Configuration and reporting of logged measurements via multiple RRC messages for ai data collection with network-side model

Abstract

Systems and methods related to configuration and reporting of logged measurements via multiple Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages for, eg., Artificial Intelligence (AI) collection with a network-side AI / Machine Learning (ML) model. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for reporting logged radio measurements for AI or ML data collection for model training via multiple RRC messages comprises receiving, from a network node, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements and transmitting, to the network node, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

Description

CONFIGURATION AND REPORTING OF LOGGED MEASUREMENTS VIA MULTIPLE RRC MESSAGES FOR Al DATA COLLECTION WITH NETWORK-SIDE MODELRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 675,949, filed July 26, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a cellular communications network and, more specifically, to configuration and reporting of logged measurements in a cellular communications network.BACKGROUND

[0003] Artificial Intelligence (Al) and Machine Learning (ML) have been investigated, both in academia and industry, as promising tools to optimize the design of the air-interface in wireless communication networks. Example use cases include using autoencoders for Channel State Information (CSI) compression to reduce the feedback overhead and improve channel prediction accuracy; using deep neural networks for classifying Line-of-Sight (LOS) and Non-LOS (NLOS) conditions to enhance the positioning accuracy; using reinforcement learning for beam selection at the network side and / or the User Equipment (UE) side to reduce the signaling overhead and beam alignment latency; and using deep reinforcement learning to learn an optimal precoding policy for complex Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) precoding problems.

[0004] In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) standardization work, a new release 18 study item on AI / ML for the NR air interface started in May 2022. This study item explored the benefits of augmenting the air-interface with features enabling improved support of AI / ML based algorithms for enhanced performance and / or reduced complexity / overhead. Through studying a few selected use cases (i.e., CSI feedback, beam management, and positioning), this study item aims at laying the foundation for future air-interface use cases leveraging AI / ML techniques. Leveraging on the results of such release 18 study item, 3GPP has recently approved a related work item in the context of 3GPP Release 19.

[0005] Besides the work on CSI / beam management optimizations and positioning, 3GPP has also approved a study item to explore the benefits of AI / ML in the context of mobility, includingRadio Resource Monitoring (RRM) measurements predictions and mobility predictions such as handover and radio link failures predictions.

[0006] Building the Al model, or any machine learning model, includes several development steps where the actual training of the Al model is just one step in a training pipeline. An important part in Al development is the ML model Lifecycle Management (LCM). This is illustrated in Figure 1, which is an illustration of training and inference pipelines, and their interactions within a model lifecycle management procedure. The model LCM typically consists of:• A training (re-training) pipeline that may include: o Data Ingestion: Data ingestion refers to gathering raw (training) data from a data storage. After data ingestion, there may also be a step that controls the validity of the gathered data. o Data Pre-Processing: Data pre-processing refers to some feature engineering applied to the gathered data, e.g., it may include data normalization and possibly a data transformation required for the input data to the Al model. o Model Training: Model training refers to the actual model training steps as previously outlined. o Model Evaluation: Model evaluation refers to benchmarking the performance to some model baseline. The iterative steps of model training and model evaluation continues until the acceptable level of performance (as previously exemplified) is achieved. o Model Registration: Model registration refers to registering the Al model, including any corresponding Al-metadata that provides information on how the Al model was developed, and possibly Al model evaluations performance outcomes.• A deployment stage to make the trained (or re-trained) Al model part of the inference pipeline.• An inference pipeline that may include: o Data Ingestion: Data ingestion refers to gathering raw (inference) data from a data storage. o Data Pre-Processing: Data pre-processing stage is typically identical to corresponding processing that occurs in the training pipeline. o Model Operational: Model operational refers to using the trained and deployed model in an operational mode.o Data and Model Monitoring: Data and model monitoring refers to validating that the inference data are from a distribution that aligns well with the training data, as well as monitoring model outputs for detecting any performance, or operational, drifts.• A drift detection stage that informs about any drifts in the model operations.

[0007] Figure 2 shows a functional framework that can be used for studying different Network (NW)-UE collaboration levels for the Al for Physical layer (PHY) use cases.

[0008] In particular, the 3GPP release 18 study item has distinguished between the UE-side model, which is operated by the UE to optimize UE-performances, and the NW-side model, which is operated by a network node to optimize the NW performances. In order to build UE- and NW- side models, separate training sessions have to be carried out.

[0009] In the following, more details about the UE- and NW-side models are described.

[0010] In regard to UE-side models, there are several methods for the UE-side model training. In one approach, the training of the UE-side model is performed at the UE itself, i.e. the UE performs both the training and the inference. However, this approach might be too complex in practice or possibly not feasible given the limited computational resources of the UE, and the large computational complexity that the training operation might imply. Also, if models are dependent on location and / or region, a single UE would not cover an entire coverage area, so that models the UE trains by itself would always be limited to the areas the UE moves around, so that every time the UE enters a new area, its trained AI / ML models could be outdated. Hence, alternative approaches for training UE-sided models include the possibility that a network node, e.g. a radio access node (e.g., a next generation NodeB (gNB)) or a Core Network (CN) node (e.g. a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF)), collects data from a UE and trains an AI / ML model that at some point should be delivered / transferred to that UE or other UEs which will then apply it. Further, an Over-the-Top (OTT) server, outside 3 GPP, may be in charge of performing the training. This server could be for example a UE-vendor specific server. This latter approach might be a reasonable candidate because in order to have optimal performances, the trained data set should fit the inference operations at the device which may depend on UE-vendor specific implementations (e.g. software / hardware properties / capabilities).

[0011] Irrespective of whether the UE-side model training is performed by a node outside the Radio Access Network (RAN), e.g. in a CN node, or even outside the 3GPP network, a certain amount of data needs to be collected by the UE in order to enable such a node to perform model training. This is because, for many use cases such as Al-based CSI compression, Al-based CSI prediction, Al-based beam management, Al-based positioning, Al-based mobility predictions, ALbased traffic predictions, etc., the training node needs to receive inputs from the UE. Hence, one can envisage a protocol in which the UE does training (e.g., upon receiving a triggering from the training node) for a certain amount of time, it collects data, and once the data collection is completed, it transfers the collected data to the training node.

[0012] Related to NW-side model training, it has been assumed so far in 3GPP that the gNB and / or the Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (0AM) node will be in charge of NW- side model training. If the gNB is responsible, it is assumed that the gNB may configure the UE with a set of resources, e.g. CSI Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resource sets, in which the UE should collect measurements for a certain amount of time. Then, the UE will report the measurements to the gNB, e.g. via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. Then, the training can be performed in the gNB itself, or in another node controlled by the gNB-vendor, e.g. an OTT server handled by the gNB-vendor.

[0013] A similar approach would apply for the case in which the 0AM does the NW-side training. In this case, the 0AM may request the gNB to provide to the UE a certain configuration according to which the UE should perform certain measurements and collect data. Once the data collection is completed, the UE will transfer the collected data to the 0AM, e.g. using the Minimization of Drive Testing (MDT) framework such as the immediate MDT or the logged MDT.

[0014] In particular, in RAN2, the benefit of allowing the UE to log the data intended for the NW-side model training was discussed. Since this type of data does not have any stringent latency requirement, it is beneficial for the UE and for the network (e.g. in terms of UE power consumption, or spectral efficiency) if the UE could log the measured data, e.g. the beam / cell / frequency level qualities, and transmit them at a later point in time, rather than transmitting them immediately upon performing the corresponding measurement (as it is for example for conventional Layer 1 (LI) measurements which are transmitted in Uplink Control Information (UCI)).

