Method performed by apparatus, apparatus, processing device and storage medium, and method performed by base station and base station

Abstract

This apparatus may: receive a first random access channel occasion (RO)-related configuration and a second RO-related configuration for a cell; receive a downlink control information (DCI) format on the basis of a predetermined RNTI; and determine a plurality of ROs on the cell on the basis of the DCI format and at least one of the first RO-related configuration or the second RO-related configuration. The plurality of ROs may include first ROs based on the first RO-related configuration, and on the basis that the second RO-related configuration is activated by the DCI format, the plurality of ROs may further include second ROs based on the second RO-related configuration.

Description

Methods performed by devices, devices, processing devices and storage media, and methods performed by base stations and base stations

[0001] This specification relates to wireless communication systems.

[0002] Various devices and technologies, such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and smartphones and tablet PCs (personal computers) that require high data transmission rates, are emerging and becoming widespread. Consequently, the amount of data required to be processed on cellular networks is rapidly increasing. To meet this rapidly increasing data processing demand, technologies such as carrier aggregation and cognitive radio are being developed to efficiently utilize more frequency bands, while multi-antenna technology and multi-BS cooperation technology are being developed to increase the data capacity transmitted within a limited frequency range.

[0003] As more and more communication devices demand greater capacity, the need for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) communications is emerging, surpassing legacy radio access technology (RAT). Furthermore, massive machine type communication (mMTC), which connects multiple devices and objects to provide diverse services anytime, anywhere, is a key issue to be considered in next-generation communications.

[0004] Additionally, discussions are underway on communication systems designed to accommodate reliability- and latency-sensitive services and user equipment (UE). The introduction of next-generation wireless access technologies is being discussed, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), mMTC, and ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC).

[0005] As the number of services / UEs that a network must support rapidly increases, the need for energy conservation in the network as well as power conservation in the UE is also gradually increasing.

[0006] One technical task of this specification is to provide methods and processes for network energy conservation.

[0007] Another technical challenge of this specification is to provide methods and processes for transmitting downlink signals so as to enable network energy conservation.

[0008] The technical tasks that this specification aims to achieve are not limited to the technical tasks mentioned above, and other technical tasks that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art related to this specification from the detailed description below.

[0009] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a device is provided. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided, comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a processing device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium is provided, storing at least one program code comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations. The method or the operations include: receiving a first random access channel occasion (RO)-related configuration and a second RO-related configuration for a cell; The method may include receiving a downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining a plurality of ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related configuration or the second RO-related configuration and the DCI format. The plurality of ROs may include first ROs based on the first RO-related configuration. Based on the second RO-related configuration being activated by the DCI format, the plurality of ROs may further include second ROs based on the second RO-related configuration.

[0010] The method in the device, or the operations in the device, processing device or storage medium, may further comprise: performing a random access channel transmission in at least one RO within the plurality of ROs on the cell.

[0011] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a base station is provided. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a base station is provided, comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations. The method or the operations may include: transmitting a first random access channel occasion (RO)-related configuration and a second RO-related configuration for a cell; transmitting a downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining a plurality of ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related configuration or the second RO-related configuration and the DCI format. The plurality of ROs may include first ROs based on the first RO-related configuration. Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs may further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings.

[0012] The method or the operations at the base station may further include: attempting to receive a random access channel in each of the plurality of ROs on the cell.

[0013] In each aspect of this specification, the predetermined RNTI may be an RNTI for paging.

[0014] In each aspect of this specification, whether the second RO related setting is activated can be indicated via the short messages field in the DCI format.

[0015] In each aspect of the present specification, based on whether the second RO-related setting is activated or not indicated through the short messages field in the DCI format, even if the short messages indicator field in the DCI format is set to a value indicating that the short messages field is reserved, at least one predetermined bit among the bits of the short messages field may not be reserved and may be used to indicate whether the second RO-related setting is activated or not.

[0016] In each aspect of this specification, the at least one predetermined bit may belong to the last three bits of the short messages field.

[0017] In each aspect of this specification, the second RO related setting may be activated based on at least one field in the DCI format being set to a specific value.

[0018] In each aspect of this specification, activation of the second RO related setting may be indicated based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to a first specific value.

[0019] In each aspect of this specification, based on the short message indicator field in the DCI format being set to '00',

[0020] In each aspect of this specification, whether the second RO related setting is activated can be determined or indicated based on the short messages field in the DCI format.

[0021] In each aspect of this specification, whether the second RO related setting is activated can be determined or indicated through the short messages field in the DCI format based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to '00'.

[0022] In each aspect of the present specification, whether the second RO related setting is activated can be determined or indicated through (L - M) bits among the last L bits of the DCI format based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to a value other than '00', where L is a predetermined positive integer, M is the number of bits for tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication and is determined based on the TRS set related setting.

[0023] In each aspect of this specification, the (L - M) bits may be the last (L - M) bits among the last L bits.

[0024] The above problem solving methods are only some of the examples of this specification, and various examples reflecting the technical features of this specification can be derived and understood by a person having ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field based on the detailed description below.

[0025] According to some implementations of this specification, methods and procedures for energy saving of a network, BS and / or UE may be provided.

[0026] According to some implementations of this specification, methods and procedures for transmitting downlink signals to enable energy conservation of a network, a BS and / or a UE may be provided.

[0027] The effects according to this specification are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art related to this specification from the detailed description below.

[0028] To aid in understanding implementations of this specification, the accompanying drawings, which are included as part of the detailed description, provide examples of implementations of this specification and, together with the detailed description, illustrate implementations of this specification:

[0029] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a communication system 1 to which implementations of the present specification are applied;

[0030] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating examples of communication devices capable of performing a method according to the present specification;

[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of a wireless device capable of performing implementation(s) of the present specification;

[0032] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a frame structure available in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) based wireless communication system;

[0033] Figure 5 illustrates a resource grid of slots;

[0034] FIG. 6 illustrates physical channels used in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-based communication system, which is an example of a wireless communication system, and a signal transmission / reception process using the channels;

[0035] Figure 7 illustrates synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) blocks (SSBs) on a cell.

[0036] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the bitmaps used to indicate which SSBs are actually transmitted;

[0037] Figure 9 illustrates a process for obtaining system information (SI);

[0038] Figure 10 illustrates a random access process that may be applied to implementation(s) of this specification;

[0039] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of time domain resource allocation of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and an example of time domain resource allocation of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) by a PDCCH;

[0040] Figure 12 illustrates discontinuous reception (DRX) operation;

[0041] Figure 13 illustrates a case where a Long DRX cycle and a Short DRX cycle are set;

[0042] Figure 14 illustrates an operation procedure in a BS supporting network energy saving (NES) technology;

[0043] FIG. 15 is an example of a procedure for carrier aggregation (CA) operation using an SSB-less secondary cell (SCell);

[0044] Figures 16 to 18 illustrate on-demand SIB1 transmission scenarios related to some implementations of the present specification;

[0045] Figure 19 illustrates an example of SSB transmission by a BS operating multiple frequency bands;

[0046] Figure 20 illustrates paging times according to several scenarios;

[0047] FIG. 21 illustrates the flow of uplink (UL) signal transmission in a UE according to some implementations of the present specification;

[0048] Figure 22 illustrates the flow of uplink (UL) signal reception at a BS according to some implementations of the present specification.

[0049] Hereinafter, implementations according to this specification will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The detailed description provided below, together with the attached drawings, is intended to describe exemplary implementations of this specification and is not intended to represent the only possible implementations of this specification. The detailed description below includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of this specification. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that this specification may be practiced without these specific details.

[0050] In some cases, to avoid ambiguity in the concepts of this specification, known structures and devices may be omitted or illustrated in block diagram form focusing on the core functions of each structure and device. Furthermore, identical components are described using the same drawing reference numerals throughout this specification.

[0051] In this specification, "A or B" can mean "only A", "only B", or "both A and B". In other words, in this specification, "A or B" can be interpreted as "A and / or B". For example, in this specification, "A, B or C" can mean "only A", "only B", "only C", or "any combination of A, B and C".

[0052] The slash ( / ) or comma used in this specification can mean "and / or." For example, "A / B" can mean "A and / or B." Accordingly, "A / B" can mean "only A," "only B," or "both A and B." For example, "A, B, C" can mean "A, B, or C."

[0053] In this specification, "at least one of A and B" may mean "only A", "only B" or "both A and B". Additionally, in this specification, the expressions "at least one of A or B" or "at least one of A and / or B" may be interpreted identically to "at least one of A and B".

[0054] Additionally, in this specification, “at least one of A, B and C” can mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B and C”. Additionally, “at least one of A, B or C” or “at least one of A, B and / or C” can mean “at least one of A, B and C”.

[0055] Additionally, in this specification, terms such as “first,” “second,” etc. are used only to distinguish one component from another and are not used to limit the components, and do not limit the order or importance between the components unless specifically limited. Accordingly, a first component in one embodiment of this specification may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly, a second component in one embodiment may be referred to as a first component in another embodiment.

[0056] In the following explanation, ‘when, if, in case of’ can be replaced with ‘based on’.

[0057] In this specification, "configured or pre-configured" information / state / parameters can be interpreted as information / state / parameters being provided / pre-provided to the UE through pre-defined signaling from the BS (e.g., system information block (SIB), medium access control (MAC), radio resource control (RRC)). In this specification, "defined or pre-defined" information / state / parameters can be interpreted as information that the BS and the UE know in advance or pre-store without signaling between the BS and the UE.

[0058] Technical features individually described within a single drawing in this specification may be implemented individually or simultaneously.

[0059] The techniques, devices, and systems described below can be applied to various wireless multiple access systems. Examples of multiple access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and multi-carrier frequency division multiple access (MC-FDMA) systems. CDMA can be implemented in wireless technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) or CDMA2000. TDMA can be implemented in wireless technologies such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) (i.e., GERAN). OFDMA can be implemented in wireless technologies such as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802-20, and E-UTRA (evolved-UTRA). UTRA is part of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System), and 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a part of E-UMTS that uses E-UTRA.3GPP LTE adopts OFDMA for the downlink (DL) and SC-FDMA for the uplink (UL). LTE-A (LTE-advanced) is an evolved form of 3GPP LTE.

[0060] For convenience of explanation, the following description assumes that this specification applies to 3GPP-based communication systems, such as LTE and NR. However, the technical features of this specification are not limited to this. For example, although the detailed description below is based on a mobile communication system corresponding to a 3GPP LTE / NR system, it can also be applied to any other mobile communication system, except for features specific to 3GPP LTE / NR.

[0061] For terms and technologies used in this specification that are not specifically explained, reference may be made to 3GPP-based standard documents, such as 3GPP TS 36.211, 3GPP TS 36.212, 3GPP TS 36.213, 3GPP TS 36.321, 3GPP TS 36.300 and 3GPP TS 36.331, 3GPP TS 37.213, 3GPP TS 38.211, 3GPP TS 38.212, 3GPP TS 38.213, 3GPP TS 38.214, 3GPP TS 38.300, 3GPP TS 38.304, 3GPP TS 38.331, etc.

[0062] In the examples of this specification described below, the expression "assumes" that a device "assumes" that the entity transmitting the channel transmits the channel in a manner consistent with the "assume." The entity receiving the channel may mean that, under the assumption that the channel was transmitted in a manner consistent with the "assume," the entity receiving the channel receives or decodes the channel in a manner consistent with the "assume."

[0063] In this specification, UE may be fixed or mobile, and includes various devices that communicate with a BS (base station) to transmit and / or receive user data and / or various control information. UE may be called (Terminal Equipment), MS (Mobile Station), MT (Mobile Terminal), UT (User Terminal), SS (Subscribe Station), wireless device, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), wireless modem, handheld device, etc. In addition, in this specification, BS generally refers to a fixed station that communicates with UE and / or other BS, and exchanges various data and control information with UE and other BS. BS may be called by other terms such as ABS (Advanced Base Station), NB (Node-B), eNB (evolved-NodeB), BTS (Base Transceiver System), Access Point, PS (Processing Server), etc. In particular, the BS in UTRAN is called a Node-B, the BS in E-UTRAN is called an eNB, and the BS in a new radio access technology network is called a gNB. For convenience of explanation, BSs are collectively referred to as BSs below, regardless of the type or version of communication technology.

[0064] In this specification, a node refers to a fixed point that can transmit / receive radio signals by communicating with a UE. Various types of BSs can be used as nodes regardless of their names. For example, BSs, NBs, eNBs, pico-cell eNBs (PeNBs), home eNBs (HeNBs), relays, and repeaters can be nodes. Furthermore, a node may not be a BS. For example, it can be a radio remote head (RRH) or a radio remote unit (RRU). RRHs, RRUs, etc. generally have a lower power level than the BS. Since an RRH or RRU (hereinafter referred to as RRH / RRU) is generally connected to a BS via a dedicated line such as an optical cable, cooperative communication between an RRH / RRU and a BS can be performed more smoothly than cooperative communication between BSs that are generally connected via a wireless line. Each node is equipped with at least one antenna. The antenna may be a physical antenna, an antenna port, a virtual antenna, or an antenna group. A node is also called a point.

[0065] In this specification, a cell refers to a certain geographical area where one or more nodes provide communication services. Therefore, in this specification, communicating with a specific cell may mean communicating with a BS or node that provides communication services to the specific cell. In addition, the downlink / uplink signal of a specific cell refers to a downlink / uplink signal from / to a BS or node that provides communication services to the specific cell. A cell that provides uplink / downlink communication services to a UE is specifically referred to as a serving cell. In addition, the channel state / quality of a specific cell refers to the channel state / quality of a channel or communication link formed between a BS or node that provides communication services to the specific cell and the UE. In a 3GPP-based communication system, a UE can measure a downlink channel state from a specific node using CRS (Cell-specific Reference Signal) resources transmitted by antenna port(s) of the specific node on CRS resources allocated to the specific node and / or CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) resources transmitted.

[0066] Meanwhile, 3GPP-based communication systems use the concept of cells to manage radio resources, and cells associated with radio resources are distinguished from cells in geographical areas.

[0067] A "cell" in a geographical area can be understood as the coverage over which a node can provide a service using a carrier, and a "cell" in a radio resource is associated with a bandwidth (BW), which is a frequency range configured by the carrier. Since downlink coverage, which is the range over which a node can transmit a valid signal, and uplink coverage, which is the range over which a node can receive a valid signal from a UE, depend on the carrier carrying the signal, the coverage of a node is also associated with the coverage of the "cell" of the radio resource used by the node. Therefore, the term "cell" can sometimes be used to mean the coverage of a service by a node, sometimes a radio resource, and sometimes the range over which a signal using the radio resource can reach with a valid intensity.

[0068] Meanwhile, the 3GPP communication standard uses the concept of a cell to manage radio resources. A "cell" associated with radio resources is defined as a combination of downlink resources (DL resources) and uplink resources (UL resources), i.e., a combination of a DL component carrier (CC) and an UL CC. A cell can be configured with DL resources alone or a combination of DL resources and UL resources. If carrier aggregation is supported, the linkage between the carrier frequency of the DL resources (or DL ​​CC) and the carrier frequency of the UL resources (or UL CC) can be indicated by system information. For example, the combination of DL resources and UL resources can be indicated by a System Information Block Type 2 (SIB2) linkage. Here, the carrier frequency can be the same as or different from the center frequency of each cell or CC. When carrier aggregation (CA) is established, the UE has only one radio resource control (RRC) connection with the network. One serving cell provides non-access stratum (NAS) mobility information during RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, and one serving cell provides security input during RRC connection re-establishment / handover. Such a cell is called a primary cell (Pcell). A Pcell is a cell operating on the primary frequency where the UE performs initial connection establishment procedures or initiates connection re-establishment procedures.Depending on the UE capability, secondary cells (Scells) can be configured to form a set of serving cells together with Pcells. An Scell ​​can be configured after an RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection establishment has been made, and is a cell that provides additional radio resources in addition to the resources of a special cell (SpCell). The carrier corresponding to a Pcell in downlink is called a downlink primary CC (DL PCC), and the carrier corresponding to a Pcell in uplink is called an UL primary CC (UL PCC). The carrier corresponding to an Scell ​​in downlink is called a DL secondary CC (DL SCC), and the carrier corresponding to the Scell ​​in uplink is called an UL secondary CC (UL SCC).

[0069] For a UE for which CA is set and DC is not set, a Pcell PUCCH group (also referred to as a primary PUCCH group) consisting of a Pcell and zero or more Scells and a Scell ​​PUCCH group (also referred to as a secondary PUCCH group) consisting of only Scell(s) may be set. In the case of an Scell, an Scell ​​(hereinafter referred to as a PUCCH Scell) on which a PUCCH associated with the cell is transmitted may be set. An Scell ​​for which a PUCCH Scell ​​is indicated belongs to an Scell ​​PUCCH group (i.e., a secondary PUCCH group), and PUCCH transmission of the relevant UCI is performed on the PUCCH Scell, and an Scell ​​for which a PUCCH Scell ​​is not indicated or which is a Pcell and is indicated as a cell for PUCCH transmission belongs to a Pcell PUCCH group (i.e., a primary PUCCH group), and PUCCH transmission of the relevant UCI is performed on the Pcell. Hereinafter, if a UE is configured with an SCG and some implementations of this specification related to PUCCH are applied to the SCG, the primary cell may refer to a PSCell of the SCG. If a UE is configured with a PUCCH Scell ​​and some implementations of this specification related to PUCCH are applied to a secondary PUCCH group, the primary cell may refer to a PUCCH Scell ​​of the secondary PUCCH group.

[0070] In a wireless communication system, a UE receives information from a base station (BS) via the downlink (DL), and the UE transmits information to the base station via the uplink (UL). The information transmitted and / or received by the BS and UE includes data and various control information, and various physical channels exist depending on the type and purpose of the information they transmit and / or receive.

[0071] 3GPP-based communication standards define downlink physical channels corresponding to resource elements that carry information originating from higher layers, and downlink physical signals corresponding to resource elements that are used by the physical layer but do not carry information originating from higher layers. For example, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) are defined as downlink physical channels, and reference signals and synchronization signals are defined as downlink physical signals. A reference signal (RS), also referred to as a pilot, refers to a signal with a predefined special waveform that is known to the BS and the UE. For example, the demodulation reference signal (DMRS), the channel state information RS (CSI-RS), and the positioning reference signal (PRS) are defined as downlink reference signals. 3GPP-based communication standards define uplink physical channels corresponding to resource elements that carry information originating from higher layers, and uplink physical signals corresponding to resource elements that are used by the physical layer but do not carry information originating from higher layers.For example, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical random access channel (PRACH) are defined as uplink physical channels, and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) for uplink control / data signals and a sounding reference signal (SRS) used for uplink channel measurement are defined.

[0072] In this specification, PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control CHannel) refers to a set of time-frequency resources (e.g., resource elements (REs)) that carry DCI (Downlink Control Information), and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared CHannel) refers to a set of time-frequency resources that carry downlink data. In addition, PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control CHannel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared CHannel), and PRACH (Physical Random Access CHannel) refer to sets of time-frequency resources that carry UCI (Uplink Control Information), uplink data, and random access signals, respectively (respectively). Hereinafter, the expression that a user equipment transmits / receives a PUCCH / PUSCH / PRACH is used with the same meaning as that uplink control information / uplink data / random access signals are transmitted / received on or through the PUCCH / PUSCH / PRACH, respectively. Additionally, the expression that BS transmits / receives PBCH / PDCCH / PDSCH is used with the same meaning as transmitting broadcast information / downlink control information / downlink data on or through PBCH / PDCCH / PDSCH, respectively.

[0073] In this specification, radio resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) scheduled or configured by the BS to the UE for transmission or reception of PUCCH / PUSCH / PDSCH are also referred to as PUCCH / PUSCH / PDSCH resources.

[0074] Since the communication device receives a synchronization signal (SS), DMRS, CSI-RS, PRS, PBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and / or PUCCH in the form of radio signals on a cell, it cannot selectively receive through an RF receiver only radio signals including only a specific physical channel or only a specific physical signal, or selectively receive through an RF receiver only radio signals excluding only a specific physical channel or only a physical signal. In actual operation, the communication device first receives radio signals on a cell through an RF receiver, converts the radio signals, which are RF band signals, into baseband signals, and decodes a physical signal and / or a physical channel within the baseband signals using one or more processors. Thus, in some implementations of the present specification, not receiving a physical signal and / or a physical channel may not actually mean that the communication device does not receive wireless signals containing the physical signal and / or physical channel at all, but rather that it does not attempt to recover the physical signal and / or physical channel from the wireless signals, e.g., does not attempt to decode the physical signal and / or the physical channel.

[0075] As more and more communication devices demand greater communication capacity, the need for improved mobile broadband communication over existing radio access technology (RAT) is emerging. Furthermore, massive MTC, which connects numerous devices and objects to provide diverse services anytime, anywhere, is also a key issue to be considered in next-generation communications. Furthermore, communication system design that considers reliability and latency-sensitive services / UEs is being discussed. The introduction of next-generation RATs that take advanced mobile broadband communication, massive MTC, and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication) into account is currently under discussion. 3GPP is currently conducting studies on next-generation mobile communication systems beyond EPC. For convenience, this technology is referred to as new RAT (NR) or 5G RAT, and a system that uses or supports NR is referred to as an NR system.

[0076] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system 1 to which implementations of the present specification are applied. Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system (1) applied to the present specification includes a wireless device, a BS, and a network. Here, the wireless device refers to a device that performs communication using a wireless access technology (e.g., 5G NR (New RAT), LTE (e.g., E-UTRA)) and may be referred to as a communication / wireless / 5G device. Although not limited thereto, the wireless device may include a robot (100a), a vehicle (100b-1, 100b-2), an XR (eXtended Reality) device (100c), a hand-held device (100d), a home appliance (100e), an IoT (Internet of Things) device (100f), and an AI device / server (400). For example, the vehicle may include a vehicle equipped with a wireless communication function, an autonomous vehicle, a vehicle capable of performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication, etc. Here, the vehicle may include an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (e.g., a drone). XR devices include AR (Augmented Reality) / VR (Virtual Reality) / MR (Mixed Reality) devices, and may be implemented in the form of a Head-Mounted Device (HMD), a Head-Up Display (HUD) installed in a vehicle, a television, a smartphone, a computer, a wearable device, a home appliance, digital signage, a vehicle, a robot, etc. Mobile devices may include a smartphone, a smart pad, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart glasses), a computer (e.g., a laptop, etc.), etc. Home appliances may include a TV, a refrigerator, a washing machine, etc. IoT devices may include sensors, smart meters, etc. For example, a BS or network may also be implemented as a wireless device, and a specific wireless device may act as a BS / network node to other wireless devices.

