Method, apparatus and computer program for event-based measurement reporting of target cells

Abstract

There is provided a user equipment comprising: means for receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; means for performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; means for determining whether a condition of the at least one condi- tion has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and means for, based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

Description

[0001] METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR EVENT-BASED MEASUREMENT REPORTING OF TARGET CELLS

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to an apparatus, method and computer program. In particular, but not exclusively, the present application relates measurement reporting.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more terminal devices or provides terminal devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. A terminal device may be provided with a service or application.

[0006] Such communication networks operate in accordance with standards such as those provided by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Examples of standards are the so-called 5G (5th Generation) or so-called 6G (6thGeneration) under definition standards provided by 3GPP.

[0007] BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0008] Some examples of this disclosure will be described with respect to certain aspects. These aspects are not intended to indicate key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor are they intended to be used to limit the scope thereof. Other features, aspects, and elements will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. For example, it should be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the various aspects described below.

[0009] According to a first aspect, there is provided a user equipment comprising: means for receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; means for performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; means for determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and means for, based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

[0010] According to a second aspect, there is provided a method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

[0011] According to a third aspect, there is provided an user equipment comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment to perform: receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a user equipment, cause the user equipment to perform at least the following: receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a user equipment comprising: circuitry configured to perform: receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; circuitry configured to perform: performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; circuitry configured to perform: determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and circuitry configured to perform: based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

[0014] The following are applicable to each (e.g., one or more, including all) of the above first to fifth aspects.

[0015] In some examples, the user equipment is further caused to perform: based on determining that the condition has not been triggered, refraining from sending the measurement report to the first cell.

[0016] In some examples, the value is associated with the respective service and wherein the respective service is associated with at least one respective coverage enhancement level.

[0017] In some examples, the user equipment is further caused to perform: determining, based on the measurements performed on the second cell, a coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell, wherein the determining whether the condition has been triggered is based on the determined coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell.

[0018] In some examples, the user equipment is further caused to perform: determining whether the respective service is associated with the coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell that has been determined, wherein the determining whether the condition has been triggered is performed in response to determining that the respective service is associated with the coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell that has been determined.

[0019] In some examples, the configuration for the condition is received while the user equipment is utilizing the respective service, the respective service being provided by the first cell.

[0020] In some examples, the at least one condition comprises a plurality of values.

[0021] In some examples, each of the plurality of values is associated with a different coverage enhancement level for the respective service.

[0022] In some examples, the configuration identifies the respective service based on at least one of: a QoS indicator value, a QoS flow identifier, a service type, a resource type, a data rate or a data burst volume.

[0023] In some examples, the user equipment is further caused to perform: when the user equipment is utilizing the respective service that is being provided by the first cell and no value associated with the respective service is received, performing at least one of: refraining from sending the measurement report to the first cell, determining whether the condition has been triggered based on a default value, determining whether the condition has been triggered based on a legacy value, or determining whether the condition has been triggered based on a value defined for a service with a higher priority level than the respective service being utilized.

[0024] In some examples, the second cell is a low power wide area cell.

[0025] In some examples, the value comprises at least one of a: threshold value, or a hysteresis value.

[0026] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a network entity that provides a first cell that is serving a user equipment, the network entity comprising: means for sending, to the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and means for receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

[0027] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a method performed by a network entity, the method comprising: sending, to the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

[0028] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a network entity comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network entity to perform: sending, to the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

[0029] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to perform at least the following: sending, to the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

[0030] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a network entity comprising: circuitry configured to perform: sending, to the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and circuitry configured to perform: receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

[0031] The following are applicable to each (e.g., one or more, including all) of the above sixth to tenth aspects.

[0032] In some examples, the measurement report is related to a service supported at a coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell.

[0033] In some examples, the second cell is a candidate for handover for the user equipment.

[0034] In some examples, the value is associated with the respective service and wherein the respective service is associated with at least one respective coverage enhancement level. In some examples, the configuration for the at least one condition is sent to the user equipment while the user equipment is utilizing the service, the service being provided by the first cell.

[0035] In some examples, the at least one condition comprises a plurality of values.

[0036] In some examples, each of the plurality of values is associated with a different coverage enhancement level for the respective service.

[0037] In some examples, the configuration identifies the respective service based on at least one of: a QoS indicator value, a QoS flow identifier, a service type, a resource type, a data rate or a data burst volume.

[0038] In some examples, the value comprises at least one of a: threshold value, or a hysteresis value.

[0039] In some examples, the network entity provides a first cell that is serving the user equipment.

[0040] A computer program comprising computer executable instructions which when executed, cause any of the methods described herein to be performed.

[0041] A computer product stored on a medium may cause an apparatus to perform the methods as described herein.