[0015] To this end, RAN2 has agreed in RAN2 126 that the UE can support logging of LI measurements (i.e., beam level measurements) and transmit them via RRC signaling, e.g. periodically, or potentially based on events or upon network request. This method can be used both for the gNB-centric approach, since the RRC protocol is handled by the gNB, and for the 0AM- centric approach via the immediate MDT framework, since the immediate MDT is based on existing RRC measurement procedures for configuration and reporting with some extensions for location information. The logging of measurements implies that the UE would need to send this logged data in multiple RRC messages, particularly in case the size of the logged data is largerthan the size than the maximum supported size of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU) that conveys the RRC message.

[0016] In order to address this issue, RRC segmentation has been introduced in 3GPP. RRC segmentation is for example supported in the context of logged MDT and SON reports, and also in the context of Quality of Experience (QoE).

[0017] The reporting of logged data is already possible in the context of logged MDT and Self-Organizing Network (SON) reports. In fact, the UE can signal to the network the availability of logged data, e.g. logged upon being configured with logged MDT, or upon experiencing certain events which are of interest for SON optimization, the events being for example radio link failure (RLF), handover failure (HOF), random access (RA), or successful handover / Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell) change (Successful Handover Report (SHR), Successful PSCell Report (SPR)). In particular, upon signaling to the network the availability of the logged data (e.g. in complete messages, such as RRCReconfigurationComplete, RRCResumeComplete,RRCReestablishmentComplete, etc.), the UE may receive the UE Information Request message from the network requesting the logged measurement report from the UE to the network. Then, after successful security activation (if not activated yet), the UE reports the logged measurement results comprising a flag “logMeasAvailable” to the network if there are one or more additional logged measurement entries that are not included in the logMeasInfoList within the UEInformationResponse message as follows.LogMeasReport-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { absoluteTimeStamp-rl6 AbsoluteTimeInfo-rl6, traceReference-rl6 TraceReference-rl6, traceRecordingSessionRef-rl 6 OCTET STRING (SIZE (2)), tce-Id-rl6 OCTET STRING (SIZE (1)), logMeasInfoList-rl6 LogMeasInfoList-rl6, logMeasAvailable-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,10gMeasAvailableBT-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,10gMeasAvailableWLAN-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,LogMeasInfoList-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (l..maxLogMeasReport-rl6)) OF LogMeasInfo-rl6LogMeasInfo-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE { locationlnfo-rl6 locationlnfo-rl6 OPTIONAL, relativeTimeStamp-rl6 INTEGER (0..7200), servCellIdentity-rl6 CGI-Info-Logging-rl6 OPTIONAL, measResultServingCell-rl 6 MeasResultServingCell-rl 6 OPTIONAL, measResultNeighCells-rl 6 SEQUENCE { measResultNeighCellListNR MeasResultListLogging2NR-rl 6 OPTIONAL, measResultNeighCellListEUTRA MeasResultList2EUTRA-rl 6 OPTIONAL}, anyCellSelectionDetected-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,[[’ inDeviceCoexDetected-rl7 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL]]

[0018] As previously mentioned, QoE also supports the possibility to transmit to the network RRC segments. In such case, the RRC segments contain application layer measurements which are measured by the application layer and passed to RRC for segmentation and transmission over the air interface.SUMMARY

[0019] Systems and methods related to configuration and reporting of logged measurements via multiple Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages for, e.g., Artificial Intelligence (Al) collection with a network-side AI / Machine Learning (ML) model. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for reporting logged radio measurements for Al or ML data collection for model training via multiple RRC messages comprises receiving, from a network node, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements and transmitting, to the network node, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message. The reported logged radio measurements are for Al or ML data collection for model training. In this manner, mechanisms for the UE to transmit logged radio measurements associated to AI / ML data collection for model training are defined where the logged radio measurements can be transmitted in multiple RRC messages.

[0020] In one embodiment, the logged radio measurements comprise any one or more of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurements, or Received Strength of Signal Indicator (RS SI) measurements.

[0021] In one embodiment, the first information further comprises information about the logged radio measurements comprised in the first information. In one embodiment, the information about the logged radio measurements comprised in the first information comprises any one or more of the following: an indication of one or more beams, cells, and / or frequencies in which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed; one or more locations at which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed, or where data collection started; one or more time information about a time(s) at which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed, or when the data collection started; an indication indicating a data collection session associated to the first part of the logged radio measurements, wherein one ormore data collection sessions may be initiated for any AI / ML purpose; one or more of indications of one or more AI / ML use cases for which the measurement and data is collected.

[0022] In one embodiment, the information about the second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message comprised in the second information comprises an indication indicating that the UE still has available logged radio measurements and optionally associated information, associated to one or more AI / ML uses cases.

[0023] In one embodiment, the information about the second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message comprised in the second information comprises any one or more of: a number of RRC messages or segments that the UE would need to transmit in order to transmit all of the logged radio measurements and any associated information; a remaining amount of logged radio measurements, and optionally any associated information, available at the UE for transmission; an amount of time left until completion of data collection associated to the logged radio measurements; an amount of time elapsed since starting data collection associated to the logged radio measurements; an indication that indicates whether the data collection associated to the logged radio measurements is still ongoing; an indication of end of measurements collection for the logged radio measurements in a last of the multiple RRC messages.

[0024] In one embodiment, the method further comprises based on the transmitted first RRC message, receiving (306), from the network node, a request message comprising a request to the UE to transmit one successive RRC message comprising at least part of the logged radio measurements.

[0025] In one embodiment, the method further comprises, based on the transmitted first RRC message, receiving (306), from the network node, a request message comprising any one or more of: a request to the UE to transmit all of the logged radio measurements in successive RRC messages; a request to the UE to transmit a number of successive RRC messages including the logged radio measurements; a request to the UE to transmit in successive RRC messages a number of bytes for reporting of at least part of the logged radio measurements; a request to the UE to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements; a request to the UE to stop transmission of the logged radio measurements; a request to configure or change a Signaling Radio Bearer, SRB, in case multiple SRBs can be configured for transmission of such logged (e.g., AI / ML related) measurements and information; a request to change the network node that receives the logged radio measurements and associated information in case multiple network nodes can be configured to receive such measurements and information.

[0026] In one embodiment, the network node report configuration comprises an indication indicating a restart of transmission of the logged radio measurements based on an associated AI / ML use case.

[0027] In one embodiment, the network node report configuration comprises any one or more of a periodicity at which the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages including the logged radio measurements should be transmitted; an event that needs to be fulfilled for the UE to transmit the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages including the logged radio measurements; an indication indicating to transmit the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages upon network request; an indication indicating whether the UE should wait for a request message from the network node in order to transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements; an indication indicating that the UE can transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements after transmitting the first RRC message without waiting for a request from the network node; an indication indicating an SRB that should be used for the transmission of the multiple RRC messages; an indication indicating one or more data collection types that should follow the network node report configuration; an indication indicating a priority of transmission of the logged radio measurements per use case; an indication indicating a pause, suspension, stop, or restart of transmission of the logged radio measurements based on an associated AI / ML use case.

[0028] In one embodiment, the method further comprises, in response to receiving a request message from the network node comprising an indication to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements or in response to not receiving a request message from the network node within a predefined or configured amount of time after transmitting the first RRC message, resuming transmission of one or more remaining logged radio measurements.

