Method and apparatus for configuring QOE in a wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. The method includes receiving, by a UE (100), a RRC message from a network apparatus. The RRC message includes a srb4-to-addmod in a radio bearer configuration. Further, the method includes determining whether the SRB4 is part of a current UE configuration. Further, the method includes performing one of: configuring a PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 using a ciphering key and an integrity key when the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration, and establishing the PDCP entity for the SRB4 when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONFIGURING QOE IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The disclosure generally relates to the field of wireless communication. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a terminal and a communication method thereof in a wireless communication system.

[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] This disclosure relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly to a terminal and a communication method thereof in a wireless communication system.

[0009] In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method and system for configuring the SRB4 in the NR in the wireless communication network.

[0010] Another object of the embodiments herein is to configure the PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 using a ciphering key and an integrity key when the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration.

[0011] Yet another object of the embodiments herein is to establish the PDCP entity for the SRB4 when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration.

[0012] Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide efficient communication methods in a wireless communication system.

[0013] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0014] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a schematic of a UE implemented to carry out the disclosed subject matter according to anembodimentas disclosed herein.

[0015] Fig. 2 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for configuring the SRB4 in the NR in the wireless communication network according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

[0016] Fig. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for performing a UE RRC handling application layer measurement configuration according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

[0017] Fig. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for performing the UE RRC handling application layer measurement configuration in another scenario according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

[0018] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal or UE 500 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0019] Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a base station (BS) 600 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0020] Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a network entity 700 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

[0022] Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a terminal and a communication method thereof in a wireless communication system.

[0023] In an aspect, the objectives are achieved by providing a method for configuring a SRB4 in a wireless communication network. The method includes receiving a RRC message from a network apparatus. The RRC message comprises a srb4-to-addmod in a radio bearer configuration. Further, the method includes determining whether the SRB4 is part of a current UE configuration. Further, the method includes performing one of: configuring a PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 using a ciphering key and an integrity key when the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration, and establishing the PDCP entity for the SRB4 when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration.

[0024] In another aspect, the objectives are achieved by providing a UE for configuring a SRB4 in a wireless communication network. The UE includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a SRB4 controller communicatively coupled to the processor and the memory. The SRB4 controller receives a RRC message from a network apparatus. The RRC message comprises a srb4-to-addmod in a radio bearer configuration. Further, the SRB4 controller determines whether the SRB4 is part of a current UE configuration. Further, the SRB4 controller performs one of: configures a PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 using a ciphering key and an integrity key when the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration, and establishes the PDCP entity for the SRB4 when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration.

[0025] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications be made within the scope of the embodiments herein.

[0026] Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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).

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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

[0064] 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."

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] Hereinafter, the operational principle of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] Radio network entities such as next generation NodeB (gNB) can configure a user equipment (UE) with radio bearers for signaling and data transfer. Radio bearers are categorized into two groups: data radio bearers (DRB) for user plane data and signaling radio bearers (SRB) for control plane data. Some of the SRBs supported in NR include the following: SRB0 is for radio resource control (RRC) messages using a common control channel (CCCH) logical channel (except SRB0 of L2 U2N Remote UE). It is not configured using dedicated RRC signaling. SRB1 is for RRC messages (which can include a piggybacked non-access stratum (NAS) message)) as well as for NAS messages prior to the establishment of SRB2, all using a dedicated control channel (DCCH) logical channel (except SRB1 of L2 U2N Remote UE). SRB2 is for NAS messages and for RRC messages which include logged measurement information, all using DCCH logical channel (except SRB2 of L2 U2N Remote UE). SRB2 has a lower priority than SRB1 and can be configured by the network after AS security activation. SRB3 is for specific RRC messages when the UE is in (NG) EN-DC or NR-DC, all using DCCH logical channel. SRB4 is for RRC messages which include application layer measurement report information, all using DCCH logical channel. SRB4 has a lower priority than SRB1 and can only be configured by the network after access stratum (AS) security activation.

[0070] Currently, there are two ways by which the SRB4 can be configured. SRB4 can be configured as part of a SRB-ToAddModList or it can be configured by including the SRB-ToAddMod SEQUENCE separately in a RadioBearerConfig. The RadioBearerConfig can be included in RRCReconfigurationComplete or RRCResumeComplete. When the UE performs handover (such as full configuration), the network may not be able to include SRB4 in SRB-ToAddModList as high priority SRBs, such as SRB1 and SRB2, need to be configured. However, SRB4 can be included in SRB4-ToAdd even in these cases.

[0071] Currently, if the UE is configured with SRB4 using SRB4-ToAddMod, the UE does not establish a PDCP entity or apply a PDCP configuration immediately. The UE may establish the PDCP entity or apply PDCP related parameters when the network modifies the SRB4 configuration (which was earlier received using SRB4-ToAddMod) through SRB-ToAddModList. This approach help reducing signaling at the time of handover where the UE may be power limited and unable to receive large signaling. However, this leads to unnecessary delay in transmitting data over SRB4 and this can also lead to potential misalignment between the UE and the network.

[0072] Hence, isdesirableto address the above mentioned problems and disadvantages or at least provide a useful alternative.

[0073] In the prior art, if the UE is configured with SRB4 using SRB4-ToAddMod, then the UE doesn't establish PDCP or apply PDCP configuration immediately. The UE can establish PDCP entity or apply PDCP related parameters when the network modifies the SRB4 configuration using through SRB-ToAddModList. However, this will lead to unnecessary delay in transmitting data over SRB4.

[0074] In general, 3GPP release 18 introduced Lower Layers (L1 / L2 layers) Triggered Mobility, also known as LTM to solve the problem related to latency, signaling overhead etc. associated with layer 3 mobility. As per 3GPP, the goal of LTM is to enable a serving cell change via L1 / L2 signaling, in order to reduce the latency, overhead and interruption time. The network (gNB) may configure the UE with multiple candidate cells to allow fast application of configurations for candidate cells. The UE may be configured with a complete configuration for some LTM candidate cells. The UE also may be configured with LTM reference configuration and LTM candidate cell configuration. The network may further send MAC CE to dynamically switch the UE from a source cell to one of the configured candidate cells. Further, LTM can be triggered based on L1 measurements rather than L3 measurements. Network also may configure the UE to perform LTM upon a MCG failure.

[0075] 3GPP proposes to perform LTM, without reset of lower layers like MAC to avoid data loss and to reduce the additional delay of data recovery wherever it is possible. Version 18.2.0 of TS 38.331, 38.321, 38.306, 37.340, 38.300 are considered as background for the present disclosure. Conventionally, handling of application layer measurement configurations by the UE upon LTM cell switch is not disclosed. Further, handling cases where there are application layer measurement configurations in the UE configuration before the LTM cell switch procedure but not part of the LTM candidate configuration is also not disclosed.

