Effective pathloss reporting

Abstract

An apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

Description

ENHANCED ASSISTANCE INFORMATION REPORTING RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to FI Application No.20245777 filed June 18, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The example and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to reporting for telecommunication equipment and, more particularly, to pathloss reporting. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR DEVELOPMENTS

[0003] Control of signal transmission power is generally known in wireless communications. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The following summary is merely intended to be an example. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0005] In accordance with one aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information; and sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0006] In accordance with another aspect, an example method is provided comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information; and sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effectivepathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0007] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: means for obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information; and means for sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0008] In accordance with another aspect, a non-transitory program storage device is provided which is readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information; and sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0009] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0010] In accordance with another aspect, an example method is provided comprising: sending, by an apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprisespathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0011] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: means for sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and means for receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0012] In accordance with another aspect, a non-transitory program storage device is provided which is readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0013] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0014] In accordance with another aspect, an example method is provided comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink sharedchannel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0015] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: means for obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0016] In accordance with another aspect, a non-transitory program storage device is provided which is readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0017] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send pathloss information, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0018] In accordance with another aspect, an example method is provided comprising: sending, by an apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use, for sending the effective pathloss information, atleast one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0019] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: means for sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use, for sending the effective pathloss information, at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0020] In accordance with another aspect, an example a non-transitory program storage device is provided which is readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use, for sending the effective pathloss information, at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0021] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are provided in subject matter of the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0023] FIG.1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example system in which the example embodiments may be practiced;

[0024] FIG.2 is a diagram illustrating muting of TX antennas;

[0025] FIG.3 is a diagram illustrating signal strength reception by a UE for a muted mode of a gNB transmission, and signal strength reception by a UE for an unmuted mode of a gNB transmission;

[0026] FIG.4 is a diagram illustrating one example method;

[0027] FIG.5 is a diagram illustrating one example method;

[0028] FIG.6 is a diagram illustrating one example method;

[0029] FIG.7 is a diagram illustrating one example method;

[0030] FIG.8 is a diagram illustrating one example method;

[0031] FIG.9 is a diagram illustrating one example method;

[0032] FIG.10 is a diagram illustrating one example method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are defined as follows: 3GPP third generation partnership project 5G fifth generation 5GC 5G core network AMF access and mobility management function CORESET control resource set CU central unit CSI channel state information DCI downlink control information DL downlinkDU distributed unit eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station) EN-DC E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity en-gNB or En-gNB node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and acting as secondary node in EN-DC E-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access, i.e., the LTE radio access technology FR 1 frequency range 1 gNB (or gNodeB) base station for 5G / NR, i.e., a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GC HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ-ACK HARQ acknowledgment I / F interface LTE long term evolution MAC medium access control MAC CE medium access control control element MIMO multiple input multiple output MME mobility management entity ng or NG next generation ng-eNB or NG-eNB next generation eNB NR new radio N / W or NW network PDCCH physical downlink control channel PDSCH physical downlink shared channel PDCP packet data convergence protocol PL pathloss PL_RS pathloss reference signal PUCCH physical uplink control channel PUSCH physical uplink shared channel PHR power headroom reportPHY physical layer RAN radio access network Rel release RLC radio link control RRH remote radio head RRC radio resource control RS reference signal RSRP reference signal received power RU radio unit Rx receiver SDAP service data adaptation protocol SGW serving gateway SMF session management function SR scheduling request SRI SRS resource indicator SRS sounding reference signal SSB synchronization signal block TCI transmission configuration indicator TDD time division duplex TRP transmission reception point TS technical specification Tx transmitter UCI uplink control information UE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device) UL uplink UPF user plane function

[0034] Turning to FIG.1, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example in which the examples may be practiced. A user equipment (UE) 110, radio access network (RAN) node 170, and network element(s) 190 are illustrated. Examples of network equipment, network device, or a network entity might be understood to include, at least part of, a transmission reception point or a cell or a gNB or node for example. In the example of FIG. 1, the user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. AUE is a wireless device that can access the wireless network 100. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a module 140, comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 140 may be implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with RAN node 170 via a wireless link 111.

[0035] The RAN node 170 in this example is a base station that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The RAN node 170 may be, for example, a base station for 5G, also called New Radio (NR). In 5G, the RAN node 170 may be a NG-RAN node, which is defined as either a gNB or a ng-eNB. A gNB is a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to a 5GC (such as, for example, the network element(s) 190). The ng-eNB is a node providing E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GC. The NG-RAN node may include multiple gNBs, which may also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 and distributed unit(s) (DUs) (gNB-DUs), of which DU 195 is shown. Note that the DU may include or be coupled to and control a radio unit (RU). The gNB-CU is a logical node hosting RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of the gNB or RRC and PDCP protocols of the en-gNB that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the F1 interface connected with the gNB-DU. The F1 interface is illustrated as reference 198, although reference 198 also illustrates a linkbetween remote elements of the RAN node 170 and centralized elements of the RAN node 170, such as between the gNB-CU 196 and the gNB-DU 195. The gNB-DU is a logical node hosting RLC, MAC and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partly controlled by gNB-CU. One gNB-CU supports one or multiple cells. One cell is supported by only one gNB- DU. The gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface 198 connected with the gNB-CU. Note that the DU 195 is considered to include the transceiver 160, e.g., as part of a RU, but some examples of this may have the transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, e.g., under control of and connected to the DU 195. The RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (evolved NodeB) base station, for LTE (long term evolution), or any other suitable base station or node.

[0036] The RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The CU 196 may include the processor(s) 152, memories 155, and network interfaces 161. Note that the DU 195 may also contain its own memory / memories and processor(s), and / or other hardware, but these are not shown.

[0037] The RAN node 170 includes a module 150, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and / or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 150 may be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 150 may be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or more processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the RAN node 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. Note that the functionality of the module 150 may be distributed, such as being distributed between the DU 195 and the CU 196, or be implemented solely in the DU 195.

[0038] The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate using, e.g., link 176. The link176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards.

[0039] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195 for LTE or a distributed unit (DU) 195 for gNB implementation for 5G, with the other elements of the RAN node 170 possibly being physically in a different location from the RRH / DU, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as, for example, fiber optic cable or other suitable network connection to connect the other elements (e.g., a central unit (CU), gNB-CU) of the RAN node 170 to the RRH / DU 195. Reference 198 also indicates those suitable network link(s).

[0040] It is noted that description herein indicates that “cells” perform functions, but it should be clear that equipment which forms the cell will perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a base station. That is, there can be multiple cells per base station. For example, there could be three cells for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one- third of a 360-degree area so that the single base station’s coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a base station may use multiple carriers. So, if there are three 120-degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the base station has a total of 6 cells.

