User equipment, radio access network node and methods performed therein for fast activation of serving cells

Abstract

Embodiments herein relate to, for example, a method for a UE (410) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a RAN. The UE (410) sends, to a RAN node (420), fast activation information that includes an indication of a fast activation capability of the UE (410) for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node (420). The UE subsequently receives from the RAN node (420) a command to activate the first serving cell. The UE (410) activates the first serving cell in response to the received command; and, after an activation delay corresponding to the indicated fast activation capability of the UE (410), receives from the RAN node (420) scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE (410) in the first serving cell.

Description

[0001] USER EQUIPMENT, RADIO ACCESS NETWORK NODE AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREIN FOR FAST ACTIVATION OF SERVING CELLS

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless networks, and more specifically to techniques related to user equipment (UE) capability for fast activation of serving cells, e.g., secondary cells, provided by a radio access network (RAN) node, which may have been previously deactivated to reduce UE energy consumption and / or due to low UE traffic demand.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Currently the fifth generation (“5G”) of cellular systems - also referred to as New Radio (NR) - is being standardized within the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G / NR is developed for maximum flexibility to support multiple and substantially different use cases. These include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several other use cases. 5G / NR was initially specified in Release (Rel)-15 and continues to evolve through subsequent releases.

[0006] 3 GPP release (Rel)-lO introduced support for channel bandwidths larger than 20 MHz in Fourth-generation (4G) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. To remain compatible with UEs from earlier releases, e.g., LTE Rel-8, a wideband LTE Rel-10 carrier appears as multiple component carriers (CC), each having the same structure as an LTE Rel-8 carrier. A Rel-10 UE may receive the multiple CCs based on Carrier Aggregation (CA). The CCs may also be considered “cells,” such that a UE in CA has one primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells) that are referred to collectively as a “cell group.”

[0007] 3 GPP Rel-12 introduced dual connectivity (DC) for LTE, whereby a UE may be connected to two network nodes simultaneously, thereby improving connection robustness and / or capacity. In LTE DC, these two network nodes are referred to as master eNB (MeNB) and secondary eNB (SeNB), or more generally as master node (MN) and secondary node (SN). In particular, a UE is configured with a Master Cell Group (MCG) provided by the MN and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) provided by the SN. Similar to CA, each cell group includes a PCell and may include one or more SCells. The PCell of the SCG is also referred to as primary SCG cell (PSCell). 5G / NR also supports various DC, or more generally, multi -connectivity, configurations for UEs.

[0008] Most LTE and NR networks are operated in a licensed spectrum. However, it is rare that the licensed spectrum available for any particular network is contiguous. CA is also useful in these scenarios, enabling the network operator to aggregate cells in different parts of the available spectrum to serve a single UE. For example, when a UE moves into coverage of another cell, that other cell may be configured as an SCell for the UE, provided that the UE also maintains its connection via the already-configured PCell. The network may likewise deconfigure a particular cell as an SCell for the UE when the UE moves out of coverage of that particular cell.

[0009] Even so, maintaining a UE connection to an SCell consumes energy and other resources of both the UE and the RAN node, e.g., base station, that provides the SCell. Accordingly, configured SCells may be activated or deactivated by the network sending the UE, e.g., via PCell, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), based on which the UE takes a corresponding action. For example, one or more SCells may be deactivated when it is determined that the UE’s traffic demand is insufficient to justify the associated resource cost, but may be activated again when the UE’s traffic demand increases. The number of configured SCells activated for a UE may be in proportion to the UE’s traffic demand. Nevertheless, SCell activation and deactivation is not immediate due to the MAC signaling and UE processing delay.

[0010] When a UE has an active connection to a 4G / LTE or 5G / NR network, the UE performs measurements and reports the measurements of its serving cells, including PCell, and SCells and / or PSCell as appropriate, and certain neighbor cells that the UE is not connected to. The UE’s MN configures these measurements and reports, which may be periodic or event-driven.

[0011] 3 GPP Rel-15 and Rel-16 also introduced early measurement reporting (EMR) for UEs that do not have an active connection to a 4G / LTE or 5G / NR network. Upon suspending or releasing its connection, a UE may be configured to perform measurements of various cells while in a nonconnected state and report such measurements to the network after resuming or reestablishing its connection.

[0012] SUMMARY

[0013] In general, EMR enables a UE’s serving RAN node to quickly configure CA, e.g., SCells, and / or DC, e.g., PSCell and optionally SCG SCells, after a UE resumes or re-establishes its connection from a non-connected state. Once the SCell or SCells and / or PSCell are configured, they can be quickly activated, providing the UE with resources to meet its traffic demands. Even so, existing SCell activation techniques are defined very generically without consideration of actual UE measurements. This may result in a delay for SCell activation that is unnecessary and undesirable, particularly in situations where a UE frequently switches between connected and nonconnected states due to bursty traffic demands.

[0014] An object of embodiments herein is to improve SCell activation for UEs, such as by providing, enabling, and / or facilitating solutions to overcome exemplary problems summarized above and described in more detail below.

[0015] Embodiments include methods, e.g., procedures, for a UE configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a RAN.

[0016] According to embodiments herein the UE sends, to a RAN node, fast activation information that includes an indication of the UE’s fast activation capability for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node. The UE subsequently receives from the RAN node, a command to activate the first serving cell and activates the first serving cell in response to the command. After an activation delay corresponding to the UE’s indicated fast activation capability, the UE receives from the RAN node scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE in the first serving cell.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method also includes the following operations:

[0018] • while connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, receiving from the RAN node, a message indicating for the UE to release its connection to RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements;

[0019] • while in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN, performing the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell in accordance with the configuration; and

[0020] • receiving from the RAN node, a command to resume the connection to the RAN.

[0021] In such embodiments, the UE may send the fast activation information by, after resuming the connection to the RAN, sending to the RAN node, a report including results of the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell.

[0022] In some of these embodiments, the indication may indicate that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell by one of the following: an explicit indication in the report, or an implicit indication based on the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell being included in the report. In some variants of these embodiments, the report may include results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

[0023] Other embodiments include exemplary methods, e.g., procedures, for a RAN node configured to provide serving cells to UEs. These embodiments are generally complementary to UE embodiments summarized above.

[0024] The RAN node receives, from a UE, fast activation information that includes an indication of the UE’s fast activation capability for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node. The RAN node, based on the fast activation information, sends to the UE a command to activate the first serving cell. After an activation delay corresponding to the UE’s indicated fast activation capability, the RAN node sends to the UE scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE in the first serving cell. In some embodiments, the method may also include the following operations:

[0025] • while the UE is connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, sending to the UE a message indicating for the UE to release its connection to RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements; and

[0026] • subsequently sending to the UE a command to resume the connection to the RAN.

[0027] In such embodiments, receiving the fast activation information may include subsequently receiving from the UE a report including results of the UE’s non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell according to the configuration and while in the UE was in a nonconnected state after releasing the connection to the RAN.

[0028] In some of these embodiments, the indication may indicate that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell by one of the following: an explicit indication in the report, or an implicit indication based on the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell being included in the report. In some variants of these embodiments, the report may include results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

[0029] Some of the following features may be common to the UE and RAN node embodiments summarized above. In some embodiments, the indication may be a Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell. In other embodiments, the indication may be a Boolean variable that may take on a first value indicating that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell.

[0030] In other embodiments, the indication may be a multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays. In other embodiments, the indication may be an identifier of one of the following entities:

[0031] • the first serving cell;

[0032] • a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell;

[0033] • a frequency band associated with the first serving cell;

[0034] • a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and

[0035] • a frequency range (FR) associated with the first serving cell.

[0036] In such embodiments, the identifier indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity, e.g., frequency carrier. In other embodiments, the indication may be an identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information that also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node, for which the UE is also capable of fast activation.

[0037] Other embodiments include a UE, e.g., wireless devices, etc., and a RAN node, e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, etc., configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other embodiments include non-transitory, computer- readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, configure such UEs and RAN nodes to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0038] These and other embodiments described herein may provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, embodiments may provide a common understanding between UE and serving RAN node about cells for which the UE is capable of fast activation, e.g., as SCells. This understanding may improve cell configuration, activation, and scheduling for the UE by the RAN node, such as by enabling the RAN node to start scheduling traffic for the UE on SCells concurrent with or very quickly after their activation. Such improvements may ultimately improve latency of application data transmitted and / or received by UEs.

[0039] These and other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description in view of the Drawings briefly described below.

[0040] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 shows exemplary NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks.

[0042] Figure 2 illustrates a high-level view of an exemplary 5G / NR network architecture.

[0043] Figure 3 shows a signaling diagram of an early measurement procedure between a UE and a gNB.

[0044] Figure 4 is a schematic overview depicting a communication network according to embodiments herein;

[0045] Figure 5 shows signaling diagram of a procedure for UE scheduling based on fast activation capability, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 6 shows a signaling diagram of a procedure between a UE and a RAN node, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] Figure 7 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for a UE e.g., wireless device, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for a RAN node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] Figure 9 shows a communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 10 shows a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 11 shows a network node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 12 shows a virtualization environment in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0052] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0054] In general, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is expressly defined and / or implied from the context of use. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise or clearly implied from the context of use. The operations of any methods and / or procedures disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless an operation is explicitly described as following or preceding another operation and / or where it is implicit that an operation must follow or precede another operation. Any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein can apply to any other disclosed embodiment, as appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any embodiment described herein can apply to any other disclosed embodiment, as appropriate.

[0055] Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:

[0056] • Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node in RAN that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station e.g., gNB in a 5G / NR network or eNB in a LTE network, base station distributed components e.g., CU and DU, a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station e.g., micro, pico, femto, or home base station, or the like, an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU or RRH), and a relay node.

