SDT associated indications in UE reports

Abstract

When a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure using SDT associated RACH resources (RA-SDT), or the UE is not able to use Configured Grant for Small Data Transmission (CG-SDT), and, instead, it executes Random Access procedure using common RA resources or on any other configured RA resources, the UE logs and reports in Random Access report information indicating that the UE used the common RA resources or any other RA resource partition configured for different purposes rather than the RA-SDT or CG-SDT resources. In another embodiment, the UE logs and reports in Random Access report information related to the reasons why common RACH resources were used, which may comprise reason about why RA-SDT was not performed, or why CG-SDT was not performed.

Description

SDT associated indications in UE reports FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to network management and in particular to small data transmission (SDT) associated indications in user equipment (UE) reports. BACKGROUND

[0002] The overall architecture of NG-RAN is described in 3GPP TS 38.401 version 17.3.0 (2022-12), and depicted in FIG.1 (which is a copy of FIG.6.1-1 in 3GPP TS 38.401 version 17.3.0).

[0003] The NG-RAN architecture can be further described as follows. The NG-RAN consists of a set of gNBs connected to the 5GC through the NG interface. An gNB can support FDD mode, TDD mode or dual mode operation. gNBs can be interconnected through the Xn interface. A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs. A gNB-CU and a gNB-DU are connected via the F1 logical interface. By specification, one gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU. However, for resiliency, a gNB-DU may be connected to multiple gNB-CUs by appropriate implementation. NG, Xn and F1 are logical interfaces. The NG-RAN is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture, i.e., the NG-RAN logical nodes and interfaces between them, is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, F1) the related TNL protocol and the functionality are specified. The TNL provides services for user plane transport and signaling transport.

[0004] A gNB may also be connected to an LTE eNB via the X2 interface. Another architectural option is that where an LTE eNB connected to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network is connected over the X2 interface with a so called nr-gNB. The latter is a gNB not connected directly to a CN and connected via X2 to an eNB for the sole purpose of performing dual connectivity.

[0005] The architecture in FIG.1 can be expanded by spitting the gNB-CU into two entities: One gNB-CU-UP, which serves the user plane and hosts the PDCP protocol and one gNB-CU-CP, which serves the control plane and hosts the PDCP and RRC protocol. A gNB-CU-CP and a gNB-CU-UP communicate over the E1 interface. For completeness it should be said that a gNB-DU hosts the RLC, MAC and PHY protocols.• A gNB can support FDD mode, TDD mode or dual mode operation. • gNBs can be interconnected through the Xn interface. • A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DU(s). A gNB-CU and a gNB-DU is connected via F1 interface. • One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU. • NG, Xn and F1 are logical interfaces.

[0006] For NG-RAN, the NG and Xn-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, terminate in the gNB-CU. For EN-DC, the S1-U and X2-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, terminate in the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DUs are only visible to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB.

[0007] The overall architecture for separation of gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP is depicted in FIG.2 (which is copied from FIG.6.1.2-1 in 3GPP TS 38.401 version 17.3.0).

[0008] As illustrated in FIG.2: • A gNB may consist of a gNB-CU-CP, multiple gNB-CU-UPs and multiple gNB- DUs. • The gNB-CU-CP is connected to the gNB-DU through the F1-C interface. • The gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-DU through the F1-U interface. • The gNB-CU-UP is connected to the gNB-CU-CP through the E1 interface. • One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. • One gNB-CU-UP is connected to only one gNB-CU-CP. RACH configuration in NR

[0009] Random access comes in two flavors in NR: 4-step RA (a.k.a. Type-1 RA) and 2-step RA (a.k.a. Type-2 RA), both of which are illustrated in FIG.3.

[0010] SIB1, which is part of the system information broadcast in a cell includes configuration parameters that informs the UE about relevant aspects of the RA related resources and the UE’s expected behavior in the context of random access procedures. The RA related configuration mainly includes: • PRACH occasion configuration in the time domain and the frequency domain. • Msg1 / MsgA subcarrier spacing. • RA preamble range.• SSB to RACH occasion and preamble set mapping. • Some optional RA preamble partitioning information. • Various parameters related to the UE’s behavior during the random access procedure, e.g. RA type (i.e.4-step RA or 2-step RA) selection RSRP threshold, SSB selection RSRP threshold, RA response window, MsgB response window, contention resolution timer, power ramping step, number of MsgA transmissions before switch to 4-step RA, maximum number of RA preamble transmissions before abandoning the RA procedure, etc. • PUSCH configuration for the PUSCH part of MsgA in 2-step RA.

[0011] The IEs that are the most relevant for the NR RACH configuration are RACH- ConfigGeneric, RACH-ConfigCommon, RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStep-r16 and RACH- ConfigCommonTwoStep-r16. The two former configure 4-step RA aspects, while the two latter configure 2-step RA aspects. For 2-step RA, the IEs MsgA-ConfigCommon-r16 and MsgA-PUSCH-Config-r16 are also relevant. These IEs are all included in SIB1 in the broadcast system information (provided that the concerned RA type is supported in the cell). In addition, in conjunction with handover (reconfiguration with sync), a UE can receive RACH configuration for a target cell via dedicated signaling (in the handover command (i.e. RRCReconfiguration) from the target gNB). This RACH configuration is then conveyed in a RACH-ConfigDedicated IE. Small Data Transmission (SDT)

[0012] Small Data Transmission (SDT) is a procedure allowing data and / or signaling transmission while remaining in RRC_INACTIVE state (i.e. without transitioning to RRC_CONNECTED state). SDT is enabled on a radio bearer basis and is initiated by the UE only if less than a configured amount of UL data awaits transmission across all radio bearers for which SDT is enabled, the DL RSRP is above a configured threshold, and a valid SDT resource is available. The duration of an SDT procedure is limited and controlled by the supervision timer T319a.

[0013] An SDT procedure can be carried out using a random access (RA) procedure (referred to as RA-SDT) or utilizing configured grants (referred to as CG-SDT). CG-SDT is not elaborated further in this document.

[0014] In the context of RA-SDT, SDT resources refer to a set of RA resources, which, again in the context of RA-SDT, refers to a set of RA preambles (also referred to as apreamble partition i.e. a subrange of the preambles available in the cell). A RA preamble from this set of RA preambles indicates to the receiving gNB that the RA procedure concerns SDT. Furthermore, for SDT to be possible, it is also required that at least one DRB has been configured to allow SDT. Depending on the definition, this(these) DRB(s) may or may not be seen as part of the SDT resources.

[0015] The first SDT data is included in Msg3 of the RA procedure. Any subsequent SDT data is handled using dynamic DL assignments and UL grants.

[0016] For an SDT procedure over RACH, if the UE accesses a gNB other than the last serving gNB (also referred to as the anchor gNB, i.e. the gNB which stores the UE’s context in the RAN), the UL SDT data / signaling is buffered at the receiving gNB, and then the receiving gNB triggers the XnAP Retrieve UE Context procedure. The receiving gNB indicates SDT to the last serving gNB and the last serving gNB decides whether to relocate the UE context or not. Other SDT assistance information (e.g., single packet, multiple packets) may also be provided by the receiving gNB to help the decision of UE context relocation.

[0017] If the last serving gNB decides not to relocate the full UE context, it transfers a partial UE context containing SDT RLC context information necessary for the receiving gNB to handle SDT via the Partial UE Context Transfer procedure.

[0018] Then, in case SDT is used for user plane data over DRBs, UL / DL tunnels are established for the DRBs configured for SDT. If only a partial UE context was transferred, the UL / DL tunnels are established between the receiving gNB and the last serving gNB (and the last serving gNB handles the data forwarding to / from the UPF). If the full UE context was relocated, the UL tunnel is established from the receiving gNB to the UPF while the DL tunnel is established between the last serving gNB and the receiving gNB, and then a path switch is performed, after which any remaining SDT packets are forwarded through tunnels between the receiving gNB and the UPF in both the UL and the DL. The PDCP PDU(s) with UL / DL data is(are) transferred over the tunnels, until the last serving gNB detects the end of the SDT session.