[0041] The wireless network 100 may include a network element or elements 190 that may include core network functionality, and which provides connectivity via a link or links 181 with a further network, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). Such core network functionality for 5G may include access and mobility management function(s) (AMF(S)) and / or user plane functions (UPF(s)) and / or session management function(s) (SMF(s)). Such core network functionality for LTE may include MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality. These are merely exemplary functions that may be supported by the network element(s) 190, and note that both 5G and LTE functions might be supported. The RAN node 170 is coupled via a link 131 to a network element 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, e.g., an NG interface for 5G, or an S1 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards. The network element 190includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured to, with the one or more processors 175, cause the network element 190 to perform one or more operations.

[0042] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0043] The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general-purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, RAN node 170, and other functions as described herein.

[0044] In general, the various embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internetappliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions.

[0045] Massive MIMO presents challenges to UL power control such as in the context of TDD for example. There has been an evolution of antennas in the last years, in order to be able to provide more refined beams towards each single UE in the area covered by a radio cell. Together with this increase in the number of antennas, and the MIMO functionality in general, the following challenges are introduced: • Larger antenna power consumption, and • Larger inter-user interference when MIMO is used for Multiuser MIMO applications (multiple UE may share the same allocated bandwidth in the same time)

[0046] In a context where green policy is increasingly important and operators are also seeking to decrease OPEX, the above made necessary the implementation of methods for saving energy costs when cell traffic does not require intense usage of all the antennas; particularly when considering the DL (TX is obviously more cost-effective than RX). Muting of part of the TX antennas of the gNB is the most common approach as shown in Fig. 2. However, this is realized only for the DL, while in UL the full set of antennas of the gNB may still be used.

[0047] The turning off of part of the antennas not only generates a lesser number of beams, as above pointed out, but it changes the vertical shape of the full set of antennas, causing an asymmetry: an asymmetry between DL beams and UL beams (these last are still served by the full set of RX).

[0048] New Radio uplink (NR UL) has provided some aspects in regard to power control; NR PUSCH power control. This will be explained and how the above changes can affect the correct functioning of the UL PUSCH power control. NR PUSCH power control is based on a combination of: • Open-loop power control, including support for fractional path-loss compensation, where the UE estimates the UL path-loss based on DL measurements and sets the transmit power accordingly, and• Closed-loop power control based on explicit transmit power-control (TPC) commands provided by the network.

[0049] The UE determines the PUSCH transmission power based on the procedures described in Sec. 7.1 of TS 38.213. In summary, the UE is indicated / determines closed-loop parameters (closed-loop index, TPC command) and open-loop parameters (pathloss reference RS, p0, alpha). The TPC command is carried in the DCI scheduling the PUSCH transmission. Also, TPC command (and corresponding closed-loop index) can be carried jointly to multiple UEs by means of group-common DCI using DCI format 2-2 (as described in Sec.7.3.1.3.3 of TS 38.212). Some of the main power control parameters that the PUSCH transmission power depends on are: • closed-loop index (also known as PC adjustment state), • TPC command (fb,f,c, absolute or accumulative TPC command), • pathloss reference RS (reference signal), • p0 (also split in two terms P0_Nominal_PUSCH and P0_UE_PUSCH), • alpha (for partial or full path-loss compensation). • DELTA_TF (i.e., ∆^^,^,^,^^^^), also sometimes referred to as power adjustment component. This term models how the required received power varies when the number of information BPRE (bits per resource element) changes due to different modulation schemes and channel-coding rates.

[0050] Specifically, the PUSCH power is determined based on the following (from TS 38.213): If a UE transmits a PUSCH on active UL BWP ^ of carrier ^ of serving cell ^ using parameter set configuration with index ^ and PUSCH power control adjustment state with index ^, the UE determines the PUSCH transmission power ^PUSCH,^,^,^^^, ^, ^^ , ^^ in PUSCH transmission occasion ^ as^ ^PCMAX,f , c( i ), ^ P b , f,c( ^ PUSCH, i, j,q d, l) = min^ ^ ^^PO_PUSCH,b,f,c(j)+10log10(2µ⋅M PUSCH RB,b ,f,c(i))+ αb,f ,c(j)⋅PLb,f ,c(qd)+∆TF,b,f,c(i) + fb,f , c(i, l )^^

[0051] SRS power control is somewhat similar to PUSCH power control. Specifically, the SRS transmission power is determined based on the following (from TS 38.213): If a UE transmits SRS based on a configuration by SRS-ResourceSet on active UL BWP ^ of carrier ^ of serving cell ^ using SRS power control adjustment state with index ^, the UE determines the SRS transmission power ^SRS,^,^,^^^, ^^, ^^ inSRS transmission occasion ^ as ^PC ( i ), ^ (i,q , l) = mi ^ MAX,f , c P ^ SRS,b , f,c s n^ ^ ^^P )+10l (2µ(i))+ (i, l )^^(from TS 38.213): If a UE transmits a PUCCH on active UL BWP ^ of carrier ^ in the primary cell ^ using PUCCH power control adjustment state with index ^, the UE determines the PUCCH transmission power ^PUCCH,^,^,^^^, ^^, ^^ , ^^ in PUCCH transmissionoccasion ^ as ^PCMAX,f ( i ), ^ , , , (i,q , ^ , c P ^ PUCCHb f c uqd, l) = min^µPUCCH ^ l )^^as follows: ^^^,^,^^^^^ = referenceSignalPower – higher layer filtered RSRP, where referenceSignalPower is provided by higher layers and RSRP is defined in [7, TS 38.215] for the reference serving cell and the higher layer filter configuration provided by QuantityConfig is defined in [12, TS 38.331] for the reference serving cell

[0054] It should be noted that the UE may be configured to report RSRP based on beam reporting configuration, but the UE reports up to N best beams and corresponding RSRPs.While one might consider using a reported RSRPs to calculate the pathloss at gNB, RSRP are normally reported with a different filter (e.g., L3), which makes it challenging for the gNB to know the exact PL. Moreover, reference signals used to report RSRP of the N best beams may not be the same as PL-RS. Thus, as can be seen from the description below, the above is not relevant regarding the unique features as described herein.

[0055] There is currently no direct and precise way for the gNB to know exactly the pathloss the UE perceives. Features as described herein may be used to transmit an effective pathloss or perceived pathloss, such as calculated by the UE for example, sent by the UE to the gNB.

