Method and apparatus for subband full duplex operation in wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. A communication system supports subband full duplex operation, the communication system comprising at least one wireless communication unit communicating with at least one base station. The wireless communication unit is arranged to: receive and process a message from the at least one base station, and in response to the message: measure cross-link interference, CLI due to subband full duplex operation within the communication system in one of: a radio resource control, RRC, idle mode of operation, RRC inactive mode of operation; and establish a connection with the at least one base station; and report CLI measurements to the at least one base station when in an RRC idle mode of operation or in a RRC inactive mode of operation.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUBBAND FULL DUPLEX OPERATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system (or a mobile communication system). More specifically, the disclosure relates generally to a system, methods and apparatus for subband full duplex (SBFD) operations in a wireless network. In particular, example implementations include a system, methods and devices for a user equipment (UE) reporting cross-link interference (CLI) measurements performed in idle and inactive mode to a network base station, such as a gNodeB (gNB).

[0002] 5G mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be implemented not only in “Sub 6GHz” bands such as 3.5GHz, but also in “Above 6GHz” bands referred to as mmWave including 28GHz and 39GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement 6G mobile communication technologies (referred to as Beyond 5G systems) in terahertz (THz) bands (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands) in order to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technologies, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of BWP (BandWidth Part), new channel coding methods such as a LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.

[0004] Currently, there are ongoing discussions regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies, and there has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE Power Saving, Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0005] Moreover, there has been ongoing standardization in air interface architecture / protocol regarding technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures (2-step RACH for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture / service regarding a 5G baseline architecture (for example, service based architecture or service based interface) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.

[0006] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices that have been exponentially increasing will be connected to communication networks, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with eXtended Reality (XR) for efficiently supporting AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in terahertz bands of 6G mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum), and RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] There are needs to develop SBFD related procedures for efficient communication.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method comprises: receiving, from a base station, information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI); performing, while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state, the measurement of the SBFD related CLI; and transmitting, to the base station, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, A method performed by a base station is provided. The method comprises: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI); and receiving, from the UE, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, wherein the measurement of the SBFD related CLI is obtained in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE comprises: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the UE to: receive, from a base station, information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI), perform, while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state, the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, and transmit, to the base station, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a base station is provided. The base station comprises: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the base station to: transmit, to a user equipment (UE), information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI), and receive, from the UE, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, wherein the measurement of the SBFD related CLI is obtained in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0013] In a first aspect, a communication system supporting full duplex operation is described, where the communication system includes at least one wireless communication unit communicating with at least one base station. The at least one wireless communication unit is arranged to: receive and process a message from the at least one base station; and, in response to the message: measure cross-link interference (CLI) due to full duplex operation within the communication system in one of: a radio resource control (RRC) idle mode of operation, RRC inactive mode of operation; establish a connection with the at least one base station; and report CLI measurements to the at least one base station when in an RRC idle mode of operation or in a RRC inactive mode of operation. In this manner, by allowing CLI measurements to be measured in RRC idle or RRC inactive modes of operation, the network may configure full duplex operation faster in order to enable network capacity enhancements.

[0014] In an optional example, the message received by the at least one wireless communication unit may instruct the at least one wireless communication unit to measure sub-band full duplex (SBFD) CLI of at least one other wireless communication unit. In this manner, by allowing SBFD CLI measurements to be measured in RRC idle or RRC inactive modes of operation, the network may configure subband full duplex operation faster in order to enable network capacity enhancements. In an optional example, the at least one wireless communication unit may be configured to transmit and receive in the same timeslot when configured to measure sub-band full duplex, SBFD, CLI in RRC idle and RRC inactive modes.

[0015] In an optional example, prior to receiving the message, the at least one wireless communication unit may be arranged to initially transmit a first message to the at least one base station that indicates the at least one wireless communication unit is able to transition to one of: an RRC idle mode of operation, an RRC inactive mode of operation, and measure CLI. In this manner, the base station is able to have knowledge of which wireless communication units are capable of performing CLI measurements in RRC idle and RRC inactive modes and broadcast instructions accordingly. In this manner, the base station may also control which devices that shall measure CLI in one of an RRC idle mode or RRC inactive mode of operation.

[0016] In an optional example, CLI measurements performed by the at least one wireless communication unit may include a measurement of at least one communication resource where other wireless communication units are transmitting data in a connected mode. In an optional example, the at least one resource may include at least one of: a layer-1, a layer-2, a layer-3 based communication resource. In an optional example, the at least one communication resource may include periodic communication resources or semi-persistent communication resources. In an optional example, the at least one periodic communication resource or semi-persistent communication resource comprises a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource. In an optional example, the at least one periodic communication resource or semi-persistent communication resource may include a time-bandwidth resource that enables the at least one wireless communication unit to measure received signal strength in communication resources where other wireless communication units are transmitting, and wherein the report transmitted by the at least one wireless communication unit may include CLI received signal strength measurements.

[0017] In an optional example, the at least one wireless communication unit being configured to establish a connection with the at least one base station may include the at least one wireless communication unit being configured to perform one of: receive a trigger to perform RRC Setup or RRC resume, transmit a RRCSetupRequest message and receive in response thereto an RRCSetup message, or transmit a RRCResumeRequest message and receive in response thereto an RRCResume message. In an optional example, in response to receiving a trigger, the at least one wireless communication unit may be configured to perform a RRC Resume or RRC setup procedure. In an optional example, in response to a receipt of a RRCSetup message or a RRCResume message, the at least one wireless communication unit may be configured to transmit a RRCSetupComplete message or an RRCResumeComplete message to the at least one base station that indicated that CLI measurements are available. In an optional example, in response to a transmission of a RRCSetupComplete message or an RRCResumeComplete message to the at least one base station, the at least one wireless communication unit may be configured to: receive an UEInformationRequest message that indicates a CLI measurement request; and transmit an UEInformationResponse message to the at least one base station with the CLI measurements. Thus, in this manner, the UE 550 first indicates the availability of the measurements, and then the network, e.g., the gNB 510 asks for the measurements to be reported. This has the benefit that there is no need to send large amounts of measurements early in the access procedure when coverage and fast access may be prioritized.

[0018] In an optional example, the trigger may be one of: arrival of data in a receiver buffer of the at least one wireless communication unit, or a procedure unrelated to a measurement of CLI. In an optional example, the receiver and processor may be configured to receive a RRC Release message that comprises an indication for the at least one wireless communication unit to measure CLI in RRC idle or RRC inactive and in response thereto the at least one wireless communication unit measures CLI in idle or inactive mode. In an optional example, the receiver and processor may be configured to receive the message from the at least one base station that broadcasts system information that configures the at least one wireless communication unit to perform idle mode CLI measurements. In an optional example, the message may be a SIB11 message.

[0019] In a second aspect, a wireless communication unit is described as claimed. In a third aspect, a method for a wireless communication unit configured to communicate with at least one base station in a communication system that supports full duplex operation is described as claimed. In a fourth aspect, a wireless base station is described as claimed. In a fifth aspect, a method for a wireless base station configured to communicate with at least one wireless communication unit in a communication system that supports full duplex operation is described as claimed.

[0020] According to various embodiments of the disclosure, procedures of SBFD operation and procedures of CLI measurement related with the SBFD can be efficiently enhanced in wireless communication system (or mobile communication system).

[0021] Further details, aspects and embodiments will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, similar reference numbers are used to identify like or functionally similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a known example of SBFD configuration in a TDD configuration, where: D stands for Downlink, U for Uplink, S is flexible.

[0023] FIG. 2 illustrates a message sequence chart of a known: A) RRC Setup procedure, B) RRC Resume procedure.

[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates known examples of simplified message sequence charts of establishing carrier aggregation without enhancements.

[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates inventor considered examples of simplified message sequence charts of SBFD configuration after having measured a CLI, which are anticipated as being generally sub-optimal.

[0026] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a base station communicating with a UE, adapted in accordance with some example embodiments.

[0027] FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified example message sequence chart of a base station, such as a gNB, communicating with a UE, where SBFD CLI measurements are measured in RRC idle and RRC inactive.

[0028] FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified example message sequence chart of a base station, such as a gNB, communicating with a UE, where the UE reports the CLI measured in idle and inactive mode to the network, in accordance with some examples.

[0029] FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified example message sequence chart of a base station, such as a gNB, communicating with a UE, including a MAC CE with CLI measurements in Msg3 during the random access procedure, in accordance with some examples.

[0030] FIG. 9 illustrates various aspects of CLI measurement, in accordance with some examples described herein.

[0031] FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] In describing the embodiments, descriptions related to technical contents well-known in the art and not associated directly with the disclosure will be omitted. Such an omission of unnecessary descriptions is intended to prevent obscuring of the main idea of the disclosure and more clearly transfer the main idea.

[0035] For the same reason, in the accompanying drawings, some elements may be exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated. Further, the size of each element does not completely reflect the actual size. In the drawings, identical or corresponding elements are provided with identical reference numerals or different reference numerals.

[0036] The advantages and features of the disclosure and ways to achieve them will be apparent by making reference to embodiments as described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments set forth below, but may be implemented in various different forms. The following embodiments are provided only to completely disclose the disclosure and inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the disclosure, and the disclosure is defined only by the scope of the appended claims. Throughout the specification, the same or like reference numerals designate the same or like elements. Furthermore, in describing the disclosure, a detailed description of known functions or constitution incorporated herein will be omitted in the case that it is determined that the description may make the subject matter of the disclosure unnecessarily unclear. The terms which will be described below are terms defined in consideration of the functions in the disclosure, and may be different according to users, intentions of the operators, or customs. Therefore, the definitions of the terms should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

[0037] Herein, it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations, may be performed based on computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded collectively onto at least one processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which perform through any one of, or in any combination of, the at least one processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for performing the functions specified in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions may also be stored in a non-transitory computer usable or computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer usable or computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that perform the function specified in the flowchart block(s). The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a computer executed process such that the instructions that perform on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus provide steps for executing the functions specified in the flowchart block(s).

[0038] Further, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which includes one or more executable instructions for executing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order. For example, two blocks(or functions) shown in succession may in fact be performed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be performed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.

[0039] As used in embodiments of the disclosure, a “~unit” may refer to a software element or a hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which performs a predetermined function. However, the term including the word “~unit” does not always have a meaning limited to software or hardware. The “~unit” may be constructed either to be stored in an addressable storage medium or to execute one or more processors. Therefore, the “~unit” includes, for example, software elements, object-oriented software elements, components such as class elements and task elements, processes, functions, properties, procedures, sub-routines, segments of a program code, drivers, firmware, micro-codes, circuits, data, database, data structures, tables, arrays, and parameters. The components and functions provided by the “~unit” may be either combined into a smaller number of components and a “~unit,” or divided into additional components and a “~unit.” Moreover, the components and “~units” may be implemented to reproduce one or more central processing units (CPUs) within a device or a security multimedia card. Further, in the embodiments, the “~unit” may include one or more processors.

[0040] It should be appreciated that the blocks in each flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts may be performed by one or more computer programs which include instructions. The entirety of the one or more computer programs may be stored in a single memory device or the one or more computer programs may be divided with different portions stored in different multiple memory devices.