[0057] • Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a PDN Gateway (P-GW), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a Charging Function (CHF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a location management function (LMF), or the like.

[0058] • Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” (or “WD” for short) is any type of device that is capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. Unless otherwise noted, the term “wireless device” is used interchangeably herein with the term “user equipment” (or “UE” for short), with both of these terms having a different meaning than the term “network node”.

[0059] • Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of a radio access network (e.g., a radio access node or equivalent term) or of a core network (e.g., a core network node) of a cellular communications network. Functionally, a network node is equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the cellular communications network, to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device, and / or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communications network.

[0060] • Base station: As used herein, a “base station” may comprise a physical or a logical node transmitting or controlling the transmission of radio signals, e.g., eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, en- gNB, centralized unit (CU) / distributed unit (DU), transmitting radio network node, transmission point (TP), transmission reception point (TRP), remote radio head (RRH), remote radio unit (RRU), Distributed Antenna System (DAS), relay, etc.

[0061] • Node: As used herein, the term “node” (without prefix) can be any type of node that can operate in or with a wireless network (including RAN and / or core network), including a radio access node (or equivalent term), core network node, or wireless device. However, the term “node” may be limited to a particular type (e.g., radio access node) based on its specific characteristics in any given context. The above definitions are not meant to be exclusive. In other words, various ones of the above terms may be explained and / or described elsewhere in the present disclosure using the same or similar terminology. Nevertheless, to the extent that such other explanations and / or descriptions conflict with the above definitions, the above definitions should control.

[0062] Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3 GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system and can be applied to any communication system that may benefit from them.

[0063] Figure 1 illustrates a high-level view of an exemplary 5G network architecture, consisting of a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), 199, and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 198. As shown in the figure, the NG-RAN may include gNBs, e.g., 110a,b, and ng-eNBs, e.g., 120a, b, that are interconnected with each other via respective Xn interfaces. The gNBs and ng- eNBs are also connected via NG interfaces to the 5GC, more specifically to access and mobility management functions (AMF), e.g., 130a,b, via respective NG-C interfaces and to user plane functions (UPF), e.g., 140a,b, via respective NG-U interfaces. Moreover, the AMFs may communicate with one or more policy control functions (PCF), e.g., 150a,b, and network exposure functions (NEF), e.g., 160a,b, in the 5GC.

[0064] The radio technology for the NG-RAN is often referred to as NR. Each of the gNBs may support the NR radio interface including frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof. Each of ng-eNBs may support the fourth generation (4G) LTE radio interface. Each of the gNBs and ng-eNBs may serve a geographic coverage area including one or more cells, e.g., 11 la-b and 121a-b. Depending on the cell in which it is located, a UE, e.g., 105, may communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively. Although Figure 1 shows gNBs and ng-eNBs separately, it is also possible that a single NG-RAN node provides both LTE and NR functionality.

[0065] NG RAN logical nodes, e.g., gNBs 1 lOa-b, may include a CU and one or more DUs. CUs are logical nodes that host higher-layer protocols and perform various gNB functions such as controlling the operation of DUs. DUs are decentralized logical nodes that host lower layer protocols and may include, depending on the functional split option, various subsets of the gNB functions. A CU connects to one or more associated DUs over respective Fl logical interfaces. Each CU and DU may include various circuitry needed to perform their respective functions, including processing circuitry, communication interface circuitry, e.g., transceivers, and power supply circuitry.

[0066] In addition to providing coverage via cells as in LTE, gNBs also provide coverage via “beams.” In general, a downlink (DL), i.e., network to UE, “beam” is a coverage area of a network-transmitted reference signal (RS) that may be measured or monitored by a UE. In NR, for example, RS may include any of the following: synchronization signal / PBCH block (SSB), channel state information RS (CSI-RS), tertiary reference signals, or any other sync signal, positioning RS (PRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), phase-tracking reference signals (PTRS), and / or the like. In general, SSB is available to all UEs regardless of the state of their connection with the network, while other RS, e.g., CSI-RS, DM-RS, PTRS, are associated with specific UEs that have a network connection.

[0067] Figure 2 shows an exemplary configuration of NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks between a UE 210, a gNB 220, and an AMF 230. Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers between UE and gNB are common to UP and CP. PDCP provides ciphering / deciphering, integrity protection, sequence numbering, reordering, and duplicate detection for both CP and UP, as well as header compression and retransmission for UP data.

[0068] On the UP side, Internet protocol (IP) packets arrive to PDCP as service data units (SDUs), and PDCP creates protocol data units (PDU) to deliver to RLC. The Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer handles quality-of-service (QoS) including mapping between QoS flows and Data Radio Bearers (DRB) and marking QoS flow identifiers (QFI) in UL and DL packets. RLC transfers PDCP PDUs to MAC through logical channels (LCH). RLC provides error detection / correction, concatenation, segmentation / reassembly, sequence numbering, reordering of data transferred to / from the upper layers. MAC provides mapping between LCHs and PHY transport channels, LCH prioritization, multiplexing into or demultiplexing from transport blocks (TB), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) error correction, and dynamic scheduling e.g., in gNB. PHY provides transport channel services to MAC and handles transfer over the NR radio interface, e.g., via modulation, coding, antenna mapping, and beam forming.

[0069] On the CP side, the non-access stratum (NAS) layer between UE and AMF handles UE / gNB authentication, mobility management, and security control. Radio resource control (RRC) sits below NAS in the UE but terminates in the gNB rather than the AMF. RRC controls communications between UE and gNB at the radio interface as well as the mobility of a UE between cells in the NG-RAN. RRC also broadcasts system information (SI) and performs establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of DRBs and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRB) and used by UEs. Additionally, RRC controls addition, modification, and release of CA and DC configurations for UEs, and performs various security functions such as key management.

[0070] After a UE is powered ON it will be in the RRC__IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which time the UE will transition to RRC CONNECTED state, e.g., where data transfer may occur. The UE returns to RRC IDLE after the connection with the network is released. In RRC IDLE state, the UE’s radio is active on a discontinuous reception (DRX) schedule configured by upper layers. During DRX active periods, also referred to as “DRX On durations”, an RRC_IDLE UE receives SI broadcast in the cell where the UE is camping, performs measurements of neighbor cells to support cell reselection, and monitors a paging channel on physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for pages from 5GC via gNB. An NR UE in RRC IDLE state is not known to the gNB serving the cell where the UE is camping. However, NR RRC includes an RRC INACTIVE state in which a UE is known, e.g., via UE context, by the serving gNB. RRC INACTIVE has some properties similar to a “suspended” condition used in LTE.

[0071] As briefly mentioned above, when a UE is in RRC CONNECTED state with, or connected to, a 4G / LTE or 5G / NR network, the UE performs and reports measurements of its serving cells, including PCell and SCells / PSCell as appropriate, and certain neighbor cells to which the UE is not connected. The UE’s serving RAN node, or MN if in DC, configures these measurements and reports, which may be periodic or event-driven.

[0072] 3 GPP Rel-16 introduced a feature referred to as “early measurements” or EMR in which a UE may be configured to perform measurements in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE and report the measurement results to the network when entering RRC CONNECTED. The network may use the measurement results, for example, to decide which frequency carriers to use for CA or DC for the UE. The measurements are partly configured via dedicated RRC signaling, such as RRCRelease message sent to instruct the UE to enter RRC IDLE. Optionally, an EMR- capable UE may be configured to perform early measurements by broadcast signaling, i.e., SI block s, SIB5.

[0073] Figure 3 shows a signaling diagram of an exemplary early measurement procedure between a UE and a gNB. Initially, the gNB sends the UE an RRCRelease message that includes the early measurement configuration mentioned above, specifically in an RRC MeasIdleConfig information element (IE). The RRCRelease message causes the UE to transmit an RRCReleaseComplete message, after which the UE enters RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE in the same cell in which it received the RRCRelease message.

[0074] Once in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE, the UE performs the early measurements in accordance with the received configuration. The early measurement configuration includes a measIdleDuration-rl6 field that sets the running time of a timer, denoted as T331. The UE starts T331 at reception of the configuration, is required to perform the early measurements while T331 is running, and may optionally continue performing the early measurements after T331 has expired. If a value for T331 is not configured, it is up to UE implementation whether to perform the early measurements. The configuration may optionally indicate one or more frequencies on which the UE should measure, which may also be broadcast in SIB11. For example, a UE is provided with a list of LTE carrier frequencies to measure in measIdleCarrierListEUTRA. For each entry in the measIdleCarrierListEUTRA list, the UE performs measurements in the carrier frequency and bandwidth indicated by carrierFreq and allow edMeasBandwith fields within the entry, so long as the UE supports CA between its current serving frequency / bandwidth and the frequency / band width indicated by those fields of that entry in the list. If not supported, the UE considers that entry in the list to be inapplicable for non-connected measurements

[0075] If the configuration received in the RRCRelease message does not include the frequency information, the UE performs the measurements according to the SIB 11 frequency information broadcast in the cell where the UE is currently located - including when the UE continues performing the early measurements after T331 has expired.

[0076] When the UE wants to enter RRC CONNECTED again by resuming, from RRC INACTIVE, or setting up, from RRC IDLE, its connection, the UE sends an RRCResumeRequest or an RRCSetupRequest message to the gNB serving a cell where the UE is currently located. Although Figure 3 shows this as the same gNB that sent the RRCRelease message, the UE may have moved to a different cell served by a different gNB while in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE.

[0077] In any case, the gNB responds to the UE with an RRCResume, or RRCSetup, message. In the case of RRCResume, the gNB may also include a request for early measurements. In response, the UE sends an RRCResumeComplete , or RRCSetupRequest, message to the gNB, including an indication that the UE has early measurement results. If the gNB has requested early measurements in RRCResume, the UE may also include the measurement results in RRCResume Comple te .