[0056] There are cases where a gNB lacks knowledge about the actual UE’s situation in DL, or the gNB has a perception of the UE’s situation in DL that does not match with the actual UE’s situation. This could negatively affect link adaptation as well as power control. One example is the case of spatial adaptation, i.e., MIMO muting / unmuting, wherein the situation after the muting / unmuting could differ a lot compared to that before the muting / unmuting. In the following, we consider such an example and elaborate on the problem.

[0057] Referring to Fig.3, the figure generally presents a gNB antenna radiation pattern in a vertical direction, and compares a situation when a UE is in a direction of about -7 degrees (dot 503) and -15 degrees (dot 505). A full beam 502 corresponds to an unmuted mode. The beam 504 is different from the full beam 502. The beam 504 corresponds to a muted mode. After the muting, the DL becomes like the beam 504 while the UL (unmuted) remains as the beam 502. Specifically: - the dot 503 of the full mode: In the vertical main lobe, the full mode is up to 6dB stronger than the muted mode - the dot 505 of the muted mode: In the vertical side lobes, the muted mode can be (significantly) stronger than the full mode

[0058] A UE positioned at the lower dot 505 will perceive a good DL when the muted mode is used in the base station, and consider having a small DL PL (pathloss); therefore, decreasing its power. While in UL the base station (beam 502) perceives the UE very low. This is generally because 1. the finer beam 502 in UL does not cover the UE well (so, because of the UE position, the gNB (base station BS) already perceives the UE low), and 2. the UE, whichhas a good coverage in DL by the beam 504, believes itself to have less pathloss and, therefore, reduces its power further; lowering the gNB’s perception of the UE. A UE in the position 503, instead, will be perceived by the base station at the best in UL, but the UE will transmit with high power because its PL perception is that it has moved further from base station and, therefore, a larger power is required.

[0059] Based on the above, it appears clear that a massive MIMO muting (and unmuting) can deeply affect the correct behavior of the UL PUSCH power control because it affects the UE's perception and calculation of the PL in the transmission power formula and, at the same time, will change the perception on the gNB side about the UE.

[0060] Based on the above, the UL power control, including the UL Closed Loop Power Control for example, cannot work appropriately. To optimize the throughput of the UE by enabling enhancements to address the above issues, this is important for good link adaptation and / or power control.

[0061] Features as described herein may be used for a UE to report an effective calculated pathloss to the network. This can be obtained based on various different methods including the examples described below. One example method may comprise reporting the calculated pathloss to the network through use of a power headroom report. One example method may comprise reporting through a dedicated uplink MAC control element, such as transmitted on PUSCH for example. One example method may comprise reporting through an uplink control information (UCI), such as transmitted on PUCCH or PUSCH for example.

[0062] Through Power Headroom Report

[0063] The UE may obtain information to extend or configure a PHR (power headroom report) MAC CE to include a calculated pathloss information. For example, at least one octet of a PHR MAC CE could be dedicated or added for reporting pathloss determined by the UE. In one type of alternative example, the UE may obtain information to report the pathloss through a PHR by reporting power headroom (PH), but with considering that the transmission power is ‘cleaned’ or removed from some component, such as the closed-loop power control component, i.e., such component(s) is set to 0 (zero) in the PCMAX formula noted above for example. Note also that the above equations establish a range. By setting the appropriatecomponent(s) to 0 (zero), this removes uncertainty. Also, sometimes it happens that the UE misses some of the TPC closed loop parameters in the DCI and, hence, the PHR is calculated with some different accumulated closed-loop parameters than the one which the gNB expects. Hence, by removing those parameters from the PHR report, the gNB can determine or figure out the exact pathloss measured by the UE. However, it should be mentioned that there still may be a need to report the legacy PHR.

[0064] The calculating of the pathloss by the UE may be based on associated reference signals (RS). An example regarding how the UE may “calculate” the pathloss is described above. Pathloss (PL) refers to the pathloss component / parameter, and is defined in TS 38.213 as follows: ^^^,^,^^^^^ = referenceSignalPower – higher layer filtered RSRP. Thus, RS to be used and filtering of the RSRP are configurable. Please note that this is merely an example. In alternate embodiments other ways to calculate or otherwise determine the effective pathloss by the UE may be used. As used herein, the term “effective pathloss” or “effective pathloss information” is the pathloss calculated at the UE (or otherwise determined at the UE) based, at least partially, on at least one reference signal. In one example, the reference signal is a pathloss reference signal (PL_RS). As is known in the art, pathloss (PL) refers to the loss or attenuation a propagating electromagnetic signal (or wave) encounters along its path from transmitter to the receiver. A pathloss reference signal (PL_RS) may be received by the UE from the gNB such as via a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) to a set of component carriers, for example, for the UE to transmit information via uplink.

[0065] The network may configure or indicate to the UE to obtain the above information, and to report the pathloss through a PHR. The configuring or indicating may be via DCI, MAC CE, or RRC for example. In one example, the reporting of the calculated pathloss may be triggered by a request from the gNB. Such triggering may be for one or more (DL) pathloss reference signals. Thus, the UE may report pathloss corresponding to each or a function (such as a maximum, or a minimum, or any other function) of one or more of those reference signals. The information obtained by the UE from the gNB may be an indication indicative of a spatial adaptation at the gNB and / or a power adaptation at the gNB; sent by the gNB to the UE. In various examples, the triggering may be based on an event based or determined at the UE (e.g., condition(s) being satisfied) or based on receiving indication from the gNB or a combination of these.

[0066] The pathloss reporting by the UE may be configured (or indicated) to be for (or to be associated with) one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. Such TCI states may include indicated TCI states, and / or activated TCI states, and / or configured TCI states. Each TCI state may comprise, or be associated with, one or more pathloss reference signal. In one type of example, a TCI state may be associated with at least two pathloss reference signals. The UE may be configured (or indicated or may determine) to calculate and / or report pathloss corresponding to each pathloss reference signal. In another example, the UE may be configured (or indicated or may determine) to calculate and / or report pathloss based on one of at least two pathloss reference signals. In another example, the UE may be configured (or indicated or may determine) to calculate and / or report pathloss based on based on measurements corresponding to the at least two pathloss reference signals. These are merely some examples and should not be considered as limiting.