[0077] Wireless devices (100a to 100f) can be connected to a network (300) via a BS (200). Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology can be applied to the wireless devices (100a to 100f), and the wireless devices (100a to 100f) can be connected to an AI server (400) via a network (300). The network (300) can be configured using a 3G network, a 4G (e.g., LTE) network, a 5G (e.g., NR) network, etc. The wireless devices (100a to 100f) can communicate with each other via the BS (200) / network (300), but can also communicate directly (e.g., sidelink communication) without going through the BS / network. For example, vehicles (100b-1, 100b-2) can communicate directly (e.g., V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) / V2X (Vehicle to Everything) communication). In addition, IoT devices (e.g., sensors) can communicate directly with other IoT devices (e.g., sensors) or other wireless devices (100a to 100f).

[0078] Wireless communication / connection (150a, 150b) can be performed between wireless devices (100a~100f) / BS (200) - BS (200) / wireless devices (100a~100f). Here, the wireless communication / connection can be performed through various wireless access technologies (e.g., 5G NR) for uplink / downlink communication (150a) and sidelink communication (150b) (or D2D communication). Through the wireless communication / connection (150a, 150b), the wireless device and the BS / wireless device can transmit / receive wireless signals to / from each other. To this end, at least some of various configuration information setting processes for transmitting / receiving wireless signals, various signal processing processes (e.g., channel encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, resource mapping / demapping, etc.), and resource allocation processes can be performed based on various proposals of this specification.

[0079] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating examples of communication devices capable of performing a method according to the present specification. Referring to FIG. 2, a first wireless device (100) and a second wireless device (200) can transmit and / or receive wireless signals via various wireless access technologies (e.g., LTE, NR). Here, {the first wireless device (100), the second wireless device (200)} can correspond to {the wireless device (100x), the BS (200)} and / or {the wireless device (100x), the wireless device (100x)} of FIG. 1.

[0080] A first wireless device (100) includes one or more processors (102) and one or more memories (104), and may further include one or more transceivers (106) and / or one or more antennas (108). The processor (102) controls the memories (104) and / or the transceivers (106), and may be configured to implement functions, procedures, and / or methods described / suggested below. For example, the processor (102) may process information in the memory (104) to generate first information / signals, and then transmit a wireless signal including the first information / signals via the transceivers (106). In addition, the processor (102) may receive a wireless signal including second information / signals via the transceivers (106), and then store information obtained from signal processing of the second information / signals in the memory (104). The memory (104) may be connected to the processor (102) and may store various information related to the operation of the processor (102). For example, the memory (104) may perform some or all of the processes controlled by the processor (102), or may store software code including commands for performing the procedures and / or methods described / proposed below. Here, the processor (102) and the memory (104) may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement wireless communication technology (e.g., LTE, NR). The transceiver (106) may be connected to the processor (102) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas (108). The transceiver (106) may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver (106) may be used interchangeably with an RF (Radio Frequency) unit. In this specification, a wireless device may also mean a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0081] The second wireless device (200) includes one or more processors (202), one or more memories (204), and may further include one or more transceivers (206) and / or one or more antennas (208). The processor (202) controls the memories (204) and / or the transceivers (206), and may be configured to implement the functions, procedures, and / or methods described / suggested below. For example, the processor (202) may process information in the memory (204) to generate third information / signals, and then transmit a wireless signal including the third information / signals via the transceivers (206). In addition, the processor (202) may receive a wireless signal including fourth information / signals via the transceivers (206), and then store information obtained from signal processing of the fourth information / signals in the memory (204). The memory (204) may be connected to the processor (202) and may store various information related to the operation of the processor (202). For example, the memory (204) may perform some or all of the processes controlled by the processor (202), or may store software code including commands for performing the procedures and / or methods described / proposed below. Here, the processor (202) and the memory (204) may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement wireless communication technology (e.g., LTE, NR). The transceiver (206) may be connected to the processor (202) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas (208). The transceiver (206) may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver (206) may be used interchangeably with an RF unit. In this specification, a wireless device may also mean a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0082] The wireless communication technology implemented in the wireless device (100, 200) of the present specification may include not only LTE, NR, and 6G, but also Narrowband Internet of Things for low-power communication. At this time, for example, NB-IoT technology may be an example of LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology, and may be implemented with standards such as LTE Cat NB1 and / or LTE Cat NB2, and is not limited to the above-described names. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication technology implemented in the wireless device (XXX, YYY) of the present specification may perform communication based on LTE-M technology. At this time, for example, LTE-M technology may be an example of LPWAN technology, and may be called by various names such as eMTC (enhanced Machine Type Communication). For example, LTE-M technology can be implemented by at least one of various standards such as 1) LTE CAT 0, 2) LTE Cat M1, 3) LTE Cat M2, 4) LTE non-BL (non-Bandwidth Limited), 5) LTE-MTC, 6) LTE Machine Type Communication, and / or 7) LTE M, and is not limited to the above-described names. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication technology implemented in the wireless device (XXX, YYY) of the present specification can include at least one of ZigBee, Bluetooth, and Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) considering low-power communication, and is not limited to the above-described names. For example, ZigBee technology can create personal area networks (PAN) related to small / low-power digital communication based on various standards such as IEEE 802.15.4, and can be called by various names.

[0083] Hereinafter, hardware elements of the wireless device (100, 200) will be described in more detail. Although not limited thereto, one or more protocol layers may be implemented by one or more processors (102, 202). For example, one or more processors (102, 202) may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as a physical (PHY) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer). One or more processors (102, 202) may generate one or more protocol data units (PDUs) and / or one or more service data units (SDUs) according to the functions, procedures, proposals, and / or methods disclosed in this specification. One or more processors (102, 202) may generate messages, control information, data or information according to the functions, procedures, proposals and / or methods disclosed in this specification. One or more processors (102, 202) may generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information according to the functions, procedures, proposals and / or methods disclosed in this specification, and provide the signals to one or more transceivers (106, 206). One or more processors (102, 202) may receive signals (e.g., baseband signals) from one or more transceivers (106, 206) and obtain PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information according to the functions, procedures, proposals and / or methods disclosed in this specification.

[0084] One or more processors (102, 202) may be referred to as a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or a microcomputer. One or more processors (102, 202) may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), one or more Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) may be included in one or more processors (102, 202). The functions, procedures, proposals, and / or methods disclosed in this specification may be implemented using firmware or software, and the firmware or software may be implemented to include modules, procedures, functions, etc. Firmware or software configured to perform the functions, procedures, suggestions and / or methods disclosed in this specification may be included in one or more processors (102, 202) or stored in one or more memories (104, 204) and executed by one or more processors (102, 202). The functions, procedures, suggestions and / or methods disclosed in this specification may be implemented using firmware or software in the form of codes, instructions and / or sets of instructions.

[0085] One or more memories (104, 204) may be coupled to one or more processors (102, 202) and may store various forms of data, signals, messages, information, programs, codes, instructions, and / or commands. The one or more memories (104, 204) may be configured as ROM, RAM, EPROM, flash memory, hard drives, registers, cache memory, computer-readable storage media, and / or combinations thereof. The one or more memories (104, 204) may be located internally and / or externally to the one or more processors (102, 202). Additionally, the one or more memories (104, 204) may be coupled to the one or more processors (102, 202) via various technologies, such as wired or wireless connections.

[0086] One or more transceivers (106, 206) may transmit user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., as described in the methods and / or flowcharts of this specification, to one or more other devices. One or more transceivers (106, 206) may receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., as described in the functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or flowcharts of this specification, from one or more other devices. For example, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be coupled to one or more processors (102, 202) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals. For example, one or more processors (102, 202) may control one or more transceivers (106, 206) to transmit user data, control information, or wireless signals to one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more processors (102, 202) may control one or more transceivers (106, 206) to receive user data, control information, or wireless signals from one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be coupled to one or more antennas (108, 208), and one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be configured to transmit and / or receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, or the like, as referred to in the functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in this specification, via one or more antennas (108, 208). In this specification, one or more antennas may be multiple physical antennas or multiple logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). One or more transceivers (106, 206) may convert received user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. from RF band signals to baseband signals for processing using one or more processors (102, 202).One or more transceivers (106, 206) may convert user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. processed by one or more processors (102, 202) from baseband signals to RF band signals. For this purpose, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may include an (analog) oscillator and / or filter.

[0087] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of a wireless device capable of performing implementation(s) of the present specification. Referring to FIG. 3, the wireless device (100, 200) corresponds to the wireless device (100, 200) of FIG. 2 and may be composed of various elements, components, units / units, and / or modules. For example, the wireless device (100, 200) may include a communication unit (110), a control unit (120), a memory unit (130), and additional elements (140). The communication unit may include a communication circuit (112) and a transceiver(s) (114). For example, the communication circuit (112) may include one or more processors (102, 202) and / or one or more memories (104, 204) of FIG. 2. For example, the transceiver(s) (114) may include one or more transceivers (106, 206) and / or one or more antennas (108, 208) of FIG. 2. The control unit (120) is electrically connected to the communication unit (110), the memory unit (130), and the additional elements (140) and controls the overall operation of the wireless device. For example, the control unit (120) may control the electrical / mechanical operation of the wireless device based on the program / code / command / information stored in the memory unit (130). In addition, the control unit (120) may transmit information stored in the memory unit (130) to an external device (e.g., another communication device) via a wireless / wired interface through the communication unit (110), or store information received from an external device (e.g., another communication device) via a wireless / wired interface in the memory unit (130).

[0088] The additional element (140) may be configured in various ways depending on the type of the wireless device. For example, the additional element (140) may include at least one of a power unit / battery, an input / output (I / O) unit, a driving unit, and a computing unit. Although not limited thereto, the wireless device may be implemented in the form of a robot (Fig. 1, 100a), a vehicle (Fig. 1, 100b-1, 100b-2), an XR device (Fig. 1, 100c), a portable device (Fig. 1, 100d), a home appliance (Fig. 1, 100e), an IoT device (Fig. 1, 100f), a UE for digital broadcasting, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, a medical device, a fintech device (or a financial device), a security device, a climate / environmental device, an AI server / device (Fig. 1, 400), a BS (Fig. 1, 200), a network node, etc. Wireless devices may be mobile or stationary depending on the use / service.

[0089] In FIG. 3, various elements, components, units / parts, and / or modules within the wireless device (100, 200) may be entirely interconnected via a wired interface, or at least some may be wirelessly connected via a communication unit (110). For example, within the wireless device (100, 200), the control unit (120) and the communication unit (110) may be wired, and the control unit (120) and a first unit (e.g., 130, 140) may be wirelessly connected via the communication unit (110). In addition, each element, component, unit / part, and / or module within the wireless device (100, 200) may further include one or more elements. For example, the control unit (120) may be composed of one or more processor sets. For example, the control unit (120) may be composed of a set of a communication control processor, an application processor, an electronic control unit (ECU), a graphics processing processor, a memory control processor, etc. As another example, the memory unit (130) may be composed of RAM (Random Access Memory), DRAM (Dynamic RAM), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, transitory memory, non-transitory memory, and / or a combination thereof.

[0090] In this specification, at least one memory (e.g., 104 or 204) can store instructions or programs that, when executed, cause at least one processor operably connected to the at least one memory to perform operations according to some embodiments or implementations of the present specification.

[0091] In this specification, a computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium can store at least one instruction or computer program, which when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to perform operations according to some embodiments or implementations of this specification.

[0092] In this specification, a processing device or apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one computer memory operatively connected to the at least one processor. The at least one computer memory may store instructions or programs, which, when executed, cause at least one processor operatively connected to the at least one memory to perform operations according to some embodiments or implementations of the present specification.

[0093] In this specification, a computer program may be stored in at least one computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium and may include program code that, when executed, performs operations according to some implementations of the present specification or causes at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present specification. The computer program may be provided in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may include at least one computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium.

[0094] A communications device of the present specification comprises at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to said at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause said at least one processor to perform operations according to the example(s) of the present specification described below.

[0095] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a frame structure available in a 3GPP-based wireless communication system.

[0096] The structure of the frame in Fig. 4 is merely an example, and the number of subframes, the number of slots, and the number of symbols in the frame can be varied. In an NR system, OFDM numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing (SCS)) may be set differently between multiple cells aggregated to a single UE. Accordingly, the (absolute time) duration of a time resource (e.g., a subframe, a slot, or a transmission time interval (TTI)) consisting of the same number of symbols may be set differently between the aggregated cells. Here, the symbol may include an OFDM symbol (or a cyclic prefix - orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) symbol), an SC-FDMA symbol (or a discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol). In this specification, the terms symbol, OFDM-based symbol, OFDM symbol, CP-OFDM symbol, and DFT-s-OFDM symbols are interchangeable.

[0097] Referring to Figure 4, in the NR system, uplink and downlink transmissions are organized into frames. Each frame is T f = (△f max *N f / 100)*T c = 10 ms duration, divided into two half-frames of 5 ms each. Here, T is the basic time unit for NR. c = 1 / (△fmax *N f ) and △f max = 480*10 3 Hz, and N f =4096. For reference, T is the basic time unit for LTE. s = 1 / (△f ref *N f,ref ) and △f ref = 15*10 3 Hz, and N f,ref =2048. T s Wow T c is a constant κ = T s / T c = 64 relationship. Each half-frame consists of 5 subframes, and the duration of a single subframe is T. sf is 1ms. Subframes are further divided into slots, and the number of slots in a subframe depends on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot consists of 14 or 12 OFDM symbols based on the cyclic prefix. In the normal cyclic prefix (CP), each slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols, and in the case of the extended CP, each slot consists of 12 OFDM symbols. The numerology is exponentially scalable with the subcarrier spacing △f = 2. u *Depends on 15 kHz. The following table shows the subcarrier spacing for regular CP △f = 2. u *Number of OFDM symbols per slot at 15 kHz (N) slot symb ), number of slots per frame (N frame,u slot ) and the number of slots per subframe (N subframe,u slot ) is shown.

[0098]

[0099] The following table shows the subcarrier spacing for extended CP △f = 2. u*Indicates the number of OFDM symbols per slot, the number of slots per frame, and the number of slots per subframe at 15 kHz.

[0100]

[0101] For a subcarrier spacing setting u, slots are n in increasing order within a subframe. u s ∈ {0, ..., nsubframe,u slot - 1} and n in increasing order within the frame u s,f ∈ {0, ..., n frame,u slot - Numbered as 1}.

[0102] Figure 5 illustrates the resource grid of a slot. A slot contains multiple symbols (e.g., 14 or 12) in the time domain. For each numeral (e.g., subcarrier spacing) and carrier, a common resource block (CRB) N is indicated by higher layer signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC) signaling). start,u grid Starting from,N size,u grid,x *N RB sc Dog subcarriers and N subframe,u symb A resource grid of OFDM symbols is defined, where N size,u grid,x is the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the resource grid, and the subscript x is DL for downlink and UL for uplink. N RB sc is the number of subcarriers per RB, and in 3GPP-based wireless communication systems, N RB scis typically 12. For a given antenna port p, subcarrier spacing configuration u, and transmission direction (DL or UL), there is one resource grid. The carrier bandwidth N for subcarrier spacing configuration u size,u grid is given to the UE by higher layer parameters (e.g., RRC parameters) from the network. Each element in the resource grid for antenna port p and subcarrier spacing configuration u is called a resource element (RE), and one complex symbol can be mapped to each RE. Each RE in the resource grid is uniquely identified by an index k in the frequency domain and an index l indicating the symbol position relative to a reference point in the time domain. In an NR system, an RB is defined by 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In an NR system, RBs can be classified into common resource blocks (CRBs) and physical resource blocks (PRBs). CRBs are numbered upwards from 0 in the frequency domain for the subcarrier spacing configuration u. The center of subcarrier 0 of CRB 0 for the subcarrier spacing configuration u coincides with 'Point A', which is a common reference point for the resource block grids. PRBs for subcarrier spacing u are defined within the bandwidth part (BWP) and range from 0 to N. size,u BWP,i -1, where i is the number of the bandwidth part. Common resource block n u CRB and bandwidth part i within physical resource block n PRB The relationship between the two is as follows: n u PRB = n u CRB +N start,u BWP,i , here N start,u BWP,iis a common resource block (BRB) whose bandwidth part starts relative to CRB 0. A BWP comprises multiple consecutive RBs in the frequency domain. For example, a BWP may be a given numeral u within a BWP i on a given carrier. i A subset of contiguous CRBs defined for a carrier. A carrier may include up to N (e.g., 5) BWPs. A UE may be configured to have one or more BWPs on a given component carrier. Data communication is performed through the activated BWPs, and only a predetermined number (e.g., 1) of BWPs configured for the UE may be activated on the carrier.

[0103] For each serving cell in a set of DL BWPs or UL BWPs, the network configures at least an initial DL BWP and one (if the serving configuration is configured with uplink) or two (if supplementary uplink is used) initial UL BWPs. The network may also configure additional UL and DL BWPs for the serving cell. For each DL BWP or UL BWP, the UE is provided with the following parameters for the serving cell: i) subcarrier spacing, ii) cyclic prefix, and iii) N start BWP = Offset RB with the assumption of 275 set and length L RB CRBN provided by the RRC parameter locationAndBandwidth, which indicates the resource indicator value (RIV). start BWP =O carrier +RB start and the number of contiguous RBs N size BWP =L RB , and the subcarrier spacing is provided by the RRC parameter offsetToCarrierO carrier; an index within the set of DL BWPs or UL BWPs; a set of BWP-common parameters and a set of BWP-specific parameters.

[0104] Switching between configured BWPs can occur using RRC signaling, DCI, an inactivity timer, or upon initiation of a random access. If an inactivity timer is configured for a serving cell, expiration of the inactivity timer associated with the serving cell switches the active BWP to the default BWP configured by the network.

[0105] Virtual resource blocks (VRBs) are defined within the bandwidth part and are numbered from 0 to N. size,u BWP,i Numbered from -1, where i is the number of the bandwidth part. VRBs are mapped to physical resource blocks (PRBs) according to interleaved or non-interleaved mapping. In some implementations, for non-interleaved VRB-to-PRB mapping, VRB n may be mapped to PRB n.

[0106] NR frequency bands are defined by two types of frequency ranges, FR1 and FR2, with FR2 also referred to as millimeter wave (mmW). The following table lists the frequency ranges in which NR can operate.

[0107]

[0108] Figure 6 illustrates physical channels used in a 3GPP-based communication system, which is an example of a wireless communication system, and a signal transmission / reception process using the channels.

[0109] When a UE is powered on again after being powered off or has been disconnected from a wireless communication system, it first searches for a suitable cell to camp on (search cell) and performs an initial cell search process, such as synchronizing with the cell or the BS of the cell (S11). During the initial cell search process, the UE receives a synchronization signal block (SSB) (also called an SSB / PBCH block) from the BS. The SSB includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The UE synchronizes with the BS based on the PSS / SSS and obtains information such as a cell identity (ID). In addition, the UE can obtain broadcast information within the cell based on the PBCH. Meanwhile, the UE can check the downlink channel status by receiving a downlink reference signal (DL RS) during the initial cell search process.

[0110] A UE that has completed initial cell search can camp on the cell. After camping on the cell, the UE monitors the PDCCH on the cell and receives the PDSCH based on the downlink control information (DCI) carried by the PDCCH to obtain more specific system information (S12).

[0111] Thereafter, the UE may perform a random access procedure to complete access to the BS (S13 to S16). For example, in the random access procedure, the UE may transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) (S13) and receive a random access response (RAR) to the preamble through a PDCCH and a corresponding PDSCH (S14). If reception of the RAR for the UE fails, the UE may retry transmitting the preamble. In the case of contention-based random access, a contention resolution procedure (S16) may be performed, including transmission of a PUSCH based on UL resource allocation included in the RAR (S15) and reception of a PDCCH and a corresponding PDSCH.

[0112] The UE, which has performed the procedure described above, can then perform reception of PDCCH / PDSCH (S17) and transmission of PUSCH / PUCCH (S18) as a general uplink / downlink signal transmission process. The control information that the UE transmits to the BS is collectively referred to as uplink control information (UCI). UCI includes HARQ ACK / NACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat and reQuest Acknowledgement / Negative-ACK) (also referred to as HARQ-ACK), scheduling request (SR), channel state information (CSI), etc. CSI may include a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), and / or a rank indicator. UCI is generally transmitted through PUCCH, but may be transmitted through PUSCH when control information and traffic data must be transmitted simultaneously. Additionally, based on a request / instruction from the network, the UE can transmit UCI aperiodically via PUSCH.

[0113] Figure 7 illustrates SS / PBCH blocks (SSBs) on a cell.

[0114] In 3GPP-based systems, each SSB is associated with a beam. For example, during a half-frame, different SSBs can be transmitted in different spatial directions (using different beams spanning the cell's coverage area). The possible temporal locations of SSBs within a half-frame are determined by the subcarriers, and the periodicity of the half-frames over which the SSBs are transmitted is set by the network. Multiple SSBs can be transmitted within the frequency span of a carrier. Different indices of SSBs transmitted / detected on a cell can correspond to different BS (wide) Tx beams. Multiple SSBs can be transmitted within the frequency span of a carrier. The physical (layer) cell identifiers (PCIs) of SSBs transmitted at different frequency locations need not be unique, and different SSBs in the frequency domain can have different PCIs. If an SSB is associated with a remaining minimum system information (RMSI), the SSB is referred to as a cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB), and the PCell is always associated with a CD-SSB located on the synchronization raster (sync raster). If an SSB is not associated with an RMSI, the SSB is referred to as a non-cell defining SSB (NCD-SSB), which can be used to perform RLM, BFD and RRM measurements, and measurements for random access resource selection within the active DL BWP if the active DL BWP does not include the CD-SSB.In 3GPP-based systems, multi-beam operation is based on beam switching / beam scanning, which transmits / receives signals while changing the beam direction over time. Beam sweeping means that a transmission and reception point (TRP) (e.g., a BS / cell) changes the beam (direction) of a wireless signal over time. In this specification, the terms beam and beam direction can be used interchangeably. SSBs can be transmitted periodically using beam sweeping. In this case, the SSB index is implicitly linked to the SSB beam. The SSB beam can be changed on an SSB (index) basis or on an SSB (index) group basis. In the latter case, the SSB beam remains the same within the SSB (index) group. For example, referring to Figure 7, the transmission beam direction of an SSB can be repeated for multiple consecutive SSBs. A set of SSBs is transmitted within a 5 ms half-frame. The set of bits transmitted within a 5 ms half-frame of an SSB transmission is called an SSB burst set. The maximum number of SSB transmissions within an SSB burst set is L. max has a value of 4, 8, or 64 depending on the frequency band to which the carrier belongs. For example, the maximum number of SSBs in an SSB burst set, L max can be given as follows.