[0019] After the end of the SDT session, if the UE context was relocated to the receiving gNB, the receiving gNB directs the UE to continue in RRC_INACTIVE state (or to go to RRC_IDLE state) by sending an RRCRelease message (or to go to RRC_CONNECTED state by sending an RRCResume message).

[0020] If only a partial UE context was transferred to the receiving gNB, then, after the end of the SDT session, the receiving gNB sends a RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT CONFIRM XnAP message to the last serving gNB indicating whether this is a "normal" end of SDT transaction or a radio link problem. The last serving gNB responds to the receiving gNB with the RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT FAILURE XnAP message including an encapsulated RRCRelease message, which the receiving gNB forwards to the UE, and then releases the partial UE context.

[0021] In case SDT is used for signaling (i.e. control plane data), SRB PDCP PDUs are transferred between the receiving gNB and the last serving gNB via the XnAP RRC Transfer procedure, until the last serving gNB terminates the SDT session and directs the UE to continue in RRC_INACTIVE state by sending the RRCRelease message.

[0022] A UE is configured for SDT through configuration data in SIB1 (in the system information) and in the RRCRelease message when the UE is released from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0023] The configuration of a RA preamble partition for RA-SDT is part of the configuration of RA preambles associated with certain features, which involves associating RA preamble partitions with different feature combinations. This is configured in the FeatureCombinationPreambles-r17 IE in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 17.3.0. The features which may be included in such a feature combination according to release 17 of the 3GPP standard for NR include RedCap (reduced capabilities), SDT, NSAG and RA Msg3 repetition. Hence, the RA preambles for SDT are associated with the feature combination(s) which SDT is included in, which may consist of only SDT, but which may also consist of SDT together with one or more of the other above listed features. The optional ssb- SharedRO-MaskIndex-r17 IE can be used to indicate a subset of the RACH occasions in which the preamble partition is allocated to the concerned feature combination.

[0024] The configuration of SDT consists of common parts in SIB1 and a UE specific part, which is included in the SDT-Config-r17 IE in the SuspendConfig IE which is included in the RRCRelease message when the UE is released to RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0025] The most relevant ASN.1 code in SIB1 is included in the field sdt- ConfigCommon-r17, which is an SDT-ConfigCommonSIB-r17 IE, and the FeatureCombinationPreambles-r17 IEs in the featureCombinationPreamblesList-r17 field in the RACH-ConfigCommon IE. The RACH-ConfigCommon IE is in turn included in aBWP-UplinkCommon IE which is included in an UplinkConfigCommonSIB IE which is included in a ServingCellConfigCommonSIB IE in SIB1.

[0026] According to methods disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2024 / 025451, which published on February 1, 2024, when a UE can (or would have preferred to) perform Random Access procedure for SDT (RA-SDT), it logs and report in an RA report information concerning SDT operation, so that SDT configuration can be optimized, in particular: • the configured data volume threshold (e.g., sdt-DataVolumeThreshold) • the extra data volume compared to the configured data volume threshold • whether the data volume was above / below a preconfigured SDT data volume threshold • how much below the data volume threshold the data volume was • the configured RSRP threshold (e.g., sdt-RSRP-Threshold) • the measured RSRP upon initiating the RA procedure • whether the RSRP value before the initiation of the RA procedure (as part of SDT initiation) was above / below or below a preconfigured SDT RSRP threshold • the difference between the measured RSRP and the configured RSRP threshold • that the RA procedure is performed due to an SDT operation • that the UE wanted to perform SDT operation but could not perform RA procedure for SDT operation as the SDT RSRP threshold was not met

[0027] There currently exist certain challenge(s). It is not clear for example, in case a normal RA procedure was performed instead of an RA procedure for the purpose of Small Data Transmission, what was the underlining cause. Although according to the methods in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2024 / 209428 (filed 2025-04-05 and published 2024-10-10) – the UE can log and report the amount of data volume pending to be transmitted when this amount is marginally above the SDT data volume, this offers a partial solution to the problem, since the network does not know whether it is appropriate to change the data volume threshold, given that information related to the RSRP related criterion is not known. Some of the information not covered by PCT Patent Publication No. WO2024 / 209428are addressed by PCT Patent Publication No. WO2024 / 025451, according to which, e.g., a UE can log and report whether the data volume was above the SDT data volume threshold and the extra data volume compared to the SDT data volume threshold.

[0028] However, some cases are not addressed, for example in relation to the use or not use of CG resources, or how to inform the network on whether it is appropriate or not to modify the RACH resource partitioning. Summary

[0029] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. According to the proposed solution, when a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure using SDT associated RACH resources (RA-SDT), or the UE is not able to use Configured Grant for Small Data Transmission (CG-SDT), and, instead, it executes Random Access procedure using common RA resources or on any other configured RA resources (i.e. PRACH resources not dedicated for SDT), the UE logs and reports in Random Access report information indicating that the UE used the common RA resources or any other RA resource partition configured for different purposes rather than the RA-SDT or CG-SDT resources. In another embodiment, the UE logs and reports in Random Access report information related to the reasons why common RACH resources were used, which may comprise reason about why RA-SDT was not performed, or why CG-SDT was not performed.

[0030] In a more general embodiment, when more than one resource partition is configured in a cell for specific features or access purposes, e.g. the partition is dedicated to access for specific network slices or to specific features like RedCap, and if the conditions that enable the UE to perform RACH access on more than one of such partition are fulfilled, the UE reports in the RA Report the reason why it accessed the partition on which RA was performed (e.g. by means of including tin the RA report an indication of the used feature that triggered RA on the selected partition) as well as one or more of the following: • The UE reports the features or conditions applicable for the UE that could have lead to selection of a different RA partition, e.g. access to a specific network slice or use of a specific feature) • The UE reports other RA partitions the UE could have accessed, e.g. RA partitions for a specific group of network slices, RA partitions for specific feature sets.

[0031] Some compact indications associated to the above scenario are disclosed herein, which enable the network to perform SDT related optimization.

[0032] Moreover, MT-SDT optimizations are also considered beside MO-SDT.

[0033] The present solution provides methods in which a UE logs and reports in Random Access report information indicating that the UE used the common RA resources or any other RA partition resources rather than the RA-SDT or CG-SDT resources, upon determining that neither the RA-SDT resources nor the CG-SDT resources can be used. Additionally, the disclosure comprises methods for the UE to include information related to reasons why RA-SDT was not performed, or why CG-SDT was not performed.

[0034] The present solution also covers the case where a UE reports in the RA report the RA partitions (namely the specific set of RA resources) that it could have accessed instead of the partition and / or RA resources where the RA was performed.

[0035] One advantage of the present solution is to enable the network to understand the conditions under which the SDT procedure could not be executed, and adjust network settings related to use of CG for SDT or RACH resources dedicated to SDT.

[0036] Another advantage of the present solution is that of understanding whether the UE has multiple choices in terms of the RA partition to select and therefore whether RA load could be better distributed simply by steering the RA resource choice at the UE towards the less utilized RA partitions. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0037] The accompanying drawing FIG.s incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain principles of the disclosure.

[0038] FIG.1 schematically illustrates an overall NG-RAN architecture, known from FIG.6.1-1 in 3GPP TS 38.401 version 17.3.0;

[0039] FIG.2 schematically illustrates an overall architecture for separation of gNB- CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP (also referred to as split gNB architecture or split NG-RAN architecture or split RAN architecture), known from FIG.6.1.2-1 in 3GPP TS 38.401 version 17.3.0;

[0040] FIG.3 illustrates 4-step and 2-step RA procedures known in the art;

[0041] FIG.4 is s flowchart illustrating principal steps in a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments;

[0042] FIG.5 is a flowchart illustrating principal steps in a method 500 performed by a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

[0043] FIG.6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0044] FIG.7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0045] FIG.8 shows a network node 800 in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0046] FIG.9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. Detailed Description

[0047] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0048] At least some of the following abbreviations and terms may be used in this disclosure. • 2D Two Dimensional • 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project • 5G Fifth Generation • AAS Antenna Array System • AoA Angle of Arrival • AoD Angle of Departure • ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit • BF Beamforming • BLER Block Error Rate • BW Beamwidth • CPU Central Processing Unit • CSI Channel State Information • dB Decibel • DCI Downlink Control Information • DFT Discrete Fourier Transform • DSP Digital Signal Processor• eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B • FIR Finite Impulse Response • FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array • gNB New Radio Base Station • ICC Information Carrying Capacity • IIR Infinite Impulse Response • LTE Long Term Evolution • MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output • MME Mobility Management Entity • MMSE Minimum Mean Square Error • MTC Machine Type Communication • NR New Radio • OTT Over-the-Top • PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel • PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel • PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel • P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway • RAM Random Access Memory • ROM Read Only Memory • RRC Radio Resource Control • RRH Remote Radio Head • SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function • SINR Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio • TBS Transmission Block Size • UE User Equipment • ULA Uniform Linear Array • URA Uniform Rectangular Array

[0049] Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” is either a radio access node or a wireless device.