[0041] Any of the functions or operations described herein can be processed by one processor or a combination of processors. The one processor or the combination of processors is circuitry performing processing and includes circuitry like an application processor (AP, e.g. a CPU), a communication processor (CP, e.g., a modem), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI) chip), a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth® chip, a global positioning system (GPS) chip, a near field communication (NFC) chip, connectivity chips, a sensor controller, a touch controller, a finger-print sensor controller, a display driver integrated circuit (IC), an audio CODEC chip, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, a camera controller, an image processing IC, a microprocessor unit (MPU), a system on chip (SoC), an IC, or the like.

[0042] It will be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure according to the claims and description in the specification can be realized in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software.

[0043] Any such software may be stored in non-transitory computer readable storage media. The non-transitory computer readable storage media store one or more computer programs (software modules), the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to perform a method of the disclosure.

[0044] Any such software may be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile storage such as, for example, a storage device like read only memory (ROM), whether erasable or rewritable or not, or in the form of memory such as, for example, random access memory (RAM), memory chips, device or integrated circuits or on an optically or magnetically readable medium such as, for example, a compact disk (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk or magnetic tape or the like. It will be appreciated that the storage devices and storage media are various embodiments of non-transitory machine-readable storage that are suitable for storing a computer program or computer programs comprising instructions that, when executed, implement various embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a program comprising code for implementing apparatus or a method as claimed in any one of the claims of this specification and a non-transitory machine-readable storage storing such a program.

[0045] Hereinafter, the determination of priority between A and B in the present disclosure may refer to various actions such as selecting the one having a higher priority based on a predefined priority rule and performing an operation corresponding thereto, or omitting or dropping an operation corresponding to the one having a lower priority.

[0046] Hereinafter, "A or B" as described in the present disclosure may be understood as "A and / or B," which may include A, or B, or both A and B.

[0047] In addition, "at least one of A, B, and C" as described in the present disclosure may be understood to include A, or B, or C, or any combination of A, B, and C.

[0048] In addition, "at least one of A, B, or C" as described in the present disclosure may be understood to include A, or B, or C, or any combination of A, B, and C.

[0049] Furthermore, "A / B" as described in the present disclosure may be understood as "A and / or B," which may include A, or B, or both A and B.

[0050] Furthermore, "A, B" as described in the present disclosure may be understood as "A and / or B," which may include A, or B, or both A and B.

[0051] Furthermore, "A and B" as described in the present disclosure may be understood as "A and / or B," which may include A, or B, or both A and B.

[0052] Furthermore, “if condition A and condition B are satisfied,” as described in the present disclosure, may not be limited to a case where both condition A and condition B are satisfied, but may be understood to include a case where either condition A or condition B is individually satisfied, both condition A and condition B are satisfied, or one or more additional conditions are satisfied in combination.

[0053] Furthermore, throughout this disclosure, ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc., (and similar qualifiers) are used merely to distinguish between different instances, occurrences, configurations, messages, stages, or aspects of elements, operations, or information as described herein. Unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the use of such ordinal terms does not itself require that the elements, operations, or information distinguished by these terms be structurally different, numerically distinct, or substantively dissimilar. For example, a "first signal" and a "second signal" may refer to instances of the same signal transmitted at different times or containing the same core information despite minor variations, or they may refer to signals with different content or characteristics, depending on the specific context. Similarly, a "first value" and a "second value" may represent the same magnitude but measured or applied in different circumstances, or they may represent different magnitudes. The interpretation should be guided by the specific technical context, function, and relationship described in the relevant portion of the specification and claims.

[0054] Furthermore, the terms “first ~”, “second ~”, etc., as described in the present disclosure with respect to various elements (e.g., information, objects, operation, sequences, or the like), should not limit those elements. These terms may only be intended to distinguish one element from another, and may not be intended to indicate a specific order. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element.

[0055] Furthermore, even if “first ~” and “second ~” are described in the present disclosure, it may be understood that element(s) referred to by “first ~” and “second ~” may be the same or different. For example, in case of element(s) being information, first information and second information may both be same information and, in some cases, are separate and different information.

[0056] In addition, the terms “if ~” and “in case that ~” as used in the disclosure or claims may be interpreted to include the meanings of “when (or upon) ~,” “in response to ~,” “based on ~,” or “according to ~,” and may be used interchangeably with these expressions. In addition, expressions other than those exemplified herein may also be used, as long as they have substantially the same meaning and do not impair the technical features of the present disclosure.

[0057] For example, the physical layer signaling may be referred to as Layer 1 (L1) signaling and may include downlink control information (DCI). In addition, the higher layer signaling may include a medium access control (MAC) control message, a radio resource control (RRC) signaling message, a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling message, or an application layer message. The RRC signaling message may be referred to as L3 (layer 3) signaling. It should be noted, however, that the higher layer signaling is not limited to the aforementioned examples.

[0058] In addition, the term "not perform" as used in the present disclosure or claims may, in context, be understood to mean that the corresponding step is omitted or skipped. Such a term may be replaced with other terms having the same or substantially equivalent meaning.

[0059] In addition, "transmitting a message including A and B" as described in the present disclosure, may be understood as encompassing both (i) transmitting A and B in a single message, and (ii) transmitting A and B separately via multiple messages (e.g., transmitting a first message including A and a second message including B). This interpretation may also apply to messages that include two or more items (e.g., A, B, C), transmitted either together or separately.

[0060] In addition, "transmitting a message including A and transmitting a message including B" may also be interpreted as transmitting a message including A and B in a single message.

[0061] In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described below, terms or components included in the disclosure may be expressed in singular or plural form depending on the specific embodiments presented. However, such singular or plural expressions are selected appropriately for convenience of description, and the present disclosure is not limited to a singular or plural number of components. A component expressed in the plural form may be implemented as a single component, and a component expressed in the singular form may be implemented as multiple components.

[0062] The drawings or flowcharts described below illustrate exemplary methods that may be implemented according to the principles of the present disclosure, and various modifications may be made to the methods illustrated in the flowcharts of the present disclosure. For example, although illustrated as a series of steps, various steps in each drawing or flowchart may overlap, occur in parallel, occur in a different order, or be repeated. In other examples, any step may be omitted or replaced with another step.

[0063] The methods and apparatuses proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to each embodiment individually, but may also be applied in combination of all or some of the embodiments proposed in the disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be modified and applied without significantly departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0064] In this case, even if certain wordings are described differently across embodiments, they may be used interchangeably or in substitution or in combination if their underlying concepts are equivalent. For example, for the same or equivalent concept, even if one embodiment uses the expression "A" and another embodiment uses the expression "B", such expressions may be understood interchangeably, in substitution, or in combination.

[0065] The terms used in the following description to refer to access nodes, network entities, messages, interfaces between network entities, various types of identification information, and the like, are provided merely for the convenience of explanation by way of example. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms having equivalent technical meanings may also be used. Such terms may also be interchangeable with terms defined in any 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specifications (TS) where appropriate.

[0066] Hereinafter, a base station is an entity that allocates resources to terminals, and may be at least one of a gNode B, an eNode B, a Node B, a base station (BS), a wireless access unit, a BS controller, or a node on a network.

[0067] Furthermore, the base station of the present disclosure may include a split architecture comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). In this structure, the CU is configured to process the higher layers of the control and user planes, while the DU is configured to process lower-layer radio resource functions. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be equally applicable to 5G base station architectures in which such CU and DU functional splits are implemented.

[0068] A terminal may include a UE, a mobile station (MS), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a computer, or a multimedia system capable of performing communication functions.

[0069] In the disclosure, a downlink (DL) refers to a radio link through which a BS transmits a signal to a UE, and an uplink (UL) refers to a radio link through which a UE transmits a signal to a BS.

[0070] Furthermore, hereinafter, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication technologies (e.g., 5G new radio (NR)), 6th generation (6G) mobile communication technologies may be described by way of example, but the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other communication systems having similar technical backgrounds or channel types. For example, newly evolved mobile communication systems developed after 5G and 6G may be included. Furthermore, based on determinations by those skilled in the art, the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other communication systems (e.g., Wi-Fi systems) through some modifications without significantly departing from the scope of the present disclosure

[0071] In the following description, the terms physical channel and signal may be used interchangeably with data or control signal. For example, the term physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) refers to a physical channel through which data is transmitted, but the term PDSCH may also be used to refer to the data itself. That is, in the present disclosure, the expression "transmit a physical channel" may be interpreted as being equivalent to the expression "transmit data or a signal via a physical channel."

[0072] Hereinafter, in the context of the present disclosure, higher layer signaling may refer to signaling corresponding to at least one or any combination of the following: master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB) or SIB M (M = 1, 2, ...), radio resource control (RRC), or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling message, or an application layer message. The RRC signaling message may be referred to as L3 (layer 3) signaling.

[0073] In addition, L1 signaling may refer to signaling corresponding to at least one or any combination of signaling techniques using the at least one or any combination of the following physical layer channels or signaling: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), downlink control information (DCI), user equipment (UE)-specific DCI, group-common DCI, common DCI, scheduling DCI (e.g., DCI used for scheduling downlink or uplink data), non-scheduling DCI (e.g., DCI not used for scheduling downlink or uplink data) physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or uplink control information (UCI). The L1 signaling message may be referred to as a physical layer signaling.

[0074] Hereinafter, the expression that information is configured by the BS, as used in the present disclosure or claims, may, in context, be understood to mean that the terminal receives the corresponding information from the BS via a physical layer signaling or a higher layer signaling. Such an expression may be replaced with other terms having the same or substantially equivalent meaning.

[0075] Hereinafter, the operational principle of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0076] In recent years, there has been a rapid development in communications technologies that are compliant with third generation partnership project (3GPP™) standards. A 4thgeneration (4G) wireless communication standard (sometimes referred to as long term evolution (LTE™) was designed to support mobile internet and higher speeds for activities, such as video streaming and gaming. The 3GPP™ standards then developed a fifth generation (5G) of mobile wireless communications, which provides a step change in the delivery of better and faster communications, for example powering businesses, improving communications within homes and spearheading advances such as driverless cars. However, as the industry looks toward the future, it is clear that 5G networks are just the beginning.

[0077] A sixth generation　(6G) wireless communication standard is currently under development, as the planned successor to　5G, and will likely be significantly faster. Like its predecessors, 6G networks will likely be　broadband　cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called　cells.6G networks are expected to be even more diverse than their predecessors and are likely to support applications beyond current mobile use scenarios, such as　virtual　and　augmented reality　(VR / AR), ubiquitous instant communications, pervasive intelligence and the　Internet of Things (IoT). It is expected that mobile network operators will adopt flexible decentralized　business models　for 6G, with local　spectrum licensing, spectrum sharing, infrastructure sharing, and intelligent automated management underpinned by　mobile edge computing,　artificial intelligence　(AI), short-packet communication and　blockchain　technologies.

[0078] In 3GPP™ Release 18, a study on Full Duplex operation was initiated. The objective of the study included the following [RP-223041, Revised SID: Study on evolution of NR duplex operation, CMCC, RAN#98, December 2022]: identify applicable and relevant deployment scenarios (RAN1); develop evaluation methodology for duplex enhancement (RAN1); and study the subband non-overlapping full duplex and potential enhancements on dynamic / flexible TDD (RAN1, RAN4). In the study of the subband non-overlapping full duplex, there was a number of suggested studies. The suggested studies included: identify possible schemes and evaluate their feasibility and performances (RAN1); study inter-gNB and inter-UE CLI handling and identify solutions to manage them (RAN1); consider intra-subband CLI and inter-subband CLI in case of the subband non-overlapping full duplex; study the performance of the identified schemes as well as the impact on legacy operation assuming their co-existence in co-channel and adjacent channels (RAN1); study the feasibility of and impact on RF requirements considering adjacent-channel co-existence with the legacy operation (RAN4); and study the feasibility of and impact on RF requirements considering the self-interference, the inter-subband CLI, and the inter-operator CLI at gNB and the inter-subband CLI and inter-operator CLI at UE (RAN4).

