Data packet prioritization upon receiving a RLC status report

Abstract

The invention refers to A method in a first Radio Link Control, RLC, entity (12, 12A, 12B), the first RLC entity transmitting a first set of one or more data packets and a second set of one or more data packets to a second RLC entity (12, 12A, 12B), the method comprising: receiving (1110) an RLC status report comprising a negative acknowledgement, NACK, with respect to the first set of data packets received from the second RLC entity; evaluating (1120) a condition for prioritizing transmitting the first set of data packets over transmitting the second set of data packets; and transmitting (1130) data packets of the first set and the second set according to the evaluation; the invention further refers to user equipment and to a network node being configured to perform the method.

Description

[0001] DATA PACKET PRIORITIZATION UPON RECEIVING A RLC STATUS REPORT

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] This disclosure is generally related to wireless communications and is more particularly related to techniques for requesting Radio Link Control, RLC, status reports protocol data units (PDUs) in communications for low-latency and high data-rate services for such applications as extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] The term refers to the fifth generation of mobile communications, as standardized by members of the 3rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G addresses a wide range of use cases from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) to massive machine type communications (mMTC). 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC). The NR physical and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification, and to that add needed components when motivated by new use cases.

[0006] Low-latency, high-rate applications such as extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming are important in 5G era. The term XR refers to all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. It is an umbrella term for different types of realities including Virtual reality (VR), Augmented reality (AR), Mixed reality (MR), and the areas interpolated among them. The levels of virtuality range from partially sensory inputs to fully immersive VR.

[0007] 5G NR is designed to support applications demanding high rate and low latency in line with the requirements posed by the support of XR and cloud gaming applications in NR networks. 3GPP Release 17 contains a study item on XR Evaluations for NR, published as 3GPP TR 38.838 v 17.0.0 (Dec. 2021). The main objectives are to identify the traffic model for each application of interest, the evaluation methodology and the key performance indicators of interest for relevant deployment scenarios, and to carry out performance evaluations accordingly in order to investigate possible standardization enhancements in potential follow-up SI / WI.

[0008] Low-latency applications like XR and cloud gaming require bounded latency, not necessarily ultra-low latency. The end-to-end latency budget may be in the range of 20-80 milliseconds (ms), which needs to be distributed over several components including application processing latency, transport latency, radio link latency, etc. For these applications, short transmission time intervals (TTIs) or mini-slots targeting ultra-low latency may not be effective. In addition to bounded latency requirements, the applications like XR and cloud gaming also require high rate transmission. This can be seen from the large frame sizes originated from this type of traffic. The typical frame sizes may range from tens of kilobytes to hundreds of kilobytes. The frame arrival rates may be 60 or 120 frames per second (fps). As a concrete example, a frame size of 100 kilobytes and a frame arrival rate of 120 fps can lead to a rate requirement of 95.8 Mbps.

[0009] A large video frame is usually fragmented into smaller IP packets and transmitted as several transport blocks (TBs) over several TTIs in RAN. For example, for delivering the frames with a size of 200 KB each, the median number of needed TBs is 5.

[0010] The characteristics of XR traffic arrival are quite distinct from typical web-browsing and VoIP traffic. It is well expected that the arrival time is quasi-periodic and largely predictable as VoIP. However, its data size is order of magnitude larger than VoIP, as discussed above. In addition, similar to web-browsing, the data size is different at every application PDU arrival instance due to dynamics of contents and human motion.

[0011] As mentioned above, many XR applications will generate traffic periodically with a variable size. When the application packet enters the internet, the initial packet may be transmitted into a single PDU in the network or may be segmented several PDUs. One application packet could, for instance, correspond to one or several IP packets.

[0012] IP packets will arrive to the PDCP layer, and are thus PDCP SDUs. The PDCP layer will create PDCP PDUs and will deliver them to lower layers. When an IP packet arrives to PDCP, the PDCP layer starts a PDCP discard timer. When this timer expires, the PDCP discards the PDCP SDU as well as the corresponding PDCP Data PDU. If the PDCP PDU was delivered to lower layers, PDCP indicates the discard to lower layers. Lower layers, e.g., the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, will discard the PDCP PDUs (RLC SDU) if these RLC SDU or any segment of the RLC SDU has not yet been transmitted to lower layers.

[0013] As discussed above, an application PDU, e.g., a video frame, is divided into multiple IP packets. All of the IP packets that belong to one video frame can be defined as PDU Set.

[0014] In more detail, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sublayer serves several functions in communication. A packet that the PDCP layer receives from a higher protocol layer for transmission is referred to as a Service Data Unit (SDU). From this SDU, the PDCP layer forms one or more other packets referred to as Protocol Data Units (PDUs) for sending to a lower protocol layer, for further processing and transmission. Each PDU encapsulates at least some of the payload of the SDU with a PDCP header.

[0015] One of the tasks of PDCP is to ensure the reliable transmission of data by buffering transmitted packets, e.g., PDCP Service Data Units (SDUs). In simple terms, it holds onto these packets temporarily so that they can be resent if not received correctly the first time. More particularly, PDCP uses status reports to communicate which SDlls were successfully received and which ones were not. If some SDlls were missed, they are resent to ensure complete transmission. To manage this process effectively, the transmitting PDCP entity needs a buffer to store the SDlls temporarily. However, this buffering introduces challenges, such as knowing when to discard or remove an SDU from the buffer. This decision might be based on factors like buffer overflow or when an SDU becomes too old to be useful according to its Quality of Service (QoS) profile. To address this, PDCP employs a discard timer. When an SDU is placed in the buffer for transmission, a countdown timer (referred to as a discard timer) starts running. If confirmation of successful delivery isn't received before the discard timer expires, the SDU is discarded from the buffer. This ensures that the buffer doesn't become cluttered with stale or unneeded data. Additionally, PDCP may discard an SDU if it receives confirmation of successful delivery through a status report.

[0016] Some known approaches apply the same PDCP discard timer to multiple SDUs that carry the payload of one unit of information at the application layer, referred to as a PDU Set. Where the application layer unit of information represents a video frame, for example, the PDU Set may represent multiple PDCP SDUs conveying that video frame. Applying PDCP discard on a PDU Set basis may account for the reality that expiration of a PDCP discard timer for one SDU in the PDU Set means that the whole PDU Set is no longer useful and can be discarded in full. Exploiting PDU Sets in this way improves PDCP discard because it improves radio resource conservation by avoiding wasting radio resources on transmitting data that has become useless.