[0115] - For frequency range up to 3 GHz, L max = 4

[0116] - For frequency range from 3GHz to 6 GHz, L max = 8

[0117] - For frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, L max = 64

[0118] The number of SSBs actually transmitted can be set, with a maximum number Lmax It can be smaller.

[0119] If multi-beam transmission is not applied, the number of SSB beams is 1.

[0120] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the bitmaps used to indicate which SSBs are actually transmitted.

[0121] Within an SSB burst set, up to L SSBs can be transmitted, and the number / positions of the SSBs actually transmitted may vary depending on the BS / cell. The number / positions of the SSBs actually transmitted are used for rate matching and measurement, and information about the SSBs actually transmitted (e.g., RRC configuration ssb-PositionsInBurst) can be indicated as follows.

[0122] - In case of rate-matching: It can be indicated via UE-specific RRC signaling or RMSI. The UE-specific RRC signaling includes a full (e.g., length L) bitmap in both the frequency ranges below 6 GHz and above 6 GHz. On the other hand, the remaining minimum system information (RMSI) (i.e., SIB1) includes a full bitmap below 6 GHz and a compressed bitmap above 6 GHz as illustrated. Specifically, information about actually transmitted SSB can be indicated using a group bitmap (8 bits) and an intra-group bitmap (8 bits). Here, resources (e.g., resource elements (REs)) indicated via the UE-specific RRC signaling or RMSI are reserved for SSB transmission, and PDSCH / PUSCH, etc. can be rate-matched considering SSB resources.

[0123] - For measurement purposes: When in RRC_CONNECTED mode, the network (e.g., BS) can indicate the set of SSBs to be measured within the measurement interval. The SSB set can be indicated per frequency layer. If there is no indication regarding the SSB set, the default SSB set is used. The default SSB set includes all SSBs within the measurement interval. The SSB set can be indicated using the full (e.g., length L) bitmap in RRC signaling. When in RRC_IDLE mode, the default SSB set is used.

[0124] Figure 9 illustrates a process for acquiring system information (SI). A UE can acquire AS / NAS information through the SI acquisition process. The SI acquisition process can be applied to UEs in the RRC_IDLE state, the RRC_INACTIVE state, and the RRC_CONNECTED state. RRC_CONNECTED is a state in which the UE has established an RRC connection with the network. RRC_IDLE is a state in which the UE is not registered in a specific cell and thus does not receive the access stratum (AS) context or other information received from the network. RRC_INACTIVE is a state in which the UE can move within an area established by the radio access network (RAN, e.g., BS(s)) without notifying the RAN while remaining in CM-CONNECTED, which is a state in which the UE has a signaling connection with the core network for connection management (CM). CM_CONNECTED is a state in which the UE has a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection with the core network, and CM_IDLE is a state in which the UE does not have any NAS signaling.

[0125] In a 3GPP-based system, SI can be divided into a master information block (MIB) and multiple system information blocks (SIBs). The MIB and multiple SIBs can be further divided into minimum SI and other SI. Here, the minimum SI can be composed of a MIB and a system information block 1 (SystemInformationBlock1, SIB1), and includes basic information required for initial connection and information for acquiring other SI. Here, SIB1 can be referred to as remaining minimum system information (RMSI). For more details, see the following.

[0126] - The MIB is always transmitted on the BCH with a periodicity of 80 ms and repetitions made within 80 ms. The MIB contains information / parameters related to the reception of SIB1 and is transmitted over the PBCH of SSB. During initial cell selection, the UE assumes that half-frames with SSB(s) repeat with a period of 20 ms. Based on the MIB, the UE can check whether a control resource set (CORESET) for the Type0-PDCCH common search space exists. The Type0-PDCCH common search space is a type of PDCCH search space and is used to transmit the PDCCH that schedules the SI message. If a Type0-PDCCH common search space exists, the UE can determine (i) multiple consecutive RBs and one or more consecutive symbols that constitute a CORESET and (ii) PDCCH occasions (i.e., time domain locations for PDCCH reception) based on information in the MIB (e.g., pdcch-ConfigSIB1). If a Type0-PDCCH common search space does not exist, pdcch-ConfigSIB1 provides information about frequency locations where SSB / SIB1 exists and frequency ranges where SSB / SIB1 does not exist.

[0127] - SIB1 is transmitted on the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) with a periodicity of 160 ms and a variable transmission repetition period within 160 ms. The default transmission repetition period of SIB1 is 20 ms, but the actual transmission repetition period may vary depending on the network implementation. SIB1 contains information related to the availability and scheduling (e.g., transmission period, SI window size) of the remaining SIBs (hereinafter, SIBx, where x is an integer greater than or equal to 2). For example, SIB1 may indicate whether SIBx is broadcast periodically or provided on-demand upon request of the UE. If SIBx is provided on-demand, SIB1 may contain information necessary for the UE to perform an SI request. SIB1 is a cell-specific SIB. The PDCCH scheduling SIB1 is transmitted through the Type0-PDCCH common search space, and SIB1 is transmitted through the PDSCH indicated by the PDCCH.

[0128] - SIBx is included in SI messages and transmitted over the PDSCH. Each SI message is transmitted within a time window (i.e., SI window) that occurs periodically according to the SI scheduling information provided by SIB1.

[0129] Figure 10 illustrates a random access process that may be applied to implementation(s) of the present specification. In particular, Figure 10(a) illustrates a four-step random access process, and Figure 10(b) illustrates a two-step random access process.

[0130] The random access procedure can be used for various purposes, such as initial access, uplink synchronization adjustment, resource allocation, handover, reconfiguration of radio links after radio link failure, and position measurement. The random access procedure is classified into a contention-based procedure and a dedicated (i.e., non-contention-based) procedure. The contention-based random access procedure is commonly used, including initial access, while the dedicated random access procedure is used for handovers, when downlink data arrives at the network, and to reestablish uplink synchronization in the case of position measurement. In the contention-based random access procedure, the UE randomly selects a random access (RA) preamble. Therefore, multiple UEs can transmit the same RA preamble simultaneously, necessitating subsequent contention resolution. In contrast, in the dedicated random access procedure, the UE uses an RA preamble uniquely assigned to the UE by the BS. Therefore, the UE can perform the random access procedure without collisions with other UEs.

[0131] Referring to Fig. 10(a), the contention-based random access process includes the following four steps. Hereinafter, the messages transmitted in steps 1 through 4 may be referred to as Msg1 through Msg4, respectively.

[0132] - Step 1: The UE transmits an RA preamble via PRACH.

[0133] - Step 2: The UE receives a random access response (RAR) from the BS via PDSCH.

[0134] - Step 3: The UE transmits UL data to the BS via PUSCH based on the RAR. Here, the UL data includes layer 2 and / or layer 3 messages.

[0135] - Step 4: The UE receives a contention resolution message from the BS via PDSCH.

[0136] A UE can receive information about random access from a BS through system information. For example, information about random access channel (RACH) times associated with SSBs on a cell can be provided through the system information. The UE can select an SSB among the SSBs received on the cell whose reference signal received power (RSRP) measured based on the SSB exceeds a threshold, and transmit an RA preamble through a PRACH associated with the selected SSB. For example, if random access is required, the UE transmits Msg1 (e.g., preamble) to the BS on the PRACH. The BS can distinguish each random access preamble through the time / frequency resource (e.g., RACH time) on which the random access preamble was transmitted and the random access preamble index (PI). When the BS receives a random access preamble from the UE, the BS transmits a RAR message to the UE on the PDSCH. To receive a RAR message, the UE monitors a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) masked L1 / L2 control channel (PDCCH) with a Random Access-RNTI (RA-RNTI), which contains scheduling information for the RAR message, within a preset time window (e.g., ra-ResponseWindow). When scheduling information is received through the PDCCH masked with the RA-RNTI, the UE can receive an RAR message from a PDSCH indicated by the scheduling information. Thereafter, the UE determines whether an RAR for itself is included in the RAR message. Whether an RAR for itself exists can be determined by whether a Random Access preamble ID (RAPID) for a preamble transmitted by the UE exists. The index of the preamble transmitted by the UE and the RAPID may be the same.The RAR includes a corresponding random access preamble index, timing offset information for UL synchronization (e.g., timing advance command (TAC), UL scheduling information for Msg3 transmission (e.g., UL grant), and UE temporary identification information (e.g., Temporary-C-RNTI, TC-RNTI). The UE receiving the RAR transmits Msg3 through the PUSCH according to the UL scheduling information and timing offset value in the RAR. Msg3 may include the ID of the UE (or the global ID of the UE). In addition, Msg3 may include information related to an RRC connection request for initial access to the network (e.g., an RRCSetupRequest message). After receiving Msg3, the BS transmits Msg4, which is a contention resolution message, to the UE. If the UE receives the contention resolution message and the contention is successfully resolved, the TC-RNTI is changed to the C-RNTI. Msg4 includes the ID of the UE. And / or RRC connection related information (e.g., RRCSetup message) may be included. If the information transmitted via Msg3 does not match the information received via Msg4, or if Msg4 is not received for a certain period of time, the UE may consider contention resolution to have failed and retransmit Msg3.

[0137] Meanwhile, the dedicated random access process includes the following three steps. Hereinafter, the messages transmitted in steps 0 to 2 may be referred to as Msg0 to Msg2, respectively. The dedicated random access process may be triggered in the UE by the BS using a PDCCH (hereinafter, PDCCH order) for commanding the transmission of an RA preamble.

[0138] - Step 0: BS allocates RA preamble to UE through dedicated signaling.

[0139] - Step 1: The UE transmits an RA preamble via PRACH.

[0140] - Step 2: The UE receives RAR via PDSCH from the BS.

[0141] The operation of steps 1 and 2 of the dedicated random access process may be identical to steps 1 and 2 of the contention-based random access process.

[0142] NR systems may require lower latency than traditional systems. Furthermore, a four-step random access process may be undesirable, especially for latency-sensitive services such as URLLC. A low-latency random access process may be required in various scenarios within NR systems. When implementing implementations of this specification in conjunction with a random access process, implementations of this specification may be implemented in conjunction with the following two-step random access process to reduce the latency of the random access process.

[0143] Referring to Fig. 10(b), the two-step random access process may be composed of two steps: transmission of MsgA from a UE to a BS and transmission of MsgB from the BS to the UE. The MsgA transmission may include transmission of an RA preamble via a PRACH and transmission of an UL payload via a PUSCH. In the MsgA transmission, the PRACH and PUSCH may be transmitted using time division multiplexing (TDM). Alternatively, in the MsgA transmission, the PRACH and PUSCH may be transmitted using frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0144] A BS that receives MsgA can transmit MsgB to the UE. MsgB can include an RAR for the UE.

[0145] An RRC connection request related message (e.g., an RRCSetupRequest message) requesting to establish a connection between the RRC layer of the BS and the RRC layer of the UE may be transmitted in the payload of MsgA. In this case, MsgB may be used to transmit RRC connection related information (e.g., an RRCSetup message). Alternatively, the RRC connection request related message (e.g., an RRCSetupRequest message) may be transmitted via a PUSCH transmitted based on a UL grant in MsgB. In this case, the RRC connection related information (e.g., an RRCSetup message) related to the RRC connection request may be transmitted via a PDSCH associated with the PUSCH transmission after the PUSCH transmission based on MsgB.

[0146] Below, the physical channels that can be used in 3GPP-based wireless communication systems are described in more detail.

[0147] The PDCCH carries DCI. For example, the PDCCH (i.e., DCI) carries the transmission format and resource allocation of the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), resource allocation information for the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), paging information for the paging channel (PCH), system information on the DL-SCH, resource allocation information for control messages of a layer (hereinafter, upper layer) located above the physical layer in the protocol stacks of the UE / BS, such as a random access response (RAR) transmitted on the PDSCH, transmission power control commands, activation / release of configured scheduling (CS), etc. The DCI that includes resource allocation information for the DL-SCH is also called PDSCH scheduling DCI, and the DCI that includes resource allocation information for the UL-SCH is also called PUSCH scheduling DCI. The DCI includes a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and the CRC is masked / scrambled with various identifiers (e.g., radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)) depending on the owner or intended use of the PDCCH. For example, if the PDCCH is for a specific UE, the CRC is masked with the UE identifier (e.g., cell RNTI (C-RNTI)). If the PDCCH is for paging, the CRC is masked with the paging RNTI (P-RNTI). If the PDCCH is for system information (e.g., system information block (SIB)), the CRC is masked with the system information RNTI (SI-RNTI). If the PDCCH is for a random access response, the CRC is masked with the random access RNTI (RA-RATI).

[0148] When a PDCCH on one serving cell schedules a PDSCH or PUSCH on another serving cell, this is called cross-carrier scheduling. Cross-carrier scheduling using the carrier indicator field (CIF) can allow the PDCCH of a serving cell to schedule resources on another serving cell. On the other hand, when a PDSCH on a serving cell schedules a PDSCH or PUSCH on the serving cell, this is called self-carrier scheduling. When cross-carrier scheduling is used in a cell, the BS can provide the UE with information about the cell that schedules the cell. For example, the BS can provide the UE with information about whether the serving cell is scheduled by a PDCCH on another (scheduling) cell or by the serving cell, and if the serving cell is scheduled by another (scheduling) cell, which cell signals downlink assignments and uplink grants for the serving cell. In this specification, a cell that carries a PDCCH is called a scheduling cell, and a cell in which transmission of a PUSCH or PDSCH is scheduled by DCI included in the PDCCH, i.e., a cell that carries a PUSCH or PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, is called a scheduled cell.

[0149] The PDSCH is a physical layer DL channel for DL ​​data transport. PDSCH carries downlink data (e.g., DL-SCH transport blocks) and employs modulation methods such as Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), 16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), 64 QAM, and 256 QAM. Transport blocks (TBs) are encoded to generate codewords. A PDSCH can carry up to two codewords. Scrambling and modulation mapping are performed for each codeword, and the modulation symbols generated from each codeword can be mapped to one or more layers. Each layer is mapped to radio resources along with the DMRS, generating an OFDM symbol signal and transmitting it through the corresponding antenna port.

[0150] A UE must have uplink resources available to it for UL-SCH data transmission, and downlink resources available to it for DL-SCH data reception. Uplink and downlink resources are assigned to the UE through resource allocation by the BS. Resource allocation may include time domain resource allocation (TDRA) and frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA). In this specification, uplink resource allocation is also referred to as uplink grant, and downlink resource allocation is also referred to as downlink assignment. An uplink grant is dynamically received by the UE on the PDCCH or within the RAR, or is semi-persistently configured to the UE by RRC signaling from the BS. A downlink assignment is dynamically received by the UE on the PDCCH, or is semi-persistently configured to the UE by RRC signaling from the BS.

[0151] In UL, the BS can dynamically allocate uplink resources to the UE via PDCCH(s) addressed to a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). The UE monitors the PDCCH(s) to find possible uplink grant(s) for UL transmission. Furthermore, the BS can allocate uplink resources to the UE using the configured grant(s). Two types of configured grants can be used: Type 1 and Type 2. For Type 1, the BS directly provides the configured uplink grant (including the periodicity) via RRC signaling. For Type 2, the BS can configure the period of the RRC configured uplink grant via RRC signaling, and signal and activate or deactivate the configured uplink grant via a PDCCH addressed to a configured scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI). For example, for Type 2, a PDCCH addressed to CS-RNTI implicitly indicates that the corresponding uplink grant can be reused according to a period set by RRC signaling until it is deactivated.

[0152] In DL, the BS can dynamically allocate downlink resources to the UE via PDCCH(s) addressed with the C-RNTI. The UE monitors the PDCCH(s) to discover possible downlink assignments. Additionally, the BS can allocate downlink resources to the UE using semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). The BS can configure the period of the configured downlink assignments via RRC signaling, and can signal and activate or deactivate the configured downlink assignments via the PDCCH addressed with the CS-RNTI. For example, a PDCCH addressed with the CS-RNTI implicitly indicates that the corresponding downlink assignment can be reused according to the period configured by the RRC signaling until it is deactivated.

[0153] Referring to section 10.2 of 3GPP TS 38.213, the UE can perform PDCCH validation for DL ​​SPS and UL Grant Type 2. For example, if the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format is scrambled with the CS-RNTI provided by the RRC parameter cs-RNTI or the G-CS-RNTI provided by the RRC parameter g-cs-RNTI, the new data indicator field in the DCI format for an enabled transport block is set to 0, the DFI flag field in the DCI format, if present, is set to 0, the time domain resource assignment field in the DCI format points to a row with a single SLIV, the validation is for scheduling activation, and the PDSCH-to-HARQ_Feedback_Timing_Indicator field in the DCI format is present, the PDSCH-to-HARQ_Feedback_Timing_Indicator field indicates an RRC for a list of timing for a given PDSCH to the DL ACK. If the UE does not provide an inapplicable value from parameter dl-DataToUL-ACK-r16 or dl-DataToUL-ACK-r17, the UE validates the DL SPS assignment PDCCH or the configured UL grant type 2 PDCCH for scheduling activation or descheduling. If the UE is provided with a single configuration for UL grant type 2 PUSCH or for SPS PDSCH, validation of the DCI format is achieved if all fields for the DCI format are set according to Table 4 or Table 5.Table 4 illustrates special fields for single DL SPS or single UL grant type 2 scheduling activation PDCCH validation when the UE is provided with single SPS PDSCH or UL grant type 2 configuration in DL / UL BWP of the scheduling cell, and Table 5 illustrates special fields for single DL SPS or single UL grant type 2 scheduling release PDCCH validation when the UE is provided with single SPS PDSCH or UL grant type 2 configuration in DL / UL BWP of the scheduling cell.

[0154]

[0155]

[0156] When a UE is provided with one or more configurations for UL grant type 2 PUSCH or SPS PDSCH, the value of the HARQ process number field in the DCI format indicates activation of the corresponding UL grant type 2 PUSCH or SPS PDSCH configuration with the same value as provided by the RRC parameter ConfiguredGrantConfigIndex or by the RRC parameter sps-ConfigIndex, respectively. Validation of the DCI format is achieved if the redundancy version (RV) field for the DCI format is set as shown in the following table. The following table illustrates special fields for validation of a single DL SPS or a single UL grant type 2 scheduling activation PDCCH when a UE is provided with multiple SPS PDSCH or UL grant type 2 configurations in the DL / UL BWP of the scheduling cell.

[0157]

[0158] If the UE is provided with one or more configurations for UL Grant Type 2 PUSCH or SPS PDSCH,

[0159] - When the UE is provided with the RRC parameter ConfiguredGrantConfigType2DeactivationStateList or sps-ConfigDeactivationStateList, the value of the HARQ process number field in the DCI format points to the corresponding entry for descheduling of one or more UL grant type 2 PUSCH or SPS PDSCH configurations.

[0160] - If the UE is not provided with the RRC parameter ConfiguredGrantConfigType2DeactivationStateList or sps-ConfigDeactivationStateList, the value of the HARQ process number field in the DCI format indicates the activation for the corresponding UL grant type 2 PUSCH or SPS PDSCH configuration with the same value as provided by the RRC parameter ConfiguredGrantConfigIndex or the RRC parameter sps-ConfigIndex, respectively (respectively).

[0161] Validation of the DCI format is achieved when all fields for the DCI format are set according to the following table. The following table illustrates special fields for single or multiple DL SPS and UL Grant Type 2 scheduling release PDCCH validation when the UE is provided with multiple SPS PDSCH or UL Grant Type 2 configurations in the DL / UL BWP of the scheduling cell.

[0162]

[0163] The actual DL assignment or UL grant for DL ​​SPS or UL grant type 2, and the corresponding modulation and coding scheme, are provided by the resource allocation fields (e.g., a TDRA field providing a TDRA value m, an FDRA field providing a frequency resource block allocation, and a modulation and coding scheme field) in the DCI format carried by the corresponding DL SPS or UL grant type 2 scheduling activation PDCCH. If the validation is achieved, the UE considers the information in the DCI format as a valid activation or valid release of the DL SPS or the configured UL grant type 2.

[0164] The UE is expected to provide HARQ-ACK information in response to an SPS PDSCH release N symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH providing the SPS PDSCH release. If the parameter processingType2Enabled of the RRC configuration PDSCH-ServingCellConfig is set to enable for the serving cell having the PDCCH providing the SPS PDSCH release, then N=5 for u=0, N=5.5 for u=1, and N=11 for u=2; Otherwise, N=10 for u=0, N=12 for u=1, N=22 for u=2, N=25 for u=3, N=100 for u=5, and N=200 for u=6, where u corresponds to the smallest SCS setting among the SCS setting of the PDCCH providing SPS PDSCH release and the SCS setting of the PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK information in response to SPS PDSCH release.

[0165] In this specification, a PDSCH based on DL SPS is referred to as an SPS PDSCH, a PUSCH based on UL configured grant (CG) is referred to as a CG PUSCH, a PDSCH dynamically scheduled by DCI carried by a PDCCH is referred to as a DG PDSCH, and a PUSCH dynamically scheduled by DCI carried by a PDCCH is referred to as a DG PUSCH.

[0166] Figure 11 illustrates an example of PDSCH time domain resource allocation by PDCCH and an example of PUSCH time domain resource allocation by PDCCH.

[0167] The DCI carried by the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH or PUSCH includes a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field, which provides a value m for a row index m+1 of an allocation table for the PDSCH or PUSCH. A predefined default PDSCH time domain allocation is applied as the allocation table for the PDSCH, or a PDSCH time domain resource allocation table configured by the BS through RRC signaling pdsch-TimeDomainAllocationList is applied as the allocation table for the PDSCH. A predefined default PUSCH time domain allocation is applied as the allocation table for the PUSCH, or a PUSCH time domain resource allocation table configured by the BS through RRC signaling pushch-TimeDomainAllocationList is applied as the allocation table for the PUSCH. The PDSCH time domain resource allocation table to be applied and / or the PUSCH time domain resource allocation table to be applied may be determined according to fixed / predefined rules (e.g., see 3GPP TS 38.214).