[0078] 3 GPP Rel-18 enhances Rel-16 early measurements by adding a configurable validity timer X. If the validity timer X is configured, the UE will only transmit measurement results that are newer than the configured timer value. The validity timer value may be configured via the dedicated RRCRelease message or in SIB 11. The UE may report an indication “checked” if the validity of the reported early measurements was checked prior to sending.

[0079] The UE may also be provided with a list of cells for non-connected measurements in measCellList. If so, the UE performs EMR for its serving cell and the cells identified by the respective entries of that list. If not, the UE performs EMR for its serving cell and up to maxCellMeasIdle non-serving cells with the strongest measurements, e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), or reference signal received quality (RSRQ), that are also above a qualityThreshold, if configured. After being configured, the UE performs these measurements while in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE, but only for cells that indicate support for EMR in their broadcast SI, e.g., SIB2. During its later return to RRC CONNECTED state, the UE indicates measurement availability for EMR in a Msg5, receives a request for the measurements from the serving RAN node in a UEInformationRequest message, and reports the measurements in a UEInformationResponse message.

[0080] NR UEs should report early measurements as soon as possible but not before security activation. Thus, a UE coming from RRC IDLE, without stored context, may send its EMR after receiving a SecurityModeCommand , a UE coming from RRC IDLE with stored context may send its EMR after processing a received RRCResume message, and a UE coming from RRC INACTIVE may send its EMR after sending an RRCResumeRequest message, but before reception of RRCResume . For RRC IDLE, a UE may send a request for EMR immediately after receiving a SecurityModeCommand (option 1) or after an RRCReconfigurationComplete message (option 2). For RRC INACTIVE, the network may send a UEInformationRequest after resume to request UE non-connected measurements which are reported in UEInformationResponse, denoted as option 1, or the network may request UE non-connected measurements RRCResume, which are reported in RRCResumeComplete, denoted as option 2 and is shown in Figure 3.

[0081] In general, EMR enables a UE’s serving RAN node to quickly configure CA, e.g., SCells, and / or DC, e.g., PSCell and optionally SCG SCells, after a UE resumes or reestablishes its connection from RRC INACTIVE or RRC IDLE. Once the SCells and / or PSCell are configured, they may be quickly activated, providing the UE with resources to meet its traffic demands. Even so, existing SCell activation techniques are defined very generically without consideration of actual UE measurements. This may result in a SCell activation delay that is unnecessary and undesirable, particularly in situations where a UE frequently switches between connected and nonconnected states due to bursty traffic demands.

[0082] As an example, each duration in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE between bursts of UE UL and / or DL traffic in RRC CONNECTED may be relatively short. However, the UE’s measurement results from a previous duration in RRC CONNECTED currently cannot be used the next time the UE is in RRC CONNECTED due to the intervening duration in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE. Likewise, the UE is currently unable to combine any non-connected measurements in this intervening duration with its RRC CONNECTED measurements that precede and follow these non-connected measurements. As such, the UE is unable to fully utilize available measurements for SCell activation, which causes an activation delay while the UE acquires new measurements after returning to RRC CONNECTED.

[0083] Embodiments herein address the above mentioned and other problems, issues, and / or difficulties by techniques for a UE to report that it supports fast activation for certain cells, thereby enabling a serving RAN node to activate these cells more quickly than other cells. The indicated cells may be some of the UE’s configured SCells, or the serving RAN node may subsequently configure SCells for the UE in accordance with the indicated capability for fast activation, e.g., configuring only SCells capable of fast activation. Fast activation means that the activation is faster than for other cells. For example, activation occurs immediately after receiving the command or within a time interval shorter than for other cells upon receiving the command.

[0084] Embodiments may provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, embodiments may provide a common understanding between UE and serving RAN node about cells for which the UE is capable of fast activation, e.g., as SCells. This understanding may improve cell configuration, activation, and scheduling for the UE by the RAN node, such as by enabling the RAN node to start scheduling traffic for the UE on SCells concurrent with or very quickly after their activation. Such improvements may ultimately improve latency of application data transmitted and / or received by UEs.

[0085] Embodiments herein relate to communication systems in general. Figure 4 is a schematic overview depicting a communication network 1. The communication network 1 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The communication network 1 may use one or a number of different technologies. Embodiments herein relate to recent technology trends that are of particular interest in a NR context, however, embodiments are also applicable in existing and upcoming wireless communications systems such as e.g. 6G, LTE or Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA).

[0086] In the communication network 1, a UE 410 exemplified herein as a wireless device such as a mobile station, a non-access point (non-AP) station (STA), a STA and / or a wireless terminal, is comprised communicating via e.g. one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g. RAN, to one or more core networks (CN). It should be understood by the skilled in the art that “UE” is a nonlimiting term which means any terminal, wireless communications terminal, user equipment, narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) device, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station capable of communicating using radio communication with a radio network node within an area served by the radio network node.

[0087] The communication network 1 comprises a RAN node 420 or just network node, providing radio coverage over a geographical area, a first service area or first cell, of a first radio access technology (RAT), such as 6G, NR, LTE, or similar. The RAN node 420 may be a transmission and reception point such as an access node, an access controller, a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a gNodeB (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a NodeB, a base transceiver station, a radio remote unit, an Access Point Base Station, a base station router, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point or an Access Point Station (AP STA), a transmission arrangement of a radio base station, a stand-alone access point or any other network unit or node capable of communicating with a UE within the area served by the RAN node 420 depending e.g. on the first radio access technology and terminology used. The RAN node 420 may be referred to as a serving RAN node wherein the service area may be referred to as a serving cell, and the serving network node communicates with the UE in form of DL transmissions to the UE and UL transmissions from the UE. It should be noted that a service area may be denoted as cell, beam, beam group or similar to define an area of radio coverage.

[0088] Figure 5 shows signaling diagram of a procedure for UE scheduling based on fast activation capability, according to some embodiments herein. The procedure is between the UE 410 and the serving RAN node 420, e.g., a gNB, which provides one or more serving cells A and B. The UE 410 initially sends to the RAN node 420 an indication that it may perform, i.e., the UE 410 is capable of, fast activation of cell A, action 501. Even though the UE 410 may be aware of cell B, e.g., via configured measurements, the UE 410 is not capable of performing fast activation of cell B and therefore refrains from sending a corresponding indication about cell B. Alternately, the UE 410 may explicitly indicate that it is not capable of fast activation of cell B.

[0089] Based on the UE’s indication, the RAN node 420 configures cells A and B for use by the UE 410, such as SCells for CA, action 502. For example, the RAN node 420 may select cell A for configuration based on the UE’s previous indication. The RAN node 420 activates cell A for use by the UE 410, action 503, which may be done by the same message as the configuration or by another message subsequent to the configuration. For example, the cell configurations may be provided in an RRC message, and the activation of cell A may be done by sending a MAC CE. The RAN node 420 then begins scheduling UE traffic on cell A based on the understanding that the UE’s activation delay for cell A is relatively short, e.g., shorter conventional / normal / legacy activation delay, action 504.

[0090] Subsequent to or concurrent with activating cell A, the RAN node 420 also activates cell B, action 505. The RAN node 420 then begins scheduling UE traffic on cell B, action 506, based on the understanding that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of cell B, i.e., the UE 410 has a conventional / normal / legacy activation delay between receiving the activation command / request and having cell B ready for scheduled traffic. In other words, there is a longer delay between the gNB sending the activation command / request and scheduling traffic for the UE 410 on cell B. As an alternative to the sequence shown in Figure 5, the RAN node 420 may first configure cells A and B, e.g., SCells, for the UE 410, which UE 410 then indicates for which of the configured cells the UE 410 is able to perform fast activation. For example, the UE 410 may send this indication in an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or a MAC CE.

[0091] In some embodiments, the UE 410 may identify to the serving RAN node 420 a set, or list, of cells for which the UE 410 is capable of fast cell activation. For example, the UE 410 may identify these cells based on one or more of the following:

[0092] • a cell identifier, such as a physical cell ID (PCI);

[0093] • a carrier identifier, which indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of all cells associated with that carrier;

[0094] • a frequency band identifier, which indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of all cells associated with that frequency band;

[0095] • a frequency band combination identifier, which indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of all cells associated with that combination of frequency bands; and

[0096] • a FR identifier, which indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of all cells associated with that FR.

[0097] Cells not identified by the UE 410 in some manner, e.g., omitted PCIs, carrier IDs, etc., are assumed to require a longer, e.g., default, legacy, or normal, activation delay than cells identified by the UE 410. In other embodiments, the UE 410 may indicate that it is always capable of performing fast cell activation for all configured SCells. In such embodiments, the default activation delay may be variable depending on other conditions at the UE 410.

[0098] These embodiments may be realized as 3 GPP specification text that describes messages and / or procedures. The following is example text for 3GPP TS 38.331 v.18.1.0 that corresponds to an embodiment in which the UE includes in an RRCResumeComplete message an indication of SCells for which it can perform fast activation. Underline denotes added text and ellipses denote existing text that is omitted for brevity.

[0099] *** Begin example 3GPP TS 38.331 text ***

[0100] 5.3.13.4 Recepti on of the RRCResume by the UE

[0101] The UE shall:

[0102] 1> set the content of the of RRCResumeComplete message as follows:

[0103] 2> if the UE has idle / inactive measurement information concerning cells other than the PCell available in VarMeasIdleReport'.

[0104] 2> if the UE has valid reselection measurements available; 2> if the UE can perform fast SCell activation on one or more cells:

[0105] 3> include the PCIs of the cells for which the UE can perform fast SCell activation;

[0106] 1> submit the RRCResumeComplete message to lower layers for transmission; l>the procedure ends.