[0076] The proposed solution provide a method and system for configuring the SRB4 in the NR in the wireless communication network. The proposed solution determines whether the SRB4 is part of a current UE configuration. The PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 is configured using a ciphering key and an integrity key when the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration. Else, the PDCP entity is established for the SRB4 when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration. This can be useful when reporting quality of experience (QoE) measurements to the network. QoE reporting helps in enhancing the user experience in wireless networks.

[0077] The proposed solution also discloses a system and method for handling QoE measurements and configurations. The method includes a UE handling application layer measurement configuration upon LTM cell switch. The UE handles a scenario where there are application layer measurement configuration in the UE configuration before the LTM cell switch procedure but not part of the LTM candidate configuration. Further, the methods also addresses the case where all the application measurement configurations are released during LTM cell switch procedure and where there is no application measurement configurations corresponding to RRC_CONNECTED state during LTM cell switch procedure.

[0078] A detailed description of the LTM from 3gpp documents is give below.

[0079] LTM is a procedure in which the gNB receives L1 measurement report(s) from the UE, and on their basis the gNB changes UE's serving cell by a cell switch command signaled via a MAC CE. The cell switch command indicates an LTM candidate cell configuration that the gNB previously prepared and provided to the UE through RRC signaling. Then the UE switches to the target cell according to the cell switch command. The LTM procedure can be used to reduce the mobility latency as described.

[0080] The network may request the UE to perform early TA acquisition of a candidate cell before a cell switch. The network indicates in the cell switch command whether the UE shall access the target cell with a RA procedure if a TA value is not provided or with PUSCH transmission using the indicated TA value. For RACH-less LTM, the UE either monitors PDCCH for dynamic scheduling from the target cell upon LTM cell switch, or the UE selects the configured grant occasion associated with the beam indicated in the cell switch command.

[0081] The following principles apply to LTM: The UE doesn't update its security key in LTM. Subsequent LTM is supported.

[0082] LTM supports both intra-gNB-DU and intra-gNB-CU inter-gNB-DU mobility. LTM also supports inter-frequency mobility, including mobility to inter-frequency cell that is not a current serving cell. The following scenarios are supported:

[0083] - PCell change in non-CA scenario,

[0084] - PCell change in CA scenario,

[0085] - Dual connectivity scenario, at least for the PSCell change without MN involvement case, i.e. intra-SN PSCell change.

[0086] A configuration including flag such as ltm-ConfigComplete is a complete configuration. UE can directly apply it. If the configuration doesn't contain flag such as ltm-ConfigComplete, UE may apply the received LTM candidate configuration using a LTM reference configuration.

[0087] Cell switch command is conveyed in a MAC CE, which contains the necessary information to perform the LTM cell switch.

[0088] 5.3.5.18.6LTM cell switch execution

[0089] Upon the indication by lower layers that an LTM cell switch procedure is triggered, or upon performing LTM cell switch following cell selection performed while timer T311 was running, as specified in 5.3.7.3, the UE shall:

[0090] 1> if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the MCG:

[0091] 2> release / clear all current dedicated and common radio configurations which have not been received either via SRB1 within mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup, or via SRB3 except for the following:

[0092] - The radio bearer configuration (configured via RadioBearerConfig)

[0093] - The logicalChannelIdentity and logicalChannelIdentityExt of RLC bearers configured in RLC-BearerConfig and the associated RLC entities, their state variables, buffers, and timers;

[0094] - The UE variables VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID and VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID;

[0095] - The ltm-Config;

[0096] - The MCG C-RNTI;

[0097] - The AS security configurations associated with the master key;

[0098] 1> else, if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the SCG:

[0099] 2> release / clear all current dedicated and common radio configurations which have been received either via SRB1 within mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup, or via SRB3 except for the following:

[0100] - The radio bearer configuration (configured via RadioBearerConfig IE)

[0101] - The logicalChannelIdentity and logicalChannelIdentityExt of RLC bearers configured in RLC-BearerConfig and the associated RLC entities, their state variables, buffers, and timers;

[0102] - The UE variables VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID and VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID;

[0103] - The ltm-Config;

[0104] - The AS security configurations associated with the secondary key;

[0105] 1> for each SRB / DRB in the current UE configuration:

[0106] 2> if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the MCG and the SRB / DRB using the master key; or

[0107] 2> if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the SCG and the SRB / DRB using the secondary key:

[0108] 3> keep the associated PDCP and SDAP entities, their state variables, buffers and timers;

[0109] 3> release all fields related to the SRB / DRB configuration except for srb-Identity and drb-Identity;

[0110] 1> apply the default L1 parameter values as specified in corresponding physical layer specifications except for the parameters for which values are provided in SIB1;

[0111] 1> use the default values specified in 9.2.3 for timers T310, T311 and constants N310, N311 associated with the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered;

[0112] 1> apply the default MAC Cell Group configuration as specified in 9.2.2 for the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered;

[0113] <Various other steps for LTM cell switch>

[0114] QoE Measurement Collection Activation and Reporting:

[0115] QoE measurement collection is activated in the gNB either by direct configuration from the OAM system (management-based activation), or by signaling from the OAM via the 5GC (signaling-based activation), containing UE-associated QoE configuration. One or more QoE measurement collection configurations can be activated at a UE per service type, and each QoE measurement configuration is uniquely identified by a QoE reference.

[0116] For signaling-based QoE measurements, the OAM initiates the QMC activation for a specific UE via the 5GC, and the gNB receives one or more QoE measurement configurations by means of UE-associated signaling. The QoE measurement configuration for signaling-based QMC activation includes an application layer measurement configuration list and the corresponding information for QoE measurement collection, e.g., QoE reference, service type, MCE IP address, slice scope, area scope, MDT alignment information, the indication of available RAN visible QoE metrics and assistance information.

[0117] For management-based QMC activation, the OAM sends one or more QoE measurement configurations directly to the gNB. The QoE measurement configuration for management-based QMC activation also includes an application layer measurement configuration list and the corresponding information for QoE measurement collection. The gNB selects UE(s) that have the required QoE measurement capability, and the measurement collection criteria related to area scope and slice scope.

[0118] An application layer measurement configuration received by the gNB from the OAM or from the 5GC is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to a UE as measConfigAppLayerContainer in the RRCReconfiguration message (there can be multiple configurations in the same message). Application layer measurement reports received from UE's application layer are encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in the MeasurementReportAppLayer message, as specified in TS 38.331.The UE can send multiple application layer measurement reports to the gNB in one MeasurementReportAppLayer message. In order to allow the transmission of application layer measurement reports which exceed the maximum PDCP SDU size, segmentation of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message may be enabled by the gNB. A measurement configuration application layer ID conveyed in the RRC signaling is used to identify the application layer measurement configuration and report between the gNB and the UE. The measurement configuration application layer ID is mapped to the QoE reference in the gNB, and the gNB forwards the application layer measurement report to MCE together with the QoE reference. The gNB can release one or multiple application layer measurement configurations from the UE in one RRCReconfiguration message at any time. The UE may additionally be configured by the gNB to indicate to the gNB when a QoE measurement session starts or stops for a certain application layer measurement configuration. The gNB may include application layer measurement configuration in LTM candidate cell configuration and LTM reference configuration.