[0168] In the PDSCH time domain resource configurations, each indexed row defines a DL allocation-to-PDSCH slot offset K0, a start and length indicator value SLIV (or directly a starting position (e.g., a starting symbol index S) and an allocation length (e.g., a number of symbols L) of a PDSCH within a slot), and a PDSCH mapping type. In the PUSCH time domain resource configurations, each indexed row defines a UL grant-to-PUSCH slot offset K2, a starting position (e.g., a starting symbol index S) and an allocation length (e.g., a number of symbols L) of a PUSCH within a slot, and a PUSCH mapping type. K0 for PDSCH or K2 for PUSCH indicates the difference between a slot with a PDCCH and a slot with a PDSCH or PUSCH corresponding to the PDCCH. SLIV is a joint indication of a starting symbol S relative to the start of a slot with a PDSCH or PUSCH and the number L of consecutive symbols counted from the symbol S. For PDSCH / PUSCH mapping type, there are two mapping types: one is mapping type A and the other is mapping type B. For PDSCH / PUSCH mapping type A, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) is mapped to a PDSCH / PUSCH resource at the beginning of a slot, and one or two symbols of the PDSCH / PUSCH resource can be used as DMRS symbol(s) depending on other DMRS parameters. For example, for PDSCH / PUSCH mapping type A, the DMRS is located at the third symbol (symbol #2) or the fourth symbol (symbol #3) in a slot depending on RRC signaling. For PDSCH / PUSCH mapping type B, the DMRS is mapped based on the first OFDM symbol of the PDSCH / PUSCH resource, and one or two symbols from the first symbol of the PDSCH / PUSCH resource can be used as DMRS symbol(s) depending on other DMRS parameters.For example, in the case of PDSCH / PUSCH mapping type B, DMRS is located in the first symbol allocated for PDSCH / PUSCH. In this specification, PDSCH / PUSCH mapping type may be referred to as mapping type or DMRS mapping type. For example, in this specification, PUSCH mapping type A may be referred to as mapping type A or DMRS mapping type A, and PUSCH mapping type B may be referred to as mapping type B or DMRS mapping type B.

[0169] The above scheduling DCI includes a frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field that provides allocation information regarding resource blocks used for PDSCH or PUSCH. For example, the FDRA field provides the UE with information regarding the cell for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, information regarding the BWP for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, and information regarding resource blocks for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission.

[0170] A control resource set (CORESET), which is a set of time-frequency resources for which a UE can monitor PDCCH, may be defined and / or configured. A CORESET consists of a set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) with a duration of one to three OFDM symbols. The PRBs constituting the CORESET and the CORESET duration may be provided to the UE via higher layer (e.g., RRC) signaling. Within the configured CORESET(s), a set of PDCCH candidates is monitored according to the corresponding search space sets. In this specification, monitoring implies decoding (aka blind decoding) each PDCCH candidate according to the monitored DCI formats. The master information block (MIB) on the PBCH provides the UE with parameters (e.g., CORESET#0 configuration) for monitoring the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH carrying the system information block 1 (SIB1). The PBCH may also indicate that there is no associated SIB1, in which case the UE may be instructed on other frequencies to search for the SSB associated with SIB1, as well as a frequency range in which it can assume that there is no SSB associated with SSB1. At least CORESET#0, which is the CORESET for scheduling SIB1, may be configured via the MIB or dedicated RRC signaling.

[0171] More than one CORESET may be configured for a UE, and multiple CORESETs may overlap in the time / frequency domain.

[0172] The set of PDCCH candidates monitored by the UE is defined in terms of PDCCH search space sets. The search space set may be a common search space (CSS) set or a UE-specific search space (USS) set. Each CORESET configuration is associated with one or more search space sets, and each search space set is associated with one CORESET configuration.

[0173] A set of PDCCH candidates may be monitored in one or more CORESETs on an active DL BWP on each activated serving cell for which PDCCH monitoring is configured, where monitoring implies receiving each PDCCH candidate and decoding it according to the monitored DCI formats.

[0174] SS sets can be configured via system information (e.g., MIB) or UE-specific higher layer (e.g., RRC) signaling. Each DL BWP of a serving cell can have up to S (e.g., 10) SS sets configured. For example, the following parameters / information can be provided for each SS set. Each SS set is associated with one CORESET, and each CORESET configuration can be associated with one or more SS sets.

[0175] - searchSpaceId: Indicates the ID of the SS set.

[0176] - controlResourceSetId: Indicates the CORESET associated with the SS set.

[0177] - monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset: Indicates the PDCCH monitoring period period (in slot units) and the PDCCH monitoring period offset (in slot units).

[0178] - monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot: Indicates the first OFDMA symbol(s) for PDCCH monitoring within the slot where PDCCH monitoring is configured. It is indicated through a bitmap, and each bit corresponds to each OFDMA symbol within the slot. The MSB of the bitmap corresponds to the first OFDM symbol within the slot. The OFDMA symbol(s) corresponding to the bit(s) with a bit value of 1 corresponds to the first symbol(s) of the CORESET within the slot.

[0179] - nrofCandidates: AL={1, 2, 4, 8, 16} indicates the number of PDCCH candidates (e.g., one of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8).

[0180] - searchSpaceType: Indicates whether the SS type is CSS or USS.

[0181] - DCI format: Indicates the DCI format of the PDCCH candidate.

[0182] Based on the CORESET / SS set configuration, the UE can monitor PDCCH candidates in one or more SS sets within a slot. The occasions (e.g., time / frequency resources) during which PDCCH candidates should be monitored are defined as PDCCH (monitoring) occasions. One or more PDCCH (monitoring) occasions can be configured within a slot.

[0183] UE uses DRX to reduce power consumption. UE operating based on DRX repeats ON / OFF for reception operation. The features of DRX utilized for the purpose of reducing unnecessary power consumption of UE are as follows. DRX defines a structure for UE in RRC_IDLE state where RRC connection between UE and BS is not established (hereinafter referred to as I-DRX) and a structure for UE in RRC_CONNECTED state where RRC connection between UE and BS is established (hereinafter referred to as C-DRX). Both DRX structures are designed to reduce unnecessary power consumption in other periods by defining a period (e.g., active time period or on-duration period) in which UE can expect reception of DL signals to occur periodically. For reference, in the case of C-DRX, the start position of On-duration occurs periodically in the Rel-16 standard, and the size of the cycle that can be configured at this time (i.e., DRX cycle) can be determined / set through upper layer signaling, such as RRC signaling, provided by the BS to the UE.

[0184] Figure 12 illustrates a discontinuous reception (DRX) operation. In particular, Figure 12 illustrates a DRX cycle for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0185] Referring to FIG. 12, a DRX cycle consists of an ON period and an Opportunity for DRX. A DRX cycle defines a time interval in which an ON period is periodically repeated, followed by a possible period of inactivity. The ON period represents a time interval during which the UE performs PDCCH monitoring to receive a PDCCH. When DRX is configured, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring during the ON period. If a PDCCH is successfully detected during PDCCH monitoring, the UE starts an inactivity timer and remains awake. On the other hand, if no PDCCH is successfully detected during PDCCH monitoring, the UE enters a sleep state after the ON period ends. Therefore, when DRX is configured, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring / reception discontinuously in the time domain when performing a process and / or method according to the implementation(s) of this specification. For example, when DRX is configured, the PDCCH reception occasion (e.g., slot having PDCCH search space) in this specification may be configured discontinuously according to the DRX configuration. On the other hand, when DRX is not configured, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring / reception continuously in the time domain. For example, when DRX is not configured, the PDCCH reception occasion (e.g., slot having PDCCH search space) may be configured continuously. On the other hand, regardless of whether DRX is configured, PDCCH monitoring may be restricted in the time period configured as the measurement gap. DRX configuration information is received via upper layer (e.g., RRC) signaling, and whether DRX is turned on / off is controlled by the DRX command of the MAC layer. When DRX is configured, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring discontinuously, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0186] The following table illustrates the UE processes related to DRX. Referring to the following table, DRX configuration information is received via upper layer (e.g., RRC) signaling, and DRX ON / OFF is controlled by the DRX command of the MAC layer. When DRX is configured, the UE can perform PDCCH monitoring discontinuously, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0187]

[0188] Here, MAC-CellGroupConfig contains configuration information required to set MAC parameters for a cell group. MAC-CellGroupConfig may also contain configuration information related to DRX. For example, MAC-CellGroupConfig may contain DRX-related information as follows.

[0189] - Value of drx-onDurationTimer: Sets the duration at the start of the DRX cycle.

[0190] - Value of drx-SlotOffset: Sets the delay before starting drx-onDurationTimer.

[0191] - Value of drx-InactivityTimer: Sets the period after which a PDCCH epoch indicates a new UL or DL ​​transmission to the MAC entity.

[0192] - Value of drxRetransmissionTimerDL (per DL HARQ process except for the broadcast process): Sets the maximum duration until a DL retransmission is received.

[0193] - Value of drxRetransmissionTimerUL (per UL HARQ process): Sets the maximum duration until a grant for UL retransmission is received.

[0194] - Value of drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL (per DL HARQ process except for the broadcast process): Sets the maximum period of time after a DL initial transmission is received until a DL assignment for HARQ retransmission is received.

[0195] - Value of drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL (per UL HARQ process): Sets the maximum period from when a grant for UL initial transmission is received until a grant for UL retransmission is received.

[0196] - drx-LongCycleStartOffset: Sets the Long DRX cycle and drx-StartOffset, which defines the subframe where the Long and Short DRX cycles start.

[0197] - drx-ShortCycle (optional): Sets the short DRX cycle.

[0198] - drx-ShortCycleTimer (optional): Sets the duration for which the UE should follow the Short DRX cycle. For example, a value in multiples of the Short DRX cycle can be set by drx-CylceTimer. For example, the value of n can correspond to n*drx-ShortCycle.

[0199] A UE may perform PDCCH monitoring on serving cells within a DRX group when the DRX group is within its active time. Here, a DRX group is a group of serving cells configured by RRC and having the same DRX active time. Here, the active time is a total duration for which the UE monitors the PDCCH, and may include an ON period of a DRX cycle, a time for which the UE performs continuous reception while an inactivity timer has not expired, and a time for which the UE performs continuous reception while waiting for a retransmission opportunity. For example, when DRX is configured, the active time for serving cells within a DRX group is i) while drx-onDurationTimer or drx-InactivityTimer configured for the DRX group is running; or ii) while drx-RetransmissionTimerDL or drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on any serving cell within the DRX group; or ra-ContentionResoultionTimer or msgB-RsponseWindow is running; or a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to a C-RNTI addressed to the MAC entity of the UE is not received after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble that is not selected by the MAC entity among the contention-based random access preambles.

[0200] A UE can be configured with one or more DRX groups via RRC signaling from a BS. For example, if two DRX groups are configured, each serving cell is uniquely assigned to one of the two DRX groups. The DRX parameters drx-onDurationTimer and drx-InactivityTimer are configured separately for each DRX group, and the DRX parameters drx-SlotOffset, drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, drx-LongCycleStartOffset, drx-ShortCycle (optional), drx-ShortCycleTimer (optional), drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, and drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL are common to the DRX groups. Since each serving cell belongs to only one of the DRX groups, and the DRX parameters drx-onDurationTimer and drx-InactivityTimer are set for each DRX group, and the remaining DRX parameters are common to the DRX groups, it can be said that a serving cell is associated with only one set of DRX parameters.

[0201] Figure 13 illustrates a case where a Long DRX cycle and a Short DRX cycle are set. In particular, Figure 13 illustrates a case where drx-ShortCycleTimer is set to 2.

[0202] A BS can configure a Long DRX cycle and an additional Short DRX cycle that is shorter than the Long DRX cycle. If a Short DRX cycle is not configured, the UE follows the Long DRX cycle. When configuring a Short DRX cycle, the BS sets the duration of the Long DRX cycle to be a positive integer multiple of the Short DRX cycle. The same onDurationTimer value is configured for the Long DRX cycle and the Short DRX cycle. If there is no data activity during the ON period of the Long DRX cycle (e.g., no PDCCH reception), the UE follows the Long DRX cycle as if the Short DRX cycle is not configured. If there is data activity during the ON period of the Long DRX cycle, for example, while drx-onDurationTimer is running, the UE switches to the Short DRX cycle and follows the Short DRX cycle for a certain period of time (e.g., while drx-ShortCycleTimer is running). At this time, the start of the ON period in the Short DRX cycle is determined by drx-StartOffset and drx-SlotOffset, just like the Long DRX cycle. Referring to FIG. 13, if there is no data activity during the time following the Short DRX cycle, for example, if there is no data activity during the period defined by drx-ShortCycleTimer*drx-ShortCycle, the UE switches to the Long DRX cycle after drx-ShortCycleTimer Short DRX cycles.

[0203] Energy conservation of base stations (BSs) is a key consideration in wireless communication systems, including 3GPP, as it can contribute to building eco-friendly networks by reducing carbon emissions and reducing the operational expenditure (OPEX) of telecommunications operators. In particular, the introduction of 5G communications will require higher transmission rates, necessitating BSs to be equipped with more antennas and provide services over wider bandwidths and frequency bands. Consequently, recent studies have shown that BS energy costs have reached up to 20% of total OPEX. This heightened interest in BS energy conservation led to the approval of a new study item, "Study on Network Energy Savings," in 3GPP NR Release 18. For example, to improve the energy saving capability of BS from the perspective of transmission and reception, the study investigates how to achieve dynamic and / or semi-static and finer granularity adaptation of transmission and / or reception to more efficient operation with one or more network energy saving techniques in time, frequency, space and power domains using potential assistance / feedback of UE and potential UE assistance information.

[0204] The following enhancement techniques may be considered:

[0205] > Specify SSB-less SCell operation for inter-band CA for FR1 and co-located cells, where a UE measures SSB transmitted on PCell or another SCell for an SCell's time / frequency synchronization (including downlink AGC), and L1 / L3 measurements, including potential enhancement on SCell activation procedures if necessary.

[0206] > Specify enhancement on cell DTX / DRX mechanism including the alignment of cell DTX / DRX and UE DRX in RRC_CONNECTED mode, and inter-node information exchange on cell DTX / DRX

[0207] > Specify the following techniques in spatial and power domains:

[0208] >> Specify necessary enhancements on CSI and beam management related procedures including measurement and report, and signaling to enable efficient adaptation of spatial elements (e.g., antenna ports, active transceiver chains).

[0209] >> Specify necessary enhancements on CSI-related procedures including measurement and report, and signaling to enable efficient adaptation of power offset values ​​between PDSCH and CSI-RS.

[0210] > Specify mechanism(s) to prevent legacy UEs camping on cells adopting the Rel-18 NES techniques, if necessary.

[0211] > Specify conditional handover (CHO) procedure enhancement(s) in case source / target cell is in NES mode.

[0212] > Specify inter-node beam activation and enhancements on restricting paging in a limited area.

[0213] > Specify the corresponding radio resource management / radio frequency (RRM / RF) core requirements, if necessary, for the above features.

[0214] A BS can apply technologies such as controlling the on / off duration in the time domain for NES purposes, controlling transmission / reception resources for UE-common or UE-specific signals / channels, changing the amount of frequency domain resources, controlling transmission power, or turning antenna port(s) or TRP(s) on / off in the spatial domain. A state in which such technologies (hereinafter, referred to as NES_tech for convenience) are applied is referred to as an NES mode or NES state.

[0215] Figure 14 illustrates an operating procedure in a BS that supports network energy saving (NES) technology.

[0216] Referring to FIG. 14, the BS identifies or determines the NES solution(s) to be applied (S1401). The NES solution(s) may be related to control of signal transmission / reception (e.g., on / off), beam operation, handover procedures, channel measurement and reporting, etc. The NES solution(s) to be applied may be adaptively selected or predefined depending on the current situation (e.g., cell load level, characteristics of connected UEs, etc.). The BS that has identified (or determined) the NES solution(s) may perform signaling for the NES (S1403). The specific signaling procedure may vary depending on the identified NES solution(s). For example, the BS may transmit common information about the NES solution(s), transmit configuration information necessary for NES operation to at least one UE, or transmit control information regarding the progress of the NES operation to at least one UE. Additionally, the BS may receive capability information related to the NES from at least one UE. Thereafter, the BS may perform operations for the NES (S1405). At this time, the BS may perform operations for the NES based on previously performed signaling. For example, based on system information, configuration information, and control information transmitted through signaling, the BS may turn on or off transmission / reception of a specific signal, turn on / off elements in the spatial domain, or adjust resources for transmission / reception of a measurement signal.

[0217] Through a procedure similar to that in Fig. 14, NES technology can be implemented. Examples of NES solutions that can be implemented through a procedure similar to that in Fig. 14 are as follows.

[0218] > Intra-system energy saving solution: A radio access network (RAN) node can request a neighboring RAN node to switch at least one SSB beam into its deactivated cell, or can perform paging using a limited set of beams to an inactive UE (e.g., a stationary UE).

[0219] > Inter-system energy saving solution: NG-RAN nodes that own capacity booster cells can autonomously transition those cells to inactive state.

[0220] > SSB-less SCell solution: If the SSB configuration for the SCell or the SSB-based RRM measurement timing configuration (SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC)) is not provided, the UE can obtain the timing reference and automatic gain control (AGC) source from another serving cell. In FR1 or FR2, the BS can configure intra-band carrier aggregation (CA) or inter-band CA including the SCell without SSB transmission, in which case the SSB / SIB transmission can be triggered by the wake up signal (WUS) of the UE. Accordingly, the periodicity of common channels / signals such as SSB increases, so the BS can stay in the sleep state for a longer time.

[0221] > Cell DTX / DRX Solution: In order to reduce the downlink transmission / uplink reception active time of the BS, a common periodic cell DTX / DRX pattern (e.g., active and inactive periods) may be configured for UEs within a cell having the feature. Here, the cell DTX pattern and the cell DRX pattern may be configured and activated separately, and up to two cell DTX / DRX patterns may be configured per MAC entity. When cell DTX is configured and activated, at least one of monitoring for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) occasions or PDCCH monitoring may be suspended during the cell DTX inactive period. When cell DRX is configured and activated, at least one of transmission on configured grant (CG) resources or scheduling request (SR) transmission may be suspended during the cell DRX inactive period. Cell DTX / DRX can be activated / deactivated via RRC signaling or L1 group common signaling (e.g., PDCCH on CSS). Parameters such as active duration and cycle can be configured for cell DTX / DRX. Active duration is the period during which the UE receives a PDCCH or SPS occasion and waits to transmit SR or CG, and cycle specifies the periodic repetition of active and inactive periods. When both cell DTX and cell DRX are configured, parameters such as active duration and cycle are common.If the BS recognizes an emergency call or a public safety related service (e.g., multimedia priority service (MPS) or mission critical service (MCS)), the network may release or deactivate the cell DTX / DRX configuration so as not to affect the service. In addition, at least some overlap is required between the active period of the connected mode DRX of the UE and the active period of the cell DTX / DRX. For example, the connected mode DRX periodicity of the UE may be a multiple of the cell DTX / DRX periodicity or vice versa.

[0222] > Conditional handover (CHO) solution: The CHO procedure, which is performed in a way that the execution of the handover is determined by the UE, is used while the NES technology is applied (e.g., when the cell activates or deactivates cell DTX / DRX). In this case, the UE can use NES-specific CHO events to initiate CHO for a candidate cell, and the reception of a DCI activating the CHO condition(s) set by the NES event indication can be applied as an additional triggering condition for this.

[0223] > Spatial and Power Domain Adaptation Solution: To support the BS for transmitter muting and / or transmit power adaptation, the UE may be configured to report multiple CSI entries in a CSI report based on multiple sub-configurations. Each sub-configuration may correspond to a spatial domain adaptation pattern (e.g., a subset of available spatial elements) and / or a power offset between a data channel (e.g., a PDSCH) and CSI-RSs. Depending on the application of the spatial and power domain adaptation solution, the CSI configuration, measurement, and / or reporting behavior may be affected.

[0224] Below, several implementations of this specification are described that save energy by differently configuring UL WUS resources depending on the purpose / scenario for which the UE requests on-demand SIB1, or by differently performing actions after the BS transmits SIB1 by indicating in advance (early indication) the purpose of requesting SIB1 to the BS.

[0225] Figure 15 is an example of a process for carrier aggregation (CA) operation using an SSB-less secondary cell (SCell).

[0226] Referring to FIG. 15, the BS may transmit configuration information for an SCell to be aggregated through a PCell or an SCell already configured to the UE (S1501). For example, the BS may transmit configuration information for a CA to provide a service to the UE through a CA operation. Here, the CA operation may be an intra-band CA or an inter-band CA. For example, the configuration information for the SCell may include information including information for adding the SCell (e.g., sCellToAddModList), and specifically, may include a cell index, a physical cell identifier, information related to DL-UL configuration, information related to BWP, information related to cell DTX / DRX, information related to downlink frequency (e.g., FrequencyInfoDL), etc. Then, the UE may determine a configuration for the CA operation (S1503) and perform communication using the PCell and SCell of the BS (S1505a, S1505b). In some implementations, the UE can determine that an SCell is an SSB-less SCell based on information related to the downlink frequency included in the configuration information, and can check related parameters. For example, the UE can determine that an SCell is an SSB-less SCell by checking for the presence of a parameter indicating that it is an SSB-less SCell (e.g., SSBlessSCell), and can determine the timing reference and AGC source for the SCell based on information about the reference cell (e.g., referenceCell). In the example of Figure 15, the reference cell may be the PCell. In this case, the UE can use the PCell as a timing reference and AGC source for communications on the SCell.

[0227] The following table illustrates part of the RRC information element (IE) FrequencyInfoDL, which provides the downlink carrier and basic parameters for transmission on the downlink carrier.

[0228]

[0229] The above IEFrequencyInfoDL may be included in the RRC configuration DownlinkConfigCommon or DownlinkConfigCommonSIB, which provides common downlink parameters of the cell.

[0230] In the above table, the field absoluteFrequencySSB indicates the frequency of the SSB to be used for this serving cell, and the SSB-related parameters provided for the serving cell (e.g., SSB index) refer to this SSB frequency unless otherwise stated. The cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB) of the PCell is always on the sync raster. If the frequencies are identifiable even with the GSCN value, the frequencies are considered to be on the sync raster. If the field absoluteFrequencySSB is absent in the IEFrequencyInfoDL, the SSB-related parameters (e.g., ssb-PositionsInBurst, ssb-periodicityServingCell, and subcarrierSpacing in ServingCellConfigCommonIE) are absent. If the above field absoluteFrequencySSB is absent, the UE may obtain timing reference from an SpCell or SCell, if applicable, from an SpCell or SCell indicated by referenceCell, or from a default cell. This is supported when the SCell for which the UE obtains the timing reference is in the same or a different frequency band as the cell from which the UE obtains the timing reference (e.g., the SpCell or the SCell, respectively).

[0231] In the table above, the field referenceCell can indicate a reference cell, which is a cell that provides a timing reference and AGC source for a non-SSB SCell. If the reference cell is an SCell or PSCell, it is an activated SCell or an activated PSCell. If this field is absent, the default cell is the reference cell.