[0067] The UE in obtaining the above information may correspond to, or may comprise, the UE determining if a specific at least one event has occurred. In other words, the pathloss reporting may be triggered or provided autonomously by the UE when a specific, configured and / or specified, at least one event is detected by UE. For example, such a triggering may be defined for, or may correspond to, one or more (DL) pathloss reference signals. Thus, the UE may report pathloss corresponding to one or more of those reference signals. Such triggering may be defined for, or correspond to, one or more TCI states (and their associated pathloss reference signals). An event may be defined, for example, based upon an increase, or a decrease, or a change in the pathloss, such as by at least a certain threshold or relative to a threshold. In one example, such a change may be defined for per at least one reference signal, or may be defined across multiple reference signals. The UE may provide the network with an indication which is indicative of the occurrence of the at least one event related to the pathloss. In one example, such an indication may be provided using resources similar to scheduling request (SR) resources, such as using (e.g., periodic) PUCCH or UL resources. The indication may be seen as a request by the UE so that the gNB grants the UE with some UL resources for pathloss reporting. Alternatively, or additionally, the indication may be seen as a notification that the UE will carry pathloss reporting, such as in some preconfigured UL resources for example.

[0068] Through dedicated (UL) MAC CE or UCI

[0069] The UE may be configured to report a UE calculated pathloss for one or more reference signals using a dedicated MAC CE, transmitted on PUSCH for example. If the UE is appropriately preconfigured or previously configured for example, the gNB may indicate to the UE to report the UE calculated pathloss for the one or more reference signals using the dedicated MAC CE. The MAC CE may be a new dedicated MAC CE for reporting the pathloss; only containing the pathloss information.

[0070] The UE may be configured to report the UE calculated pathloss for one or more reference signals using an uplink control information (UCI) transmitted on PUCCH or PUSCH for example. If the UE is appropriately preconfigured, the gNB may indicate to the UE to report the UE calculated pathloss for the one or more reference signals using the UCI.

[0071] In one example for the use of a UCI, pathloss reporting may be seen as a type of channel state information (CSI) reporting. This may not be a different type of CSI, but instead pathloss may be defined as one CSI quantity; new additional information in the CSI. In one example, pathloss reporting may be a special case of reference signal received power (RSRP) reporting. The pathloss may be determined based on the CSI report, but the special case may be an alternative for pathloss reporting under the current RSRP reporting framework, such as like an extension for example. A difference, regarding an example as described herein, compared to a legacy beam / CSI reporting is that the UE may be requested to provide RSRP measurements for a specific one or more reference signals. The UE may be triggered, in an aperiodic or semi-persistent or periodic or event-based fashion / manner, to report pathloss. For an event-based type of triggering, similar aspects as described above may also be used with these types of examples.

[0072] The UE may be configured, or indicated if pre-configured or previously configured for example, to consider a plurality of different hypotheses or assumptions or potentials regarding the power level or power offset level which the UE should assume for pathloss reference signal(s) and corresponding pathloss measurements. For example, this could be regarding synchronization signal block (SSB) power and power control offset SS. The UE may report pathloss corresponding to such hypotheses, or select at least one of the hypotheses for which it reports corresponding pathloss. The UE may, thus, use a selection process for selecting one or more of the hypotheses to use and / or report the results from.

[0073] Pathloss reporting, and / or corresponding pathloss reference signal(s), may be associated to (or included under) a report configuration. For example, this may be with a CSI report configuration or a pathloss report configuration.

[0074] Pathloss reporting may be with or without considering filtering. For example, this may be with L3, or L2, or L1 filtering, or without filtering. If such filtering is considered, the UE may be configured with corresponding filtering parameters. In an example embodiment, the filtering parameters may be configured via RRC, and may be indicated or updated via a MAC CE or DCI.

[0075] Pathloss reporting by the UE may be configured per CC (component carrier), or per serving cell, or per CC group, or per cell group, or per carrier for example.

[0076] In the case of a multi-TRP scenario, pathloss reporting by the UE may be defined per transmission reception point (TRP). In some examples, the TRP may correspond to, or be associated with, a set of reference signals, such as DL or UL reference signals, or a control resource set, or physical cell identity.

[0077] Referring to Fig. 4, one example will be described. In this example, 602 illustrates that the UE 110 and the network at 170 in this example are first configured for pathloss reporting by the UE 110 for one or more pathloss reference signals. As illustrated by 604, the gNB 170 may send a signal to the UE 110 configured to trigger pathloss reporting for one or more pathloss reference signals. Based upon at least partially upon receipt of the signal 604, the UE may compute or calculate pathloss information for one or more pathloss reference signals as illustrated by 606. As illustrated by 608, the UE 110 may then report the pathloss information to the network. With receipt of the calculated pathloss information from the UE, the network entity may then make adjustments to better optimize power control and / or link adaptation based, at least partially, upon the received pathloss reporting.

[0078] Referring to Fig.5, another example will be described. In this example, 702 illustrates that the UE 110 and the network at 170 are first configured for an event-based pathloss reporting by the UE 110 for one or more pathloss reference signals. As illustrated by 704, the gNB 170 may configure spatial domain adaptation, such as MIMO muting and unmuting for example. As illustrated by 706, the UE 110 may determine and / or detect that an event relatedto pathloss has occurred (such as due to the spatial adaptation at the gNB for example). Also as illustrated by 706, the UE 110 may calculate the pathloss for one or more pathloss reference signals. As illustrated by 708 the UE 110 may report the determined pathloss information to the network, and the network may then make adjustments to better optimize power control and / or link adaptation based, at least partially, upon the received pathloss information as illustrated by 710.

[0079] Referring to Fig.6, another example will be described. In this example, 802 illustrates that the UE 110 and the network at 170 are first configured for an event-based pathloss reporting by the UE 110 for one or more pathloss reference signals. As illustrated with 804, the UE 110 is able to determine or detect that at least one event related to pathloss has occurred. Based, at least partially, upon the at least one event having been determined / detected, as illustrated with 806, the UE 110 may send an indication to the gNB 170 which is indicative that the event has occurred. Based, at least partially, upon receiving this indication, the gNB 170 may send a signal to the UE 110, as illustrated with 808, granting uplink resources to the UE for reporting the pathloss information. As illustrated with 810, with the granted uplink resources, the UE 110 may send the gNB 170 pathloss information. With receipt of this pathloss information, the gNB 170, as illustrated with 812, may make adjustments to better optimize power control and / or link adaptation based, at least partially, upon the received pathloss information. Fig.6 does not show the UE calculating step, such as 606 and 706, but this may certainly be done by the UE before step 810.

[0080] The UE may trigger the sending of the indication (e.g., such as a scheduling request (SR) or an indication similar to a SR) to the gNB at 806 when a special event or dedicated event(s) occurs, which is not a data transmission but communication of a new PL indication. The UE may send the indication to get an UL grant; so that the UE can send information to the gNB about the change of PL. For example, the UE may send the SR when the UE notices or otherwise determines an abrupt change in PL.