[0050] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” is any node in a radio access network of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limitedto, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), and a relay node.

[0051] Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), or the like.

[0052] Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by wirelessly transmitting (and / or receiving) signals to (and / or from) a radio access node. Some examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device.

[0053] Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0054] Cell: As used herein, a “cell” is a combination of radio resources (such as, for example, antenna port allocation, time and frequency) that a wireless device may use to exchange radio signals with a radio access node, which may be referred to as a host node or a serving node of the cell. However, it is important to note that beams may be used instead of cells, particularly with respect to 5G NR. As such, it should be appreciated that the techniques described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0055] Note that references in this disclosure to various technical standards (such as 3GPP TS 38.211 V15.1.0 (2018-03) and 3GPP TS 38.214 V15.1.0 (2018-03), for example) should be understood to refer to the specific version(s) of such standard(s) that is(were) current at the time the present application was filed, and may also refer to applicable counterparts and successors of such versions.

[0056] The description herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system.

[0057] RACH resources can be configured for SDT, and when used in Random Access procedure, the corresponding Random Access procedure is referred to as RA-SDT.

[0058] In case UE makes use of Configured Grant resources for SDT transmission, this is referred to as Configured Grant for SDT, or CG-SDT in short.

[0059] In the solution description, the term “common RACH resources” refers to RACH resources (or, equivalently, PRACH resources) that may be used for regular network access, and which are not associated with any specific feature, in particular not associated with SDT.

[0060] The term “Random Access report” (or “RA report”) used in the solution description refers to the IE denoted as RA-Report in the 3GPP RRC specification (i.e. in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 18.1.0) or to another IE, e.g. a new (currently non-existing) IE serving a similar purpose of providing feedback information related to Random Access procedures to the network.

[0061] FIG.4 is s flowchart illustrating principal steps in a method 400 performed by a user equipment (UE) for performing a Random Access (RA) procedure, in which the UE is configured to use Small Data Transmission (STD) resources for performing RA. Referring to FIG.4, the method includes:

[0062] Step 1 (at 402): Determining that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure.

[0063] Step 2 (at 404): as a result of determining that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure, performing the RA procedure using Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources not dedicated for SDT.

[0064] Step 3 (at 406): transmitting, to a network node, information related to conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure. In some embodiments, the network node may be the same gNB used by the UE to support the RA procedure using PRACH resources.

[0065] FIG.5 is a flowchart illustrating principal steps in a method 500 performed by a network node. Referring to FIG.5, the method includes:

[0066] Step 1 (at 502): Configuring a user equipment (UE) to perform a Random Access (RA) procedure using Small Data Transmission (STD) resources;

[0067] Step 2 (at 504): Subsequently performing the RA procedure with the UE using Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources not dedicated for SDT; and

[0068] Step 3 (at 506): Receiving, from the UE, information related to conditions that caused the UE to not use the STD resources for performing the RA procedure.

[0069] In the present disclosure, when a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure for SDT on RA-SDT resources, or the UE is not able to use Configured Grant resources for Small Data Transmission (CG-SDT) and the UE, instead, performs a normal Random Access procedure (i.e., common RACH resources are used), the UE logs and reports in Random Access report information related to the conditions which led to not performing RA-SDT, or not performing CG-SDT. Furthermore, the RA report (e.g., in the raPurpose IE) is extended to indicate specific reasons for not using RA-SDT or CG-SDT.

[0070] The methods performed in this disclosure may be performed only when the MAC entity is configured by RRC with SDT and the SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers for MO-SDT or MT-SDT, but RA-SDT resources or CG-SDT resources are not used for one or more reasons. RA Purpose

[0071] In some embodiments, when a UE whose MAC entity is configured by RRC with SDT and the SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers for MO-SDT or MT-SDT, but the UE does not perform Random Access procedure for SDT on RA-SDT resources and it performs instead a non-SDT related Random Access procedure on common RACH resources or on RA resources available on other RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag extending the RA-InformationCommon IE or a new value of the raPurpose IE, indicating that RA-SDT could not be used. The flag can for example indicate that the RACH resources were used as fallback from RA-SDT, or that the corresponding random access was performed while SDT procedure was initiated by upper layers. The additional information could indicate, additionally to the fact that RA- SDT could not be used, the reasons why the fallback set of RA resources were selected. As an example, such additional information could consist of a set of triggering features and / or a used feature that triggered the fallback selection of a RA partition dedicated to one or more feature, or it could consist of one or more network slice identifier that triggered the fallback selection of a RA partition dedicated to one or more network slice.

[0072] In some embodiments, the UE may include as a first indication that purpose for initiating the RA procedure, is that SDT was initiated by upper layers, and as a second indication, whether the said SDT procedure was performed on RA-SDT resources, or on common RACH resources due to RA-SDT conditions not being applicable (e.g. RA-SDT resources not configured, or conditions for RA-SDT initiation not fulfilled), or on common RACH resources due to CG-SDT conditions not being applicable (e.g.CG-SDT not configured, or conditions for CG-SDT initiation not fulfilled),

[0073] In addition or in alternative to the above, the UE logs and reports an indication, indicating that RA-SDT was not possible due to one or more specific reasons (or combination of reasons), i.e. one or more indication associated to each of one or more of the conditions for initiating SDT procedure at MAC layer that were not fulfilled, such as: • RACH resources associated with SDT (and possible some other feature)) not available or not configured, • RACH resources associated with SDT configured, but conditions for initiating RA-SDT not fulfilled • RACH resources associated with SDT (and possible some other feature)) congestion, e.g after collision on RACH resources associated with SDT, UE falls back to use common RACH resource, • data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled, RSRP threshold criterion fulfilled, • data volume threshold criterion fulfilled, RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled, • data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled, • RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled, • data volume threshold and RSRP threshold criteria not fulfilled, • the time until the next RACH occasion for SDT exceeds a configured or UE implementation specific threshold. • Data volume threshold and RSRP threshold criteria fulfilled, but RACH resources associated with SDT are not available.

[0074] In another method, when one or more of the conditions for initiating SDT procedure at MAC layer were not fulfilled, the UE may include one or more of the following information: • The data volume of the pending UL data across all RBs configured for SDT, if the RACH resources were used upon determining that the SDT procedure isinitiated for MO-SDT, and the data volume of the pending UL data across all RBs configured for SDT is larger than the sdt-DataVolumeThreshold • The measured RSRP of the downlink pathloss reference, if the RACH resources were used upon determining that the RSRP of the downlink pathloss reference is lower or equal than RSRP_THRESHOLD

[0075] This information may be logged only if the RA is not performed in 2-step RA resources. This is because the UE already logs the measured RSRP of the downlink pathloss reference if the random access procedure is initialized with RA_TYPE set to 2- stepRA.

[0076] In some embodiments, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag extending the RA-InformationCommon IE or a new value of the raPurpose IE or introducing a new IE, indicating that RA is triggered due to: • MT-SDT, mobile terminated SDT • MO-SDT, mobile originated SDT, • Simultaneous MO-SDT and MT-SDT, • Or SDT with no differentiation between MT-SDT and MO-SDT.