[0107] *** End example 3GPP TS 38.331 text ***

[0108] RRCResumeComplete : := SEQUENCE { rrc-Trans actionidentifier RRC-Trans actionidentifier, criticalExtensions CHOICE { rrcResumeComplete RRCResumeCornplete-IEs , criticalExtensionsFuture SEQUENCE { }

[0109] }

[0110] }

[0111] RRCResumeCornplete-IEs : : = SEQUENCE { dedi catedNAS -Mess age Dedi catedNAS -Mess age OPTIONAL, selectedPLMN- Identity INTEGER (l..maxPLMN)

[0112] OPTIONAL, uplinkTxDirectCurrentList UplinkTxDirectCurrentList OPTIONAL, lateNonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING

[0113] OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension RRCResumeComplete-vl610-IEs

[0114] OPTIONAL }

[0115] RRCResumeComplete-vl610-IEs : := SEQUENCE { idleMeasAvailable-rl6 ENUMERATED {true}

[0116] OPTIONAL, measResultIdleEUTRA-rl6 MeasResultIdleEUTRA-rl6

[0117] OPTIONAL, measResultIdleNR-rl6 MeasResultIdleNR-rl6

[0118] OPTIONAL, scg-Response-rl6 CHOICE { nr-SCG- Response OCTET STRING (CONTAINING RRCReconf igurationComplete ) , eutra-SCG- Response OCTET STRING }

[0119] OPTIONAL, ue-MeasurementsAvailable-rl6 UE-MeasurementsAvailable-rl6

[0120] OPTIONAL, mobilityHistoryAvail-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, mobilityState-rl6 ENUMERATED {normal, medium, high spare } OPTIONAL, needForGapsInfoNR-rl6 NeedForGapsInfoNR-rl6 OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension RRCResumeComplete-vl640-IEs

[0121] OPTIONAL }

[0122] RRCResumeComplete-vl640-IEs : := SEQUENCE { upl inkTxDirectCurrentTwoCarrierList-r!6

[0123] UplinkTxDirectCurrentTwoCarrierList-rl6 OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension RRCResumeCornplete-vl700-IEs

[0124] OPTIONAL }

[0125] RRCResumeComplete-vl700-IEs : : = SEQUENCE { needForGapNCSG-Inf oNR-rl7 NeedForGapNCSG-Inf oNR-r 17

[0126] OPTIONAL, needForGapNCSG-Inf oEUTRA-r 17 NeedForGapNCSG-Inf oEUTRA-r 17

[0127] OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension RRCResumeComplete-vl720-IEs

[0128] OPTIONAL

[0129] }

[0130] RRCResumeComplete-vl720-IEs SEQUENCE { upl inkTxDirectCurrentMoreCarrierList-rl7

[0131] UplinkTxDirectCurrentMoreCarrierList-rl7

[0132] OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension RRCResumeComplete-vl 800-IEs

[0133] OPTIONAL

[0134] }

[0135] RRCResumeComplete-vl 800-IEs : : = SEQUENCE { needForlnterruptionlnf oNR-rl 8 NeedForlnterruptionlnf oNR-r 18

[0136] OPTIONAL, musim-CapRestrictionInd-rl 8 ENUMERATED { true }

[0137] OPTIONAL, f lightPathlnf oAvailable-rl 8 ENUMERATED { true }

[0138] OPTIONAL, measConf igReportAppLayerAvailable-rl 8 ENUMERATED { true }

[0139] OPTIONAL, measResultReselectionNR-rl 8 MeasResultIdleNR-rl 6

[0140] OPTIONAL, reselectionMeasAvailable-rl 8 ENUMERATED { true }

[0141] OPTIONAL, f astActivationCellList SEQUENCE { 1 . . maxFastActivationCells }

[0142] PhysCellld OPTIONAL, nonCriticalExtension SEQUENCE { }

[0143] OPTIONAL

[0144] }

[0145] Above is an ASN. l data structure for an exemplary RRCResumeComplete message, according to these embodiments. In this data structure, the PCIs for fast SCell activation specified in the above text are included in the fastActivationCellList field of the RRCResumeComplete- vl800-IEs IE. Specifically, this field includes up to a configured maximum number, i.e., maxFastActivationCells, of PhysCellld sub-fields, each of which contains a PCI of an SCell suitable for fast activation. Note that procedural text and ASN.1 data structures similar to the example above may be used to specify inclusion of the indication in other messages sent by the UE 410, such as an RRCSetupComplete message or a UEInformationResponse message.

[0146] In other embodiments, the UE 410 determines cells capable of fast activation, denoted as “fast activation cells”, by comparing an RRC IDLE / RRC INACTIVE, or non-connected, duration for each cell with a validity timer, or duration, configured for the carrier frequency of the cell. For example, when the non-connected duration for a cell is shorter than the validity timer, the UE 410 may combine measurements performed for the cell, or carrier, during the non- connected duration with measurements performed for the same cell, or carrier, while in RRC CONNECTED immediately before and after the non-connected duration. As such, the UE 410 determines that cell is a fast activation cell and indicates accordingly to the RAN node 420, as discussed above.

[0147] In other embodiments, the UE 410 may identify cells for which it is capable of fast cell activation in the context of early measurement reports. For example, the UE 410 may send an EMR with non-connected measurements of cells A, B, and D and along with the measurements for each cell, the UE 410 indicates whether it is capable of fast activation. As a more specific example, this indication may be in the same data structure as the non-connected, or early, measurements for the same cell, e.g., indication for cell A with measurements for cell A.

[0148] These embodiments may also be realized as 3 GPP specification text that describes messages and / or procedures. The following is some example text for 3GPP TS 38.331 v.18.1.0 that corresponds to an embodiment in which the UE 410 includes in an RRCResumeComplete message an indication of whether the UE 410 can perform fast activation of each cell for which the UE provides early measurements. In particular, the UE 410 includes the indication in the data structure, e.g., MeasResultldleNR or measResultldleEUTRA, that contains the measurement results for that cell. Absence of the indication in the cell measurement data structure indicates no fast activation capability for that cell. In the following text, underline denotes added text and ellipses denote existing text that is omitted for brevity.

[0149] *** Begin example 3GPP TS 38.331 text ***

[0150] 5.3.13.4 Recepti on of the RRCResume by the UE

[0151] The UE shall:

[0152] 1> set the content of the of RRCResumeComplete message as follows:

[0153] 2> if the UE has idle / inactive measurement information concerning cells other than the PCell available in VarMeasIdleReport'.

[0154] 3> if the idleModeMeasurementReq is included in the RRCResume message:

[0155] 4> if measIdleValidity Duration is included in VarEnhMeasIdleConfig,'

[0156] 5> set the measResultldleEUTRA in the RRCResumeComplete message to the value of measReportldleEUTRA in the VarMeasIdleReport for any valid measurement results, if available, and set validityStatus to value checked for each reported measurement;

[0157] 5> set the measResultldleNR in the RRCResumeComplete message to the value of measReportldleNR in the VarMeasIdleReport for any valid measurement results, if available, and set validityStatus to value checked for each reported measurement;

[0158] 5> if the UE can perform fast SCell activation for an included cell, include fastActivation and set it to true for that cell;

[0159] 5> discard the VarMeasIdleReport upon successful delivery of the RRCResumeComplete message is confirmed by lower layers;

[0160] 2> if the UE has valid reselection measurements available;

[0161] 1> submit the RRCResumeComplete message to lower layers for transmission; l>the procedure ends.

[0162] *** End example 3GPP TS 38.331 text ***

[0163] MeasResultldleNR

[0164] The IE MeasResultldleNR covers the NR measurement results performed in RRC IDLE and

[0165] RRC INACTIVE.

[0166] MeasResultldleNR information element

[0167] — ASN1START

[0168] — TAG-MEASRESULTIDLENR-START

[0169] MeasResultIdleNR-rl6 : := SEQUENCE { measResultServingCell-rl6 SEQUENCE { rsrp-Result-rl6 RSRP-Range

[0170] OPTIONAL, rsrq-Result-rl6 RSRQ-Range

[0171] OPTIONAL, results S SB- Indexes -r 16 ResultsPerSSB-IndexList-rl6

[0172] OPTIONAL

[0173] }, measResultsPerCarrierListIdleNR-rl6 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxFreqIdle-rl6) )

[0174] OF MeasResultsPerCarrierIdleNR-rl6 OPTIONAL,

[0175] MeasResultsPerCarrierIdleNR-rl6 : := SEQUENCE { carrierFreq-rl6 ARFCN-ValueNR, measResultsPerCellListIdleNR-rl6 SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1. .maxCellMeasIdle- r!6) ) OF MeasResultsPerCellIdleNR-rl6,

[0176] MeasResultsPerCellIdleNR-rl6 : := SEQUENCE { physCellId-rl6 PhysCellld, measIdleResultNR-rl6 SEQUENCE { rsrp-Result-rl6 RSRP-Range

[0177] OPTIONAL, rsrq-Result-rl6 RSRQ-Range

[0178] OPTIONAL, results S SB- Indexes -r 16 Results PerSSB-IndexList-rl 6

[0179] OPTIONAL

[0180] } ,

[0181] [ [ validityStatus-rl 8 ENUMERATED { checked, spare3 , spare2 , sparel ) OPTIONAL

[0182] ] ] ,

[0183] [ [ fastActivation ENUMERATED { true } _ OPTIONAL

[0184] _ LI

[0185] Results PerSSB-IndexList-rl 6 : : = SEQUENCE ( SI ZE ( 1 . . maxNrof IndexesToReport ) ) OF Results PerSSB-IndexIdle-rl 6

[0186] Results PerSSB-IndexIdle-rl 6 : : = SEQUENCE { s sb-Index-rl 6 SSB-Index, s sb-Results-rl 6 SEQUENCE { s sb-RSRP-Result-rl 6 RSRP-Range

[0187] OPTIONAL, s sb-RSRQ-Result-rl 6 RSRQ-Range

[0188] OPTIONAL }

[0189] OPTIONAL }

[0190] — TAG-MEASRESULTIDLENR-STOP

[0191] — ASN1STOP

[0192] Above is an ASN.1 data structure for an exemplary MeasResultIdleNR-rl6 IE, according to these embodiments. For example, this data structure may be instantiated as the measResultIdleNR-rl6 field of the RRCResumeComplete-vl610-IEs IE in the RRCResume- Complete message shown above, provided that the fastActivationCellList field associated with other embodiments above is omitted. In the data structure shown above, each MeasResultsPerCellIdleNR-rl6 field includes a PCI for a cell, measurement results for that cell, and fastActivation sub-field with a “true” value if the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of that cell. Absence of that sub-field indicates that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of that cell. A similar ASN.1 data structure may be constructed for a MeasResultIdleEUTRA-rl6 IE, which may be instantiated as the measResultIdleEUTRA-rl6 field in RRCResume-Complete .