[0029] In one embodiment, the method further comprises, in response to not receiving a request message from the network node responsive to transmitting the first RRC message, continuing transmission of the remaining logged radio measurements in one or more successive RRC messages.

[0030] In one embodiment, the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages is transmitted periodically, or when an event occurs, or upon network node request, according to the network node report configuration, and the method further comprises transmitting one or more successive RRC messages comprising the remaining logged radio measurements based on one or more network node requests.

[0031] In one embodiment, the second information is included in the first RRC message and not included in any of one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements.

[0032] In one embodiment, the second information is included in at least one successive RRC message containing at least some of the remining logged radio measurements, and at least parts of content of the second information is updated with respect to any previously transmitted RRC message.

[0033] In one embodiment, the logged radio measurements transmitted by the UE in the first RRC message and one or more successive RRC messages were logged by the UE before transmitting the first RRC message.

[0034] In one embodiment, the logged radio measurements that are logged by the UE after transmitting the first RRC message are transmitted by the UE in a first or subsequent successive RRC message at a later configured occasion.

[0035] In one embodiment, one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements are transmitted at any point in time after the transmission of the first RRC message.

[0036] In one embodiment, the reported logged radio measurements are associated for Al or ML data collection.

[0037] In one embodiment, the reported logged radio measurements are for Al or ML data collection.

[0038] Corresponding embodiments of a UE are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a UE for reporting logged radio measurements for Al or ML data collection for model training via multiple RRC messages comprises a communication interface comprising a transmitter and a receiver, and processing circuitry associated with the communication interface. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE to receive, from a network node, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements and transmit, to the network node, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

[0039] Embodiments of a method performed by a network node for facilitating reporting of logged radio measurements for Al or ML data collection for model training via multiple RRC messages are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises transmitting, to a UE, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurementsand receiving, from the UE, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and information about the logged radio measurements and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

[0040] Corresponding embodiments of a network node are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a network node for facilitating reporting of logged radio measurements for Al or ML data collection for model training via multiple RRC messages comprises processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to transmit, to a UE, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements and receive, from the UE, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and information about the logged radio measurements and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0042] Figure 1 is an illustration of training and inference pipelines, and their interactions within a model lifecycle management procedure.

[0043] Figure 2 shows a functional framework that can be used for studying different Network(NW)-User Equipment (UE) collaboration levels for Artificial Intelligence (Al) for Physical layer (PHY) use cases.

[0044] Figure 3 illustrates the operation of a UE and a network node for configuration and reporting of logged radio measurements via multiple Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 4 illustrates another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0047] Figure 6 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0048] Figure 7 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0049] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0051] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0052] There currently exist certain challenge(s). One Radio Resource Control (RRC) message may not be enough for the report of multiple instances of logged Layer 1 (LI) measurement result from a User Equipment (UE) to a next generation NodeB (gNB), as mentioned in the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) agreement in the Background section above, to support data collection for network-side Artificial Intelligence (Al) models via Immediate Minimization of Drive Testing (MDT). So, enhancement of RRC signaling to support the transmission of more measurement results is needed in the immediate MDT framework to support data collection from UE to network in Al.

[0053] A mechanism like the one supported for logged MDT, i.e. based on UEInformationRequest / Response, could be used; however, that may lead to overhead because, according to that framework, for each message transmitted by the UE, the UE would need to indicate whether an additional message is available in the UE for transmission. Then, the gNB would need to transmit a UEInformationRequest message to request the UE to transmit this next message containing the measurement results.

[0054] An alternative mechanism is based on reporting Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements (e.g., segmenting the QoE measurement report, which is received as an octet string from upper layer) using RRC segmentation; however, QoE measurement reporting is designed to convey measurements coming from the upper layers, wherein the measurements are structured in XML / JSON file and treated as octet string at the RRC layer. Hence, it has such shortcomings that make it not suitable for the purpose of data collection for AI / ML training, e.g. QoE does not support the possibility to log lower layers (RRC or physical layer) measurements, it does notsupport the possibility to support reporting of measurements periodically, or based on events, or event-driven. In addition, due to the measurement format (in XML / JSON language), splitting it into multiple pieces (like MDT measurements) is not feasible at RRC layer.

[0055] Additionally, none of the existing specified mechanism addresses how the UE should transmit a sequence of RRC messages containing logged radio measurements, wherein the first message of this sequence is transmitted according to a report configuration configured by the network.

[0056] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments of systems and methods are disclosed herein that provide a solution(s) to support transmission of a measurement report from a UE to a network node (e.g., gNB) via a plurality of RRC messages, based on network configuration, and information reported by the UE about the logged measurements being available for transmission. The network may provide the UE with further indications on how to transmit the available logged data, wherein such indications may be based on the information reported by the UE.

[0057] Embodiments of the solution(s) disclosed herein target data collection reported by the UE to the network to support Al model training and Al model inference or any other potential AI / ML use cases.

[0058] In one solution, the UE sends the results of multiple radio measurements logged by the UE to the network via multiple measurement report messages in RRC layer, i.e. multiple RRC messages, according to network configuration, wherein one of the RRC messages may contain at least first information associated to the radio measurements (e.g. radio link quality measurement, location at which the measurement was performed, time information, etc.) and second information associated to the logged radio measurements. Based on the second information, the network node (i.e., gNB in the example embodiments described herein) may provide a successive configuration or request to the UE for the transmission of one or more other RRC messages including one or more of the logged measurement results.

[0059] In the above solution, the UE may send, to the network (e.g., to the gNB), information that indicates its capability of sending / reporting multiple logged measurement results via multiple RRC measurement report messages, and then the network may enable this feature via sending corresponding enabling information to the UE where the enabling information may be for all RRC measurement reports or one or more specific RRC measurement reports. The multiple RRC measurement report messages may be sent by the UE via one Uplink Dedicated Control Channel (UL-DCCH)-Message class and / or one UL-DCCH-MessageType message and / or via different RRC message (class) packages.

[0060] In another solution, the UE sends a first RRC message including the first information and the second indication via a measurement report procedure, and then the UE sends the rest of the RRC messages to the network based, e.g., on network indications or commands. For this procedure, the UE information procedure can be used. During the UE information procedure, the network sends a UEInformationRequest message to the UE for the request of the rest of RRC messages including the measurement results, and then the UE reports corresponding segmented measurement results to the network via UEInformationResponse message, where UEInformationRequest message may include the measurement identity information so that the UE knows which RRC message should be reported, and UEInformationResponse message may include the measurement identity information for the corresponding reported segmented measurement results so that the network knows which segmented measurement results it receives.

[0061] Some exemplary embodiments of a method performed by a UE are as follows:

[0062] Embodiment Al: A method performed by a UE for transmission to a network node(e.g., gNB) of radio measurements logged by the UE in one or more RRC messages based on a report configuration, the method comprising:• transmitting, to the network node, a first RRC message comprising at least: o first information comprising at least part of the logged radio measurements and information associated to the at least part of the logged radio measurements (e.g., location at which the measurement s) was performed, time information at which the measurement was performed, and / or the like), and o second information comprising information associated to the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted (e.g., not included the first RRC message or not included in the first RRC message or any prior RRC message).

[0063] Embodiment A2. The method according to Embodiment Al, wherein the information associated the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted comprised in the second information comprises any one or more of the following information:• a number of RRC messages / segments that the UE would need to transmit in order to transmit all the logged radio measurements and any associated information;• a volume, e.g. in kilobytes, of the logged radio measurements and any associated information (e.g., of the remaining logged radio measurements not yet transmitted and any associated information);• an amount of time left, e.g. in second, until completion of the data collection associated to the logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating whether the data collection associated to the logged radio measurements is still ongoing;• an indication of an end of the measurements collection in the last RRC message (e.g., this indication can be implicit by the absence of the second information in the RRC message).