[0017] As defined by 3GPP: A PDU Set is composed of one or more PDUs carrying the payload of one unit of information generated at the application level (e.g. a frame or video slice for XRM Services, as used in TR 26.926

[0027] ). In some implementations, all PDUs in a PDU Set are needed by the application layer to use the corresponding unit of information. In other implementations, the application layer can still recover parts all or of the information unit when some PDUs are missing.

[0018] 3GPP has agreed on having a “PDU Set Importance” (PSI) indicator which indicates a certain importance level for the said PDU Set. The importance level of the PDU Sets indicates how useful the PDU Set is for the application, the assumption is that low importance PDU Sets can down prioritized, or even discarded, e.g., in the presence of network congestion, in favor of more reliable delivery of higher importance PDU Sets.

[0019] In the work item for Release 18 XR, anew solution for uplink (UL) PSI-based discarding has been introduced. The solution introduced depends on the UE identifying the PSI levels of the PDU Sets, determining what is a low or high importance PDU Set, and then applying behavior configured by the network on each of the PDU Sets depending on their identified importance. With this solution, no information about the PDU Sets is delivered to the network.

[0020] Furthermore, new delay and buffer reporting enhancements were introduced in Rel-18. The Refined Buffer Status Report (BSR) is an enhancement to legacy BSR and uses the same handling as the legacy reporting options. The Refined BSR format is as shown in Figure 1. Delay Status Reporting (DSR) is newly introduced, and uses a new MAC CE, with separate handling from the legacy BSR. The format for the DSR Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) is shown in Figure 2.

[0021] The fields in the DSR MAC CE are defined as follows:

[0022] - LCGi: This field indicates the presence of delay information (i.e. the Remaining Time and Buffer Size fields) for the Logical Channel Group (LCG) i. The LCGi field set to 1 indicates that the delay information for the LCG i is reported. An LCGi field set to 0 indicates that delay information for the LCG i is not reported;

[0023] - Remaining Time: This field indicates the shortest remaining value of PDCP discardTimer (described in clause 7.3 in 3GPP TS 38.323) among all PDCP SDUs buffered for an LCG, at the time of the first symbol of the first PUSCH transmission that includes this DSR MAC CE. The length of this field is 6 bits. The value r in this field indicates a remaining time within the range of (r, r+ 1] msec.

[0024] - BT: This field is present only if the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBSR-TableAllowed', otherwise, this field is reserved. If present, the BT field set to 1 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x are used to set the value of the Buffer Size field, while the BT field set to 0 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-2 are used instead.

[0025] - Buffer Size: The Buffer Size field indicates the total amount of delay-critical UL data for an LCG according to the data volume calculation procedure specified in clause 5.5 in 3GPP TS 38.322 and clause 5.6 in 3GPP TS 38.323 for the associated RLC and PDCP entities, respectively, after the MAC PDU has been built. If the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBSR-TableAllowed and the amount of delay-critical UL data for an LCG is within the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x, the MAC entity shall use the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x to set the value of this field; otherwise, the MAC entity shall use Table 6.1.3.1-2 instead. This field is indicated in number of bytes. The length of this field is 8 bits.

[0026] The Remaining Time, the BT, and the Buffer Size fields for an LCG shall be reported in two consecutive octets. These three fields for different LCGs shall be included in a DSR MAC CE in ascending order based on the LCGi. The current Radio Link Control (RLC) acknowledgement mode (AM) involves a handshaking mechanism between an (RLC) Tx entity and (RLC) Rx entity where the Rx entity informs the Tx entity via an RLC status report about the packets that have been successfully / unsuccessfully received (ACK / NACK status). Based on this status report, the Tx entity can then retransmit the packets for which a negative acknowledgement (NACK) was received. For uplink (UL) transmissions, the network provides the RLC status report to the UE. It is up to network implementation to define when the status reports are sent in the downlink (DL). In addition, there is also a polling mechanism specified, where the Tx entity can request the Rx entity to send the RLC status report.

[0027] 3GPP TS 38.322, V18.0.0 specifies an RLC polling mechanism that is applicable when operating in acknowledgement mode (AM); the corresponding PDU is called the AM data PDU (AMD PDU). The RLC polling mechanism is used to request a peer RLC entity to send an RLC status report by setting the polling bit in the RLC data PDU depending on certain states conditions; i.e., when the number of PDUs sent since the most recent poll (PDU_WITHOUT_POLL) exceeds a threshold (pollPDU) or the number of bytes sent since the most recent poll (BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL) exceeds a second threshold (poll Byte), where the thresholds are configured by the network.

[0028] The algorithm may be described as follows:

[0029] • increment PDU_WITHOUT_POLL by one;

[0030] • increment BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL by every new byte of Data field element that it maps to the Data field of the AMD PDU;

[0031] • if PDU_WITHOUT_POLL >= pollPDU; or

[0032] • if BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL >= pollByte:

[0033] • include a poll in the AMD PDU.

[0034] To include a poll in an AMD PDU, the transmitting side of an AM RLC entity shall:

[0035] • set the P field of the AMD PDU to "1 ";

[0036] • set PDU_WITHOUT_POLL to 0;

[0037] • set BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL to 0.

[0038] For XR traffic or traffic with low latency requirements in terms of small packet delay budgets (PDBs), 3GPP specified new discard timers (in addition to an old discard timer) based on the importance of the packet data unit (PDU). A Packet Delay Budget (PDB) defines an upper bound for the time that a packet may be delayed between the Tx entity (e.g. the UE) and the Rx entity (e.g. the termination point in the core network). These timers can have quite short values especially for low importance (PDU) traffic. For UL traffic, the network is not fully aware of the remaining time of the PDB or remaining time to discard for the PDlls as there is no exact mapping between the RLC PDlls and delay critical data although some estimate of this information is available at the network. However, it is not aware how long the RLC PDll(s) has been queued and as a result it is possible that the network provides the RLC status report too late, resulting in the PDU already being discarded or too early resulting in unnecessary retransmission of the PDU which could have been successfully received by the network. The discarding issue could result in significant loss of quality of experience (QoE) especially if high importance (PDU) traffic is unnecessarily discarded.

[0039] SUMMARY

[0040] The invention aims at enhancing handling of data packets (RLC PDUs, RLC SDUs, RLC SDU segments) by considering latency requirements of the respective data packets.

