Method and apparatus in a wireless communication system
WAB technology addresses the challenge of expanded network coverage by implementing efficient access and handover control methods for wireless access backhaul nodes, optimizing communication systems for enhanced 5G and 6G performance in areas unsuitable for traditional base stations.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/KR2025/010280
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-07-23
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-29
AI Technical Summary
The increasing demand for wireless data communication services and the need for enhanced 5G and 6G mobile communication technologies necessitate efficient communication methods to support high transmission rates, ultra-low latencies, and expanded network coverage, particularly in areas where traditional base station deployment is not feasible.
The implementation of Wireless Access Backhaul (WAB) technology, which includes methods and apparatus for efficient access and handover control of wireless access backhaul nodes, utilizing transceivers and controllers to manage communication systems, and the exchange of information between WAB nodes and mobile terminals for optimized network operations.
Enables effective access and handover control of wireless access backhaul, ensuring seamless communication coverage and supporting the integration of advanced 5G and 6G technologies in environments where traditional base stations are impractical.
Smart Images

Figure KR2025010280_29012026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Rectified under Rule 91, 19.08.2025]METHOD AND APPARATUS IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a node and a mobile terminal in a wireless communication system and methods performed by the same.
[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] The present disclosure relates to method and apparatus in a wireless communication system.
[0009] According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a communication method in a wireless communication system.
[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure provide efficient communication methods in a wireless communication system.
[0011] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is an exemplary system architecture of system architecture evolution (SAE);
[0013] FIG. 2 is an exemplary system architecture according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 3a shows an example structure of a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 3b shows an example structure of a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 3c shows an example structure of a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 4 shows an example architecture diagram of a WAB node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of a process for WAB access control and handover according to the present disclosure;
[0023] FIG. 10 shows a sixth embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure;
[0024] FIG. 11 shows a seventh embodiment of a process for BH PDU session release according to the present disclosure;
[0025] FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0026] FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a method performed by a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0027] FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of a node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0029] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a terminal or user equipment (UE) 1600 according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0030] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a base station (BS) 1700 according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and
[0031] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a network entity 1800 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0032] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, including: transmitting first information to a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT), wherein the first information includes information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node; receiving second information and / or fourth information from the WAB-MT, wherein the second information includes information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information includes information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT; and receiving third information from the WAB-MT, wherein the third information includes at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0033] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information of the co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT includes an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0034] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting sixth information to the WAB-MT, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of: information enabling the WAB-MT to acquire information of SIB 1 and / or CGIs of neighboring cells; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that support WAB-MT; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that do not support WAB-MT; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0035] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells includes: information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of WAB cells among neighboring cells; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a neighboring cell list, wherein the neighboring cell list includes information on WAB cells.
[0036] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: establishing an Xn interface connection with a neighboring node; and receiving seventh information from the neighboring node, wherein the seventh information includes at least one of: information on that the neighboring node supports access of a WAB node; information on that the neighboring node is a WAB node; and information on that the neighboring node does not support access of a WAB node.
[0037] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from a second node, wherein the fifth information includes an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a co-located WAB-MT of the second node.
[0038] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting the fourth information to an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the fourth information is transmitted by the AMF to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT.
[0039] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving eighth information from the AMF in case that the handover of the WAB-MT fails, wherein the eighth information includes a first cause value that the target node does not support WAB-MT.
[0040] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a handover request message to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT, wherein the handover request message includes the fourth information.
[0041] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting the fourth information to an access and mobility management function (AMF); and receiving a first message from the AMF, wherein the first message includes a protocol data unit (PDU) session ID for the WAB-MT, wherein in case that the co-located WAB-gNB is in a Not-authorized status, the PDU session ID has a first value.
[0042] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a second message from an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the second message includes a second cause value and / or a first timer value; transmitting the second cause value and / or the first timer value to the WAB-MT; and receiving a third message from the WAB-MT, wherein the third message is related to a release acknowledge of a backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT, wherein the second cause value includes that the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status, and wherein the WAB-MT releases the backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT after expiration of the first timer value.
[0043] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a measurement report from the WAB-MT, wherein the measurement report does not include measurement results of WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0044] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT) in a wireless communication system, including: receiving first information of a first node from the first node, wherein the first information includes information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node; transmitting second information and / or fourth information to the first node, wherein the second information includes information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information includes information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT; acquiring first information of neighboring cells; and transmitting third information to the first node, wherein the third information includes at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0045] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information of the co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT includes an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0046] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving sixth information from the first node, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of: information enabling the WAB-MT to acquire information of SIB 1 and / or CGIs of neighboring cells; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that support WAB-MT; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that do not support WAB-MT; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0047] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells includes: information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of WAB cells among neighboring cells; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a neighboring cell list, wherein the neighboring cell list includes information on WAB cells.
[0048] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth information is transmitted by the first node to an access and mobility management function (AMF), and wherein the fourth information is transmitted by the AMF to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT.
[0049] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth information is included in a handover request message transmitted by the first node to a target node.
[0050] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a second cause value and / or a first timer value from the first node; and transmit a third message to the first node, wherein the third message is related to a release acknowledge of a backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT, wherein the second cause value includes that the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status, and wherein the WAB-MT releases the backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT after expiration of the first timer value.
[0051] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a measurement report to the first node, wherein the measurement report does not include measurement results of WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0052] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a node device in a wireless communication system, including: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive signals; and a controller coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform any method performed by any node device such as a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0053] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT) in a wireless communication system, including: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive signals; and a controller coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform any method performed by a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0054] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor implement any method performed by any node device such as a first node and / or a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0055] The methods performed by any node device such as the first node and / or the WAB-MT in the wireless communication system provided by the present disclosure can effectively enable access and / or handover control of the wireless access backhaul (WAB).
[0056] Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0057] 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.
[0058] 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.
[0059] 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.
[0060] 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).
[0061] 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.
[0062] 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.
[0063] 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.
[0064] 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.
[0065] 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.
[0066] 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.
[0067] 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.
[0068] 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.
[0069] 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.
[0070] 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.
[0071] 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.
[0072] 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.
[0073] 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.
[0074] 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.
[0075] 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.
[0076] 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.
[0077] 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.
[0078] 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.
[0079] 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.
[0080] 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.
[0081] 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.
[0082] 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.
[0083] 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.
[0084] 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.
[0085] 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.
[0086] 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.
[0087] 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.
[0088] 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.
[0089] 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.
[0090] 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.
[0091] 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.
[0092] 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.
[0093] 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
[0094] 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."
[0095] 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.
[0096] 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.
[0097] 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.
[0098] Hereinafter, the operational principle of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0099] In order to meet an increasing demand for wireless data communication services since a deployment of 4G communication system, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called “beyond 4G network” or “post LTE system”.
[0100] Wireless communication is one of the most successful innovations in modern history. Recently, the number of subscribers of wireless communication services has exceeded 5 billion, and it continues growing rapidly. With the increasing popularity of smart phones and other mobile data devices (such as tablet computers, notebook computers, netbooks, e-book readers and machine-type devices) in consumers and enterprises, a demand for wireless data services is growing rapidly. In order to meet rapid growth of mobile data services and support new applications and deployments, it is very important to improve efficiency and coverage of wireless interfaces.
[0101] In 5G communication technology, faster transmission speeds than 4G are achieved because higher frequencies are used. However, higher frequencies will also lead to shorter transmission distances, so more base stations will be deployed in a 5G network to ensure coverage of the 5G network. However, in fact, normal deployment of 5G base stations in some areas is not possible due to environmental or cost reasons. Therefore, in order to make up for the problem that 5G base stations cannot cover these areas, Wireless Access Backhaul (WAB) technology is proposed to ensure normal communication of users.