[0193] In other embodiments, the UE 410 may perform fast activation of cells for which the UE 410 has provided measurement results that are still valid. In other words, if the UE 410 reports measurements for cells associated with a carrier frequency, the measurements remain valid after reporting for a configured value of a validity timer for that carrier frequency, i.e., the measurements are not older than the validity timer value. When the measurements are valid for a carrier frequency, the UE 410 is able to perform fast activation for cells associated with that carrier frequency. Thus, the serving RAN node 420 is able to infer that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation for at least the configured value timer after receiving the measurements from the UE 410. If the UE 410 was not configured with a validity timer for a certain carrier frequency, reporting of measurement results for that frequency may not indicate that the UE 410 is able to perform fast activation for these cells.

[0194] In other embodiments, the UE 410 indicates that it is capable of fast activation of all cells for which the UE 410 provides or will provide early measurements. For example, there may be a direct association between early measurements and fast activation, such that the provision of early measurements for a carrier implicitly indicates fast activation capability for all cells associated with that carrier. Alternately, there may be an implicit understanding that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation for all cells / carriers the RAN node 420 configures for UE early, or nonconnected, measurements.

[0195] In one another approach, the UE 410 indicates that it is capable of fast activation of cells associated with a subset of carriers for which early measurements are configured by the serving RAN node 420. Due to this fast activation capability, the UE 410 may prioritize early measurements on cells / carriers of the subset over early measurements on other configured cells / carriers.

[0196] In various embodiments described above, the UE 410 indicates fast activation of a cell as a binary capability, e.g., true / false, yes / no, present / absent. An example is the fastActivation subfield shown above. In other embodiments, the UE 410 may indicate a degree or value of the activation delay for a particular cell. For example, the UE 410 may include a first value in a message field to indicate a first activation delay, e.g., "delay 1" or "very fast", and a second value in the message field to indicate a second activation delay, e.g., "delay 2" or "fast". Other values of the field may be used to indicate other delays. The actual meaning of each value may depend on cell characteristics, e.g., band, FR, etc.. The following is an example fastActivation field according to these embodiments:

[0197] • fastActivation ENUMERATED {del ay 1, delay2, delay3, delay4} OPTIONAL

[0198] Absence of the field indicates that the UE 410 applies a default activation delay, e.g., “delayO”.

[0199] In other embodiments, the UE 410 indicates an actual value of the activation delay for a cell, e.g., rounded to the nearest millisecond. The following is an example fastActivation field according to these embodiments, which the UE 410 may use to indicate an activation delay of 1 to 30 milliseconds:

[0200] • fastActivation INTEGER{ 1. 30} OPTIONAL

[0201] Regardless of the specific form of the UE’s indication of fast activation capability for a cell, or carrier, in some embodiments the indicated capability may only be applicable for the initial activation of a cell after the cell is configured for the UE 410 by the serving RAN node 420. In other words, the UE’ s activation delay may be different, e.g., shorter, for the initial activation than for subsequent activations of the same cells.

[0202] In some embodiments, the indicated fast activation capability may only be applicable for a period T1 after the UE 410 has connected to the serving RAN node 420, e.g., from RRC IDLE / RRC INACTIVE. In other words, during period T1 the UE’s activation delay for a certain cell may be different, e.g., shorter, than the UE’s activation delay for the same cell after Tl. For example, if the UE 410 performed early measurements on the cell before entering RRC CONNECTED, these measurements are only usable for fast cell activation only for a short period after the UE 410 returns to RRC CONNECTED. During this period, the cell activation delay is relatively short, e.g., Tla. After this period, the UE 410 may require a longer cell activation delay, e.g., Tib > Tla, due to additional operations required as part of the activation procedure, such as cell search, detection, identification, etc.

[0203] In some embodiments, prior to sending information, or indication of information, about UE fast activation capability for one or more cells, the UE 410 may send to the serving RAN node 420 the indication of availability of fast activation information. Figure 6 shows a signaling diagram of a procedure between the UE 410 and the RAN node 420, according to these embodiments. In operation 61, the UE 410 sends to the RAN node 420 the indication of fast activation information availability. For example, this indication may be sent during an RRC connection establishment, setup, or resume procedure. Based on this indication, the RAN node 420 requests the available fast activation information from the UE 410 in operation 62, and the UE 410 provides the requested fast activation information in operation 63. This information may be in any of the forms discussed above in relation to various embodiments.

[0204] Various features of the embodiments described above correspond to various operations illustrated in Figures 7-8, which show exemplary methods, e.g., procedures, for the UE 410 and the RAN node 420, respectively. In other words, various features of the operations described below correspond to various embodiments described above. Furthermore, the exemplary methods shown in Figures 7-8 may be used cooperatively to provide various benefits, advantages, and / or solutions to problems described herein. Although Figures 7-8 show specific blocks in particular orders, the operations of the exemplary methods may be performed in different orders than shown and may be combined and / or divided into blocks having different functionality than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0205] In particular, Figure 7 shows an exemplary method, e.g., procedure, for the UE 410 configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by the RAN, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method may be performed by the UE 410 ,e.g., wireless device, etc., such as described elsewhere herein. The exemplary method includes the operations of block 850, where the UE 410 sends, to the RAN node 420, fast activation information that includes the indication of the UE’s fast activation capability for the first serving cell, e.g., SCell, provided by the RAN node 420. The exemplary method also includes the operations of blocks 870-880, where the UE subsequently receives from the RAN node 420 the command to activate the first serving cell and the UE 410 activates the first serving cell in response to the command. The exemplary method also includes the operations of block 890, where after an activation delay corresponding to the UE’s indicated fast activation capability, the UE 410 receives from the RAN node 420 scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE 410 in the first serving cell.

[0206] In some embodiments, the indication is a Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell. In other embodiments, the indication is a Boolean variable that may take on a first value indicating that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell.

[0207] In other embodiments, the indication is a multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays. In other embodiments, the indication is an identifier of one of the following entities:

[0208] • the first serving cell;

[0209] • a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell;

[0210] • a frequency band associated with the first serving cell;

[0211] • a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and

[0212] • a FR associated with the first serving cell.

[0213] In such embodiments, the identifier indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity, e.g., frequency carrier.

[0214] In other embodiments, the indication is an identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information that also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node 420, for which the UE 410 is also capable of fast activation.

[0215] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 860, where the UE 410 receives from the RAN node 420 a configuration of the first serving cell. The command to activate the first serving cell, e.g., in block 870, may be based on the configuration. In some of these embodiments, the configuration is received in response to the fast activation information. In other of these embodiments, the fast activation information is sent in response to the configuration.

[0216] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the following operations, labelled with corresponding block numbers:

[0217] • (810) while connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, the UE 410 may receive from the RAN node 420 a message indicating for the UE 410 to release its connection to RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements;

[0218] • (815) while in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN, the UE 410 may perform the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell in accordance with the configuration; and

[0219] • (820) the UE 410 may receive from the RAN node 420 a command to resume the connection to the RAN.

[0220] In such embodiments, sending the fast activation information in block 850 includes the operations of sub-block 851, where after resuming the connection to the RAN, the UE 410 may send to the RAN node 420 a report including results of the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell.

[0221] In some of these embodiments, the indication that indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell may comprise one of the following: an explicit indication in the report, or an implicit indication implicitly indicating the fast activation capability based on that the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell is included in the report. In some variants of these embodiments, the report includes results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell. In some further variants, the explicit indication that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell is in a data structure that includes the results of the nonconnected measurements of only the first serving cell. The MeasResultsPerCellldleNR-r 16 field above is an example of these embodiments.

[0222] In some of these embodiments, the configuration includes a fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 830, where the UE 410 may determine that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: a duration of the non-connected state, and a duration of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell.

[0223] In some of these embodiments, the non-connected measurements include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN. In some of these embodiments, the nonconnected measurements are performed while the UE 410 is in one or more of the following nonconnected states: RRC IDLE, and RRC IN ACTIVE.

[0224] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 845, where the UE 410 may receive from the RAN node 420 a request for fast activation information. The fast activation information may be sent to the RAN node 410 in response to the request. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 840, where the UE 410 sends to the RAN node 420 the indication of fast activation information availability. The request for fast activation information may be received from the RAN node 420 in block 845 in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

[0225] In some embodiments, when the indication indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE 410 resumes a connection to the RAN: only for an initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during an initial duration. In some of these embodiments, the activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration may be shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

[0226] In addition, Figure 8 shows an exemplary method, e.g., procedure, for the RAN node 420 configured to provide serving cells to UEs in a RAN, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method may be performed by any appropriate RAN node 420, e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, etc. or unit thereof, such as described elsewhere herein.

