Wireless device, first network node, and methods performed thereby for handling a failure

Abstract

A method, performed by a wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100) having a non-terrestrial component. The method is for handling a failure. The wireless device (130) provides (302) a first indication indicating information. The information corresponds to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of the wireless device (130) with, or involving, a network node (112). The second network node (112) operates in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

Description

[0001] WIRELESS DEVICE, FIRST NETWORK NODE, AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY

[0002] FOR HANDLING A FAILURE

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to a wireless device and methods performed thereby for handling a failure. The present disclosure also generally relates to a network node and methods performed thereby for handling a failure.

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] Wireless devices within a wireless communications network may be e.g., User Equipments (UEs), stations (STAs), mobile terminals, wireless terminals, terminals, and / or Mobile Stations (MS). Wireless devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellular communications network or wireless communication network, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, cellular system, or cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone and / or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the wireless communications network. Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablets with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.

[0007] The wireless communications network covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by a network node, which may be an access node such as a radio network node, radio node or a base station, e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., gNB, evolved Node B (“eNB”), “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, Transmission Point (TP), or Base Transceiver Station (BTS), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g., Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations, Home Base Stations, pico base stations, etc... , based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station or radio node at a base station site, or radio node site, respectively. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the terminals within range of the base stations. The wireless communications network may also be a non-cellular system, comprising network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices, with serving beams. In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs, may be directly connected to one or more core networks. In the context of this disclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) may be used for the transmission path from the base station to the wireless device. The expression Uplink (UL) may be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e., from the wireless device to the base station.

[0008] The standardization organization 3GPP is currently in the process of specifying a New Radio Interface called NR or 5G-UTRA, as well as a Fifth Generation (5G) Packet Core Network (CN), which may be referred to as Next Generation (NG) Core Network, abbreviated as NG-CN, NGC, 5G CN or 5G Core (5GC). NG may be understood to refer to the interface / reference point between the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the CN in 5G / NR. In a 5G System (5GS), a radio base station in NR may be referred to as a gNB or 5G Node B. An NR may be referred to as an nUE.

[0009] Non-terrestrial network overview

[0010] A wireless network may have a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) component. The NTN component may use a constellation of several satellites, e.g., Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Geostationary Satellite (GEO), etc. that may orbit using one or more orbit planes. Each satellite may provide wireless network access to User Equipment (UE) positioned on, or near, the surface of the earth via the service link. This may be done by satellites having on board antennas that may radiate beams towards (multiple) centers of Earth-Fixed Cells (EFCs). These may be transmitter beams for the downlink (DL), and receiver beams for the uplink (UL). It may be noticed that in the downlink, the total power of the satellite antenna may be shared between simultaneous DL beams, something which may be understood to not be true for the UL. This setup is depicted in Figure 1. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an NTN system overview.

[0011] The satellite antenna may be connected to a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, e.g., a gNB, a radio based station in the case of 3GPP New Radio (NR). Depending on the architecture, components of the nodes may be located either on the ground, or onboard the satellite. The ground components and the onboard components may be connected through satellite gateways via the feeder link.

[0012] Like the terrestrial network, each node may be expected to provide coverage to a specific territory by dividing the area into coverage sectors. In the case of NTN, the nodes may be using the satellites as mediums to transmit the corresponding radio signals through the beams towards those areas.

[0013] In general, NTN were studied in 3GPP within [1] and [2], wherein further details are provided. In NTN, Mapped Cell Identity (ID) may be understood to correspond to a fixed geographical area.

[0014] Satellite Switch with Resynchronization (Resync) Introduction

[0015] Satellite switch with re-sync procedure was specified in rel-18 to accommodate serving of UE through moving satellite cells, while avoiding any Layer 3 (L3) mobility of the UE. This may be done through the network providing the target satellite information to the UE in System Information Block 19 (SIB19). This may be understood to avoid a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) change at the UE. The following three paragraphs have been extracted from TS 38.300, v. 18.1.0.

[0016] Satellite switch with re-sync

[0017] Upon both hard and soft satellite switch over in the quasi-Earth fixed scenario with the same Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel block (SSB) frequency and the same gNB, the satellite switch with re-sync procedure may be supported. The satellite switch with resync may be understood to avoid an L3 mobility for UEs in the cell by maintaining the same PCI on the geographical area covered by quasi-Earth fixed beam. Conditional Handover (CHO) may be configured simultaneously with the satellite switch with re-sync procedure.

[0018] For soft satellite switch over, the UE may start synchronizing with the target satellite before the source satellite may end to serve the cell. It may be understood to not be required for the UE to be connected to source satellite when the UE switches to target satellite.

[0019] Radio Link Failure (RLF) in 3GPP

[0020] The UE may monitor the downlink radio condition and quality on the physical layer. Once the UE may detect a radio link failure occurred as described below, the UE may initiate the Radio Resource Control (RRC) re-establishment procedure. The following description in this this Background section of the RLF has been extracted from TS 38.300, v. 18.1.0.

[0021] Radio Link Failure

[0022] In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE may perform Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) in the active Bandwidth Part (BWP), based on reference signals, SSB / Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and signal quality thresholds configured by the network. SSB-based RLM may be based on the SSB associated to the initial DL BWP and may be configured for the initial DL BWP and for DL BWPs containing the SSB associated to the initial DL BWP. Besides, SSB- based RLM may be also performed based on the non-cell defining SSB, if configured for Reduced Capacity (RedCap) UEs. For other DL BWPs, RLM may only be performed based on CSI-RS. In case of Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) handover (HO), the UE may continue the detection of radio link failure at the source cell until the successful completion of the random access procedure to the target cell.

[0023] The UE may declare RLF when one of the following criteria may be met: expiry of a radio problem timer started after indication of radio problems from the physical layer, if radio problems are recovered before the timer is expired, the UE may stop the timer; or expiry of a timer started upon triggering a measurement report for a measurement identity for which the timer has been configured while another radio problem timer is running; or random access procedure failure; or Radio Link Control (RLC) failure; or detection of consistent uplink Listen Before Talk (LBT) failures for operation with shared spectrum channel access as described in Section 5.6.1 of TS 38.300, v. 18.1.0; or for Integrated Access and Backhaul (lAB)-Mobile Termination (MT), the reception of a Backhaul (BH) RLF indication received from its parent node.

[0024] After RLF is declared, the UE may stay in RRC_CONNECTED. In case of DAPS handover, for RLF in the source cell, the UE may may stop any data transmission or reception via the source link and release the source link, but may maintain the source RRC configuration. If handover failure is then declared at the target cell, the UE may select a suitable cell and then initiate RRC re-establishment, and enter RRCJDLE if a suitable cell was not found within a certain time after handover failure was declared.

[0025] After RLF is declared, in case of CHO, for RLF in the source cell, the UE may select a suitable cell and if the selected cell is a CHO candidate and if network configured the UE to try CHO after RLF then the UE may attempt CHO execution once, otherwise re-establishment may be performed. The UE may enter RRCJDLE if a suitable cell was not found within a certain time after RLF was declared. Otherwise, for RLF in the serving cell or in case of DAPS handover, for RLF in the target cell before releasing the source cell, the UE may select a suitable cell and then initiate RRC re-establishment. The UE may enter RRCJDLE if a suitable cell was not found within a certain time after RLF was declared.

[0026] When RLF occurs at the IAB BH link, the same mechanisms and procedures may be applied as for the access link. This may include BH RLF detection and RLF recovery. The lAB-Distributed Unit (DU) may transmit a BH RLF detection indication to its child nodes in the following cases. One case may be if the collocated IAB-MT initiates RRC re-establishment. Another case may be if the collocated IAB-MT is dual-connected, detects BH RLF on a BH link, and cannot perform UL re-routing for any traffic. This may include the scenario of an lAB-node operating in Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) or New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC), which may use only one link for backhauling and may have BH RLF on this BH link. Yet another case may be if the collocated IAB-MT has received a BH RLF detection indication from a parent node, and there is no remaining backhaul link that is unaffected by the BH RLF condition indicated.

[0027] Upon reception of the BH RLF detection indication, the child node may perform local rerouting for upstream traffic, if possible, over an available BH link.

[0028] If the IAB-DU has transmitted a BH RLF detection indication to a child node due to an RLF condition on the collocated lAB-MT's parent link, and the collocated lAB-MT's subsequent RLF recovery is successful, the IAB-DU may transmit a BH RLF recovery indication to this child node.

[0029] If the IAB-DU has transmitted a BH RLF detection indication to a child node due to the reception of a BH RLF detection indication by the collocated IAB-MT, and the collocated IAB- MT receives a BH RLF recovery indication, the IAB-DU may also transmit a BH RLF recovery indication to this child node.

[0030] Upon reception of the BH RLF recovery indication, the child node may revert the actions triggered by the reception of the previous BH RLF detection indication.

[0031] In case the RRC re-establishment procedure fails, the lAB-node may transmit a BH RLF indication to its child nodes. The BH RLF detection indication, BH RLF recovery indication and BH RLF indication may be transmitted as Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) Control Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

[0032] Existing methods to handle failures in a network may result in coverage issues that may degrade performance.

[0033] SUMMARY

[0034] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments address one or more of the challenges identified with the existing methods and provide solutions to these challenges or other challenges.

[0035] According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by a wireless device. The method may be understood to be for handling a failure. The wireless device operates in a wireless communications network having a non-terrestrial component. The wireless device provides a first indication. The first indication indicates information. The information corresponds to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of the wireless device, with, or involving, a network node. The network node operates in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network.