[0079] The study item resulted in a 3GPP™ Technical Report 38.858 “Study on Evolution of NR Duplex Operation”. In response to the study, a work item Subband non-overlapping Full Duplex (SBFD) was initiated with the objectives (shortened down) including the following for subband non-overlapping full duplex (SBFD) operation at gNB side within a TDD carrier [RP-241614, Revised WID: Evolution of NR duplex operation: Sub-band full duplex (SBFD), Huawei, June 2024]: specify semi-static indication of time location of SBFD subbands to UEs in RRC_CONNECTED mode [RAN1, RAN2]; specify semi-static indication of frequency domain location of SBFD subbands to UEs in RRC_CONNECTED mode [RAN1, RAN2]; specify SBFD operation to support random access in SBFD symbols by UEs in RRC_CONNECTED mode and RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE mode [RAN1, RAN2]; and specify UE transmission, reception and measurement behavior and procedures in SBFD symbols and / or non-SBFD symbols for SBFD aware UE [RAN1, RAN2].

[0080] The following communication aspects are assumed based on 3GPP's Technical Report TR 38.858: SBFD at the gNB side; half duplex operation to be performed at the UE side; FR1 and FR2-1 channels to be used; SBFD operation option 4, i.e., both time and frequency locations of subbands for SBFD operation are known to SBFD aware UEs; coexistence between non-SBFD aware UEs (including legacy UEs) and SBFD aware UEs in the cell operating SBFD at gNB side; SBFD scheme within a single configured downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) BWP pair with aligned center frequencies; one UL subband for SBFD operation in an SBFD symbol (excluding legacy UL symbol / slot) within a TDD carrier; and mechanisms for SBFD operation shall also consider the adjacent channel coexistence between two operators. In addition to the above communication aspects, the 3GPP™ standard wishes to specify enhancements for CLI handling [requested by RAN1, RAN2, RAN3, RAN4]; specify BS RF requirements for SBFD operation at gNB [requested by RAN4]; specify applicable RRM core requirements for CLI handling mechanisms [requested by RAN4]; and specify other RRM core requirements for SBFD operation, if identified [requested by RAN4].

[0081] The core of the SBFD work is that instead of the network operating in Full Duplex across the full bandwidth, only certain parts of the bandwidth will be operating full duplex. The duplex operation is also only applied at the network-side, meaning that the UE will not be transmitting and receiving at the same time. This approach is shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates a block diagram of a known example of SBFD configuration in a TDD configuration is illustrated, with: Downlink ('D') 120, Uplink ('U') 110 and with some time periods designated as flexible ('S') 130. Here, SBFD 140 is allocated for use in some of the Downlink ('D') 120 periods.

[0082] Within the 3GPP™ standard, it is known that Radio Resource Control (RRC) Setup is performed to bring a UE out of an RRC idle state. This is triggered by the UE when there is uplink user or control plane data, or when receiving a paging message. Referring now to FIG. 2, message sequence charts illustrate a known: A) RRC Setup procedure 200, B) RRC Resume procedure 250.

[0083] The RRC Setup procedure 200 operation comprises communications between a UE 210 and a gNB 220. The UE is in an RRC idle state 225 and receives a trigger for the UE 210 to enter a RRC connected state at 230. The RRC Setup procedure 200 consists of the following messages: a first (RRCSetupRequest) message 235 is sent by the UE, which includes the UE identity and the establishment cause. A second (RRCSetup) message 240 is sent by the network, which is the message that configures everything necessary in order to further communicate with the UE. This includes a master cell group configuration as well as the radio bearer (RB) configuration that configures SRB1 (signaling radio bearer 1). A third (RRCSetupComplete) response message 245 is sent from the UE, upon successfully receiving the second RRCSetup message. This third (RRCSetupComplete) response message 245 may contain a number of different indications from the UE, such as a number of higher layer information, dedicated NAS message to forward to AMF, indications if the UE is a special type of UE (IAB, mIAB, NCR(network controlled repeater)) etc. Also the UE may indicate whether it has measurements available.

[0084] The above steps highlight the message sent over RRC. It should be noted that the full procedure in RRC and medium access control (MAC) layer messages would also include MAC procedures, which depends on the random access procedure. Random access is often triggered by the higher layer RRC procedures. For a 4-step random access procedure, which is the procedure introduced for the first release of fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR), the procedure would include a first message (Msg1) and a second message (Msg2). Msg1 consists of a preamble sent on the Random Access Channel (RACH), which signals a number from '1' to '64' identifying the UE. Msg2 is the Random Access Response, which contains a timing advance to synchronize the UE, as well as an uplink grant to send a third message (Msg3). The third message (Msg3) contains the RRCSetupRequest message 235 for RRC Setup procedure and a fourth message (Msg4) contains the RRCSetup configuration details, as well as a contention resolution MAC control element (CE) to resolve any contention. For a 2-step random access the MsgA consists of both the preamble and the RRCSetupRequest message 235. MsgB consist of the random access response to synchronize the UE, an RRCSetup message 240 as well as contention resolution.

[0085] It should be noted that MAC random access procedures are often independent of the RRC procedures, which means that the random access procedures may in general be the same for RRC Setup 200, RRC Resume 250, RRC Re-establishment and RRC reconfiguration with sync.

[0086] RRC Resume 250 is performed to bring a UE 210 out of the RRC inactive state. A RRCRelease with suspend / config message 255 is sent from a gNB 220 to a UE 210. The UE enters an RRC inactive mode 265 and subsequently receives a trigger for RRC resume (to enter RRC connected mode) 270. The trigger can occur in a number of ways. A UE 210 initiated trigger can happen if there is uplink traffic in the buffer. In this case the resume cause value used is mt-Access. A UE 210 initiated trigger can happen if there is a RAN Notification Area Update. This is triggered when the UE 210 in RRC inactive 265 camps on a cell which has a RAN-AreaCode which is not part of the UEs RAN Notification Area. The UEs RAN Notification Area is configured to a UE 210 as part of the RRCRelease message when released to RRC inactive. A UE initiated trigger can happen if there is an expiry of timer T380, the periodic RAN Notification Area Update (RNAU) timer. In this case the cause value is rna-Update. Alternatively, a Network-triggered event can occur when the UE 210 receives a Paging message with a paging record matching its i-RNTI, i.e., a RAN-page.

[0087] RRC Resume 250 is started by the UE first synchronizing via random access and then transmitting a RRCResumeRequest message 275, which contains the identifier of the UE, the i-RNTI, which is specifically used for RRC inactive, i.e., resume identity and the resume cause. If the gNB 220 is able to locate the UE context, i.e., the configuration of the UE 210, the gNB 220 will reply with a RRCResume message 280, which may for instance contain a full configuration (else the UE 210 will use stored UE Inactive AS context for the connected mode configuration). This can optionally contain a number of configurations to reconfigure the UE if necessary. It can further includes specific commands or configurations such as whether UE shall restore SCells, whether to restore SCG, SCG configurations and more. It may also contain a request for UE to report idle mode measurements in RRCResumeComplete. The UE 210 will restore security and the previous RRC configuration and then send the RRCResumeComplete message 285, which is similar to RRCSetupComplete message 245 and contain a number of indications from the UE; and upon the procedure being completed the UE 210 will have completed the RRC Resume procedures.

[0088] Referring now to FIG. 3, known examples of simplified message sequence charts 300, 350 of establishing carrier aggregation without enhancements, is illustrated, between a UE 210 and a gNB 220. The simplified message sequence charts 300, 350 start with the UE being in an RRC idle / inactive state 322. Idle and inactive mode mobility is based on a UE 210 autonomously performing measurements and deciding according to some rules whether a UE 210 shall re-select to another cell or not to camp on.

[0089] Idle and inactive mode measurement reporting. Carrier aggregation is a key feature in 4G LTE and 5G NR, due to it enabling more bandwidth to be used, to achieve higher data rates and higher throughput. One of the issues of carrier aggregation in both 4G LTE and 5G NR is that a UE 210 always first only establishes connection to a single cell, i.e., to a single carrier. Adding more cells, i.e., more carriers to achieve higher throughput, is done by network reconfiguring the UE 210 to add these cells. In order for the network to configure a set of new carriers to the UE 210, the network first needs to configure the UE 210 to measure these carriers to determine whether it is suitable to establish carrier aggregation with these carriers. The main issue with this is that this procedure usually takes a lot of time, leading to relatively low utilization of carrier aggregation. It should be noted that carrier aggregation would be beneficial even in cases where the data connection is relatively short. The procedure of establishing carrier aggregation without enhancements is illustrated in a first simplified message sequence chart 300, which starts with random access and RRC establishment procedures 324, which may include UE capability and security setup procedures 328. The gNB 220 configures the UE 210 to measure other carriers / cells and to report these measurements at 330. The gNB 220 applies RRCReconfiguration at 332 to establish other cells for the UE 210. Alternatively, or additionally, the UE 210 establishes further cells on other carriers for the UE 210 to measure at 334.

[0090] In Release 15 E-UTRAN and Release 16 NR, features were introduced to increase the utilization of carrier aggregation by attempting to speed up the carrier aggregation establishment. The main method for this is that a UE will measure other carriers in idle or inactive mode before accessing the cell, and then report these measurements during the establishment procedures, so that the UE should not need to perform measurements of these cells in connected mode. The general procedure can be seen in second simplified message sequence chart 350, which starts with the UE 210 being instructed by the gNB 220 to measure other carriers at 352. At 354 random access and RRC establishment procedures 324 are performed. At 356 the UE 210 reports the measurement of other carriers / cells to the gNB 220. The gNB 220 applies RRCReconfiguration at 358 to establish other cells for the UE 210. Alternatively, or additionally, the UE 210 establishes further cells on other carriers for the UE 210 to measure at 360.

[0091] During cell selection, the UE 210 identifies suitable cells, which is according to a cell-suitability criteria based on signal strength and signal quality measurements. After identifying one or several suitable cells, the UE 210 can choose any of them. During cell re-selection, the UE 210 searches intra-frequency cells, inter-frequencies cells and inter-RAT cells. Each frequency will have a specific cell reselection priority, and the UE shall always choose a cell of highest priority, given that it is not barred or not allowed to camp on. If cells of equal priority is detected, then the UE 210 shall rank all of the cells, where there ranking metric is based on signal strength and signal quality measurements and then choose the best candidate. The UE 210 then camps on the newly re-selected cell.

[0092] It is known that the idle and inactive mode measurements can either be configured when releasing a UE 210 via RRC release, or it can be configured in a broadcasted manner via SIB11. The measurements can be used to indicate in either RRCSetupComplete or RRCResumeComplete that they are available. The network then requests the messages via the UEInformationRequest and receives the measurements in UEInformationResponse message. An alternative manner of reporting the measurements, which is only possible when the UE 210 performs the RRC resume procedure from RRC inactive, the network may request the UE 210 to report the measurements in RRCResumeComplete by including a request (idleModeMeasurementReq) in the RRCResume message.