[0102] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
[0103] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0104] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
[0105] The term “include” or “may include” refers to the existence of a corresponding disclosed function, operation or component which can be used in various embodiments of the present disclosure and does not limit one or more additional functions, operations, or components. Additionally, the terms such as “include” and / or “have” may be construed to denote a certain characteristic, number, step, operation, constituent element, component or a combination thereof, but may not be construed to exclude the existence of or a possibility of addition of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof.
[0106] The term “or” used in various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any or all of combinations of listed words. For example, the expression “A or B” may include A, may include B, or may include both A and B.
[0107] Unless defined differently, all terms used herein, which include technical terminologies or scientific terminologies, have the same meaning as that understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted to have the meanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted to have ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the present disclosure.
[0108] The drawings discussed below and various embodiments for describing the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are only for illustration and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any way. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.
[0109] FIG. 1 is an exemplary system architecture 100 of system architecture evolution (SAE). User equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device for receiving data. An evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) 102 is a radio access network, which includes a macro base station (eNodeB / NodeB) that provides UE with interfaces to access the radio network. A mobility management entity (MME) 103 is responsible for managing mobility context, session context and security information of the UE. A serving gateway (SGW) 104 mainly provides functions of user plane, and the MME 103 and the SGW 104 may be in the same physical entity. A packet data network gateway (PGW) 105 is responsible for functions of charging, lawful interception, etc., and may be in the same physical entity as the SGW 104. A policy and charging rules function entity (PCRF) 106 provides quality of service (QoS) policies and charging criteria. A general packet radio service support node (SGSN) 108 is a network node device that provides routing for data transmission in a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). A home subscriber server (HSS) 109 is a home subsystem of the UE, and is responsible for protecting user information including a current location of the user equipment, an address of a serving node, user security information, and packet data context of the user equipment, etc.
[0110] FIG. 2 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments of the system architecture 200 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0111] User equipment (UE) 201 is a terminal device for receiving data. A next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 202 is a radio access network, which includes a base station (a gNB or an eNB connected to 5G core network 5GC, and the eNB connected to the 5GC is also called ng-eNB) that provides UE with interfaces to access the radio network. An access and mobility management function (AMF) entity 203 is responsible for managing mobility context and security information of the UE. A user plane function (UPF) entity 204 mainly provides functions of user plane. A session management function SMF entity 205 is responsible for session management. A data network (DN) 206 includes, for example, services of operators, access of Internet and service of third parties.
[0112] In an NR system, in order to support network function virtualization and more efficient resource management and scheduling, a base station (gNB / ng-eNB) that provides wireless network interfaces for terminals (UEs) may be further divided into a centralized unit (for example, gNB-CU / ng-eNB-CU (gNB central unit / ng-eNB central unit)) and a distributed unit (for example, gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU (gNB distributed unit / ng-eNB distributed unit)) (abbreviated as CU and DU in the present disclosure), as shown in FIG. 3a. gNB-CU has radio resource control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocol layers, while ng-eNB-CU has RRC and PDCP layers. gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU has Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol, Media Access Control (MAC) and physical (PHY) layers. There is a standardized public interface F1 between gNB-CU and gNB-DU, and a standardized public interface W1 between ng-eNB-CU and ng-eNB-DU. The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C and a user plane F1-U. The transport network layer of F1-C is based on IP transport. In order to transmit signaling more reliably, stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) protocol is added onto IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1 Application Protocol (F1AP). SCTP can provide reliable application layer message transmission. The transport layer of F1-U is UDP / IP, and the GPRS tunneling protocol-user plane (GTP-U) is used to carry the user plane protocol data unit (PDU) above UDP / IP. Further, for a gNB-CU, as shown in FIG. 3b, the gNB-CU may include a gNB-CU-CP (control plane part of a centralized unit of a base station) and a gNB-CU-UP (user plane part of a centralized unit of a base station), a gNB-CU-CP contains functions of a control plane of a base station and has RRC and SDAP protocol layers, and a gNB-CU-UP contains functions of a user plane of a base station and has SDAP and PDCP protocol layers. There is a standardized public interface E1 between gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP, and the protocol is E1 Application Protocol (E1AP). The interface between the control plane part of the centralized unit of the base station and the distributed unit of the base station is an F1-C interface, that is, the control plane interface of F1, and the interface between the user plane part of the centralized unit of the base station and the distributed unit of the base station is an F1-U interface, that is, the user plane interface of F1. In addition, in the NR system, a base station providing the E-UTRA user plane and control plane which accessed a 5G core network is called ng-eNB. In order to support virtualization, such a base station (ng-eNB) may also be further divided into a centralized unit ng-eNB-CU (gNB central unit / ng-eNB central unit) and a distributed unit ng-eNB-DU (gNB distributed unit / ng-eNB distributed unit) (abbreviated as CU and DU in the present disclosure), as shown in FIG. 3c. ng-eNB-CU has RRC and PDCP layers. gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU has radio link control (RLC) protocol, media access control (MAC) and physical layer. There is a standardized public interface W1 between ng-eNB-CU and ng-eNB-DU. The W1 interface is divided into a control plane W1-C and a user plane W1-U. The transport network layer of W1-C is based on IP transport. In order to transmit signaling more reliably, SCTP protocol is added onto IP. The protocol of the application layer is W1 Application Protocol (W1AP). The transport layer of W1-U is UDP / IP, and GTP-U is used to carry user plane protocol data unit (PDU) above UDP / IP.
[0113] A WAB node (or WAB for short) may include two parts: a WAB-gNB and a WAB-MT (mobile terminal). Specifically, FIG. 4 shows an example architecture diagram of a WAB node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4:
[0114] the WAB-gNB provides communication services for UEs through an air interface (e.g., NR Uu);
[0115] the WAB-MT is connected to a backhaul (BH) radio access network node (BH-RAN-Node) (for example, BH gNB) through an air interface, thereby providing backhaul for the WAB-gNB;
[0116] the BH gNB is connected to a BH 5GC, which is a 5GC of the WAB-MT (WAB-MT's 5GC), and the BH gNB and the BH 5GC establish a BH PDU session for the WAB-MT;
[0117] the BH 5GC is connected to a 5GC of the UE (UE's 5GC), and the 5GC of the UE provides communication services for the UEs under the WAB-gNB;
[0118] the WAB-gNB transmits data for the UE with the UE's 5GC through the BH PDU session; and
[0119] the WAB-gNB establishes an NG interface (e.g., NG-C / NG-U) with the UE's 5GC through the BH PDU session, and establishes an Xn interface (e.g., Xn-C / Xn-U) with a neighboring base station through the BH PDU session.
[0120] WAB has mobility. WAB-MT can support at least part of UE functions, and WAB-gNB can be a complete base station. WAB-gNB can provide communication services for UEs, but cannot provide services for the WAB-MT. Therefore, the problem of how to prevent a WAB-MT from accessing a WAB-gNB needs to be solved.
[0121] This problem may be further divided into:
[0122] how to prevent a WAB-MT from accessing a co-located WAB-gNB; and
[0123] how to prevent a WAB-MT from accessing other WAB-gNBs.
[0124] The fundamental solution to the above problems is to solve the following two points:
[0125] when a WAB-MT is in an idle state, how a WAB-gNB prevents the WAB-MT from random access; and
[0126] when a WAB-MT is in a connected state, how the source BH gNB knows whether the target BH gNB is a WAB-gNB and how the source gNB determines whether the UE is a WAB-MT.
[0127] The technical problems mainly solved by the present disclosure include at least the above two problems, thereby achieving a purpose of preventing a WAB-MT from accessing a co-located WAB-gNB or other WAB-gNBs.