[0081] The gNB may communicate, such as by means of RRC signaling to a UE for example, threshold values which the UE should use to evaluate its PL variations.

[0082] The UE may evaluate the pathloss and, when the UE detects a large gap (above received threshold(s) for example) such as a consequence of a new beamforming setting forexample, send via the new indication to the gNB, pointing this out or notifying about the need to provide a new PL report (UE triggered PL reporting).

[0083] The gNB, based on the received indication (such as a special SR for example), may grant the UE with UL resources so that UE can deliver the calculated PL value by the proposed means described above (such as through PHR or through dedicated UCI message etc.).

[0084] In another example, the gNB / base station itself may send via (such as with use of RRC or MAC CE or DCI signaling for example) a request to the UE to report the calculated PL (gNB / bases station triggered PL reporting) when, for instance, the gNB is aware of a specific event(s) that may have a large effect on the UE perceiving of the PL. For example, the specific event may comprise a partial massive antenna MIMO muting.

[0085] The gNB / base station may, after receiving the PL report, apply an appropriate correction to UL power control and / or UL link adaptation in order to minimize the side effect of this sudden PL variation.

[0086] With features as described herein, the gNB may better optimize the UL link adaptation and the close loop power control algorithm to better cope with a sudden variation of the UE beam perception.

[0087] Features as described herein may be used in regard to 6G physical layer design and UL power control / management. A new signaling for enhanced power management and RSRP / PHR reporting may be provided. As noted above, currently there is no way for a gNB or network entity to know what an exact pathloss (PL) is perceived by the UE. This results in a lack of exact information at the gNB regarding the actual UE situation in DL; which could negatively affect link adaptation as well as power control. This is especially evident with regard to massive MIMO muting (and unmuting) that affects the UE perception of the PL in the transmission power formula.

[0088] With features as described herein, the UE may report its effective pathloss to the network, where the “effective pathloss” may be the PL calculated at the UE based on PL-RS. This can be done via a power headroom report or through a dedicated (UL) MAC CE or UCI. Features may include:• An apparatus (UE) to receive a configuration to enable effective pathloss reporting on plurality of reference signals from the NW. • The apparatus to identify a need to report an effective PL report to the NW based on the received configuration. • The apparatus to sends the report to the NW.

[0089] The report may be sent via an extended or modified PHR MAC CE. A current PHR MAC CE may be modified or extended to include the pathloss. Thus, the pathloss information may be sent as an addition to, or jointly with, the conventional information currently sent in a conventional PHR MAC CE. The report may be sent via PHR by assigning ‘cleaned’ transmission power for some of the power control components. The configuration may be received via RRC, MAC or DCI message, and the UE may identify the need for PL reporting based on NW triggering / indication. The report may be sent for a plurality of PL-RS separately, or based on a function on the plurality of the reported PL-RS. The UE may identify the need for PL reporting based on a NW (network) indication or configuration of spatial adaptation and / or power adaptation at the gNB.

[0090] The PL report may be associated with one or more TCI states.

[0091] The UE may identify the need for PL reporting based on any of, a gNB direct indication and / or trigger, at least one event has occurred, or based on a pre-configuration (periodic / semi-periodic). The event can be configured as any of the pathloss has changed by a certain degree, spatial / power adaptation at the gNB, etc. The UE may indicate the occurrence of the at least one event related to pathloss via, for example, periodic PUCCH / UL resources. The gNB may grant the UE with some UL resources for pathloss reporting after the UE indication.

[0092] The report may be sent via any of a dedicated MAC CE transmitted on PUSCH or UCI transmitted on PUCCH or PUSCH. The PL report may be sent in any of aperiodic, semi- persistent, periodic, or event based. The PL may be configured as a CSI quantity, and the UE may send the report via a special RSRP reporting. The PL may be configured via L1, L2, or L3 reporting. The PL reporting may be configured per any of carrier, CC, serving cell, CC group, or serving cell group for example.

[0093] In one type of example embodiment, rather than the UE sending the entire effective pathloss information to the gNB, the UE may send differential pathloss information “Δ” (delta). The differential pathloss information may be a value (at least partially) related to a previously sent / reported pathloss information, or to a previously calculated / determined pathloss information, or to a calculated / determined pathloss information which corresponds to a certain state at the gNB such as spatial adaptation state (or pattern) and / or power adaptation state (or level). The UE may be configured to send an indicator distinguishing between a pathloss information and a differential pathloss information, or the manner in which the information is sent may be able to be used by the gNB to distinguish between the two different types of information. In some example embodiments, the differential pathloss information corresponds to the (perceived) pathloss change or pathloss difference, seen at the UE, between one spatial and / or power adaptation state (e.g., a certain spatial or MIMO pattern (corresponding to a certain number or set of active / muted antenna or spatial elements), or a certain power (offset) level or state, at the gNB) and another spatial and / or power adaptation state. The UE may be configured or indicated, or may determine, to report the pathloss change / difference only if the pathloss change or difference satisfies a certain condition(s), e.g., if the change / difference is above or below a certain threshold. This can be defined or configured per at least one TCI state or reference signal. In some example embodiments, the pathloss information corresponds to the sum or the difference between pathloss corresponding to at least two different reference signals (or TCI states) belonging to a same cell or to different cells.

[0094] In one type of example embodiment, the UE may indicate to the gNB at least one serving cell ID or CC ID in order to identify which serving cell(s) or CC(s) a pathloss report(s) corresponds to.

[0095] The effective pathloss information or pathloss information (which is to be reported) may be calculated, at least partially, based on, or may comprise, predicted pathloss or RSRP(s) information. The effective pathloss information might only be based on predicted pathloss / RSRP(s), or might be based on a mix of predicted pathloss / RSRP(s) and measured / calculated pathloss. The effective pathloss information or pathloss information (which is to be reported) may correspond to, or be associated with, at least one predicted reference signal or predicted pathloss reference signal. In an example embodiment, theprediction may be based on use of artificial intelligence or machine learning (AI-ML), or based on an algorithm that can allow prediction of pathloss / RSRP.