[0077] For the case in which the SDT procedure was initiated by upper layers for MT- SDT, the UE may include an indication indicating whether the conditions for initiating the SDT procedure at MAC layer were fulfilled or not fulfilled. This is because according to the existing specification, for the case of MT-SDT, if the RACH resources are used for the said procedure, the UE can only use RACH resources not configured for SDT. In case for the MT-SDT, one or more of conditions for initiating the SDT procedure at MAC layer were not fulfilled, the UE may include the said one or more conditions that were not fulfilled (as per the above embodiments).

[0078] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that the RA procedure was triggered because CG-SDT could not be used. In addition or in alternative to the above, the UE logs and reports an indication, indicating that CG-SDT was not possible due a specific reason (or combination of reasons), such as: • no CG-SDT resources configured• CG-SDT configured, but conditions for initiating CG-SDT not fulfilled • this cell is not the last serving cell before UE goes to RRC_INACTIVE state • no CG-SDT resources and no RA-SDT resources available • the time gap between the initiation of the SDT procedure and first available CG occasion for initial CG-SDT transmission is larger than a certain configured value • time alignment timer for CG-SDT expired (i.e. TA for CG-SDT not valid) • CG resources released (e.g., due to that the Time Alignment Timer for CG-SDT is not running) • RSRP based timing advance validation failed • SR delay timer for logical channel not running • Configured grant associated to one or more logical channels which are different from the logical channels for which the UE has data available for transmission • None of the SSBs configured for CG-SDT have a measured RSRP above the cg- SDT-RSRP-ThresholdSSB

[0079] According to this method, the UE may include one or more of the following information: the RSRP value measured for each of the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; the RSRP value associated to the SSB with the best / highest RSRP value among the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; the RSRP value associated to the SSB with the worst / lowest RSRP value among the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; the average RSRP value measured across the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; the SSB indexes for each of the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; the SSB index of the SSB with the best / highest RSRP value among the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; the SSB index of the SSB with the worst / lowest RSRP value among the SSBs configured with CG-SDT; Any of the above methods, wherein rather than the RSRP value, the UE logs a percentage of the measured RSRP with respect to the RSRP threshold.

[0080] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and instead it performs a Random Access procedure using RACH resources associated with SDT (i.e. the UE performs RA-SDT), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that the RA-SDT procedure was triggered because CG- SDT could not be used. In this case, the UE may include a flag indicating that the RACH occurred in the RA-SDT (i.e. SDT applicable at MAC level), from which the network can FIG. out that the RACH resources for this RA attempt are RA-SDT resources; and a flag indicating that the RA-SDT resources where used because CG-SDT was not applicable. Inaddition or as an alternative to the above, the UE logs and reports an indication, indicating that CG-SDT was not possible due a specific reason (or combination of reasons), wherein the reasons could be the same as in the previous embodiments

[0081] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and not able to use RA-SDT (i.e. use RACH resources associated with SDT) and instead it performs a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that the Random Access procedure was triggered because neither CG-SDT nor RA-SDT could be used. In addition or as an alternative to the above, the UE logs and reports an indication, indicating that CG-SDT was not possible due a specific reason (or combination of reasons), and an indication indicating that RA-SDT was not possible due to a specific reason (or combination of reasons), or, alternatively, a single indication indicating that neither CG-SDT nor RA-SDT was possible due to a combination of reasons (e.g. one or more reason(s) for the inability to use CG-SDT and one or more reason(s) for the inability to use RA-SDT. Reasons for not being able to use CG-SDTthat could be included in the RA-Report can be the same as in the previous embodiment.

[0082] Reasons for not being able to use RA-SDT may e.g. include: • SDT RACH resources associated with SDT not available, • data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled, RSRP threshold criterion fulfilled, • data volume threshold criterion fulfilled, RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled, • data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled, • RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled, • data volume threshold and RSRP threshold criteria not fulfilled, • the time until the next RACH occasion for SDT exceeds a configured or UE implementation specific threshold. • CG-SDT conditions not fulfilled (as per previous embodiments) and RA-SDT resources not configured and / or RA-SDT resources not selectable. • The measured RSRP is below the RSRP threshold for CG-SDT, but above the RSRP threshold for RA-SDT. • The data volume pending transmission is too large to fit in a CG-SDT resource, but smaller than the data volume threshold for RA-SDT.

[0083] In various embodiments, any combination of one or more reasons for not being able to use CG-SDT and one or more reasons for not being able to use RA-SDT may be indicated. Indication(s) related to RACH partitioning

[0084] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure for SDT (RA-SDT) using RACH resources configured for SDT, and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions have been used due to not available RACH resources in the RACH partition for SDT. The lack of available RACH resources for SDT may be due to or result in: • The next RACH occasion for SDT is too long into the future, e.g. exceeding a certain time period, possibly depending on the properties of the pending data to be transmitted by the UE during the SDT procedure and / or expected to be received by the UE during the SDT procedure. • Too many failed attempts to perform RA-SDT using therefore associated RACH resources (e.g. caused by preamble collisions, e.g. because of overload of the RACH resources for SDT). • RA-SDT resources not configured. Indication(s) related to CG resources for SDT

[0085] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use Configured Grant resources for SDT transmission (initial transmission or subsequent transmission), and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions have been used instead of CG- SDT due to not available CG resources for SDT. If the UE used common RACH resources instead of RACH resource (e.g. a RA preamble partition) for RA-SDT, the UE may indicate in a Random Access report, the reason for not using RACH resources for RA-SDT when it could not use the resources for CG-SDT. Such reasons may include that the RSRPcondition and / or the data volume condition was / were not met for RA-SDT, or that the next RACH occasion for RA-SDT was too far into the future, or that too many consecutive attempts to perform RA-SDT failed, or that no RACH resources (e.g. no RA preamble partition) for RA-SDT were configured.

[0086] In other embodiments, when a UE is not able to use Configured Grant resources for SDT transmission (initial transmission or subsequent transmission), and instead it performs a Random Access procedure using RACH resources associated with SDT (i.e. the UE performs RA-SDT), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that RACH resources associated with SDT have been used instead of CG-SDT due to not sufficient CG resources for SDT. This may e.g. be because the RSRP condition was not fulfilled for CG-SDT (i.e. the RSRP was lower than the threshold), but was met for RA-SDT (i.e. the RSRP was higher than the threshold) and / or because volume of the pending data was too large for a CG-SDT resource, but lower than the data volume threshold for RA-SDT. The UE may indicate any of these reasons in the Random Access report. Indication(s) related to maximum time to next CG-SDT occasion

[0087] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that CG-SDT could not be initiated due to non-fulfillment of the criterion related to the maximum time to next CG occasion (e.g., the time to the next CG occasion is larger than the configured value of cg- SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion for the case of CG-SDT for MO-SDT, or the time to the next CG occasion is larger than the configured value of cg-MT-SDT- MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion for the case of CG-SDT for MT-SDT). Alternatively, the UE uses an implementation specific value for the maximum time until the next CG-SDT occasion. As one option, the UE implementation specific threshold value may be used only if there is not configured threshold value. Optionally, different maximum times, i.e. thresholds for the time until the next CG-SDT occasion, may be configured for MO-SDT and MT-SDT, or the UE may use different implementation-specific maximum times, i.e. thresholds for the time until the next CG-SDT occasion, for MO-SDT and MT-SDT. As a further option, the implementation specific threshold value for the time until the next CG-SDT occasion may depend on the properties of the pending data to be transmitted by the UE, and / or the properties of the data expected to be received by the UE, during the CG- SDT. In one non-limiting example of implementation, the UE includes in the Random Access report (e.g., in the ra-InformationCommon IE) a sdt-CgMaxDuration IE with value TRUE. In another example, if the UE used an implementation specific threshold for the maximum time until the next CG-SDT occasion, the UE includes in the Random Access report (e.g., in the ra-InformationCommon IE), optionally together with an sdt- CgMaxDuration IE, the value of the UE implementation specific threshold.