[0232] On-demand SSB

[0233] In some implementations, a method may be considered to reduce energy consumption by having the BS transmit SSB on a specific cell through an on-demand SSB process and not transmit SSB on the specific cell when there is no on-demand SSB process. Hereinafter, SSB transmitted for a certain period or interval when requested by the UE is referred to as on-demand SSB for convenience. In the existing NR system, it was difficult to reduce energy consumption even when the BS had no data to receive or send because SSB had to be transmitted periodically for purposes such as time / frequency synchronization or RRM measurement. Considering this, in some implementations, the BS may not perform SSB transmission until an on-demand SSB process is involved, thereby reducing BS energy consumption. The on-demand SSB process may be triggered by one of the following methods.

[0234] 1) The UE requests SSB transmission from the BS by transmitting an uplink signal / channel (e.g., PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, SRS, etc. in a 3GPP-based system);

[0235] 2) Requesting SSB transmission from BS (or TRP) #1 to BS (or TRP) #2 via an interface between BSs (e.g., Xn interface in NR-based systems) or backhaul signaling; or

[0236] 3) Signaling whether SSB transmission is possible for the corresponding SCell through SCell activation / deactivation (activation / deactivation) signaling.

[0237] Considering coexistence with UEs according to existing NR standards, some scenarios (e.g., 3GPP Release 19) may be limited to on-demand SSB operation for connected mode UEs and SCells. However, in future releases or next generation communication systems, on-demand SSB operation (for SSB transmission on PCell) considering inactive or idle mode UEs or initially attached UEs may be defined. In addition, CA including the SCell can be applied to both intra-band CA and inter-band CA, and SSB on the SCell transmitted through the on-demand SSB process can be utilized for at least the following functionalities: time / frequency synchronization, layer 1 (L1) / layer 3 (L3) measurement, and SCell activation.

[0238] On-demand SIB1 transmission

[0239] Below, some implementations of this specification related to on-demand SIB1 are described in more detail. Hereinafter, the PDCCH carrying the DCI for scheduling SIB1 transmission (e.g., a PDSCH transmission carrying SIB1) is referred to as the SIB1 PDCCH or SIB1-related PDCCH, and the PDSCH carrying SIB1 is referred to as the SIB1 PDSCH or SIB1-related PDSCH.

[0240] In some implementations, a method may be considered to reduce energy consumption by having the BS transmit SIB1 for a specific cell through an on-demand SIB1 process and not transmit SIB1 for the cell when an on-demand SIB1 process is not available. Hereinafter, SIB1 transmitted for a certain period or interval upon request by a UE is referred to as on-demand SIB1 for convenience. In the existing NR system, SIB1 containing system information, random access information, etc. for initial access or idle mode UEs to access a cell had to be provided periodically, making it difficult to reduce energy consumption even when the BS had no data to receive or send. Considering this, some implementations may reduce BS energy consumption by allowing the BS to not transmit SIB1 until an on-demand SIB1 process is involved and then transmit SIB1. During the on-demand SIB1 process, the BS's SIB1 transmission may be triggered by the UE transmitting an uplink signal / channel (e.g., PRACH in a 3GPP-based system).

[0241] Figures 16 through 18 illustrate on-demand SIB1 transmission scenarios related to some implementations of this specification.

[0242] The following scenarios may be considered in relation to on-demand SIB1 transmission according to some implementations of this specification, but some implementations of this specification may not be limited to the following scenarios.

[0243] 1) Scenario 1: As illustrated in FIG. 16, a UE that receives an SSB (and / or other downlink signal / channel) from a certain Cell#1 and recognizes that SIB1 is not transmitted on the said Cell#1 may trigger SIB1 transmission by transmitting a signal requesting SIB1 (hereinafter, a wake-up signal (WUS) for convenience) based on information provided in the SSB (and / or other downlink signal / channel) and / or predetermined information. The BS that receives the WUS may transmit a specific DL signal / channel (corresponding to an ACK for the WUS) on Cell#1 in response thereto, or may transmit SIB1 on Cell#1 (or without transmitting the DL signal / channel).

[0244] 2) Scenario 2: As illustrated in FIG. 17, a UE may attempt to camp on Cell#2 upon receiving an SSB (and / or other downlink signal / channel such as SIB1) from a Cell#1 and recognizing that SIB1 is not transmitted on Cell#2. The UE may trigger SIB1 transmission for Cell#2 by transmitting a signal (e.g., WUS) requesting SIB1 on Cell#1 based on information provided in the received SSB (and / or other downlink signal / channel such as SIB1) and / or predetermined information. The BS receiving the WUS may transmit a specific DL signal / channel (corresponding to an ACK for the WUS) in response thereto (on Cell#1 or Cell#2), and may transmit SIB1 for Cell#2 on Cell#1 or Cell#2 (or without transmitting the DL signal / channel).

[0245] 3) Scenario 3: As illustrated in FIG. 18, a UE may receive an SSB (and / or other downlink signal / channel such as SIB1) from a certain Cell#1 and recognize that SIB1 is not transmitted on the said Cell#2, and may attempt to camp on Cell#2. The UE may trigger transmission of SIB1 for Cell#2 by transmitting a signal (e.g., WUS) requesting SIB1 on Cell#2 based on information provided in the received SSB (and / or other downlink signal / channel such as SIB1) and / or predetermined information. The BS receiving the WUS may transmit a specific DL signal / channel (corresponding to an ACK for the WUS) in response thereto (on Cell#1 or Cell#2), and may transmit SIB1 for Cell#2 on Cell#1 or Cell#2 (or without transmitting the DL signal / channel).

[0246] When multiple cells are involved in on-demand SIB1 operation, such as in Scenario 2 or 3 above, Cell#1 and Cell#2 can be defined as follows.

[0247] - Cell A (= Cell#1): a cell that is periodically transmitting at least its own SIB1.

[0248] - NES cell (= Cell#2): a cell that may transmit SIB1 in response to UL WUS from a UE.

[0249] For example, Cell A may refer to a cell on which SIB1 information for that cell is periodically transmitted, and may also be referred to as Cell#1 or an anchor cell. Furthermore, NES cell may refer to a cell on which SIB1 is provided in response to an uplink WUS from a UE, and may also be referred to as Cell#2 or a non-anchor cell.

[0250] A UE can discover a cell and recognize that it is a NES cell (requiring on-demand SIB1 operation) through at least one or a combination of the following methods:

[0251] - The UE can recognize that it is a NES cell through SIB and / or WUS configuration information (provided from cell A).

[0252] - The UE can recognize that it is a NES cell through information such as the center frequency of PBCH / MIB / SSB (received from the NES cell).

[0253] - The UE can recognize that it is a NES cell through the DCI (received from the NES cell). The DCI can be received in the CORESET / search space configured through the PBCH, MIB, or SSB (received from the NES cell). Additionally, a separate RNTI value for the DCI can be pre-configured / defined.

[0254] - If the UE attempts to receive SIB1 of the cell and fails to receive SIB1 for a certain period of time, it can recognize that it is a NES cell.

[0255] Meanwhile, the UE may be provided with the configuration for the uplink WUS requesting SIB1 for the NES cell through at least one or a combination of the following methods.

[0256] - RRC messages transmitted from cell A (e.g., SIB1 or other system information block, RRC release message),

[0257] - DCI transmitted on Cell A or NES cell,

[0258] - Msg2 / Msg4 (in the 4-step random access process) or MsgB (in the 2-step random access process) transmitted from cell A,

[0259] - Center frequency of PBCH / MIB / SSB transmitted on NES cell, or

[0260] - Information pre-defined / pre-configured in the specifications.

[0261] Hereinafter, when a cell is operated in an on-demand SIB1 manner in which a BS omits periodic SIB1 transmissions on the cell and performs periodic SIB1 transmissions for the cell only when requested by a UE in order to save energy, several implementations of the present specification are described, whereby the UE receives periodic SIB1s for the cell from the specific time point, and then the BS notifies the UE that periodic SIB1s will no longer be transmitted through an OFF / deactivation instruction / configuration of on-demand SIB1 transmission (e.g., a (group common (GC)-)DCI or MAC control element (CE) or RRC message), thereby saving energy of the BS and the UE by operating a SIB1-less cell (e.g., on-demand SIB1).

[0262] A BS operating on multiple frequency bands may consume a large amount of energy by periodically sending SSB and / or system information, even when the number of UEs served is small or the traffic load is relatively low.

[0263] Figure 19 illustrates an example of SSB transmission by a BS operating multiple frequency bands.

[0264] Referring to FIG. 19, a BS operating in three frequency bands may achieve energy conservation by periodically transmitting (legacy) SSB and / or SIB1 only in some frequency bands (e.g., F1), transmitting simplified (or modified) SSB (hereinafter, S-SSB) in the remaining frequency bands (e.g., F2), or not transmitting SSB in other frequency bands (e.g., F3). For example, in some implementations, S-SSB may consist of only PSS and SSS. Referring to FIG. 19, in some implementations of the present specification, a UE operating in F2 or F3 may request SSB transmission from a BS in the corresponding frequency band. After the UE performs an on-demand SIB1 process in F1 or moves to F2 / F3, and receives SSB and / or SIB1 for the corresponding F2 or F3 frequency band, the UE performs a RACH process (also called a random access process), enters connected mode, and can perform DL and / or UL data through F2 or F3. In addition, for convenience, the frequency band where S-SSB can be transmitted, such as F2, and the frequency band where SSB cannot be transmitted, such as F3, or the frequency band where SIB1 can be transmitted through the on-demand SIB1 process are collectively referred to as the F2 frequency band below, but some implementations of this specification can be applied to F2 and F3.

[0265] In the description of some implementations of this specification, "frequency band" may be replaced with band, carrier, serving cell, BWP, etc.

[0266] In some implementations of this specification, a frequency band in which SSB and / or SIB1 is transmitted and information about another frequency band (e.g., whether SIB1 is currently being transmitted periodically, and if so, information about the transmission time pattern of SIB1 on that other frequency band, and if not, information about configuration of UE WUS resources for on-demand SIB1 processing, etc.) is provided, as in F1 of FIG. 19, is conveniently named an anchor cell, and another frequency band in which SSB and / or SIB1 is provided on the anchor cell is conveniently named a non-anchor cell. In addition, the UE may assume that there is an association or quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between the anchor cell and the non-anchor cell. The existence of a QCL relationship between an anchor cell and a non-anchor cell may mean that QCL parameters such as Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial Rx parameters, etc. obtained from one of the anchor cell and the non-anchor cell (or a reference signal of the cell) and obtained from the non-anchor cell (or a reference signal of the non-anchor cell) may also be applied to another cell (or a reference signal of the other cell or antenna port(s) of the reference signal). In an NR system, four QCL types are defined as follows:

[0267] > 'typeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread},

[0268] > 'typeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread},

[0269] > 'typeC': {Doppler shift, average delay},

[0270] > 'typeD': {Spatial Rx parameter}

[0271] The QCL types corresponding to each DL RS can be provided by the RRC parameter qcl-Type in the RRC configuration QCL-Info, and can take one of the four values ​​above.

[0272] For any DL RS antenna port(s), a first DL RS may be set as a reference for QCL type X (X = A, B, C, or D), and additionally a second DL RS may be set as a reference for QCL type Y (Y = A, B, C, or D but X).

[0273] The current standard document 3GPP TS 38.213 describes the random access process and PRACH configuration as follows. For a more detailed description of the RRC parameters mentioned below, please refer to 3GPP TS 38.331.

[0274] Prior to initiation of the physical random access process, layer 1 receives a set of SS / PBCH block indices from upper layers and provides a corresponding set of RSRP measurements to the upper layers.

[0275] Prior to initiating a physical random access process, layer 1 may receive an indication from upper layers to perform a type-1 random access process or a type-2 random access process.

[0276] Before initiating a physical random access process, Layer 1 receives the following information from higher layers:

[0277] - Physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission parameters (PRACH preamble format, time resources, and frequency resources for PRACH transmission).

[0278] - Parameters for determining root sequences and their cyclic shifts within the PRACH preamble sequence set (index to logical root sequence table, cyclic shift (N CS ), and set type (unrestricted, restricted set A, or restricted set B).

[0279] From a physical layer perspective, the type-1 L1 random access procedure includes transmission of a random access preamble (Msg1) in a PRACH, a random access response (RAR) with a PDCCH / PDSCH (Msg2), and, when applicable, transmission of a PUSCH scheduled by a RAR UL grant and a PDSCH for contention resolution.

[0280] From a physical layer perspective, the type-2 L1 random access process includes transmission of a random access preamble in a PRACH and of a PUSCH (MsgA), reception of a RAR message with PDCCH / PDSCH (MsgB), and transmission of a PDSCH for contention resolution with the PUSCH scheduled by the fallback RAR UL grant, if applicable.

[0281] When a random access procedure for a UE is initiated by a PDCCH order, the PRACH transmission has the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) as the PRACH transmission initiated by higher layers.

[0282] When a UE is configured with two UL carriers for a serving cell and the UE detects a PDCCH command, the UE uses the UL / supplementary UL (SUL) indicator field value from the detected PDCCH command to determine the UL carrier for the corresponding PRACH transmission.

[0283] The physical random access procedure for a UE is triggered upon a request for PRACH transmission by higher layers or via a PDCCH command for the cell. The higher layers' configuration for PRACH transmission includes:

[0284] - Settings for PRACH transmission on the above cell.

[0285] - Preamble index, preamble SCS, PRACH target reception power P PRACH,target , if applicable, the corresponding RA-RNTI, and the PRACH resources for the cell.

[0286] - If the UE would transmit the PRACH with repetitions, N for the PRACH transmission rep preamble >1 Number of preamble repetitions.

[0287] The UE may, on the indicated PRACH resources or N rep preamble For preamble repetitions, use the same spatial filter to obtain N rep preamble On a determined set of resources, the transmit power P as described in section 7.4 of 3GPP TS 38.214. PRACH,b,f,c(i) A UE transmits a PRACH on a cell using the selected PRACH format with transmission power P PRACH,b,f,c (i), as described in section 7.4 of 3GPP TS 38.214, on the indicated PRACH resource or on a determined set of N rep preamble resources using a same spatial filter in case of N rep preamble preamble repetitions.)

[0288] For a Type-1 random access procedure, the UE is provided with a number N of SS / PBCH block indexes associated with a PRACH occasion and a number R of contention based preambles per SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion by the RRC parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB.

[0289] For a type-1 random access procedure with a common configuration of PRACH occasions, the UE is provided with the number N of SS / PBCH block indices associated with a PRACH occasion by the RRC parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB and the number Q of contention-based preambles per SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion by the RRC parameter msgA-CB-PreamblesPerSSB-PerSharedRO. A PRACH transmission may occur on a subset of PRACH occasions associated with the same SS / PBCH block index within a SSB-RO mapping cycle for the UE provided with the PRACH mask index by the RRC parameter msgA-SSB-SharedRO-MaskIndex according to 3GPP TS 38.321.

[0290] For a Type-2 random access procedure with a separate configuration of PRACH occasions with a Type-1 random access procedure, the UE receives the number N of SS / PBCH block indices associated with a PRACH occasion and the number R of contention-based preambles per SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion, when provided, by an RRC parameter msgA-SSB-PerRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB, otherwise, ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB.

[0291] For a random access procedure associated with a feature combination indicated by the RRC information element FeatureCombinationPreambles, which associates a feature combination with a set of preambles, the UE is provided with the number N of SS / PBCH block indices associated with one PRACH occasion by the RRC parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB or, if provided, msgA-SSB-PerRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB, and with the number S of contention-based preambles per SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion by the RRC parameter startPreambleForThisPartition and the RRC parameter numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition. A PRACH transmission is performed on a PRACH mask index associated with the same SS / PBCH block index within a SSB-RO mapping cycle for a UE provided with a PRACH mask index by ssb-SharedRO-MaskIndex according to 3GPP TS 38.321. It can be done on subsets of PRACH periods.

[0292] For a type-1 random access procedure, or for a type-2 random access procedure having a separate set of PRACH occasions from the type-1 random access procedure, if N<1, one SS / PBCH block index is mapped to 1 / N consecutive valid PRACH occasions, and R contention-based preambles having consecutive indices associated with the SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH occasion are mapped starting from preamble index 0. If N≥1, R contention-based preambles having consecutive indices associated with the SS / PBCH block index n per valid PRACH occasion are mapped to preamble index n*N. total preamble Starting from / N, 0≤n≤N-1, and Ntotal preamble is provided by totalNumberOfRA-Preambles for a type-1 random access process, or by msgA-TotalNumberOfRA-Preambles for a type-2 random access process that has a separate set of PRACH occasions from a type-1 random access process, and is an integer multiple of N.

[0293] For a type-2 random access process having a common set of PRACH epochs with a type-1 random access process, if N<1, one SS / PBCH block index is mapped to 1 / N consecutive valid PRACH epochs, and Q contention-based preambles having consecutive indices associated with the SS / PBCH block index per valid PRACH epoch start from preamble index R. If N≥1, Q contention-based preambles having consecutive indices associated with SS / PBCH block index n per valid PRACH epoch are mapped to preamble index n*N. total preamble Starting from / N + R, where 0≤n≤N-1, and N total preamble is provided by totalNumberOfRA-Preambles for type-1 random access processes.

[0294] In case of link recovery, the UE is provided with N SS / PBCH block indices associated with one PRACH occasion by the RRC parameter ssb-perRACH-Occasion in the RRC configuration BeamFailureRecoveryConfig. In case of dedicated RACH configuration provided by the RRC configuration RACH-ConfigDedicated, if parameters cfra for contention-free random access to a given target cell are provided, the UE is provided with N SS / PBCH block indices associated with one PRACH occasion by the parameter ssb-perRACH-Occasion in the parameter occasions for random access occasions for contention-free random access. If N<1, one SS / PBCH block index is mapped to 1 / N consecutive valid PRACH occasions. If N≥1, all N consecutive SS / PBCH block indices are associated with one PRACH occasion.

[0295] The SS / PBCH block indices provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or RRC configuration ServingCellConfigCommon are mapped to valid PRACH occasions in the following order, with parameters as described in 3GPP TS 38.211.

[0296] > First, in increasing order of preamble indices within a single PRACH period.

[0297] > Second, in increasing order of frequency resource indices for frequency multiplexed PRACH periods.

[0298] > Third, in increasing order of time resource indices for time-multiplexed PRACH periods within a PRACH slot.

[0299] > Fourth, in increasing order of indexes for PRACH slots

[0300] The association period, starting from frame 0, for mapping SS / PBCH block indices to PRACH periods is N SSB Tx An association period, starting from frame 0, for mapping SS / PBCH block indexes to PRACH occasions is the smallest integer number in the set determined by the PRACH configuration period according to the following table such that N SSB Tx SS / PBCH block indexes are mapped at least once to the PRACH occasions within the association period), where the UE determines N from the value of ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or ServingCellConfigCommon. SSB Tx Get .

[0301] The following table illustrates the mapping between the PRACH configuration period and the SS / PBCH block to PRACH occasion association period.

[0302]

[0303] For a PRACH transmission by a UE triggered by a PDCCH command, if the value of the random access preamble index field is not 0, the PRACH mask index field indicates a PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission, where the PRACH occasions are associated with the SS / PBCH block index indicated by the SS / PBCH block index field of the PDCCH command, and the cell indicator field, if any, indicates a cell for the PRACH transmission (see 3GPP TS 38.212). The UE may indicate K by the RRC parameter cellSpecificKoffset. cell,offset If provided, the PRACH period is slot n + 2 u ·K cell,offset After that, n is T TA = 0, is the slot of the UL BWP for PRACH transmission overlapping the end of the PDCCH command reception, and u is the SCS configuration for the PRACH transmission. If the PDCCH reception for the PDCCH command includes two PDCCH candidates from two linked search space sets based on the RRC parameter searchSpaceLinkingId used to link two search spaces of the same type within the same BWP, then the last symbol of the PDCCH reception is the last symbol of the later-ending PDCCH candidate, as described in section 10.1 of 3GPP TS 38.213. The above PDCCH reception includes the two PDCCH candidates even when the UE is not required to monitor one of the two PDCCH candidates as described in sections 10 (except section 10.4), 11.1, 11.1.1 and 17.2 of 3GPP 38.213.

[0304] For PRACH transmissions triggered by upper layers, if the RRC parameter ssb-ResourceList is provided, the PRACH mask index is indicated by the RRC parameter ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex, which indicates the PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission.

[0305] PRACH epochs are mapped consequently for each SS / PBCH block index. The indexing of the PRACH epoch indicated by the mask index value is reset per mapping cycle of consecutive PRACH epochs for each SS / PBCH block index. The UE selects the PRACH epoch indicated by the PRACH mask index value for the indicated SS / PBCH block index for PRACH transmission within the first available mapping cycle.

[0306] For the above indicated preamble index, the ordering of PRACH epochs is

[0307] > First, for frequency multiplexed PRACH periods, in increasing order of frequency resource indices

[0308] > Second, for the time-multiplexed PRACH periods within the PRACH slot, in increasing order of time resource indices.

[0309] > Third, in increasing order of indexes for PRACH slots

[0310] N rep preamble For PRACH transmissions with multiple preamble repetitions, the set is N, which are consecutive in time and use the same frequency resources and are associated with the same one or more SS / PBCH block index(es). rep preambleIt consists of a set of valid PRACH epochs, and each SS / PBCH block index is associated with the same preamble index within all valid PRACH epochs within the set.

[0311] For PRACH transmission with preamble repetitions, the time interval starting from frame 0 is N SSB Tx For a PRACH transmission with preamble repetitions, a time period, starting from frame 0, is the smallest integer number of association pattern periods such that at least one set of valid PRACH occasions for each of the N SS / PBCH block indices can be determined within the time period for all the configured number of preamble repetitions. SSB Tx SS / PBCH block indexes can be determined within the time period for all configured preamble repetitions. The set(s) of valid PRACH occasions for each configured number of preamble repetitions repeats every time period.

[0312] Within a time interval, N rep preamble N for PRACH transmission with dog preamble repetitions rep preamble About the set of valid preamble repetitions

[0313] > The first valid PRACH epoch of the first set is the first valid PRACH epoch

[0314] > The first valid PRACH epoch of subsequent sets (if any) is determined by the ordering of the valid PRACH epochs.

[0315] >> First, in increasing order of frequency resource indices for frequency multiplexed PRACH periods.

[0316] >> Second, in increasing order of time resource indexes of time multiplexing PRACH periods

[0317] Here, for each frequency resource index for frequency multiplexed PRACH periods,

[0318] > The first valid PRACH epoch of the first set is the first valid PRACH epoch

[0319] > If any, the first valid PRACH period of the subsequent sets is

[0320] >> If the RRC parameter msg1-RepetitionTimeOffsetROGroup is provided, it is msg1-RepetitionTimeOffsetROGroup consecutive valid PRACH occasions in time from the first valid PRACH occassion of the previous set, where each PRACH occassion is associated with the same SS / PBCH block index(es) and each SS / PBCH block index is associated with the same preambles.