[0064] Embodiment A3. The method according to Embodiment Al or A2, further comprising, based on the transmitted first RRC message, receiving, from the network node, a request message comprising any one or more of the following indications:• a request to the UE to transmit all the logged radio measurement results in successive RRC messages;• a request to the UE to transmit one successive RRC message;• a request to the UE to transmit a number of successive RRC messages including the logged radio measurement;• a request to the UE to transmit in successive RRC messages a number of bytes;• a request to the UE to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements;• a request to the UE to stop transmission of the logged radio measurements;• a request to configure or change the SRB in case multiple SRBs can be configured for the transmission of such logged (e.g., AI / ML related) measurements and information;• a request to change the network node (e.g., RAN node) that receives the logged measurements (e.g., the logged AI / ML related measurements) and associated information in case multiple network nodes (e.g., multiple RAN nodes) can be configured to receive such measurements and information. In an example in a dual connectivity scenario, the network node configuring the UE to collect the AI / ML related measurements and information may configure the UE to report the measurements back to itself or to a secondary node. In a non-limiting example, a master node (MN) may decide to collect the AI / ML related measurements via a secondary node (SN) to balance the load on the signaling radio bearer of the MN and SN.

[0065] Embodiment A4. The method according to any of Embodiments Al to A3, wherein the report configuration comprises any one or more of the following:• a periodicity at which the first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages including the logged radio measurements should be transmitted;• an event that needs to be fulfilled for the UE to transmit a first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages including the logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating to transmit a first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages upon network request;• an indication indicating whether the UE should wait for a request message from the network node in order to transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating that the UE can transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements after transmitting the first RRC message without waiting for a request from the network node;• an indication indicating an SRB that should be used for the transmission of the one or more RRC messages;• an indication indicating one or more data collection types that should follow the report configuration;• an indication indicating a priority of transmission of the collected measurements per use case e.g., the network node instructs the UE to transmit the measurements associated to the beam management use case or positioning use case or mobility use case with certain order or priority etc.;• an indication indicating a pause, suspension, stop, or restart of transmission of the collected measurements based on an associated AI / ML use case, e.g., the RAN node instructs the UE to pause / suspension / stop / restart the transmission of measurements associated to the beam management use case or positioning use case or mobility use case with certain order or priority etc.

[0066] Embodiment A5. The method of Embodiment Al or A2, further comprising, in response to receiving a request message from the network node (e.g., as in A3) comprising an indication to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements or in response to not receiving a request message from the network node (e.g., within a predefined or configured amount of time after transmitting the first RRC message), resuming transmission of one or more remaining logged radio measurements (e.g., at a next configured period or when a next event occurs or upon receiving a next network node request, e.g., as per the reporting configuration (e.g., as in A4)).

[0067] Embodiment A6. The method of Embodiment Al or A2, further comprising, in response to not receiving a request message from the network node responsive to transmitting the first RRC message, continuing transmission of the remaining logged radio measurements in one or more successive RRC messages (e.g., in one or more successive RRC transmission opportunities).

[0068] Embodiment A7. The method according to Embodiment Al or A2, wherein the first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages is transmitted periodically, or when an event occurs, or upon network node request, according to the reporting configuration, and the methodfurther comprises transmitting one or more successive RRC messages comprising the remaining logged radio measurements based on a request(s) from the network node

[0069] Embodiment A8. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A7, wherein the second information is only included in the first RRC message (e.g., and not including in any of the one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements).

[0070] Embodiment A9. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A7, wherein the second information is included in at least one successive RRC message (e.g., containing logged radio measurement s)), and at least parts of the related content is updated with respect to any previously transmitted RRC message.

[0071] Embodiment A10. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A9, wherein the logged radio measurements transmitted by the UE in the first and successive RRC messages were logged by the UE before transmitting the first RRC message.

[0072] Embodiment Al l. The method of any of Embodiments Al to A10, wherein the logged radio measurements that are logged after transmitting the first RRC message are transmitted by the UE in a first or subsequent successive RRC message at a later configured occasion (e.g., a next periodic opportunity, or a next fulfilled event, or reception of a next network node request message).

[0073] Embodiment A12. The method according to Embodiment A3, wherein the successive RRC messages are transmitted at any point in time after the transmission of the first RRC message.

[0074] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The proposed solutions define mechanisms for the UE to transmit logged radio measurements associated to AI / ML data collection, when the logged radio measurements can be transmitted in multiple RRC messages. Embodiments of the solution(s) disclosed herein may take into account the amount of data logged by the UE, e.g. the logged data remaining to be transmitted by the UE, and may allow the network (e.g., gNB) to control the transmission of the multiple RRC messages containing such logged data based on information provided by the UE related to such amount of logged data.

[0075] Embodiments of the solution(s) are described herein primarily in terms of 3 GPP New Radio (NR); however, the solution(s) disclosed herein is also applicable to other types of networks (e.g., a 6thGeneration (6G) network).

[0076] In the present disclosure, a case is considered in which the UE is performing radio measurements and stores (i.e., logs) those radio measurements in the UE memory before transmission to the network (e.g., to a gNB in the case of NR). The radio measurements can be performed for the purpose of AI / ML data collection, e.g. for network (NW)-side model training,and they may include or consist of beam-level measurements, based on Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) Blocks (SSBs) and / or CSI Reference Signal (CSI-RS), or cell level measurements of serving and / or neighboring cells, or frequency-level measurements, or other radio measurements, e.g. measurements of on downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DL-PRS).

[0077] The logged radio measurements may be transmitted in one or more RRC messages to the network (e.g., to the gNB). For example, the UE may encode and submit to lower layers for transmissions multiple RRC messages based on the amount of logged data, in case a single RRC message cannot be used (as in the case in which the logged data exceeds a maximum allowable size of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data Unit (SDU)). In another example, the logged data may be segmented into multiple RRC messages (also referred to herein as “segments”) to be transmitted.

[0078] In the present disclosure, the term “gNB” is used as example of a network side element communicating to the UE in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. However, embodiments of the present disclosure comprising different signaling are applicable to communication between UE any other network node types / technologies (e.g., 6G RAN node or base station).

[0079] In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, each of multiple RRC messages contain at least a part of logged radio measurement results (first information) and information associated thereto. The first information may hence include any one or more of the following:• a part of the logged radio measurement results (also referred to herein as the logged radio measurements) including, e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), and / or Received Strength of Signal Indicator (RS SI) measurements;• an indication of one or more beams, cells, and / or frequencies in which the included radio measurements were performed;• information indicative of one or more locations at which the included radio measurements were performed, or where the corresponding data collection started;• one or more time information (e.g., one or more timestamps) at which the included radio measurements were performed, or when the data collection started;• an indication indicating a data collection session associated to the included radio measurements, wherein one or more data collection sessions may be initiated for any AI / ML purpose, e.g. beam management (temporal / spatial beam level predictions), mobilitymanagement (temporal / spatial cell / frequency level predictions), event management (e.g., mobility event predictions, Radio Link Failure (RLF) predictions, Beam Failure Detection (BFD) predictions, etc.);• one or more of indications of AI / ML use case(s) for which the included radio measurements and data are collected. In non-limiting examples, the use cases can be one or more of AI / ML based beam management, AI / ML based mobility, AI / ML based positioning, etc.