[0036] According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a method, performed by the first network node. The method may be understood to be for handling the failure. The first network node operates in the wireless communications network having the non-terrestrial component. The first network node obtains the first indication. The first indication indicates the information. The information corresponds to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device operating in the wireless communications network, with, or involving, the second network node. The second network node operates in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network.

[0037] According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the wireless device, configured to perform the method. The wireless device may be understood to be configured to handle the failure. The wireless device is configured to operate in the wireless communications network configured to have the non-terrestrial component. The wireless device is configured to provide the first indication configured to indicate the information. The information is configured to correspond to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device with, or involving, the network node. The second network node is configured to operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network.

[0038] According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the first network node, configured to perform the method. The first network node may be understood to be configured to handle the failure. The first network node is configured to operate in the wireless communications network. The first network node is configured to obtain the first indication configured to indicate the information. The information is configured to correspond to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device configured to operate in the wireless communications network, with, or involving, the second network node configured to operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network.

[0039] By obtaining, logging and / or registering the information, the wireless device may be enabled to provide the information to the first network node. This may in turn enable the first network node to use this information for optimization of the wireless communications network, and better understand NTN network coverage and NTN to TN network relations, as well as to select suitable optimizing actions, if any, e.g., modification of relevant configuration aspects. This may in turn enable better recovery from RLF in NTN. A further advantage may be understood to be to enable better network optimization to coverage issues and configuration problems in NTN.

[0040] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, according to the following description.

[0042] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an NTN system, according to existing methods.

[0043] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

[0044] Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting a method in a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

[0045] Figure 4 is a flowchart depicting a method in a first network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0046] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a wireless device, according to embodiments herein. Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a first network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0047] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0048] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0049] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0050] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a virtualization environment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0051] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] As part of the development of embodiments herein, one or more challenges with the existing technology will first be identified and discussed.

[0053] Currently, RLF configuration and reporting both have been standardized keeping the terrestrial network in mind. This is not sufficient for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) as the satellites in NTN may be moving as opposed to the largely stationary cells in TN. That may be understood to imply that, while satellite served cells are quasi-Earth fixed, their configuration changes with time, e.g., for the same coverage area, the Cell Global Identity (CGI) of the cell may be different depending on the satellite serving the area. Additionally, recent standardization in NTN may allow for Satellite Switch with Resync procedure, see above, that may allow NTN cells to appear stationary and avoid L3 mobility for the UEs by maintaining the same PCI over a geographical area, while the cell configuration may change, e.g. the CGI of the cell.

[0054] Current standards do not fully support configuration and reporting when an RLF occurs in these non-terrestrial networks.

[0055] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments herein may be generally understood to relate to RLF related enhancements for non-terrestrial networks. Particularly, embodiments herein may relate to an approach that may enhance the RLF reports and reporting to include NTN specific information for RLF scenarios that may occur in a non-terrestrial network. Particular embodiments herein may comprise the addition of the following new values to the RLF report: a) addition of new cause values related to Non-terrestrial networks, b) addition of time information related to the events in NTN, c) addition of location information related to the events in NTN, d) addition of new information in the RLF report related to the Non-terrestrial networks, and e) addition of VSAT related aspects in the RLF report.

[0056] Particular embodiments herein may comprise enhancements related specifically to RLF related to satellite switch with resync procedure. Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in more detail by a number of exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

[0057] Figure 2 depicts two non-limiting examples, in panel a) and panel b), respectively, of a wireless network or wireless communications network 100, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications system, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. The wireless communications network 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, or Next Gen System. In other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may be a newer system, e.g., Sixth Generation (6G), with similar functionality. In other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may, e.g., alternatively or additionally, support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g., LTE for Machines (LTE-M), LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, such as LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced eLAA (eLAA), further enhanced LAA (feLAA) and / or MulteFire. Yet in other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may further support other technologies such as, for example Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network, GSM / Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network, network comprising any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as e.g. Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RAT base stations etc., any 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, WiFi networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or any cellular network or system. The wireless communications network 100 may support Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), Internet of Things (loT) and / or NarrowBand loT (NB-loT). In this disclosure, NR may be used as a radio access technology of reference. However, this may be understood to be only an example taken for simplicity and it should not be limiting. Thus, although terminology from 5G / NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system. The methods herein described may be understood to apply to any radio access technology where a wireless terminal may generate reports concerning events involving an NTN network.

[0058] The wireless communications network 100 may have a non-terrestrial component, e.g., a non-terrestrial network component. The non-terrestrial component may be a component of a Non-terrestrial network. This may be understood as, for example, a component of a RAN comprising a plurality of network nodes, which may provide non-terrestrial radio access to wireless devices via an NTN payload embarked on an airborne or space-borne NTN vehicle and an NTN Gateway.

[0059] NTN payload may be understood, e.g., as a network node, embarked on board a satellite or high altitude platform station, which may provide connectivity functions, between a service link and a feeder link.

[0060] The NTN Gateway may be understood, e.g., as an earth station located at the surface of the earth, which may provide connectivity to the NTN payload using the feeder link.

[0061] A satellite may be understood, e.g., as a space-borne vehicle orbiting the Earth. The satellite may embark the NTN payload.

[0062] In some examples, such as those depicted in Figure 2, the wireless communications network 100 may have a non-terrestrial component and a terrestrial component.

[0063] The wireless communications network 100 may comprise a plurality of network nodes, whereof a first network node 111 and a second network node 112, also referred to herein as a / the network node 112, are depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 2. In some examples, such as in the non-limiting example depicted in panel b) of Figure 2, the wireless communications network 100 may further comprise a third network node 113. Any of the first the first network node 111, the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may be a radio network node. That is, a transmission point such as a radio base station, for example a gNB, a satellite or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the wireless communications network 100. In some examples, any of the first the first network node 111 , the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may be a distributed node, and may partially perform its functions in collaboration with a virtual node in a cloud. Any of the first the first network node 111, the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, e.g., to one or more network nodes in the one or more core networks.

[0064] The wireless communications network 100 may cover a geographical area, which in some embodiments may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a radio network node, although, one radio network node may serve one or several cells. In the example of Figure 2, the first network node 111 serves a first cell 121 , the second network node 112 serves a second cell 122 and the third network node 113 serves a third cell 123. Any of the first the first network node 111 , the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro base station, home base station or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. In some examples, any of the first the first network node 111 , the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may serve receiving nodes with serving beams. Any of the first the first network node 111 , the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may support one or several communication technologies, and its name may depend on the technology and terminology used.

[0065] Any of the first network node 111 and the third network node 113 may operate in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0066] The second network node 112 may operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0067] The wireless communications network 100 may comprise a gateway providing a feeder link to any of the first the first network node 111, the second network node 112 and the third network node 113, wherein they may be, respectively, a satellite.

[0068] A plurality of wireless devices may be located in the wireless communication network 100, whereof a wireless device 130, is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 2. The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be a wireless communication device such as a User Equipment (UE), e.g., 5G UE or nUE, which may also be known as e.g., mobile terminal, wireless terminal and / or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless device 130 may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer- comprised, or a vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, goggles, a sensor, loT device, NB-loT device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in a communications system. The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be enabled to communicate wirelessly in the wireless communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN, and possibly the one or more core networks, which may be comprised within the wireless communications network 100.

[0069] The wireless device 130 may operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100, as in the non-limiting examples depicted in Figure 2, or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100.

[0070] The wireless device 130 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the first network node 111 over a first link 141 , e.g., a radio link. The second network node 112 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the wireless device 130 over a second link 142, e.g., a radio link. The third network node 113 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the wireless device 130 over a third link 143, e.g., a radio link. The third network node 113 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the second network node 112 over a fourth link 144, e.g., a radio link.

[0071] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0072] In general, the usage of “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, ... and / or “sixteenth” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities, and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

[0073] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

[0074] More specifically, the following are embodiments related to a wireless device, such as the wireless device 130, e.g., a 5G UE, nllE or a UE, and embodiments related to a network node, such as the first network node 111 , e.g., a gNB or a satellite.

[0075] In the following description, any reference to a / the UE, or simply “UE” may be understood to equally refer the wireless device 130; any reference to a / the gNB, and in some instances, e.g., in Action 402 below, a / the network may be understood to equally refer to the first network node 111.

[0076] Some embodiments herein will now be further described with some non-limiting examples, which may be combined with, or replace, the embodiments just described. Embodiments of a method, performed by the wireless device 130 will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 3. The method may be understood to be for handling a failure. The wireless device 130 operates in the wireless communications network 100 having a non-terrestrial component. The method may be understood to be computer- implemented.

[0077] In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0078] Several embodiments are comprised herein. The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In particular examples, the method may comprise Action 302. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the wireless device 130 is depicted in Figure 3. In Figure 3 optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. In some embodiments, the actions may be performed in a different order than that depicted Figure 3.

[0079] Action 301

[0080] The wireless device 130 may be registered either in a non-terrestrial network cell or in a terrestrial network. The wireless device 130 may have been handed over from a Terrestrial Network (TN) cell, or from a Non-terrestrial network cell. It may also have directly registered in the Non-terrestrial network.

[0081] The wireless device 130 may experience a radio link failure (RLF), or a handover failure (HOF). This may happen during different events. Some non-exhaustive examples are described below: i) the wireless device 130 may experience deteriorating radio conditions, ii) the wireless device 130 may fail a handover from the non-terrestrial to terrestrial network or vice- versa, iii) the wireless device 130 may fail a handover from one non-terrestrial network cell to another non-terrestrial network cell, iv) the wireless device 130 may fail to maintain a connection to a cell specifically during the “Satellite switch with resync procedure”, or v) the wireless device 130 may fail to maintain a connection to an NTN cell.