[0093] The inventor has recognised and appreciated that in most cellular systems it is vital to ensure that uplink and downlink transmissions never occur in the same time-bandwidth resources. For this purposes time division duplex (TDD) and frequency division duplex (FDD) communication is introduced to either separate downlink or uplink transmissions in time or in frequency. Subband Full Duplex (SBFD) promises to increase capacity by introducing enhancements allowing for a network to simultaneously receive uplink transmission and transmit in the downlink in certain part of the bandwidths. One way to ensure this is to ensure that the antenna elements for receiving the uplink and transmitting the downlink are different. From the perspective of the network, the network will be both transmitting in the downlink as well as scheduling UEs to transmit in the uplink, which somewhat breaks with existing TDD configurations. Each and every gNB 220 may make independent decisions as to whether transmit and / or schedule in the uplink in each slot that is a so-called SBFD slot / symbol. In order to ensure that this is actually beneficial for the whole network, and for a specific UE 210, both cross-link interference (CLI) at the network, as well at the UE 210, needs to be held low. Cross-Link Interference is a general term for interference that occurs when uplink and downlink transmission happens in the same time-bandwidth resources. As an example, a transmitter may transmit messages at the same time as a receiver is attempting to receive a message. In some cases, the transmitter and receiver may be in the same device, or it may be a transmitter and receiver that is close to each other. One example of where Cross Link Interference may occur is in a TDD system where nearby cells are using the same TDD configuration and Uplink and Downlink may occur in the same time-bandwidth at neighbouring cells.

[0094] The network can measure the cross-link interference at the network, but at the UE 210 there may be a need to introduce new measurement methods to measure the CLI. Once measured, a specific UE 210 can be configured with a suitable SBFD configuration.

[0095] For SBFD, Full Duplex operation will only be performed at the network side. This means that UEs in the same cell will be configured to transmit and receive in the same slot. One goal is to ensure that the CLI on both the UE side and the network side remains low. Handling the CLI on the network-side may partly be handled by network implementation, but the interference on the UEs needs to be handled by measuring the interference of other UEs that are interfering.

[0096] However, the inventor has recognized and appreciated that it is important to ensure that SBFD can be configured as much as possible, in order to increase the system capacity gains. Configuring and setting up SBFD may either require a lot of time or it will be sub-optimally configured. Thus, the inventor has recognised and appreciated that a need exists for devices, circuits and methods to provide information on SBFD CLI as early as possible during the establishment phase to aim to resolve some of the technical problems to solve on how to setup the SBFD configuration.

[0097] Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and / or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various examples. For example, for simplicity reasons only, Msg1 and Msg2 communications have been omitted from FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various examples. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and / or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

[0098] Examples herein described are focused on methods for a UE reporting CLI measurements performed in idle and inactive mode to a gNB, including for example SBFD CLI measurements. While examples herein described are generally described in terms of 5G NR, all proposals, embodiments, and examples are envisaged as being able to also apply for eNBs, NG-eNBs (eNBs connected via 5GC), as well as all related, newly defined and / or existing: RRC signaling and / or messages, X2, Xn, S1, NG, and / or F1 signaling and messages, and / or related network entities (e.g. MME, AMF, other). It is envisaged that examples herein described may also apply to any type of 6G technology.

[0099] Referring now to FIG. 4, in considering how to resolve the aforementioned problem, the inventor considered the following possible message sequence charts 400, 450 of SBFD configuration after having measured a CLI are illustrated. These inventor-considered examples of simplified message sequence charts of SBFD configuration, after having measured a CLI, are anticipated as being generally sub-optimal, and improved using the approaches described in FIG's 5-9.

[0100] Usually any type of measured information is configured when the UE 210 is in connected mode. This means that if the SBFD configuration is configured after having measured the CLI, this may mean that the SBFD configuration may take time to set up. A first possible procedure of SBFD configuration after having measured a CLI is illustrated in a first simplified message sequence chart 400, with the UE in an RRC idle mode 322 with the UE 210 spending time without SBFD configuration 424. The possible procedure starts with random access and RRC establishment procedures 426, which may include UE capability and security setup procedures. The gNB 220 configures the UE 210 to measure SBFD CLI and to report these measurements at 428. The UE 210 measures the SBFD CLI at 430 and reports these measurements to the gNB 220 at 432. The gNB 220 then configures the UE with SBFD CLI at 434. In order to optimize the network capacity improvement that SBFD can offer, it is crucial that UE SBFD is enabled for as long as possible. If it takes too long to set up the SBFD and the connections are too short, then there is a risk that SBFD may not increase the capacity of the network and thus only becoming a costly enhancement.

[0101] A second possible simplified message sequence chart 450, with the UE in an RRC idle mode 322 if the SBFD is configured before measuring the CLI, the UE 210 may be configured with sub-optimal SBFD 456 or with an SBFD configuration that may lower the performance compared to not being configured with SBFD. The possible procedure starts with random access and RRC establishment procedures 452, which may include UE capability and security setup procedures. The gNB 220 configures the UE 210 with SBFD CLI at 454.

[0102] Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram of a base station 510, such as a 5G or 6G gNB, communicating with a wireless communication unit (such as a UE 550) is illustrated, where the respective communications units have been adapted in accordance with some example embodiments.

[0103] The gNB wireless base station 510 contains an antenna 502, for receiving transmissions, coupled to an antenna switch or duplexer 504 that provides isolation between receive and transmit chains within the gNB wireless base station 510.　 One or more receiver chains, as known in the art, include receiver front-end circuitry 506 (effectively providing reception, filtering and intermediate or base-band frequency conversion).　 The receiver front-end circuitry 506 is coupled to a signal processor 508 (generally realized by a digital signal processor (DSP)). A skilled artisan will appreciate that the level of integration of receiver circuits or components may be, in some instances, implementation-dependent.

[0104] The controller 514 maintains overall operational control of the gNB wireless base station 510. The controller 514 is also coupled to the receiver front-end circuitry 506 and the signal processor 508.　 In some examples, the controller 514 is also coupled to a frequency generation circuit 517 and a memory device 516 that selectively stores operating regimes, such as decoding / encoding functions, synchronization patterns, code sequences, and the like.　 A timer 518 is operably coupled to the controller 514 to control the timing of operations (e.g., transmission or reception of time-dependent signals) within the gNB wireless base station 510.

[0105] As regards the transmit chain, this essentially includes an input 520, coupled in series through transmitter / modulation circuitry 522 and a power amplifier 524 to the antenna 502, antenna array, or plurality of antennas.　 The transmitter / modulation circuitry 522 and the power amplifier 524 are operationally responsive to the controller 514. The signal processor 508 in the transmit chain may be implemented as distinct from the signal processor in the receive chain.　 Alternatively, a single processor may be used to implement a processing of both transmit and receive signals, as shown in FIG. 5. Clearly, the various components within the gNB wireless base station 510 can be realized in discrete or integrated component form, with an ultimate structure therefore being an application-specific or design selection.

[0106] The processor 508 and a receiver part of the transceiver (e.g., receiver front-end circuitry 506) of the gNB wireless base station 510 are configured to optionally receive from a UE 550 a request to perform RRC Setup or RRC resume, i.e., to establish communication with the gNB wireless base station 510. In some examples, the processor 508 may process the request from the UE 550 and determine that the message includes an indication that the UE 550 is capable of performing CLI measurements, and in some examples perform SBFD CLI measurements, when the UE 550 is in an RRC idle or RRC inactive mode of operation.　In some examples, the processor 508 in combination with a transmitter part of the transceiver (e.g., transmitter / modulation circuitry 522) may send a trigger to the UE to commence performing CLI measurements when the UE 550 is in an RRC idle or RRC inactive mode of operation. Subsequently, in some examples, the processor 508 in combination with a receiver part of the transceiver (e.g., receiver front-end circuitry 506) of the gNB wireless base station 510 are configured to receive CLI measurements from the UE 550 when the UE has transitioned to an a RRC connected mode of operation.

[0107] FIG. 5 also shows a high-level block diagram of the wireless communication unit (a user equipment (UE) 550 in 3GPP™ parlance) that contains an antenna 552, for receiving transmissions, coupled to an antenna switch or duplexer 554 that provides isolation between receive and transmit chains within the wireless communication unit UE 550.　 One or more receiver chains, as known in the art, include receiver front-end circuitry 556 (effectively providing reception, filtering and intermediate or base-band frequency conversion).　 The receiver front-end circuitry 556 is coupled to a signal processor 558 (generally realized by a digital signal processor (DSP)). A skilled artisan will appreciate that the level of integration of receiver circuits or components may be, in some instances, implementation-dependent.

[0108] The controller 564 maintains overall operational control of the UE 550. The controller 564 is also coupled to the receiver front-end circuitry 556 and the signal processor 558.　 In some examples, the controller 564 is also coupled to a frequency generation circuit 567 and a memory device 566 that selectively stores operating regimes, such as decoding / encoding functions, synchronization patterns, code sequences, and the like.　 A timer 568 is operably coupled to the controller 564 to control the timing of operations (e.g., transmission or reception of time-dependent signals) within the UE 550.

[0109] As regards the transmit chain, this essentially includes an input 570, coupled in series through transmitter / modulation circuitry 572 and a power amplifier 574 to the antenna 552, antenna array, or plurality of antennas.　 The transmitter / modulation circuitry 572 and the power amplifier 574 are operationally responsive to the controller 564.

[0110] The signal processor 558 in the transmit chain may be implemented as distinct from the signal processor in the receive chain.　 Alternatively, a single processor may be used to implement a processing of both transmit and receive signals, as shown in FIG. 5. Clearly, the various components within the UE 550 can be realized in discrete or integrated component form, with an ultimate structure therefore being an application-specific or design selection.

[0111] The processor 558 places the UE 550 in an RRC idle or RRC inactive modes, where following the transceiver receiving a message from the gNB wireless base station 510 that contains a trigger, the processor 558 and the receiver front-end circuitry 456 combine to perform CLI measurements, and in some examples perform SBFD CLI measurements. In some examples, the processor 558 of the UE 550 is optionally triggered to perform RRC Setup or RRC resume, i.e., to establish communication with the gNB wireless base station 510. Once the UE 550 has performed CLI measurements, and stored the CLI measurements in memory, the processor 558 and the transmitter part of the transceiver (e.g., transmitter / modulation circuitry 472) of the UE 550 are configured to communicate with the gNB wireless base station 510 when the UE 550 transitions, for example, to a RRC connected mode of operation.

[0112] In some examples, the processor 558 and transmitter part of the transceiver (e.g., transmitter / modulation circuitry 472) UE 550 are optionally configured to transmit a message to the gNB wireless base station 510 that indicates a capability to the gNB wireless base station 510 that it is able to measure CLI in idle mode or inactive mode.

[0113] In this manner, by allowing CLI measurements, including for example SBFD CLI measurements to be measured in RRC idle or RRC inactive mode of the UE 550, the network, e.g., gNB wireless base station 510, may faster configure SBFD in order to enable network capacity enhancements.

[0114] Referring now to FIG. 6, a simplified example message sequence chart 600 of a base station, such as a gNB 510, communicating with a UE 550, is illustrated, where CLI measurements, including for example SBFD CLI measurements are measured in RRC idle and RRC inactive modes. In one example, the general operations are as follows. At 605, the UE 550 optionally indicates a capability to the gNB 510 that it is able to measure CLI in idle or inactive mode. At 610, the gNB 510 configures the UE 550 to measure CLI in idle or inactive mode, as follows. At 615, the UE 550 is configured to measure CLI in idle or inactive mode.