[0041] Making a prioritization dependent on actual latency values may take care that the RLC status report arrives just int time; i.e. , may avoid RLC status reporting arriving too early or too late at the RLC Tx.

[0042] An example embodiment comprises a method in a first (Acknowledge Mode, AM) RLC entity, the first RLC entity transmitting one or a plurality of data packets to a second (Acknowledge Mode, AM) RLC entity, the method comprising: determining that the RLC status report comprises a negative acknowledgement, NACK, with respect to a first set of data packets; evaluating a condition for prioritizing transmitting the first set of data packets over transmitting the second set of data packets; and transmitting further data packets according to the evaluation. The evaluating of the condition for prioritization may comprises determining that at least one of:

[0043] • the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold;

[0044] • the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than a discard threshold;

[0045] • the number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets;

[0046] • the number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions;

[0047] • the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the second set of data packets;

[0048] • the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than the remaining time for discarding the second set of data packets; and

[0049] • the first set of data packets have been queued in a transmission buffer longer (or shorter) than the second set of data packets;

[0050] • the first set of data packets has consumed more (or less) retransmissions than the second set of data packets; and

[0051] • the first set of data packets are in a position before (or behind) a position of the second set of data packets in a retransmission queue.

[0052] The first RLC entity may a user equipment, UE, configured for use in a communication network, and / or the second RLC entity may a network node of the communications network (e.g. gNB).

[0053] Alternatively, the first RLC entity is a network node of the communications network (e.g. gNB), and the second RLC entity is a user equipment, UE configured for use in a communication network.

[0054] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatus, computer programs, and carriers of those computer programs.

[0055] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0056] Figure 1 illustrates the Refined Long BSR Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0057] Figure 2 shows the Delay Status Reporting (DSR) MAC CE.

[0058] Figure 3 illustrates an example communication network in which at least some of the embodiments described herein may be employed.

[0059] Figure 4 illustrates examples of PDU processing in the PDCP layer.

[0060] Figure 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method performed by a communication device, such as a UE operating in a 3GPP communication network.

[0061] Figure 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method performed by a network node in a communication network.

[0062] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example communication device, according to some embodiments.

[0063] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example network node, according to some embodiments.

[0064] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0065] Figure 10 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0066] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example network node, according to some embodiments. Figure 12 illustrates a virtualization environment.

[0067] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Figure 3 shows a communication network 10 according to some embodiments. The communication network 10 provides communication service to one or more communication devices 12A. In this context, a network node 12B of the communication network 10 may perform downlink transmission(s) to a communication device 12A over a downlink 14D and / or a communication device 12A may perform uplink transmission(s) to a network node 12B over an uplink 14U. Alternatively or additionally, communication devices 12A may perform sidelink transmission(s) to one another over a sidelink 14S which does not traverse any network node 12B of the communication network 10. As used herein, then, both a communication device 12A and a network node 12B may be referred to generally as a communication node 12.

[0069] In this context, Figure 4 shows transmission processing at a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 16P of a communication node 12, whether for an uplink transmission over an uplink 14U, a downlink transmission over a downlink 14D, or a sidelink transmission over a sidelink 14S. The transmission processing at the PDCP layer 16P may for instance be performed by a PDCP entity, one of which is shown as an example.

[0070] As shown, the communication node 12 implements a transmission protocol stack that includes the PDCP layer 16P as well as one or more other layers, e.g., an application layer 16A that is higher than the PDCP layer 16P and one or more lower layers 16L that are lower than the PDCP layer 16P in the protocol stack. The PDCP layer 16P receives PDCP packets referred to as PDCP Service Data Units (SDUs) from a higher layer in the protocol stack, performs PDCP processing 30 on those PDCP SDUs, and then transmits PDCP packets referred to as PDCP Protocol Data Units (PDUs) to a lower layer 16L in the protocol stack.

[0071] While the PDCP layer 16P waits for confirmation that a PDCP SDU was received successfully, the communication node 12 stores the PDCP SDU in a buffer 26 and starts a countdown timer referred to as a discard timer. If the communication node 12 receives confirmation that the PDCP SDU was received successfully, the communication node 12 can go ahead and discard the PDCP SDU by removing it from the buffer 26. Otherwise, the communication node 12 may continue to store the PDCU SDU in the buffer 26 for as long as the discard timer is running. Once the discard timer expires, though, the communication node 12 discards the PDCP SDU even if the communication node 12 has not received confirmation of successful reception.

[0072] Figure 4 shows this for two example PDCP SDUs received at the PDCP layer 16P, including PDCP SDU 24-1 and PDCP 24-2. The communication node 12 receives PDCP SDU 24-1 , performs PDCP processing 30 on that PDCP SDU 24-1 to produce one or more corresponding PDCP PDlls 32-1 , and transmits the corresponding PDCP PDlls 32-1 to lower layer(s) 16L. While waiting for confirmation that the PDCP SDU 24-1 was received successfully, the communication node 12 stores PDCP SDU 24-1 in the buffer 26 and starts a discard timer 28-1 for the PDCP SDU 24-1 to govern PDCP discard of the PDCP SDU 24-1.

[0073] Similarly, the communication node 12 receives PDCP SDU 24-2, performs PDCP processing 30 on that PDCP SDU 24-2 to produce one or more corresponding PDCP PDUs 32-2, and transmits the corresponding PDCP PDUs 32-2 to lower layer(s) 16L. While waiting for confirmation that the PDCP SDU 24-2 was received successfully, the communication node 12 stores PDCP SDU 24-2 in the buffer 26 and starts a discard timer 28-2 for the PDCP SDU 24-2 to govern PDCP discard of the PDCP SDU 24-2.

[0074] A PDU Set as that term is used herein is composed of one or more PDUs (at any protocol layer) carrying the payload of one unit of information generated at the application layer 16A (e.g. a frame or video slice for XRM Services, as used in 3GPP TR 26.926 V18.1.0). As shown in Figure 4, for instance, the application layer 16A generates one unit of information 20-1 (e.g., one video frame). After processing of this unit of information 20-1 through one or more higher layers in the protocol stack, the PDCP layer 16P receives a PDU Set 22-1 composed of PDCP SDU(s) whose respective payload(s) are from that one unit of information 20-1 at the application layer 16A. Similarly, the application layer 16A generates another unit of information 20-2 (e.g., another video frame). After processing of this unit of information 20-2 through one or more higher layers in the protocol stack, the PDCP layer 16P receives a PDU Set 22-2 composed of PDCP SDU(s) whose respective payload(s) are from that other unit of information 20-2 at the application layer 16A.