[0119] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a schematic of the UE (100) implemented to carry out the disclosed subject matter according to anembodimentas disclosed herein. Examples of the UE (100) can include, but are not limited to, Consumer Electronics (such as Mobile Phones and Smartphones), Tablets, Wearable Devices, Computing Devices (such as Laptops, Notebooks, Desktops, Workstations, etc.), IoT Devices, Automotive Systems (such as connected cars, Autonomous Vehicles, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication devices, etc.), Enterprise Devices such as robotics, Specialized Equipment (such as Medical Devices, Public Safety Devices, etc.), Media Devices (such as Gaming Consoles, Streaming Devices, etc.).

[0120] In an embodiment, in Fig. 1, the UE (100) includes a processor (102), a memory (104), an I / O interface (106), and a SRB4 controller (108) coupled to the processor (102) and the memory (104). The components are explained in further detail below.

[0121] The processor (102) communicates with the memory (104), the I / O interface (106), and the SRB4 controller (108). The processor (102) is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory (104) and to perform various processes. The processor (102) includes one or a plurality of processors, is a general-purpose processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-onlyprocessing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU), and / or an Artificial Intelligence (AI) dedicated processor such as a neural processing unit (NPU).

[0122] The memory (104) includes storage locations to be addressable through the processor (102). The memory (104) stores a current UE configuration, a ciphering key, and an integrity key. The memory (104) is not limited to a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Further, the memory (104) includes a plurality of computer-readable storage media. The memory (104) includes non-volatile storage elements. For example, non-volatile storage elements includes magnetic hard disks, optical disks, floppy disks, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories.

[0123] The I / O interface (106) transmits the information between the memory (104) and external peripheral devices. The peripheral devices are the input-output devices associated with the UE (100). Further, the SRB4 controller (108) communicates with the I / O interface (106) and the memory (104). The SRB4 controller (108) is coupled to the memory (104) and the processor (102). This coupling allows for efficient data transfer and communication between the components, ensuring that the SRB4 controller (108) can configure the SRB4 in a wireless communication network.

[0124] The SRB4 controller (108) is an innovative integrated circuit that is implemented in the UE (100). In an embodiment, the structure of such innovative integrated circuit include a multi-core architecture that enables configuring the SRB4 in a wireless communication network. Each core is optimized for specific tasks, such as determining whether the SRB4 is part of a UE configuration, configuring the PDCP entity associated with the when the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration, establishing the PDCP entity when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration, and the like. The innovative integrated circuit for the above-mentioned points is made of a combination of analog and digital components designed to enable configuring the SRB4 in a wireless communication network. The analog components include a low-noise amplifier and a high-precision analog-to-digital converter to ensure accurate signal processing. The digital components consist of a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a digital signal processor (DSP) that work in tandem to enable configuring the SRB4 in a wireless communication network.

[0125] In an embodiment, the SRB4 controller (108) receives a RRC message from a network apparatus. The network apparatus includes various hardware and software components that facilitate communication between user equipment and network infrastructure. Examples of the network apparatus can include, but is not limited to Base Stations (such as macro cells, small cells, femtocells, Pico cells) for wireless communication, Antennas and RF Units (e.g., MIMO, beamforming) to enhance signal coverage and data throughput, Core Network Equipment (e.g., MMEs, S-GWs, P-GWs in 4G; AMFs, UPFs in 5G) for data routing, mobility, and session control, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) for dynamic resource allocation and scalability, Edge Computing Nodes (e.g., MEC servers) for low-latency processing,　 Backhaul and Transport Equipment (e.g., fiber-optic links, microwave relays, Ethernet switches) to connect base stations to the core network, Network Management Systems (NMS) and Operation Support Systems (OSS) for network configuration, fault management, and optimization, Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) in 3G, Distributed Units (DUs), and Centralized Units (CUs) in 5G, Network Slicing Components for virtualized resource allocation, Security elements (e.g., Firewalls, IDS, AAA Servers) for secure communication.

[0126] The RRC message includes a srb4-to-addmod (or an equivalent configuration with a single sequence for configuring SRB4) in a radio bearer configuration. SRB4 refers to a signaling radio bearer used to QoE measurements between the UE (100) and the network.The srb4-to-addmod is a structure (IE - information element) in the RRC configuration messages used to either add a new SRB4 or modify an existing SRB4.

[0127] In an embodiment, the SRB4 controller (108) determines whether the SRB4 is part of a current UE configuration. If the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration, then PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 is configured using a ciphering key and an integrity key. Else, the PDCP entity for the SRB4 is established when the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration. The PDCP entity refers to a protocol instance for bearer handling data transfer between radio layer control (RLC) and upper layers of a protocol stack of the UE (100).

[0128] Fig. 2 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for configuring the SRB4 in the NR in the wireless communication network according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. The method includes steps (202-214). Each step is explained in further detail below.

[0129] At step (202), the UE (100) receives a radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod. The UE (100) performs SRB addition or modification including PDCP establishment and the security configuration (as depicted in Fig. 1).

[0130] At step (204), the UE (100) determines whether the SRB4 is part of a current UE configuration. The current UE configuration refers to a set of parameters, protocols, and resources that define how the UE (100) is operating within the wireless communication network at a given time.

[0131] At step (206), consider that the DAPS bearer has been configured. Upon receiving radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod, the UE (100) establishes a PDCP entity for the target cell group with the same configuration as the PDCP entity for the source cell group. Further, when receiving radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod and if the masterKeyUpdate (parameter which updates the security key for the master node) is received, the UE (100) configures the PDCP entity with the security algorithms according to security configuration (securityConfig) and applies the keys (KRRCenc and KRRCint) associated with the master key (KgNB), otherwise the UE (100) configures the PDCP entity for the target cell group with state variables continuation (as specified in TS 38.323), and with the same security configuration as the PDCP entity for the source cell group.

[0132] In an embodiment, consider that the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration. Upon receiving radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod, and the UE (100) receives a configuration to re-establish PDCP (such as the reestablishPDCP is set), the UE (100) configures the UE (100) to apply ciphering and integrity keys. The UE (100) further sends all the new messages using the newly applied keys.