[0128] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0129] The text and drawings are provided as examples only to help understand the present disclosure. They should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, based on the disclosure herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made to the illustrated embodiments and examples without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0130] Before introducing the specific content, some assumptions and some definitions of the present disclosure are given below.
[0131] The message names in the present disclosure are just examples, and other message names may be used.
[0132] The "first" and "second" included in the message names in the present disclosure are only examples, and they do not represent an execution order.
[0133] A detailed description of steps irrelevant to the present disclosure is omitted in the present disclosure.
[0134] In the present disclosure, steps in various processes may be combined with each other or performed independently. The execution orders of the steps of each process are only examples, and other possible execution orders are not excluded.
[0135] In the present disclosure, the base station may be a 5G base station (such as gNB, ng-eNB), a 4G base station (such as eNB), a 6G base station, or other types of access nodes.
[0136] In the present disclosure, the transmission of data refers to the reception and / or transmission of data.
[0137] In the present disclosure, a cell / node list may refer to a list of IDs and / or other identification information of cells / nodes.
[0138] In the present disclosure, since WAB-MT can support at least part of UE functions, in some application scenarios, WAB-MT may be considered as a user equipment (UE) or a terminal device. However, since the WAB-MT is included in a WAB node, in some application scenarios, the WAB-MT may also be considered as a node device or a part of a node device. Whether a WAB-MT is defined as a UE or a node device mainly depends on the application scenario and is not limited herein.
[0139] First aspect: enhancement of WAB related indication information and UE measurement report / Xn interface setup
[0140] FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, WAB related indication information is added, and the measurement report reported by WAB-MT is correspondingly enhanced, and the example process is as follows.
[0141] In step 501, the BH gNB and / or its cell adds first information in System Information Block 1 (SIB1) (not only the BH gNB and / or its cell can add first information in SIB1, but a neighboring cell can also make similar enhancements in SIB1, that is, the first information can also be added in SIB1 broadcast by the neighboring cell), and the WAB-MT can determine whether to select the gNB to camp on or access based on the first information in SIB1. The first information may be at least one of the following:
[0142] a WAB node support indication, that is, indication information of supporting of a WAB node. The indication information indicates that the gNB or its cell supports access of a WAB node; (this indication information may be enhanced for gNBs which is not a WAB node);
[0143] a WAB cell indication, that is, indication information of a WAB cell. The indication information indicates that a cell is a WAB cell. It may also be a WAB node indication, that is, indication information of a WAB node. The indication information indicates that the gNB is a WAB node; (this indication information can be enhanced for WAB nodes); and
[0144] a WAB node barred indication, that is, indication information on that a WAB is barred. The indication information indicates that the gNB or its cell prohibits access of a WAB and / or WAB-MT; (this indication information can be enhanced for all gNBs).
[0145] The above indication information may be WAB node-related indication information or WAB-MT-related indication information. For example, the above WAB node support indication may also be replaced by a WAB-MT support indication, the above WAB node barred indication may also be replaced by a WAB-MT barred indication, etc., which is not limited in the present disclosure.
[0146] In step 502, after the WAB-MT determines that the cell can be accessed based on the SIB1 (for example, the first information in SIB1), the WAB-MT adds second information in Message 5 (Msg5, that is, RRC setup complete message) and transmit it to the BH gNB during a random access process. It should be understood that adding the second information in Msg5 for transmitting is only an example. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, any information such as the first information, the second information, the third information, etc. can be transmitted alone, or through any existing or future message and / or signaling, which is not limited herein.
[0147] The second information may include a WAB-MT indication, i.e. WAB-MT indication information. The indication information indicates that the UE is a WAB-MT. The second information may also be a WAB node indication or a WAB indication, which is not limited in the present disclosure.
[0148] In step 503, after the BH gNB determines that the UE is a WAB-MT according to Msg5, the BH gNB configures the relevant measurement configuration for the WAB-MT and carries sixth information to the WAB-MT. The sixth information may indicate to the WAB-MT of at least one of the following or may include information related to at least one of the following:
[0149] when performing measurement, acquire SIB1 and / or CGI (Cell global identifier) related information of neighboring cells; similarly, SIB1 of a neighboring cell may include first information corresponding to the neighboring cell;
[0150] when reporting a measurement report, report a list / information (such as a whitelist) of cells that support WAB-MT and / or WAB node and / or WAB;
[0151] when reporting a measurement report, report a list / information (such as a blacklist) of cells that do not support WAB-MT and / or WAB node and / or WAB;
[0152] when reporting a measurement report, report information related to WAB cells among the neighboring cells. For example, when reporting a measurement report, report list / information of the cells which are WAB cells among the neighboring cells; and / or, when reporting a measurement report, report a neighboring cell list / information which includes WAB cell information, where, for example, each neighboring cell in the neighboring cell list may have an identification as to whether the neighboring cell is a WAB cell.
[0153] In step 504, the WAB-MT may obtain first information of the neighboring cells. For example, the WAB-MT may perform measurement for the neighboring cells according to the BH gNB's measurement configuration. Meanwhile, the WAB-MT may obtain the SIB1 and / or CGI related information of the neighboring cells according to the sixth information, thereby obtaining the first information of the neighboring cells (for example, related information such as the WAB node support indication and / or the WAB cell indication and / or WAB cell barred indication of the neighboring cells).
[0154] In step 505, the WAB-MT may add third information in the measurement report and report it to the BH gNB. The third information may be added in the measurement report or in other RRC messages, which is not limited in the present disclosure. The third information may include at least one of the following:
[0155] SIB1 and / or CGI related information of neighboring cells;
[0156] list / information of cells that support WAB-MT and / or WAB node and / or WAB;
[0157] list / information of cells that do not support WAB-MT and / or WAB node and / or WAB;
[0158] list / information of cells that are WAB cells among neighboring cells;
[0159] list / information of neighboring cells, where each neighboring cell in the neighboring cell list has an identification as to whether the neighboring cell is a WAB cell.
[0160] In step 506, the BH gNB may perform cell handover for the WAB-MT according to the measurement report and / or the third information (e.g., the third information added in the measurement report, or the third information added in an RRC message transmitted by the WAB-MT, or the third information transmitted separately, etc.).
[0161] This embodiment does not need to make corresponding enhancements to the Xn interface, avoiding useless Xn interface signaling overhead when there is no WAB-MT under the BH gNB. This embodiment can be applied to NG based WAB-MT HO because the BH gNB does not know whether a gNB with which it does not have an Xn interface supports access of a WAB-MT. If the target gNB or target cell does not support WAB-MT, it will seriously affect the UEs served under the WAB-gNB.
[0162] FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, WAB related indication information is added, and the Xn setup process is correspondingly enhanced. The example process is as follows.
[0163] In step 601, the BH gNB and / or its cell adds first information in SIB1, and the WAB-MT can determine whether to select the gNB to camp on or access based on the first information in SIB1. This step may be the same as step 501.
[0164] In step 602, after the WAB-MT determines that the cell can be accessed based on the SIB1, the WAB-MT adds second information in Msg5 and transmits it to the BH gNB during a random access process. This step may be the same as step 502.
[0165] In step 603, the BH gNB establishes an Xn interface with other neighboring gNBs (e.g., co-located WAB-gNB, WAB-gNB1, gNB2, etc.), and exchanges first information corresponding to the neighboring gNBs through the Xn interface. The first information may be the same as the first information in the first embodiment.