[0115] At 620, the UE 550 is optionally triggered to perform RRC Setup or RRC resume, i.e., to establish with the gNB 510. This can be for instance due to arrival of data in the UE buffer, or triggered due to any other procedures. In other words, it may not be related to any measurement of CLI. At 625, the RRC Resume or RRC setup procedure is performed. This is expanded on below. At 630, the UE 550 reports CLI measurements. In some examples, SBFD CLI measurements are performed in a UE's RRC idle and RRC inactive mode. One benefit of allowing SBFD CLI measurements to be measured in RRC idle and RRC inactive is that the network may faster configure SBFD in order to enable network capacity enhancements.

[0116] In some examples, it is envisaged that the CLI measurements that the UE 550 performs may be a measurement of communication resources, for example where other UEs are transmitting. In some examples, it is envisaged that these may be L1 / L2 / L3-based measurements. In some examples, it is envisaged that these measurement resources may be periodic or semi-persistent and have a number of communication resources. For example, it is envisaged that these can be Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resources, or may be a time-bandwidth communication resource that allows the UE 550 to measure energy, for instance via Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) - this may also be called a CLI-RSSI resource. In this example, this means that the UE 550 either measures the SRSs of other UEs, or the UE 550 measures energy, i.e., signal strength, in specific communication resources where other UEs are transmitting. These other UEs are likely transmitting for the purpose of data transmissions in connected mode. The quantity computed and reported can be SRS-Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or CLI-RSSI.

[0117] Configured or triggered to monitor (SBFD) CLI in idle / inactive mode:

[0118] In some examples a mechanism is described of how the UE 550 may be configured to monitor for CLI in idle or inactive mode. In some examples a mechanism is described of how the UE 550 may be configured to measure (SBFD) CLI in response to a RRC Release. This means that when the UE is released, the network sends, in the RRC Release message, a configuration to use, or an indication, that the UE 550 shall measure (SBFD) CLI in RRC idle or RRC inactive.

[0119] In one envisioned example, a UE 550 may be configured to measure (SBFD) CLI in RRC idle or RRC inactive by instructing the UE using a field in aMeasIdleConfigDedicatedmessage that indicates that the UE shall measure (SBFD) CLI in RRC idle or RRC inactive. It is envisaged that in some examples, the resources, i.e., the time and frequencies that the UE shall measure, may also be configured in theMeasIdleConfigDedicatedmessage.

[0120] In an alternative envisioned example, a UE 550 may be configured to measure (SBFD) CLI in RRC idle or RRC inactive using a new (SBFD) CLI MeasIdleConfigDedicated, which is defined to indicate that the UE shall measure (SBFD) CLI in RRC idle and inactive, as well as the time and frequencies resources that the UE shall measure CLI on.

[0121] In a yet further alternative envisioned example, the network, e.g., gNB 510, may configure the UE 550 to perform CLI measurements, including for example SBFD CLI measurements using a broadcasted configuration. This may be performed by broadcasting in system information, such as SIB11 (which is used to configure idle mode measurements of serving cell and other carriers). In some examples, this may be achieved by introducing a new field in SIB11 or by using an already existing field. Examples of configuring the SBFD idle and inactive measurement process and reporting in RRC release and SIB11 can be found at the end of this description in example #1.

[0122] In a still yet further alternative envisioned example, the UE 550 can be configured to monitor the SBFD symbols, or can be given specific symbols. These specific symbols may be specific SBFD symbols or any type of symbols.

[0123] In some examples, CLI-specific validity durations, measurement duration and validity areas may be introduced and be configurable. Such message configuration fields may be configured to only apply to CLI. In some examples, this configurability may, for instance, be used to provide a shorter validity duration as compared to what is possible for the current validity duration, which may have a minimum duration of 10 seconds. For CLI specific validity duration, for example, the minimum duration may be as short as 1 second, to ensure that the network has very much up to date information on the interference situation. The measurement duration can be defined by the number of measurements performed or the number of TDD cycles.

[0124] The validity area of an idle or inactive mode measurement is configured to give an area where the UE is supposed to measure, or where the configuration of the measurements is considered valid. This consists of specific frequencies and cells where to perform the configured idle and inactive mode measurements. If the UE re-selects during the idle or inactive mode procedures to another cell or frequency outside of the validity area, the previously performed measurements are flushed and released, and the UE no longer measures according to the previous configuration. In some examples, a configured CLI measurement (for example a SBFD CLI measurement) duration gives how long a specific UE shall perform the measurements after having been configured to perform the measurement via RRC Release. In some examples, a validity duration specifies for how long the measurements are valid and how old measurements that shall be reported back to the network when establishing or resuming.

[0125] In some examples, the validity area of idle mode measurement configuration for CLI may not be configured. The result of this is that the validity area of the measurement is only within the cell that configured the idle and inactive CLI measurements (for example SBFD CLI measurements). Thus, the UE 550 will assume that the validity area of the idle mode measurement configuration for CLI is only a single cell.

[0126] Thus, in some examples, the configurability of the CLI-specific validity durations, measurement durations and validity areas can be useful, as a UE 550 may be potentially configured to both perform idle and inactive mode non-CLI measurements, which may be measurements of cells, and CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements. If the same validity durations, measurement durations and validity areas are configured for non-CLI measurements, then there would be loss of flexibility for the network. If the UE 550 is configured either in a dedicated or broadcasted configuration to perform both measurements, when it is in that specific state, the UE 550 may have to prioritize between performing non-CLI measurements and CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements. If the UE 550 is capable of performing non-CLI measurements, such as measurements for early activation of carrier aggregation (CA), this may be prioritized over SBFD CLI measurements.

[0127] In some examples, it is envisaged that the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements that are configured in connected mode may not be “switched off”, or similarly the configurations to measure CLI may not be released when the UE 550 is released to RRC idle or RRC inactive state / mode of operation. This means that the UE 550 continues to measure according to its connected mode configuration in idle and / or inactive mode configuration. In some examples, it is envisaged that this can be specifically configured in the CLI measurement configuration.

[0128] In some examples, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may be configured to only measure (SBFD) CLI on a single carrier. This means that the UE 550 does not measure CLI on another carrier whilst it is operational in RRC idle or RRC inactive. Similarly, in some examples, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may only be configured to measure CLI on a cell that it is camping on. One consequence of the above example may, for instance, be that if the UE 550 reselects to another carrier or another cell while RRC idle or RRC inactive, the UE 550 may stop measuring CLI, may discard the measurement results and may not report any of the measurements (or even indication of any measurements) if the UE 550 establishes (via RRC Setup or RRC Resume procedures) to the cell.

[0129] In some examples, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may be configured to measure and report CLI, but may only be able to start measurement if a trigger is received. Such a trigger may, for instance, be the UE 550 receiving a paging message. Such a paging message may be a paging message that is used for downlink data transfer. Upon receiving the paging message the UE 550 performs CLI measurement just before accessing the cell or during accessing the cell and then reports it to the network. In some examples, it is envisaged that a specific paging message may be used to trigger a UE 550 or a group of UEs to perform CLI measurements. Another example of a trigger to start performing the CLI measurements may be that the UE 550 has received UL data in the buffer, or that UE 550 has been triggered to perform RRC Resume. Similarly, the UE 550 may be configured to first perform CLI measurements and then perform a random access procedure, or may perform CLI measurements in combination with the access procedures (acquiring SIB and performing random access).

[0130] In some examples, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may be configured via SIB1 that the UE 550 shall perform CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements in RRC idle and RRC inactive before connecting to a cell, or the UE 550 may be configured that it shall attempt to perform CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements. In some examples, it is envisaged that a UE 550 may or may not be prioritized to perform CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements before connecting to a cell. In this example, it may for instance be left up to the UE 550 to decide whether (or not) to perform the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements according to the traffic criteria.

[0131] In some examples, it is envisaged that the UE 550, which may be configured in a broadcasted or dedicated manner, may only be required to perform the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements in certain conditions. This may mean that in certain cases even though the UE 550 is configured to perform the SBFD CLI measurements, the UE 550 does not perform the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements. This also implies that any CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements are not reported or indicated as available.

[0132] One envisioned example of reporting CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements includes when the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements are below a certain threshold. Here, if the UE 550 performs a number of measurements and detects that the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI is below some threshold, the UE 550 may not need to perform any measurements and would not be required to report or indicate availability of any CLI measurements. After a while the UE 550 may continue to perform CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements to see whether it shall continue to measure CLI or SBFD CLI. In some examples, it is envisioned that the threshold may be configurable by the network, e.g., the gNB 510, or can be hardcoded or set by the specifications.

[0133] A further envisioned example of reporting CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements includes when the UE 550 has reselected to another cell during the RRC idle and inactive cell reselection procedures. If for instance the time after the cell reselection procedure to camp on another cell to the UE 550 attempting to connect is too short, then the UE 550 may not need to perform the SBFD CLI measurements. For instance, in some examples, it is envisioned that if the UE 550 triggers a registration or tracking area update, then there is no need to perform a CLI measurement or a SBFD CLI measurement as the connection is unlikely to last for very long. In some examples, it is envisioned that there may also be a need for the UE 550 to perform the higher layer procedure as quick as possible. In some examples, it is envisioned that the UE 550 may also have triggered an RAN Notification Area (RNA) Update, whereby the UE 550 needs to directly send a message to the reselected cell, and may thus not have time to perform the SBFD CLI.

[0134] A yet further envisioned example of reporting CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements includes when the UE 550 has measured a signal strength of signals received from its gNB 510 and the signal strength to the cell that the UE is camping on is below or above some threshold. Here, it may be assumed in some examples that a measured signal strength below some threshold may be too weak and therefore that the UE 550 is unlikely to be able to benefit from operating SBFD, and thus that there is not a need to measure and report SBFD CLI measurements.

[0135] A still yet further envisioned example of reporting CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements includes when the UE 550 is operating in a power saving state. In this state, performing CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements will cause extra power consumption, which can be detrimental in some use cases. for example if the UE 550 is operating in an extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) in RRC idle or RRC inactive. In this case the UE 550 monitors frequencies and monitors for paging infrequently. Also, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may be reactive to the type of cell that it is camping on, for instance camping on cells that are classified as acceptable cell, reserved cell or barred cells. For example, the type of cell may depend on whether the cell is part of the configured public land mobile networks (PLMNs) or the UE 550 may be camping on a cell for emergency call purposes, or if the cell is barred. In all of these cases it is unlikely that it would be useful for the UE 550 to measure CLI or SBFD CLI, even if such a cell indicates that CLI or SBFD CLI shall be performed in RRC idle and RRC inactive mode.

[0136] Configuration details:

[0137] In accordance with some examples, and as part of the idle and inactive mode of operation of the UE 550, it is envisaged that one or more of the following may be configured in order for the UE 550 to measure CLI or SBFD CLI: (i) SBFD subbands (including, for example, one or more of: time and frequency resources, a number of resources or number of measurements to average, carrier or cell details, for example those cells that the UE shall acquire CLI or SBFD CLI on, and on which carriers or frequencies should be measured); (ii) symbols (including, for example, one or more of: a start physical resource block (PRB), a number of PRBs, a start position of symbols, a number of symbols); (iii) a periodicity or periodicity within a TDD configuration or periodicity of the measurements; (iv) a type of quantity that the UE shall report for CLI (for example, received signal strength indication (RSSI), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ)); (v) a threshold for reporting the CLI measurements.