[0042] A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions, that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the methods as described herein.

[0043] An electronic device may comprise apparatus as described herein.

[0044] Various other aspects and further embodiments are also described in the following detailed description and in the attached claims.

[0045] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims. The embodiments that do not fall under the scope of the claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding the disclosure.

[0046] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0048] Fig. 1 shows an example of a communication network to which examples disclosed herein may be applied;

[0049] Fig. 2 shows an example of an interaction between broadband carrier and a low-power wide area (LPWA) carrier; Fig. 3 shows an example of an interaction between broadband carrier and a LPWA carrier;

[0050] Fig. 4 shows a signaling procedure for part of a handover process;

[0051] Fig. 5a shows, an example LPWA mobility scenario in a terrestrial network.

[0052] Fig. 5b shows, an example LPWA mobility scenario in a non-terrestrial network.

[0053] Fig. 6 show an example of a signalling flow diagram;

[0054] Fig. 7 shows an example of a method of some embodiments;

[0055] Fig. 8 shows an example of a method of some embodiments; and

[0056] Fig. 9 shows an example of an apparatus.

[0057] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to “an”, “one”, or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations of the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is made to the same embodiment(s), or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection of an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to apply such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second” and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

[0059] For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases “at least one of A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, and “A and / or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and / or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C).

[0060] Embodiments described may be implemented in a communication network, such as any of the following radio access technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Micro-wave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM, 2G), GSM EDGE radio access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GRPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, and enhanced LTE (eLTE), 5G (also called NR), or any future RAT such as 6G. Moreover, communication within the communication network may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), and / or Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM).

[0061] As used herein, the term “network entity” or “network device” or “network node” refers to a node in a communication network via which user equipment may access the network and / or which is capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The network entity or network node or network device may be referred to as a base station (BS), an access point (AP) or an access node. The network device or network entity may be, depending on the applied technology, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, or an aircraft network device.

[0062] Moreover, in connection of split radio access network (RAN), the network device may refer to a centralised unit (CU) of a base station and / or a distributed unit (DU) of a base station. An interface between CU and DU may be referred to as an F1 interface in NR. In the split RAN architecture, node operations may be carried out, at least partly, in the central / centralized unit, CU, (e.g. server, host or node) operationally coupled to the DU, (e.g. a radio head / node). One CU may control one or more DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some embodiments, the DUs may comprise e.g. a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the CU may comprise the layers above RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) and an internet protocol (IP) layers. Other functional splits are possible too. In practice, any processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU and the boundary where the responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may depend on the applied implementation.

[0063] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example, a terminal device may be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), or a Mobile Station (MS). The terminal device may include a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, USB dongles, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like.

[0064] A term “resource”, as used herein, may refer to radio resources in time domain, in frequency domain, in space domain, and / or in code domain. Some examples of resources include e.g. a physical resource block (PRB), a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a subband, a frequency region, a sub-carrier, a beam, etc. The term “transmission” and / or “reception” may refer to wirelessly transmitting and / or receiving via a wireless propagation channel on radio resources.

[0065] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network to which examples disclosed herein may be applied. The communication network or a cellular communication network may comprise a network node 110 providing one or more cells, such as cell 100, and a network node 112 providing one or more other cells, such as cell 102. Each cell may be, e.g., a macro cell, a micro cell, femto, or a pico cell, for example. The cell may define a coverage area or a service area of the corresponding access node.

[0066] The network node 1 10 may provide a user equipment (UE) 120 (one or more UEs) with wireless access to the communication network. The wireless access may comprise downlink (DL) communication from the network node to the UE 120 and uplink (UL) communication from the UE 120 to the network node. Examples of uplink channels comprise physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for transmitting control information and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for transmitting data towards the network. Examples of downlink channels comprise physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for transmitting control information and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for transmitting data towards the user equipment.

[0067] There may be a plurality of UEs 120, 122 in the system. Each of them may be served by the same or by different network nodes 110, 1 12. UE may be configured with dual connectivity (DC), wherein the UE, e.g. UE 120, may be connected to multiple network nodes 110, 1 12. The UEs 120, 122 may communicate with each other, in case device-to-device (D2D) communication interface is established between them via a so- called sidelink (SL). Such D2D communications may be referred to as machine-to-ma- chine, peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), for example.

[0068] In the case of multiple network nodes in the communication network, the network nodes may be connected to each other via an interface. LTE specifications call such an interface as X2 interface. An interface between an LTE node and a 5G node, or between two 5G nodes may be called Xn interface.