[0166] If the first information is exchanged during a Xn setup process, the first information may be added in a Xn setup request message and / or a Xn setup response message; and if the Xn interface has been established, the first information may also be added in a Xn related message or signaling, such as added in the NG-RAN node Configuration Update message, or directly added in messages such as a handover request / handover request acknowledge / handover preparation failure message, which is not limited in the present disclosure.
[0167] For step 603, if the BH-gNB establishes an Xn interface with a non-co-located gNB, step 603 may occur before or after steps 601 and 602; and if the BH-gNB establishes an Xn interface with the co-located gNB, step 603 needs to be performed after step 602.
[0168] In step 604, the BH gNB performs cell handover (HO) for the WAB-MT according to the measurement report and / or the first information of each neighboring cell in step 603.
[0169] This embodiment does not need to make corresponding enhancements to the measurement report. Relevant information about whether a cell supports or prohibits WAB or whether a cell is a WAB cell / node is exchanged through a Xn setup process, which may be applied to a Xn based WAB-MT HO case.
[0170] Second aspect: reporting of co-located WAB-gNB ID
[0171] A WAB node consists of a WAB-gNB and a WAB-MT. The WAB-gNB that forms a WAB node together with the WAB-MT may be called a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT, and the ID of the co-located WAB-gNB is the co-located WAB-gNB ID of the WAB-MT. Similarly, the WAB-MT that forms a WAB node together with the WAB-gNB may be called a co-located WAB-MT of the WAB-gNB, and the ID of the co-located WAB-MT is the co-located WAB-MT ID of the WAB-gNB. For a BH gNB, it is necessary to know the co-located WAB-gNB ID of the WAB-MT, or it is necessary to know the co-located WAB-MT ID of the WAB-gNB, in order to perform resource multiplexing to avoid resource conflicts between the WAB-MT and the co-located WAB-gNB. Meanwhile, it may also avoid handing over the WAB-MT to the co-located WAB-gNB, and it may also facilitate establishment of an Xn interface between the BH gNB and the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0172] FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the WAB-MT can inform the BH gNB of a co-located WAB-gNB ID, and an example process is as follows.
[0173] In step 701, the BH gNB adds first information in SIB1, and the WAB-MT can determine whether to select the gNB to camp on or access based on the first information in SIB1. This step may be the same as step 501.
[0174] In step 702, after the WAB-MT determines that the cell can be accessed based on the SIB1, the WAB-MT adds fourth information in Msg5 and transmits it to the BH gNB during a random access process.
[0175] The fourth information may include information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT, e.g., a co-located WAB-gNB ID, and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0176] The fourth information may also implicitly indicate to the BH gNB that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT or a WAB node.
[0177] If the WAB-MT does not add the fourth information in Msg5, it may also add the fourth information in an RRC message subsequently and transmit it to the BH gNB. The RRC message may be a UE assistance information (UEAssistanceInformation) message, a UE information response (UEInformationResponse) message, or other RRC messages, which are not limited in the present disclosure.
[0178] The way in which the WAB-MT transmits fourth information through Msg5 can be applied to a case where the co-located WAB-gNB already has a gNB ID when initial access is performed, or the Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) has already assigned an ID for the co-located WAB. The way in which the WAB-MT transmits fourth information through an RRC message can be applied to a case where the co-located WAB-gNB does not yet have a gNB ID when initial access is performed, or the OAM has not yet assigned an ID for the co-located WAB. It can also be applied to the case where the co-located WAB-gNB already has a gNB ID, or the OAM has already assigned an ID for the co-located WAB.
[0179] After receiving the fourth information, the BH gNB may know that the UE is a WAB-MT and know the co-located WAB-gNB ID of the WAB-MT. Then, in step 703, the BH gNB can know which base stations support WAB-MT through processes of establishing Xn interfaces with neighboring base stations. This step may be the same as step 603.
[0180] The BH gNB can also obtain a list of cells that support WAB-MT through steps 503 to 505 in the first embodiment.
[0181] In step 704, the BH gNB performs handover for the WAB-MT.
[0182] FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the WAB-gNB can inform the BH gNB of a co-located WAB-MT ID, and an example process is as follows.
[0183] In step 801, the BH gNB adds first information in SIB1, and the WAB-MT can determine whether to select the gNB to camp on or access based on the first information in SIB1. This step may be the same as step 501.
[0184] In step 802, after the WAB-MT determines that the cell can be accessed based on the SIB1, it performs random access and establishes a BH PDU session.
[0185] In step 803, the WAB-gNB establishes an Xn interface with the BH gNB over the BH PDU session, with fifth information added in an Xn setup request message. Optionally, the WAB-gNB may also transmit the fifth information to the BH gNB through other Xn interface related signaling after the Xn interface is established, such as adding the fifth information in an NG-RAN node Configuration Update message, which is not limited in the present disclosure.
[0186] The fifth information may include information of the co-located WAB-MT of the WAB-gNB, for example, the co-located WAB-MT ID, and / or the IP address of the co-located WAB-MT.
[0187] The fifth information may also implicitly indicate to the BH gNB that the gNB is a WAB-gNB or WAB node.
[0188] Optionally, in step 804, after receiving the fifth information, the BH gNB may reconfigure a measurement configuration for the co-located WAB-MT. This step may be the same as step 503. The BH gNB may obtain the information about the support of WAB-MT of the neighboring cells through steps 503 to 505.
[0189] Optionally, the BH gNB may also obtain the information about the support of WAB-MT of the neighboring cells through step 603.
[0190] In step 805, the BH gNB performs handover for the WAB-MT.
[0191] In this aspect, the example process in which the WAB-gNB informs the BH gNB of the co-located WAB-MT ID may be applied to a case where the WAB-gNB establishes an Xn interface with the BH gNB; and the example process in which the WAB-MT informs the BH gNB of the co-located WAB-gNB ID may be applied to all cases (i.e., the case where the WAB-gNB establishes an Xn interface with the BH gNB and the case where the WAB-gNB does not establish an Xn interface with the BH gNB). It is worth noting that these two embodiments or example processes may also be applied in combination, that is, if the co-located WAB-gNB decides not to establish an Xn interface with the BH gNB, it may inform the BH gNB through the WAB-MT. If the co-located WAB-gNB decides to establish an Xn interface with the BH gNB, it may inform the BH gNB through the Xn interface itself.
[0192] Third aspect: exchange of co-located WAB-gNB ID in WAB-MT handover (HO)
[0193] When a WAB-MT performs cell handover, the co-located WAB-gNB ID thereof also needs to be exchanged between the source BH gNB and the target BH gNB and / or AMF, in order for the target BH gNB to perform resource multiplexing, as well as to avoid the WAB-MT from being handed over to its co-located WAB-gNB. Specifically, FIG. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of a process for WAB access control and handover according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9:
[0194] a Random Access (RACH) process:
[0195] In step 901, during the random access process, the WAB-MT adds fourth information in Msg5 and transmits it to the BH gNB (for example, BH gNB 1 in FIG. 9).
[0196] The fourth information may include information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT, e.g., a co-located WAB-gNB ID, and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0197] The fourth information may also implicitly indicate to the BH gNB that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT or a WAB node.
[0198] In step 902, after receiving Msg5, the BH gNB adds the fourth information in a fourth message and transmits it to the AMF. For example, the fourth message may be an initial UE message or other NG interface related signaling.
[0199] After receiving the fourth information, the AMF can know that the UE is a WAB-MT and may perform authorization for the WAB-MT.
[0200] After performing relevant authorization, the AMF may transmit the authorization result to the BH gNB through a fifth message. For example, the fifth message may be an initial context setup request message or other NG interface related signaling. The authorization result may be Authorized or Not-authorized.