[0133] At step (208), consider that the SRB4 is not part of the current UE configuration. Upon receiving radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod, the UE (100) establishes a PDCP entity and configures the PDCP entity with the security algorithms according to security configuration (such as securityConfig in NR) and applies the keys (such as KRRCenc and KRRCint in NR) associated with the master key (such as KeNB / KgNB in NR) or the secondary key (such as S-KgNB) as indicated in keyToUse or similar parameters.

[0134] At step (210), consider that the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration. Upon receiving radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod, and if the UE (100) receives a configuration to discard PDCP SDUs (such as the discardonPDCP is set), the UE (100) discards PDCP SDUs on SRB4.

[0135] At step (212), consider that the SRB4 is part of the current UE configuration. Upon receiving the radio bearer configuration containing srb4-ToAddMod, and the UE (100) receives a pdcp-config, the UE (100) reconfigures the PDCP in accordance with the received PDCP configuration.

[0136] At step (214), the UE (100) configures the PDCP entity associated with the SRB4 using the ciphering key and the integrity key. The ciphering key and the integrity key are associated with a master key and a secondary key as indicated in a key-to-use provided in the RRC message if an access stratum (AS) security has been activated.

[0137] The embodiments allow a one shot configuration of SRB4 and thus reduces the delay in reporting the QoE measurements to the network.

[0138] In embodiment herein, according to TS 38.331,

[0139] 5.3.5.6　　　　　　　　　　　 Radio Bearer configuration

[0140] 5.3.5.6.1　　　　　　　　　　　　　 General

[0141] The UE (100) shall perform the following actions based on a receivedRadioBearerConfigIE:

[0142] 1> if theRadioBearerConfigincludes thesrb3-ToRelease,srb4-ToReleaseorsrb5-ToRelease:

[0143] 2> perform the SRB release as specified in 5.3.5.6.2;

[0144] 1> if theRadioBearerConfigincludes thesrb-ToAddModListor srb4-ToAddMod or ifany DAPS beareris configured:

[0145] 2> perform the SRB addition or reconfiguration as specified in 5.3.5.6.3;

[0146] 5.3.5.6.3　　　　　　　　　　　　　 SRB addition / modification

[0147] The UE (100) shall:

[0148] 1> If any DAPS bearer is configured, for each SRB:

[0149] 2> establish a PDCP entity for the target cell group as specified in TS 38.323 [5], with the same configuration as the PDCP entity for the source cell group;

[0150] 2> if themasterKeyUpdateis received:

[0151] 3> configure the PDCP entity with the security algorithms according to securityConfig and apply the keys (KRRCencand KRRCint) associated with the master key (KgNB);

[0152] 2> else:

[0153] 3> configure the PDCP entity for the target cell group with state variables continuation as specified in TS 38.323 [5], and with the same security configuration as the PDCP entity for the source cell group;

[0154] 1> for eachsrb-Identityvalue included in thesrb-ToAddModListor srb4-ToAddMod that is not part of the current UE configuration (SRB establishment or reconfiguration from E-UTRA PDCP to NR PDCP):

[0155] 2> establish a PDCP entity;

[0156] 2> if AS security has been activated:

[0157] 3> if target RAT of handover is E-UTRA / 5GC; or

[0158] 3> if the UE (100) is connected to E-UTRA / 5GC:

[0159] 4> if the UE (100) is capable of E-UTRA / 5GC, but not capable of NGEN-DC:

[0160] 5> configure the PDCP entity with the security algorithms and keys (KRRCencand KRRCint) configured / derived as specified in TS 36.331

[0010] ;

[0161] 4> else (i.e., the UE (100) is capable of NGEN-DC):

[0162] 5> configure the PDCP entity with the security algorithms according tosecurityConfigand apply the keys (KRRCencand KRRCint) associated with the master key (KeNB) or secondary key (S-KgNB) as indicated inkeyToUse, if applicable;

[0163] 3> else (i.e., The UE (100) is connected to NR or the UE (100) connected to E-UTRA / EPC):

[0164] 4> configure the PDCP entity with the security algorithms according tosecurityConfigand apply the keys (KRRCencand KRRCint) associated with the master key (KeNB / KgNB) or secondary key (S-KgNB) as indicated inkeyToUse, if applicable;

[0165] 2> if the current UE configuration as configured by E-UTRA in TS 36.331

[0010] includes an SRB identified with the samesrb-Identityvalue:

[0166] 3> associate the E-UTRA RLC entity and DCCH of this SRB with the NR PDCP entity;

[0167] 3> release the E-UTRA PDCP entity of this SRB;

[0168] 2> if thepdcp-Configis included:

[0169] 3> configure the PDCP entity in accordance with the receivedpdcp-Config;

[0170] 2> else:

[0171] 3> configure the PDCP entity in accordance with the default configuration defined in 9.2.1 for the corresponding SRB;

[0172] 1> if any DAPS bearer is configured, for eachsrb-Identityvalue included in thesrb-ToAddModListor srb4-ToAddMod that is part of the current UE configuration:

[0173] 2> if thepdcp-Configis included:

[0174] 3> reconfigure the PDCP entity for the target cell group in accordance with the receivedpdcp-Config;

[0175] 1> else, for eachsrb-Identityvalue included in thesrb-ToAddModListor srb4-ToAddMod that is part of the current UE configuration:

[0176] 2> if thereestablishPDCPis set:

[0177] 3> if target RAT of handover is E-UTRA / 5GC; or

[0178] 3> if the UE (100) is connected to E-UTRA / 5GC:

[0179] 4> if the UE (100) is capable of E-UTRA / 5GC, but not capable of NGEN-DC:

[0180] 5> configure the PDCP entity to apply the integrity protection algorithm and KRRCintkey configured / derived as specified in TS 36.331

[0010] , i.e. the integrity protection configuration shall be applied to all subsequent messages received and sent by the UE (100), including the message used to indicate the successful completion of the procedure;

[0181] 5> configure the PDCP entity to apply the ciphering algorithm and KRRCenckey configured / derived as specified in TS 36.331

[0010] , i.e. the ciphering configuration shall be applied to all subsequent messages received and sent by the UE (100), including the message used to indicate the successful completion of the procedure;

[0182] 4> else (i.e., the UE (100) capable of NGEN-DC):

[0183] 5> configure the PDCP entity to apply the integrity protection algorithm and KRRCintkey associated with the master key (KeNB) or secondary key (S-KgNB), as indicated inkeyToUse, i.e. the integrity protection configuration shall be applied to all subsequent messages received and sent by the UE (100), including the message used to indicate the successful completion of the procedure;

[0184] 5> configure the PDCP entity to apply the ciphering algorithm and KRRCenckey associated with the master key (KeNB) or secondary key (S-KgNB) as indicated inkeyToUse, i.e. the ciphering configuration shall be applied to all subsequent messages received and sent by the UE (100), including the message used to indicate the successful completion of the procedure;

[0185] 3> else (i.e., The UE (100) connected to NR or UE in EN-DC):