[0075] Although some embodiments in the following are written with respect to the UE communicating with the network and the problem described above relates to uplink (UL) transmissions, the invention is to be regarded generally with a transmitting (Tx) entity communicating with a receiving (Rx) entity; e.g. includes corresponding downlink (DL) traffic.

[0076] In one embodiment, a Tx RLC entity transmits one or a plurality of data packets to a Rx RLC entity, thereby updating a trigger condition; evaluating the updated trigger condition; and depending on the evaluating, transmitting a request for an RLC status report to the Rx RLC entity.

[0077] The trigger condition, can be one or a plurality of the following: a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to one or a plurality of data packets; a remaining time for discarding the one or the plurality of data packets; a number of data packets queued for transmission; a number of already consumed retransmissions for the one or the plurality of data packets; and a number or certain percentage of a PDU set or a certain percentage of the PDU set has been transmitted. Evaluating the updated trigger measure may comprise determining that the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the one or the plurality of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold; that the remaining time for discarding the one or the plurality of data packets is lower than a discard threshold; that the number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets; that the number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions; and / or that all data of a PDU set, or a certain percentage of all the data has been transmitted.

[0078] In more specific embodiment, the Tx entity (e.g. the UE) triggers a new indication to request for an RLC status report (e.g. sets the polling bit) from the network based on time budget conditions. Such conditions may be that a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, or remaining time to discard for the PDll(s) is below a configured time or that a number of PDlls queued or the number of PDU set queued is above a configured number of PDUs.

[0079] By introducing a new time criterion, e.g., called “Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL”, and a new time threshold, e.g., called “pollDelay”, such embodiment may be realized as follows:

[0080] Upon notification of a transmission opportunity by lower layer, for each (AMD) PDU submitted for transmission such that the (AMD) PDU contains either a not previously transmitted RLC SDU or an RLC SDU segment containing not previously transmitted byte segment, the transmitting side of an AM RLC entity shall: update Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL;

[0081] If Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL >= pollDelay, the transmitting side triggers the indication, e.g., by adding a poll in the AMD PDU.

[0082] Adding the poll in the AMD PDU may be performed by setting the P field of the AMD PDU to "1" while setting Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL to 0.

[0083] The value Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL (in the following also being referred to as Delay_PDU) which can be a remaining time of AMD PDU or a PDU set.

[0084] In an embodiment, the (remaining) time threshold is based on the remaining time to discard for the corresponding PDCP packets, e.g., the delay critical data in the delay status report (DSR) reporting. Thereto, a similar threshold as in the DSR or new separate threshold can be used.

[0085] In another embodiment, the trigger can also be based on a combination of remaining times and number of PDUs. Further, this indication can also be triggered if at least one (and anyone) of the remaining times of the PDB or remaining time to discard is below a configured time.

[0086] The above-described algorithm can be applied instead of the RLC polling mechanism as described in 3GPP TS 38.322, V18.0.0. Alternatively, it can be applied in a combination to the known RLC polling mechanism:

[0087] • increment PDU_WITHOUT_POLL by one;

[0088] • increment BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL by every new byte of Data field element that it maps to the Data field of the AMD PDU; update Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL; if PDU_WITHOUT_POLL >= pollPDU; or if BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL >= pollByte; or If Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL >= pollDelay:

[0089] • include a poll in the AMD PDU.

[0090] To include a poll in an AMD PDU, the transmitting side of an AM RLC entity shall: set the P field of the AMD PDU to "1 set PDU_WITHOUT_POLL to 0; set BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL to 0; set Delay_PDU_WITHOUT_POLL to 0.

[0091] In another embodiment, a criterion to set the polling bit (or trigger an indication to request of RLC status report) is that all the data from a PDU Set has been transmitted (e.g., the corresponding RLC PDUs to all the PDCP SDUs belonging to a PDU Set), or certain (estimated) needed amount of data to be delivered if not the complete PDU Set is needed (i.e., there is redundancy / FEC packets in the PDU Set). Thereto, a configured threshold of percentage of data transmitted from a PDU Set may be used as a condition to trigger. Such condition may be used in addition to above-described conditions, e.g., to the remaining time condition, i.e., remaining time of the PDU Set (either remaining PDB or time to discard). In other words, if a percentage or a number of PDUs transmitted from a PDU set is greater than a particular value, the polling bit may be set. The network may configure the corresponding threshold based on redundancy / FEC rates.

[0092] In another embodiment, the RLC Tx (e.g., the UE) can set the polling bit or trigger the indication further in dependency of an importance of the data traffic; e.g. based on the configuration of PDU Set Importance. In such embodiment, the configured time and / or configured number(s) of PDUs / bytes (pollPDU / pollByte) only applies to traffic of high importance. For low importance traffic, the indication is not triggered.

[0093] In another embodiment, the RLC Tx can set the polling bit or trigger the new indication to request for the RLC status report based on a defined number of configured retransmissions. These retransmissions can either be the automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocol on the RLC-level or hybrid ARQ (HARQ) protocol on lower-layers. For example, if the configured number retransmissions is set to 3, then after 3 retransmissions (either ARQ / HARQ) the UE can set the polling bit or trigger the indication to request for the RLC status report.

[0094] In another embodiment, if the UE sets the polling bit or triggered the indication according to the trigger conditions discussed above, the RLC Tx (e.g., the UE) skips an upcoming polling occasion, e.g., the RLC Tx entity will not poll the RLC Rx entity based on the configured thresholds of pollPDU and pollByte.

[0095] In an embodiment, when the occasions overlap, it is up to RLC Tx implementation (e.g., the UE implementation) to decide whether the polling is set, or the indication is triggered based on the new triggers (e.g., Delay_PDU or configured number of retransmissions) and / or based on pollPDU / pollByte. In another embodiment, the network configures the priority such triggers (or which triggers are to be applied).

[0096] In another embodiment, the UE will rely only on the new triggers (remaining time, and / or configured number of PDUs / PDU sets queued and / or configured number of retransmissions) to request for the RLC status report from the network.

[0097] In an embodiment, the network can configure the UE with one or some or all the triggers i.e. , configured time for remaining time of PDB or remaining time for discard and / or configured number of PDU(s) / PDU set(s) queued and / or configured number of retransmissions in a DL radio resource control (RRC) message. Upon reception of this DL RRC message, the UE applies the corresponding configuration.