[0082] In this Action 301, the wireless device 130 may obtain, log, and / or register information. The obtaining, logging and / or registering of the information in this Action 301 may comprise adding the information to a first indication that the wireless device 130 may then report to the first network node 111 in Action 302, e.g., in an RLF report. The information may correspond to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of the wireless device 130, with, or involving, the network node 112. The network node 112 may operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0083] The failure may be one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure. The wireless device 130 may record information related to the RLF or HOF that occurred and embodiments herein may describe the different information that may be recorded and its uses.

[0084] In some examples, the communication, or the communication procedure involving the network node 112 may comprise a change, e.g., of serving network node, between the network node 112 and the third network node 113, such as a handover or a satellite switch with resynchronization.

[0085] The network node 112 involved in the failure may be understood to be a second network node 112.

[0086] Any of the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may be a satellite.

[0087] In some embodiments, on or more of the following may apply.

[0088] According to one option, the wireless device 130 may operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100.

[0089] According to another option, the wireless device 130 may have been registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network 100 when the failure occurred.

[0090] According to yet another option, the second network node 112 may be a satellite having served the wireless device 130 at the moment of the failure. A UE’s “serving satellite” may be understood to refer to the satellite which may serve the UE’s serving cell, e.g., the serving cell of the wireless device 130, or the satellite via which a gNB, e.g., the first network node 111 in some examples, may serve the UE’s serving cell, e.g., the serving cell of the wireless device 130. A “target satellite” may be understood to refer to a satellite that may serve the target cell of a handover, or conditional handover, or a Primary Secondary cell (PSCell) addition or change or an Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) procedure, or a satellite via which a gNB, e.g., the first network node 111 in some examples, may serve the target cell of a handover, or conditional handover, or a PSCell addition or change or an LTM procedure. In conjunction with a Satellite Switch with Resync, the “target satellite” may be understood to be the satellite which may serve a UE’s serving cell, e.g., the serving cell of the wireless device 130, after a Satellite Switch with Resync, or the satellite via which the gNB, e.g., the first network node 111 in some examples, may serve a UE’s serving cell, e.g., the serving cell of the wireless device 130, after a Satellite Switch with Resync.

[0091] According to a further option, the wireless device 130 may further provide a second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device 130 is a Very-Small-Aperture Terminal (VSAT). Herein, a UE with VSAT properties, that is, a UE that is a VSAT, may be denoted as a VSAT UE orjust a VSAT.

[0092] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: i) the failure may be a radio link failure, and the first indication may be a radio link failure report, and ii) the failure may be a handover failure, and the first indication may be a report on the handover failure.

[0093] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: i) the failure may be a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication may be a radio link failure report, ii) the failure may be a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and iii) the failure may be a locationbased conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be a report on the locationbased conditional handover failure.

[0094] The information may include NTN specific information.

[0095] In some embodiments, the information may comprise one or more of the following: first information indicating one or more causes of the failure, second information indicating a time when the failure occurred, and third information indicating a location where the failure occurred.

[0096] Addition of VSAT related aspects in the RLF report

[0097] Very-Small-Aperture Terminal (VSATs), or VSAT UEs, may be understood to be UEs dependent on beamforming or directional antennas for their communication with and / or via satellites. Some VSAT UEs may use mechanical steering of directional antennas, e.g., rotate the antenna between different directions. This may be understood to be a relatively timeconsuming process, e.g., multiple seconds - 3GPP’s working group RAN4 assumes a rotation speed of 22 degrees per second, which may create additional challenges for the procedures specified by 3GPP for UE operation in NTNs, e.g., in the context of neighbor cell measurements and mobility procedure, e.g., handover and conditional handover. Hence, the configuration of mobility procedures for VSAT UEs may be possibly even more critical than for non-VSAT UEs, and feedback information in RLF reports may be very beneficial. The following is a list of information items including VSAT related aspects, one or more of which may be included by the wireless device 130 in an RLF report, e.g., in the second indication.

[0098] Potential VSAT aspects for the RLF report may be as follows.

[0099] One potential VSAT aspect for the RLF report may be i) the second indication of whether the wireless device 130 is a VSAT UE. Another potential VSAT aspect for the RLF report may be ii) a third indication, e.g., as an example of the second indication, of whether the the wireless device 130 is a VSAT UE with mechanically steered antenna.

[0100] Another potential VSAT aspect for the RLF report may be iii) the antenna rotation speed of the wireless device 130, e.g., expressed in degrees per second; the antenna rotation speed may be indicated by fourth information; this may be understood to be relevant only if the wireless device 130 has a mechanically steered antenna, but the third indication may be included otherwise too and then set to indicate “infinity”.

[0101] Another potential VSAT aspect for the RLF report may be iv) a fourth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of whether the failure occurred while the wireless device 130 was rotating its antenna from the direction towards one satellite to the direction towards another satellite; if this is “true”, further refining information may be included that may enable understanding of the nature of the antenna rotation, e.g.,: a) a fifth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of the size of the (planned) antenna rotation, e.g., expressed in degrees and / or in time units, b) a sixth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of the amount of antenna rotation, e.g., expressed in degrees and / or in time units, the wireless device 130 may have performed at the time of the failure, c) a seventh indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of how much antenna rotation, e.g., expressed in degrees and / or in time units, the wireless device 130 may have had left to do at the time of the failure, d) information, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, enabling identification of the two satellites, e.g., called “start satellite” and “end satellite”, or “planned end satellite”, or “originating satellite” and “terminating satellite”, or “planned terminating satellite”, or the respective (rough) positions of the two satellites at the time of the antenna rotation, e.g., the start position of the satellite at the start of the antenna rotation and the end position of the satellite at the planned end of the antenna rotation, e.g.,: d.1) satellite Identifiers / ldentities (IDs) of the start and end satellites, d.2) ephemeris data of the start and end satellites and a timestamp of the start of the antenna rotation and optionally a timestamp of the time of the failure and / or a timestamp of the planned end of the antenna rotation, e.g., in the direction towards the planned end satellite; this may optionally be complemented by an eighth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of the location of the wireless device 130 at the time of the antenna rotation, d.3) the cell ID, NR CGI (NCGI) or PCI+ Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN) or only PCI, of the cell the wireless device 130 may have been receiving signals in at, or prior to, the start of the antenna rotation and the cell ID, NCGI or PCI+ARFCN or only PCI, of the cell the wireless device 130 may have been aiming to receive signals in after the antenna rotation; Optionally, this may be complemented by a timestamp of the start of the antenna rotation and optionally a timestamp of the time of the failure and / or a timestamp of the planned end of the antenna rotation, e.g., in the direction towards the planned end satellite; This may optionally be complemented by a ninth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of the location of the wireless device 130 at the time of the antenna rotation.

[0102] Another potential VSAT aspect for the RLF report may be v) a tenth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of whether the failure occurred shortly after, e.g., within a time period shorter than a configured or specified threshold time period T, the wireless device 130 was rotating its antenna from the direction towards one satellite to the direction towards another satellite. If this is “true”, further refining information may be included that may enable understanding of the nature of the antenna rotation, e.g.,: a) an eleventh indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of the size of the antenna rotation, e.g., expressed in degrees and / or in time units, b) information, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, enabling identification of the two satellites, e.g., called “start satellite” and “end satellite” or “originating satellite” and “terminating satellite”, or the respective (rough) positions of the two satellites at the time of the antenna rotation, e.g., the start position of the satellite at the start of the antenna rotation and the end position of the satellite at the end of the antenna rotation, e.g.: b.1) satellite IDs of the start and end satellites, b.2) ephemeris data of the start and end satellites and a timestamp of the start of the antenna rotation and optionally a timestamp of the end of the antenna rotation; this may optionally be complemented by a twelfth indication, e.g., as an example of the fourth information, of the location of the wireless device 130 at the time of the antenna rotation, and b.3) the cell ID, e.g., NCGI or PCI+ARFCN or only PCI, of the cell the wireless device 130 may have been receiving signals in at, or prior to, the start of the antenna rotation and the cell ID, e.g., NCGI or PCI+ARFCN or only PCI, of the cell the wireless device 130 may have received signals in at the end of the rotation. Optionally, this may be complemented by a timestamp of the start of the antenna rotation and an optional timestamp of the end of the antenna rotation. This may optionally be complemented by the twelfth indication, e.g., as an example of the second indication, of the location of the wireless device 130 at the time of the antenna rotation.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first information may be indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i) a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii) a connection failure type. Each of these will be described next.

[0104] Connection failure type

[0105] With respect to the connection failure type, in one example, the wireless device 130 may log and later report information related to failure in the Satellite Switch with Resync procedure as a new connection failure type. That is, the failure of a Satellite Switch with Resync may be not treated, or classified, as an RLF, nor may be classified as an HO failure. The wireless device 130 may log the Satellite Switch with Resync failure as a new class of failure, e.g., Satellite Switch with Resync Failure, NTN Service Link Failure, or a Service Link Failure (SLF). The wireless device 130 may also log timing information related to this failure, e.g., t-Service for the serving cell, as e.g., an example of the second information.

[0106] In one example, the wireless device 130 may log and later report information related to Satellite Switch with Resync procedure indicating when the wireless device 130 completed the Satellite Switch with Resync, e.g., as a percentage of the time interval between when the target satellite may be going to start serving the area (t-ServiceStart) and the time when the target satellite may be going to stop serving the area (t-Serv / ce).

[0107] Addition of new cause values related to Non-terrestrial networks

[0108] Examples of the first information may be as follows.