[0138] Reporting (SBFD) CLI measured in idle / inactive mode:

[0139] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 reports the CLI measured in idle and inactive mode to the network. The CLI measurement results can be configured to be sent by the UE 550 in an RRC message such asRRCResumeComplete,RRCSetupComplete,RRCReestablishmentCompleteor inUEInformationResponse.

[0140] In an example where the CLI measurement results are sent in UEInformationResponse after being requested by the network through UEInformationRequest, then the network, e.g., gNB 510, first needs to be made aware that the CLI measurements are present, and then the network requests these CLI measurement results messages, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0141] Referring now to FIG. 7, a simplified example message sequence chart of a base station, such as a gNB, communicating with a UE, is illustrated where the UE 550 reports the CLI measured in idle and inactive mode to the network, e.g., gNB 510, in accordance with some examples.

[0142] In a first example message sequence chart 700, the general operations are as follows. At 705, the UE 550 is in an RRC idle or inactive mode. At 710, the UE 550 performs CLI measurements whilst in RRC idle or inactive mode. At 715, the UE 550 receives a trigger for RRC Setup / RRC Resume message in order to enter an RRC connected mode.

[0143] Thereafter, at 720, the UE 550 communicates with the gNB 510 with either an RRCSetupRequest message and receives in response thereto an RRCSetup message, or RRCResumeRequest message and receives in response thereto an RRCResume message. Thereafter, at 725, the UE 550 sends an RRCSetupComplete or an RRCResumeComplete to the gNB 510 indicating that CLI measurements are available. The gNB 510 responds to the UE 550 at 730 with a UEInformationRequest message, in essence indicating a CLI measurement request. At 735, the UE 550 sends a UEInformationResponse message to the gNB 510 with the CLI measurement information. Thus, in this example, the UE 550 first indicates the availability of the measurements, and then the network, e.g., the gNB 510 asks for the measurements to be reported. This has the benefit that there is no need to send large amounts of measurements early in the access procedure when coverage and fast access may be prioritized.

[0144] In a second example message sequence chart 750, the general operations are as follows. At 755, the UE 550 is in an RRC inactive mode. At 760, the UE 550 performs CLI measurements whilst in RRC inactive mode. At 765, the UE 550 receives a trigger for RRC Resume message in order to enter an RRC connected mode.

[0145] Thereafter, at 770, the UE 550 communicates with the gNB 510 with an RRCResumeRequest message and receives in response thereto an RRCResume message. Thereafter, at 775, the gNB 510 sends a request to the UE 550 for the idle / inactive mode CLI measurements to be sent in the following RRCResumeComplete message. The UE 550 responds to the the gNB 510 at 780 with a RRCResumeComplete message, with the CLI measurement information. In this scenario, it is envisaged that the measurements may be made available earlier, as compared to the approach in 700. However, in this scenario, there may be a cost in that the messages in the early access procedure are larger, which may not be preferable in some instances.

[0146] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may include an indication in an access procedure that the UE 550 has (SBFD) CLI measurements available. This can for instance be signalled in Msg3, Msg5 or MsgA. For signalling this CLI measurement result available indication in Msg5, it is envisaged that this can be done in anRRCSetupComplete,RRCResumeCompleteorRRCReestablishmentmessage.

[0147] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may indicate an existence of CLI measurements by indicating the already existing bitidleMeasAvailable. Alternatively, in some envisaged examples, a new indication may be introduced that indicates specifically that CLI measurements that have been performed and collected by the UE 550 in idle or inactive mode are available. In some envisaged examples, this indication may be a bitidleMeasCLI-Available. One example of this can be found in specification example 2 below.

[0148] In some envisaged examples, and once the network, e.g., gNB 510 is aware of the CLI measurements, the network may trigger the UE 550 to report the CLI measurements inUEInformationResponse735 by sending theUEInformationRequest730. This can be done by including a new CLI-specific bitidleModeMeasurementReqCLI, or an already existing field (idleModeMeasurementReq) that indicates to the UE 550 to report measurements. In some examples, if an already existing field is used, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may report both idle or inactive mode measurements used for other purposes, as well as CLI measurements.

[0149] In some envisaged examples, the network, e.g., gNB 510 indicates to UE 550 whether the UE 550 shall indicate in a-Completemessage 780 whether the UE 550 has idle or inactive mode CLI measurements available. In some examples, this can be a broadcasted configuration. For instance, it can be indicated by already existing fieldidleModeMeasurementNRin SIB1, or a new fieldidleModeMeasurementNR-CLIcan be introduced in SIB1. In some examples, it is envisaged that this can also be configured in RRC Release, for instance when the UE 550 is configured to go to RRC inactive, the UE 550 may be configured whether to indicate the availability of the CLI measurements. An example of how this can be specified can be seen in specification example #3 below. This means that the condition for the UE 550 to include the indication that CLI measurements are available, is that the network, e.g., gNB 510 has configured the UE 550.

[0150] In some envisaged examples, UE CLI measurements that are available may also be indicated viaUE-MeasurementsAvailablevia the framework used for Logged measurements. This information element can indicate that the UE has so-called Logged Measurements available, which can for instance be Bluetooth, WLAN, connection establishment failure measurements, RLF info etc.

[0151] In case of being configured to be reported in a-Completemessage, the network, e.g., gNB 510 may configure the UE 550 to report any CLI measurements in the-Completemessages by sending a request the message that precedes the-Completemessage. For instance the network sends in the RRCResume message 775 a request to report the measurements in RRCResumeComplete 780. This can for instance be using the already existing field idleModeMeasurementReq, in other words, the UE 550 may be configured to trigger a reporting of the CLI measurements in 780 if idleModeMeasurementReq is sent in RRCResume 775 or RRCSetup in. Alternatively, a new fieldidleModeMeasurementReqCLIspecifically for CLI measurements may be sent in the corresponding messages.

[0152] In some envisaged examples, if the idle or inactive mode measurements are reported as part of already existing fields inRRCResumeCompleteor inUEInformationResponse, it is envisaged that the CLI measurements may be reported as part ofMeasResultIdleNR. Here, in this example, theMeasResultIdleNRmay include CLI measurements for the UE 550's serving cell as well as measurements performed to other carriers. If CLI is reported, then the UE 550 may for instance not report the measurement result per carrier.

[0153] In an alternative envisaged example, the UE 550 may not report the CLI measurements that have been performed in idle and inactive mode over RRC, but may, in contrast, send the measurement results over lower layers, e.g., over a MAC layer or a physical (PHY) layer. In one such envisaged examples, this can for instance be achieved by reporting the CLI measurements over MAC CE or in PUCCH, and this may be triggered when the UE 550 has been configured and has performed and collected CLI measurements in idle and inactive mode. In this way, the CLI measurement results may be triggered during the access procedures, for instance by sending the results in Msg3, Msg5 or MsgA in a MAC CE. The benefit of this approach is that the CLI or SBFD CLI may be indicated earlier and more efficiently compared to the RRC approach. In this manner, the UE 550 can be prevented being configured with resources that increase the interference early on. An example of this is shown in FIG. 8.

[0154] Referring now to FIG. 8 an example simplified message sequence chart 800 illustrates a base station, such as a gNB 510, communicating with a UE 550, including a MAC CE with CLI measurements in Msg3 during a random access procedure, in accordance with some examples.

[0155] At 805, the UE 550 is in an RRC inactive mode. At 810, the UE 550 performs CLI measurements whilst in RRC inactive mode. At 815, the UE 550 receives a trigger for RRC Resume message in order to enter an RRC connected mode. This may for instance only be triggered if the UE performs random access on SBFD resources, or it can be triggered in any case.

[0156] Thereafter, at 820, the UE 550 communicates with the gNB 510 with a Msg1-preamble message, and receives in response thereto at 825 a Msg2-RAR message. Thereafter, at 830, the UE 550 sends a to the gNB 510, which includes a MAC CE with CLI measurements and an RRCResume message. The gNB 510 responds to the UE 550 at 835 with a standard Msg4 message, in essence indicating a CLI measurement request.

[0157] In an alternative of the above examples, it is envisaged that the UE 550 may be triggered to measure CLI during the random access (RA) phase. In this case the UE 550 may be configured to measure CLI or SBFD CLI in gaps, where no transmissions are being performed, when the random access procedure is performed. A skilled artisan understands that the UE 550 will be in idle / inactive during the random access procedures, but only after the random access procedure is finished and the UE has sent the Msg5 (RRCSetupComplete or RRCResumeComplete) will the UE be in connected mode.

[0158] In an alternative example, the UE 550 may be configured to report CLI or SBFD CLI when the UE 550 is configured to measure and report CLI or SBFD CLI in connected mode. Here, in this envisaged example, the reporting of the CLI or SBFD CLI may be triggered upon the UE 550 being configured with the CLI measurement and reporting in connected mode. In some envisaged examples, this can be a specific trigger, configured by the network when configured the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements. In some envisaged examples, this can be reported over RRC (in a measurement report), MAC (in MAC CE) or a physical channel (PHY, such as a PUSCH or PUCCH).

[0159] In some envisaged examples, the CLI measurements may or may not be reported to an E-UTRA cell. In some envisaged examples, this can be useful for the network to learn of the interference situation only if that information is forwarded to a 5G cell, as E-UTRA is unlikely to support SBFD. However, awareness of CLI may be useful in general for a network, as the CLI measurements can be forwarded to an NR cell.

[0160] In some envisaged examples, the (SBFD) CLI may only be reported by the UE 550 if the signal strength of the CLI is larger than a threshold. In some envisaged examples, this threshold may be configured in the CLI measurement configuration, or the limit may be set in the 3GPP™ specifications, for instance CLI may only be reported if the measured CLI is above -70 dBm. In some envisaged examples, this CLI measurement may be such that the threshold is per resource, or in total.

[0161] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may be configured to only report or indicate an existence of CLI measurements that have been performed on the same cell that the UE 550 is connecting or connected to. If the UE 550 does not have measurements performed on the current cell, which may include having made previous measurements that were not performed on the current cell, or potentially performed recently, the UE 550 may be configured to not report measurements as available, or the UE 550 may be configured to not include any measurements if the network requests measurements.

[0162] Content of CLI measurement report:

[0163] In some envisaged examples, for reporting the CLI measurements, the UE 550 may report the CLI measurements in a new fieldmeasResultCLI. This field can be / include a list of CLI measurements, for instance CLI measurements per resource measured, if multiple resources are measured. In some envisaged examples, this may include the resource identifier (ID) per measurement result, which indicates the resource and on which frequency and where in time the measurement was performed. In some envisaged examples, the measurement result may also be provided on a per cell and / or per frequency basis.

[0164] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may encode the CLI measurement results as bit strings that would have been sent over a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical uplink signalling channel (PUSCH). In other words, the bits and format that would have been encoded to be sent over PUCCH or PUSCH are included, say, in the RRC-based report.

[0165] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may include the cell ID, for instance encoded as physical cell ID, or the frequency, for instance encoded by the carrier frequency with the IE ARFCN-ValueNR, when sending the CLI measurement results.

[0166] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may report the serving cell and or neighbouring cell measurement results in addition to the CLI measurement or SBFD CLI measurement.