[0227] The exemplary method includes the operations of block 950, where the RAN node 420 receives, from the UE 410, fast activation information that includes the indication of the UE’s fast activation capability for the first serving cell, e.g., SCell, provided by the RAN node 420. The exemplary method also includes the operations of block 980, where based on the fast activation information, the RAN node 420 sends to the UE 410 the command to activate the first serving cell. The exemplary method also includes the operations of block 990, where after the activation delay corresponding to the UE’s indicated fast activation capability, the RAN node 420 sends to the UE 410 scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE 410 in the first serving cell.

[0228] In various embodiments, the fast activation information and the indication of UE capability may have any of the same contents, characteristics, structure, format, interpretation, etc. as described above in relation to corresponding UE method embodiments illustrated by Figure 7.

[0229] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 970, where the RAN node 420 may send to the UE 410 the configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration. In some of these embodiments, the fast activation information may be received in block 950 in response to sending the configuration. In other of these embodiments, the configuration is sent in response to receiving the fast activation information in block 950, and the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 960, wherein the RAN node 420 may select the first serving cell based on the indication of the UE’s fast activation capability, i.e., that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation.

[0230] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the following operations, labelled with corresponding block numbers:

[0231] • (910) while the UE 410 is connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, the RAN node 420 may send to the UE 410 the message indicating for the UE 410 to release its connection to the RAN, wherein the message includes the configuration for non-connected measurements; and

[0232] • (920) subsequently the RAN node 420 may send to the UE 410 the command to resume the connection to the RAN.

[0233] In such embodiments, receiving the fast activation information in block 950 includes the operations of sub-block 951, where the RAN node 420 subsequently, i.e., after block 920, may receive from the UE 410 the report including results of the UE’s non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell according to the configuration and while the UE 410 was in a nonconnected state after releasing the connection to the RAN.

[0234] In some of these embodiments, the indication indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and may comprise one of the following: the explicit indication in the report, or the implicit indication implicitly indicating the fast activation capability based on that the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell is included in the report. In some variants of these embodiments, the report includes results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of the second serving cell, and absence of the second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell. In some further variants, the explicit indication that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell is in a data structure that includes the results of the nonconnected measurements of only the first serving cell. The MeasResultsPerCellldleNR-r 16 field above is an example of these embodiments.

[0235] In some of these embodiments, the configuration includes the fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the indication indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: the duration that the UE 410 was in the non-connected state, and the duration of the UE’s non-connected measurements of the first serving cell. In some of these embodiments, the non-connected measurements may include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN. In some of these embodiments, the nonconnected measurements may be performed while the UE 410 is in one or more of the following non-connected states: RRC IDLE, and RRC INACTIVE.

[0236] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 940, where the RAN node 420 may send to the UE 410 the request for fast activation information. The fast activation information may be received in block 950 in response to the request. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 930, where the RAN node 420 may receive from the UE 410 the indication of fast activation information availability. The request for fast activation information may be sent in block 940 in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

[0237] In some embodiments, when the indication indicates that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE 410 resumes a connection to the RAN: only for an initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during an initial duration. In some of these embodiments, the activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration may be shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

[0238] Although various embodiments are described above in terms of methods, techniques, and / or procedures, the person of ordinary skill will readily comprehend that such methods, techniques, and / or procedures can be embodied by various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, computer program products, etc.

[0239] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, communication system 1000 includes a telecommunication network 1002 that includes an access network 1004 (e.g., RAN) and a core network 1006, which includes one or more core network nodes 1008. Access network 1004 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes lOlOa-b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1010 or RAN node 420), or any other similar 3 GPP access nodes or non- 3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, telecommunication network 1002 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in telecommunication network 1002 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in telecommunication network 1002, including one or more network nodes 1010 and / or core network nodes 1008.

[0240] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU- CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. Network nodes 1010 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UEs, such as by connecting UEs 1012a-d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1012 or UE 410) to core network 1006 over one or more wireless connections.

[0241] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, communication system 1000 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 1000 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0242] UEs 1012 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, network nodes 1010 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs 1012 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in telecommunication network 1002 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in telecommunication network 1002.

[0243] In the depicted example, core network 1006 connects network nodes 1010 to one or more hosts, such as host 1016. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. Core network 1006 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., 1008) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of core network node 1008. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0244] Host 1016 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of access network 1004 and / or telecommunication network 1002, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1016 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0245] As a whole, communication system 1000 of Figure 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. In some examples, telecommunication network 1002 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, telecommunication network 1002 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to telecommunication network 1002. For example, telecommunication network 1002 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0246] In some examples, UEs 1012 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1004 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from access network 1004. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0247] In some embodiments, any of UEs 1012 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a UE in various embodiments described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 7. Likewise, in some embodiments, any of network nodes 1010 can be configured to perform operations attributed to a RAN node in various embodiments described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 8.

[0248] In the example, hub 1014 communicates with access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and / or 1012d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1010b). In some examples, hub 1014 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, hub 1014 may be a broadband router enabling access to core network 1006 for the UEs. As another example, hub 1014 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1010, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in hub 1014. As another example, hub 1014 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, hub 1014 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, hub 1014 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which hub 1014 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, hub 1014 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0249] Hub 1014 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to network node 1010b. Hub 1014 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between hub 1014 and UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and / or 1012d), and between hub 1014 and core network 1006. In other examples, hub 1014 is connected to core network 1006 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, hub 1014 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over access network 1004 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with network nodes 1010 while still connected via hub 1014 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1014 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to network node 1010b. In other embodiments, hub 1014 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1010b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0250] Figure 10 shows a UE 1100 in accordance with some embodiments being an example of the UE 410. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customerpremise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by 3 GPP, including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0251] The UE is configured to perform the methods herein.

[0252] The UE 410 is configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by the RAN.

[0253] The UE 410 is configured to send , to the RAN node 420, fast activation information that includes the indication of the fast activation capability of the UE 410 for the first serving cell provided by the RAN node 420.

[0254] The UE 410 is configured to subsequently receive from the RAN node 420 the command to activate the first serving cell.

[0255] The UE 410 is configured to activate the first serving cell in response to the received command; and, after the activation delay corresponding to the indicated fast activation capability of the UE 410, to receive from the RAN node 420 scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE 410 in the first serving cell.

[0256] The indication may comprise one of the following: the Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell; the Boolean variable that can take on a first value indicating the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell; the multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays; the identifier of one of the following entities: the first serving cell; a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and a frequency range, FR, associated with the first serving cell. the identifier that indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity; and the identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node, for which the UE is also capable of fast activation.

[0257] The UE 410 may be configured to receive from the RAN node 420 the configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration.

[0258] The UE 410 may be configured to receive the configuration in response to the fast activation information, or configured to send the fast activation information in response to the configuration.

[0259] The UE 410 may be configured to, while connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, receive from the RAN node the message indicating for the UE to release its connection to the RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements. The UE 410 may be configured to, while in the non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN, perform the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell in accordance with the configuration.

[0260] The UE 410 may be configured to receive from the RAN node the command to resume the connection to the RAN

[0261] The UE 410 may be configured to send the fast activation information by, after resuming the connection to the RAN, sending to the RAN node the report including results of the nonconnected measurements of at least the first serving cell.

[0262] The indication may indicate that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell by comprising one of the following: the explicit indication in the report, or the implicit indication being the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell included in the report.

[0263] The report may include results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of the second serving cell, and absence of the second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

[0264] The explicit indication that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell may be in a data structure that includes the results of the non-connected measurements of only the first serving cell.

[0265] The configuration may include the fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the UE may be configured to determine that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: the duration of the non-connected state, and the duration of the nonconnected measurements of the first serving cell.

[0266] The non-connected measurements may include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN.

[0267] The non-connected measurements may be performed while the UE is in one or more of the following non-connected states: RRC IDLE, and RRC INACTIVE.

[0268] The UE 410 may be configured to receive from the RAN node 420 the request for fast activation information, wherein the fast activation information may be sent in response to the request.

[0269] The UE 410 may be configured to send to the RAN node 420 the indication of fast activation information availability, wherein the request for fast activation information is received in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

[0270] When the indication indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability may be valid for one of the following after the UE resumes the connection to the RAN: only for the initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during the initial duration.

[0271] The activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration may be shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

[0272] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0273] UE 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input / output interface 1106, a power source 1108, a memory 1110, a communication interface 1112, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0274] Processing circuitry 1102 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in memory 1110. Processing circuitry 1102 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, processing circuitry 1102 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0275] In the example, input / output interface 1106 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into UE 1100. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0276] In some embodiments, power source 1108 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. Power source 1108 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from power source 1108 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of UE 1100 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging power source 1108. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 1108 to make the power suitable for the respective components of UE 1100 to which power is supplied.

[0277] Memory 1110 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, memory 1110 includes one or more application programs 1114, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1116. Memory 1110 may store, for use by UE 1100, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0278] Memory 1110 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ Memory 1110 may allow UE 1100 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non- transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 1110, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0279] Processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 1112. Communication interface 1112 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1122. Communication interface 1112 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1118 and / or a receiver 1120 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, transmitter 1118 and receiver 1120 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1122) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0280] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of communication interface 1112 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0281] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1112, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0282] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0283] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to UE 1100 shown in Figure 10.

[0284] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0285] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’ s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators. In some embodiments, UE 1100 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a UE in various embodiments described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure?.

[0286] Figure 11 shows a network node 1200 in accordance with some embodiments being an example of the RAN node 420. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs), and 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0287] The RAN node 420 is configured to provide serving cells to the UE 410 in the RAN.

[0288] The RAN node is configured to receive, from the UE 410, fast activation information that includes the indication of the fast activation capability of the UE 410 for the first serving cell provided by the RAN node 420.

[0289] The RAN node 420 is configured to, based on the fast activation information, send to the UE 410, the command to activate the first serving cell.