[0109] RLF reports logged by the wireless device 130 may contain a cause value rlf-cause that may denote the root cause of the failure. The wireless device 130 may log the new cause value(s) associated to the mobility failures in the NTN network. Additionally, the cause values may also be added to other variables in the RLF report, or a new field may also be used to add these NTN related cause values. The following is a list of possible new cause values, one or more of which may be added to the specification of the RLF report.

[0110] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the failure in the wireless device 130 occurred during the Satellite switch with resync procedure. This may allow the wireless device 130 to indicate to the first network 111 that the failure occurred either due to improper configuration or radio condition issues during this specific procedure.

[0111] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the execution time window during time-based conditional handover (CHO) expired. This may be due to the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) / Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) values for the target cell that the the wireless device 130 may have been supposed to connect to were too low.

[0112] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the RSRP and / or RSRQ was, or were, too low in the candidate target cell during the execution time window of a time-based CHO.

[0113] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the ephemeris and common TA parameters in the conditional Handover command were outdated when the CHO execution was triggered and the wireless device 130 failed to acquire fresh information. This failure led to the RLF in the wireless device 130.

[0114] As a variant of the above, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the ephemeris and common Timing Advance (TA) parameters in the conditional Handover command of a time-based CHO were outdated when the CHO execution was triggered and the wireless device 130 failed to acquire fresh information within the CHO execution time window. In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the source cell connection was lost before the location condition was fulfilled for a location-based conditional handover.

[0115] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the wireless device 130 lacked valid location information of the wireless device 130, e.g. due to Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) failure.

[0116] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add, as a cause value indicating, SIB19 reception failure, or System Information Broadcast 31 (SIB31) reception failure in case of loT NTN.

[0117] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the wireless device 130 may have incurred transmission problems due to low battery levels.

[0118] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the wireless device 130 failed to execute a time-based CHO. Instead of adding a cause value indicating that the wireless device 130 failed to execute a time-based CHO, an alternative may be that the failure to execute a time-based CHO of the wireless device 130 may be indicated as a new connection failure type, e.g. using a new ASN.1 field in the RLF-Report-r16 Information Element (IE), e.g. a field of ENUMERATED type denoted as connectionFailureTypeExt-r19, set to indicate “timeBasedCHO-Failure”.

[0119] In one example, the wireless device 130 may add a cause value indicating that the wireless device 130 failed to execute a location-based CHO. Instead of adding a cause value indicating that the wireless device 130 failed to execute a location-based CHO, an alternative may be that the failure to execute a location-based CHO of the wireless device 130 may be indicated as a new connection failure type, e.g. using a new ASN.1 field in the RLF-Report-r16 IE, e.g. a field of ENUMERATED type denoted as connectionFailureTypeExt-r19, set to indicate “locationBasedCHO-Failure”.

[0120] Addition of time information related to the events in NTN

[0121] Examples of the second information may be as follows.

[0122] The wireless device 130 may include the time information indicating the point in time at which failure occurred. In an example, the time information may be the absolute time information, e.g. in the form of Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), e.g., based on the information read from SIB9 or derived from GNSS signals. In another example, the time information may be in the format of epoch time. In a non-limiting example, the epoch time may be counted based on the number of seconds elapsed since the 1stJanuary 1970. In another example, the time information may consist of a System Frame Number (SFN) and optionally a Hyper-SFN.

[0123] Addition of location information related to the events in NTN

[0124] Examples of the third information may be as follows. If the target NTN cell or neighbor cell is a CHO candidate cell with location-based trigger condition, the wireless device 130 may include the distance between the wireless device 130 and a reference locationl (referenceLocationl) and / or the distance between the wireless device 130 and a reference Iocation2 (referenceLocation2), no matter if the reference location1 / 2 is a non-moving or moving reference location.

[0125] As a variation of the above, when the failure was a failure of a location-based CHO, the wireless device 130 may include in the RLF report the difference between the distance of the wireless device 130 to reference location 1 (referenceLocationl) and the threshold distance to reference location 1 (distanceThreshFromReferencel) configured in the location-based CHO execution condition, and / or the difference between the distance of the wireless device 130 to reference location 2 (referenceLocation2) and the threshold distance to reference location 2 (distanceThreshFromReferencel) configured in the location-based CHO execution condition.

[0126] If the failure while the wireless device 130 is in an NTN cell is not related to a cell change, but it is a failure while the wireless device 130 is in the same cell, it may be due to bad coverage from the satellite serving the cell. This may for example result in lack of synchronization at the wireless device 130 and an RLF due to that. Given that NTN cells are potentially very large and it may be challenging to ensure a uniform coverage within them, the wireless device 130 may report a cause value, as an example of the first information, indicating that an RLF occurred while in an NTN cell and independently of mobility. This cause value may be similar to a T310 expiry cause, but with details about the wireless device 130 being in a NTN cell and not configured with any mobility procedure. This failure cause may be complemented by a location of the wireless device 130 as an example of the third information, by which the first network node 111 may derive how to optimize coverage within the NTN cell, e.g., by adjusting the beam configuration serving the locations where such failures occur, while the satellite move.

[0127] Addition of new information in the RLF report related to the Non-terrestrial networks

[0128] The different information that may be added to the RLF reports that may be generated by the wireless device 130 may be as detailed in the following examples.

[0129] In an example of the second information, as addition of new information in the RLF report related to the Non-terrestrial networks that, e.g., may be added to the RLF reports that may be generated by the wireless device 130, the wireless device 130 may include the time information in the RLF report. Specifically, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time information, or absolute time information of another format, in the RLF report. This may allow the first network node 111 to accurately determine the global time at which the RLF occurred as satellites, and NTN cells in case of a moving cells deployment, may be moving and may be expected to be present all over the world. In other examples of the second information, as addition of new information in the RLF report related to the Non-terrestrial networks that, e.g., may be added to the RLF reports that may be generated by the wireless device 130, if CHO is configured simultaneously with satellite switch with re-sync procedure, the wireless device 130 may include one or more of the following information. In some examples, the wireless device 130 may include a thirteenth indication if there is an ongoing satellite switch with re-sync procedure during CHO execution, or a fourteenth indication if there is an ongoing CHO execution during satellite switch with re-sync procedure. In some examples, the wireless device 130 may include the time information between CHO execution and t-Service for the satellite switch with re-sync. In some examples, the wireless device 130 may include the time information between CHO execution and when satellite switch with re-sync is done.

[0130] In another example, the wireless device 130 may include information, as an example of the third information, about the elevation angle of the serving satellite, as seen from the location of the wireless device 130, at the time of the failure in the RLF report. Furthermore, in case of handover failure, or Satellite Switch with Resync failure, or an LTM failure, the wireless device 130 may include information about the elevation angle of the target satellite, as seen from the location of the wireless device 130, in the RLF report, as another example of the third information.

[0131] If CHO is configured together with a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) change, the RLF report may include one or more of the following information: i) the execution conditions of the CHO and whether such conditions were fulfilled / not fulfilled at the time the RLF occurred, ii) the execution conditions of the SCG change and whether such conditions were fulfilled / not fulfilled at the time the RLF occurred, iii) the execution conditions of the CHO and, if they were not fulfilled at the time of RFL occurrence, whether they were fulfilled at any time before that; in such case, a measure of time since when the conditions were last fulfilled till the time of RLF is included, iv) the execution conditions of the SCG change and, if they were not fulfilled at the time of RFL occurrence, whether they were fulfilled at any time before that; in such case, a measure of time since when the conditions were last fulfilled till the time of RLF is included, and v) an indication that an RLF occurred during CHO with SCG change but one of the mobility procedures, namely one of CHO or SCG change, execution conditions was fulfilled. The latter indication may also be provided in the form of a new cause value.

[0132] Some further examples related to RLF in conjunction with Satellite Switch with Resync, that is, Satellite Switch with Resync failure

[0133] When RLF may have been detected as a result of problems or failure in conjunction with a Satellite Switch with Resync procedure, the wireless device 130 may add new, not currently specified, relevant information to the RLF report in this Action 301 , to enhance the possibility of the first network node 111 to understand the reason for the failure and select suitable optimizing actions, if any, e.g., modification of relevant configuration aspects. A non-exhaustive lists of useful information items may include any of the following. According to one option, the useful information item may include the time offset, measured by the wireless device 130, between reception of an SSB, or the SS Block, via the new satellite and reception of the SSB, or the Synchronization Signal (SS) Block, via the old satellite. According to one option, the useful information item may include a fifteenth indication of whether the wireless device 130 successfully obtained downlink synchronization via the new satellite. According to one option, the useful information item may include the time at which the wireless device 130 may have obtained downlink synchronization via the new satellite, unless the wireless device 130 failed to obtain downlink synchronization via the new satellite, e.g., expressed in the form of the time elapsed after t-ServiceStart, or after t-Service if t-ServiceStart is not configured, e.g., in case of a hard Satellite Switch with Resync, or expressed as a UTC timestamp. According to one option, the useful information item may include a sixteenth indication of whether the wireless device 130 attempted to use random access to obtain uplink synchronization via the new satellite, e.g., after the satellite switch. According to one option, the useful information item may include the elevation angle, as seen from the location of the wireless device 130, of the new satellite at the time of the failure, or at the time of the satellite switch or at t-ServiceStart or at t- Service.

[0134] There may be fewer aspects to dynamically optimize for Satellite Switch with Resync than for e.g., time-based CHO. However, certain considerations may be relevant, as described next.