[0186] 4> configure the PDCP entity to apply the integrity protection algorithm and KRRCintkey associated with the master key (KeNB / KgNB) or secondary key (S-KgNB), as indicated inkeyToUse, i.e. the integrity protection configuration shall be applied to all subsequent messages received and sent by the UE (100), including the message used to indicate the successful completion of the procedure;

[0187] 4> configure the PDCP entity to apply the ciphering algorithm and KRRCenckey associated with the master key (KeNB / KgNB) or secondary key (S-KgNB) as indicated inkeyToUse, i.e. the ciphering configuration shall be applied to all subsequent messages received and sent by the UE (100), including the message used to indicate the successful completion of the procedure;

[0188] 3> re-establish the PDCP entity of this SRB as specified in TS 38.323 [5];

[0189] 2> else, if thediscardOnPDCPis set:

[0190] 3> trigger the PDCP entity to perform SDU discard as specified in TS 38.323 [5];

[0191] 2> if thepdcp-Configis included:

[0192] 3> reconfigure the PDCP entity in accordance with the receivedpdcp-Config.

[0193] In an embodiment, while configuring radio bearer including SRB4, the network node configures a security configuration including keyToUse as a masterKey. The Network node does not configure security configuration with keyToUse as the secondaryKey.

[0194] SecurityConfigfield descriptions:

[0195] In an embodiment,keyToUseindicates if the bearers configured with the list in this IERadioBearerConfigare using the master key or the secondary key for deriving ciphering and / or integrity protection keys. For MR-DC, network should not configure SRB1, SRB2 and SRB4 with secondary key and SRB3 with the master key. When the field is not included, the UE (100) shall continue to use the currently configuredkeyToUsefor the radio bearers reconfigured with the lists in this IERadioBearerConfig.

[0196] Fig. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for performing a UE RRC handling application layer measurement configuration according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. The method includes steps (302-308). Each step is explained in further detail below.

[0197] At step (302), the UE (100) receives an application layer measurement configuration. At step (304), the UE (100) receives an LTM configuration that includes candidate configurations. The LTM configuration received can also optionally include reference configurations. At step (306), the UE (100) initiates the LTM cell switch execution.

[0198] In an embodiment, upon LTM cell switch execution, if there is no measConfigAppLayerId included in the RRCReconfiguration which is applied during the LTM cell switch execution, then at step (308), the UE (100) performs one or more of the following steps:

[0199] ▷ UE RRC informs upper layers about the release of all application layer measurement configurations.

[0200] ▷ UE RRC releases all application layer measurement configurations including their fields in the UE variables VarAppLayerIdleConfig and VarAppLayerPLMN-ListConfig, if stored;

[0201] ▷ UE RRC discards any received application layer measurement reports from upper layers;

[0202] ▷ UE RRC considers itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports;

[0203] In an embodiment, the UE (100) applies RRC Reconfiguration message either based on a complete RRCReconfiguration message in LTM candidate configuration or based on a reference configuration and a non-complete RRCReconfiguration message in LTM candidate configuration.

[0204] Fig. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for performing the UE RRC handling application layer measurement configuration in another scenario according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. The method includes steps (402-408). Each step is explained in further detail below.

[0205] At step (402), the UE (100) receives an application layer measurement configuration. At step (404), the UE (100) receives an LTM configuration that includes candidate configurations. The LTM configuration received can also optionally include reference configurations. At step (406), the UE (100) initiates the LTM cell switch execution.

[0206] In an embodiment, upon LTM cell switch execution, if there is no measConfigAppLayerId corresponding to the RRC_CONNECTED mode measurements included in the RRCReconfiguration which is applied during the LTM cell switch execution, then at step (408), the UE (100) performs one or more of the following steps:

[0207] UE RRC informs upper layers about the release of all application layer measurement configurations.

[0208] The UE (100) releases all application layer measurement configurations including their fields in the UE variables VarAppLayerIdleConfig and VarAppLayerPLMN-ListConfig, if stored;

[0209] The UE (100) discards any received application layer measurement reports from upper layers;

[0210] The UE (100) considers itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports;

[0211] In an embodiment, upon LTM cell switch execution, if all the measConfigAppLayerId included in the RRCReconfiguration which is applied during the LTM cell switch execution are within appLayerIdleInactiveConfig (or any configuration of idle inactive application measurement configuration), the UE (100) performs one or more of the following steps:

[0212] UE RRC informs upper layers about the release of all application layer measurement configurations.

[0213] The UE (100) releases all application layer measurement configurations including their fields in the UE variables VarAppLayerIdleConfig and VarAppLayerPLMN-ListConfig, if stored;

[0214] The UE (100) discards any received application layer measurement reports from upper layers;

[0215] The UE (100) considers itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports;

[0216] In an embodiment, upon LTM cell switch execution, for any application layer measurement configuration, which is part of the UE configuration before of this LTM cell switch procedure but not part of the LTM candidate configuration either indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3, or the LTM reference configuration (in case the LTM candidate configuration does not include ltm-ConfigComplete), the UE (100) performs one or more of the following steps:

[0217] UE RRC forwards the measConfigAppLayerId and inform upper layers about the release of the application layer measurement configuration including any RAN visible application layer measurement configuration;

[0218] The UE (100) discards any application layer measurement reports received from upper layers;

[0219] The UE (100) releases the application layer measurement configuration including its fields in the UE variables VarAppLayerIdleConfig and VarAppLayerPLMN-ListConfig, if stored;

[0220] The UE (100) considers itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports for the measConfigAppLayerId.

[0221] In an embodiment, according to TS 38.331:

[0222] 5.3.5.18.6LTM cell switch execution

[0223] Upon the indication by lower layers that an LTM cell switch procedure is triggered, or upon performing LTM cell switch following cell selection performed while timer T311 was running, as specified in 5.3.7.3, the UE (100) shall:

[0224] 1> if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the MCG:

[0225] 2> release / clear all current dedicated and common radio configurations which have not been received either via SRB1 within mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup, or via SRB3 except for the following:

[0226] - The radio bearer configuration (configured via RadioBearerConfig)

[0227] - the logicalChannelIdentity and logicalChannelIdentityExt of RLC bearers configured in RLC-BearerConfig and the associated RLC entities, their state variables, buffers, and timers, except for the variable RETX_COUNT which is reset to its initial value;

[0228] - the bh-LogicalChannelIdentity of BH RLC channels configured in BH-RLC-ChannelConfig and the associated RLC entities, their state variables, buffers, and timers, except for the variable RETX_COUNT which is reset to its initial value;

[0229] - The UE variables VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID and VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID;

[0230] - The ltm-Config;

[0231] - The MCG C-RNTI;

[0232] - The AS security configurations associated with the master key;

[0233] 1> else, if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the SCG:

[0234] 2> release / clear all current dedicated and common radio configurations which have been received either via SRB1 within mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup, or via SRB3 except for the following:

[0235] - The radio bearer configuration (configured via RadioBearerConfig IE)

[0236] - the logicalChannelIdentity and logicalChannelIdentityExt of RLC bearers configured in RLC-BearerConfig and the associated RLC entities, their state variables, buffers, and timers, except for the variable RETX_COUNT which is reset to its initial value;

[0237] - the bh-LogicalChannelIdentity of BH RLC channels configured in BH-RLC-ChannelConfig and the associated RLC entities, their state variables, buffers, and timers, except for the variable RETX_COUNT which is reset to its initial value;

[0238] - The UE variables VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID and VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID;

[0239] - The ltm-Config;

[0240] - The AS security configurations associated with the secondary key;

[0241] 1> for each SRB / DRB in the current UE configuration:

[0242] 2> if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the MCG and the SRB / DRB using the master key; or

[0243] 2> if the LTM cell switch is triggered on the SCG and the SRB / DRB using the secondary key:

[0244] 3> keep the associated PDCP and SDAP entities, their state variables, buffers and timers;

[0245] 3> release all fields related to the SRB / DRB configuration except for srb-Identity and drb-Identity;

[0246] 1> apply the default L1 parameter values as specified in corresponding physical layer specifications except for the parameters for which values are provided in SIB1;

[0247] 1> use the default values specified in 9.2.3 for timers T310, T311 and constants N310, N311 associated with the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered;

[0248] 1> apply the default MAC Cell Group configuration as specified in 9.2.2 for the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered;

[0249] 1> for each srb-Identity in the current UE configuration:

[0250] 2> apply the default SRB configuration defined in 9.2.1 for the corresponding SRB;

[0251] 1> if the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3 does not contain the field ltm-NoResetID and if the UE (100) does not have any value stored of ltm-ServingCellNoResetID within VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID; or

[0252] 1> if the value of field ltm-NoResetID contained within the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3 is not equal to the value of ltm-ServingCellNoResetID within VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID:

[0253] 2> for each logicalChannelId and logicalChannelIdExt that is part of the current UE configuration for the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered:

[0254] 3> if servedRadioBearer is set to drb-Identity:

[0255] 4> after the end of this procedure, re-establish the corresponding RLC entity as specified in TS 38.322 [4], after applying the LTM configuration in ltm-CandidateConfig within the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config;

[0256] 2> for each bh-LogicalChannelIdentity that is part of the current UE configuration for the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered:

[0257] 3> after the end of this procedure, re-establish the corresponding RLC entity as specified in TS 38.322 [4], after applying the LTM configuration in ltm-CandidateConfig within the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config;

[0258] 2> for each drb-Identity value that is part of the current UE configuration:

[0259] 3> if this DRB is an AM DRB:

[0260] 4> after the end of this procedure, trigger the PDCP entity of this DRB to perform data recovery as specified in TS 38.323 [5], after applying the LTM configuration in ltm-CandidateConfig within LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config;

[0261] 2> replace the value of ltm-ServingCellNoResetID in VarLTM-ServingCellNoResetID with the value of ltm-NoResetID in the LTM-Candidate in ltm-Config indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3;

[0262] 1> if the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3 contains the field ltm-UE-MeasuredTA-ID:

[0263] 2> if the value of ltm-UE-MeasuredTA-ID is not equal to the value of ltm-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID within VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID:

[0264] 3> replace the value of ltm-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID in VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID with the value received within ltm-UE-MeasuredTA-ID;

[0265] 3> for each LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config:

[0266] 4> if the value of ltm-UE-MeasuredTA-ID within LTM-Candidate IE is equal to the value of ltm-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID within VarLTM-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID:

[0267] 5> inform lower layers that the UE (100) is configured with UE-based TA measurements for the LTM-Candidate;

[0268] 4> else:

[0269] 5> inform lower layers that the UE (100) is not configured with UE-based TA measurements for the LTM-Candidate;

[0270] 1> else if the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3 does not contain the field ltm-UE-MeasuredTA-ID:

[0271] 2> inform lower layers that the UE (100) is not configured with UE-based TA measurements for the LTM-Candidate.

[0272] 1> if ltm-ConfigComplete is not included within the LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3:

[0273] 2> consider ltm-ReferenceConfiguration in ltm-Config, associated with the cell group for which the LTM cell switch procedure is triggered, to be the current UE configuration for the fields and configurations to be released by the actions above in this procedure;

[0274] 2> if measConfig is included within ltm-ReferenceConfiguration in ltm-Config;

[0275] 3> perform the measurement configuration procedure as specified in clause 5.5.2 by considering the measConfig within ltm-ReferenceConfiguration in ltm-Config as the received measConfig:

[0276] NOTE 1: When the UE (100) considers the reference configuration to be the current UE configuration, the UE (100) should store fields and configurations that are part of the reference configuration but should not execute any actions or procedures triggered by the reception of an RRCReconfiguration message which are described in clause 5.3.5.3, unless specified otherwise in this section.

[0277] 1> if the LTM cell switch is triggered by an indication from lower layers:

[0278] 2> apply the RRCReconfiguration message in ltm-CandidateConfig within LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config identified by the LTM candidate configuration identity received from lower layers according to clause 5.3.5.3;

[0279] 1> else (LTM cell switch triggered upon cell selection performed while timer T311 was running):

[0280] 2> apply the RRCReconfiguration message in ltm-CandidateConfig within LTM-Candidate IE in ltm-Config related to the LTM candidate configuration identity for the selected cell (i.e., in accordance with 5.3.7.3) according to clause 5.3.5.3;

[0281] 1> release the radio bearer(s) and the logical channel(s) that were part of the UE configuration before of this LTM cell switch procedure but not part of the LTM candidate configuration either indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3, or the LTM reference configuration (in case the LTM candidate configuration does not include ltm-ConfigComplete).

[0282] 1> if no measConfigAppLayerId is included in the applied RRCReconfiguration:

[0283] 2> inform upper layers about the release of all application layer measurement configurations;

[0284] 2> release all application layer measurement configurations including their fields in the UE variables VarAppLayerIdleConfig and VarAppLayerPLMN-ListConfig, if stored;

[0285] 2> discard any received application layer measurement reports from upper layers;

[0286] 2> consider itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports;

[0287] 1>for each application layer measurement configuration that was part of the UE configuration before of this LTM cell switch procedure but not part of the LTM candidate configuration either indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3, or the LTM reference configuration (in case the LTM candidate configuration does not include ltm-ConfigComplete).