[0080] In one embodiment, the UE sends a first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages to the network (i.e., to a network node such as, e.g., a gNB) for a report of the logged radio measurement results according to at least a network measurement configuration provided from the network (e.g., from the gNB) to the UE. The first RRC message may be transmitted in a MeasurementReport message, and it may be transmitted periodically, or based on events, or on gNB request. For example, the gNB configuration may configure the UE to transmit the first RRC message according to a certain periodicity, or when certain conditions are fulfilled, or upon gNB request. The conditions / events to be fulfilled may comprise, for example, any one or more of the following:• one or more radio conditions (e.g., the first RRC message should be transmitted only when the RSRP / SINR / RSRQ / RSSI is above a certain threshold or when any mobility related event is fulfilled),• one or more UE conditions (e.g., the UE should transmit the first RRC message when a maximum / minimum amount of UE memory has been occupied by the said logged data, or when the UE battery is below a certain threshold, etc.) or based on fulfilment of a time based condition e.g., upon expiry of a timer.

[0081] For example, the gNB may configure the UE to transmit the first RRC message every 1 second, or whenever one of the above conditions are fulfilled, or whenever the gNB requests it. The transmission of the successive RRC messages after the transmission of the first RRC message may depend on gNB configuration or on the reception of gNB request messages. The transmission of the first RRC message corresponds to the initiation of the transmission of one or more RRC messages, wherein the transmission of the successive RRC messages following the first RRC message depends on gNB configuration or reception of gNB request messages. The transmission of the successive RRC message may take place at any point in time after the transmission of the first RRC message, depending for example on UL scheduling grants, prioritization of the said RRC messages (e.g., which Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) is used for transmitting such data) or based on an explicit network request message.

[0082] The gNB report configuration may configure the UE to report the multiple RRC messages in multiple RRC measurement reports if the UE is not able to report the logged measurement results via one RRC message, and the said gNB configuration may comprise any one or more of the following:• a periodicity at which the first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages including the logged radio measurements should be transmitted;• an event that needs to be fulfilled for the UE to transmit a first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages including the logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating to transmit a first RRC message of the one or more RRC messages upon gNB request;• an indication indicating whether the UE should wait for a request message from the gNB in order to transmit the successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating that the UE can transmit the successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements after transmitting the first RRC message without waiting for a request from the gNB.• an indication indicating the SRB that should be used for the transmission of the one or more RRC messages;• an indication indicating the data collection types that should follow the concerned gNB report configuration, wherein the data collection types could be for example beam management (temporal / spatial beam level predictions), mobility management (temporal / spatial cell / frequency level predictions), even management (e.g., mobility event predictions, RLF predictions, BFD predictions, etc.).

[0083] The first RRC message from the UE to the network may include second information indicating at least information about more available measurement results for the report from the UE to the network. This second information may include, for example, any one or more of the following:• a remaining amount of logged data available in the UE memory for transmission. This value can be reported, for example, in kilobytes (KB);• an amount of RRC messages / segments that needs to be transmitted by the UE in order to transmit all the logged data available in the UE memory for transmission. The amount of RRC messages / segments may corresponds to the amount of RRC messages that the UE expects to transmit based on the remaining logged data, or to the amount of RRC messages / segments already stored by the UE and not yet transmitted;• time left, e.g. in seconds, until completion of the data collection associated to the concerned logged radio measurements, o This information can be useful for example if the UE started the data collection upon fulfilling a certain event, and in case the network configured the UE to perform data collection for some time after fulfilling this event. In this case, the network does not know when the event for starting the data collection occurred and how much time is left until the completion of the data collection;• time elapsed, e.g. in seconds, since starting the data collection associated to the concerned logged radio measurements, o This information can be useful for example if the UE started the data collection upon fulfilling a certain event, and in case the network configured the UE to perform data collection for some time after fulfilling this event. In this case, the network does not know when the event for starting the data collection occurred and how much time is left until the completion of the data collection. o In an embodiment, the UE reports the entire elapsed time since starting the measurement collection for the first time, o In another embodiment, the UE logs the accumulated time elapsed during measurement collection for AI / ML purpose that is performed in a discontinuous / intermittent way.• A flag indicating that UE still has available logged radio measurements and information associated to the AI / ML use cases. The flag does not indicate the amount of the data or time information but just indicates that there is more measurement data to be transmitted to the network;• An indication indicating whether the data collection associated to the concerned logged radio measurements is still ongoing o This information can be useful for example if the UE started the data collection upon fulfilling a certain event, and in case the network configured the UE to perform data collection until certain conditions are fulfilled. In this case, the network does not know when the event for starting the data collection occurred and whether the conditions for data collection are still fulfilled.The second information may be a plurality of information pieces e.g., a list of second information wherein each entry in the list provides the second information associated to data collection for specific AI / ML use case. In a non-limiting example, first item in the list may be the secondinformation related to the AI / ML based beam management use-case and second item in the list might be the second information related to the AI / ML based positioning use case and so on.

[0084] In one embodiment, the second information is included only in the first RRC message. In another embodiment, at least part of the second information is included also in the successive RRC messages. For example, the information on the amount of logged data or on the amount of RRC messages / segments may not be included in the successive RRC messages, since based on the second information included in the first RRC message and the size / number of the successive RRC messages, the gNB can determine the amount of data / number of RRC messages yet to be transmitted. In another example, the second information is included in the successive RRC messages with updated information. For example, if after transmitting an RRC message, new data are logged or new RRC messages / segments are expected to be transmitted (which can be the case when data collection is still ongoing at the time of the transmission of the RRC messages), the successive RRC message may contains this updated information.

[0085] The transmission of the successive RRC messages after the first RRC message may depend on gNB configuration. For example, according to some indications including in the gNB report configuration, the UE may continue the transmission of the successive RRC messages including the logged radio measurements in successive RRC transmissions, e.g. until all the logged data are transmitted.

[0086] In another embodiment, the transmission of the successive RRC messages after the first RRC message may depend on a gNB request message which may be transmitted by the gNB based on the information included in the second information. The gNB request message may contain any of the following information:• A request to the UE to transmit all the logged radio measurement results in successive RRC messages o According to this embodiment, the UE will continue the transmission of all the logged radio measurement results until any further notification, e.g. reception of a second gNB request message, or gNB report reconfiguration.• A request to the UE to transmit one successive RRC message o According to this embodiment, the UE just transmits one of the successive RRC messages. To transmit a further successive RRC message, the UE may need to wait another gNB request message.• A request to the UE to transmit a number of successive RRC messages including the logged radio measurement results.o According to this embodiment, the gNB indicates the number of successive RRC messages to transmit. All the remaining data / RRC messages may be transmitted, as per gNB configuration, at the next periodic occasion, or at the fulfillment of the next event, or upon gNB request.• A request to the UE to transmit in successive RRC messages a number of bytes o According to this embodiment, the gNB indicates the amount of data to transmit. It is then up to the UE to determine how many RRC messages need to be transmitted to accommodate this request. All the remaining data / RRC messages may be transmitted, as per gNB configuration, at the next periodic occasion, or at the fulfillment of the next event, or upon gNB request.• A request to the UE to pause the transmission of logged radio measurement results o According to this embodiment, the UE may pause the transmission of any successive RRC messages. All the remaining data / RRC messages may be transmitted, as per gNB configuration, at the next periodic occasion, or at the fulfillment of the next event, or upon gNB request.• A request to the UE to stop the transmission of logged radio measurement results. o According to this embodiment, the UE is requested to stop the transmission of the logged radio measurements. In response, the UE may for example delete all the radio measurements / RRC message logged and not yet transmitted. In another method, in response, the UE may stop the data collection, i.e. the UE will not perform further radio measurements for the concerned AIML data collection purpose (e.g., if the UE was configured to perform data collection for AIML beam management purposes, the UE may stop this data collection).In an embodiment, the gNB request message may consist of plurality of information pieces e.g., a list of information wherein each entry in the list provides a request associated to data collection for specific AI / ML use case. In a non-limiting example, first item in the list may be a request to transmit the remaining measurement and data related to the AI / ML based beam management usecase and second item in the list might be a request to transmit the remaining measurement and data related to the AI / ML based positioning use case and so on.