[0135] In the soft switch case, the overlap time between the old and the new satellite may theoretically be adapted, e.g., extended. However, extension of this time may require a denser satellite deployment, that is, new satellites may have to be launched, which may not be something the network may do by itself on the fly. A possible way around this may be to change the tradeoff point between the coverage of the satellite and its power budget constraints in a scenario where each satellite may only have a subset of its beams, a.k.a. spot beams, active at any one time, where a beam may typically cover one cell. The soft switch overlap time may then be extended by turning on the beam in the new satellite, e.g., the beam which may have to support / cover the cell after the satellite switch, slightly earlier, at the cost of less power to use in the other active beams of the satellite during the additional overlap time.

[0136] Another aspect that may be modified may be the time offset between the SSB(s) of the new and the old satellite. As one option, such a modification may be done by shifting the SSB transmissions via the new satellite relative the SFNs. As another option, the timing of the new transmissions of the satellite, as represented by the borders of frames, slots and / or symbols, may be shifted.

[0137] By obtaining, logging and / or registering the information in this Action 301, the wireless device 130 may then be enabled to provide the information to the first network node 111 in the next Action 302. This may in turn enable the first network node 111 to use this information for optimization of the wireless communications network 100, and better understand NTN network coverage and NTN to TN network relations, as well as to select suitable optimizing actions, if any, e.g., modification of relevant configuration aspects. This may in turn enable better recovery from RLF in NTN. A further advantage may be understood to be to enable better network optimization to coverage issues and configuration problems in NTN.

[0138] Action 302

[0139] In this Action 302, wireless device 130 provides the first indication.

[0140] Providing in this Action 302 may comprise e.g., sending the first indication.

[0141] The first indication indicates the information. That is, the first indication may indicate the obtained information in Action 301.

[0142] The information corresponds to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device 130, with, or involving, the network node 112, that is, the second network node 112. The network node 112 operates in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0143] In some examples, the communication, or the communication procedure involving the network node 112 may comprise a change, e.g., of serving network node, between the network node 112 and the third network node 113, such as a handover or a satellite switch with resynchronization. It may therefore be understood that handling the failure may comprise providing feedback information that may have been generated in relation to a failure.

[0144] In some embodiments, one or more of the following may apply.

[0145] According to one option, the information may include NTN specific information.

[0146] The wireless device 130 may be registered either in a non-terrestrial network cell or in a terrestrial network. The wireless device 130 may have been handed over from a Terrestrial Network (TN) cell, or from a Non-terrestrial network cell. It may also have directly registered in the Non-terrestrial network.

[0147] According to another option, the providing, e.g., sending, in Action 302 of the first indication may comprise one or more of: a) storing the first indication in a memory and b) sending, e.g., reporting, the first indication to the first network node 111. The first network node

[0148] 111 may operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100. The network node

[0149] 112 involved in the failure may be understood to be the second network node 112. According to another option, the first network node 111 may be the same as the second network node 112.

[0150] Any of the first the first network node 111 , the second network node 112 and the third network node 113 may be a satellite. According to another option, the first indication may be retrievable from the storage by the first network node 111. In one example, the wireless device 130 may flag to the NTN network the availability of an RLF report, but the NTN network may be configured with policies according to which retrieval of the RLF report may not be allowed within the NTN network. This may be due to enhancing power saving and signalling reductions for UEs while in the NTN network. If these conditions occur, the wireless device 130 may not be able to report the RLF report because the first network node 111 may not retrieve it. The wireless device 130 may therefore be able to report the RLF report when connecting to a radio access network that may be allowed to retrieve such report, such as a TN network. In this case, the RLF report may be forwarded to the NTN network on the basis of the information contained in the RLF report, e.g., cell identifiers where the RLF occurred, cause values and similar.

[0151] According to yet another option, the first indication may be a report. The wireless device 130 may then, in this Action 302, send the report to the first network node 111. This may be sent through legacy procedures as defined for RLF reports or a new procedure may be defined specifically for NTN.

[0152] All additions to the RLF reports that are described in relation to embodiments herein may also be added to a new UE report that may be created specifically to capture information about NTNs.

[0153] According to a further option, the failure may be one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure.

[0154] According to yet another option, the first network node 111 may operate in one of the nonterrestrial component or a terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0155] According to a further option, the wireless device 130 may operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100.

[0156] According to another option, the wireless device 130 may have been registered and connected to the non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network 100 when the failure occurred.

[0157] According to yet another option, the second network node 112 may be the satellite having served the wireless device 130 at the moment of the failure.

[0158] According to another option, the wireless device 130 may further provide the second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device 130 is a VSAT.

[0159] In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be a VSAT. In some of such embodiments, the first indication may further comprise fourth information. The fourth indication may indicate data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device 130. By providing the first indication indicating the information to the first network node 111 in this Action 302, the wireless device 130 may enable the first network node 111 to use this information for optimization of the wireless communications network 100, and better understand NTN network coverage and NTN to TN network relations, as well as to select suitable optimizing actions, if any, e.g., modification of relevant configuration aspects. This may in turn enable better recovery from RLF in NTN. A further advantage may be understood to be to enable better network optimization to coverage issues and configuration problems in NTN.

[0160] Embodiments of a method, performed by the first network node 111 will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 4. The method may be understood to be for handling the failure. The first network node 111 operates in the wireless communications network 100 having the non-terrestrial component. The method may be understood to be computer-implemented.

[0161] In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0162] Several embodiments are comprised herein. The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In a particular non-limiting example, Action 401 may be performed. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein may be not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first network node 111 is depicted in Figure 4. In Figure 4, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the wireless device 130 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some examples, the communication, or the communication procedure involving the network node 112 may comprise a change, e.g., of serving network node, between the network node 112 and the third network node 113, such as a handover or a satellite switch with resynchronization.

[0163] Action 401

[0164] In this Action 401, the network node 110 obtains the first indication.

[0165] The first indication indicates the information. The information corresponds to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device 130 operating in the wireless communications network 100, with, or involving, the second network node 112. The second network node 112 operates in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0166] In some embodiments, one or more of the following may apply: i) the information may include NTN specific information, ii) the obtaining in this Action 401 of the first indication may comprise one or more of: a) retrieving the first indication from the memory and b) receiving the first indication from the wireless device 130 operating in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100, iii) the first indication may be retrievable from the storage by the first network node 111 , iv) the first network node 111 may be the same as the second network node 112, v) the first indication may be the report, vi) the failure may be one of: the radio link failure, the handover failure, the satellite switch with resynchronization failure, the non-terrestrial service link failure, the service link failure, the time-based conditional handover failure, the location-based conditional handover failure, or the SIB19 reception failure, vii) the first network node 111 may operate in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100, viii) the wireless device 130 may operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100, ix) the wireless device 130 may have been registered and connected to the non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network 100 when the failure occurred, x) the second network node 112 may be the satellite having served the wireless device 130 at the moment of the failure, and xi) the first network node 111 may further obtain the second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device 130 may be a VSAT.

[0167] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: i) the failure may be the radio link failure, and the first indication may be the radio link failure report, and ii) the failure may be the handover failure, and the first indication may be the report on the handover failure.

[0168] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: i) the failure may be the satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication may be the radio link failure report, ii) the failure may be the time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be the report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and iii) the failure may be the location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be the report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

[0169] In some embodiments, the information may comprise one or more of the following: i) the first information indicating the one or more causes of the failure, ii) the second information indicating the time when the failure occurred, and iii) the third information indicating the location where the failure occurred. In some embodiments, the first information may be indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i) the respective cause value for the respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii) the connection failure type.

[0170] In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be a VSAT. In some of such embodiments, the first indication may further comprise the fourth information. The fourth indication may indicate the data in relation to the rotation of the antenna of the wireless device 130.

[0171] Action 402

[0172] In this Action 402, the first network node 111 may perform an action.

[0173] The action may be based on the obtained first indication. From the information obtained about the RLF report, the first network node 111 may use it for optimization. Below are some non-exhaustive examples.

[0174] In some examples, the first network node 111 may use this information to tweak the execution window time when setting up CHO for UEs.

[0175] In some examples, the first network node 111 may use this information to determine problems with the Satellite switch with resync procedure.

[0176] In some examples, the first network node 111 may use the information to better select CHO execution conditions, e.g., execution window time, and SCG change execution conditions.

[0177] In some examples, the first network node 111 use the information to determine where areas of poor coverage may be located within an NTN cell and therefore optimize coverage accordingly by e.g., beamforming configuration changes.

[0178] In another example, the first network node 111 may monitor the amount of RLF reports generated by UEs, such as the wireless device 130, while in one or more NTN cells. If these reports exceed a given threshold, the first network node 111 may configure a policy for the NTN network so that such reports may not be retrieved while the wireless device 130 may be served in the NTN network. This may be to save wireless device 130 power and to reduce signalling. The wireless device 130 may be able to report the reports in parts of the wireless communications network 100 where such reporting may be allowed and / or enabled.

[0179] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the action may be one of: i) change the execution window timer when setting up conditional handover (CHO) for UEs, ii) determine problems with the Satellite switch with resync procedure, iii) select CHO execution conditions and Secondary Cell Group change execution conditions, iv) determine where areas of poor coverage are located within an NTN cell and optimize coverage accordingly, and v) monitor the amount of RLF reports generated by UEs while in one or more NTN cells, and with the proviso the reports exceed the given threshold, configure the policy for the NTN network so that such reports are not retrieved while the wireless device 130 is served in the NTN network. As a summarized overview of the foregoing, embodiments herein may be understood to enhance the RLF report for usage in NTN by letting a UE such as the wireless device 130 add new relevant information in the RLF report, where this new relevant information may reflect scenarios and events that may be understood to be specific to NTN, and may facilitate for the first network node 111 to analyze and understand the reason for the RLF and how the situation may be improved by modifying relevant configuration aspects.