[0088] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, or in a similar embodiment, when a UE is not able to use CG-SDT and instead uses RACH resources associated with SDT (i.e. performs RA-SDT), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that CG-SDT could not be initiated due to: • time to next CG-SDT occasion criterion not fulfilled (e.g., the time to next CG occasion was higher than the value of the cg-SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG- Occasion parameter), where the value of cg-SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG- Occasion may be configured or UE implementation specific OR • the time to next CG-SDT occasion being strictly higher than (or higher than or equal to) a delta (offset) above the maximum duration to next CG occasion. For instance, the time to next CG-SDT occasion is higher than cg-SDT- MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion AND (at same time) strictly lower than a value (cg-SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion + Delta), with Delta>0. Or the the time to next CG occasion is higher than cg-SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG- Occasion AND (at same time) lower than or equal to cg-SDT- MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion + Delta), with Delta>0. In the above, the value of cg-SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion may be configured or UE implementation specific.

[0089] In one non-limiting example implementation, the UE includes in the ra- InformationCommon IE within a Random Access report (or in another part of the Random Access report) a durationToNextCG-OccasionWithinDeltaAboveMax IE with value TRUE. As a further option, the UE may include in the Random Access report (e.g. in the ra-InformationCommon IE) an indication of how much the time until the next available CG- SDT occasion exceeded the configured or UE implementation specific value of cg-SDT- MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion. Indication(s) related to Time Alignment Timer

[0090] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions or performs RA-SDT (i.e. SDT initiated through use of RACH resources associated with SDT), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that CG-SDT could not be initiated since the CG resources were released to expiry of Time Alignment Timer for CG- SDT (e.g., the timer cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer expired). In one non-limiting example of implementation, the UE includes in the Random Access report (e.g., in the ra- InformationCommon IE) a sdt-CgTAT-Expired IE with value TRUE. Indication(s) related to RSRP based TA validation

[0091] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that CG-SDT could not be initiated since the CG resources were available but the RSRP based TA validation based on RSRP change threshold failed (e.g., the timer cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer is not expired, but the RSRP based TA validation based on cg-SDT-RSRP-ChangeThreshold IE failed). In one non-limiting example of implementation, the UE includes in the Random Access report (e.g., in the ra-InformationCommon IE) a sdt-CgRSRPChange IE with value TRUE. As a further option, the UE may indicate in the Random Access report whether the RSRP had increased or decreased more than cg-SDT-RSRP-ChangeThreshold compared to the stored RSRP reference value. Indication(s) related to Logical Channel SR Delay Timer

[0092] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and it performs instead a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions or performs SDT using RACH resources associated with SDT (i.e. performs RA-SDT), the UE logs and reports in aRandom Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that CG-SDT could not be initiated to send BSR since the SR delay timer for the logical channel was not running and logical channel SR mask is false (e.g., logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer timer not running and logicalChannelSR-Mask is false). In one non-limiting example of implementation, the UE includes in the Random Access report (e.g., in the ra-InformationCommon IE) a sdt- CgSRDelayTimer IE with value TRUE.

[0093] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to use CG for SDT (CG-SDT) and not able to use RA-SDT, and instead performs a Random Access procedure using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions or performs SDT using RACH resources associated with SDT (i.e. performs RA-SDT), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that CG-SDT could not be initiated to send BSR since the SR delay timer for the logical channel was not running and logical channel SR mask is false (e.g., logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer timer not running and logicalChannelSR-Mask is false). In one non-limiting example of implementation, the UE includes in the Random Access report (e.g., in the ra- InformationCommon IE) a sdt-CgSRDelayTimer IE with value TRUE. As a further option, the UE may also include an indication indicating that it was not possible to perform SDT using RACH resources associated with SDT and optionally may also include an indication of the reason why it was not possible to perform SDT using RACH resources associated with SDT. This reason may be that the SR delay timer for the logical channel was not running and logical channel SR mask is false (e.g., logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer timer not running and logicalChannelSR-Mask is false) or any other reason previously or subsequently described herein. Optionally, if the reason why it was not possible to perform SDT using RACH resources associated with SDT is absent in the Random Access report, this absence is an implicit indication that the reason was the same as the reason why it was not possible to use CG-SDT, e.g. that the SR delay timer for the logical channel was not running and logical channel SR mask is false (e.g., logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer timer not running and logicalChannelSR-Mask is false). Indication(s) related to multiple criteria related to SDT procedure

[0094] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure for SDT (RA-SDT) and it performs instead a non-SDT related Random Access procedure, i.e., uses the common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging toavailable RA partitions to perform Random Access, the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report at least one indication, e.g., one flag, conveying information about the criteria used to check whether RA-SDT can be performed or not. The indications can indicate one of the following: • the criterion related to the data volume threshold was not fulfilled AND the criterion related to the RSRP threshold was fulfilled. - In one example, a flag (or other type of indication) indicates explicitly that “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled. - In another example, a flag (or other type of indication) indicates explicitly that “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and implicitly indicates that the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled (e.g. absence of an indication that the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled is an implicit indication that the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled). - In another example, a flag (or other type of indication) indicates explicitly that the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled and indicates implicitly that the “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled (e.g. absence of an indication that the “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled is an implicit indication that the “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled). • the criterion related to the data volume threshold was fulfilled AND the criterion related to the RSRP threshold was not fulfilled. - In one example, a flag (or other type of indication) indicates explicitly that “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled. - In another example, a flag (or other type of indication) indicates implicitly that “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and explicitly that the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled (e.g. absence of an indication that the “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled is an implicit indication that the “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled). - In another example, a flag (or other type of indication) indicates explicitly that the “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled and indicates implicitly that the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled (e.g. absence ofan indication that the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled is an implicit indication that the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled). • the criterion related to the data volume threshold was not fulfilled AND the criterion related to the RSRP threshold was not fulfilled - In one example, absence of a flag (or other type of indication) indicating that the “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled and / or that the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled implicitly indicates that the “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled. - In another example, the UE includes in the Random Access report a flag (or other type of indication) indicating that the “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and / or a flag (or other type of indication) indicating that the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled. - In another example, the UE includes in the Random Access report a single flag (or other type of indication) indicating that the “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and that the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled. • the criterion related to the data volume threshold not fulfilled AND the criterion related to the RSRP threshold was fulfilled, however, there was not enough RA- SDT resources available to perform SDT.

[0095] In one example implementation, the presence of a flag indicates that “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled.

[0096] In another example implementation, the absence of a flag indicates that “data volume threshold” criterion was not fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was fulfilled.

[0097] In yet another example implementation, the presence of a flag indicates that “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilled.

[0098] In yet another example implementation, the absence of a flag indicates that “data volume threshold” criterion was fulfilled and the “RSRP related criterion” was not fulfilledIndication(s) related to the data volume threshold criterion

[0099] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure for SDT (RA-SDT) and it performs instead a non-SDT related Random Access procedure (i.e. using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that SDT could not be initiated due to: • data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled (e.g., the volume of data pending transmission was higher than the value of the sdt-DataVolumeThreshold parameter) AND • the volume of data pending transmission being strictly lower than (or lower than or equal to) a delta (offset) above the data volume threshold used for determining whether SDT transmission is allowed or not allowed. For instance, the volume of data pending transmission was higher than sdt-DataVolumeThreshold AND (at same time) strictly lower than a value (sdt-DataVolumeThreshold + Delta), with Delta>0. Or the volume of data pending transmission was higher than sdt- DataVolumeThreshold AND (at same time) lower than or equal to sdt- DataVolumeThreshold + Delta), with Delta>0.

[0100] As another option, the indicated reason why the UE could not initiate RA-SDT is that the volume of data pending transmission was larger than sdt-DataVolumeThreshold.