[0288] 2> forward the measConfigAppLayerId and inform upper layers about the release of the application layer measurement configuration;

[0289] 2> release the application layer measurement configuration;

[0290] 2> discard any application layer measurement reports which were not yet fully submitted to lower layers for transmission;

[0291] 2> consider itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports for the measConfigAppLayerId;

[0292] NOTE 2: When ltm-ConfigComplete is not included for an LTM candidate configuration, before an LTM cell switch is triggered a UE implementation may generate and store an RRCReconfiguration message by applying the received LTM candidate configuration on top of the LTM reference configuration, and the stored RRCReconfiguration message is applied when the LTM cell switch is triggered. It is up to the UE (100) to ensure that the RRC reconfiguration applied at the time of LTM cell switch is in accordance with the latest LTM reference configuration and LTM candidate configuration. This ensures that upon LTM cell switch to a cell which does not support QoE measurements, the UE context at RRC,NAS are cleared properly. This also ensures that the memory (104) of the UE (100) for QoE measurements is released properly when the new primary serving cell does not support QoE measurements. The memory (104) can be used for other features leading to better performance. The above embodiments also allows subsequent LTM. If there are three cells, Cell1 which supports measurement1 and measurement2; Cell2 which supports measurement 2 and measurement 3; Cell3 which supports measurement1. The network can configure the UE (100) with only its own configuration in the LTM candidate configuration.

[0293] In an embodiment, upon LTM cell switch execution, for any application layer measurement configuration, which is part of the UE configuration for a specific cell group before of this LTM cell switch procedure but not part of the LTM candidate configuration either indicated by lower layers or for the selected cell in accordance with 5.3.7.3, or the LTM reference configuration (in case the LTM candidate configuration does not include ltm-ConfigComplete) for that cell group, the UE (100) performs one or more of the following steps:

[0294] UE RRC forwards the measConfigAppLayerId and inform upper layers about the release of the application layer measurement configuration including any RAN visible application layer measurement configuration;

[0295] The UE (100) discards any application layer measurement reports received from upper layers;

[0296] The UE (100) releases the application layer measurement configuration including its fields in the UE variables VarAppLayerIdleConfig and VarAppLayerPLMN-ListConfig, if stored;

[0297] The UE (100) considers itself not to be configured to send application layer measurement reports for the measConfigAppLayerId. In an embodiment, the cell group in the above embodiment can be MCG or SCG, for e.g. as in TS 37.340.

[0298] In an embodiment, the network node such as gNB releases the application layer measurement configurations which are configured in any of the LTM candidate cells by including a release list in all the LTM candidate configurations which are complete configurations or in either the LTM reference configuration or LTM candidate configurations which are not complete configurations. In an embodiment, the gNB may include a release list including the identifiers for all the application layer measurement configurations (all possible values of measConfigAppLayerId) in all the LTM candidate configurations which are complete configurations or in either the LTM reference configuration or LTM candidate configurations which are not complete configurations. This simplifies the gNB and UE specification and their implementation and ensures that UE (100) can handle the QoE measurement configuration during LTM cell switch without complex cross layer interaction.

[0299] The UE (100) which receives a configuration to release an application layer measurement configuration accepts the RRC message even if there is no application layer measurement configuration corresponds to that application layer measurement identifier and sends the complete message for that RRC message. The UE (100) doesn't consider it as an error when it receives a release list including an identifier such as measConfigAppLayerId which is not configured. Normally the release of any configuration that is not present in the UE configuration leads to a RRC Reestablishment procedure, thereby ensuring that the UE (100) and network are synchronized with respect to the parameters. However, for QoE measurement configuration and LTM, this leads to constraints in the network deployment since all the cells need to support both LTM and QoE, if at least one neighbor cell supports both of these features together.

[0300] In an embodiment, if the UE (100) identifies that any measConfigAppLayerId which was present in previous configuration is not present in the RRCReconfiguration to be applied during LTM cell switch, the UE (100) performs the steps as though it has received an explicit release for that application layer measurement configuration.

[0301] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal or UE 500 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0302] 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.

[0303] Referring to Fig. 5, the UE 500 may include at least one transceiver (hereinafter, referred to as simply “transceiver”) 501, at least one processor (hereinafter, referred to as simply “processor”) 502, and at least one memory (hereinafter, referred to as simply “memory”) 503. According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transceiver 501, the processor 502, and the memory 503 of the UE 500 may operate. However, components of the UE 500 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in Fig. 5. In another embodiment, the UE 500 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 501, the processor 502, or the memory 503 may be integrated in the form of one component.

[0304] The transceiver 501 may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the UE 500 to perform wireless communication with a node or an entity of a network. For example, the transceiver 501 may enable the UE 500 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 501 may support at least one of various cellular communication technologies including 3rd generation (3G), 4th generation (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G) NR, 6th generation (6G), and various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (501) may include all subsequent generations of evolved wireless communications.

[0305] According to an embodiment, the UE 500 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 500 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 500 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 500 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).

[0306] According to an embodiment, the transceiver 501 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 501 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 501 may output a signal received through a wireless channel to the processor 502 and may transmit, through a wireless channel, a signal output from the processor 502.

[0307] The processor 502 may control general operations of the UE 500 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 502 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 502 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 503, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 502 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.

[0308] The processor 502 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver 501 to control the transceiver 501.

[0309] The processor 502 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 502 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 502 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 502 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the transceiver 501 or the memory 503.

[0310] The processor 502 may perform or control or cause an operation of the UE 500 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 502 may control operations of the UE 500 for processing a downlink signal received from a BS or generating and transmitting an uplink signal to a BS. To this end, the processor 502 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 503, so as to control other components of the UE 500 to enable execution of various operations.

[0311] The memory 503 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 503 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.

[0312] The memory 503 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 502 and may be accessed by the processor 502.

[0313] The memory 503 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 502. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 502 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 503, the processor 502 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0314] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the UE 500 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 503 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.

[0315] Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a base station (BS) 600 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0316] The BS 600 may perform wireless communication with at least one user equipment (UE) located within the area of the BS 600 through a wireless channel.

[0317] Referring to Fig. 6, the BS 600 may include at least one transceiver (hereinafter, referred to as simply “transceiver”) 601, at least one processor (hereinafter, referred to as simply “processor”) 602, and at least one memory (hereinafter, referred to as simply “memory”) 603. According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the transceiver 601, the processor 602, and the memory 603 of the BS 600 may operate. However, components of the BS 600 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in Fig. 6. In another embodiment, the BS 600 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 601, the processor 602, or the memory 603 may be integrated in the form of one component.

[0318] The transceiver 601 may be a communication circuit or communication circuitry that enables the BS 600 to perform wireless communication with a node or an entity of a network. For example, the transceiver 601 may enable the BS 600 to transmit or receive a signal to or from the UE 500 through cellular communication, or to transmit or receive a signal to or from another network entity through wireless communication. For example, the transceiver 601 may support various cellular communication technologies including 3rd generation (3G), 4th generation (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G) NR, 6th generation (6G), and various cellular wireless communication technologies supported by the transceiver (601) may include all subsequent generations of evolved wireless communications.. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 601 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 601 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 601 may output a signal received through a wireless channel to the processor 602 and may transmit, through a wireless channel, a signal output from the processor 602.