[0201] Xn-based handover:
[0202] In step 903, when the source BH gNB (e.g., BH gNB1 in FIG. 9) decides to perform WAB-MT HO, it adds fourth information in a Handover Request message and transmits it to the target BH gNB (e.g., BH gNB2 in FIG. 9).
[0203] If the target BH gNB agrees to the handover, it transmits a Handover Request ACK message to the source BH gNB in step 904.
[0204] In step 905, the target BH gNB transmits a path switch request message to the AMF.
[0205] In step 906, the AMF transmits a path switch response message to the target BH gNB. If the source BH gNB does not add the fourth information in the handover request message in step 903, the AMF may add the fourth information in the path switch response message and transmit it to the target BH gNB.
[0206] The fourth information herein may be obtained by the AMF from the source BH gNB, for example, by the AMF through an initial UE message transmitted from the source BH gNB in a random access (RACH) process.
[0207] NG-based handover:
[0208] In step 907, the source BH gNB transmits a Handover Required message to the AMF. If the source BH gNB does not add the fourth information in the initial UE message, it may add the fourth information in the Handover Required message and transmit it to the AMF.
[0209] In step 908, after receiving the Handover Required message transmitted by the source BH gNB, the AMF adds the fourth information in the Handover Request message and transmits it to the target BH gNB.
[0210] In step 909, if the target BH gNB agrees to the handover, a handover request acknowledge (Handover Request ACK) is replied to the AMF. If the target BH gNB rejects the handover because it does not support WAB-MT, a Handover Preparation Failure message is replied to the AMF with a new cause value (herein, it may be referred to as a first cause value). The new cause value may be that "the WAB-MT and / or WAB node and / or WAB is not supported (by the target gNB)" and / or "(the target gNB) is a WAB-gNB / WAB node and / or WAB", indicating that it rejects this handover because WAB-MT is not supported by it.
[0211] In step 910, the AMF may forward the new cause value to the source BH gNB, for example, through eighth information.
[0212] Fourth aspect: enhancements when WAB-gNB and WAB-MT are Not-authorized
[0213] The AMF decides whether a WAB-MT is authorized, i.e., Authorized or Not-authorized, while the authorization of a WAB-gNB is determined by its OAM. So whether the WAB-MT is authorized or not has no relationship with the authorization status of the WAB-gNB. The WAB-gNB, if authorized, may serve UEs; while the WAB-MT, if authorized, may establish a BH PDU session.
[0214] In some implementations, when the WAB-gNB is in a Not-authorized status, even if the WAB-MT is in an authorized status, it cannot serve UEs under the WAB-gNB. In this case, it is meaningless for AMF to establish a BH PDU session for WAB-MT, and at the same time, it will waste air interface resources used for establishing a BH PDU session. However, if the BH PDU session is not established, when the WAB-gNB changes from a Not-authorized status to an Authorized statues, OAM cannot inform the same to the WAB-gNB. Therefore, the present disclosure further proposes an embodiment to solve the above problems. Specifically, FIG. 10 shows a sixth embodiment of a process for WAB access control according to the present disclosure. An example process thereof is as follows.
[0215] In step 1001, the WAB-MT adds fourth information in Msg5 and transmits it to the BH gNB during a random access process.
[0216] The fourth information may include information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT, e.g., a co-located WAB-gNB ID, and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0217] The fourth information may also implicitly indicate to the BH gNB information that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT or a WAB node.
[0218] In step 1002, after receiving Msg5, the BH gNB adds fourth information in the initial UE message and transmits it to the AMF.
[0219] After receiving the fourth information, the AMF can know that the UE is a WAB-MT and may perform authorization for the WAB-MT.
[0220] After performing relevant authorization, the AMF transmits the authorization result to the BH gNB through an initial context setup request message. The authorization result may be Authorized or Not-authorized.
[0221] When the AMF determines that the WAB-MT is in an Authorized status, in step 1003, the AMF finds its OAM based on the co-located WAB-gNB ID and queries the OAM for the authorization status of its co-located WAB-gNB.
[0222] In step 1004, the AMF transmits an Initial Context Setup Request message (e.g., it may include the ID of a BH PDU session to be established) to the BH gNB.
[0223] If the co-located WAB-gNB is in an Authorized status, the AMF can let the BH gNB normally establish a BH PDU session for the WAB-MT through an initial context setup request message. If the co-located WAB-gNB is in a Not-authorized status, the AMF may set the BH PDU session ID to a specific value (which may be referred to herein as a first value), e.g., a dummy value, i.e., all (e.g., 8) bits of the BH PDU session ID are 0, or another dedicated value, e.g., all (e.g., 8) bits of the BH PDU session ID are 1, etc. In this case, the BH gNB only needs to allocate a small amount of resources to the BH PDU session (for example, less than the resources required for a normal PDU session).
[0224] The BH gNB may not establish a BH PDU session for the WAB-MT. In this case, if the co-located WAB-gNB changes from a Not-authorized status to an Authorized status, the OAM can inform the same to the co-located WAB-gNB through a normal PDU session.
[0225] In step 1005, after completing the UE context setup, the BH gNB may reply to the AMF an initial context setup response message or an initial context setup failure message. For example, if the BH gNB allocates a small amount of resources for the BH PDU session, the BH gNB may reply with an initial context setup response message to the AMF. If the BH gNB does not allocate resources for the BH PDU session, the BH gNB may reply to the AMF with an initial context setup failure message and add a new cause value therein. The new cause value may be called a third cause value. For example, the new cause value may be that "the co-located WAB-gNB is in a Not-authorized status".
[0226] In some implementations, when the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status, a BH PDU session cannot be established even if the WAB-gNB is authorized. If a BH PDU session has been established, the BH PDU session needs to be released. Therefore, the present disclosure proposes another embodiment to implement the process of releasing an existing BH PDU session when the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status. Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a seventh embodiment of a process for BH PDU session release according to the present disclosure, an example process of which is as follows.
[0227] In step 1101, when the AMF determines that the WAB-MT changes from an Authorized status to a Not-authorized status, the AMF adds a new cause value (herein, it may be called a second cause value) in a PDU session release session management context (Nsmf_Pdusession_releaseSMContext) and transmits it to the SMF.
[0228] The new cause value may indicate the reason why the SMF releases the BH PDU session, that is, the authorization status of the WAB-MT becomes Not-authorized.
[0229] In step 1102, after receiving the Nsmf_Pdusession_releaseSMContext transmitted by the AMF, the SMF may add the new cause value in a PDU session release session management context response (Nsmf_Pdusession_releaseSMContext Response) and transmit it to the AMF.
[0230] The new cause value may be added in a PDU session resource release command transfer information element (IE), which is invisible to the AMF, in order to inform the RAN of the reason for releasing the PDU session.
[0231] In step 1103, the AMF may transmit a second message (e.g., a PDU session release request message) related to a PDU session release request to the RAN (e.g., BH gNB) and carry the new cause value.
[0232] Optionally, the AMF may also carry a new timer (which may be referred to as a first timer herein) and / or its value, allowing the BH gNB to transmit the timer and / or its value to the WAB-MT, so that the WAB-MT does not need to release the BH PDU session immediately after receiving a PDU session release command transmitted by the BH gNB. Before the timer (and / or a timer set according to the timer value) expires, the WAB-gNB may perform handover for or release the served UEs. After the timer expires, the WAB-MT may release the BH PDU session. The benefit brought by this timer is to avoid the problem that the WAB-gNB cannot perform handover for the served UEs after the WAB-MT immediately releases the BH PDU session.
[0233] After receiving the PDU session release request, the BH gNB can transmit a PDU session release command to the WAB-MT in step 1104, which may carry at least one of the following:
[0234] A new cause value;
[0235] A new timer and / or its value.
[0236] In step 1105, the WAB-gNB performs UE handover or UE release.