[0180] A method according to an example of embodiments herein may comprise the following actions: 1) the wireless device 130 may be registered and connected to an NTN cell, 2) the wireless device 130 may experience a Radio link failure (RLF) or Handover Failure (HOF) event. This may happen during a variety of network events including a handover of the wireless device 130 between two satellites, serving the wireless device 130 through a “Satellite Switch with Resync procedure”, and so on, 3) the wireless device 130 may record information related to the event in the RLF reports in new fields as described herein, 4) the wireless device 130 may then send the report to the first network node 111 , and 5) the first network node 111 may use this information for optimization of the network and better understand NTN network coverage and NTN to TN network relations.

[0181] Certain embodiments disclosed herein may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s), which may be summarized as follows.

[0182] One advantage of embodiments herein may be understood to be to enable detection of radio link failures in non-terrestrial networks. Another advantage of embodiments herein may be understood to be to enable better recovery from RLF in NTN. A further advantage of embodiments herein may be understood to be to enable better network optimization to coverage issues and configuration problems in NTN.

[0183] Finally, embodiments herein may provide some additional embodiments related satellite switch with resync failure procedure, enhancements related to it and its use in optimization of the procedure.

[0184] Figure 5 depicts an example of the arrangement that the wireless device 130 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 3. The wireless device 130 may be configured to handle the failure. The wireless device 130 may be configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100 configured to have the non-terrestrial component.

[0185] In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR). Several embodiments are comprised herein. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the wireless device 130 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, in some examples, the communication, or the communication procedure involving the network node 112 may be configured to comprise a change, e.g., of serving network node, between the network node 112 and the third network node 113, such as a handover or a satellite switch with resynchronization.

[0186] The wireless device 130 is configured and / or operable to perform the providing, e.g., sending, in Action 302, e.g., by means of a processing circuitry 501 within the wireless device 130 configured to, provide the first indication configured to indicate the information configured to correspond to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device 130 with, or involving, the network node 112 configured to operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0187] In some embodiments, one or more of the following may apply: i) the information may be configured to include the NTN specific information, ii) the providing of the first indication may be configured to comprise one or more of: a) storing the first indication in the memory and b) sending the first indication to the first network node 111 configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100, and the network node 112 configured to be involved in the failure may be configured to be the second network node 112, iii) the first indication may be configured to be retrievable from the storage by the first network node 111 , iv) the first network node 111 may be configured to be the same as the second network node 112, v) the first indication may be configured to be the report, vi) the failure may be configured to be one of: the radio link failure, the handover failure, the satellite switch with resynchronization failure, the non-terrestrial service link failure, the service link failure, the time-based conditional handover failure, the location-based conditional handover failure, or the SIB19 reception failure, vii) the first network node 111 may be configured to operate in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100, viii) the wireless device 130 may be configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100, ix) the wireless device 130 may be configured to have been registered and connected to the nonterrestrial cell network configured to be comprised in the wireless communications network 100 when the failure is configured to have occurred, x) the second network node 112 may be configured to be the satellite configured to have served the wireless device 130 at the moment of the failure, and xi) the wireless device 130 may be configured to further provide the second indication configured to indicate whether or not the wireless device 130 may be a VSAT.

[0188] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: a) the failure may be configured to be the radio link failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the radio link failure report, and b) the failure may be configured to be the handover failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the report on the handover failure.

[0189] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: a) the failure may be configured to be a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication may be configured to be a radio link failure report, b) the failure may be configured to be a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and c) the failure may be configured to be the location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be configured to be a report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

[0190] The wireless device 130 may be configured and / or operable to perform the obtaining, logging, and / or registering in Action 301, e.g., by means of the processing circuitry 501 within the wireless device 130 configured to, obtain, log and / or register 301 the information. The first indication may be configured to indicate the information configured to be obtained.

[0191] In some embodiments, the information may be configured to comprise one or more of: i) the first information configured to indicate the one or more causes of the failure, ii) the second information configured to indicate the time when the failure may be configured to have occurred, and iii) the third information configured to indicate the location where the failure is configured to have occurred.

[0192] In some embodiments, the first information may be configured to be indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i) the respective cause value for the respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii) the connection failure type.

[0193] In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be configured to be a VSAT, and the first indication may be configured to further comprise the fourth information configured to indicate the data in relation to the rotation of the antenna of the wireless device 130.

[0194] The embodiments herein in the wireless device 130 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as the processing circuitry 501 in the wireless device 130 depicted in Figure 5, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the wireless device 130. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the wireless device 130.

[0195] The processing circuitry 501 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 3.

[0196] The wireless device 130 may further comprise a memory 502 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 502 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the wireless device 130.

[0197] In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive information from, e.g., the first network node 111 , the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 503. In some embodiments, the receiving port 503 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in wireless device 130. In other embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 503. Since the receiving port 503 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 501 , the receiving port 503 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 501. The receiving port 503 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0198] The processing circuitry 501 in the wireless device 130 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first network node 111, the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 504, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 501, and the memory 502.

[0199] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 501 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 501 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0200] Also, in some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 3 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 501.

[0201] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the wireless device 130 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 505 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 501 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 501 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. The computer program 505 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 506. The computer-readable storage medium 506, having stored thereon the computer program 505, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 501 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 501 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 506 may be a non- transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 505 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 505 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 506, as described above.

[0202] The wireless device 130 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the wireless device 130 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first network node 111 , the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0203] In other embodiments, the wireless device 130 may also comprise a radio circuitry 507, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 503 and the sending port 504. The radio circuitry 507 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first network node 111 , the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0204] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the wireless device 130 comprising the processing circuitry 501 and the memory 502, said memory 502 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 501, whereby the wireless device 130 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the wireless device 130, e.g., in Figure 3.

[0205] Figure 6 depicts an example of the arrangement that the first network node 111 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 4. The first network node 111 may be understood to be for handling the failure. The first network node 111 may be configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100 configured to have the non-terrestrial component.

[0206] In some embodiments, the wireless communications network 100 may support, or operate in, New Radio (NR).

[0207] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, in some examples, the communication, or the communication procedure involving the network node 112 may be configured to comprise a change, e.g., of serving network node, between the network node 112 and the third network node 113, such as a handover or a satellite switch with resynchronization.

[0208] The first network node 111 is configured and / or operable to perform the receiving in Action 401, e.g., by means of a processing circuitry 601 within the first network node 111 configured to, obtain the first indication configured to indicate the information configured to correspond to the failure in the communication, or the communication procedure, of the wireless device 130 configured to operate in the wireless communications network 100, with, or involving, the second network node 112 configured to operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100.

[0209] In some embodiments, one or more of the following may apply: i) the information may be configured to include the NTN specific information, ii) the obtaining of the first indication may be configured to comprise one or more of: a) retrieving the first indication in the memory and b) receiving the first indication from the wireless device 130 configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100, iii) the first indication may be configured to be retrievable from the storage by the first network node 111, iv) the first network node 111 may be configured to be the same as the second network node 112, v) the first indication may be configured to be the report, vi) the failure may be configured to be one of: the radio link failure, the handover failure, the satellite switch with resynchronization failure, the non-terrestrial service link failure, the service link failure, the time-based conditional handover failure, the location-based conditional handover failure, or the SIB19 reception failure, vii) the first network node 111 may be configured to operate in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100, viii) the wireless device 130 may be configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network 100 or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network 100, ix) the wireless device 130 may be configured to have been registered and connected to the non-terrestrial cell network configured to be comprised in the wireless communications network 100 when the failure is configured to have occurred, x) the second network node 112 may be configured to be the satellite configured to have served the wireless device 130 at the moment of the failure, and xi) the first network node 111 may be configured to further obtain the second indication configured to indicate whether or not the wireless device 130 may be a VSAT. In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: a) the failure may be configured to be the radio link failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the radio link failure report, and b) the failure may be configured to be the handover failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the report on the handover failure.

[0210] In some embodiments, one of the following may apply: a) the failure may be configured to be the satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the radio link failure report, b) the failure may be configured to be the time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and c) the failure may be configured to be the locationbased conditional handover failure, and the first indication may be configured to be the report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

[0211] In some embodiments, the information may be configured to comprise one or more of: i) the first information configured to indicate the one or more causes of the failure, ii) the second information configured to indicate the time when the failure may be configured to have occurred, and iii) the third information configured to indicate the location where the failure is configured to have occurred.

[0212] In some embodiments, the first information may be configured to be indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i) the respective cause value for the respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii) the connection failure type.

[0213] In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be configured to be a VSAT, and the first indication may be configured to further comprise the fourth information configured to indicate the data in relation to the rotation of the antenna of the wireless device 130.

[0214] The first network node 111 may be configured and / or operable to perform the performing in Action 402, e.g., by means of a processing circuitry 601 within the first network node 111 configured to, perform the action based on the first indication configured to have been obtained.

[0215] In some embodiments, the action may be configured to be one of: i) change an execution window timer when setting up conditional handover (CHO) for UEs, ii) determine problems with a Satellite switch with resync procedure, iii) select CHO execution conditions and Secondary Cell Group change execution conditions, iv) determine where areas of poor coverage are located within an NTN cell and optimize coverage accordingly, and v) monitor the amount of RLF reports generated by UEs while in one or more NTN cells, and with the proviso the reports exceed a given threshold, configure a policy for the NTN network so that such reports are not retrieved while the wireless device 130 is served in the NTN network. The embodiments herein in the first network node 111 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 601 in the first network node 111 depicted in Figure 6, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the first network node 111. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the first network node 111.

[0216] The processing circuitry 601 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 4.