[0167] In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may calculate an average of the measurement results, and report this averaged result. In some envisaged examples, the average of a set of measurements may be from the same resource, for instance if the UE 550 is configured to measure CLI on three resources and performing measurements on those resources five times, then the UE 550 averages all the measurements five times on each resource and reports the average measurement result on each resource. In some envisaged examples, the UE 550 may calculate an average of all measurement on all resources, for instance if the UE 550 is configured to measure on three resources and performing measurement on those resources five times, then the UE 550 may be configured to average all of those measurements to a single measure, and reports this single measurement, e.g., in this example the UE 550 reports fifteen measurements.

[0168] In some envisaged examples, the CLI measurements and the reporting of the CLI measurements can be capabilities that are per band. Here, the UE 550 may be configured to report its capabilities to perform CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements in RRC idle and inactive and thereafter report the CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements. In some examples, the capabilities for a UE 550 to perform the CLI measurements in RRC idle and inactive and reporting these measurements may be provided on a per band basis.

[0169] There may be capabilities introduced for the UE to perform and report measurements of SBFD CLI in RRC connected mode. These may be per band or per UE. In one envisaged example, if the RRC connected mode CLI or SBFD CLI capabilities are signalled per band, then only a single per UE capability for RRC idle and inactive CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements may be introduced, and the support of RRC connected CLI or SBFD CLI indicates that the UE supports RRC idle and inactive CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements and reporting for that specific band. As an example, if the UE indicates support for RRC connected CLI or SBFD CLI on band 1 and band 2, then if the UE indicates the support for RRC idle and inactive CLI or SBFD CLI, then this will implicitly indicate that the UE supports RRC idle and inactive CLI measurements or SBFD CLI measurements and reporting on band 1 and band 2.

[0170] In some envisaged examples, the CLI measurement performed in idle and / or inactive mode by the UE 550, once received by the gNB 510, the gNB 510 may use this CLI measurement information to perform inter-node, inter-gNB or inter-cell coordination to resolve the CLI. For instance, the gNB1 may indicate to gNB2 to no longer configure a certain UE with a certain SBFD configuration. Similarly, gNB1 may indicate to gNB2 that certain SBFD symbols are experiencing a lot of Cross-Link Interferences, which may lead to gNB2 reconfiguring its SBFD configuration.

[0171] The gNB having received the CLI measurements performed in idle and / or inactive from a UE, may forward the measurements to a neighbouring gNB, potentially to the gNB that may have caused the interference. It is envisaged that this may be sent over the Xn inter-node interface. This can allow for the neighbouring gNB, that is potentially causing the interference, to reconfigure its SBFD configuration. Reconfiguring the SBFD configuration may, for instance, may no longer be able to configure certain slots with SBFD, as these slots may cause interference to another cell or another gNB. Or reconfiguring the SBFD configuration may comprise configuring certain UEs to not utilize a specific SBFD slot that is causing a lot of interference. In some examples, it is envisaged that a network may also configure fewer UEs with a certain SBFD slot, which reduces the likeliness of the slot being used, and subsequently the average interference caused by an SBFD slot to another gNB or another slot.

[0172] In some of the examples herein described, the gNB, after having received the CLI measurement performed in idle and / or inactive from a UE, the gNB may indicate to the neighbouring gNB regarding the interference. This can for instance be by signaling the specific resources where interference is occurring, or it can be an indication of CLI or SBFD CLI along with the current SBFD configuration. This may allow the neighbouring gNB to reconfigure its SBFD configuration, or for instance configure its power control operation or similar.

[0173] Referring now to FIG. 9, various aspects of CLI measurement are illustrated, in accordance with some examples described herein. In a first example 900 of CLI measurements, in FIG. 9A, the cells have different TDD configurations and a second UE (UE_2) 551 will measure when a first UE (UE_1) 550 transmits in the uplink in the 3rdslot of the TDD configuration. In a second example 950 of CLI measurements, in FIG. 9B, SBFD CLI measurements are shown whereby a second UE (UE_2) 551 measures the transmissions of a first UE (UE_1) 550, when UE_1 transmits in the uplink in the SBFD resources.

[0174] Thus, the CLI measurements that the UE 505 performs are measurement of resources where other UEs are transmitting, which is different from most other radio measurements, as most other radio measurements measure the downlink of the gNB. These resources are often the resources where the interference is expected to occur. In the first example 900 of CLI measurements in FIG. 9A 900, the cross-link interference (CLI) 910 of two UEs 550, 551 in different cells 915, 920 with different TDD configurations 925, 930 can be seen to be measured - this may be referred to as inter-cell CLI measurements. In the second example 950 of CLI measurements in FIG. 9B, the cross-link interference (CLI) due to SBFD can be seen. This may be L1 / L2 / L3-based measurements. The measurement resources may be periodic or semi-persistent and have a number of resources. These can be Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resources, or can a time-bandwidth resource which allows the UE measure energy, for instance via Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) - this may also be called a CLI-RSSI resource. This means that the UE 550 either measures the SRSs of other UEs, or the UE 550 measures energy, e.g., signal strength, in specific resources where other UEs are transmitting. These other UEs are likely transmitting for the purpose of data transmissions in connected mode. The quantity computed and reported can be SRS-Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or CLI-RSSI.

[0175] In some of the examples herein described, the term “network” may encompass the core network or a base station (such as a 5G gNB), as both may be employed in the CLI or SBFD CLI provisions herein described. Therefore, in and across some examples, the terms “network” and “base station” and “gNB” have been used interchangeably.

[0176] In particular, it is envisaged that the aforementioned inventive concept can be applied by a semiconductor manufacturer to any integrated circuit comprising a signal processor configured to perform any of the aforementioned operations. Furthermore, the inventive concept can be applied to any circuit that is able to configure, process, encode and / or decode signals for wireless distribution. It is further envisaged that, for example, a semiconductor manufacturer may employ the inventive concept in a design of a stand-alone device, such as a digital signal processor, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and / or any other sub-system element.

[0177] It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description has described example embodiments with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units or processors, for example with respect to the signal processor may be used without detracting from the concepts described herein. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processors or controllers may be performed by the same processor or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only to be seen as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0178] Aspects may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Examples may optionally be implemented, at least partly, as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors or configurable circuit components such as field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. Thus, the elements and components of an example may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed, the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units.

[0179] Although the concepts have been described in connection with some examples, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Rather, the scope is limited only by the accompanying claims. Additionally, although a feature may appear to be described in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in the art would recognize that various features of the described examples may be combined in other examples. In the claims, the term 'comprising' does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps.

[0180] Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements or method steps may be implemented by, for example, a single unit or processor. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different claims, these may possibly be advantageously combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and / or advantageous. Also, the inclusion of a feature in one category of claims does not imply a limitation to this category, but rather indicates that the feature is equally applicable to other claim categories, as appropriate.

[0181] In accordance with examples herein described, a wireless communication unit, e.g., in a form of a user equipment, a base station, e.g., in a form of a gNB, a wireless communication system and a number of methods are provided to aid the obtaining and reporting of information on CLI measurements, including for example SBFD CLI measurements, wherein the aforementioned disadvantages with prior art arrangements have been substantially alleviated.

[0182] In accordance with some examples, proposed changes to the 3GPP™ standard are as highlighted {emphasis added} and as illustrated below:

[0183] Example #1: Configuring RRC idle and inactive SBFD measurements, as shown in table 1, table 2, and table 3:

[0184]

[0185]

[0186]

[0187]

[0188] Example #2: Indicating and reporting RRC idle and inactive CLI measurements, as shown in table 4.

[0189]

[0190]

[0191] Example #3: Indicating whether to indicate CLI RRC idle and inactive measurements, as shown in table 5.

[0192]

[0193]

[0194] Abbreviations / Definitions

[0195] In the present disclosure, the following acronyms / definitions are used.

[0196] 3GPP 3rdGeneration Partnership Project

[0197] 5G 5thGeneration

[0198] 5GC 5G Core

[0199] 5QI 5G QoS Identifier

[0200] 5GS 5G System

[0201] 5GSM 5G System Session Management

[0202] 5GMM 5G System Mobility Management

[0203] AF Application Function

[0204] AI Artificial Intelligence

[0205] AM Acknowledged Mode

[0206] AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

[0207] AS Application Server

[0208] ASP Application Service Provider

[0209] AUSF Authentication Server Function

[0210] CDN Content Delivery Network

[0211] CN Core Network

[0212] DCAF Data Collection Application Function

[0213] DNAI Data Network Access Identifier

[0214] DNN Data Network Name

[0215] DNS Domain Name Server

[0216] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0217] eNB Evolved Node B

[0218] EPC Evolved Packet Core

[0219] FEC Forward Error Correction

[0220] FQDN Fully Qualified Domain Name

[0221] GBR Guaranteed Bit Rate

[0222] gNB Next generation Node B

[0223] GPSI Generic Public Subscription Identifier

[0224] HSS Home Subscriber Service

[0225] IAB Integrated Access and Backhaul

[0226] ID Identity / Identifier

[0227] IIoT Industrial Internet of Things

[0228] IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identities

[0229] IP Internet Protocol

[0230] I-SMF Intermediate SMF

[0231] LADN Local Area Data Network

[0232] LL SSM Lower Layer SSM

[0233] MBMS Multimedia Broadcast / Multicast Service

[0234] MBS Multicast / Broadcast Service

[0235] MBSF Multicast / Broadcast Service Function

[0236] MBSTF Multicast / Broadcast Service Transport Function

[0237] MB-SMF Multicast / Broadcast Session Management Function

[0238] MB-UPF Multicast / Broadcast User Plane Function

[0239] ML Machine Learning

[0240] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0241] MN Master Node

[0242] MNF Monitoring Network Function

[0243] MNO Mobile Network Operator

[0244] MT Mobile Termination

[0245] NAS Non-Access Stratum

[0246] NEF Network Exposure Function

[0247] NRF Network Repository Function

[0248] NG-RAN Next Generation Radio Access Network

[0249] NG-gNB Next Generation gNB

[0250] NSA Non-Standalone

[0251] NSSF Network Slice Selection Function

[0252] NTN Non-Terrestrial Networks

[0253] NW Network

[0254] NWDAF Network Data Analytics Function

[0255] OS Operating System

[0256] OSAPP OS Application

[0257] PCF Policy Control Function

[0258] PCO Protocol Configuration Options

[0259] PDR Packet Detection Rule

[0260] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0261] PTM Point To Multipoint

[0262] PTP Point to Point

[0263] QFI QoS Flow Identifier (ID)

[0264] QoS Quality of Service

[0265] RACH Random Access Channel

[0266] RAN Radio Access Network

[0267] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0268] RSD Route Selection Descriptor

[0269] RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

[0270] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality

[0271] RSS Reference Signal Strength

[0272] RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator.