[0237] After the WAB-gNB completes the UE handover or UE release, in step 1106, the WAB-MT may reply to the BH gNB with a third message related to a release acknowledge of the BH PDU session of the WAB-MT, e.g., a PDU session release acknowledge (PDU session release ACK) message.
[0238] Fifth aspect: methods based on Closed Access Group (CAG) and UE behavior
[0239] 5.1) method based on CAG
[0240] In a CAG technology:
[0241] when a UE performs network registration, it will indicate to the AMF whether the UE supports a CAG function;
[0242] if the UE supports the CAG function, the AMF will transmit a CAG list supported by the UE (for example, it may be determined based on UE capabilities, subscription information, etc.) to the gNB;
[0243] the gNB will also broadcast a CAG list that it allows UEs to access through SIB1;
[0244] if a CAG ID supported by the UE is also included in the CAG list broadcast by the gNB through SIB1, it means that the UE can access the gNB, otherwise it cannot access the gNB;
[0245] Supported CAG lists are also exchanged between gNB and gNB.
[0246] Therefore, by enhancing the CAG technology, a purpose of preventing a WAB-MT from accessing a WAB-gNB by random access, or preventing a BH gNB from handing over a WAB-MT to a WAB-gNB can also be achieved. An example process is as follows:
[0247] 1) define a WAB-MT specific CAG ID, all WAB-MTs use the same CAG ID, and this CAG ID is not used for other UEs except WAB-MTs;
[0248] 2) define a not-allowed CAG list for WAB-gNB, which contains the WAB-MT specific CAG ID;
[0249] 3) WAB-gNB can exchange not-allowed CAG lists with other ordinary gNBs, and the ordinary gNBs can know that WAB-gNB does not allow WAB-MT to access.
[0250] 5.2) method based on UE behavior
[0251] If when a WAB-MT reports a measurement report, it can delete the measurement results corresponding to the cells that do not support WAB-MT and report to the BH gNB, the BH gNB will not hand over the WAB-MT to a gNB that does not support WAB-MT. An example process is as follows:
[0252] If the UE is a WAB-MT:
[0253] one implementation is that: the WAB-MT knows the co-located WAB-gNB ID and the WAB cell IDs, then when the WAB-MT reports a measurement report, it deletes the measurement results corresponding to the co-located WAB-gNB ID and / or the WAB cell IDs, and then report to the BH gNB;
[0254] another implementation is that: the WAB-MT knows the co-located WAB-gNB ID and the WAB cell IDs, then when WAB-MT reports a measurement report, it marks the measurement results corresponding to the co-located WAB-gNB ID and / or the WAB cell IDs as measurement results corresponding to co-located WAB-gNB and / or WAB cell, and then report to the BH gNB. In this case, the BH gNB knows which measurement results are measurement results corresponding to co-located WAB-gNB and / or the WAB cell.
[0255] If when configuring measurement configuration for a WAB-MT, the WAB-MT is allowed to obtain SIB1 and / or CGI related information of neighboring cells, then:
[0256] one implementation is that: the WAB-MT deletes the measurement results corresponding to the WAB cells among the neighboring cells, and then reports to the BH gNB;
[0257] another implementation is that: the WAB-MT marks the measurement results corresponding to the WAB cells among the neighboring cells as the measurement results corresponding to WAB cell, and then reports to the BH gNB.
[0258] It is worth noting that the UE can perform at least one solution among all the technical solutions mentioned in the first to fifth aspects of the present disclosure, without particular performing order.
[0259] It should be understood that, depending on the application scenarios, the various example aspects, methods, steps, processes, etc. shown above in conjunction with the drawings can be implemented individually or combined in any manner, and are not limited herein.
[0260] For example, in some implementations, the WAB-MT may receive first information of the BH gNB from the BH gNB. As described above, the first information may include information on that the BH gNB supports wireless access backhaul (WAB) node access. In addition, the WAB-MT may transmit second information and / or fourth information to the BH gNB. As described above, the second information may include information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT, and the fourth information may include information of a co-located WAB-gNB (e.g., a co-located WAB-gNB) of the WAB-MT. Optionally, the WAB-MT may also obtain first information of neighboring cells. Optionally, the WAB-MT may also transmit third information to the BH gNB. As described above, the third information may include at least one of the following: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0261] Next, FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of a method 1200 performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0262] As shown in FIG. 12, a method 1200 performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include: in step S1201, transmitting first information to a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT), wherein the first information includes information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node; in step S1202, receiving second information and / or fourth information from the WAB-MT, wherein the second information includes information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information includes information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT; and in step S1203, receiving third information from the WAB-MT, wherein the third information includes at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0263] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information of the co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT includes an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0264] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting sixth information to the WAB-MT, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of: information enabling the WAB-MT to acquire information of SIB 1 and / or CGIs of neighboring cells; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that support WAB-MT; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that do not support WAB-MT; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0265] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells includes: information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of WAB cells among neighboring cells; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a neighboring cell list, wherein the neighboring cell list includes information on WAB cells.
[0266] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: establishing an Xn interface connection with a neighboring node; and receiving seventh information from the neighboring node, wherein the seventh information includes at least one of: information on that the neighboring node supports access of a WAB node; information on that the neighboring node is a WAB node; and information on that the neighboring node does not support access of a WAB node.
[0267] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from a second node, wherein the fifth information includes an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a co-located WAB-MT of the second node.
[0268] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting the fourth information to an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the fourth information is transmitted by the AMF to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT.
[0269] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving eighth information from the AMF in case that the handover of the WAB-MT fails, wherein the eighth information includes a first cause value that the target node does not support WAB-MT.
[0270] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a handover request message to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT, wherein the handover request message includes the fourth information.
[0271] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting the fourth information to an access and mobility management function (AMF); and receiving a first message from the AMF, wherein the first message includes a protocol data unit (PDU) session ID for the WAB-MT, wherein in case that the co-located WAB-gNB is in a Not-authorized status, the PDU session ID has a first value.
[0272] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a second message from an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the second message includes a second cause value and / or a first timer value; transmitting the second cause value and / or the first timer value to the WAB-MT; and receiving a third message from the WAB-MT, wherein the third message is related to a release acknowledge of a backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT, wherein the second cause value includes that the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status, and wherein the WAB-MT releases the backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT after expiration of the first timer value.
[0273] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a measurement report from the WAB-MT, wherein the measurement report does not include measurement results of WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0274] FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a method 1300 performed by a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0275] As shown in FIG. 13, a method 1300 performed by a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include: in step S1301, receiving first information of a first node from the first node, wherein the first information includes information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node; in step S1302, transmitting second information and / or fourth information to the first node, wherein the second information includes information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information includes information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT; in step S1303, acquiring first information of neighboring cells; and in step S1304, transmitting third information to the first node, wherein the third information includes at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0276] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information of the co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT includes an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.
[0277] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving sixth information from the first node, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of: information enabling the WAB-MT to acquire information of SIB 1 and / or CGIs of neighboring cells; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that support WAB-MT; information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that do not support WAB-MT; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0278] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells includes: information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of WAB cells among neighboring cells; and information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a neighboring cell list, wherein the neighboring cell list includes information on WAB cells.
[0279] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth information is transmitted by the first node to an access and mobility management function (AMF), and wherein the fourth information is transmitted by the AMF to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT.
[0280] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth information is included in a handover request message transmitted by the first node to a target node.
[0281] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a second cause value and / or a first timer value from the first node; and transmit a third message to the first node, wherein the third message is related to a release acknowledge of a backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT, wherein the second cause value includes that the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status, and wherein the WAB-MT releases the backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT after expiration of the first timer value.