[0290] The RAN node 420 is configured to, after the activation delay corresponding to the indicated fast activation capability of the UE 410, send to the UE 410, scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE 410 in the first serving cell.

[0291] The indication may comprise one of the following:

[0292] • the Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell;

[0293] • the Boolean variable that can take on a first value indicating the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell;

[0294] • the multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays;

[0295] • the identifier of one of the following entities: the first serving cell; a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and a frequency range, FR, associated with the first serving cell.

[0296] • the identifier that indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity; and • the identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node, for which the UE is also capable of fast activation.

[0297] The RAN node 420 may be configured to send to the UE 410 the configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration.

[0298] The configuration may be sent in response to receiving the fast activation information and the RAN node 420 may be configured to select the first serving cell based on the indication of the fast activation capability of the UE; or the fast activation information may be received in response to sending the configuration.

[0299] The RAN node 420 may be configured to, while the UE 410 is connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, send to the UE 410 the message indicating for the UE 410 to release its connection to the RAN, wherein the message may include the configuration for non-connected measurements.

[0300] The RAN node 420 may be configured to subsequently send to the UE 410 the command to resume the connection to the RAN.

[0301] The RAN node 420 may be configured to receive the fast activation information by subsequently receiving from the UE 410 the report including results of the UE’s non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell according to the configuration and while the UE was in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN.

[0302] The indication may indicate that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, one of the following applies: the explicit indication in the report, or implicit indication which is based on the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell being included in the report.

[0303] The report may include results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of the second serving cell, and absence of the second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE 410 is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

[0304] The explicit indication that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell may be the data structure that includes the results of the non-connected measurements of only the first serving cell

[0305] The configuration may include the fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the indication may indicate that the UE 410 is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: the duration that the UE was in the non-connected state, and the duration of the UE’s non-connected measurements of the first serving cell.

[0306] The non-connected measurements may include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN.

[0307] The RAN node 420 may be configured to send to the UE 410 the request for fast activation information, wherein the fast activation information may be received in response to the request.

[0308] The RAN node 420 may be configured to receive from the UE 410 the indication of fast activation information availability, wherein the request for fast activation information is sent in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

[0309] The indication may indicate that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE resumes the connection to the RAN: only for the initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during the initial duration.

[0310] The activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration may be shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

[0311] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0312] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0313] Network node 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202, memory 1204, communication interface 1206, and power source 1208. Network node 1200 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 1200 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 1200 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1204 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1210 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1200 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1200, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1200.

[0314] Processing circuitry 1202 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1200 components, such as memory 1204, to provide network node 1200 functionality.

[0315] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1202 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1202 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0316] Memory 1204 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 1202. Memory 1204 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions (collectively denoted computer program 1204a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1202 and utilized by network node 1200. Memory 1204 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 1202 and / or any data received via communication interface 1206. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1202 and memory 1204 is integrated.

[0317] Communication interface 1206 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, communication interface 1206 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1216 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. Communication interface 1206 also includes radio frontend circuitry 1218 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 1210. Radio front-end circuitry 1218 comprises filters 1220 and amplifiers 1222. Radio front-end circuitry 1218 may be connected to an antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. Radio front-end circuitry 1218 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 1218 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1220 and / or amplifiers 1222. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1210. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1210 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1218. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1202. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0318] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1200 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1218, instead, processing circuitry 1202 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 1210. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 1212 is part of communication interface 1206. In still other embodiments, communication interface 1206 includes one or more ports or terminals 1216, radio front-end circuitry 1218, and RF transceiver circuitry 1212, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 1206 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1214, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0319] Antenna 1210 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1210 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1218 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, antenna 1210 is separate from network node 1200 and connectable to network node 1200 through an interface or port. Antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and / or processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and / or processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0320] Power source 1208 provides power to the various components of network node 1200 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 1208 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of network node 1200 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 1200 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of power source 1208. As a further example, power source 1208 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0321] Embodiments of network node 1200 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 11 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1200 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 1200 and to allow output of information from network node 1200. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 1200.

[0322] In some embodiments, network node 1200 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a RAN node in various embodiments described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 8.

[0323] Figure 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1300 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1300 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0324] Applications 1302 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1300 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. For example, a virtual node 1302 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a RAN node in various embodiments described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 8.

[0325] Hardware 1304 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions (collectively denoted computer program 1304a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1306 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1308a-1308b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1308), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1306 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1308.

[0326] VMs 1308 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1306. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1302 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1308, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0327] In the context of NFV, each VM 1308 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1308, and that part of hardware 1304 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1308 on top of the hardware 1304 and corresponds to the application 1302.

[0328] Hardware 1304 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1304 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1304 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration function 1310, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1302. In some embodiments, hardware 1304 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1312 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0329] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various exemplary embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

[0330] The term unit, as used herein, can have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices and can include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and / or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

[0331] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0332] As described herein, device and / or apparatus can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution or being run on a processor. Furthermore, functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and / or apparatuses, whether functionally in cooperation with or independently of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered as known to a skilled person.

[0333] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0334] In addition, certain terms used in the present disclosure, including the specification and drawings, can be used synonymously in certain instances (e.g., “data” and “information”). It should be understood, that although these terms (and / or other terms that can be synonymous to one another) can be used synonymously herein, there can be instances when such words can be intended to not be used synonymously.

[0335] Embodiments of the present disclosure also include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples:

[0336] Al . A method for a user equipment (UE) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising: sending, to a RAN node, fast activation information that includes an indication of the UE’s fast activation capability for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node; subsequently receiving from the RAN node a command to activate the first serving cell; activating the first serving cell in response to the command; and after an activation delay corresponding to the UE’s indicated fast activation capability, receiving from the RAN node scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE in the first serving cell.

[0337] Ala. The method of embodiment Al, wherein one of the following applies: the indication is a Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell; or the indication is a Boolean variable that can take on a first value indicating the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell.

[0338] Alb. The method of embodiment Al, wherein the indication is a multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays.

[0339] Ale. The method of embodiment Al, wherein the indication is an identifier of one of the following entities: the first serving cell; a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and a frequency range (FR) associated with the first serving cell.

[0340] Aid. The method of embodiment Alb, wherein the identifier indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity.

[0341] Ale. The method of embodiment Al, wherein the indication is an identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node, for which the UE is also capable of fast activation. A2. The method of any of embodiments Al -Ale, further comprising receiving from the RAN node a configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration.

[0342] A2a. The method of embodiment A2, wherein one of the following applies: the configuration is received in response to the fast activation information, or the fast activation information is sent in response to the configuration.

[0343] A3. The method of any of embodiments Al -Aid, further comprising: while connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, receiving from the RAN node a message indicating for the UE release its connection to RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements; while in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN, performing the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell in accordance with the configuration; and receiving from the RAN node a command to resume the connection to the RAN, wherein sending the fast activation information comprises, after resuming the connection to the RAN, sending to the RAN node a report including results of the nonconnected measurements of at least the first serving cell.

[0344] A3a. The method of embodiment A3, wherein the indication indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, based one of the following applies: an explicit indication in the report, or implicitly based on the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell being included in the report.

[0345] A3b. The method of embodiment A3 a, wherein the report includes results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

[0346] A3c. The method of embodiment A3b, wherein the explicit indication that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell is in a data structure that includes the results of the nonconnected measurements of only the first serving cell A3d. The method of any of embodiments A3-A3c, wherein the configuration includes a fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the method further comprises determining that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: a duration of the nonconnected state, and a duration of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell.

[0347] A3e. The method of any of embodiments A3-A3d, wherein the non-connected measurements include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN.

[0348] A3f. The method of any of embodiments A3-A3e, wherein the non-connected measurements are performed while the UE is in one or more of the following non-connected states:

[0349] RRC IDLE, and RRC INACTIVE.

[0350] A4. The method of any of embodiments Al-A3f, further comprising receiving from the RAN node a request for fast activation information, wherein the fast activation information is sent in response to the request.

[0351] A4a. The method of embodiment A4, further comprising sending to the RAN node an indication of fast activation information availability, wherein the request for fast activation information is received in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

[0352] A5. The method of any of embodiments Al-A4a, wherein when the indication indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE resumes a connection to the RAN: only for an initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during an initial duration.

[0353] A5a. The method of embodiment A5, wherein the activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration is shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

[0354] Bl. A method for a radio access network (RAN) node configured to provide serving cells to user equipment (UEs), the method comprising: receiving, from a UE, fast activation information that includes an indication of the UE’s fast activation capability for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node; based on the fast activation information, sending to the UE a command to activate the first serving cell; and after an activation delay corresponding to the UE’s indicated fast activation capability, sending to the UE scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE in the first serving cell.

[0355] Bia. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein one of the following applies: the indication is a Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell; or the indication is a Boolean variable that can take on a first value indicating the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating the UE is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell.

[0356] Bib. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein the indication is a multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays.

[0357] Bic. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein the indication is an identifier of one of the following entities: the first serving cell; a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and a frequency range (FR) associated with the first serving cell.

[0358] Bld. The method of embodiment Bib, wherein the identifier indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity.

[0359] Ble. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein the indication is an identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node, for which the UE is also capable of fast activation. B2. The method of any of embodiments Bl-Ble, further comprising sending to the UE a configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration.

[0360] B2a. The method of embodiment B2, wherein one of the following applies: the configuration is sent in response to receiving the fast activation information and the method further comprises selecting the first serving cell based on the indication of the UE’s fast activation capability; or the fast activation information is received in response to sending the configuration.

[0361] B3. The method of any of embodiments Bl -Bld, further comprising: while the UE is connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, sending to the UE a message indicating for the UE release its connection to RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements; and subsequently sending to the UE a command to resume the connection to the RAN, wherein receiving the fast activation information comprises subsequently receiving from the UE a report including results of the UE’s non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell according to the configuration and while in the UE was in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN.