[0098] In an embodiment, the network can also configure the UE to disable the legacy polling mechanism (based on pollPDU / pollByte) thereby only relying on the new triggers to request for the status report. Alternatively, the network can configure a priority to use the legacy polling mechanism and new triggers.

[0099] In an embodiment, the network configures which mechanism is to be applied in a DRB. For example, for DRBs intended for the low-latency applications, a network configure remaining time-based triggering (i.e., new triggers) while non-latency critical DRBs are configured to use legacy mechanisms based on pollPDU and pollByte.

[0100] New Indication to request for the RLC status report from the network:

[0101] In an embodiment, the UE indicates to the network to request for the RLC status report by reusing the polling bit as it is currently specified as shown above. In other words, the known indication mechanism is used for triggering according to new conditions (e.g., based on the remaining time of PDB and / or remaining time for discard and / or configured number of PDU(s) / PDU set(s) queued or remaining in the queue and / or configured number retransmissions for the PDU). In an alternative embodiment, the UE indicates to the network to request for the RLC status report in a new RLC control PDU. This new RLC control PDU in addition to the indication may further include the remaining time of PDB for a PDU(s) (or remaining time to discard) and / or the number of PDUs remaining in the queue (or delay critical data transmitted, i.e. coupling to the DSR feature) and / or a number of consumed retransmissions.

[0102] When the request is sent, a new timer, e.g. being called “t-requestRestransmit timer” is started (like polling) in the Tx RLC entity (e.g. the UE). When the Tx RLC entity receives the status report (e.g. from the network), the new timer is stopped and reset. When the new timer expires without receiving the status report, the Tx RLC entity requests the RLC status report for those AMD PDUs that have been requested for the status report. In an aspect of this embodiment, when the new timer expires and the RLC status report is not received, the UE can set the poll bit or trigger the new indication independently of any other (legacy or new) trigger.

[0103] As discussed previously, the Tx RLC entity may be a UE. In such case, the UE sets the poll bit for the gNB to send the SR in the DL. In the other case, the gNB (as Tx RLC entity) sets the poll bit for the UE (Rx RLC entity) to send a status report (SR) in the UL.

[0104] When the receiving RLC entity receives the RLC status report triggered by remaining time and / or #PDU / PDU sets queued and / or #retransmissions, it will immediately construct STATUS PDU for the requested AMD PDUs without waiting, i.e., t-StatusProhibit timer is ignored if the timer is set to non-zero value. For this purpose, the request from the transmitting RLC entity can explicitly mark the type of request. As one example, the polling bit (P field) in the AMD PDU can be extended to include additional bits to indicate the type of polling which can include legacy polling, or the new polling based on the new triggers.

[0105] Data / SDU / PDU Handling:

[0106] The Tx RLC (e.g. the UE), upon receiving a negative acknowledgement (in a status report) for one or a plurality of transmitted data packets (SDUs / PDUs) from the Rx RLC, may prioritize the one or the plurality of data packets over other data packets depending on certain states / variables, e.g., comprising a remaining time of a packet delay budget (PDB) or a time to discard the data packet(s), a number of data packets (number of PDUs or PDU sets) queued, and / or a number of already consumed retransmissions with respect to the transmitted data packet(s).

[0107] The conditions for prioritizing the one or the plurality of data packets (SDUs / PDUs) may comprise one or a plurality of: - a remaining time of packet delay budget (PDB) with respect to the transmitted data packet(s) or a time to discard the data packet(s) is below a configured time;

[0108] - a number of data packets (number of PDlls or PDU sets) queued is above a configured number of data packets;

[0109] - exceeding a configured number of retransmissions been consumed.

[0110] In another embodiment, the Tx RLC entity (UE) prioritizes the data packet(s) whose remaining time of PDB or time to discard is the least value (among other SDUs / PDUs which may or may not be below the configured time).

[0111] In another aspect, the Tx RLC entity (UE) prioritizes the SDU / PDU which has been queued in the buffer for the longest or shortest time.

[0112] In another embodiment, the Tx RLC entity (UE) prioritizes the SDU / PDU which has consumed the most or least number of retransmissions.

[0113] In another embodiment, the Tx RLC entity (UE) prioritizes the SDU / PDU which is in the first or last or any position of the retransmission queue.

[0114] The following are exemplary examples in the specification of the SDU / PDU handling when considering retransmission with least remaining time:

[0115] Such status report may be received from the Rx RLC entity in response a request for an RLC status report. Transmitting such request (poll) may be performed in response to a polling trigger as described above, and / or to an expiry of a configured timer (e.g., a new timer that may be referred to as t-requestRestransmit or an existing timer such ast- PollRetransmit).

[0116] Examples:

[0117] Retransmission:

[0118] The transmitting side of an AM RLC entity can receive a negative acknowledgement (notification of reception failure by its peer AM RLC entity) for an RLC SDU or an RLC SDU segment by the following:

[0119] STATUS PDU from its peer AM RLC entity.

[0120] When receiving a negative acknowledgement for an RLC SDU or an RLC SDU segment by a STATUS PDU from its peer AM RLC entity, the transmitting side of the AM RLC entity shall: if the SN (sequence number) of the corresponding RLC SDU falls within the range TX_Next_Ack <= SN < = the highest SN of the AMD PDU among the AMD PDlls submitted to lower layer:

[0121] - if the remaining time till discardTimer expiry is less than the remainingTimeThreshold for an RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment: consider the RLC SDU or the RLC SDU segment for which a negative acknowledgement was received with the least remaining time till discardTimer.

[0122] - else: consider any RLC SDU or the RLC SDU segment for which a negative acknowledgement was received for retransmission.

[0123] Expiry of t-PollRetransmit or t-requestRestransmit:

[0124] Upon expiry of t-PollRetransmit or t-requestRestransmit, the transmitting side of an AM RLC entity shall: if both the transmission buffer and the retransmission buffer are empty (excluding transmitted RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment awaiting acknowledgements); or if no new RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment can be transmitted (e.g. due to window stalling): if the remaining time till discardTimer expiry is less than the remainingTimeThreshold for an RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment: consider the RLC SDU or the RLC SDU segment for which a negative acknowledgement was received with the least remaining time till discardTimer.

[0125] - else: consider the RLC SDU with the highest SN among the RLC SDUs submitted to lower layer for retransmission; or consider any RLC SDU which has not been positively acknowledged for retransmission. include a poll in an AMD PDU as described above.