[0069] The network nodes 110 and 1 12 may be further connected via another interface to a core network 116 of the communication network. The LTE specifications specify the core network as an evolved packet core (EPC), and the core network may comprise e.g. a mobility management entity (MME) and a gateway node. The MME may handle mobility of terminal devices in a tracking area encompassing a plurality of cells and handle signalling connections between the terminal devices and the core network. The gateway node may handle data routing in the core network and to / from the terminal devices. The 5G specifications specify the core network as a 5G core (5GC). The 5G core may comprise e.g. an access and mobility management function (AMF) and a user plane function / gateway (UPF) and other functions. The AMF may handle termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signalling, NAS ciphering & integrity protection, registration management, connection management, mobility management, access authentication and authorization, security context management. The UPF node may support packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and quality of service (QoS) handling, for example.

[0070] Internet of Things (loT) refers to the interconnection and / or the autonomous exchange of data between devices. loT categories may include massive loT, critical loT, and broadband loT. Massive loT may have the widest application. Use cases of massive loT may include: smart meters, asset tracking and management, fleet management, sensors, remote monitoring and smart cities, etc.

[0071] In cellular systems, massive loT deployment may be supported via a low power wide area (LPWA) network. In some examples, a LPWA network is a wireless telecommunication wide area network designed to allow long-range communication at a low bit rate between loT devices.

[0072] In some example, a LPWA network may be based on long-term evolution machine type communication (LTE-M) technology and / or narrowband internet of things (NB-loT) technology. A LPWA network may have at least one of the following characteristics: low device complexity and / or cost; low device power consumption (which may enable a long battery life e.g., of greater than 10 years); enhanced coverage compared to broadband services (for example, up to 20-25 dB enhanced coverage); support for a large number of devices; delay tolerant data transmission; and infrequent data transmissions.

[0073] Some advantages of providing a 6G LPWA network may include: providing a replacement technology when 4G LTE carriers are no longer supported; improving 4G LTE solutions by introducing a lightweight radio protocol; and providing a single solution to address massive loT use cases.

[0074] In some examples, LPWA technology may be used as a fallback for a mobile broadband device. In some examples, a 6G LPWA carrier / cell may have an enhanced coverage compared to an enhanced mobile broad (eMBB) carrier / cell. For example, a 6G LPWA carrier may have up to 20 - 25 dB greater coverage than an eMBB carrier. In a fallback mode, the LPWA carrier may support services. For example, the LPWA carrier may support basic voice, data and messaging services. In some examples, the LPWA carrier may be used for utilizing emergency services.

[0075] In some examples, a UE may switch from a broadband carrier (e.g., an eMBB carrier) to a LPWA carrier (e.g. a carrier that supports loT UEs or reduced capability UEs or UE capabilities) when the broadband carrier can no longer support broadband services for the UE, for example, because the UE has moved out of coverage of the cell. For example, the UE may use a LPWA carrier as a fallback carrier.

[0076] Fig. 2 shows a schematic of an example in which a UE switches from a broadband carrier 200 to a LPWA carrier 202. In this example, the broadband carrier 200 is separate from the LPWA carrier 202. For example, the LPWA carrier 202 is deployed out of band to the broadband carrier 200. In some examples, the UE may switch to the LPWA carrier 202 so that the UE can utilize a service that is no longer supported by the broadband carrier 200 (e.g., emergency services) due to the UE’s mobility.

[0077] Fig. 3 shows a schematic of an example in which a UE switches from a broadband carrier 300 (e.g., an eMBB carrier) to a LPWA carrier 302. In this example, the LPWA carrier 302 is deployed in-band to the broadband carrier 300. In some examples, in-band deployment may allow for efficient spectral usage. For example, in-band deployment may allow for efficient spectral usage in the early LPWA deployment stage where there may not be large number of LPWA devices (e.g., loT UEs or reduced capability UEs) in the system. In some examples, to support UEs at various radio link coverage conditions, the LPWA carrier 200, 300 may support and / or be associated with one or more coverage enhancement (CE) levels. In this case, the UE may be able to access the LPWA carrier 200, 300 at an appropriate coverage enhancement level.

[0078] For example, LTE-M and NB-loT may support three different CE levels that may be configured by a network. Table 1 shows an example of a CE level configuration configured by a network, based on a determined Maximum Coupling Loss (MCL). In this example, the determined MCL is based on reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements performed by the UE.

[0079] Table 1 : CE level configuration

[0080] In the example shown in Table 1 , CE level CEO may be used by the UE at normal coverage (i.e. , by a UE experiencing a RSRP measurement above a configured threshold). CE level CE1 may be used by a UE requiring up to a 10dB coverage enhancement in comparison to normal coverage. CE level CE2 may be used by a UE requiring from 10 to 20 dB coverage enhancement in comparison to normal or enhanced coverage.