[0319] Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the BS 600 may perform communication with a node or an entity of a network through wired or wireless communication. For example, the BS 600 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. 6, when the BS 600 performs wired communication, the BS 600 may further include a separate network interface for wired communication in addition to the transceiver 601. The network interface may be referred to as network interface circuitry or communication interface circuitry.

[0320] The processor 602 may control general operations of the BS 600 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 602 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 602 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 603, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 602 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.

[0321] The processor 602 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the transceiver 601 to control the transceiver 601.

[0322] The processor 602 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 602 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 602 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the transceiver 601 or the memory 603.

[0323] The processor 602 may perform or control or cause an operation of the BS 600 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 602 may control operations of the BS 600 for generating and transmitting a downlink signal to a UE or processing an uplink signal received from a UE. Otherwise, the BS 600 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 602 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 603, so as to control other components of the BS 600 to enable execution of various operations.

[0324] The memory 603 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 603 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.

[0325] The memory 603 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 602 and may be accessed by the processor 602.

[0326] The memory 603 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 602. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 602 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 603, the processor 602 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0327] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the BS 600 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 603 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.

[0328] 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.

[0329] The structure of the above-described network entity will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0330] Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a network entity 700 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0331] The network entity 700 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 700.

[0332] 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.

[0333] 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).

[0334] Referring to Fig. 7, the network entity 700 may include at least one network interface 701, at least one processor 702 (hereinafter, “processor”), and at least one memory 703 (hereinafter, “memory”). As described above, a NF may be implemented in the form of a physical device such as the network entity 700, 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. 7. In such a case, the instance may be logically represented as comprising one or more logical functional elements.

[0335] According to at least one or a combination of methods corresponding to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the network interface 701, the processor 702, and the memory 703 of the network entity 700 may operate. However, components of the network entity 700 are not limited to the exemplary components illustrated in Fig. 7. In another embodiment, the network entity 700 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 701, the processor 702, or the memory 703 may be integrated in the form of one component.

[0336] The network interface 701 is a collective term for a transmitter part of the network entity 700 and a receiver part of the network entity 700, 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 701 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 701 may operate using various protocols (e.g., non-access stratum (NAS) protocol). The network interface 701 may also be referred to, for convenience of description or depending on implementation, as communication circuitry, network interface circuitry, or a communication interface circuitry.

[0337] The processor 702 may control general operations of the network entity 700 according to embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 702 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuit (or circuitry) (IC) chips and may execute various data processings. The processor 702 may include at least one electric circuit, and may execute instructions (or a program, codes, data, etc.) stored in the memory 703, individually, collectively or in any combination thereof. Further, the processor 702 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.

[0338] According to an embodiment, the processor 702 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the network interface 701 to control the network interface 701.

[0339] The processor 702 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 702 may be included in one chip and the other part of the processor 702 may be included in another chip. Otherwise, at least one processor may be included in another component, for example, the network interface 701 or the memory 703.

[0340] The processor 702 may perform or control or cause an operation of the network entity 700 for executing at least one or a combination of methods according to embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the processor 702 may control operations of the network entity 700 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 702 may execute a computer program, codes, or instructions stored in the memory 703, so as to control other components of the network entity 700 to enable execution of various operations.

[0341] The memory 703 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 703 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.

[0342] The memory 703 may be electrically, operatively, or communicatively coupled to the processor 702 and may be accessed by the processor 702.

[0343] The memory 703 may store a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 702. According to an embodiment, a computer program, codes, or instructions executable by the processor 702 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 703, the processor 702 may perform various functions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0344] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, operations of the network entity 700 may be caused to be performed based on execution of instructions (or a computer program or codes) stored in the memory 703 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.

[0345] Meanwhile, although specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1.A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including configuration information on a radio bearer associated with a signaling radio bearer (SRB); andperforming a SRB addition or a SRB reconfiguration based on the configuration information on the radio bearer,wherein the configuration information on the radio bearer includes information for an addition or a modification of a SRB4.2.The method of claim 1, further comprising:configuring a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4,wherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is not part of information configured to the UE.3.The method of claim 1, further comprising:configuring a PDCP entity for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4, in case that information for a reestablish of the PDCP entity is configured to the UE,wherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is part of information configured to the UE.4.The method of claim 3,wherein a service data unit (SDU) discard is triggered, in case that information for the SDU discard, andwherein the PDCP entity is reconfigured, in case that a PDCP configuration.5.A method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC) message including configuration information on a radio bearer associated with a signaling radio bearer (SRB),wherein a SRB addition or a SRB reconfiguration is based on the configuration information on the radio bearer, andwherein the configuration information on the radio bearer includes information for an addition or a modification of a SRB4.6.The method of claim 5,wherein a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity is configured to the UE for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4, andwherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is not part of information configured to the UE.7.The method of claim 5,wherein configuring a PDCP entity is configured to the UE for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4, in case that information for a reestablish of the PDCP entity is configured to the UE, andwherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is part of information configured to the UE.8.The method of claim 7,wherein a service data unit (SDU) discard is triggered, in case that information for the SDU discard, andwherein the PDCP entity is reconfigured, in case that a PDCP configuration.9.A user equipment (UE) comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the UE to:receive, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including configuration information on a radio bearer associated with a signaling radio bearer (SRB), andperform a SRB addition or a SRB reconfiguration based on the configuration information on the radio bearer,wherein the configuration information on the radio bearer includes information for an addition or a modification of a SRB4.10.The UE of claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to:configure a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4,wherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is not part of information configured to the UE.11.The UE of claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to:configure a PDCP entity for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4, in case that information for a reestablish of the PDCP entity is configured to the UE,wherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is part of information configured to the UE.12.The UE of claim 11,wherein a service data unit (SDU) discard is triggered, in case that information for the SDU discard, andwherein the PDCP entity is reconfigured, in case that a PDCP configuration.13.A base station comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the base station to:transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC) message including configuration information on a radio bearer associated with a signaling radio bearer (SRB),wherein a SRB addition or a SRB reconfiguration is based on the configuration information on the radio bearer, andwherein the configuration information on the radio bearer includes information for an addition or a modification of a SRB4.14.The base station of claim 13,wherein a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity is configured to the UE for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4, andwherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is not part of information configured to the UE.15.The base station of claim 13,wherein configuring a PDCP entity is configured to the UE for each SRB identity value included in the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4, in case that information for a reestablish of the PDCP entity is configured to the UE, andwherein the information for the addition or the modification of the SRB 4 is part of information configured to the UE.

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