[0126] Figure 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method, as carried out by a communication device comprising a TX RLC entity as described above, such as a 3GPP UE configured for use in a communication network, such as a 3GPP 5G or 6G network.

[0127] Block 1110 illustrates a step of receiving an RLC status report with a negative acknowledgement, NACK; Block 1120 illustrates a step of evaluating a condition for prioritizing data packets associated to the NACK; and

[0128] Block 1130 illustrates a step performing a transmission of data packets according to the result of the evaluating.

[0129] Updating the trigger condition may comprise determining the actual value associated to the trigger measure or condition.

[0130] Evaluating the condition for prioritization may comprises determining that at least one of:

[0131] • the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold;

[0132] • the remaining time for discarding the one or the first set of data packets is lower than a discard threshold;

[0133] • the number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets;

[0134] • the number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions;

[0135] • the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the second set of data packets;

[0136] • the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than the remaining time for discarding the second set of data packets; and

[0137] • the first set of data packets have been queued in a transmission buffer longer (or shorter) than the second set of data packets;

[0138] • the first set of data packets has consumed more (or less) retransmissions than the second set of data packets; and

[0139] • the first set of data packets are in a position before (or behind) a position of the second set of data packets in a retransmission queue.

[0140] Figure 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method, as carried out by a network node or communication device comprising an Rx RLC, such as a base station, gNB.

[0141] Block 1210 illustrates a step of configuring a UE to perform a certain prioritization;

[0142] Block 1220, illustrates a step of receiving data packets according to the prioritization.

[0143] In an embodiment, the process flow may further comprise receiving a request for an RLC status report from the Tx RLC entity (UE), and transmitting the requested RLC status report to the Tx RLC entity. Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a communication device 12, e.g., as illustrated in Figure 3, configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12, including those discussed above in connection with Figure 11.

[0144] Embodiments also include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the communication device 12.

[0145] Embodiments further include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the communication device 12 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0146] Embodiments further include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device 12 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12.

[0147] Embodiments moreover include a user equipment (UE). The UE comprises an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE also comprises radio frontend circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the UE also comprises an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may comprise an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may also comprise a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0148] Embodiments herein also include a network node 12B, e.g., as illustrated in Figure 3, configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a network node.

[0149] Embodiments also include a network node 12B comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 12B. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the network node 12B.

[0150] Embodiments further include a network node 12B comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 12B. In some embodiments, the network node 12B further comprises communication circuitry.

[0151] Embodiments further include a network node 12B comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node 12B is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 12B.

[0152] More particularly, the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and / or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.

[0153] Figure 7 for example illustrates a communication node 12 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the communication node 12 includes processing circuitry 1310 and communication circuitry 1320. The communication circuitry 1320 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the communication node 12. The processing circuitry 1310 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 11, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 1330. The processing circuitry 1310 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0154] Figure 8 illustrates a network node 12B as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the network node 12B includes processing circuitry 1410 and communication circuitry 1420. The communication circuitry 1420 is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry 1410 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure 12, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 1430. The processing circuitry 1410 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0155] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

[0156] A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

[0157] Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

[0158] In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.

[0159] Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

[0160] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system 1500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0161] In the example, the communication system 1500 includes a telecommunication network 1502 that includes an access network 1504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1506, which includes one or more core network nodes 1508. The access network 1504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1510a and 1510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1510), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1502, including one or more network nodes 1510 and / or core network nodes 1508.

[0162] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (0-Dll), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CLI-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1512a, 1512b, 1512c, and 1512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1512) to the core network 1506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0163] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0164] The UEs 1512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1502. In the depicted example, the core network 1506 connects the network nodes 1510 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 1516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (ALISF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0165] The host 1516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1504 and / or the telecommunication network 1502. The host 1516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0166] As a whole, the communication system 1500 of Figure 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0167] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1502. For example, the telecommunications network 1502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0168] In some examples, the UEs 1512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E- UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0169] In the example, the hub 1514 communicates with the access network 1504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1512c and / or 1512d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1510b). In some examples, the hub 1514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1514. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0170] The hub 1514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1510b. The hub 1514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1514 and UEs (e.g., UE 1512c and / or 1512d), and between the hub 1514 and the core network 1506. In other examples, the hub 1514 is connected to the core network 1506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1510 while still connected via the hub 1514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1510b. In other embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0171] Figure 10 shows a UE 1600 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1600 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 1512 of Figure 9. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB- loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0172] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0173] The UE 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1604 to an input / output interface 1606, a power source 1608, a memory 1610, a communication interface 1612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0174] The processing circuitry 1602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1610. The processing circuitry 1602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0175] In the example, the input / output interface 1606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0176] In some embodiments, the power source 1608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1600 to which power is supplied.

[0177] The memory 1610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1610 includes one or more application programs 1614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1616. The memory 1610 may store, for use by the UE 1600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0178] The memory 1610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1610 may allow the UE 1600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0179] The processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1612. The communication interface 1612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1622. The communication interface 1612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1618 and / or a receiver 1620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1618 and receiver 1620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0180] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0181] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0182] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0183] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1600 shown in Figure 10.

[0184] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0185] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0186] Figure 11 shows a network node 1700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0187] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O- RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0188] The network node 1700 includes a processing circuitry 1702, a memory 1704, a communication interface 1706, and a power source 1708. The network node 1700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z- wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1700.

[0189] The processing circuitry 1702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1700 components, such as the memory 1704, to provide network node 1700 functionality.

[0190] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes a system on a chip (SOO). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and the baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0191] The memory 1704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1702. The memory 1704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1702 and utilized by the network node 1700. The memory 1704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 and memory 1704 is integrated.

[0192] The communication interface 1706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1710. Radio front-end circuitry 1718 comprises filters 1720 and amplifiers 1722. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may be connected to an antenna 1710 and processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1710 and processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1720 and / or amplifiers 1722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0193] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1718, instead, the processing circuitry 1702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 is part of the communication interface 1706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1706 includes one or more ports or terminals 1716, the radio front-end circuitry 1718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0194] The antenna 1710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1710 is separate from the network node 1700 and connectable to the network node 1700 through an interface or port.

[0195] The antenna 1710, communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1710, the communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0196] The power source 1708 provides power to the various components of network node 1700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1708. As a further example, the power source 1708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0197] Embodiments of the network node 1700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 11 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1700 and to allow output of information from the network node 1700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1700. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 15, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 1718 and the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 may be omitted.