[0273] SA Standalone

[0274] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0275] SDU Service Data Unit

[0276] SGW Serving Gateway

[0277] SIM Subscriber Identity Module

[0278] SLA Service Level Agreement

[0279] SM Session Management

[0280] SMF Session Management Function

[0281] SN Secondary Node

[0282] S-NSSAI Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information

[0283] SSB Synchronization Signal Block

[0284] SSM Source Specific IP Multicast address

[0285] SSC Session and Service Continuity

[0286] SRB Signalling Radio Bearer

[0287] SUPI Subscription Permanent Identifier

[0288] TA Tracking Area

[0289] TAI Tracking Area Identity

[0290] TE Terminal Equipment

[0291] TM Transparent Mode

[0292] TMGI Temporary Mobile Group Identity

[0293] TS Technical Specification

[0294] UDM Unified Data Manager

[0295] UDR Unified Data Repository

[0296] UE User Equipment

[0297] UL Uplink

[0298] UM Unacknowledged Mode

[0299] UP User Plane

[0300] UPF User Plane Function

[0301] URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication

[0302] URSP UE Route Selection Policy

[0303] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a terminal or user equipment (UE) 1000 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0304] The terminal is an electronic device capable of wireless communication, may include a User Equipment (UE), a portable phone, a smartphone, a tablet, an Internet of things (IoT) device, etc., having various form factors, and may perform wireless communication with a base station (BS) through a wireless channel.

[0305] Referring to FIG. 10, the UE 1000 may include at least one transceiver (hereinafter, referred to as simply “transceiver”) 1001, at least one processor (hereinafter, referred to as simply “processor”) 1002, and at least one memory (hereinafter, referred to as simply “memory”) 1003. According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transceiver 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 of the UE 1000 may operate. However, components of the UE 1000 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in FIG. 10. In another embodiment, the UE 1000 may further include additional components in addition to the above-mentioned components, or some components may be omitted. Further, in some embodiments, any combination of the transceiver 1001, the processor 1002, or the memory 1003 may be integrated in the form of one component.

[0306] The transceiver 1001 may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the UE 1000 to perform wireless communication with a node or an entity of a network. For example, the transceiver 1001 may enable the UE 1000 to transmit or receive a signal to or from a BS through cellular communication, or to transmit or receive a signal to or from another UE through cellular communication. For example, the transceiver 1001 may support at least one of various cellular communication technologies including 3rd generation (3G), 4th generation (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G) NR, 6th generation (6G), and various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (1001) may include all subsequent generations of evolved wireless communications.

[0307] According to an embodiment, the UE 1000 may include a plurality of transceivers. For example, in the case of supporting evolved-universal terrestrial radio access-new radio (E-UTRA-NR) dual connectivity (EN-DC), the UE 1000 may include a first transceiver supporting the 4G LTE wireless communication and a second transceiver supporting the 5G NR wireless communication. According to another embodiment, in the case of supporting NR-dual connectivity (NR-DC), the UE 1000 may include a plurality of transceivers supporting the 5G NR wireless communication. According to still another embodiment, in the case of supporting near field wireless communication, the UE 1000 may separately include a transceiver supporting at least one standard in the group of wireless communication protocol standards as defined in the protocol standards for Bluetooth®, wireless local area network (WLAN) network (including institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11-2016 standard or its amendments, e.g., 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, and 802.11be, without being limited thereto).

[0308] According to an embodiment, the transceiver 1001 may include various circuit structures used to transmit or receive signals to or from a BS through a wireless channel. The signals may include control information and data. For example, the transceiver 1001 may include a radio frequency (RF) transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the frequency of a transmitted signal and an RF receiver for low-noise-amplifying a received signal and down-converting the frequency thereof. The transceiver 1001 may output a signal received through a wireless channel to the processor 1002 and may transmit, through a wireless channel, a signal output from the processor 1002.

[0309] The processor 1002 may control general operations of the UE 1000 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 1002 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 1002 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 1003, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 1002 may include a single-core processor or multi-core processor, and may include a processor assembly including a plurality of processing circuits (circuitry) according to a specific implementation scheme.

[0310] The processor 1002 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver 1001 to control the transceiver 1001.

[0311] The processor 1002 may include at least one processor (or processing circuitry), and the at least one processor may perform the following operations individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. For example, the processor 1002 may include a communication processor (CP) configured to control communication operations and an application processor (AP) configured to control execution of an upper layer (for example, an application layer) . In a specific embodiment, at least a part of the processor 1002 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 1002 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the transceiver 1001 or the memory 1003.

[0312] The processor 1002 may perform or control or cause an operation of the UE 1000 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 1002 may control operations of the UE 1000 for processing a downlink signal received from a BS or generating and transmitting an uplink signal to a BS. To this end, the processor 1002 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 1003, so as to control other components of the UE 1000 to enable execution of various operations.

[0313] The memory 1003 corresponds to a hardware storage device capable of temporarily or permanently storing information and may include one or more storage media. For example, the memory 1003 may include a memory assembly including one or more storage media. For example, the one or more storage media may include permanent memory, such as a hard drive, flash memory, or read-only memory (ROM), semipermanent memory, such as random access memory (RAM), cache memory, or a combination thereof.

[0314] The memory 1003 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 1002 and may be accessed by the processor 1002.

[0315] The memory 1003 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1002. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1002 may be either stored in a single memory device or separated and distributedly stored in two or more memory devices. By executing the instructions stored in the memory 1003, the processor 1002 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0316] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the UE 1000 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 1003 by at least one processor (or processing circuitry) configured to execute the same individually, collectively, or in any combination thereof, based on processing circuitry that is not configured to execute instructions, and / or based on components of processing circuitry that is not configured to execute instructions.

[0317] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a base station (BS) 1100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0318] The BS 1100 may perform wireless communication with at least one user equipment (UE) located within the area of the BS 1100 through a wireless channel.

[0319] Referring to FIG. 11, the BS 1100 may include at least one transceiver (hereinafter, referred to as simply “transceiver”) 1101, at least one processor (hereinafter, referred to as simply “processor”) 1102, and at least one memory (hereinafter, referred to as simply “memory”) 1103. According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transceiver 1101, the processor 1102, and the memory 1103 of the BS 1100 may operate. However, components of the BS 1100 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in FIG. 11. In another embodiment, the BS 1100 may further include additional components in addition to the above-mentioned components, or some components may be omitted. Further, in some embodiments, any combination of the transceiver 1101, the processor 1102, or the memory 1103 may be integrated in the form of one component.

[0320] The transceiver 1101 may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the BS 1100 to perform wireless communication with a node or an entity of a network. For example, the transceiver 1101 may enable the BS 1100 to transmit or receive a signal to or from the UE X00 through cellular communication, or to transmit or receive a signal to or from another network entity through wireless communication. For example, the transceiver 1101 may support various cellular communication technologies including 3rd generation (3G), 4th generation (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G) NR, 6th generation (6G), and various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (1101) may include all subsequent generations of evolved wireless communications.. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 1101 may include various circuit structures used to transmit or receive signals to or from a UE through a wireless channel. The signals may include control information and data. For example, the transceiver 1101 may include a radio frequency (RF) transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the frequency of a transmitted signal and an RF receiver for low-noise-amplifying a received signal and down-converting the frequency thereof. The transceiver 1101 may output a signal received through a wireless channel to the processor 1102 and may transmit, through a wireless channel, a signal output from the processor 1102.

[0321] Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the BS 1100 may perform communication with a node or an entity of a network through wired or wireless communication. For example, the BS 1100 may perform wired or wireless communication with an adjacent BS, or a node or an entity of a core network through a backhaul network. Although not illustrated in FIG. 11, when the BS 1100 performs wired communication, the BS 1100 may further include a separate network interface for wired communication in addition to the transceiver 1101. The network interface may be referred to as network interface circuitry or communication interface circuitry.

[0322] The processor 1102 may control general operations of the BS 1100 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 1102 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 1102 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 1103, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 1102 may include a single-core processor or multi-core processor, and may include a processor assembly including a plurality of processing circuits (circuitry) according to a specific implementation scheme.

[0323] The processor 1102 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver 1101 to control the transceiver 1101.

[0324] The processor 1102 may include at least one processor (or processing circuitry), and the at least one processor may perform the following operations individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. In a specific embodiment, at least a part of the processor 1102 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 1102 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the transceiver 1101 or the memory 1103.

[0325] The processor 1102 may perform or control or cause an operation of the BS 1100 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 1102 may control operations of the BS 1100 for generating and transmitting a downlink signal to a UE or processing an uplink signal received from a UE.

[0326] Otherwise, the BS 1100 may transmit or receive a signal to or from a neighboring BS, transfer a signal received from a UE to an upper node of the network, or transmit a signal transferred from an upper node of the network to a UE. To this end, the processor 1102 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 1103, so as to control other components of the BS 1100 to enable execution of various operations.

[0327] The memory 1103 corresponds to a hardware storage device capable of temporarily or permanently storing information and may include one or more storage media. For example, the memory 1103 may include a memory assembly including one or more storage media. For example, the one or more storage media may include permanent memory, such as a hard drive, flash memory, or read-only memory (ROM), semipermanent memory, such as random access memory (RAM), cache memory, or a combination thereof.

[0328] The memory 1103 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 1102 and may be accessed by the processor 1102.

[0329] The memory 1103 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1102. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1102 may be either stored in a single memory device or separated and distributedly stored in two or more memory devices. By executing the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the processor 1102 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0330] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the BS 1100 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 1103 by at least one processor (or processing circuitry) configured to execute the same individually, collectively, or in any combination thereof, based on processing circuitry that is not configured to execute instructions, and / or based on components of processing circuitry that is not configured to execute instructions.

[0331] Meanwhile, although specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1.A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:receiving, from a base station, information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI);performing, while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state, the measurement of the SBFD related CLI; andtransmitting, to the base station, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.2.The method of claim 1, wherein the information configures at least one of a time resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a frequency resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity area for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, or a measurement duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.3.The method of claim 1, wherein the information is included in at least one of an RRC release message, a dedicated message configuring a measurement in RRC idle state, or a system information block 11.4.The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, to the base station, capability information indicating that the UE supports the measurement of the SBFD related CLI in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.5.A method performed by a base station, the method comprising:transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI); andreceiving, from the UE, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI,wherein the measurement of the SBFD related CLI is obtained in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.6.The method of claim 5, wherein the information configures at least one of a time resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a frequency resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity area for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, or a measurement duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, andwherein the information is included in at least one of an RRC release message, a dedicated message configuring a measurement in RRC idle state, or a system information block 11.7.The method of claim 5, further comprising:receiving, from the UE, capability information indicating that the UE supports the measurement of the SBFD related CLI in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.8.A user equipment (UE) comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the UE to:receive, from a base station, information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI),perform, while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state, the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, andtransmit, to the base station, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.9.The UE of claim 8, wherein the information configures at least one of a time resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a frequency resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity area for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, or a measurement duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.10.The UE of claim 8, wherein the information is included in at least one of an RRC release message, a dedicated message configuring a measurement in RRC idle state, or a system information block 11.11.The UE of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to:transmit, to the base station, capability information indicating that the UE supports the measurement of the SBFD related CLI in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.12.A base station comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the base station to:transmit, to a user equipment (UE), information configuring a measurement of a subband full duplex (SBFD) related cross link interference (CLI), andreceive, from the UE, a report including a result of the measurement of the SBFD related CLI,wherein the measurement of the SBFD related CLI is obtained in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.13.The base station of claim 12, wherein the information configures at least one of a time resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a frequency resource for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, a validity area for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI, or a measurement duration for the measurement of the SBFD related CLI.14.The base station of claim 12, wherein the information is included in at least one of an RRC release message, a dedicated message configuring a measurement in RRC idle state, or a system information block 11.15.The base station of claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the base station to:receiving, from the UE, capability information indicating that the UE supports the measurement of the SBFD related CLI in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

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