[0096] In accordance with one example, an apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information; and sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0097] The calculated pathloss information may comprise information calculated at the apparatus based, at least partially, on at least one reference signal. The at least one reference signal may comprise a pathloss reference signal received from a network entity. The obtaining of the configuration information may comprise receiving the configuration information from a network entity. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to configure a power headroom report to comprise the calculated pathloss information. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to determine the power headroom report by setting at least one open loop or close loop power control component to zero or a specific value. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to configure a power headroom report MAC control element to comprise the calculated pathloss information, where the control element comprises at least one octet or a field dedicated or added to report the calculated pathloss information. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining an information element, where the information element is configured to trigger the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the information element comprises at least one of: trigger information, where the obtaining of the information element comprises the trigger information being received from a network entity, or the information element being configured to be used with determining occurrence of at least one event; and triggering the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus based, at least partially, upon at least one of the trigger information or the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus toperform: determining occurrence of at least one event; and triggering the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus based upon the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The configuration information may be configured to cause the sending of the effective pathloss information, from the apparatus, corresponding to one or more downlink pathloss reference signals, or respective downlink pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to cause the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus related to one or more transmission reception point, or at least one respective transmission reception point. The configuration information may be configured to cause the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus related to at least one of an increase or a decrease of the calculated pathloss, or a change of the calculated pathloss relative to a threshold. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending an indication to a network entity regarding occurrence of at least one event related to the calculating, by the apparatus, of the pathloss information. The indication may comprise one of: a request by the apparatus for an uplink resource for sending the effective pathloss information, or a notification by the apparatus that the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus will be in an uplink resource. The effective pathloss information from the apparatus may comprise information relating to one or more transmission configuration indicator states, or respective at least one transmission configuration indicator state. The effective pathloss information from the apparatus may comprise information relating to at least one transmission configuration indicator state associated with at least two pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to send the effective pathloss information comprising at least one of: the calculated pathloss information corresponding to each of one or more pathloss reference signals measured by the apparatus; the calculated pathloss information based on one or more of at least two pathloss reference signals; or the calculated pathloss information based on measurements corresponding to at least two pathloss reference signals. The effective pathloss information may comprise at least one of a difference in the calculated pathloss information: relative to previously sent calculated pathloss information, or relative to another calculated pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

[0098] Referring also to Fig. 7, an example may be provided with a method comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information isconfigured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information as indicated with block 902; and sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus as indicated with block 904. The calculated pathloss information may comprise information calculated at the apparatus based, at least partially, on at least one reference signal. The at least one reference signal may comprise a pathloss reference signal received from a network entity. The obtaining of the configuration information may comprise receiving the configuration information from a network entity. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to configure a power headroom report to comprise the calculated pathloss information. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to determine the power headroom report by setting at least one open loop or close loop power control component to zero or a specific value. The configuration information may be configured to enable the apparatus to configure a power headroom report MAC control element to comprise the calculated pathloss information, where the control element comprises at least one octet or a field dedicated or added to report the calculated pathloss information. The method may further comprise: obtaining an information element, where the information element is configured to trigger the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the information element comprises at least one of: trigger information, where the obtaining of the information element comprises the trigger information being received from a network entity, or the information element being configured to be used with determining occurrence of at least one event; and triggering the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus based, at least partially, upon at least one of the trigger information or the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The method may further comprise: determining occurrence of at least one event; and triggering the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus based upon the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The configuration information may be configured to cause the sending of the effective pathloss information, from the apparatus, corresponding to one or more downlink pathloss reference signals, or respective downlink pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to cause the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus related to one or more transmission reception point, or at least one respective transmission reception point. The configuration information may be configured to cause the sending of theeffective pathloss information from the apparatus related to at least one of an increase or a decrease of the calculated pathloss, or a change of the calculated pathloss relative to a threshold. The method may further comprise: sending an indication to a network entity regarding occurrence of at least one event related to the calculating, by the apparatus, of the pathloss information. The indication may comprise one of: a request by the apparatus for an uplink resource for sending the effective pathloss information, or a notification by the apparatus that the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus will be in an uplink resource. The effective pathloss information from the apparatus may comprise information relating to one or more transmission configuration indicator states, or respective at least one transmission configuration indicator state. The effective pathloss information from the apparatus may comprise information relating to at least one transmission configuration indicator state associated with at least two pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may comprise configured to enable the apparatus to send the effective pathloss information comprising at least one of: the calculated pathloss information corresponding to each of one or more pathloss reference signals measured by the apparatus; the calculated pathloss information based on one or more of at least two pathloss reference signals; or the calculated pathloss information based on measurements corresponding to at least two pathloss reference signals. The effective pathloss information may comprise at least one of a difference in the calculated pathloss information: relative to previously sent calculated pathloss information, or relative to another calculated pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

[0099] An example may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the apparatus to send effective pathloss information; and means for sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0100] An example may be provided with a non-transitory program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, theapparatus to send effective pathloss information; and sending, based at least partially upon the obtained configuration information, the effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the apparatus.

[0101] An example may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0102] The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to configure a power headroom report to comprise the calculated pathloss information. The configuration report may be configured to be used to determine the power headroom report without considering a transmission power. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to configure a power headroom report MAC control element to comprise the calculated pathloss information, where the control element comprises at least one octet dedicated or added to report the calculated pathloss information. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending an information element to the user equipment, where the information element is configured to trigger the sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the information element comprises at least one of: trigger information, or the information element being configured to be used by the user equipment for determining occurrence of at least one event; and where the information element is configured for triggering the sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment based, at least partially, upon at least one of the trigger information or the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The configuration information may be configured to cause, at least partially, the user equipment to: determine occurrence of at least one event; and trigger sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment based upon the determined occurrence of the at least oneevent. The configuration information may be configured to cause the user equipment to send the effective pathloss information with an association to one or more downlink pathloss reference signals, or respective downlink pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to cause the user equipment to send the effective pathloss information with an association to one or more transmission reception point, or at least one respective transmission reception point. The configuration information may be configured to cause the user equipment to send of the effective pathloss information with an association to at least one of an increase or a decrease of the calculated pathloss, or a change of the calculated pathloss relative to a threshold. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving an indication from the user equipment regarding occurrence of at least one event related to the calculated pathloss information. The indication may comprise one of: a request by the user equipment for an uplink resource for sending the effective pathloss information, or a notification by the user equipment that the sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment will be in an uplink resource. The receiving of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment may comprise information relating to one or more transmission configuration indicator states, or respective transmission configuration indicator states. The receiving of the effective pathloss information may comprise information relating to a transmission configuration indicator state associated with at least two pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to send the effective pathloss information comprising at least one of: the calculated pathloss information corresponding to each pathloss reference signal calculated by the user equipment; the calculated pathloss information based on one of at least two pathloss reference signals; or the calculated pathloss information based on measurements corresponding to at least two pathloss reference signals. The effective pathloss information may comprise a difference in calculated pathloss information relative to previously sent calculated pathloss information. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: using the received effective pathloss information to control signal transmission power.