[0198] Figure 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1800 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0199] Applications 1802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0200] Hardware 1804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1808a and 1808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1808.

[0201] The VMs 1808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0202] In the context of NFV, a VM 1808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1808, and that part of hardware 1804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1808 on top of the hardware 1804 and corresponds to the application 1802.

[0203] Hardware 1804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1802. In some embodiments, hardware 1804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0204] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0205] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0206] Examples of embodiments of the techniques, apparatuses, and systems described above include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples.

[0207] 1. A method in a first (Acknowledge Mode, AM) RLC entity, the first RLC entity transmitting a first set of one or more data packets and a second set of one or more data packets to a second (Acknowledge Mode, AM) RLC entity, the method comprising:

[0208] • receiving an RLC status report;

[0209] • determining that the RLC status report comprises a negative acknowledgement, NACK, with respect to the first set of data packets received from the second RLC entity;

[0210] • evaluating a condition for prioritizing transmitting the first set of data packets over transmitting the second set of data packets; and

[0211] • transmitting data packets of the first set and the second set according to the evaluation.

[0212] 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the condition is at least one of: • a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets;

[0213] • a remaining time for discarding the first set data packets;

[0214] • a number of data packets queued for transmission;

[0215] • a number of already consumed retransmissions for the first set of data packets;

[0216] • a position in a retransmission queue; and

[0217] • a number or certain percentage of a PDU set or a certain percentage of the PDU set has been transmitted. The method of embodiments 1-2, wherein evaluating the condition for prioritization comprises determining that at least one of:

[0218] • the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold;

[0219] • the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than a discard threshold;

[0220] • the number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets;

[0221] • the number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions;

[0222] • the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the second set of data packets;

[0223] • the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than the remaining time for discarding the second set of data packets; and

[0224] • the first set of data packets have been queued in a transmission buffer longer (or shorter) than the second set of data packets;

[0225] • the first set of data packets has consumed more (or less) retransmissions than the second set of data packets; and

[0226] • the first set of data packets are in a position before (or behind) a position of the second set of data packets in a retransmission queue. The method of embodiments 1-3, further comprising transmitting to the second RLC entity a request for the RLC status report, wherein the transmitting may be in response to determining that a trigger condition is met or in response to determining that a configured timer has expired. The method of embodiment 4, wherein transmitting the request to the second RLC entity is performed by adding a poll indication in a control packet and / or data packet, wherein the adding of the poll indication in the control packet and / or data packet may comprise setting a poll field of to "1" and re-setting the trigger condition (e.g., setting to “0”). The method of embodiments 4-5, wherein the first RLC entity receives a configuration from the second RLC entity about one or more trigger conditions to be applied for transmitting the request for the RLC status report. The method of embodiment 6, wherein the trigger conditions comprises:

[0227] • a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the one or the plurality of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold;

[0228] • a remaining time for discarding the one or the plurality of data packets is lower than a discard threshold;

[0229] • a number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets;

[0230] • a number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions; and

[0231] • all data of a PDU set, or a certain percentage of all the data has been transmitted. The method of embodiments 4-7, wherein the first RLC entity is configured to send the request only for traffic of high importance (e.g., based on a configuration of PDU Set Importance); and / or to send the request both for high and low importance traffic. The method of embodiments 4-8, wherein the first RLC entity receives a notification of a transmission opportunity by lower layer for each data packet submitted for transmission. The method of embodiments 9, wherein the data packet submitted for transmission is an RLC SDU or an RLC SDU segment containing one or a plurality of not previously transmitted byte segments. The method of embodiments 1-10, wherein the first set of one or more data packets is one or more RLC SDUs and / or one or more RLC SDU segments. The method of embodiments 1-11 , wherein the first RLC entity is a user equipment, UE, configured for use in a communication network, and / or wherein the second RLC entity is a network node of the communications network (e.g., gNB). 13. The method of embodiments 1-11, wherein the first RLC entity is a network node of the communications network (e.g. gNB), and the second RLC entity is a user equipment, UE configured for use in a communication network.

[0232] 14. A user equipment, UE, configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments 1-11.

[0233] 15. A UE comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the steps of any of the embodiments 1-11.

[0234] 16. A UE comprising: processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device is configured to perform the steps of any of the embodiments 1-11.

[0235] 17. A UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments 1-11; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0236] 18. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device, cause the communication node to perform the steps of any of the embodiments 1-11.

[0237] 19. A carrier containing the computer program of embodiment 18, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium. 20. A network node configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments 1-11.

[0238] 21. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of embodiments 1-11.

[0239] 22. A network node comprising: processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node is configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments 1-11.

[0240] 23. The network node of any of embodiments 20-22, wherein the network node is a base station.

[0241] 24. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the steps of any of embodiments 1-11.

[0242] 25. The computer program of embodiment 24, wherein the network node is a base station.

[0243] ABBREVIATIONS

[0244] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above.

[0245] If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).

[0246] 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0247] 5G 5th Generation

[0248] 5GC 5G Core Network

[0249] 6G 6thGeneration ABS Almost Blank Subframe

[0250] AR Augmented Reality

[0251] ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

[0252] AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

[0253] BCCH Broadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel

[0254] CA Carrier Aggregation

[0255] CC Carrier Component

[0256] CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU

[0257] CDMA Code Division Multiplex Access CGI Cell Global Identity

[0258] CIR Channel Impulse Response

[0259] CP Cyclic Prefix

[0260] CPICH Common Pilot Channel

[0261] CQI Channel Quality Information C-RNTI Cell RNTI

[0262] CSI Channel State Information

[0263] DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

[0264] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0265] DL Downlink DM Demodulation

[0266] DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0267] DRB Dedicated Radio Bearer

[0268] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0269] DSR Delay Status Report(ing) DTX Discontinuous Transmission

[0270] DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel DUT Device Under Test

[0271] E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

[0272] Ec / No Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band eMBB enhanced Mobile Broadband eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services

[0273] ECGI Evolved CGI eNB E-UTRAN NodeB ePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0274] E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

[0275] E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0276] FDD Frequency Division Duplex