[0081] In some examples, for each CE level, the network may configure at least one of: different resources (e.g., time-frequency resources for PRACH and / or PDCCH), a different maximum number of repetitions (e.g., for PRACH, PUSCH, PDCCH, PDSCH), and / or different radio configurations (e.g., a MCS table, resource allocation schemes, modulation schemes, number of re-transmissions, etc.).

[0082] Fig. 4 shows a signaling procedure for part of a handover process. In this example, a UE 400 is served by a serving cell, with source gNB 402 providing access to the serving cell. In this example, the target gNB 404 may provide access to a target cell.

[0083] At S401 , mobility control information is provided by the AMF 406. At S402, the source gNB 402 may configure UE measurement procedures. In some examples, the UE 400 may send a measurement report to the source gNB 402.

[0084] At S403, the source gNB 402 may decide to handover the UE 400 to a target gNB 404.

[0085] At S404, the source gNB 402 may send a handover request message to the target gNB 404.

[0086] At S405, the target gNB 404 may perform admission control.

[0087] At S406, the target gNB 404 may send a handover request acknowledge message to the source gNB 402.

[0088] At S407, the source gNB 402 may initiate RAN handover to the target gNB 404.

[0089] 5G NR provides a mobility framework defining a set of mobility events and a set of associated thresholds and hysteresis. In some examples, when a mobility event is triggered, the UE may report the event to the serving cell. The events may include, for example:

[0090] • Event A1 (Serving cell becomes better than a threshold)

[0091] • Event A2 (Serving cell becomes worse than a threshold)

[0092] • Event A3 (Neighbour cell becomes offset better than a SpCell)

[0093] • Event A4 (Neighbour cell becomes better than a threshold)

[0094] • Event A5 (Serving cell becomes worse than thresholdl and neighbour cell becomes better than threshold2)

[0095] • Event A6 (Neighbour cell becomes offset better than a SCell)

[0096] • Event B1 (Inter RAT neighbour cell becomes better than a threshold)

[0097] • Event B2 (PCell becomes worse than thresholdl and inter RAT neighbour becomes better than threshold2)

[0098] Table 2 provides a list of threshold parameters (Parameter), the range of values that can be indicated (Range), and the corresponding actual values configured for the threshold parameters (Value) associated with each of the mobility events (Event).

[0099] Table 2: Mobility trigger events in 5G NR with associated threshold parameters.

[0100] In some examples, the hysteresis acts as a margin around the threshold so that the event is not triggered unnecessarily. Considering event A2 as example, wherein event A2 defines an event wherein measurements (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR) of the serving cell becomes worse than a configured threshold. In this example, the UE may be configured with a threshold of e.g. -65dBm RSRP and a 5dB hysteresis. If the RSRP measurement of the serving cell becomes lower than -65dBm-5dB, the UE may report event A2 to the serving cell and / or may initiate a reporting interval for RSRP measurements. If the RSRP measurement of the serving cell goes beyond -65dBm+5dB, the reporting interval for RSRP measurement may be stopped.

[0101] In some examples, based on the report from the UE, the serving cell may perform a handover decision. In some examples, the serving cell may perform a hand- over initiation. For example, the serving cell may perform a handover initiation based on a handover request acknowledge message from a target cell.

[0102] Based on current handover procedures, the UE may provide measurement reports according to configured measurement report events regardless of a CE level of the UE at a target cell and / or a CE level associated with a service that is being utilized by the UE. Based on the measurement report, the serving cell may request handover of the service to the target cell.

[0103] However, the service to be handed over may not be supported on the CE level of the UE at the target cell. In this case, the target cell may reject the handover which may result in unnecessary signaling overhead and energy consumption used for UE measurement reporting.

[0104] In some examples, when a UE accesses a LPWA cell (e.g. a cell in the network providing services to loT devices), the types of services that can be supported may vary among different CE levels. For example, different services may be associated with different CE levels.

[0105] Table 3 shows example LPWA data rates at different coverage enhancement levels based on NB-loT technology. For example, a voice service may be supported at CEO but not at CE1 or CE2 (e.g., the AMR codec encodes voice at a minimum bit rate of 4.75 kbps at the application layer). In another example, a text messaging service may be supported at all CE levels. In other examples, a high-definition streaming service may not be supported at all in a LPWA cell and / or at any CE level.

[0106] Table 3: Example LPWA data rates at different coverage enhancement levels

[0107] In a mobility scenario, the signal strength and / or the CE level measured by the UE from the serving cell and target cells may vary with time. In some examples, the varied signal strength and / or CE level measurement by the UE may be due to the movement of the UE relative to the terrestrial network (TN) and / or due to the movement of the cells in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Fig. 5a shows an example LPWA mobility scenario in a TN. Fig. 5b shows an example LPWA mobility scenario in a NTN. Although the serving cell and the target cell are shown as adjacent to each other in Figs. 5a and 5b, this is for the purpose of illustration only and it shall be understood that other cell deployments are not precluded. In some examples, the serving cell may partially or fully overlap (i.e., lie entirely within) the target cell.