[0282] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a measurement report to the first node, wherein the measurement report does not include measurement results of WAB cells among neighboring cells.
[0283] It should be understood that methods 1200 and 1300 according to embodiments of the present disclosure may also include one or more of the methods or steps described above in conjunction with any example, aspect or drawing, which will not be described again herein.
[0284] Next, FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of a node 1400 in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0285] As shown in FIG. 14, the node 1400 according to embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., which may be the first node as described above) may include a transceiver 1410 and a processor 1420. The transceiver 1410 may be configured to transmit and receive signals. The processor 1420 may be coupled to the transceiver 1410 and may be configured to (e.g., control transceiver 1410 to) perform any method performed by a first node or the like in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0286] Herein, a node may also be referred to as a node device. Herein, a processor may also be referred to as a controller.
[0287] FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of a WAB-MT 1500 in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0288] As shown in FIG. 15, the WAB-MT 1500 according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include a transceiver 1510 and a processor 1520. The transceiver 1510 may be configured to transmit and receive signals. The processor 1520 may be coupled to the transceiver 1510 and may be configured to (e.g., control transceiver 1510 to) perform any method performed by a WAB-MT in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0289] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a terminal or user equipment (UE) 1600 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0290] 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.
[0291] Referring to FIG. 16, the UE 1600 may include at least one transceiver (hereinafter, referred to as simply “transceiver”) 1601, at least one processor (hereinafter, referred to as simply “processor”) 1602, and at least one memory (hereinafter, referred to as simply “memory”) 1603. According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transceiver 1601, the processor 1602, and the memory 1603 of the UE 1600 may operate. However, components of the UE 1600 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in FIG. 16. In another embodiment, the UE 1600 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 1601, the processor 1602, or the memory 1603 may be integrated in the form of one component.
[0292] The transceiver 1601 may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the UE 1600 to perform wireless communication with a node or an entity of a network. For example, the transceiver 1601 may enable the UE 1600 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 1601 may support at least one of various cellular communication technologies including 3rd generation (3G), 4thgeneration (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G) NR, 6thgeneration (6G), and various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (1601) may include all subsequent generations of evolved wireless communications.
[0293] According to an embodiment, the UE 1600 may include a plurality of transceivers. For example, in the case of supporting evolved-universal terrestrial radio access-new radio (E-UTRA-NR) sual connectivity (EN-DC), the UE 1600 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 1600 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 1600 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).
[0294] According to an embodiment, the transceiver 1601 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 1601 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 1601 may output a signal received through a wireless channel to the processor 1602 and may transmit, through a wireless channel, a signal output from the processor 1602.
[0295] The processor 1602 may control general operations of the UE 1600 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 1602 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 1602 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 1603, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 1602 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.
[0296] The processor 1602 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver 1601 to control the transceiver 1601.
[0297] The processor 1602 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 1602 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 1602 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 1602 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the transceiver 1601 or the memory 1603.
[0298] The processor 1602 may perform or control or cause an operation of the UE 1600 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 1602 may control operations of the UE 1600 for processing a downlink signal received from a BS or generating and transmitting an uplink signal to a BS. To this end, the processor 1602 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 1603, so as to control other components of the UE 1600 to enable execution of various operations.
[0299] The memory 1603 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 1603 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.
[0300] The memory 1603 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 1602 and may be accessed by the processor 1602.
[0301] The memory 1603 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1602. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1602 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 1603, the processor 1602 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0302] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the UE 1600 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 1603 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.
[0303] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a base station (BS) 1700 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0304] The BS 1700 may perform wireless communication with at least one user equipment (UE) located within the area of the BS 1700 through a wireless channel.
[0305] Referring to FIG. 17, the BS 1700 may include at least one transceiver (hereinafter, referred to as simply “transceiver”) 1701, at least one processor (hereinafter, referred to as simply “processor”) 1702, and at least one memory (hereinafter, referred to as simply “memory”) 1703. According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transceiver 1701, the processor 1702, and the memory 1703 of the BS 1700 may operate. However, components of the BS 1700 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in FIG. 17. In another embodiment, the BS 1700 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 1701, the processor 1702, or the memory 1703 may be integrated in the form of one component.
[0306] The transceiver 1701 may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the BS 1700 to perform wireless communication with a node or an entity of a network. For example, the transceiver 1701 may enable the BS 1700 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 1701 may support various cellular communication technologies including 3rd generation (3G), 4thgeneration (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G) NR, 6thgeneration (6G), and various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (1701) may include all subsequent generations of evolved wireless communications. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 1701 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 1701 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 1701 may output a signal received through a wireless channel to the processor 1702 and may transmit, through a wireless channel, a signal output from the processor 1702.
[0307] Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the BS 1700 may perform communication with a node or an entity of a network through wired or wireless communication. For example, the BS 1700 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. 17, when the BS 1700 performs wired communication, the BS 1700 may further include a separate network interface for wired communication in addition to the transceiver 1701. The network interface may be referred to as network interface circuitry or communication interface circuitry.
[0308] The processor 1702 may control general operations of the BS 1700 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 1702 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 1702 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 1703, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 1702 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.
[0309] The processor 1702 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver 1701 to control the transceiver 1701.
[0310] The processor 1702 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 1702 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 1702 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the transceiver 1701 or the memory 1703.
[0311] The processor 1702 may perform or control or cause an operation of the BS 1700 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 1702 may control operations of the BS 1700 for generating and transmitting a downlink signal to a UE or processing an uplink signal received from a UE. Otherwise, the BS 1700 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 1702 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 1703, so as to control other components of the BS 1700 to enable execution of various operations.
[0312] The memory 1703 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 1703 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.
[0313] The memory 1703 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 1702 and may be accessed by the processor 1702.
[0314] The memory 1703 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1702. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1702 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 1703, the processor 1702 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0315] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the BS 1700 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 1703 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.
[0316] The UE or the base station may perform various communication procedures related to the control plane or the user plane by cooperating with one or more network entities based on wireless communication. For example, the UE may communicate with network entity such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) or a Session Management Function (SMF) via the base station, or the base station may perform at least one communication procedure by directly transmitting and receiving signals to / from, or relaying signals between, the network entities.
[0317] The structure of the above-described network entity will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
[0318] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a network entity 1800 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0319] The network entity 1800 may include an entity (apparatus, device, or server, etc.) that performs one or more network functions (NFs) or a part of a network function constituting a core network (e.g., a 5th generation (5G) core (5GC)) in a communication system. In this case, multiple NFs may be implemented within a single network entity, or a single NF may be distributed and implemented across a plurality of network entities. In addition, when an NF is implemented within the network entity, the NF may be implemented in the form of software, and in such a case, a program for operating the NF may be stored in memory of the network entity 1800.
[0320] A single NF may be implemented by one or more instances, which may be deployed on the same network entity or distributed across multiple network entities to operate. The instance may be a software unit that logically executes a specific network function, and may be implemented in a form that is decoupled from physical hardware resources. Further, one or more NFs may be implemented in the form of one network slice to operate to satisfy specifications required by a particular service.
[0321] The NF may include at least one of an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a local session management function (L-SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a local user plane function (L-UPF), a policy control function (PCF), a unified data management (UDM), a unified data repository (UDR), a network exposure function (NEF), a network repository function (NRF), an application function (AF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), a network data analytics function (NWDAF), a network slice admission control function (NSACF), an authentication server function (AUSF), or a data network (DN).