[0217] The first network node 111 may further comprise a memory 602 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 602 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the first network node 111.

[0218] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may receive information from, e.g., the wireless device 130, the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 603. In some embodiments, the receiving port 603 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in first network node 111. In other embodiments, the first network node 111 may receive information from another structure in the wireless communications network 100 through the receiving port 603. Since the receiving port 603 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 601 , the receiving port 603 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 601. The receiving port 603 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0219] The processing circuitry 601 in the first network node 111 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the wireless device 130, the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 604, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 601, and the memory 602.

[0220] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 601 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 601 , perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0221] Also, in some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 4 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 601.

[0222] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first network node 111 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 605 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 601 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 601 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 111. The computer program 605 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 606. The computer-readable storage medium 606, having stored thereon the computer program 605, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 601 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 601 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 111. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 606 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 605 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 605 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 606, as described above.

[0223] The first network node 111 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the first network node 111 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the wireless device 130, the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0224] In other embodiments, the first network node 111 may also comprise a radio circuitry 607, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 603 and the sending port 604. The radio circuitry 607 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the wireless device 130, the second network node 112, the third network node 113 or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0225] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the first network node 111 comprising the processing circuitry 601 and the memory 602, said memory 602 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 601 , whereby the first network node 111 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the first network node 111 , e.g., in Figure 4. Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0226] As used herein, the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “and” term, may be understood to mean that only one of the list of alternatives may apply, more than one of the list of alternatives may apply or all of the list of alternatives may apply. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “or” term.

[0227] Optionally, in the methods presented above each action may be optional.

[0228] Further Extensions And Variations

[0229] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0230] In the example, the communication system 700, such as the wireless communications network 100, includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708. The access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as the first network node 111 , such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 702 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 702 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 702, including one or more network nodes 710 and / or core network nodes 708.

[0231] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O- Cll 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 A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , 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 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections. Any of the UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d are examples of the wireless device 130.

[0232] 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 700 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 700 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0233] The wireless device 130, exemplified in Figure 7 as the UEs 712 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the first network node 111 , exemplified in Figure 7 as network nodes 710 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 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 702.

[0234] In the depicted example, the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 716. 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 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) 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 708. 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 (ALISF), Subscription Identifier Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0235] The host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and / or the telecommunication network 702. The host 716 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0236] As a whole, the communication system 700 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0237] In some examples, the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0238] In some examples, the UEs 712 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 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0239] In the example, the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and / or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b). In some examples, the hub 714 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 714 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 710, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 714. As another example, the hub 714 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 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 714 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0240] The hub 714 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b. The hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and / or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706. In other examples, the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 714 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 710b. In other embodiments, the hub 714 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0241] Figure 8 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 800 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 712 of Figure 1. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0242] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0243] The UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input / output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 8. 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.

[0244] The processing circuitry 802 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 810. The processing circuitry 802 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 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0245] In the example, the input / output interface 806 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 800. 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.

[0246] In some embodiments, the power source 808 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 808 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied.

[0247] The memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816. The memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0248] The memory 810 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (IIICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a IISIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The IIICC may for example be an embedded IIICC (elllCC), integrated IIICC (illlCC) or a removable IIICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 810 may allow the UE 800 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 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0249] The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812. The communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822. The communication interface 812 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 818 and / or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0250] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0251] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, 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).

[0252] 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.

[0253] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 800 shown in Figure 8.

[0254] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0255] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single example. 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.

[0256] The wireless device 130 embodiments relate to any of Figure 3, Figure 5, and Figures 7- 8.

[0257] The wireless device 130 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 3 or in Figure 8.

[0258] The first network node 111 embodiments relate to Figure 4, Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 9.

[0259] The first network node 111 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 6 or in Figure 9.

[0260] Figure 9 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0261] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0262] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs). The network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908. The network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 900 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 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900.

[0263] The processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 900 components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality.

[0264] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0265] The memory 904 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 902. The memory 904 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 902 and utilized by the network node 900. The memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and / or any data received via the communication interface 906. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated.

[0266] The communication interface 906 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 906 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 906 also includes radio front-end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910. Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry 918 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 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and / or amplifiers 922. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0267] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0268] The antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port. The antenna 910, communication interface 906, and / or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 910, the communication interface 906, and / or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0269] The power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 900 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 908. As a further example, the power source 908 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.

[0270] Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 9 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 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 7, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 918 and the RF transceiver circuitry 912 may be omitted.

[0271] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1000 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0272] Applications 1002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0273] Hardware 1004 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1006 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1008a and 1008b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1008), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1008.

[0274] The VMs 1008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1006. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1002 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1008, 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.

[0275] In the context of NFV, a VM 1008 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 1008, and that part of hardware 1004 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 1008 on top of the hardware 1004 and corresponds to the application 1002. Hardware 1004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1004 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 1010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1002. In some embodiments, hardware 1004 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 1012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0276] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0277] 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.

[0278] REFERENCES

[0279] 1. 3GPP TR 38.811 Study on New Radio (NR) to support non-terrestrial networks (Rel-15), e.g., v., 15.4.0.

[0280] 2. 3GPP TR 38.821 Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN) (Rel-16), e.g., v. 16.1.0.

[0281] EXAMPLES:

[0282] 1 . A method performed by a wireless device (130), the method being for handling a failure, the wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100) having a non-terrestrial component, and the method comprising:

[0283] - providing / sending (302) a first indication indicating information corresponding to a failure in a communication / communication procedure of the wireless device (130) with / involving a network node (112) operating in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

[0284] 2. The method according to example 1 , wherein one or more of:

[0285] - the providing / sending (302) of the first indication comprises one or more of: a) storing the first indication in a memory and b) sending / reporting the first indication to a first network node (111) operating in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100), and wherein the network node (112) involved in the failure is a second network node (112),

[0286] - the first indication is retrievable from the storage by the first network node (111),

[0287] - the first indication is a report,

[0288] - the failure is one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure,

[0289] - the first network node (111) operates in one of the non-terrestrial component or a terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100), - the wireless device (130) operates in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),

[0290] - the wireless device (130) was registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network (100) when the failure occurred,

[0291] - the second network node (112) is a satellite having served the wireless device (130) at the moment of the failure, and

[0292] - the wireless device (130) further provides a second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device (130) is a Very-Small-Aperture Terminal, VSAT.

[0293] 3. The method according to example 2, wherein one of:

[0294] - the failure is a radio link failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report, and

[0295] - the failure is a handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the handover failure.

[0296] 4. The method according to example 2, wherein one of:

[0297] - the failure is a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report,

[0298] - the failure is a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and

[0299] - the failure is a location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

[0300] 5. The method according to any of examples 1-4, further comprising:

[0301] - obtaining / logging / registering (301) the information, and wherein the first indication indicates the obtained information.

[0302] 6. The method according to example 5, wherein the information comprises one or more of:

[0303] - first information indicating one or more causes of the failure,

[0304] - second information indicating a time when the failure occurred, and

[0305] - third information indicating a location where the failure occurred.

[0306] 7. The method according to example 6, wherein one or more of:

[0307] - the first information is indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i. a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii. a connection failure type.

[0308] 8. The method according to any of examples 2-3 and any of example 6-7, wherein the wireless device (130) is a VSAT, and wherein the first indication further comprises fourth information indicating data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device (130).

[0309] 9. A method performed by a first network node (111), the method being for handling a failure, the first network node (111) operating in a wireless communications network (100) having a non-terrestrial component, and the method comprising:

[0310] - obtaining (401) a first indication indicating information corresponding to a failure in a communication / communication procedure of a wireless device (130), operating in the wireless communications network (100), with / involving a second network node (112) operating in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

[0311] 10. The method according to example 9, wherein one or more of:

[0312] - the obtaining (401) of the first indication comprises one or more of: a) retrieving the first indication from a memory and b) receiving the first indication from the wireless device (130) operating in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),

[0313] - the first indication is retrievable from the storage by the first network node (111),

[0314] - the first indication is a report,

[0315] - the failure is one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure,

[0316] - the first network node (111) operates in one of the non-terrestrial component or a terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100),

[0317] - the wireless device (130) operates in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100), - the wireless device (130) was registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network (100) when the failure occurred,

[0318] - the second network node (112) is a satellite having served the wireless device (130) at the moment of the failure, and

[0319] - the first network node (111) further obtains a second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device (130) is a Very-Small-Aperture Terminal, VSAT. The method according to example 10, wherein one of:

[0320] - the failure is a radio link failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report, and

[0321] - the failure is a handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the handover failure. The method according to example 10, wherein one of:

[0322] - the failure is a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report,

[0323] - the failure is a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and

[0324] - the failure is a location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the location-based conditional handover failure. The method according to any of examples 9-12, wherein the information comprises one or more of:

[0325] - first information indicating one or more causes of the failure,

[0326] - second information indicating a time when the failure occurred, and

[0327] - third information indicating a location where the failure occurred. The method according to example 13, wherein one or more of:

[0328] - the first information is indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i. a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii. a connection failure type. The method according to any of examples 9-12 and any of example 13-14, wherein the wireless device (130) is a VSAT, and wherein the first indication further comprises fourth information indicating data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device (130). The method according to any of examples 9-15, further comprising: - performing (402) an action based on the obtained first indication.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method performed by a wireless device (130), the method being for handling a failure, the wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100) having a non-terrestrial component, and the method comprising:- providing (302) a first indication indicating information corresponding to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of the wireless device (130) with, or involving, a network node (112) operating in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more of:- the information includes non-terrestrial network, NTN, specific information,- the providing (302) of the first indication comprises one or more of: a) storing the first indication in a memory and b) sending the first indication to a first network node (111) operating in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100), and wherein the network node (112) involved in the failure is a second network node (112),- the first indication is retrievable from the storage by the first network node (111),- the first network node (111) is the same as the second network node (112),- the first indication is a report,- the failure is one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure,- the first network node (111) operates in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100),- the wireless device (130) operates in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),- the wireless device (130) was registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network (100) when the failure occurred,- the second network node (112) is a satellite having served the wireless device (130) at the moment of the failure, and- the wireless device (130) further provides a second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device (130) is a Very-Small-Aperture Terminal, VSAT.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein one of:- the failure is a radio link failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report, and- the failure is a handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the handover failure.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein one of:- the failure is a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report,- the failure is a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and- the failure is a location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, further comprising:- obtaining, logging and / or registering (301) the information, and wherein the first indication indicates the obtained information.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the information comprises one or more of:- first information indicating one or more causes of the failure,- second information indicating a time when the failure occurred, and- third information indicating a location where the failure occurred.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first information is indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i. a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii. a connection failure type.