[0108] In some examples, to keep a service ongoing in a mobility scenario, the UE may be configured to trigger mobility measurement reports associated with the target cell. In this way, the serving cell may make handover decisions, based on the mobility measurement reports.

[0109] In some examples, when different CE levels are enabled by a target cell (e.g., a LPWA cell), measurement reporting may cause signaling overhead and energy consumption even though the service to be handed over is not supported at the CE level of the UE at the target cell for handover. In this case, where the service is not supported at the CE level of the UE at the target cell, there may be no need to send a measurement report associated with the target cell, to the serving cell. In this way, sending a measurement report associated with the target cell may cause unnecessary signaling and energy consumption.

[0110] In some examples, measurement reports may be sent when the UE is on the cell edge, which may require maximum transmission power and multiple repetitions being applied by the UE. In some examples, this may require further signaling overhead and energy consumption.

[0111] In some examples, if the service to be handed over is not supported on the CE level of the UE at the target cell, there may be unnecessary signaling by the serving cell sending handover requests to a target cell and / or the target cell performing an admission control. In some examples, signaling overhead may be large for NTN scenarios, where communication between cells is difficult to achieve (e.g. due to limitations of satellite base stations in terms of energy, latency, etc.).

[0112] Some embodiments herein may prevent a UE from triggering unnecessary mobility measurement reports. For example, some embodiments herein may prevent a UE from triggering mobility measurement reports when a desired service (e.g., a service that is being utilized by the UE) is not supported at the CE level of the UE at the target cell.

[0113] Some embodiments herein provide an event trigger configuration for each service supported by the serving cell and / or a target cell, for determining whether to send measurement reports to the serving cell under the respective CE level of the UE at the target cell. In some examples, trigger thresholds are defined for services which may have restricted support at the target cell, such that the UE may not trigger a measurement report when the service is not supported at a determined CE level of the UE at the target cell. For example, the trigger threshold may be set higher and / or may be undefined such that the event is not triggered at the determined CE level of the UE at the target cell.

[0114] Fig. 6 shows a schematic overview of some example embodiments.

[0115] Fig. 6 shows a flow diagram of a communication between a UE 600, a first cell 602 and a second cell 604. In some examples, the first cell 602 is a serving cell (e.g., a cell that is serving the UE 600). In some examples, a network entity provides the first cell 602. For example, a network entity provides the first cell 602 that is serving the UE 600. In some examples, the second cell 604 is a candidate cell for handover. In some examples, the second cell 604 is candidate cell for fallback, including fallback handover. In some examples, the second cell 604 is a neighbor cell. In some example, the second cell 604 is a target cell. In some examples, the second cell 604 is a LPWA cell.

[0116] At S601 , the first cell 602 and / or the second cell 604 may determine a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting. In some examples, the first cell 602 and the second cell 604 may exchange and / or negotiate the configuration through the core network. For example, the first cell 602 and / or second cell 604 may determine at least one measurement reporting event. In some examples, the first cell 602 and / or second cell 604 may define the configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting. The terms condition (related to event-based measurement reporting), and (measurement reporting) event may be used interchangeably. In some examples, each condition comprises one or more values. In some examples, the value(s) may be associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective CE level. In some examples, the value comprises at least one of a: threshold value, or a hysteresis value.

[0117] For example, a condition may be associated with and / or comprise a respective triggering threshold and / or hysteresis for a service supported by the first cell 602. In some examples, each condition may be associated with a respective triggering threshold and / or hysteresis for one or more CE levels. In some examples, the threshold value may comprise at least one of: a RSRP value, a RSRQ value, or a SINR value. In some examples, each value is associated with a different CE level. In some examples, each value associated with a service is associated with at least one CE level.

[0118] At S602, the first cell 602 may send the configuration for the condition(s) related to event-based measurement reporting, to the UE 600. In other examples, the second cell 604 may send the configuration to the UE 600. For example, the second cell 604 may send the configuration via a broadcast signal e.g., a system information block (SIB). In some examples, the configuration for the condition(s) is received by the UE 600 while the UE 600 is utilizing a service. For example, the configuration for a condition comprising a value associated with service#1 is received by the UE 600 while the UE 600 is utilizing service#"! . In some examples, the service is provided to the UE 600 by the first cell 602.

[0119] At S603, the UE 600 performs measurements on the second cell 604. For example, the measurements performed on the second cell 604 may comprise at least one of: a RSRP measurement, a RSRQ measurement, or a SINR measurement.

[0120] At S604, the UE 600 determines the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604. In some examples, the UE 600 determines the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604 based on the measurements performed on the second cell in S603.