[0322] Referring to FIG. 18, the network entity 1800 may include at least one network interface 1801, at least one processor 1802 (hereinafter, “processor”), and at least one memory 1803 (hereinafter, “memory”). As described above, a NF may be implemented in the form of a physical device such as the network entity 1800, or may be virtualized and executed in the form of an instance. When implemented as an instance, the NF need not necessarily include physical components as illustrated in FIG. 18. In such a case, the instance may be logically represented as comprising one or more logical functional elements.
[0323] According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the network interface 1801, the processor 1802, and the memory 1803 of the network entity 1800 may operate. However, components of the network entity 1800 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in FIG. 18. In another embodiment, the network entity 1800 may further include additional components in addition to the above-mentioned components, or some components may be omitted. Further, in an embodiment, the network interface 1801, the processor 1802, or the memory 1803 may be integrated in the form of one component.
[0324] The network interface 1801 is a collective term for a transmitter part of the network entity 1800 and a receiver part of the network entity 1800, and may be a communication circuit for transmitting or receiving a signal to or from a user equipment (UE), a base station (BS), or another network entity. Here, the communication circuit may include both a communication circuit for wireless communication and a communication circuit for a wired communication. For example, the network interface 1801 may include a circuit, logic, hardware, etc., configured to exchange a control plane message or a user plane message with a UE, a BS, or other core network entities through wireless communication or wired communication. The network interface 1801 may operate using various protocols (e.g., non-access stratum (NAS) protocol). The network interface 1801 may also be referred to, for convenience of description or depending on implementation, as communication circuitry, network interface circuitry, or a communication interface circuitry.
[0325] The processor 1802 may control general operations of the network entity 1800 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 1802 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 1802 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 1803, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 1802 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. Further, it should be noted that, according to another embodiment, in a case where NF is implemented in the form of an instance, the network function may be not necessarily configured by physical hardware.
[0326] According to an embodiment, the processor 1802 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the network interface 1801 to control the network interface 1801.
[0327] The processor 1802 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 1802 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 1802 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the network interface 1801 or the memory 1803.
[0328] The processor 1802 may perform or control or cause an operation of the network entity 1800 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 1802 may control operations of the network entity 1800 for exchanging a control plane message or a user plane message with a UE, a BS, or other core network entities through wireless or wired communication, using various protocols (e.g., NAS protocol). To this end, the processor 1802 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 1803, so as to control other components of the network entity 1800 to enable execution of various operations.
[0329] The memory 1803 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 1803 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.
[0330] The memory 1803 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 1802 and may be accessed by the processor 1802.
[0331] The memory 1803 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1802. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 1802 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 1803, the processor 1802 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0332] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the network entity 1800 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 1803 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.
[0333] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor can be used to implement any method according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0334] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as computer-readable codes embodied on a computer-readable recording medium from a specific perspective. A computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data readable by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable recording media may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, carrier wave (e.g., data transmission via the Internet), etc. Computer-readable recording media can be distributed by computer systems connected via a network, and thus computer-readable codes can be stored and executed in a distributed manner. Furthermore, functional programs, codes and code segments for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure can be easily explained by those skilled in the art to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applied.
[0335] It will be understood that embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The software may be stored as program indications or computer-readable codes executable on a processor on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable recording media include magnetic storage media (such as ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and optical recording media (such as CD-ROM, digital video disk (DVD), etc.). Non-transitory computer-readable recording media may also be distributed on computer systems coupled to a network, so that computer-readable codes are stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium can be read by a computer, stored in a memory, and executed by a processor. Various embodiments may be implemented by a computer or a portable terminal including a controller and a memory, and the memory may be an example of a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium suitable for storing program (s) with indications for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be realized by a program with code for concretely implementing the apparatus and method described in the claims, which is stored in a machine (or computer)-readable storage medium. The program may be electronically carried on any medium, such as a communication signal transmitted via a wired or wireless connection, and the present disclosure suitably includes its equivalents.
[0336] What has been described above is only the specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Anyone who is familiar with this technical field may make various changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, and these changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.
[0337] 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 first node in a wireless communication system, comprising:transmitting first information to a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT), wherein the first information comprises information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node;receiving second information and / or fourth information from the WAB-MT, wherein the second information comprises information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information comprises information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT; andreceiving third information from the WAB-MT, wherein the third information comprises at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.2.The method of claim 1, whereinthe information of the co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT comprises an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.3.The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting sixth information to the WAB-MT, wherein the sixth information comprises at least one of:information enabling the WAB-MT to acquire information of SIB 1 and / or CGIs of neighboring cells;information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that support WAB-MT;information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of cells that do not support WAB-MT; andinformation enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.4.The method of claim 3, wherein the information enabling the WAB-MT to report information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells comprises:information enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a list of WAB cells among neighboring cells; andinformation enabling the WAB-MT to report information of a neighboring cell list, wherein the neighboring cell list includes information on WAB cells.5.The method of claim 1, further comprising:establishing an Xn interface connection with a neighboring node; andreceiving seventh information from the neighboring node, wherein the seventh information comprises at least one of:information on that the neighboring node supports access of a WAB node;information on that the neighboring node is a WAB node; andinformation on that the neighboring node does not support access of a WAB node.6.The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving fifth information from a second node, wherein the fifth information comprises an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a co-located WAB-MT of the second node.7.The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting the fourth information to an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the fourth information is transmitted by the AMF to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT; andreceiving eighth information from the AMF in case that the handover of the WAB-MT fails, wherein the eighth information comprises a first cause value that the target node does not support WAB-MT.8.The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting a handover request message to a target node for handover of the WAB-MT, wherein the handover request message comprises the fourth information.9.The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting the fourth information to an access and mobility management function (AMF); andreceiving a first message from the AMF, wherein the first message comprises a protocol data unit (PDU) session ID for the WAB-MT,wherein in case that the co-located WAB-gNB is in a Not-authorized status, the PDU session ID has a first value.10.The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a second message from an access and mobility management function (AMF), wherein the second message comprises a second cause value and / or a first timer value;transmitting the second cause value and / or the first timer value to the WAB-MT; andreceiving a third message from the WAB-MT, wherein the third message is related to a release acknowledge of a backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT,wherein the second cause value comprises that the WAB-MT is in a Not-authorized status, andwherein the WAB-MT releases the backhaul (BH) protocol data unit (PDU) session of the WAB-MT after expiration of the first timer value.11.The method of claim 1 , further comprising:receiving a measurement report from the WAB-MT, wherein the measurement report does not include measurement results of WAB cells among neighboring cells.12.A method performed by a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT) in a wireless communication system, comprising:receiving first information of a first node from the first node, wherein the first information comprises information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node;transmitting second information and / or fourth information to the first node, wherein the second information comprises information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information comprises information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT;acquiring first information of neighboring cells; andtransmitting third information to the first node, wherein the third information comprises at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.13.The method of claim 12, whereinthe information of the co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT comprises an identifier and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the co-located WAB-gNB.14.A node device 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 node device to:transmit first information to a wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT), wherein the first information comprises information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node;receive second information and / or fourth information from the WAB-MT, wherein the second information comprises information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information comprises information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT; andreceive third information from the WAB-MT, wherein the third information comprises at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.15.A wireless access backhaul-mobile terminal (WAB-MT) 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 first information of a first node from the first node, wherein the first information comprises information on supporting of access of a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node;transmit second information and / or fourth information to the first node, wherein the second information comprises information on that the WAB-MT is a WAB-MT and the fourth information comprises information of a co-located WAB-gNB of the WAB-MT;acquire first information of neighboring cells; andtransmit third information to the first node, wherein the third information comprises at least one of: System Information Block (SIB) 1 and / or Cell Global Identifiers (CGIs) of neighboring cells, information on cells that support WAB-MT, information on cells that do not support WAB-MT, information related to WAB cells among neighboring cells.
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