[0101] In one non-limiting example implementation, the UE includes in the ra- InformationCommon IE within a Random Access report (or in another part of the Random Access report) a dataVolumeWithinDeltaAboveThreshold IE with value TRUE. In another non-limiting example implementation, the UE includes in the ra-InformationCommon IE within a Random Access report (or in another part of the Random Access report) a dataVolumeAboveThreshold IE with value TRUE. As a further option, the UE may include in the ra-InformationCommon IE within a Random Access report (or in another part of the Random Access report) an indication of how much the pending data volume exceeded sdt- DataVolumeThreshold.Indication(s) related to the RSRP threshold criterion

[0102] In some embodiments, when a UE is not able to perform Random Access procedure for SDT (RA-SDT) and it performs instead a non-SDT related Random Access procedure (i.e. using common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions), the UE logs and reports in a Random Access report an indication, e.g., a flag, indicating that SDT could not be initiated due to: • RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled (e.g., the last measured RSRP value preceding the transmission was lower than or equal to the value of the sdt-RSRP- Threshold parameter), AND • the measured RSRP preceding the RA procedure being less than – or less than or equal to - an offset (e.g. delta) lower than a certain reference value of RSRP. For instance, the measured RSRP preceding the RA procedure was less than – or less than or equal to - an offset (e.g., delta) lower than the measured RSRP of the DL pathloss reference indicated by the dlPathlossRSRP parameter in version 18.1.0 of 3GPP TS 38.331. As another example, the measured RSRP preceding the RA procedure was less than – or less then or equal to - an offset (e.g. delta) lower than sdt-RSRP-Threshold.

[0103] In one non-limiting example implementation, the UE includes in the ra- InformationCommon IE within a Random Access report (or in another part of the Random Access report) a rsrpWithinDeltaBelowThreshold IE with value TRUE. In another non- limiting example implementation, the UE includes in the ra-InformationCommon IE within a Random Access report (or in another part of the Random Access report) a rsrpBelowThreshold IE with value TRUE. Combinations of reasons for not being able to use CG-SDT and reasons for not being able to use RA-SDT

[0104] In some embodiments, a UE that supports CG-SDT and RA-SDT, which is operating, e.g. in RRC_INACTIVE state, in a system (i.e. a wireless network), which supports CG-SDT and RA-SDT, a UE (which is triggered internally or externally to use SDT) is unable to use CG-SDT and also unable to use RA-SDT (and may instead have used common RACH resources or any other RA resources belonging to available RA partitions to access the network). In these embodiments, the UE may indicate in a Random Accessreport that the UE was unable to use CG-SDT and / or that it was unable to use RA-SDT and optionally also one or more reason(s) why it was not able to use CG-SDT and / or one or more reason(s) why it was not able to used RA-SDT. In these cases (i.e. with these options), the UE may in these / this indication(s) combine any previously described reason(s) for not being able to use CG-SDT with any of the previously described reason(s) for not being able to use RA-SDT. Information related to RSRP for MT-SDT

[0105] When SDT is triggered by MO-SDT, the common RACH resource will be used for RA procedure, in one embodiment, the measured RSRP can be logged in RA report.

[0106] In some embodiments, the RSRP threshold can be logged in RA report. Besides, whether this threshold is configured by sdt-RSRP-ThresholdMT or sdt-RSRP-Threshold can be indicated. This information can be used by the network to optimize the RSRP threshold separately for MO-SDT and MT-SDT. Indication of other accessible RA partitions

[0107] In some embodiments the cell the UE accesses is assumed to support at least two different RA partitions, for specific features or access purposes such as access to specific network slices, access for specific features etc.

[0108] A UE that accesses any of such RA partitions or that access the common RACH resources includes in the RA report one or more of the following information: • A list of features that could have triggered access to a different RA partition • One or more used feature that could have triggered access to a different RA partition • One or more network slice identifier for slices that could have triggered access to a different RA partition • One or more process or procedure that could have triggered access to a different RA partition, such as Message 3 repetition or SDT transmission

[0109] With this information the network is able to determine that the UE, by means of internal behaviour decisions, has selected the RACH resources used to carry our RACH access, when it could have selected other RA resources. This information is useful in cases when e.g. a RA partition is overloaded. The network would then understand that theoverload is not due to the fact that there are not enough partitions, but it is because UEs take decisions driven by internal behaviours that result into a high volumes of RA into specific RA partitions or resources. The solution to this problem may therefore be to steer the UE behaviour towards selection of different available partitions, or on increasing the resources on the overloaded partitions, while reducing resources on less used partitions. Conditions for initiating RA-SDT and / or CG-SDT fulfilled at MAC layer

[0110] In other embodiments, the UE may set a flag in the RA-Report indicating that the random access procedure was initiated when SDT was configured and SDT was initiated by upper layers. Additionally, the UE may indicate whether the conditions for initiating RA-SDT and / or CG-SDT were fulfilled at MAC layer.

[0111] In another example, the sdt flag in the ra-purpose is not set, rather the UE always sets either the ra-SDT parameter or the noCG-SDT parameter, if the random access procedure is initiated when SDT was configured at the MAC entity and the SDT procedure was initiated by upper layers. Variations

[0112] A number of variations of the embodiments above are described hereafter, which can apply individually or in combination.

[0113] In one variation of the embodiments above, the indications logged and reported by the UE refer only to 2-step RA. In another variation of the embodiments above, the indications (or some of the indications) logged and reported by the UE refer only to 4-step RA. In another variation of the embodiments above, the indications (or some of the indications) logged and reported by the UE refers to both 2-step RA and to 4-step RA.

[0114] In one variation of the embodiments above the described indication(s) (or some of the described indication(s)) is(are) logged and / or reported by the UE only in case of CBRA. In another variation of the embodiments above the described indication(s) (or some of the described indication(s)) is(are) logged and / or reported by the UE only in case of CFRA. In yet another variation of the embodiments above the described indication(s) (or some of the described indication(s)) is(are) logged and / or reported by the UE both in case of CFRA and in case of CBRA.

[0115] In one variation of the embodiments above, the described indication(s) (or some of the described indication(s)) is(are) logged and / or reported by the UE irrespective ofwhether the pending data to be transmitted is mapped to DRB(s) or SRB(s). In another variation, the described indication(s) (or some of the described indication(s)) is(are) logged and / or reported by the UE only if the pending data to be transmitted is mapped to DRB(s). In yet another variation, the described indication(s) (or some of the described indication(s)) is(are) logged and / or reported by the UE only in case the pending data to be transmitted is mapped to SRB(s).

[0116] In one variation of the embodiments above, the indications (or some of the indications) logged and reported by the UE refer only to MO-SDT. In another variation of the embodiments above, the indications (or some of the indications) logged and reported by the UE refer only to MT-SDT. In another variation of the embodiments above, the indications (or some of the indications) logged and reported by the UE refer to both MO- SDT and to MT-SDT.

[0117] In one variation of the embodiments above, the UE logs and reports the indications described above in a UE report that is not a Random Access report, e.g., • in a Connection Establishment Failure (CEF) report • in a Successful Handover Report (SHR) • in a Successful PSCell Addition / Change Report (SPR) • in a new UE report Technical Specification Impact First example implementation

[0118] A first example implementation for TS 38.331 (V18.1.0) is provided below. In this implementation the raPurpose IE is extended to indicate that RA procedure using common RACH resources was performed instead of RA-SDT or CG-SDT (new text indicated with bold underline). The UEInformationResponse message is used by the UE to transfer information requested by the network. Signalling radio bearer: SRB1 or SRB2 (when logged measurement information is included) RLC-SAP: AM Logical channel: DCCH Direction: UE to network UEInformationResponse message -- ASN1START --START[… Skip Unchanged …] RA-Report-r16 ::= SEQUENCE { cellId-r16 CHOICE { cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16, pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16 }, ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL, raPurpose-r16 ENUMERATED {accessRelated, beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized, schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable, requestForOtherSI, msg3RequestForOtherSI-r17, lbtFailure-r18, noRASDT, noCGSDT, raSDT, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1}, ..., [[ spCellID-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL ]] [[ sdtType ENUMERATED{mt-sdt, mo-sdt} ]] } [… Skip Unchanged …] -- TAG-UEINFORMATIONRESPONSE-STOP -- ASN1STOP [… Skip Unchanged …] RA-Report field descriptions [… Skip Unchanged …] raPurpose This field is used to indicate the RA scenario for which the RA report entry is triggered. The RA accesses associated to Initial access from RRC_IDLE, RRC re-establishment procedure, transition from RRC-INACTIVE. The indicator beamFailureRecovery is used in case of successful beam failure recovery related RA procedure in the SpCell [3]. The indicator reconfigurationWithSync is used if the UE executes a reconfiguration with sync. The indicator ulUnSynchronized is used if the random access procedure is initiated in a SpCell by DL or UL data arrival during RRC_CONNECTED when the timeAlignmentTimer is not running in the PTAG or if the RA procedure is initiated in a serving cell by a PDCCH order [3]. The indicator schedulingRequestFailure is used in case of SR failures [3]. The indicator noPUCCHResourceAvailable is used when the UE has no valid SR PUCCH resources configured [3]. The indicator requestForOtherSI is used for MSG1 based on demand SI request. The indicator msg3RequestForOtherSI is used in case of MSG3 based SI request. The indication lbtFailure is used when the UE initiates RACH in SpCell due to consistent uplink LBT failures [3]. The indication noRASDT is used in case SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers, but no RA-SDT resources were used. The indication noCGSDT is used in case SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers and CG-SDT was configured but CG-SDT could not be performed according to TS 38.321 (section 5.27). The indication ra-SDT is used in case SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers, and RA-SDT resources were used The field can also be used for the SCG-related RA-Report when the raPurpose is set to beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized, schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable and lbtFailure. sdtType This field is used to indicate whether the random access procedure is initiated by MT-SDT or MO-SDT [… Skip Unchanged …]