[0121] At S605, the UE 600 determines whether the service is associated with the determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604. For example, the UE 600 may determine whether the CE level(s) associated with the service being utilized by the UE matches the determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604. For example, the UE 600 determines whether the service being utilized by the UE 600 is supported at the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell.

[0122] At S606, if the service being utilized by the UE 600 is not associated with the determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604, the UE 600 may refrain from sending a measurement report to the first cell 602.

[0123] At S607, if the service being utilized by the UE 600 is associated with the determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604, the UE 600 may determine whether a condition related to event-based measurement reporting is triggered. For example, the UE 600 may determine whether the condition is triggered based on at least one of: the measurements performed on the second cell 604, or the value associated with the service and / or the CE level.

[0124] For example, considering Event A4 as discussed above, wherein the Event A4 is triggered when the second cell becomes better than the configured threshold. In this example, if the UE 600 determines that the second cell has a RSRP measurement that is better than the RSRP threshold value provided in the configuration, the UE 600 may determine that the event has been triggered.

[0125] At S608, if the UE 600 determines that the condition has been triggered, the UE 600 may send a measurement report to the first cell 602. In some examples, the measurement report is related to the second cell 604. In some examples, the measurement report is related to a service supported at a CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604.

[0126] At S609, if the UE 600 determines that the condition has not been triggered, the UE 600 may refrain from sending a measurement report to the first cell 602.

[0127] Referring to S601 of Fig. 6, an example configuration provided by the first cell 602 may be as follows: o For service = S1 (e.g., emergency push-to-talk call, messaging)

[0128] ■ [For CE level = {0,1 ,2}]

[0129] • event E1 : o RSRP / RSRQ / SINR threshold = t1 , o hysteresis = hi . o For service = S2 (e.g., emergency voice call, which thresholds may potentially be higher than S1 thresholds)

[0130] ■ For CE level = {0,1}

[0131] • event E1 : o RSRP / RSRQ / SINR threshold = t2, o hysteresis = h2. o For service = S3 (e.g., regular conversational voice call, buffered streaming, which thresholds may potentially be higher than S2 thresholds)

[0132] ■ For CE level = 0

[0133] • event E1 : o RSRP / RSRQ / SINR threshold = t3, o hysteresis = h3.

[0134] In the example configuration above, there is an association with three different services (i.e., S1 , S2 and S3), wherein threshold and / or hysteresis values are configured for each service. In other examples, a configuration may be associated with a single service (e.g., only service S1 ). Using S2 as example, if the UE 600 receives the above configuration and is utilizing service S2, the UE 600 may perform measurements on a second cell 604. Based on said measurements, the UE 600 may determine the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604. In an example where the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell is determined as CE2, the UE 600 may refrain from sending a measurement report, related to the second cell 604, to the first cell 602. In an example where the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604 is determined as CEO or CE1 , the UE 600 may determine whether condition E1 is triggered, based on at least one of: the measurements performed on the second cell 604, or the threshold value t2 and / or the hysteresis value h2. If condition E1 is triggered, the UE 600 may send a measurement report related to the second cell 604, to the first cell 602. If condition E1 is not triggered, the UE 600 may refrain from sending a measurement report, related to the second cell 604, to the first cell 602.

[0135] Referring to Fig. 6, the configuration determined by the first cell 602 and / or the second cell 604, as described at S601 , may be provided by the first cell 602 and / or the second cell 604 to the UE 600 as an extension of an existing measurement report event with a configured value, e.g., a threshold, for a specific service. For example, the configuration may be provided for event B2 of an inter-RAT handover from a regular broadband cell to a LPWA cell, or for event A5 of an intra-RAT handover from one LPWA cell to another LPWA cell.

[0136] In some other examples, a new measurement reporting event may be defined specifically for a LPWA cell, with triggering thresholds defined for each CE level and / or service. In this case, the first cell 602 may define thresholds for a subset of the events. For example, the first cell 602 may define threshold for only A events and not B events. In this way, legacy event thresholds (which may be independent of service type and CE level) may be applicable when no overriding (per service and / or CE level) thresholds are configured.

[0137] In some examples, the new measurement reporting event may override the legacy measurement reporting event. For example, if the UE is configured with legacy measurement events and with separate per service measurement reporting events, the UE may decide whether to provide the measurement report based on whether the per service event is triggered.

[0138] In some examples, the configuration may be defined to identify a service. For example ,the configuration may identify a service based on, QoS indicator values (e.g., 5QI), a QoS flow identifier (e.g., associated with the established radio bearers or PDU sessions), service types (e.g., push-to-talk voice, conversational voice, emergency call, text messaging, buffered or live streaming), resource type (e.g., GBR, non- GBR, or delay critical GBR), data rate or data burst volume.