[0277] FFS For Further Study

[0278] Fps Frames per second gNB Base station in NR

[0279] GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

[0280] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0281] HO Handover

[0282] HSPA High Speed Packet Access

[0283] HRPD High Rate Packet Data

[0284] IP Internet Protocol

[0285] KB Kilobytes

[0286] L1 Layer 1

[0287] LCH Logical Channel

[0288] LCG Logical Channel Group

[0289] LOS Line of Sight

[0290] LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

[0291] LTE Long-Term Evolution

[0292] MAC Medium Access Control

[0293] MAC CE MAC Control Element

[0294] MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network

[0295] MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

[0296] MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

[0297] MIB Master Information Block

[0298] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0299] MR Mixed Reality

[0300] MSC Mobile Switching Center

[0301] NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NR New Radio OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OSS Operations Support System OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival O&M Operation and Maintenance PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCell Primary Cell PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDP Power Delay Profile PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PDU Protocol Data Unit PGW Packet Gateway PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator PRACH Physical Random Access Channel PRS Positioning Reference Signal PSI PDU Set Importance PSS Primary Synchronization Signal PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RACH Random Access Channel QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RAN Radio Access Network RAT Radio Access Technology RLC Radio Link Control RLM Radio Link Monitoring RNC Radio Network Controller RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management RS Reference Signal RSCP Received Signal Code Power

[0302] RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR Reference Signal Received Power

[0303] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol Received Quality

[0304] RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

[0305] RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

[0306] SCH Synchronization Channel

[0307] SCell Secondary Cell

[0308] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0309] SDU Service Data Unit

[0310] SFN System Frame Number

[0311] SGW Serving Gateway

[0312] SI System Information

[0313] SIB System Information Block

[0314] SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

[0315] SON Self-Organizing Network

[0316] SS Synchronization Signal

[0317] SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

[0318] TB Transport Block

[0319] TDD Time Division Duplex

[0320] TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

[0321] TOA Time of Arrival

[0322] TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

[0323] TTI Transmission Time Interval

[0324] UE User Equipment

[0325] UL Uplink

[0326] UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0327] UR LLC Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications

[0328] USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module

[0329] UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

[0330] VoIP Voice over IP (Internet Protocol)

[0331] VR Virtual Reality

[0332] WCDMA Wideband CDMA

[0333] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

[0334] XR extended Reality

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method in a first Radio Link Control, RLC, entity (12, 12A, 12B), the first RLC entity transmitting a first set of one or more data packets and a second set of one or more data packets to a second RLC entity (12, 12A, 12B), the method comprising:• receiving (1110) an RLC status report comprising a negative acknowledgement, NACK, with respect to the first set of data packets received from the second RLC entity;• evaluating (1120) a condition for prioritizing transmitting the first set of data packets over transmitting the second set of data packets; and• transmitting (1130) data packets of the first set and the second set according to the evaluation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the condition is at least one of:• a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets;• a remaining time for discarding the first set data packets;• a number of data packets queued for transmission;• a number of already consumed retransmissions for the first set of data packets;• a position in a retransmission queue; and• a number or certain percentage of a PDU set or a certain percentage of the PDU set has been transmitted.

3. The method of claims 1-2, wherein evaluating the condition for prioritization comprises determining that at least one of:• the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold;• the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than a discard threshold;• the number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets;• the number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions;• the remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the first set of data packets is lower than a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the second set of data packets;• the remaining time for discarding the first set of data packets is lower than the remaining time for discarding the second set of data packets; and• the first set of data packets have been queued in a transmission buffer longer (or shorter) than the second set of data packets;• the first set of data packets has consumed more (or less) retransmissions than the second set of data packets; and• the first set of data packets are in a position before (or behind) a position of the second set of data packets in a retransmission queue.

4. The method of claims 1-3, further comprising transmitting to the second RLC entity a request for the RLC status report, wherein the transmitting may be in response to determining that a trigger condition is met or in response to determining that a configured timer has expired.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein transmitting the request to the second RLC entity is performed by adding a poll indication in a control packet and / or data packet, wherein the adding of the poll indication in the control packet and / or data packet may comprise setting a poll field to "1".

6. The method of claims 4-5, wherein the first RLC entity receives a configuration from the second RLC entity about one or more trigger conditions to be applied for transmitting the request for the RLC status report.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the trigger conditions comprises:• a remaining time of a packet delay budget, PDB, with respect to the one or the plurality of data packets is lower than a remaining time threshold;• a remaining time for discarding the one or the plurality of data packets is lower than a discard threshold;• a number of data packets queued for transmission is equal or greater than a configured maximum number of data packets;• a number of consumed retransmissions is equal or greater than a maximum number of retransmissions; and• all data of a PDU set, or a certain percentage of all the data has been transmitted.

8. The method of claims 4-7, wherein the first RLC entity is configured to send the request only for traffic of high importance (e.g., based on a configuration of PDU SetImportance); and / or to send the request both for high and low importance traffic.

9. The method of claims 4-8, wherein the first RLC entity receives a notification of a transmission opportunity by lower layer for each data packet submitted for transmission.

10. The method of claims 9, wherein the data packet submitted for transmission is an RLC Service Data Unit, RLC SDU, or an RLC SDU segment containing one or a plurality of not previously transmitted byte segments.

11. The method of claims 1-10, wherein the first set of one or more data packets is one or more RLC SDUs and / or one or more RLC SDU segments.

12. The method of claims 1-11, wherein the first RLC entity is a user equipment, UE, configured for use in a communication network, and / or wherein the second RLC entity is a network node of the communications network.

13. The method of claims 1-11, wherein the first RLC entity is a network node of the communications network, and the second RLC entity is a user equipment, UE configured for use in a communication network.

14. A user equipment, UE (12A), configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1-11.

15. A UE (12A) comprising processing circuitry (1310) configured to perform the steps of any of the claims 1-11.

16. A UE (12A) comprising processing circuitry (1310) and memory (1330), the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device is configured to perform the steps of any of the claims 1-11.

17. A UE (12A) comprising:• an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;• radio front-end circuitry (1320) connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry (1310), and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;• the processing circuitry being configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1- 11 ;• an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allowinput of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;• an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and• a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

18. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device, cause the communication node to perform the steps of any of the claims 1-11.

19. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 18, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

20. A network node (12B) configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1-11.

21. A network node (12B) comprising processing circuitry (1410) configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1-11.

22. A network node (12B) comprising processing circuitry (1410) and memory (1430), the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node is configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1-11.

23. The network node of any of claims 20-22, wherein the network node is a base station (12B).

24. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the steps of any of claims 1-11.

25. The computer program of claim 24, wherein the network node is a base station.

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