[0119] In another embodiment, the UE may set a flag in the RA-Report indicating that the random access procedure was initiated when SDT was configured and SDT was initiated by upper layers. Additionally, the UE may indicate whether the conditions for initiating RA-SDT and / or CG-SDT were fulfilled at MAC layer.Second example of implementation

[0120] A second example implementation for TS 38.331 (V18.1.0) is provided below. In this implementation the raPurpose IE is extended to indicate that conditions to initiate RA-SDT and / or CG-SDT are fulfilled at MAC layer. (new text indicated with bold underline). The UEInformationResponse message is used by the UE to transfer information requested by the network. Signalling radio bearer: SRB1 or SRB2 (when logged measurement information is included) RLC-SAP: AM Logical channel: DCCH Direction: UE to network UEInformationResponse message -- ASN1START -- TAG-UEINFORMATIONRESPONSE-START [… Skip Unchanged …] RA-Report-r16 ::= SEQUENCE { cellId-r16 CHOICE { cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16, pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16 }, ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL, raPurpose-r16 ENUMERATED {accessRelated, beamFailureRecovery,reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized,schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable, requestForOtherSI, msg3RequestForOtherSI-r17, lbtFailure-r18, sdt, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1}, ..., [[ spCellID-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL ]] [[ ra-SDT BOOLEAN cg-SDT ENUMERATED {TRUE] ]] } [… Skip Unchanged …] -- --[… Skip Unchanged …]RA-Report field descriptions [… Skip Unchanged …] raPurpose This field is used to indicate the RA scenario for which the RA report entry is triggered. The RA accesses associated to Initial access from RRC_IDLE, RRC re-establishment procedure, transition from RRC-INACTIVE. The indicator beamFailureRecovery is used in case of successful beam failure recovery related RA procedure in the SpCell [3]. The indicator reconfigurationWithSync is used if the UE executes a reconfiguration with sync. The indicator ulUnSynchronized is used if the random access procedure is initiated in a SpCell by DL or UL data arrival during RRC_CONNECTED when the timeAlignmentTimer is not running in the PTAG or if the RA procedure is initiated in a serving cell by a PDCCH order [3]. The indicator schedulingRequestFailure is used in case of SR failures [3]. The indicator noPUCCHResourceAvailable is used when the UE has no valid SR PUCCH resources configured [3]. The indicator requestForOtherSI is used for MSG1 based on demand SI request. The indicator msg3RequestForOtherSI is used in case of MSG3 based SI request. The indication lbtFailure is used when the UE initiates RACH in SpCell due to consistent uplink LBT failures [3]. The indication sdt is used in case the random access procedure is initiated by the SDT procedure initiated by upper layers. The field can also be used for the SCG-related RA-Report when the raPurpose is set to beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized, schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable and lbtFailure. ra-SDT This field is set to false to indicate that RA-SDT resources were configured but RA-SDT was not used for the SDT procedure. This field is set to true to indicate that RA-SDT resources were configured and used for the SDT procedure noCG-SDT This field is used to indicate that CG-SDT was configured but was not used for the SDT procedure. [… Skip Unchanged …] Third example implementation

[0121] A third example implementation for TS 38.331 (V18.1.0) is provided below. In this implementation the sdt flag in the ra-purpose IE is not set. Rather, the UE always sets either the ra-SDT parameter or the noCG-SDT parameter, if the random access procedure is initiated when SDT was configured at the MAC entity and the SDT procedure was initiated by upper layers. This is illustrated in the following example. (new text indicated with bold underline) The UEInformationResponse message is used by the UE to transfer information requested by the network. Signalling radio bearer: SRB1 or SRB2 (when logged measurement information is included) RLC-SAP: AM Logical channel: DCCH Direction: UE to network UEInformationResponse message -- --[… Skip Unchanged …] RA-Report-r16 ::= SEQUENCE { cellId-r16 CHOICE { cellGlobalId-r16 CGI-Info-Logging-r16, pci-arfcn-r16 PCI-ARFCN-NR-r16 }, ra-InformationCommon-r16 RA-InformationCommon-r16 OPTIONAL, raPurpose-r16 ENUMERATED {accessRelated, beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized, schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable, requestForOtherSI,msg3RequestForOtherSI-r17, lbtFailure-r18, spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3, spare2, spare1}, ..., [[ spCellID-r17 CGI-Info-Logging-r16 OPTIONAL ]] [[ ra-SDT BOOLEAN cg-SDT ENUMERATED {TRUE] ]] } [… Skip Unchanged …] -- --RA-Report field descriptions [… Skip Unchanged …] raPurpose This field is used to indicate the RA scenario for which the RA report entry is triggered. The RA accesses associated to Initial access from RRC_IDLE, RRC re-establishment procedure, transition from RRC-INACTIVE. The indicator beamFailureRecovery is used in case of successful beam failure recovery related RA procedure in the SpCell [3]. The indicator reconfigurationWithSync is used if the UE executes a reconfiguration with sync. The indicator ulUnSynchronized is used if the random access procedure is initiated in a SpCell by DL or UL data arrival during RRC_CONNECTED when the timeAlignmentTimer is not running in the PTAG or if the RA procedure is initiated in a serving cell by a PDCCH order [3]. The indicator schedulingRequestFailure is used in case of SR failures [3]. The indicator noPUCCHResourceAvailable is used when the UE has no valid SR PUCCH resources configured [3]. The indicator requestForOtherSI is used for MSG1 based on demand SI request. The indicator msg3RequestForOtherSI is used in case of MSG3 based SI request. The indication lbtFailure is used when the UE initiates RACH in SpCell due to consistent uplink LBT failures [3]. The field can also be used for the SCG-related RA-Report when the raPurpose is set to beamFailureRecovery, reconfigurationWithSync, ulUnSynchronized, schedulingRequestFailure, noPUCCHResourceAvailable and lbtFailure. ra-SDT If the random access procedure is initiated when SDT is configured and SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers, this field is either set to false to indicate that RA-SDT resources were configured but RA- SDT was not used for the SDT procedure; or it is set to true to indicate that RA-SDT resources were configured and used for the SDT procedure noCG-SDT If the random access procedure is initiated when SDT is configured and SDT procedure is initiated by upper layers, this field is used to indicate that CG-SDT was configured but was not used for the SDT procedure [… Skip Unchanged …] Fourth example implementation