[0087] For example, the gNB based on the information included in the second information in a received RRC message may determine whether to allow the UE to transmit all the remaining logged data, e.g. in case the amount data or the amount of RRC messages remaining to be transmitted in not high, or to transmit only a limited amount of data / RRC messages, e.g. in case the amount data or the amount of RRC messages remaining to be transmitted in high. Dependingalso on the radio conditions, and traffic load, the gNB request message may just contain the request to transmit one of the successive RRC messages, so that upon transmitting the said successive RRC message, the UE needs to wait for another gNB request message before transmitting any further RRC message.

[0088] In one embodiment, any further radio measurements logged by the UE after the transmission of the first RRC message may not be considered for transmission as part of successive RRC messages following the transmission of the said first RRC message, i.e. the UE shall wait the next periodic time occasion, or the fulfillment of the next event before transmitting the said radio measurements. For example, if the UE has logged data that that require the transmission of three RRC messages, and according to the gNB configuration, a first RRC message should be transmitting periodically every 100ms, then the UE would transmit the first RRC message, if available for transmission, at time TO, and the second and third at any point in time possibly before T100 (depending on scheduling opportunities and bearers prioritization). If before T100, the UE logs other data, such data may be transmitted in a first message only at T100, or at fulfillment of an event, or upon gNB request message.

[0089] In an embodiment, if the UE is configured with a priority of reporting the collected measurement and data for the AI / ML use cases, the UE when transmitting the collected measurement and data first transmits the measurement and data with the highest priority in the measurement report and if there is available capacity to transmit the measurement and data with lower priority the UE include the measurement and data of the low priority use cases in the report. If there is no space / capacity in the report for the data collected for the use cases configured with lower priority, the UE reports postpone transmitting them to the next rounds / occasions of transmissions.

[0090] In another embodiment, if the UE is configured with the priority of reporting the collected measurement and data for the AI / ML use cases, the UE may decide to discard the stored measurements of low priority use cases upon collecting the measurements for high priority use cases. In a variant, the UE discards the measurements of low priority use cases only when the collected measurements and data is more than the storage capacity available at the UE for the AI / ML use cases. The UE can indicate to the network that part of the data for the low priority use cases are discarded due to lack of enough storage at the UE. The network can later reconfigure and optimize the UE measurement reporting procedure to avoid such overflow of the data and measurements for the next round of data collection.

[0091] An illustrative example of at least some of the embodiments described above is shown in Figure 3. Note that optional steps are represented by dashed lines. As illustrated in Figure 3, anetwork node (e.g., RAN nodes such as, e.g., a gNB) sends, to the UE, a measurement configuration via, in this example, an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message (step 300). The measurement configuration may include any of the information described above. The UE sends, to the network node, a first RRC message, which in this illustrated example is a first RRC Measurement Report message, including first information (including at least part of the logged radio measurements) and second information (step 302). The details above regarding the sending of the first RRC message including the triggering of the first RRC message and the first and second information contained in the first RRC message are equally applicable here to the first RRC Measurement Report message of step 302.

[0092] After sending the first RRC MeasureReport message to the network node and optionally in response to a triggering event or condition (optional step 304) or optionally receiving a request from the network node (optional step 306), the UE sends a second RRC MeasureReport message to the network node, where the second MeasureReport message includes at least parts of the remaining logged radio measurement results not yet transmitted (step 308). If the size of the second MeasureReport message is not big enough for the reporting of all of the remaining logged radio measurement results, then the second MeasureReport message also indicates in the second information at least information of more available measurement results for the report from the UE to the network and, optionally in response to a triggering event or condition (optional step 310) or optionally receiving a request from the network node (optional step 312), the UE sends at least one more RRC MeasureReport message to the network node for the report by using similar method above until the UE reports all available measurement results which are implicitly or explicitly requested by the network (step 314).

[0093] In one embodiment, the information providing the indication of more available measurement results (second information) for the report from the UE to the network may be provided via the logMeasAvailable parameter or via one new parameter. The parameter may be in IE MeasResults of MeasurementReport message as below or in other place in MeasurementReport message, where the value of the parameter is set to true when it is used to indicate there are more available requested measurement results for report (for example corresponding to current measld as below or corresponding to one group of measld or others depending on the location of this parameter inside MeasurementReport message). Note: the name of the parameter listed below is for example and the name may be others.

[0094] In another embodiment, the information of whether there are more available measurement results is indicated via the information of whether current RRC message is the last segment for the measurement results corresponding to for example the given measurement ID or not. For example, where if the new parameter of MessageSegmentType is set to notLastSegment, then it means that there is at least one more segment corresponding to the given measurement ID; if MessageSegmentType is set to lastSegment, then it means that the current segment is the last segment corresponding to the given measurement ID.

[0095] In another embodiment, the information indication of whether there are more available measurements is associated with the information of segmented message number as the example below, where 0 means that current measurement report message is the first message, 1 means that current measurement report message is the second message, and so on.

[0096] One example is as follows:

[0097] Another example is as follows:

[0098] Figure 4 illustrates another example embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the UE receives a network measurement configuration from a network node (e.g., a RAN node or gNB), where the measurement configuration from the network to the UE may indicate activation for segmented RRC measurement report via joint measurement message report and segmented logged MDT report if the UE is not able to report the available requested measurement results via one RRC message (step 400). The UE sends a MeasureReport message to the network node for the report of the measurement results according to at least the network measurement configuration, and the MeasureReport message sent from the UE to the network node indicates at least the information of more available measurement results for the report from the UE to the network (step 402). After transmitting the MeasureReport message to the network node, the UE receives a UEInformationRequest message from the network node (step 404) and then reports the rest of the available requested measurement results to the network node via one or more UEInformationResponse messages (step 406). The UEInformationResponse message sent from the UE to the network node may include the measurement identity (e.g. measld) so that the network knows the measurement configuration corresponding to the measurement results, and the UEInformationRequest message sent from the network node to the UE may include the measurement identity (e.g. measld) so that the UE knows the measurement configuration corresponding to the requested measurement results.

[0099] In another embodiment, the UE sends two or more MeasureReport messages in UL- DCCH-Message class to the network for at least the report of the measurement results according to at least the network measurement configuration from the network to the UE, where the measurement configuration from the network to the UE may indicate the activation for more measurement reports in one UL-DCCH-Message if the UE is not able to report the available requested measurement results via one RRC message.

[0100] In the example below, the UL-DCCH-MessageType message from UE to network includes more MeasureReport messages via new additional MeasurementReportList-19 IE which includes up to maxNofMRex MeasurementReports, and each MeasurementReport message may include one indication of the order. For example if the indication is 0, then it means the first MeasurementReport message; if the indication is 1, then it means the second MeasurementReport message, and so on.