8. The method according to any of claims 2-3 and any of claim 6-7, wherein the wireless device (130) is a VSAT, and wherein the first indication further comprises fourth information indicating data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device (130).

9. A method performed by a first network node (111), the method being for handling a failure, the first network node (111) operating in a wireless communications network (100) having a non-terrestrial component, and the method comprising:- obtaining (401) a first indication indicating information corresponding to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of a wireless device (130) operating in the wireless communications network (100), with, or involving, a second network node (112) operating in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein one or more of:- the information includes non-terrestrial network, NTN, specific information,- the obtaining (401) of the first indication comprises one or more of: a) retrieving the first indication from a memory and b) receiving the first indication from the wireless device (130) operating in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),- the first indication is retrievable from the storage by the first network node (111),- the first network node (111) is the same as the second network node (112),- the first indication is a report,- the failure is one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure,- the first network node (111) operates in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100),- the wireless device (130) operates in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),- the wireless device (130) was registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network comprised in the wireless communications network (100) when the failure occurred,- the second network node (112) is a satellite having served the wireless device (130) at the moment of the failure, and- the first network node (111) further obtains a second indication indicating whether or not the wireless device (130) is a Very-Small-Aperture Terminal, VSAT.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein one of:- the failure is a radio link failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report, and- the failure is a handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the handover failure.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein one of:- the failure is a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication is a radio link failure report,- the failure is a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and- the failure is a location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

13. The method according to any of claims 9-12, wherein the information comprises one or more of:- first information indicating one or more causes of the failure,- second information indicating a time when the failure occurred, and- third information indicating a location where the failure occurred.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first information is indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i. a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii. a connection failure type.

15. The method according to any of claims 9-12 and any of claim 13-14, wherein the wireless device (130) is a VSAT, and wherein the first indication further comprises fourth information indicating data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device (130).

16. The method according to any of claims 9-15, further comprising:- performing (402) an action based on the obtained first indication.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the action is one of:- change an execution window timer when setting up conditional handover, CHO, for UEs,- determine problems with a Satellite switch with resync procedure,- select CHO execution conditions and Secondary Cell Group change execution conditions,- determine where areas of poor coverage are located within an NTN cell and optimize coverage accordingly, and- monitor the amount of RLF reports generated by UEs while in one or more NTN cells, and with the proviso the reports exceed a given threshold, configure a policy for the NTN network so that such reports are not retrieved while the wireless device (130) is served in the NTN network.

18. A wireless device (130), for handling a failure, the wireless device (130) being configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100) configured to have a nonterrestrial component, and the wireless device (130) being further configured to:- provide a first indication configured to indicate information configured to correspond to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of the wireless device (130) with, or involving, a network node (112) configured to operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

19. The wireless device (130) according to claim 18, wherein one or more of:- the information is configured to include non-terrestrial network, NTN, specific information,- the providing of the first indication is configured to comprise one or more of: a) storing the first indication in a memory and b) sending the first indication to a first network node (111) configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100), and wherein the network node (112) configured to be involved in the failure is configured to be a second network node (112),- the first indication is configured to be retrievable from the storage by the first network node (111),- the first network node (111) is configured to be the same as the second network node (112),- the first indication is configured to be a report,- the failure is configured to be one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure,a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure,- the first network node (111) is configured to operate in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100),- the wireless device (130) is configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),- the wireless device (130) is configured to have been registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network configured to be comprised in the wireless communications network (100) when the failure is configured to have occurred,- the second network node (112) is configured to be a satellite configured to have served the wireless device (130) at the moment of the failure, and- the wireless device (130) is configured to further provide a second indication configured to indicate whether or not the wireless device (130) is a Very-Small- Aperture Terminal, VSAT.

20. The wireless device (130) according to claim 19, wherein one of:- the failure is configured to be a radio link failure, and the first indication is configured to be a radio link failure report, and- the failure is configured to be a handover failure, and the first indication is configured to be a report on the handover failure.

21. The wireless device (130) according to claim 19, wherein one of:- the failure is configured to be a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication is configured to be a radio link failure report,- the failure is configured to be a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is configured to be a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and- the failure is configured to be a location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is configured to be a report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

22. The wireless device (130) according to any of claims 18-21 , being further configured to:- obtain, log and / or register (301) the information, and wherein the first indication is configured to indicate the information configured to be obtained.

23. The wireless device (130) according to claim 22, wherein the information is configured to comprise one or more of:- first information configured to indicate one or more causes of the failure,- second information configured to indicate a time when the failure is configured to have occurred, and- third information configured to indicate a location where the failure is configured to have occurred.

24. The wireless device (130) according to claim 23, wherein the first information is configured to be indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i. a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii. a connection failure type.

25. The wireless device (130) according to any of claims 19-20 and any of claim 23-24, wherein the wireless device (130) is configured to be a VSAT, and wherein the first indication is configured to further comprise fourth information configured to indicate data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device (130).

26. A first network node (111), for handling a failure, the first network node (111) being configured to operate in a wireless communications network (100) configured to have a non-terrestrial component, and the first network node (111) being further configured to:- obtain a first indication configured to indicate information configured to correspond to a failure in a communication, or a communication procedure, of a wireless device (130) configured to operate in the wireless communications network (100), with, or involving, a second network node (112) configured to operate in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100).

27. The first network node (111) according to claim 26, wherein one or more of:- the information is configured to include non-terrestrial network, NTN, specific information,- the obtaining of the first indication is configured to comprise one or more of: a) retrieving the first indication from a memory and b) receiving the first indication from the wireless device (130) configured to operate in the terrestrial componentof the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),- the first indication is configured to be retrievable from the storage by the first network node (111),- the first network node (111) is configured to be the same as the second network node (112),- the first indication is configured to be a report,- the failure is configured to be one of: a radio link failure, a handover failure, a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, a non-terrestrial service link failure, a service link failure, a time-based conditional handover failure, a location-based conditional handover failure, or a SIB19 reception failure,- the first network node (111) is configured to operate in one of the non-terrestrial component or the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100),- the wireless device (130) is configured to operate in the terrestrial component of the wireless communications network (100) or in the non-terrestrial component of the wireless communication network (100),- the wireless device (130) is configured to have been registered and connected to a non-terrestrial cell network configured to be comprised in the wireless communications network (100) when the failure is configured to have occurred,- the second network node (112) is configured to be a satellite configured to have served the wireless device (130) at the moment of the failure, and- the first network node (111) is configured to further obtain a second indication configured to indicate whether or not the wireless device (130) is a Very-Small- Aperture Terminal, VSAT.

28. The first network node (111) according to claim 27, wherein one of:- the failure is configured to be a radio link failure, and the first indication is configured to be a radio link failure report, and- the failure is configured to be a handover failure, and the first indication is configured to be a report on the handover failure.

29. The first network node (111) according to claim 27, wherein one of:- the failure is configured to be a satellite switch with resynchronization failure, and the first indication is configured to be a radio link failure report,- the failure is configured to be a time-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is configured to be a report on the time-based conditional handover failure, and- the failure is configured to be a location-based conditional handover failure, and the first indication is a configured to be report on the location-based conditional handover failure.

30. The first network node (111) according to any of claims 26-29, wherein the information is configured to comprise one or more of:- first information configured to indicate one or more causes of the failure,- second information configured to indicate a time when the failure is configured to have occurred, and- third information configured to indicate a location where the failure is configured to have occurred.

31. The first network node (111) according to claim 30, wherein the first information is configured to be indicated by adding to the first indication one of: i. a respective cause value for a respective cause of the one or more causes, and ii. a connection failure type.

32. The first network node (111) according to any of claims 26-29 and any of claim 29-30, wherein the wireless device (130) is configured to be a VSAT, and wherein the first indication is configured to further comprise fourth information configured to indicate data in relation to a rotation of an antenna of the wireless device (130).

33. The first network node (111) according to any of claims 26-32, being further configured to:- perform an action based on the first indication configured to have been obtained.

34. The first network node (111) according to claim 33, wherein the action is configured to be one of:- change an execution window timer when setting up conditional handover, CHO, for UEs,- determine problems with a Satellite switch with resync procedure,- select CHO execution conditions and Secondary Cell Group change execution conditions,- determine where areas of poor coverage are located within an NTN cell and optimize coverage accordingly, and- monitor the amount of RLF reports generated by UEs while in one or more NTN cells, and with the proviso the reports exceed a given threshold, configure a policy for the NTN network so that such reports are not retrieved while the wireless device (130) is served in the NTN network.

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