[0103] Referring also to Fig. 8, an example may be provided with a method comprising: sending, by an apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information as indicated with block 1002; and receiving, by the apparatus,the effective pathloss information from the user equipment as indicated with block 1004, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to configure a power headroom report to comprise the calculated pathloss information. The configuration report may be configured to be used to determine the power headroom report without considering a transmission power. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to configure a power headroom report MAC control element to comprise the calculated pathloss information, where the control element comprises at least one octet dedicated or added to report the calculated pathloss information. The method may further comprise: sending an information element to the user equipment, where the information element is configured to trigger the sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the information element comprises at least one of: trigger information, or the information element being configured to be used by the user equipment for determining occurrence of at least one event; and where the information element is configured for triggering the sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment based, at least partially, upon at least one of the trigger information or the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The configuration information may be configured to cause, at least partially, the user equipment to: determine occurrence of at least one event; and trigger sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment based upon the determined occurrence of the at least one event. The configuration information may be configured to cause the user equipment to send the effective pathloss information with an association to one or more downlink pathloss reference signals, or respective downlink pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to cause the user equipment to send the effective pathloss information with an association to one or more transmission reception point, or at least one respective transmission reception point. The configuration information may be configured to cause the user equipment to send of the effective pathloss information with an association to at least one of an increase or a decrease of the calculated pathloss, or a change of the calculated pathloss relative to a threshold. The method may further comprise: receiving an indication from the user equipment regarding occurrence of at least one event related to the calculated pathloss information. The indication may comprise one of: a request by the user equipment for an uplink resource forsending the effective pathloss information, or a notification by the user equipment that the sending of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment will be in an uplink resource. The receiving of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment may comprise information relating to one or more transmission configuration indicator states, or respective transmission configuration indicator states. The effective pathloss information may comprise information relating to a transmission configuration indicator state associated with at least two pathloss reference signals. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to send the effective pathloss information comprising at least one of: the calculated pathloss information corresponding to each pathloss reference signal calculated by the user equipment; the calculated pathloss information based on one of at least two pathloss reference signals; or the calculated pathloss information based on measurements corresponding to at least two pathloss reference signals. The effective pathloss information may comprise a difference in calculated pathloss information relative to previously sent calculated pathloss information. The method may further comprise: using the received effective pathloss information to control signal transmission power.

[0104] An example may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and means for receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0105] An example may be provided with a non-transitory program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information; and receiving, by the apparatus, the effective pathloss information from the user equipment, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information calculated by the user equipment, where the receiving of the effective pathloss information is based, at least partially, upon the sending of configuration information.

[0106] An example may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0107] The obtaining of the configuration information may comprise receiving the configuration information from a network entity. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus comprises sending a channel state information (CSI) report. The pathloss information may be defined as a CSI quantity. The effective pathloss information CSI quantity may be sent as a reference signal received power measurement for a specific one, or more than one, reference signal. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to effective perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus comprises sending the pathloss information with a dedicated MAC control element. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: triggering of the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus in at least one of: an aperiodic fashion, or a semi-persistent fashion, or a periodic fashion, or an event-based fashion for event-based triggering. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: determining of the effective pathloss information comprises considering different calculations regarding power level or power offset level which the apparatus can use for pathloss reference signal(s) and corresponding pathloss measurements. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: determining of the effective pathloss information comprising use of higher-layer or lower-layer filtering. The configuration information comprises filtering parameters. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus comprising an indication of at least one serving cell ID or at least one component carrier ID which the effective pathloss information corresponds to. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus which comprises configuringthe effective pathloss information based upon at least one of: pathloss per component carrier, or pathloss per component carrier group, or pathloss per serving cell, or pathloss per cell group, or pathloss per carrier. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus which comprises configuring the effective pathloss information based upon one of a plurality of transmission reception points. The transmission reception point may correspond to or may be associated with a set of reference signals or a set of reference signal resources, or a control resource set, or a physical cell identity. The configuration information, for sending the effective pathloss information, may be configured for sending the effective pathloss information which has been calculated at the apparatus based on at least one reference signal. The effective pathloss information may comprise at least one of a difference in the pathloss information: relative to previously sent pathloss information, or relative to another pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or previously calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

[0108] Referring also to Fig. 9,an example may be provided with a method comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel as indicated with blocks 1102-1106. The obtaining of the configuration information may comprise receiving the configuration information from a network entity. The method may further comprise: sending of the pathloss information from the apparatus comprises sending a channel state information (CSI) report. The pathloss information may be defined as a CSI quantity. The pathloss information CSI quantity may be sent as a reference signal received power measurement for a specific one, or more than one, reference signal. The method may further comprise: sending of the pathloss information from the apparatus comprises sending the pathloss information with a dedicated MAC control element. The method may further comprise: triggering of the sending of the pathloss information from the apparatus in at least one of: an aperiodic fashion, or a semi-persistent fashion, or a periodic fashion, or an event-based fashion for event-based triggering. The method may further comprise: determining of the pathloss information comprises considering different calculations regarding power level or power offset level which the apparatus can use for pathloss referencesignal(s) and corresponding pathloss measurements. The method may further comprise: determining of the pathloss information comprising use of higher-layer or lower-layer filtering. The configuration information may comprise filtering parameters. The method may further comprise: sending of the pathloss information from the apparatus comprising an indication of at least one serving cell ID or at least one component carrier ID which the pathloss information corresponds to. The method may further comprise: sending of the pathloss information from the apparatus which comprises configuring the pathloss information based upon at least one of: pathloss per component carrier, or pathloss per component carrier group, or pathloss per serving cell, or pathloss per cell group, or pathloss per carrier. The method may further comprise: sending of the pathloss information from the apparatus which comprises configuring the pathloss information based upon one of a plurality of transmission reception points. The transmission reception point may correspond to or may be associated with a set of reference signals or a set of reference signal resources, or a control resource set, or a physical cell identity. The configuration information, for sending the pathloss information, may be configured for sending the pathloss information which has been calculated at the apparatus based on at least one reference signal. The pathloss information may comprise at least one of a difference in the pathloss information: relative to previously sent pathloss information, or relative to another pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or previously calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