[0139] In some examples, the first cell 602 may configure the UE 600 with a default triggering behavior, for example, in case a configuration is not provided for a service on a determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell. The default triggering behavior may be embedded in the configuration provided by the first cell 602.

[0140] In some examples, the default triggering behavior may indicate that the UE 600 is to always refrain from sending a measurement report when a condition is not defined for a service associated with a CE level that matches the CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell. For example, when the UE 600 is utilizing a service that is being provided by the first cell 602 and no value associated with the service is received, the UE 600 may refrain from sending a measurement report to the first cell 602.

[0141] In some examples, the default triggering behavior may indicate default trigger threshold values which may apply to default and / or undefined services. This may be defined in a case where the configuration is provided as an additional event for LPWA cells.

[0142] In some examples, in a case where service-specific thresholds are defined as an extension of a legacy event configuration, the default triggering behavior may indicate that the threshold values of legacy events may be applied by default when a specific threshold configuration is not provided for the service.

[0143] In some examples, a QoS parameter of a service defined in the configuration may be compared with the QoS parameter of the service being utilized by the UE 600. For example, if the priority level of the service being utilized (e.g., based on a 5QI value, where the lower the level the higher is the priority) is lower than at least one of the priority levels of the services defined in the configuration, the configuration of the service defined in the configuration with the next highest priority level may be used.

[0144] In some examples, the first cell 602 may provide different measurement reporting event configurations for loT UEs and for broadband UEs. In some examples, broadband UEs may operate in fallback mode in the LPWA cell. In some examples, providing different configurations for different UE types may distinguish how different types of UEs perform measurement reports. For example, the configuration for broadband UEs may indicate that the broadband UEs are permitted to use an LPWA cell as fallback (e.g., to avoid degrading the performance of loT UEs), or vice-versa. For example, the configuration for loT UEs may indicate that, by default, the loT UEs support all loT services at any CE level, while the configuration for broadband UEs may indicate that measurement reporting is triggered only for emergency call or text messaging services.

[0145] In some examples, the first cell 602 may configure the UE 600 with a limit for how many times or for how long the UE 600 can refrain from sending a measurement report. For example, if the UE 600 has refrained from sending a measurement report for a number of times (e.g., because the UE 600 has determined that the CE level of the UE at second cell 604 does not support the service being utilized by the UE 600 that is more than a configured limit, then the UE 600 may send a measurement report if a legacy event is triggered.

[0146] In some examples, the first cell 602 may provide configurations which allows the UE 600 to send measurement reports including the CE level information which the UE determines for the second cell 604. In some examples, the Handover Request message, which the first cell 602 sends to the second cell 604, may indicate the CE levels of the UE 600 at the first and second cell. This indication may be in addition to the PDU sessions and / or the service requirements associated to the PDU sessions. In some examples, based on the Handover Request message, the second cell may determine whether there should be a handover. The second cell may then send the first cell 602 a list of accepted and failed PDU Sessions in the Handover Request Acknowledgment.

[0147] Referring to Fig. 6, in some examples, the UE 600 may evaluate the fallback mode it deploys based on the determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell 604. For example, in an emergency situation of low coverage, at least some service connectivity needs to be maintained with the network, even if the service that was supported by the first cell during the handover is not supported by the CE level of the UE at the second cell.

[0148] In some examples, the UE 600 may be configured with a sorted list of subservices associated with a service (e.g., an emergency communication service). Subservices may include: an emergency 91 1 call; a push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) with a dispatched center; or texting an emergency number with emergency location service (ELS).

[0149] In some examples, considering a UE 600 using an emergency sub-service (e.g., a 911 call) at CEO at first cell, upon receiving the configuration from serving cell 602, the UE 600 may determine the CE level at the second cell 604. If the 91 1 call service is not supported at the second cell (e.g., as the determined CE level of the UE 600 at the second cell is CE2), this may trigger one of the emergency sub-services (e.g., ELS) that can be supported by the determined CE level. In this case, the UE 600 may use the configuration defined for the new (sub)-service (e.g., ELS) for handover.

[0150] In another example, the UE 600 may determine its capacity to complete an emergency service upon being served by a second cell 604 at a lower CE level than the first cell. For example, a UE 600 sending text updates with location information as part of ELS may determine a CE level at the second cell that supports additional emergency sub-services (e.g., 91 1 call), such that a new sub-service (e.g., emergency voice call) may be triggered.

[0151] An advantage of some embodiments herein enables reduced measurement reporting overhead for UEs. For example, reduced measurement reporting overhead for UEs in mobility situations in LPWA networks. In some examples, this advantage may be beneficial for broadband UEs using LPWA as fallback and / or for LPWA loT devices which may require lean signalling for low complexity and energy saving.

