for the network slice by monitoring bearers associated with the network slice and derive a per slice measurement; an indication to log user plane interruption time per one or more data radio bearers, DRB, identified by one or more DRB identifiers; an indication to log uplink and downlink user plan interruption time; an indication to the UE that in response to a last uplink or downlink packet was transmitted before the configuration from the target radio access network node is received, the UE should use an alternate reference to compute user plane interruption time.

[0241] Embodiment 21 : A target radio access network node for facilitating reporting slice- related performance in a mobility procedure, comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of embodiments 18 to 20.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, (302) for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, the method comprising: performing (322) the mobility procedure; after completing the mobility procedure, logging (324) a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or a Quality of Service, QoS, flow; and providing (326, 328) the report to one or more radio access network nodes (306, 304).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving (318, 320) one or more configurations to generate the report from the one or more radio access network nodes (304, 306).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more configurations comprise a first configuration received from a source radio access network node (304) associated with a source cell or a second configuration received from a target radio access network node (306) associated with a target cell.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: providing (314, 316) an indication to the one more radio access network nodes (304, 306) about a capability to provide per slice statistics.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mobility procedure is one of: a handover; a reconfiguration with synch; a conditional reconfiguration with synch; a dual active protocol stack handover; or a layerl / layer2 triggered mobility, LTM, cell switch.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following downlink measurements: a user plane interruption time; or an indication that a data radio bearer or protocol data unit, PDU, session associated to thenetwork slice is not available at a target cell.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of information and measurements further comprise a plurality of user plane interruptions corresponding to different PDU sessions associated to one or more network slices.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following uplink measurements: a user plane interruption time and statistics associated with the user plane interruption time as measured from a point in time in which the UE (302) sent a last packet in a specific data radio bearer or PDU session associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until the UE sending the first uplink packet in the specific data radio bearer or PDU session associated to the specific network slice in a target cell, or based on a reference time based on issuance of a handover command; or an indication that a quality of service, QoS, flow associated to the network slice in a target cell is not available.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise one or more of the following uplink measurements: a user plane interruption time measured from a point in time in which the UE (302) sent a last packet in a specific PDU session associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until the UE sending the first uplink packet in the specific PDU session associated to the specific network slice in a target cell; or a user plane interruption time measured from a point in time in which the UE (302) sent a last packet in a specific data radio bearer associated to a specific network slice in a source cell, until the UE sending the first uplink packet in another specific data radio bearer associated to the specific network slice in a target cell.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprises a measurement of an uplink interruption time and a downlink interruption time and an indication that the uplink interruption time is shorter or longer than or equal to the downlink interruption time.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first set of information andmeasurements comprise an indication of a quantized value of interruption time.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first set of information and measurements comprise an indication that observed interruption time satisfies a predefined criterion to trigger additional reporting.

13. A user equipment (302) for reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure, comprising processing circuitry configured to: perform (322) the mobility procedure; after completing the mobility procedure, log (324) a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or a Quality of Service, QoS, flow; and provide (326, 328) the report to one or more radio access network nodes (306, 304).

14. The user equipment (302) of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform any of claims 2 to 12.

15. A method performed by a source radio access network node (304) for facilitating reporting slice-related performance by a user equipment, UE, (302) in a mobility procedure, the method comprising: providing (320) to the UE (302) a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving the source radio access network node (304) wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or a Quality of Service, QoS, flow.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving (312) configuration parameters from a different network node (308), wherein the configuration provided to the UE (302) comprises the configuration parameters.

17. The method of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of: an indication to the UE (302) to log user plane interruption time for one or more protocoldata unit, PDU, sessions identified by one or more PDU session identifiers in the configuration; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session associated with the network slice that is identified by a network slice identifier; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more bearers associated to the network slice, wherein the one or more bearers are one or more of data radio bearers, signaling radio bearers, or multicast radio bearers; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more network slices; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU set associated to the network slice; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session in one PDU set; an indication to log user plane interruption time per one or more data radio bearers, DRB, identified by one or more DRB identifiers; an indication to log uplink and downlink user plan interruption time; an indication indicating a minimum value of an interruption time that is to be logged; and an indication indicating a maximum value of interruption time to be logged.

18. A source radio access network node (304) for facilitating reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure by a user equipment, UE, (302), comprising processing circuitry configured to: provide (320) to the UE (302) a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving the source radio access network node (304) wherein the bearer is at least one of a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, a multicast radio bearer, a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session, PDU Set, or a Quality of Service, QoS, flow.

19. The source radio access network node (304) of claim 18, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform any of claims 15 to 17.

20. A method performed by a target radio access network node (306) for facilitating reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure by a user equipment, UE, (302), the method comprising: providing (318) to the UE (302) in a mobility command message, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving a source radio access network node (304).

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: receiving (310) configuration parameters from a different network node (308), wherein the configuration provided to the UE (302) comprises the configuration parameters wherein the different network node (308) is one of a core network node or an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance, 0AM, node.

22. The method of any of claims 20 to 21, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of: an indication to the UE (302) to log user plane interruption time for one or more protocol data unit, PDU, sessions identified by one or more PDU session identifiers in the configuration; an indication to log user plane interruption time per PDU session associated with the network slice that is identified by a network slice identifier; an indication to log user plane interruption time for one or more bearers associated to the network slice, wherein the one or more bearers are one or more of data radio bearers, signaling radio bearers, or multicast radio bearers; an indication to log user plane interruption time for the network slice by monitoring bearers associated with the network slice and derive a per slice measurement; an indication to log user plane interruption time per one or more data radio bearers, DRB, identified by one or more DRB identifiers; an indication to log uplink and downlink user plan interruption time; and an indication to the UE (302) that in response to a last uplink or downlink packet was transmitted before the configuration from the target radio access network node (306) is received, the UE should use an alternate reference to compute user plane interruption time.

23. A target radio access network node (306) for facilitating reporting slice-related performance in a mobility procedure by a user equipment, UE, (302), comprising processing circuitry configured to: provide (318) to the UE (302) in a mobility command message, a configuration to log a first set of information and measurements in a report for a bearer associated with a network slice in response to a mobility procedure involving a source radio access network node (304).

24. The target radio access network node (306) of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform any of claims 21 to 22.

Images