[0101] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0102] In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 506, which includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510A and 510B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 502, including one or more network nodes 510 and / or core network nodes 508.

[0103] 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. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512A, 512B, 512C, and 512D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0104] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0105] The UEs 512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 502.

[0106] In the depicted example, the core network 506 connects the network nodes 510 to one or more hosts, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. 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).

[0107] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 516 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 andcompiling 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.

[0108] As a whole, the communication system 500 of Figure 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 500 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 Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (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.

[0109] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunication network 502 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 Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0110] In some examples, the UEs 512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).[OHl] In the example, a hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 512C and / or 512D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 510B). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, router, contentsource and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 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 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0112] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510B. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g., UE 512C and / or 512D), and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 510B. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 510B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0113] Figure 6 shows a UE 600 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, 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 Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3 GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0114] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehi cl e-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).

[0115] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 6. 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.

[0116] The processing circuitry 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 610. The processing circuitry 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0117] In the example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of an inputdevice 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.

[0118] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0119] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0120] The memory 610 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 RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or aremovable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0121] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 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 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0122] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, 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 according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Intemet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0123] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, 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).

[0124] 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.

[0125] A UE, when in the form of an 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 television, 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 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 the UE 600 shown in Figure 6.

[0126] 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, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0127] 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 thethrottle 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.

[0128] Figure 7 shows a network node 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0129] 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 RRUs 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).

[0130] 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 BS 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).

[0131] The network node 700 includes processing circuitry 702, memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 700 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 singleseparate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (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 the network node 700.

[0132] The processing circuitry 702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, 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 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality.

[0133] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 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 the RF transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0134] The memory 704 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, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 702. The memory 704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and the memory 704 are integrated.

[0135] The communication interface 706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 710. The radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 720 and amplifiers 722. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to the antenna 710 and the processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 710 and the processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 720 and / or the amplifiers 722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface 706 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0136] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718; instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes the one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0137] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0138] The antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 700. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.Similarly, the antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 700. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0139] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of the network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 708. As a further example, the power source 708 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.

[0140] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 7 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 700 and to allow output of information from the network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 700. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 5, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 718 and the RF transceiver circuitry 712 may be omitted.

[0141] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 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 virtualization environments 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardwarecomputing device that operates as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a 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 800 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. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host.

[0142] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 800 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0143] Hardware 804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, an input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or Virtual Machine Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808A and 808B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0144] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, 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.

[0145] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of the hardware 804 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 forhandling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802.

[0146] The hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 804 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 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 802. In some embodiments, the hardware 804 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 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0147] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0148] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0149] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0150] Some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows:

[0151] Embodiment 1 : A method performed by a user equipment, UE, for reporting logged radio measurements via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages (e.g., for Artificial Intelligence, Al, / Machine Learning, ML, data collection), the method comprising:• receiving (300), from a network node, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements; and• transmitting (302), to the network node, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: o first information comprising a first part of (e.g., a first subset of) the logged radio measurements; and o second information comprising information about a second part of (e.g., a second subset of) the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

[0152] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the logged radio measurements comprises RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, or RSSI measurements.

[0153] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the first information further comprises information about the logged radio measurements comprised in the first information.

[0154] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 3, wherein the information about the logged radio measurements comprised in the first information comprises any one or more of the following:• an indication of one or more beams, cells, and / or frequencies in which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed;• one or more locations at which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed, or where data collection started;• one or more time information (e.g. timestamps) at which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed, or when the data collection started;• an indication indicating a data collection session associated to the first part of the logged radio measurements, wherein one or more data collection sessions may be initiated for any AI / ML purpose;• one or more of indications of one or more AI / ML use cases for which the measurement and data is collected.

[0155] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the information about the second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message comprised in the second information comprises any one or more of:• a number of RRC messages or segments that the UE would need to transmit in order to transmit all of the logged radio measurements and any associated information;• a remaining amount of logged radio measurements, and optionally any associated information, available at the UE for transmission;• an amount of time left (e.g., in seconds) until completion of data collection associated to the logged radio measurements;• an amount of time elapsed (e.g., in seconds) since starting data collection associated to the logged radio measurements;• an indication that indicates whether the data collection associated to the logged radio measurements is still ongoing;• an indication of end of measurements collection for the logged radio measurements in a last of the multiple RRC messages; and• an indication (e.g., flag) indicating that the UE still has available logged radio measurements and optionally associated information, associated to one or more AI / ML uses cases.

[0156] Embodiment 6: The method according to embodiment 1 or 5, further comprising, based on the transmitted first RRC message, receiving, from the network node, (306) a request message comprising any one or more of:• a request to the UE to transmit all of the logged radio measurements in successive RRC messages;• a request to the UE to transmit one successive RRC message comprising at least part of the logged radio measurements;• a request to the UE to transmit a number of successive RRC messages including the logged radio measurements;• a request to the UE to transmit in successive RRC messages a number of bytes for reporting of at least part of the logged radio measurements;• a request to the UE to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements;• a request to the UE to stop transmission of the logged radio measurements;• a request to configure or change a Service Radio Bearer, SRB, in case multiple SRBs can be configured for transmission of such logged (e.g., AI / ML related) measurements and information;• a request to change the network node that receives the logged radio measurements and associated information in case multiple network nodes can be configured to receive such measurements and information.

[0157] Embodiment 7: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the network node report configuration comprises any one or more of:• a periodicity at which the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages including the logged radio measurements should be transmitted;• an event that needs to be fulfilled for the UE to transmit the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages including the logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating to transmit the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages upon network request;• an indication indicating whether the UE should wait for a request message from the network node in order to transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements;• an indication indicating that the UE can transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements after transmitting the first RRC message without waiting for a request from the network node;• an indication indicating an SRB that should be used for the transmission of the multiple RRC messages;• an indication indicating one or more data collection types that should follow the network node report configuration;• an indication indicating a priority of transmission of the logged radio measurements per use case;• an indication indicating a pause, suspension, stop, or restart of transmission of the logged radio measurements based on an associated AI / ML use case.

[0158] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 1 or 5, further comprising, in response to receiving (306) a request message from the network node (e.g., as in embodiment 6) comprising an indication to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements or in response to not receiving a request message from the network node (e.g., within a predefined or configured amount of time after transmitting the first RRC message), resuming (308) transmission of one or more remaining logged radio measurements (e.g., at a next configured period or when a next event occurs or upon receiving a next network node request, e.g., as per the reporting configuration (e.g., as in embodiment 7)).

[0159] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 1 or 5, further comprising, in response to not receiving a request message from the network node responsive to transmitting the first RRC message, continuing (308) transmission of the remaining logged radio measurements in one or more successive RRC messages (e.g., in one or more successive RRC transmission opportunities).

[0160] Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 1 or 5, wherein the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages is transmitted periodically, or when an event occurs, or upon network node request, according to the network node report configuration, and the method further comprises transmitting (308) one or more successive RRC messages comprising the remaining logged radio measurements based on one or more network node requests.

[0161] Embodiment 11: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the second information is only included in the first RRC message (e.g., and not included in any of one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements).

[0162] Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the second information is included in at least one successive RRC message (e.g. containing logged radio measurement s)), and at least parts of content of the second information is updated with respect to any previously transmitted RRC message.

[0163] Embodiment 13: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein the logged radio measurements transmitted by the UE in the first RRC message and one or more successive RRC messages were logged by the UE before transmitting the first RRC message.