[0321] >> If the RRC parameter msg1-RepetitionTimeOffsetROGroup is not provided, it is after the PRACH time of the previous set.

[0322] For PRACH transmissions triggered upon request by higher layers, if the RRC parameter csi-ResourceList is provided, the value of the RRC parameter ra-OccasionList indicates a list of PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission, where the PRACH occasions are associated with the selected CSI-RS index indicated by the RRC parameter csi-RS. The indexing of the PRACH occasions indicated by ra-OccasionList is reset for each associated pattern interval.

[0323] Figure 20 illustrates paging times according to several scenarios. In particular, Figure 20 illustrates paging times according to the current NR standard.

[0324] If the UE has no ongoing data transmissions / receptions, the UE enters RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE to save power. When DL data for the UE arrives in the network, the network sends a paging message (e.g., paging DCI) at a paging occasion (PO) to trigger an RRC setup procedure, an RRC connection resume procedure, etc. A PO is a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions and may consist of multiple time slots (e.g., subframes or OFDM symbols), and a DCI with a CRC scrambled with a P-RNTI may be transmitted at the PO. For example, PO is a set of 'S*X' consecutive PDCCH monitoring occasions, where 'S' is the number of actual transmitted SSBs determined by parameter ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1, and 'X' is nrofPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionPerSSB-InPO if set or equal to 1 otherwise. The parameter ssb-PositionsInBurst indicates time domain indications of SSBs transmitted within a half frame with SS / PBCH blocks, and the parameter nrofPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionPerSSB-InPO indicates the number of PDCCH monitoring occasions corresponding to SSBs within a paging occasion.

[0325] Referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, the following information may be transmitted, for example, by a DCI format (e.g., DCI format 1_0) with a CRC scrambled with a P-RNTI:

[0326] > Short Messages Indicator - 2 bits according to Table 11

[0327] > Short Messages - 8 bits according to Table 12. In Table 12, bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB). If only the scheduling information for paging and tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication if RRC configurationtrs-ResourceSetConfigis configured are carried, this bit field is reserved.

[0328] > Frequency domain resource allocation - 4 bits as defined in clause 5.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.213. Ceil{log2(N DL,BWP RB (N DL,BWP RB + 1) / 2)} bits. If only the short message and the TRS availability indication iftrs-ResourceSetConfigis configured are carried, this bit field is reserved.

[0329] >> N DL,BWP RB is the size of CORESET 0.

[0330] > Time Domain Resource Allocation - 4 bits as defined in clause 5.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.214. This bit field is reserved for short messages only, and if a TRS availability indication is carried when trs-ResourceSetConfig is set.

[0331] > VRB-to-PRB mapping - 1 bit according to Table 13. This bit field is reserved if only short messages are carried, and if trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, only TRS availability indications are carried.

[0332] > Modulation and Coding Scheme - 5 bits as defined in clause 5.1.3 of 3GPP TS 38.214, using Table 5.1.3.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.214. This bit field is reserved for short messages only, and if trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, only TRS availability indications are carried.

[0333] > Transport Block (TB) Scaling - 2 bits as defined in section 5.1.3.2 of 3GPP TS 38.214. This bit field is reserved for short messages only, and if trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, only TRS availability indications are carried.

[0334] > Tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 5 bits, where the number of bits, if set, is equal to 1 plus the highest value of all the indBitID(s) provided by trs-ResourceSetConfig; otherwise, 0 bits.

[0335] > Reserved bits - (8 - M) bits for operation within a cell with shared spectrum channel access within frequency range 1 or within a cell within frequency range 2-2; (6 - M) bits for operation within a cell without shared spectrum channel access, where the value of M is the number of bits for the field of the 'TRS Availability Indication' as defined above.

[0336] The RRC configuration trs-ResourceSetConfig above provides, in terms of a list of N>=1 non-zero power (NZP) TRS resource set(s), a reference signal (RS) configuration of TRS occasion(s) for idle or inactive UE(s).

[0337]

[0338]

[0339]

[0340] In this specification, a PDCCH carrying a DCI format having a CRC scrambled with a P-RNTI is referred to as a paging PDCCH, and a PDSCH scheduled by the paging PDCCH is referred to as a paging PDSCH. A UE can decode the paging PDSCH based on scheduling information (e.g., frequency domain resource allocation, modulation and coding scheme, etc.) in the paging PDCCH. The paging PDSCH carries paging messages, which are used to notify one or more UEs and may include one or more UE identifiers (IDs). The following tables illustrate paging messages and descriptions of fields within the paging messages.

[0341]

[0342]

[0343] In multi-beam operations, the UE assumes that the same paging message is repeated across all transmitted beams. The paging message is the same for both radio access network (RAN)-initiated paging and core network (CN)-initiated paging.

[0344] In each DRX cycle, the UE remains in sleep mode during the OFF period, but is expected to wake up during paging occasions to monitor PDCCH for paging. The UE monitors one PO per DRX cycle. Paging DRX (also called idle mode DRX) is defined, where a UE in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE is only required to monitor paging channels during one PO per DRX cycle. In each idle mode DRX (IDRX) cycle, the UE monitors only one PO within a specific PF. When a PDCCH for paging is received in a PO, the UE decodes the PDSCH to receive a paging message. If the paging is not for the UE, the UE falls back to sleep until the next PO. Figure 11 illustrates paging frames and paging occasions that can be monitored by a UE with a specific UE identifier.

[0345] A paging frame (PF) is a radio frame and may contain one or more POs or the starting point of a PO. The PF and PO for paging can be determined by predefined formulas. For example, in some implementations, the system frame number (SFN) for the PF may be determined by (SFN + PF_offset) mod T = (T div N)*(UE_ID mod N), and the index i_s indicating the index of the PO may be determined by i_s = floor(UE_ID) mod Ns, where T is the DRX cycle of the UE determined by the minimum of UE-specific DRX value(s) and / or default DRX value broadcast with system information, N is the total number of paging frames within T, Ns is the number of paging occasions for the PF, PF_offset is an offset used for PF determination, and UE_ID is a value determined based on 5G-S-TMSI. A parameter Ns relating to the number of paging occasions per paging frame, a parameter nAndPagingFrameOffset used to derive the total number of paging frames in T, a parameter nrofPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionsPerSSB-InPO relating to the number of PDCCH monitoring occasions corresponding to SSBs in a paging occasion, and a length of a default DRX cycle may be signaled by SIB1, and the values ​​of N and PF_offset are derived from the parameter nAndPagingFrameOffset. The PDCCH monitoring occasions for paging may be determined based on the parameter firstPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionOfPO indicating the first PDCCH monitoring occasion for paging of each PO of the PF, and the parameter nrofPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionsPerSSB-InPO.The above parameter firstPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionOfPO may be signaled by SIB1 for paging in the initial downlink BWP, and may be signaled with the corresponding BWP setting for paging in a DL BWP other than the initial downlink BWP.

[0346] To reduce power consumption, a UE may use Paging Early Indication (PEI) in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states. PEI informs the UE whether it will receive the next PO, and the UE may be notified whether it should monitor the PO ahead of its own PO. If PEI configuration is provided in the system information, a UE in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state that supports PEI may monitor PEI using the PEI parameters in the system information. The UE monitors one PEI per DRX cycle. A PEI occasion (PEI-O) is a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions and may consist of multiple time slots (e.g., subframes or OFDM symbols) in which a PEI can be sent. In multi-beam operations, the UE assumes that the same PEI is repeated on all transmitted beams. The time position of a PEI-O with respect to a PO of a UE is determined by a reference point and an offset, wherein the reference point is the beginning of a reference frame determined by a frame-level offset from the beginning of a first PF among PF(s) associated with the PEI-O, provided by pei-FrameOffset in SIB1, and the offset is a symbol-level offset from the reference point to the beginning of a first PDCCH monitoring occasion of this PEI-O, provided by firstPDCCH-MonitoringOccasionOfPEI-O in SIB1. If a PEI-O is associated with POs of two PFs, the two PFs are consecutive PFs computed by the parameters PF_offset, T, Ns, and N. When a UE detects a PEI (e.g., a DCI having a CRC scrambled with PEI-RNTI) and the PEI indicates a subgroup to which the UE belongs, the UE monitors the associated PO.If the UE does not detect a PEI during the monitored PEI period or if the PEI does not indicate a subgroup to which the UE belongs, the UE is not required to monitor the associated PO. When PEI and subgrouping are established, UEs monitoring the same PO can be divided into one or more subgroups. With subgrouping, the UE can monitor the associated PO if the corresponding bit for the subgroup to which the UE belongs is set to 1 by the PEI corresponding to its PO. For more details on PEI, refer to 3GPP TS 38.304 and 3GPP TS 38.213.

[0347] A UE may be provided with UL WUS configuration for SSB / SIB1 request to a NES cell operating on-demand SSB / SIB1 from Cell A or a NES cell. In some implementations, if PRACH / MsgA PRACH is used as UL WUS, the UL WUS configuration may be provided similarly to the PRACH configurations (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon, RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA, RACH-ConfigDedicated, RACH-ConfigGeneric, and / or RACH-ConfigGenericTwoStepRA in 3GPP TS 38.331). Although some implementations of the present specification are described below using PRACH and / or MsgA PRACH as UL WUS as examples, other UL signals (e.g., (semi-persistent (SP)-)PUCCH / SRS / (CG-)PUSCH) may also be used as UL WUS for SIB1 request.

[0348] Hereinafter, for convenience, some implementations of this specification are described with the case of transmitting UL WUS on Cell A (or transmitting on NES cell) and 4-step RACH process as an example, but some implementations of this specification can also be applied to the case of transmitting UL WUS on NES cell (or transmitting on Cell A) and 2-step RACH process (and contention based random access (CBRA) and contention free random access (CFRA)). In addition, in some implementations of this specification, the UE can be provided with a UL WUS configuration from a SIBx of Cell A (e.g., SIB1) or from a NES cell to request SIB1 for the NES cell, and can also be provided with information on whether to transmit UL WUS on Cell A or NES cell.

[0349] In this specification, ' / ' can mean 'and / or'. UL WUS / Msg3 can mean UL WUS and Msg3, or UL WUS or Msg3.

[0350] In some implementations of this specification, a UE may expect to receive an SSB / SIB1 after transmitting an UL WUS (e.g., Msg1 / MsgA PRACH) to a BS operating an on-demand SSB / SIB1, or after transmitting an SIB1 request via Msg3, similar to transmitting an RRCSystemInfoRequest via Msg3 in an on-demand SI process. In this case, the UE may be configured with a (start) time point (e.g., T ms / slots after the transmission of the UL WUS / Msg3) or a period (e.g., T1 ms / slots to T2 ms / slots after the transmission of the UL WUS / Msg3) during which it can expect to receive an (first) SSB / SIB1 from the BS after transmitting the UL WUS / Msg3. For example, T or T1 and T2 may be configured in advance by the BS to the UE(s). Hereinafter, the (start) time point or period during which the UE can expect transmission of on-demand SSB / SIB1 after the UL WUS for on-demand SSB / SIB1 request has transmitted is called time instance A1. The UE can attempt to receive SSB or SIB1 PDCCH / PDSCH in the standard-defined or pre-configured CORESET / search space set after the configured reception time point or within the period.

[0351] In some implementations of this specification, a BS that receives a UL WUS from a UE may send a Msg2 / ACK / GC-DCI / MAC-CE to the UE as a response to successfully receiving the UL WUS. The UE may be configured with T / T1 / T2 based on the time of receiving the Msg2 / ACK / GC-DCI / MAC-CE, and may attempt to receive an SSB / SIB1 or SIB1 PDCCH MO based on T / T1 / T2. For example, the UE may be configured with T or T1 and T2, and may attempt to receive an SSB / SIB1 or SIB1 PDCCH MO starting from a slot that is at least T ms / slots after receiving the Msg2 / ACK / GC-DCI / MAC-CE, or starting from a slot that is at least T1 ms / slots after receiving the Msg2 / ACK / GC-DCI / MAC-CE, and for T2 ms / slots. Additionally, in some implementations, the UE may receive a list of candidates for T / T1 / T2 values ​​from the BS in advance, and one of them may be indicated by Msg2 / ACK / GC-DCI / MAC-CE. Hereinafter, the (start) time point or period during which the UE can expect transmission of an on-demand SSB / SIB1 after a successful reception response to an on-demand SSB / SIB1 request is referred to as time instance A2.

[0352] In some implementations, when a BS that has not been transmitting SSB / SIB1 for energy saving starts transmitting SSB / SIB1 periodically upon a request from a UE, it may be necessary to configure how long the SSB / SIB1 transmission will continue. If the UE receives from the BS a SSB / SIB1 reception time (e.g., time instance A1 or A2) and a timer (or time window) or a value N as described above, the UE may expect / attempt to receive SSB / SIB1, assuming that SSB / SIB1 will be transmitted at the pre-configured / indicated period during the timer running from the time instance A1 / A2 (or within the time window) or for N SSB / SIB1 cycles, and may assume / expect that SSB / SIB1 will no longer be transmitted after the timer expires (or after the time window ends) or after N SSB / SIB1 cycles. At this time, the timer / time window / N value may be predefined / set or one of multiple predefined candidate values ​​may be set / indicated by the BS (via Msg2 / ACK / GC-DCI / MAC-CE / SIB1 PDDCH or PDSCH, or a separate PDCCH).

[0353] In some implementations, the duration for which on-demand SIB1 is transmitted after the UE transmits an UL WUS may be preset, as in the methods described above, but the standard may also specify that periodic SIB1 transmissions continue until a separate BS instruction (e.g., PDCCH) is given when the UE requests SIB1 transmission via an UL WUS.

[0354] <Method #1> A method in which a UE transmits a UL WUS to trigger (e.g., ON / activate) on-demand SIB1 transmission for an NES cell operating on-demand SIB1, receives periodic SIB1, and then receives an OFF / deactivation instruction / configuration (e.g., (GC)-DCI or MAC-CE or RRC signal) for on-demand SIB1 transmission from a BS.

[0355] When a UE requests SIB1 transmission to a NES cell operating on-demand SIB1 via UL WUS, the BS can transmit SIB1 from the time points described above (e.g., time instances A1 and / or A2), and can transmit periodic SIB1 only until a certain time point to save energy and turn OFF / deactivate SIB1 transmission thereafter. The UE can request SIB1 transmission to the BS via UL WUS transmission whenever SIB1 is needed, and the BS can instruct the UE to turn SIB1 OFF / deactivate via a specific configuration / instruction, rather than performing continuous (or permanent) periodic transmission of SIB1 triggered via UL WUS as in a non-NES cell (also called a normal cell), and then operate the NES cell again as a SIB1-less cell (e.g., a cell operating on-demand SIB1).

[0356] Alternatively, similar to how specific fields(s) of the DCI format are set to all '0's or all '1's for the enable / deactivate indication of DL SPS and UL Grant Type 2 as described previously with reference to section 10.2 of 3GPP TS 38.213, the UE may provide / receive the OFF / deactivate indication of SIB1 transmission via DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI, which is used when scheduling SIB1 and other SIB messages. Referring to clause 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, the following information may be transmitted using DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI:

[0357] > Frequency domain resource allocation - Ceil{log2(N DL,BWP RB (N DL,BWP RB + 1) / 2)} bits.

[0358] >> N DL,BWP RB is the size of CORESET 0.

[0359] > Time domain resource allocation - 4 bits as defined in clause 5.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.214

[0360] > VRB-to-PRB mapping - 1 bit according to Table 13.

[0361] > Modulation and coding scheme - 5 bits as defined in clause 5.1.3 of 3GPP S 38.214, using Table 5.1.3.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.214.

[0362] > Redundancy version - 2 bits as defined in Table 16.

[0363] > System Information Indicator - 1 bit as defined in Table 17.

[0364] > Reserved bits - 17 bits for operation within a cell with shared spectrum channel access within frequency range 1 or within a cell within frequency range 2-2; otherwise, 15 bits.

[0365] CORESET 0 (i.e., CORESET#0) is the CORESET for scheduling SIB1.

[0366]

[0367]

[0368] As described above, when DCI format 1_0 is transmitted via SI-RNTI, the fields within the DCI include frequency domain resource assignment, time domain resource assignment, VRB-to-PRB mapping, modulation and coding scheme, redundancy version, system information indicator, and reserved bits. Similar to DL SPS and UL grant type 2 scheduling activation / deactivation PDCCH validation, in some implementations, the BS may indicate on-demand SIB1 OFF / deactivation by setting a specific field or a combination of specific fields within these DCI format 1_0 to all '0's or all '1's.

[0369] For example, it may be specified that when both the frequency domain resource allocation field and the redundancy version field in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with SI-RNTI are set to '0' or '1', the on-demand SIB1 transmission is turned OFF / deactivated, or when both the modulation and coding method field and the redundancy field are set to '0' or '1', the on-demand SIB1 transmission is turned OFF / deactivated.

[0370] Alternatively, for example, if the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field is set to all '0' or all '1', the DCI scrambled with the SI-RNTI can be regarded as DCI indicating the status of the on-demand SIB1, and if a specific field (e.g., redundancy version) in the DCI is set to all '0', the UE may be informed that the on-demand SIB1 is OFF / deactivated, and if it is set to all '1', the UE may be informed that the on-demand SIB1 is ON / activated (or at least not OFF / deactivated). In addition, similar to the existing DL SPS and UL grant type 2, a separate RNTI may be configured or allocated for the ON / OFF indication purpose of this on-demand SIB1.

[0371] Meanwhile, the UE may receive UL WUS configuration for on-demand SIB1 transmission request from Cell A or a NES cell, and may also be configured / instructed in advance about a cell to transmit UL WUS and / or a cell to receive SIB1. For example, the UE may transmit UL WUS on an NES cell and receive SIB1 from the NES cell, or may transmit UL WUS on Cell A and receive SIB1 of the NES cell from Cell A. When the UE receives SIB1 transmission from an NES cell, it may be instructed to turn OFF / deactivate on-demand SIB1 by setting specific field(s) in DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI as described above.

[0372] When a UE receives SIB1 of a NES cell from cell A, CORESET / RNTI, etc. may be set for each NES cell from cell A, or SIB1 information of the NES cell(s) may be multiplexed and transmitted within SIBx (e.g., SIB1 or other SI) from cell A. In this case, multiple CORESETs having different beam directions for each NES cell may be set to the UE(s) in advance for actual SIB1 scheduling, and the UE may receive SIB1 PDCCH / PDSCH only in the beam direction corresponding to the NES cell from which it will receive SIB1. For example, a BS may configure multiple CORESETs, for example, 10 monitoring occasions (MOs), to the UE according to the NES cell index, and NES cell #1 may be configured to monitor MOs 1 to 5 of the 10 MOs, NES cell #2 may be configured to monitor MOs mapped to different beam directions (e.g., beam index first, cell index second). Or, conversely, the UE may be configured to monitor MOs in a cell index first, beam index second manner.

[0373] Alternatively, the UE may receive SIB1 through the CORESET / search space / RNTI corresponding to the NES cell (group) to be received by configuring the CORESET / search space / RNTI for each NES cell or NES cell group. Alternatively, the UE may receive the CORESET / search space for receiving SIB1 transmitted from the NES cell through the ACK / response to the SIB1 or WUS transmission of cell A.

[0374] Meanwhile, the BS may multiplex the SIB1 of the NES cell with the SIBx of the NES cell and transmit them together, where SIBx refers to an SIB that can be transmitted on cell A. For example, if the SIB1 of the NES cell is configured to be multiplexed with the SIB2 of cell A and transmitted, the UE may obtain the SIB1 information of the NES cell by receiving the SIB2 of cell A. For example, the BS may perform SIB1 scheduling of the NES cell(s) with NEW-SI-RNTI, and when the SIB1s for multiple NES cells are multiplexed, the BS may distinguish which cell each multiplexed SIB1 is for by utilizing the physical (layer) cell identity (PCI) / global cell index / NR absolute radio frequency channel number (NR-ARFCN) or a pre-indexed value. For example, if SIBx of cell A and SIB1 of NES cell are multiplexed, the UE can monitor DCI scrambled with existing SI-RNTI when it wants to receive SIB1 for NES cell. Also, if NEW-SI-RNTI (for a specific NES cell) is set, the UE can monitor DCI scrambled with NEW-SI-RNTI instead of existing SI-RNTI when it wants to receive SIB1 for NES cell.

[0375] At this time, in some implementations, the BS may indicate on-demand SIB1 OFF / deactivation by setting a specific field or a combination of specific fields in the DCI scrambled with NEW-SI-RNTI to all '0's or all '1's. For example, the BS may indicate on-demand SIB1 transmission OFF / deactivation by setting both the FDRA field and the redundancy version (RV) field in the DCI scrambled with NEW-SI-RNTI to '0' or '1', or may indicate on-demand SIB1 transmission OFF / deactivation by setting both the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field and the RV field to '0' or '1'.

[0376] When SIB1 of an NES cell is transmitted from Cell A (and Cell A is associated with one or more NES cells), the UE may be able to distinguish the index of the corresponding NES cell by the search space / CORESET configured per NES cell, but distinguishing it through a single DCI can also be considered. For example, similar to the case where SIB1 is transmitted on an NES cell, when the FDRA field is set to all '0' or all '1', the BS may utilize a specific field (e.g., MCS field) to indicate the transmission status (e.g., ON / activated or OFF / deactivated) of the on-demand SIB1 for each NES cell. For example, when a 5-bit bitmap through the MCS field is utilized, the link relationship of each bit of the NES cell index can be configured in advance (e.g., through SIB1 of Cell A or another System Information Block (hereinafter, SIBx)). Alternatively, as another example, a 4-bit bitmap may be utilized via the time domain resource assignment (TDRA) field, a 4-bit bitmap may be utilized via a combination of fields within the DCI (e.g., VRB-to-PRB mapping field, RV field, System Information Indicator field), or a reserved status field (e.g., 15 bits) may be utilized as a bitmap to identify the index of a specific NES cell.

[0377] If the UE transmits a WUS for a SIB1 request in a specific beam direction, SIB reception / paging monitoring / random access may be configured to be performed only in the direction corresponding to (or the same) as the WUS beam direction transmitted by the UE. For example, if the UE transmits a PRACH as a WUS in the direction corresponding to SSB index #1 among SSBs transmitted on cell A / NES cell with RSRP greater than or equal to a specific threshold, SIB / paging monitoring / random access may be performed only in the corresponding (or the same) beam direction.

[0378] In method #1, when the UE receives a SIB1 OFF / deactivation setting / indication (e.g., (GC)-DCI or MAC CE or RRC signal), it can be expected that the actual SIB1 transmission will be OFF / deactivated after a time point defined in advance (in the standard, etc.) or set / indicated by the BS (e.g., after an application delay from the reception of the SIB1 OFF / deactivation setting / indication) considering the timeline such as the processing time of the UE.