[0109] An example may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0110] An example embodiment may be provided with a non-transitory program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending pathloss information from the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or anuplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0111] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send pathloss information, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel. The configuration information may be configured to be used by the user equipment for calculating the pathloss information by the user equipment. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment comprises receiving a channel state information (CSI) report. The pathloss information may be defined as a CSI quantity. The pathloss information CSI quantity may be received as a reference signal received power measurement for a specific one, or more than one, reference signal. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment comprises receiving the pathloss information via a dedicated MAC control element. The configuration information may be configured to trigger, at least partially, sending of the pathloss information from the user equipment in at least one of: an aperiodic fashion, or a semi- persistent fashion, or a periodic fashion, or an event-based fashion for event-based triggering. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to determine the pathloss information comprises considering different calculations regarding power level or power offset level which the user equipment can use for pathloss reference signal(s) and corresponding pathloss measurements. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to determine the pathloss information comprising use of higher-layer or lower-layer filtering. The configuration information may comprise filtering parameters. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment which comprises receiving an indication of a serving cell ID or a component carrier ID which the pathloss information corresponds to. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor,may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment comprises the pathloss information having been configured based upon at least one of: pathloss per component carrier, or pathloss per component carrier group, or pathloss per serving cell, or pathloss per cell group, or pathloss per carrier. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment which comprises the pathloss information having been configured based upon one of a plurality of transmission reception points. The transmission reception point may corresponds to, or may be associated with, a set of reference signals, or a control resource set, or a physical cell identity. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: using the received pathloss information to control signal transmission power. The configuration information may comprise information configured for the user equipment to calculate the pathloss information at the user equipment based on at least one reference signal. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to send the pathloss information comprises at least one of a difference in the pathloss information: relative to previously sent pathloss information, or relative to another pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or previously calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

[0112] Referring also to Fig. 10, an example embodiment may be provided with a method comprising: sending, by an apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use, for sending the effective pathloss information, at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel as indicated with blocks 1202-1206. The configuration information may be configured to be used by the user equipment for calculating the pathloss information by the user equipment. The method may further comprise: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment comprises receiving a channel state information (CSI) report. The pathloss information may be defined as a CSI quantity. The pathloss information CSI quantity may be received as a reference signal received power measurement for a specific one, or more than one, reference signal. The method may further comprise:receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment comprises receiving the pathloss information via a dedicated MAC control element. The configuration information may be configured to trigger, at least partially, sending of the pathloss information from the user equipment in at least one of: an aperiodic fashion, or a semi-persistent fashion, or a periodic fashion, or an event-based fashion for event-based triggering. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to determine the pathloss information comprises considering different calculations regarding power level or power offset level which the user equipment can use for pathloss reference signal(s) and corresponding pathloss measurements. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to determine the pathloss information comprising use of higher-layer or lower-layer filtering. The configuration information may comprise filtering parameters. The method may further comprise: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment which comprises receiving an indication of a serving cell ID or a component carrier ID which the pathloss information corresponds to. The method may further comprise: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment comprises the pathloss information having been configured based upon at least one of: pathloss per component carrier, or pathloss per component carrier group, or pathloss per serving cell, or pathloss per cell group, or pathloss per carrier. The method may further comprise: receiving of the pathloss information from the user equipment which comprises the pathloss information having been configured based upon one of a plurality of transmission reception points. The transmission reception point may correspond to, or may be associated with, a set of reference signals, or a control resource set, or a physical cell identity. The method may further comprise: using the received pathloss information to control signal transmission power. The configuration information may comprise information configured for the user equipment to calculate the pathloss information at the user equipment based on at least one reference signal. The configuration information may be configured to enable the user equipment to send the pathloss information comprises at least one of a difference in the pathloss information: relative to previously sent pathloss information, or relative to another pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or previously calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

[0113] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to sendeffective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use, for sending the effective pathloss information, at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0114] An example embodiment may be provided with a non-transitory program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use, for sending the effective pathloss information, at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

[0115] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining pathloss information; and determining to send a report from the apparatus for a base station, where the report comprises the pathloss information.

[0116] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving a report from a user equipment, where the report comprises pathloss information from the user equipment; and determining, based at least partially upon the received report, to change at least one of power control or link adaptation for communication with the user equipment.

[0117] The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0118] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (iii) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.”

[0119] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0120] It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s). In addition, features from different embodiments described above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment. Accordingly, the description is intended toembrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, by the apparatus, configuration information for sending effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus comprises sending a channel state information (CSI) report.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 where the effective pathloss information is defined as a CSI quantity.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 where the effective pathloss information CSI quantity is sent as a reference signal received power measurement for a specific one, or more than one, reference signal.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus comprises sending the effective pathloss information with a dedicated MAC control element.

6. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-5 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: triggering of the sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus in at least one of: an aperiodic fashion, or a semi-persistent fashion, or a periodic fashion, or an event-based fashion for event-based triggering.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining of the effective pathloss information comprises considering different calculations regarding power level or power offset level which the apparatus can use for pathloss reference signal(s) and corresponding pathloss measurements.

8. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-6 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining of the effective pathloss information comprising use of higher-layer or lower-layer filtering.

9. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-8 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform:sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus comprising an indication of at least one serving cell ID or at least one component carrier ID which the effective pathloss information corresponds to.

10. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-9 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus which comprises configuring the effective pathloss information based upon at least one of: pathloss per component carrier, or pathloss per component carrier group, or pathloss per serving cell, or pathloss per cell group, or pathloss per carrier.

11. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-10 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending of the effective pathloss information from the apparatus which comprises configuring the effective pathloss information based upon one of a plurality of transmission reception points.

12. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-11 where the configuration information, for sending the effective pathloss information, is configured for sending the effective pathloss information which has been calculated at the apparatus based on at least one reference signal.

13. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-12 where the effective pathloss information comprises at least one of a difference in the pathloss information: relative to previously sent pathloss information, or relative to another pathloss information, orrelative to a previously measured or previously calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

14. A method comprising: obtaining, by an apparatus, configuration information for sending effective pathloss information from the apparatus, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the apparatus, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the apparatus to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

15. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending, by the apparatus, configuration information to a user equipment, where the configuration information is configured to enable, at least partially, the user equipment to send effective pathloss information, where the effective pathloss information comprises pathloss information determined by the user equipment, where the configuration information comprises an indication for the user equipment to use at least one of: a medium access control-control element on a physical uplink shared channel, or an uplink control information on the physical uplink shared channel or on a physical uplink control channel.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving the effective pathloss information from the user equipment by receiving a channel state information (CSI) report.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 where the effective pathloss information is defined as a CSI quantity.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment by receiving the effective pathloss information with a dedicated MAC control element.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving of the effective pathloss information from the user equipment by an indication of at least one serving cell ID or at least one component carrier ID which the effective pathloss information corresponds to.

20. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 15-19 where the effective pathloss information comprises at least one of a difference in the pathloss information: relative to previously sent pathloss information, or relative to another pathloss information, or relative to a previously measured or previously calculated pathloss information, or relative to a threshold.

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