[0122] A fourth example implementation for TS 38.331 (V18.1.0) is provided below. In this implementation the RA-InformationCommon IE or the RA-Report is extended to indicate that RA-SDT could not be attempted due to one or more of the conditions for initiating SDT on RA-SDT resources were not fullfilled, or CG-SDT could not be attempted due to one or more of the conditions for initiating SDT on CG-SDT resources were not fullfilled. In the following, as an example, we use an ENUMERATED field but a list could be used to represent the one or more conditions that were not fulfilled for initiating an RA-SDT or CG-SDT procedure. (new text indicated with bold underline) The UEInformationResponse message is used by the UE to transfer information requested by the network. Signalling radio bearer: SRB1 or SRB2 (when logged measurement information is included)RLC-SAP: AM Logical channel: DCCH Direction: UE to network UEInformationResponse message -- ASN1START-- TAG-UEINFORMATIONRESPONSE-STOP -- ASN1STOP [… Skip Unchanged …] RA-InformationCommon field descriptions [… Skip Unchanged …] sdt-RACH-ResourcesNotAvailable This field is included if RA-SDT transmission could not attempted due to no dedicated SDT RACH resources available. Otherwise, the field is absent. sdt-CG-ResourcesNotAvailable This field is included if CG-SDT transmission could not attempted due to no CG resources available. Otherwise, the field is absent. [… Skip Unchanged …] Fifth example of implementation

[0123] A fifth example implementation for TS 38.331 (V18.1.0) is provided below. In this implementation, the RA-InformationCommon IE is extended to indicate that CG-SDT transmission could not attempted due to the time to the next CG occasion being larger than the maximum configured value. (new text indicated with bold underline) The UEInformationResponse message is used by the UE to transfer information requested by the network. Signalling radio bearer: SRB1 or SRB2 (when logged measurement information is included) RLC-SAP: AM Logical channel: DCCHDirection: UE to network UEInformationResponse message -- ASN1START -- TAG-UEINFORMATIONRESPONSE-START [… Skip Unchanged …] OPTIONAL[… Skip Unchanged …] RA-InformationCommon field descriptions [… Skip Unchanged …] sdt-CgMaxDuration This field is included if CG-SDT transmission could not attempted due to the time to the next CG occasion being larger than the configured value of cg-SDT-MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion, or the time to the next CG occasion being larger than the configured value of cg-MT-SDT- MaxDurationToNextCG-Occasion. Otherwise, the field is absent. [… Skip Unchanged …] FurtherDisclosure

[0124] FIG.6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0125] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), 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 notnecessarily 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 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 602 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 602, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.

[0126] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near- real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an 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 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0127] 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 600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate orparticipate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0128] The UEs 612 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 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 602.

[0129] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 616. 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 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) 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 608. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0130] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunication network 602. The host 616 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, functionsfor controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0131] As a whole, the communication system 600 of FIG.6 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.

[0132] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 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 IoT services to yet further UEs.

[0133] In some examples, the UEs 612 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 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. 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).

[0134] In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 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 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 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 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0135] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 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 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub – that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 610b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0136] FIG.7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 700 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 612 of FIG.1. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB- IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0137] 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).

[0138] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a power source 708, a memory 710, a communication interface 712, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG.7. 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.

[0139] The processing circuitry 702 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to executeinstructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 710. The processing circuitry 702 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 702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0140] In the example, the input / output interface 706 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 700. 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.

[0141] In some embodiments, the power source 708 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 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0142] The memory 710 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 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0143] The memory 710 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 710 may allow the UE 700 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 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0144] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712. The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 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 718 and / or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0145] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 712 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.

[0146] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, 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).

[0147] 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.

[0148] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) 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 IoT 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, anelectrical 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 IoT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 700 shown in FIG.7.

[0149] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0150] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0151] FIG.8 shows a network node 800 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).

[0152] 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).

[0153] 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).

[0154] The network node 800 includes a processing circuitry 802, a memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808. The network node 800 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 800 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 800 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, 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 800.

[0155] The processing circuitry 802 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 800 components, such as the memory 804, to provide network node 800 functionality.

[0156] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814 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 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0157] The memory 804 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 802. The memory 804 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 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and memory 804 is integrated.

[0158] The communication interface 806 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 806 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio front-end circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. Radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to an antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 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 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 820 and / or amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0159] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818, instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio front-end circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0160] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0161] The antenna 810, communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 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 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 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.

[0162] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 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 808. As a further example, the power source 808 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.

[0163] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG.8 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 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG.6, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 818 and the RF transceiver circuitry 812 may be omitted.

[0164] FIG.9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 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 includevirtualizing 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 900 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 900 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.

[0165] Applications 902 (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.

[0166] Hardware 904 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 906 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 908a and 908b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 908), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 906 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 908.

[0167] The VMs 908 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 906. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 902 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 908, 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 ontoindustry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0168] In the context of NFV, a VM 908 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 908, and that part of hardware 904 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 908 on top of the hardware 904 and corresponds to the application 902.

[0169] Hardware 904 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 904 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 910, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 902. In some embodiments, hardware 904 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 912 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0170] 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, whilecomponents 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.

[0171] 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.EMBODIMENTS Group A Embodiments 1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for performing a Random Access, RA, procedure, the UE being configured to use Small Data Transmission, STD, resources for performing RA, the method comprising: determining that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure; as a result of determining that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure, performing the RA procedure using Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH, resources; and transmitting, to a network node, information related to conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure. Group B Embodiments 2. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: configuring a user equipment, UE, to perform a Random Access, RA, procedure using Small Data Transmission, STD, resources; subsequently performing RA with the UE using Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH, resources; and receiving, from the UE, information related to conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure. Group C Embodiments 3. A user equipment for performing a Random Access, RA, procedure, the UE being configured to use Small Data Transmission, STD, resources for performing RA, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. 4. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.configuredconfiguredconfiguredconfiguredconfiguredconfiguredconfigured

Claims

Claims What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for performing a Random Access, RA, procedure, the UE being configured to use Small Data Transmission, STD, resources for performing RA, the method comprising: determining (402) that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure; as a result of determining that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure, performing (404) the RA procedure using Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH, resources not dedicated for SDT; and transmitting (406), to a network node, information related to conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure comprises detecting either one or both of: RA-SDT resources are not configured; and one or more conditions for RA-SDT initiation are not fulfilled.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting one or more conditions for RA-SDT initiation are not fulfilled comprises detecting any one or more of: RACH resources associated with SDT not available or not configured; RACH resources associated with SDT are congested; data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled, RSRP threshold criterion fulfilled; data volume threshold criterion fulfilled, RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled; data volume threshold criterion not fulfilled; RSRP threshold criterion not fulfilled; data volume threshold and RSRP threshold criteria not fulfilled;time until a next RACH occasion for SDT exceeds a configured or UE implementation specific threshold; and data volume threshold and RSRP threshold criteria fulfilled, but RACH resources associated with SDT are not available.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the UE is configured to use Configured Grant (CG) for SDT (CG-SDT), and wherein detecting one or more conditions for RA-SDT initiation are not fulfilled comprises detecting any one or more of: no CG-SDT resources configured; CG-SDT configured, but conditions for initiating CG-SDT not fulfilled; A current cell is not the last serving cell before UE goes to RRC_INACTIVE state; no CG-SDT resources and no RA-SDT resources available; a time gap between the initiation of the SDT procedure and a first available CG occasion for initial CG-SDT transmission is larger than a preconfigured value; time alignment timer for CG-SDT expired / invalid; CG resources released; RSRP based timing advance validation failed; SR delay timer for logical channel not running; configured grant associated to one or more logical channels which are different from the logical channels for which the UE has data available for transmission; and none of SSBs configured for CG-SDT have a measured RSRP above a predetermined cg-SDT-RSRP-ThresholdSSB.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting information related to conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure, comprise transmitting any one or more of: a random access report including one or more indications of conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure;a Connection Establishment Failure (CEF) report including one or more indications of conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure; a Successful Handover Report (SHR) including one or more indications of conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure; and a Successful PSCell Addition / Change Report (SPR) including one or more indications of conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure; 6. A user equipment for performing a Random Access, RA, procedure, the UE being configured to use Small Data Transmission, STD, resources for performing RA, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of claim 1; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

7. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: configuring a user equipment, UE, to perform a Random Access, RA, procedure using Small Data Transmission, STD, resources; subsequently performing RA with the UE using Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH, resources not dedicated for SDT; and receiving, from the UE, information related to conditions that caused the UE to determine that the UE is unable to use STD for performing the RA procedure.

8. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of claim 7; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

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