[0379] Additionally, as described in Method #1, the BS may indicate the transmission state (e.g., ON / Activated or OFF / Deactivated) of the on-demand SIB1 in the form of PDSCH-less DCI by setting a specific field or combination of specific fields in the DCI to all '0's or all '1's (e.g., by setting the fields to an invalid form), but it is also possible to indicate the state of the on-demand SIB1 (e.g., that it is scheduled to be OFF / Deactivated at some point, or that there are several more SIB1 transmissions left, or that this is / is not the last SIB1 transmission, etc.) while scheduling the SIB1 PDSCH via reserved bits (e.g., 15 bits) in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with SI-RNTI.

[0380] <Method #2> A method to dynamically indicate ON / OFF (e.g., activation / deactivation) of additional SSB / RACH occasions (RACH occasions, RO) through DCI format 1_0.

[0381] The UE may be configured with relatively sparse SSBs (e.g., SSBs with relatively long periods) by the BS first, and may additionally be configured with additional SSBs (additional SSBs, A-SSBs) to supplement the insufficient SSBs. Here, the relatively sparse SSBs may refer to legacy SSBs that take into account legacy UEs (e.g., UEs that do not support Release 19 (R19) NES features). To address initial access delays and SSB-based measurement issues that may occur due to long-period SSBs, additional SSBs may be configured among the sparse (registered) SSBs and dynamically instructed to turn ON / OFF. For example, the UE may basically receive only long-period SSBs to save energy for the BS, but may be instructed to activate / deactivate a preset additional SSB period / pattern via (GC-)DCI or MAC CE at the BS's discretion (or UE's request). If multiple additional SSB cycles / patterns are configured, which additional SSB cycles / patterns are activated / deactivated can be indicated via (GC-)DCI or MAC CE, etc., at the BS's discretion (or UE's request). The UE may receive only sparse SSBs, and if it needs to receive SSBs with shorter cycles for initial access, cell (re)selection, handover, synchronization, measurements, etc., it may transmit a UL signal / channel via UL resources configured by the BS in advance to notify the BS of the need and trigger an additional SSB indication. Since whether to transmit additional SSBs can be determined by the BS, in some implementations, the UE's transmission of a UL signal / channel may not always indicate an additional SSB transmission.

[0382] Also, in some implementations, a method may be considered to receive a default RO (D-RO) configuration (which sets a relatively sparse RO) for legacy UEs and an additional RO (e.g., A-RO) configuration for NES UEs (e.g., UEs supporting the R19 NES feature) in a way that the UE's connection delay is not too long, thereby achieving some energy saving benefits for the BS. In this case, the A-RO configuration may be provided together with the D-RO configuration or may be provided separately. Here, the RO for legacy UEs may mean RO resources for 4-stage RACH of Release-15 of the 3GPP standard, RO resources for 2-stage RACH of Release-16, RO resources for reduced capability (Redcap) UEs according to Release-17, or RO resources for coverage enhancement (CE) according to Release-18. There can be one or more A-RO configurations, and the RO pattern / period, etc. can be configured differently for each A-RO configuration. Activation of an A-RO configuration can be instructed to NES-capable UE(s) through a pre-configured / defined index, or switching between A-RO configurations can be instructed if an A-RO configuration is already activated. One or more A-RO configurations can be configured through SIB1, similar to a D-RO configuration, or can be configured through separate RRC signaling.

[0383] An NES-capable UE can be configured with a priority regarding whether it can use only A-RO or both D-RO and A-RO among the ROs configured by the BS, and which one to use first. If there is no separate configuration for this, an NES-capable UE can be interpreted as being configured to use both D-RO and A-RO. Even when an NES-capable UE is configured to use both D-RO and A-RO, normally A-RO is deactivated and all UEs (e.g., both legacy UEs and NES-capable UEs) can use only D-RO, and A-RO can be activated by dynamic instruction of the BS (upon the request of the UE). Alternatively, when the activation (deactivation) of A-RO is indicated, the activation (deactivation) of D-RO may be indicated together or separately.

[0384] As explained above, the additional SSB / RO configured for NES can be dynamically activated / deactivated (or ON / OFF) via (UE's request or) BS's (GC-)DCI or MAC CE indication. However, since SSB / RO affects all UEs in the cell, a method may be required to indicate activation (deactivation) to all UEs in RRC states (e.g., UEs in idle, inactive, and / or connected mode). If activation (release) of additional SSB / RO is indicated based on DCI, DCI format 1_0 used for scheduling PDSCH in one DL cell, DCI format 2_7 used for notifying paging early indication (PEI) and tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication for one or more UEs, and DCI format 2_9 used for activating or deactivating cell DTX and / or DRX configuration of one or more serving cells for one or more UEs or for issuing NES-mode indication of the primary cell for one or more UEs can be considered, and among these, DCI format 2_7 has a limitation that it can indicate (activation (release) of additional SSB / RO) only to idle or inactive mode UEs based on the Rel-18 standard, and DCI format 2_9 can indicate (activation (release) of additional SSB / RO) only to connected mode UEs. Therefore, additional Enhancement / extension may be required.

[0385] On the other hand, DCI format 1_0 can be used to instruct UEs in all RRC states with a specific RNTI (e.g. SI-RNTI) without any additional enhancement, and introducing a new RNTI in DCI format 1_0 to activate (deactivate) additional SSBs / ROs can also be considered. In one way, similar to how specific field(s) of DCI format(s) are set to all '0's or all '1's for activation / deactivation indication of DL SPS and UL Grant Type 2 according to clause 10.2 of 3GPP TS 38.213, the UE can receive activation / deactivation indication of additional SSBs / ROs via DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI, which is used when scheduling SIB1 and other SIB messages. Referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, when DCI format 1_0 is transmitted via SI-RNTI, the fields in the DCI may consist of frequency domain resource assignment, time domain resource assignment, VRB-to-PRB mapping, modulation and coding scheme, redundancy version, system information indicator, and reserved bits. Similar to DL SPS and UL grant type 2 scheduling activation / deactivation PDCCH validation, the BS may indicate activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO by setting specific fields or combinations of specific fields in these DCI format 1_0 fields to all '0's or all '1's.

[0386] For example, the BS may indicate activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO by setting both the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation field and the Redundancy Version field in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with SI-RNTI to '0' or '1', or may indicate activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO by setting both the Modulation and Coding Scheme field and the Redundancy Version field to '0' or '1'. Meanwhile, more than one A-RO configuration and / or more than one additional SSB configuration may be configured / provided. When multiple A-RO configurations and / or additional SSB configurations are configured / provided, the BS may indicate activation of a specific A-RO configuration and / or additional SSB configuration (or switching between A-RO configurations and / or additional SSB configurations) by setting both the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation field and the Redundancy Version field in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with SI-RNTI to '0' or '1' and through the Modulation and Coding Scheme field and / or the Redundancy Version field (or conversely, setting both the Modulation and Coding Scheme field and the Redundancy Version field to '0' or '1' and through the Frequency Domain Resource Allocation field and / or the Redundancy Version field). For example, if four A-RO configurations are provided, the frequency domain resource allocation field and the redundancy version field are both set to '0' or '1', and the modulation and coding scheme field is set or can be set to indicate activation of A-RO configuration #1 as '00', activation of A-RO configuration #2 as '01', activation of A-RO configuration #3 as '10', and activation of A-RO configuration #4 as '11'. Alternatively, activation / deactivation of each A-RO configuration may be indicated through a bitmap composed of bits corresponding to each (respectively) of the multiple A-RO configurations in the previous example.For example, four A-RO settings #1, #2, #3, and #4 correspond 1:1 to four bits of a 4-bit bitmap, and if the first bit of the bitmap is '0', it can indicate deactivation of A-RO setting #1, if it is '1', it can indicate activation, and if the third bit is '0', it can indicate deactivation of A-RO setting #3, and if it is '1', it can indicate activation.

[0387] Alternatively, for example, if the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field is set to all '0' or all '1', the UE may consider the DCI scrambled with the SI-RNTI as DCI indicating the activation / deactivation status of additional SSBs / ROs, such that a specific field in the DCI (e.g., the Redundancy Version field) with (all) '0' indicates deactivation of the additional SSBs / ROs, and (all) '1' indicates activation of the additional SSBs / ROs (or at least not deactivated). A separate RNTI may also be allocated for this activation / deactivation indication purpose, similar to existing DL SPS and UL Grant Type 2. Meanwhile, since more than one A-RO configuration / additional SSB configuration may be provided, when multiple A-RO configurations / additional SSB configuration(s) are provided, if the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field is set to all '0' or all '1', the DCI scrambled with the SI-RNTI can be regarded as DCI indicating the activation / deactivation status of a specific additional SSB / RO configuration. For example, if the value of a specific field in the DCI (e.g., the redundancy version field) is '00', it may indicate activation of A-RO configuration #1, and if it is '01', it may indicate activation of A-RO configuration #2 (or at least A-RO configuration #2 is not deactivated). Alternatively, in the previous example, activation / deactivation may be indicated for each A-RO configuration through a bitmap consisting of bits corresponding to each of the multiple A-RO configurations (respectively).For example, four A-RO settings #1, #2, #3, and #4 correspond 1:1 to four bits of a 4-bit bitmap, and if the first bit of the bitmap is '0', it can indicate deactivation of A-RO setting #1, if it is '1', it can indicate activation, and if the third bit is '0', it can indicate deactivation of A-RO setting #3, and if it is '1', it can indicate activation.

[0388] In examples of Method #2, the A-RO configuration activated via DCI (e.g., DCI format 1_0) may be configured / instructed to remain activated (or instructed to remain activated) for a pre-configured timer / duration (or for a duration indicated by the DCI if multiple timers / durations are provided and one of them can be directly indicated by the DCI) without a separate explicit deactivation instruction, and to be deactivated (e.g., reverted to a state with only D-RO configured) or to always fall back to a pre-configured default A-RO configuration if one exists when the timer expires (or the duration ends) without a separate instruction.

[0389] In method #2, when the UE receives an activation / deactivation setting / indication of additional SSB / RO (e.g., (GC)-DCI or MAC CE or RRC signal), it can be expected that the actual activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO will be performed after a time point defined in advance (in the standard, etc.) or set / indicated by the BS (e.g., after an application delay from the reception of the activation / deactivation indication of additional SSB / RO) considering the timeline of the UE's processing time, etc.

[0390] Additionally, as described in Method #2, the BS may indicate the status of the additional SSB / RO (e.g., ON / activated or OFF / deactivated) by setting a specific field or combination of specific fields in the DCI to all '0's or all '1's) in the form of PDSCH-less DCI (e.g., by setting the fields to an invalid form), but it is also possible to indicate the status of the additional SSB / RO (e.g., that it will be OFF / deactivated at some point, or that there are a number of SSB / RO occasions left, or that this is / is not the last SSB / RO occasion, etc.) while scheduling the SIB1 PDSCH via reserved bits (e.g., 15 bits) in DCI format 1_0 that are scrambled with SI-RNTI.

[0391] The following methods have been previously described:

[0392] 1) How to indicate activation (deactivation) of additional SSB settings via a single DCI (or you can indicate activation (deactivation) of each of multiple additional SSB settings via a bitmap);

[0393] 2) A method of indicating the activation (deactivation) of an additional RO setting via a single DCI (or indicating the activation (deactivation) of each of multiple additional RO settings via a bitmap), and

[0394] 3) A method of indicating the simultaneous activation (deactivation) of additional SSB settings and additional RO settings through a single DCI (or the activation (deactivation) of multiple additional SSB settings and multiple additional RO settings can be indicated through a bitmap).

[0395] In some implementations of this specification, in addition to the above methods, the BS may also jointly instruct the activation / deactivation of the configuration / transmission of on-demand SIB1 (OD-SIB1) / on-demand SSB (OD-SSB). For example, in 1), if the activation (deactivation) of an additional SSB configuration is indicated by one DCI, then when the activation of the additional SSB configuration is indicated, OD-SIB1 may also be activated so that OD-SIB1 may be transmitted until the additional SSB configuration is deactivated (by explicit DCI indication or timer / duration).

[0396] Meanwhile, in this specification, two types of SSBs may be assumed depending on some implementations of this specification. For example, the two types of SSBs may be as follows.

[0397] > Implementation #1) On-demand SSB on the first cell, transmission initiated by BS instruction or UE request

[0398] >> Type 1 SSB: This may refer to an SSB that is periodically transmitted on the first cell or the second cell. If the cycle for the SSB is determined / defined / set, the SSB may be continuously transmitted (without an ON period or OFF period, or without activation or deactivation) in that cycle. If Type 1 SSB refers to an SSB transmitted on the first cell, the first cell may be a timing reference cell. If Type 1 SSB refers to an SSB transmitted on a second cell, the second cell may be in an intra-band or inter-band carrier aggregation (CA) relationship with the first cell, and (particularly in an intra-band CA environment) the second cell may be set to be a timing reference cell for the first cell, or (particularly in an intra-band CA environment) the second cell may be determined / defined to be a timing reference cell for the first cell (e.g., any cell in the same timing advance group to which the first cell belongs, or a PCell or a PSCell, is determined / defined to be the second cell). In addition, only the following Type 2 SSB may be transmitted on the first cell without a Type 1 SSB.

[0399] >> Type 2 SSB (or on-demand SSB): This may refer to SSB in which transmission on the first cell is activated by instruction from the BS (via RRC / MAC-CE / DCI, etc.). Alternatively, it may refer to SSB in which transmission is activated by request from the UE. For the activated SSB, SSB deactivation may be explicitly instructed via RRC / MAC-CE / DCI, etc., or the number of transmissions or transmission period may be set / instructed in RRC / MAC-CE / DCI instructing SSB activation and the SSB may be deactivated when the number of transmissions or transmission period has elapsed, or there may be a pre-set / defined number of transmissions or transmission period and the SSB may be deactivated when the number of transmissions or transmission period has elapsed after SSB activation, or (if the first cell is an SCell) the SSB may be deactivated when activation for the first cell is completed (or when CSI reporting for the first cell is successfully performed), or (if the first cell is an SCell) the SSB may be deactivated when the first cell is deactivated, or (if the first cell is a PCell) the SSB may be deactivated after a handover is performed, or the SSB may be deactivated at the request of the UE.

[0400] > Implementation #2) A method in which one or more SSB configurations are configured and an SSB corresponding to one of the SSB configurations can be transmitted upon BS instruction or UE request. In this case, at least the SSB periodicity value can be different between different SSB configurations, and adaptation to the SSB periodicity can be performed by varying the activated SSB configuration.

[0401] >> Type 1 SSB: The reference configuration may refer to one of the provided SSB configurations or may refer to the configuration with the largest SSB periodicity value. The SSB corresponding to the reference configuration may be referred to as a Type 1 SSB. If the SSB configuration corresponding to a Type 2 SSB is not activated, the SSB configuration corresponding to the Type 1 SSB may be activated. Conversely, if the SSB configuration corresponding to a Type 2 SSB (or an SSB configuration that does not correspond to a Type 1 SSB) is activated, the SSB configuration corresponding to the Type 1 SSB may be deactivated. Alternatively, if SSB epochs set based on a specific (reference) setting among the provided SSB settings (for convenience, referred to as “reference SSB epochs”) are a subset of SSB epochs set based on another setting (for convenience, referred to as “extended SSB epochs”), the reference SSB epochs (irrespective of the actual activated SSB setting) may be defined as Type 1 SSBs, in which case Type 2 SSBs may be defined as the remaining SSB epochs among the extended SSB epochs (included in the actual activated setting) excluding the reference SSB epochs.

[0402] >> Type 2 SSB: In addition to the SSB configuration corresponding to Type 1 SSB, one or more SSB configurations for Type 2 SSB may be provided, and when the SSB configuration corresponding to Type 2 SSB is activated, all SSBs belonging to the activated SSB configuration may be defined as Type 2 SSBs. Alternatively, if among the SSB configurations to be provided, SSB epochs configured based on a specific (reference) configuration (hereinafter, referred to as “reference SSB epochs”) are a subset of SSB epochs configured based on another configuration (hereinafter, referred to as “extended SSB epochs”, then the reference SSB epochs (irrespective of the actual activated SSB configuration) may be defined as Type 1 SSBs, in which case Type 2 SSB may be defined as the remaining SSB epoch(s) among the extended SSB epochs (in the actual activated configuration) excluding the reference SSB epochs. One or more of the SSB settings may be activated by BS instruction (via RRC / MAC-CE / DCI) or UE request. For the activated SSB configuration, SSB deactivation may be explicitly instructed via RRC / MAC-CE / DCI, etc., or the number of transmissions or transmission intervals may be set / instructed in RRC / MAC-CE / DCI instructing SSB activation and SSB may be deactivated when the number of transmissions or transmission intervals has elapsed, or there may be a pre-set / defined number of transmissions or transmission intervals and SSB may be deactivated when the number of transmissions or transmission intervals has elapsed after SSB activation, or (if the first cell is an SCell) SSB may be deactivated when activation for the first cell is completed (or when CSI reporting for the first cell is successfully performed), or (if the first cell is an SCell) SSB may be deactivated when the first cell is deactivated, or (if the first cell is a PCell) SSB may be deactivated after a handover is performed, or SSB may be deactivated at the request of the UE.

[0403] > Implementation #3) A method in which one or more SSB configurations are provided and an SSB corresponding to one of the SSB configurations can be transmitted upon a BS instruction or UE request. In this case, there is an SSB (e.g., Type 1 SSB) that is continuously transmitted periodically regardless of the activation (deactivation) of the corresponding SSB configuration(s), and an SSB configuration to be additionally transmitted to the corresponding SSB can be activated (deactivated). At least the SSB periodicity value or the SSB time pattern can be different between different SSB configurations, and adaptation to the SSB periodicity can be performed by differentiating the activated SSB configuration.

[0404] >> Type 1 SSB: This may refer to an SSB corresponding to the default SSB setting, and continuous periodic transmission may be guaranteed regardless of the activation (deactivation) of the SSB setting(s) corresponding to Type 2 SSB.

[0405] >> Type 2 SSB: One or more SSB configurations for Type 2 SSB may be provided. One or more of the SSB configurations may be activated upon instruction from the BS (via RRC / MAC-CE / DCI) or upon request from the UE. For the activated SSB configuration, SSB deactivation may be explicitly instructed via RRC / MAC-CE / DCI, etc., or the number of transmissions or transmission intervals may be set / instructed in RRC / MAC-CE / DCI instructing SSB activation and SSB may be deactivated when the number of transmissions or transmission intervals has elapsed, or there may be a pre-set / defined number of transmissions or transmission intervals and SSB may be deactivated after the number of transmissions or transmission intervals has elapsed after SSB is activated, or (if the first cell is an SCell) SSB may be deactivated when activation for the first cell is completed (or when CSI reporting for the first cell is successfully performed), or (if the first cell is an SCell) SSB may be deactivated when the first cell is deactivated, or (if the first cell is a PCell) SSB may be deactivated after a handover is performed, or SSB may be deactivated at the request of the UE.

[0406] As in the above implementations #1 to #3, Type 2 SSB may mean an SSB that cannot assume continuous periodic transmission.

[0407] <Method #3> A method to dynamically indicate ON / OFF (activation / deactivation) of additional SSB / RO through a specific RNTI (e.g., P-RNTI) in DCI format 1_0.

[0408] As described in Method #2, DCI Format 1_0 can be used for additional SSB / RO related indications to UEs in all RRC states with a specific RNTI (e.g., P-RNTI) without any additional enhancements. In some implementations of this specification, it may also be considered to utilize the existing P-RNTI used for DCI Format 1_0 to activate (deactivate) additional SSB / RO.

[0409] Similar to how specific fields(s) of DCI formats are set to all '0's or all '1's to indicate activation / deactivation of DL SPS and UL Grant Type 2, in some implementations of this specification, activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO may be indicated via DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by P-RNTI used for scheduling paging to UE or indicating TRS availability. For example, DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI may be used to indicate activation or deactivation of additional SSB / RO according to any one of the following methods (3-1) to (3-4).

[0410] (3-1) A method of indicating activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO by setting a specific field or a combination of specific fields in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI to all '0's or all '1's.

[0411] Referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, when DCI format 1_0 is transmitted via P-RNTI, the fields within the DCI may consist of short messages indicator, short messages, frequency domain resource allocation, time domain resource allocation, VRB-to-PRB mapping, modulation and coding scheme, TB scaling, TRS availability indication, and reserved bits. Similar to DL SPS and UL grant type 2 scheduling activation / release PDCCH validation, activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO may be indicated by setting a specific field or a combination of fields within these DCI format 1_0 fields to all '0's or all '1's.

[0412] For example, the BS may indicate activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO by setting both the frequency domain resource allocation field and / or the TB scaling field in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI to '0' or '1', or may indicate activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO by setting both the modulation and coding scheme field and / or the TB scaling field to '0' or '1'. Meanwhile, since more than one A-RO configuration / additional SSB configuration may be provided, when multiple A-RO configurations / additional SSB configurations are provided, activation of a specific A-RO configuration / additional SSB configuration (or switching between A-RO configurations / additional SSB configurations) may be indicated when the frequency domain resource allocation field and / or the TB scaling field in the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI are all set to '0' or '1' and the modulation and coding method field and / or the TB scaling field are all set to '0' or '1' and the frequency domain resource allocation field and / or the TB scaling field are set to '0' or '1'.

[0413] For example, when four A-RO settings are set, the frequency domain resource allocation field and / or the TB scaling field are all set to '0' or '1', and '00' in the modulation and coding method field is set or can be set to indicate activation of A-RO setting #1, '01' to indicate activation of A-RO setting #2, '10' to indicate activation of A-RO setting #3, and '11' to indicate activation of A-RO setting #4. Alternatively, activation / deactivation of each A-RO setting can be indicated through a bitmap corresponding to each A-RO setting in the previous example. For example, four A-RO settings #1, #2, #3 and #4 correspond 1:1 to four bits of a 4-bit bitmap, and if the first bit of the bitmap is '0', it can indicate deactivation of A-RO setting #1, if it is '1', it can indicate activation, and if the third bit is '0', it can indicate deactivation of A-RO setting #3, and if it is '1', it can indicate activation.