[0362] B3a. The method of embodiment B3, wherein the indication indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, based one of the following applies: an explicit indication in the report, or implicitly based on the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell being included in the report.

[0363] B3b. The method of embodiment B3a, wherein the report includes results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

[0364] B3c. The method of embodiment B3b, wherein the explicit indication that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell is in a data structure that includes the results of the nonconnected measurements of only the first serving cell B3d. The method of any of embodiments B3-B3c, wherein the configuration includes a fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the indication indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: a duration that the UE was in the non-connected state, and a duration of the UE’s non-connected measurements of the first serving cell.

[0365] B3e. The method of any of embodiments B3-B3d, wherein the non-connected measurements include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN.

[0366] B3f. The method of any of embodiments B3-B3d, wherein the non-connected measurements are performed while the UE is in one or more of the following non-connected states: RRC IDLE, and RRC INACTIVE.

[0367] B4. The method of any of embodiments Bl-B3f, further comprising sending to the UE a request for fast activation information, wherein the fast activation information is received in response to the request.

[0368] B4a. The method of embodiment B4, further comprising receiving from the UE an indication of fast activation information availability, wherein the request for fast activation information is sent in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

[0369] B5. The method of any of embodiments Bl-B4a, wherein when the indication indicates that the UE is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE resumes a connection to the RAN: only for an initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during an initial duration.

[0370] B5a. The method of embodiment B5, wherein the activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration is shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

[0371] Cl . User equipment (UE) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network (RAN), the UE comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with RAN nodes; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Al-A5a.

[0372] C2. User equipment (UE) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network (RAN), the UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Al-A5a.

[0373] C3. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of user equipment (UE) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network (RAN), configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Al-A5a.

[0374] C4. Computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of user equipment (UE) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network (RAN), configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Al-A5a.

[0375] DI . Radio access network (RAN) node configured to provide serving cells to user equipment (UEs), the RAN node comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with UEs; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Bl-B5a.

[0376] D2. Radio access network (RAN) node configured to provide serving cells to user equipment (UEs), the RAN node being further configured to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Bl-B5a.

[0377] D3. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to provide serving cells to user equipment (UEs), configure the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments Bl-B5a. D4. Computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to provide serving cells to user equipment (UEs), configure the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to the methods of any of embodiments B 1-B5a.

Claims

1. CLAIMS1. A method for a user equipment, UE, (410) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network, RAN, the method comprising: sending (850), to a RAN node (420), fast activation information that includes an indication of a fast activation capability of the UE (410) for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node (420); subsequently receiving (870) from the RAN node (420) a command to activate the first serving cell; activating (880) the first serving cell in response to the received command; and after an activation delay corresponding to the indicated fast activation capability of the UE (410), receiving (890) from the RAN node (420) scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE (410) in the first serving cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises one of the following: a Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates the UE (410) is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell; a Boolean variable that can take on a first value indicating the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating the UE (410) is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell; a multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays; an identifier of one of the following entities: the first serving cell; a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and a frequency range, FR, associated with the first serving cell. an identifier that indicates that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity; and an identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node (420), for which the UE (410) is also capable of fast activation.

3. The method of any of the claims 1-2, further comprising receiving (860) from the RAN node (420) a configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configuration is received in response to the fast activation information, or the fast activation information is sent in response to the configuration.

5. The method of any of the claims 1-4, further comprising: while connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, receiving (810) from the RAN node (420) a message indicating for the UE (410) to release its connection to the RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements; while in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN, performing (815) the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell in accordance with the configuration; and receiving (820) from the RAN node (420) a command to resume the connection to the RAN, wherein sending (850) the fast activation information comprises, after resuming the connection to the RAN, sending to the RAN node (420) a report including results of the non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the indication indicates that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell by comprising one of the following: an explicit indication in the report, or an implicit indication being the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell included in the report.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the report includes results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE (410) is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the explicit indication that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell is in a data structure that includes the results of the non-connected measurements of only the first serving cell.

9. The method of any of the claims 5-8, wherein the configuration includes a fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the method further comprises determining (830) that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: a duration of the non-connected state, and a duration of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell.

10. The method of any of claims 5-9, wherein the non-connected measurements include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN.

11. The method of any of the claims 5-10, wherein the non-connected measurements are performed while the UE (410) is in one or more of the following non-connected states: RRC IDLE, and RRC INACTIVE.

12. The method of any of the claims 5-11, further comprising receiving (845) from the RAN node (420) a request for fast activation information, wherein the fast activation information is sent in response to the request.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending (840) to the RAN node (420) an indication of fast activation information availability, wherein the request for fast activation information is received in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

14. The method of any of the claims 13, wherein when the indication indicates that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE (410) resumes a connection to the RAN: only for an initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during an initial duration.

15. The method claim 14, wherein the activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration is shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

16. A method for a radio access network, RAN, node (420) configured to provide serving cells to a user equipment, UE, ( 10) in a RAN, the method comprising: receiving (950), from the UE (410), fast activation information that includes an indication of a fast activation capability of the UE (410) for a first serving cell provided by the RAN node (420); based on the fast activation information, sending (980) to the UE (410), a command to activate the first serving cell; and after an activation delay corresponding to the indicated fast activation capability of the UE (410), sending (990) to the UE (410), scheduling information for data traffic associated with the UE (410) in the first serving cell.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication comprises one of the following:• a Boolean variable whose presence in the information indicates the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and whose absence indicates the UE (410) is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell;• a Boolean variable that can take on a first value indicating the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell and a second value indicating the UE (410) is not capable of fast activation of the first serving cell;• a multi-value variable, with the respective values indicating one of the following for the first serving cell: different degrees of UE fast activation capability, or different UE fast activation delays;• an identifier of one of the following entities: the first serving cell; a frequency carrier associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band associated with the first serving cell; a frequency band combination associated with the first serving cell; and a frequency range, FR, associated with the first serving cell.• an identifier that indicates that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of all serving cells associated with the identified entity; and• an identifier of the first serving cell and the fast activation information also includes one or more other identifiers of respective one or more other serving cells provided by the RAN node (420), for which the UE (410) is also capable of fast activation.

18. The method of any of the claims 16-17, further comprising sending (970) to the UE (410) a configuration of the first serving cell, wherein the command to activate the first serving cell is based on the configuration.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration is sent in response to receiving the fast activation information and the method further comprises selecting (960) the first serving cell based on the indication of the fast activation capability of the UE (410); or the fast activation information is received in response to sending the configuration.

20. The method of any of claims 16-19, further comprising: while the UE (410) is connected to the RAN via the first serving cell, sending (910) to the UE (410) a message indicating for the UE (410) to release its connection to the RAN, wherein the message includes a configuration for non-connected measurements; and subsequently sending (920) to the UE (410) a command to resume the connection to the RAN, wherein receiving the fast activation information comprises subsequently receiving from the UE (410) a report including results of the UE’s non-connected measurements of at least the first serving cell according to the configuration and while the UE (410) was in a non-connected state after releasing the connection to the RAN.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the indication indicates that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, one of the following applies: an explicit indication in the report, or implicit indication which is based on the results of the non-connected measurements of the first serving cell being included in the report.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the report includes results of non-connected measurements of the first serving cell and of a second serving cell, and absence of a second explicit indication from the report indicates that the UE (410) is not capable of fast activation of the second serving cell.

23. The method of any of the claims 21-22, wherein the explicit indication that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell is in a data structure that includes the results of the non-connected measurements of only the first serving cell24. The method of any of the claims 18-23, wherein the configuration includes a fast activation validity duration for non-connected measurements, and the indication indicates that the UE ( 10) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell based on one or more of the following being less than the fast activation validity duration: a duration that the UE (410) was in the non-connected state, and a duration of the UE’s non-connected measurements of the first serving cell.

25. The method of any of the claims 20-24, wherein the non-connected measurements include one or more of the following: early measurements for resuming a connection to the RAN, and measurements for cell reselection while not connected to the RAN.

26. The method of any of the claims 16-25, further comprising sending (940) to the UE (410) a request for fast activation information, wherein the fast activation information is received in response to the request.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising receiving (930) from the UE (410) an indication of fast activation information availability, wherein the request for fast activation information is sent in response to the indication of fast activation information availability.

28. The method of any of the claims 16-27, wherein when the indication indicates that the UE (410) is capable of fast activation of the first serving cell, the indicated UE fast activation capability is valid for one of the following after the UE (410) resumes a connection to the RAN: only for an initial activation of the first serving cell, or only during an initial duration.

29. The method of the claim 28, wherein the activation delay for the initial activation or during the initial duration is shorter than the activation delay after the initial activation or after the initial duration.

30. A user equipment, UE, (410) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network, RAN, wherein the UE (410) is configured to perform operations corresponding to the method of any of claims 1-15.

31. A radio access network, RAN, node (420) configured to provide serving cells to a user equipment, UE, ( 10), wherein the RAN node (420) is configured to perform operations corresponding to the method according to any of the claims 16-29.

32. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of user equipment, UE, (410) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network, RAN, configure the UE (410) to perform operations corresponding to the method of any of the claims 1-15.

33. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of user equipment, UE, (410) configured for fast activation of serving cells provided by a radio access network, RAN, configure the UE (410) to perform operations corresponding to the method of any of the claims 1-15.

34. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a radio access network, RAN, node (420) configured to provide serving cells to user equipment, UEs, configure the RAN node (420) to perform operations corresponding to the method of any of the claims 16-29.

35. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a radio access network, RAN, node (420) configured to provide serving cells to user equipment, UEs, configure the RAN node (420) to perform operations corresponding to the method of any of the claims 16-29.

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