[0164] Embodiment 14: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein the logged radio measurements that are logged by the UE after transmitting the first RRC message are transmitted by the UE in a first or subsequent successive RRC message at a later configured occasion (e.g., a next periodic opportunity, or a next fulfilled event, or reception of a next network node request message).

[0165] Embodiment 15: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements are transmitted at any point in time after the transmission of the first RRC message.

[0166] Embodiment 16: A user equipment for signaling recommended radio measurement configurations based on Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning, AIML, inference configurations, the UE (912) comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of embodiments 1 to 15.

[0167] Embodiment 17: A method performed by a network node for facilitating reporting of logged radio measurements via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages (e.g., for Artificial Intelligence, Al, / Machine Learning, ML, data collection), the method comprising:• transmitting (300), to a UE, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements; and• receiving (302), from the UE, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: o first information comprising a first part of (e.g., a first subset of) the logged radio measurements and information about the logged radio measurements; and o second information comprising information about a second part of (e.g., a second subset of) the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

[0168] Embodiment 18: A network node for facilitating reporting of logged radio measurements via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages (e.g., for Artificial Intelligence, Al, / Machine Learning, ML, data collection), the network node comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to perform the method of embodiment 17.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, for reporting logged radio measurements for Artificial Intelligence, Al, or Machine Learning, ML, data collection for model training via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages, the method comprising: receiving (300), from a network node, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements; and transmitting (302), to the network node, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements; and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the logged radio measurements comprise any one or more of the following: Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, measurements, Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ, measurements, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, SINR, measurements, or Received Strength of Signal Indicator, RS SI, measurements.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information further comprises information about the logged radio measurements comprised in the first information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information about the logged radio measurements comprised in the first information comprises any one or more of the following:• an indication of one or more beams, cells, and / or frequencies in which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed;• one or more locations at which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed, or where data collection started;• one or more time information about a time(s) at which the first part of the logged radio measurements were performed, or when the data collection started;• an indication indicating a data collection session associated to the first part of the logged radio measurements, wherein one or more data collection sessions may be initiated for any AI / ML purpose;• one or more of indications of one or more AI / ML use cases for which the measurement and data is collected.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the information about the second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message comprised in the second information comprises an indication indicating that the UE still has available logged radio measurements and optionally associated information, associated to one or more AI / ML uses cases.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the information about the second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message comprised in the second information comprises any one or more of: a number of RRC messages or segments that the UE would need to transmit in order to transmit all of the logged radio measurements and any associated information; a remaining amount of logged radio measurements, and optionally any associated information, available at the UE for transmission; an amount of time left until completion of data collection associated to the logged radio measurements; an amount of time elapsed since starting data collection associated to the logged radio measurements; an indication that indicates whether the data collection associated to the logged radio measurements is still ongoing; an indication of end of measurements collection for the logged radio measurements in a last of the multiple RRC messages.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising, based on the transmitted first RRC message, receiving (306), from the network node, a request message comprising a request to the UE to transmit one successive RRC message comprising at least part of the logged radio measurements.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising, based on the transmitted first RRC message, receiving (306), from the network node, a request message comprising any one or more of: a request to the UE to transmit all of the logged radio measurements in successive RRC messages;a request to the UE to transmit a number of successive RRC messages including the logged radio measurements; a request to the UE to transmit in successive RRC messages a number of bytes for reporting of at least part of the logged radio measurements; a request to the UE to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements; a request to the UE to stop transmission of the logged radio measurements; a request to configure or change a Signaling Radio Bearer, SRB, in case multiple SRBs can be configured for transmission of such logged measurements and information; a request to change the network node that receives the logged radio measurements and associated information in case multiple network nodes can be configured to receive such measurements and information.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network node report configuration comprises an indication indicating a restart of transmission of the logged radio measurements based on an associated AI / ML use case.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network node report configuration comprises any one or more of: a periodicity at which the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages including the logged radio measurements should be transmitted; an event that needs to be fulfilled for the UE to transmit the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages including the logged radio measurements; an indication indicating to transmit the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages upon network request; an indication indicating whether the UE should wait for a request message from the network node in order to transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements; an indication indicating that the UE can transmit one or more successive RRC messages including the remaining logged radio measurements after transmitting the first RRC message without waiting for a request from the network node; an indication indicating an SRB that should be used for the transmission of the multiple RRC messages; an indication indicating one or more data collection types that should follow the network node report configuration;an indication indicating a priority of transmission of the logged radio measurements per use case; an indication indicating a pause, suspension, stop, or restart of transmission of the logged radio measurements based on an associated AI / ML use case.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, further comprising, in response to receiving (306) a request message from the network node comprising an indication to pause transmission of the logged radio measurements or in response to not receiving a request message from the network node within a predefined or configured amount of time after transmitting the first RRC message, resuming (308) transmission of one or more remaining logged radio measurements.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, further comprising, in response to not receiving a request message from the network node responsive to transmitting the first RRC message, continuing (308) transmission of the remaining logged radio measurements in one or more successive RRC messages.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first RRC message of the multiple RRC messages is transmitted periodically, or when an event occurs, or upon network node request, according to the network node report configuration, and the method further comprises transmitting (308) one or more successive RRC messages comprising the remaining logged radio measurements based on one or more network node requests.

14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second information is included in the first RRC message and not included in any of one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements.

15. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second information is included in at least one successive RRC message containing at least some of the remining logged radio measurements, and at least parts of content of the second information is updated with respect to any previously transmitted RRC message.

16. The method of any of claims 1 to 15, wherein the logged radio measurements transmitted by the UE in the first RRC message and one or more successive RRC messages were logged by the UE before transmitting the first RRC message.

17. The method of any of claims 1 to 15, wherein the logged radio measurements that are logged by the UE after transmitting the first RRC message are transmitted by the UE in a first or subsequent successive RRC message at a later configured occasion.

18. The method of any of claims 1 to 17, wherein one or more successive RRC messages containing the remaining logged radio measurements are transmitted at any point in time after the transmission of the first RRC message.

19. The method of any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the reported logged radio measurements are for Al or ML data collection for model training.

20. A User Equipment, UE, (600) for reporting logged radio measurements for Artificial Intelligence, Al, or Machine Learning, ML, data collection for model training via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages, the UE (912) comprising: a communication interface (612) comprising a transmitter (618) and a receiver (620); and processing circuitry (602) associated with the communication interface (612), the processing circuitry (602) configured to cause the UE (600) to: receive (300), from a network node, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements; and transmit (302), to the network node, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements; and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

21. The UE (600) of claim 20, wherein the processing circuitry (602) is further configured to cause the UE (600) to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 19.

22. A method performed by a network node for facilitating reporting of logged radio measurements for Artificial Intelligence, Al, or Machine Learning, ML, data collection formodel training via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages, the method comprising: transmitting (300), to a UE, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements; and receiving (302), from the UE, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and information about the logged radio measurements; and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

23. A network node for facilitating reporting of logged radio measurements for Artificial Intelligence, Al, or Machine Learning, ML, data collection for model training via multiple Radio Resource Control, RRC, messages, the network node comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to: transmit (300), to a UE, a network node report configuration that configures the UE to report logged radio measurements; and receive (302), from the UE, a first RRC message, of the multiple RRC messages, based on the network node report configuration, wherein the first RRC message comprises: first information comprising a first part of the logged radio measurements and information about the logged radio measurements; and second information comprising information about a second part of the logged radio measurements not yet transmitted to the network node in an RRC message.

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