[0414] Alternatively, for example, if the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field is set to all '0' or all '1', the DCI scrambled with the P-RNTI may be regarded as a DCI indicating the activation / deactivation status of additional SSB / RO, and a specific field (e.g., TB scaling field) in the DCI may indicate deactivation of additional SSB / RO if the value is (all) '0', or activation of additional SSB / RO if the value is (all) '1' (or at least not deactivated). Meanwhile, since more than one A-RO configuration / additional SSB configuration may be configured, when multiple A-RO configurations / additional SSB configurations are configured, if the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field is set to all '0' or all '1', the DCI scrambled with the P-RNTI can be regarded as a DCI indicating the activation / deactivation status of a specific additional SSB / RO configuration. For example, if the value of a specific field in the DCI (e.g., the TB scaling field) is '00', it may indicate activation of A-RO configuration #1, and if it is '01', it may indicate activation of A-RO configuration #2 (or at least A-RO configuration #2 is not deactivated). Alternatively, in the previous example, activation / deactivation of each A-RO setting can be indicated through a bitmap corresponding to each A-RO setting. For example, four A-RO settings #1, #2, #3, and #4 correspond 1:1 to four bits of a 4-bit bitmap, and if the first bit of the bitmap is '0', deactivation of A-RO setting #1 can be indicated, and if it is '1', activation can be indicated. If the third bit is '0', deactivation of A-RO setting #3 can be indicated, and if it is '1', activation can be indicated.

[0415] (3-2) A method of setting the bit field of the short messages indicator (SMI) to '00', or setting it to '00' and using the remaining bit fields to indicate activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO.

[0416] Referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, if the SMI bit field is '00' (see Table 11), the remaining information fields of the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI are all reserved, and the UE does not need to read them. Therefore, in this case, the UE can recognize the DCI format 1_0 itself with the SMI bit field set to '00' as an activation / deactivation indication of additional SSB / RO. For example, if the additional SSB / RO was activated before the UE received the DCI format 1_0, it can be interpreted as deactivation, and if it was deactivated, it can be interpreted as activation. As another example, if a DCI format 1_0 with the SMI bit field set to '00' is detected, the DCI is interpreted as an activation indication of additional SSB / RO, and deactivation can also be performed by a preset timer or duration. At this time, the timer / period value may be set to one value in advance, and if the SIM field set to '00' in DCI format 1_0 and other fields in the DCI format 1_0 are used together for activation indication, one of the multiple candidate timer / period values ​​set in advance may be indicated through DCI format 1_0. Alternatively, the SMI bit field may be set to '00' and the remaining bit field or combination of bit fields may be reinterpreted / reused to dynamically indicate ON / OFF (activation / deactivation) of additional SSB / RO.

[0417] For example, if the SMI bit field is '00' and all 8 bits of the Short Messages field are '1' or all '0', set to a predefined / set b bit value (standardized), the UE interprets the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI as a DCI indicating activation (release) of additional SSB / RO, and one or more of the remaining bit fields (e.g., FDRA field, TDRA field, VRB-to-PRB mapping field, MCS field, TB scaling field, TRS availability field, and / or reserved bits) may be used to indicate activation (release) of additional SSB / RO. Here, as an example, when the 8 bits of the Short Messages field are set to a specific bit (value), the UE interprets DCI format 1_0 as a DCI indicating activation (deactivation) of additional SSB / RO. However, bit fields other than the Short Messages field may be used depending on whether they are defined / configured in advance (standards), and how many bits of which field (or fields) among the remaining bit fields are used to indicate actual activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO may also be defined in advance (standards), or may be configured in advance by the BS.

[0418] The activation (deactivation) of an additional SSB / RO may be performed in the form of simply indicating activation (deactivation) of an additional SSB / RO set to semi-static through a 1-bit in a specific field among the remaining bit fields, or the number of bits may vary depending on the granularity of the additional SSB / RO to be turned ON / OFF. For example, when the ON / OFF of an additional RO is indicated in units of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles within an association pattern period, the number of bits in the bit field may be determined as the number of SSB-to-RO mapping cycles set within the association pattern period, or may be configured with a bit field width set in advance, and the ON / OFF of a specific SSB-to-RO mapping cycle may be indicated in the form of a bitmap.

[0419] (3-3) To minimize the limitations on the existing functionality provided by the DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI, a method of using SMI as an additional SSB / RO enable (disable) indication by setting it to a state other than 00, for example, 01 or 10.

[0420] Referring to Table 11, SMI set to '01' indicates scheduling information for paging, and only TRS availability indication indicates the existence of the DCI when trs-ResourceSetConfig is set. Therefore, when SMI is '01', 8 bits of the Short Messages field in DCI Format 1_0 are reserved, and fields for paging scheduling (e.g., FDRA field, TDRA field, VRB-to-PRB Mapping field, MCS field, TB Scaling field) and TRS availability indication field are used depending on whether trs-ResourceSetConfig is set. Therefore, when SMI is '01', the fields are present in the DCI format 1_O and are used for paging scheduling and TRS availability indication as before, and the 8 bits of the reserved short messages field or (8-M) or (6-M) bits among the reserved bits (e.g., the conventional reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI) depending on whether trs-ResourceSetConfig is set can be used for additional SSB / RO activation (release) indication.

[0421] Meanwhile, when the SMI field is '10', only the 8 bits of the Short Messages field and the TRS availability indication field are used depending on whether the trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, and the remaining fields are reserved. Therefore, at this time, the fields are used for the short messages and TRS availability indication as before, and the remaining reserved fields (e.g., FDRA field, TDRA field, VRB-to-PRB mapping field, MCS field, TB scaling field) or, depending on whether the trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, (8-M) or (6-M) bits among the reserved bits (e.g., conventional reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI) can be used for additional SSB / RO activation (release) indication. For example, referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, for operation with shared spectrum channel access within frequency range 1 or for operation within a cell within frequency range 2-2, if trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, the leading M bits of the last 8 bits in DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI are used for TRS availability indication, and the remaining (8 - M) bits are reserved, and if trs-ResourceSetConfig is not set, the last 8 bits in DCI format 1_0 are reserved. As another example, for intra-cell operation without shared spectrum channel access, if trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, the leading M bits out of the last 6 bits in DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI are used for TRS availability indication, and the remaining (6 - M) bits are reserved, and if trs-ResourceSetConfig is not set, the last 6 bits in DCI format 1_0 are reserved.Therefore, when additional SSB / RO adaptation is indicated by utilizing the reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI, the last (8 - M) or (6 - M) bits of DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI can be used for additional SSB / RO activation (release) indication.

[0422] (3-4) When additional SSB / RO adaptation is indicated with DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI, a method of configuring reserved bits (e.g., existing reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI) to ensure that existing functions (e.g., TRS availability indication) are not affected, by first positioning the TRS availability indication bits and then mapping the additional SSB / RO adaptation indication bits in that order.

[0423] Referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI can be used for paging scheduling information / short message / TRS availability indication, and the number of bits for TRS availability indication and the number of reserved bits are determined depending on whether tres-ResourceSetConfig is set and the "highest value of all the indBitID(s)" in tres-ResourceSetConfig. For example, if additional SSB / RO adaptation is indicated by utilizing the reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled with P-RNTI, M bits for TRS availability indication among the reserved bits can be positioned (or mapped) first and then the bits for additional SSB / RO adaptation indication can be positioned (or mapped) thereafter.

[0424] Alternatively, if M=6 (or the “6-M” value is less than the number of bits required for A-SSB / A-RO), it is difficult to indicate activation (release) of additional SSB / RO with only the (conventional) reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 having CRC scrambled with P-RNTI, so one of the methods described in (3-1), (3-2) and (3-3) above is applied / utilized, and if M is 0 or the “6-M” value is equal to or greater than the number of bits required for A-SSB / A-RO, the method of (3-4) above may be utilized to indicate activation (release) of additional SSB / RO.

[0425] In some implementations, the A-RO configuration activated via DCI (e.g., DCI format 1_0) in the aforementioned examples of Method #3 may be configured / instructed to remain activated while the timer is running (or during the duration) according to a pre-configured timer / duration (or if multiple timer / duration candidates are configured and one of them is directly indicated by DCI), without a separate explicit deactivation instruction, and when the timer expires (or the duration ends), the A-RO configuration may be deactivated (e.g., reverted to a state where only D-RO is configured) or fallback to a pre-configured default A-RO configuration, if any.

[0426] In method #3, if the UE receives an activation / deactivation configuration / indication of additional SSB / RO (e.g., via (GC)-DCI or MAC CE or RRC signaling), it can be expected that the actual activation / deactivation of additional SSB / RO will be performed after a time point defined / indicated in advance (e.g., in the standard) (per subcarrier interval) by the BS (e.g., after an application delay from the activation / deactivation configuration / indication of SSB / RO), taking into account the timeline of the UE's processing time, etc.

[0427] In some implementations, the A-SSB / A-RO activation / deactivation indication according to the above-described method (e.g., 1) a method of indicating activation (deactivation) of an additional SSB configuration via a single DCI (or a bitmap may indicate activation (deactivation) of each of the multiple additional SSB configurations (respectively), 2) a method of indicating activation (deactivation) of an additional RO configuration via a single DCI (or a bitmap may indicate activation (deactivation) of each of the multiple additional RO configurations), or 3) a method of indicating activation (deactivation) of both an additional SSB configuration and an additional RO configuration simultaneously via a single DCI (or a bitmap may indicate activation (deactivation) of each of the multiple additional SSB configurations and the multiple additional RO configurations)) may be additionally combined with an activation / deactivation indication of an OD-SIB1 / OD-SSB configuration / transfer to perform a joint indication. For example, if activation of an additional SSB configuration is indicated by a method of indicating activation (deactivation) of an additional SSB configuration via a DCI, OD-SIB1 may also be activated and transmitted until the additional SSB configuration is deactivated (either by explicit indication via DCI or by a timer / period).

[0428] <Method #4> How to perform additional SSB / RO activation / deactivation instructions through short messages and jointly encode them with TRS availability indication bits, and how to determine when additional SSB / RO actually becomes available after additional SSB / RO is activated through DCI.

[0429] Referring to section 7.2.1.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212, DCI format 1_0 scrambled with P-RNTI (also known as paging DCI) can reserve certain fields within the DCI or use the Short Messages field / TRS Availability Indication field for indication depending on the bit field value of the Short Messages Indicator. Also, referring to Table 12, the 5th to 8th bits, which are not used according to the current standard, can be utilized to indicate (release) additional SSB / RO activation through the Short Messages field. However, referring to FIG. 11, in the UE operation defined in the current standard, 8 bits of the Short Messages field are reserved when the SMI value is '00' or '01', and the Short Messages field exists within the DCI when the SMI value is '10' or '11', so the UE will read the indication in the Short Messages field only when the SMI value is '10' or '11'. Therefore, in order for the BS to always be able to indicate (release) additional SSB / RO activation via the Short Messages field to an R19 NES-capable UE, it may be defined in the standard document or pre-configured / instructed that the UE always reads bits 5 to 8 of the Short Messages field, regardless of the SMI value (e.g., even if the SMI value is '00' or '01'). For example, if the Short Messages field is used to indicate (release) additional SSB / RO activation, it may be defined in the standard document or pre-configured / instructed that the Short Messages field is not reserved even if the Additional SMI value is '00' or '01'.

[0430] In addition, in the method #3 described above, when trs-ResourceSetConfig is set, the remaining bit(s) among the reserved bits of the paging DCI that are used for TRS availability indication are utilized for additional SSB / RO activation (release) indication. However, depending on trs-ResourceSetConfig, there may not be any bits left that can be used for additional SSB / RO activation (release) indication. Therefore, one way to solve this problem is to pre-set all or some of the 32 states that can be indicated by the 5-bits, for example, if the TRS availability is indicated by the states currently set for indicating TRS availability, for joint encoding of a specific additional SSB / RO setting (e.g., pre-set states 0 to 15 of the 32 states to indicate activation of the additional SSB / RO setting and states 16 to 31 of the 32 states to indicate deactivation of the additional SSB / RO setting), so that activation (deactivation) or switching of the specific additional SSB / RO setting can be indicated simultaneously with indicating TRS availability.

[0431] Meanwhile, in some implementations of this specification, since the paging occasions (POs) per UE are distributed within a DRX cycle with respect to when additional SSBs / ROs are actually available after activation of the additional SSBs / ROs is indicated via paging DCI, the BS may align the availability times between the BS and the UEs by pre-configuring that additional SSBs / ROs are available from the next DRX cycle after sending paging DCIs in all POs, or the BS may prepare to transmit additional SSBs or receive PRACHs in additional ROs after sending paging DCIs in the first PO.

[0432] In some implementations, the "additional SSB" in the aforementioned methods #1 through #4 may mean a type 2 SSB among the two types of SSBs assumed above.

[0433] The above-described methods may be implemented independently, but may also be implemented in the form of a combination (or merge) of some of the methods. Information on whether the above-described methods are applied (or information on the rules of the above-described methods) may be defined so that a rule is defined so that the BS notifies the UE through a predefined signal (e.g., a physical layer signal or a higher layer signal). The higher layer may include one or more of functional layers such as, for example, medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio resource control (RRC), and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP).

[0434] According to some implementations of this specification, when a BS operates a cell in an on-demand manner in which SIB1, which is periodically transmitted for energy saving, is omitted and transmitted only when requested by a UE, the UE may transmit periodic SIB1 from a certain point in time when on-demand SIB1 transmission is triggered through UL WUS, and then notify the UE that periodic SIB1 is no longer transmitted through an OFF / deactivation instruction / configuration (e.g., (GC)-DCI or MAC CE or RRC signal) of on-demand SIB1 transmission, and then operate the cell again as a SIB1-less cell (e.g., on-demand SIB1), thereby saving energy of the BS and the UE.

[0435] According to some implementations of this specification, the BS can provide the UE with a PRACH configuration in which ROs are sparsely distributed or have a long period, an additional PRACH configuration in which ROs are different from the ROs in the PRACH configuration or in which ROs are densely distributed or have a short period, and can adjust the density of ROs as needed by activating / deactivating the additional PRACH configuration or switching between different PRACH configurations, thereby efficiently obtaining energy saving benefits.

[0436] According to some implementations of this specification, in addition to periodically transmitting SSBs on a cell, a BS may provide an additional SSB configuration to a UE or activate / deactivate the additional SSB configuration as needed to control the density or period of SSBs transmitted on the cell, thereby efficiently obtaining energy saving benefits.

[0437] FIG. 21 illustrates the flow of uplink (UL) signal transmission in a UE according to some implementations of the present specification.

[0438] A UE may perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure in connection with UL signal transmission. The UE may include at least one transceiver; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure. A processing device for the UE may include at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure. A computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium may store at least one computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure. A computer program or computer program product may be recorded on at least one computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium and may contain instructions that, when executed, cause (at least one processor) to perform operations according to some implementations of the present specification.

[0439] A method performed by the UE, or in the UE, the processing device, the computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium, and / or the computer program product, the operations may include: receiving a first random access channel occasion (RO)-related configuration and a second RO-related configuration for a cell (S2101); receiving a downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) (S2103); and determining a plurality of ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related configuration or the second RO-related configuration and the DCI format (S2105). The plurality of ROs may include first ROs based on the first RO-related configuration. Based on the second RO-related configuration being activated by the DCI format, the plurality of ROs may further include second ROs based on the second RO-related configuration.

[0440] In some implementations, the method or the operations may further comprise: performing a random access channel transmission in at least one RO within the plurality of ROs on the cell.

[0441] Figure 22 illustrates the flow of uplink (UL) signal reception at a BS according to some implementations of the present specification.

[0442] A BS may perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure in connection with receiving an UL signal. The BS may include at least one transceiver; at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure. A processing device for the BS may include at least one processor; and at least one computer memory operably connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure. A computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium may store at least one computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations according to some implementations of the present disclosure. A computer program or computer program product may be recorded on at least one computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium and may contain instructions that, when executed, cause (at least one processor) to perform operations according to some implementations of the present specification.

[0443] A method performed by the BS, or in the BS, the processing device, the computer-readable (non-transitory) storage medium, and / or the computer program product, the operations may include: transmitting (S2201) a first random access channel occasion (RO)-related configuration and a second RO-related configuration for a cell; transmitting (S2203) a downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining (S2205) a plurality of ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related configuration or the second RO-related configuration and the DCI format. The plurality of ROs may include first ROs based on the first RO-related configuration. Based on the second RO-related configuration being activated by the DCI format, the plurality of ROs may further include second ROs based on the second RO-related configuration.

[0444] In some implementations, the method or the operations may further comprise: attempting to receive a random access channel from each of the plurality of ROs on the cell.

[0445] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, the predetermined RNTI may be an RNTI for paging.

[0446] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, whether the second RO related setting is activated may be indicated via the short messages field in the DCI format.

[0447] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, based on whether the second RO-related setting is activated is indicated via the short messages field in the DCI format, even if the short messages indicator field in the DCI format is set to a value indicating that the short messages field is reserved, at least one predetermined bit of the bits of the short messages field may not be reserved and may be used to indicate whether the second RO-related setting is activated.

[0448] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, the at least one predetermined bit may belong to the last three bits of the short messages field.

[0449] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, the second RO related setting may be activated based on at least one field in the DCI format being set to a specific value.

[0450] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, activation of the second RO related setting may be indicated based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to a first specific value.

[0451] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to '00',

[0452] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, whether the second RO related setting is activated may be determined or indicated based on the short messages field in the DCI format.

[0453] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, whether the second RO related setting is activated can be determined or indicated via the short messages field in the DCI format based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to '00'.

[0454] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, whether the second RO related configuration is activated can be determined or indicated through (L - M) bits among the last L bits of the DCI format based on the short messages indicator field in the DCI format being set to a value other than '00', where L is a predetermined positive integer, M is the number of bits for tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication and is determined based on a TRS set related configuration.

[0455] In some implementations related to FIG. 21 or FIG. 22, the (L - M) bits may be the last (L - M) bits of the last L bits.

[0456] As described above, the examples disclosed herein are provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement and practice the present disclosure. While the examples have been described above with reference to the examples of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations may be made to the examples of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0457] Implementations of this specification can be used in wireless communication systems, BSs, UEs, and other equipment.

Claims

1. In a method performed by a device, Receive settings related to a first random access channel occasion (RO) and settings related to a second RO for a cell; Receiving downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining multiple ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related setting or the second RO-related setting and the DCI format; The above multiple ROs include first ROs based on the first RO-related settings, Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings. method.

2. In paragraph 1, The above-determined RNTI is an RNTI for paging. method.

3. In paragraph 2, Further comprising determining whether the second RO related setting is activated based on a short messages field within the DCI format. method.

4. In paragraph 2, Based on whether the short messages field in the DCI format indicates whether the second RO-related setting is activated, even if the short messages indicator field in the DCI format is set to a value indicating that the short messages field is reserved, at least one predetermined bit among the bits of the short messages field is not reserved and is used to indicate whether the second RO-related setting is activated. method.

5. In paragraph 4, wherein said at least one predetermined bit belongs to the last three bits of said short messages field, method.

6. In paragraph 2, The second RO related setting is activated based on at least one field in the DCI format being set to a specific value. method.

7. In paragraph 2, Based on the short messages indicator field in the above DCI format being set to a first specific value, the second RO related setting is activated. method.

8. In paragraph 2, Based on the fact that the short message indicator field in the above DCI format is set to '00', Further comprising determining whether the second RO related setting is activated based on the short messages field in the DCI format. method.

9. In paragraph 2, Based on the fact that the short message indicator field in the above DCI format is set to a value other than '00', Further comprising determining whether the second RO related setting is activated based on (L - M) bits among the last L bits of the DCI format, wherein L is a predetermined positive integer, M is the number of bits for tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication and is determined based on the TRS set related setting. method.

10. In paragraph 9, The above (L - M) bits are the last (L - M) bits among the last L bits. method.

11. At least one transmitter / receiver; at least one processor; and At least one computer memory operably connected to said at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause said at least one processor to perform operations, said operations comprising: Receive settings related to a first random access channel occasion (RO) and settings related to a second RO for a cell; Receiving downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining multiple ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related setting or the second RO-related setting and the DCI format; The above multiple ROs include first ROs based on the first RO-related settings, Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings. machinery and tools.

12. At least one processor; and At least one computer memory operably connected to said at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause said at least one processor to perform operations, said operations comprising: Receive settings related to a first random access channel occasion (RO) and settings related to a second RO for a cell; Receiving downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining multiple ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related setting or the second RO-related setting and the DCI format; The above multiple ROs include first ROs based on the first RO-related settings, Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings. Processing unit.

13. In a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium, The storage medium stores at least one program code comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: Receive settings related to a first random access channel occasion (RO) and settings related to a second RO for a cell; Receiving downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining multiple ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related setting or the second RO-related setting and the DCI format; The above multiple ROs include first ROs based on the first RO-related settings, Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings. Storage media.

14. In a method performed by a base station, Transmitting the first random access channel occasion (RO) related settings and the second RO related settings for the cell; Transmitting downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining multiple ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related setting or the second RO-related setting and the DCI format; The above multiple ROs include first ROs based on the first RO-related settings, Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings. method.

15. In paragraph 14, The above-determined RNTI is an RNTI for paging. method.

16. In paragraph 15, Through the short messages field in the above DCI format, it is indicated whether the second RO related setting is activated. method.

17. In paragraph 15, Based on whether the second RO related setting is activated or not indicated through the short messages field in the DCI format, even if the short messages indicator field in the DCI format is set to a value indicating that the short messages field is reserved, at least one predetermined bit among the bits of the short messages field is not reserved and is used to indicate whether the second RO related setting is activated or not. method.

18. In paragraph 17, wherein said at least one predetermined bit belongs to the last three bits of said short messages field, method.

19. In paragraph 16, The second RO related setting is activated based on at least one field in the DCI format being set to a specific value. method.

20. In paragraph 16, Based on the short messages indicator field in the above DCI format being set to a first specific value, the second RO related setting is activated. method.

21. In paragraph 16, Based on the fact that the short messages indicator field in the DCI format is set to '00', whether the second RO related setting is activated is indicated through the short messages field in the DCI format. method.

22. In paragraph 16, Based on the fact that the short message indicator field in the DCI format is set to a value other than '00', whether the second RO related setting is activated is indicated through (L - M) bits among the last L bits of the DCI format, where L is a predetermined positive integer, and M is the number of bits for tracking reference signal (TRS) availability indication and is determined based on the TRS set related setting. method.

23. In paragraph 22, The above (L - M) bits are the last (L - M) bits among the last L bits. method.

24. At least one transmitter / receiver; at least one processor; and At least one computer memory operably connectable to said at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause said at least one processor to perform operations, said operations comprising: Transmitting the first random access channel occasion (RO) related settings and the second RO related settings for the cell; Transmitting downlink control information (DCI) format based on a predetermined radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); and determining multiple ROs on the cell based on at least one of the first RO-related setting or the second RO-related setting and the DCI format; The above multiple ROs include first ROs based on the first RO-related settings, Based on the above second RO related settings being activated by the DCI format, the multiple ROs further include second ROs based on the second RO related settings. Base station.

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