[0152] An advantage of some embodiments herein enables a reduction in network signaling from unnecessary handover requests and / or rejections when a second cell of a LPWA network may not support the service being utilized at the UE. This may be advantageous in NTN deployments, where base stations are constrained in terms of energy and latency. In some examples, embodiments herein do not require regular broadcasting of access barring parameters which may be damaging for network energy saving.

[0153] Referring to Fig. 4, in an example where it is determined that the second cell does not support the service of the UE at the appropriate CE level, at least one of the measurement reporting step at S402, the handover decision at S403, the handover request message at S404, the admission control step at S405 and / or the handover request acknowledge message at S406 may not occur. In this way, signaling overhead and / or energy consumption may be reduced,

[0154] Reference is made to Fig. 7 which shows a method of some example embodiments.

[0155] This method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise or be a user equipment.

[0156] The apparatus may comprise suitable means, such as circuitry for providing the method.

[0157] Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to provide the method below.

[0158] Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus may be such as discussed in relation to FIG. 9.

[0159] The method may be computer-implemented.

[0160] The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions.

[0161] The method may comprise, as referenced at S701 , receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level.

[0162] The method may comprise, as referenced at S702, performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover.

[0163] The method may comprise, as referenced at S703, determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level.

[0164] The method may comprise, as referenced at S704, based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

[0165] Reference is made to Fig. 8 which shows a method of some example embodiments.

[0166] This method may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise or be a network entity. For example, the network entity provides a first cell that is serving a user equipment.

[0167] The apparatus may comprise suitable means, such as circuitry for providing the method.

[0168] Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to provide the method below.

[0169] Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus may be such as discussed in relation to FIG. 9.

[0170] The method may be computer-implemented.

[0171] The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions. The method may comprise, as referenced at S801 , sending, to a user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level.

[0172] The method may comprise, as referenced at S802, receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

[0173] Fig. 9 shows, by way of example, a block diagram of an apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 comprises, for example, at least one processor 12 and at least one memory 14 storing instructions 15 that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 10 at least to perform the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. In an example, the at least one memory and the instructions (e.g. a computer program code, software), are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus 10 to perform the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof.

[0174] A processor 12 may comprise circuitry, or be constituted as circuitry or circuitries, the circuitry or circuitries being configured to perform phases of methods in accordance with example embodiments described herein. As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations, such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry, and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as, as applicable: (I) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / fi rmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processors)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a user equipment, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processors), such as a microprocessors) or a portion of a microprocessors), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0175] The memory 14 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology. The memory may comprise a database for storing data. The memory 14 may be at least in part external to apparatus 10 but accessible to apparatus 10.

[0176] The instructions 15 may be comprised in a computer readable medium or a non-transitory computer readable medium. A term non-transitory, as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g. random access memory, RAM, vs. read only memory, ROM).

[0177] For example, the apparatus 10 is a terminal device, such as the UE of Fig. 6. As another example, the apparatus is comprised in such a terminal device, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the terminal device. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of Fig. 7 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0178] As another example, the apparatus 10 is a network entity that provides the first cell of Fig. 6. In another embodiment, the apparatus is comprised in such a network entity e.g. as a chipset configured to control the network entity. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of Fig. 8 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0179] The apparatus may comprise one or more entities of any of protocol layers, such as a MAC entity, an RRC entity, an RLC entity, a PDCP entity or a PHY entity. In some embodiments, the entity is configured to perform at least the method of Fig. 7 or Fig. 8, and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0180] The apparatus 10 comprises a radio interface 16. The radio interface 16 may provide the apparatus 10 with communication capabilities. The radio interface 16 may comprise a receiver configured to receive information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The radio interface 16 may comprise a transmitter configured to transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The receiver may comprise more than one receiver. The transmitter may comprise more than one transmitter. The radio interface 16 may comprise a transceiver configured to receive and transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The transceiver may comprise more than one transceiver.

[0181] The apparatus 10 may comprise a user interface 18 comprising, for example, at least one of a keypad, a microphone, a touch display, a display, a speaker, etc. The user interface 18 may be used to control the apparatus by the user. The user interface 18 may be external to the apparatus 10. For example, the apparatus 10 may be connected to another device, such as a computer, either via wireless or wired connection, and the apparatus 10 is controlled by the user via the computer.

[0182] In an embodiment, at least some of the processes described herein may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for carrying out at least some of the described processes. Means for performing method steps as disclosed herein may include software and / or hardware components of the apparatus 10. For example, the at least one processor 12, the memory 14, and the computer program code form means for carrying out the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. As used herein the term “means” is to be construed in singular form, i.e. referring to a single element, or in plural form, i.e. referring to a combination of single elements. Therefore, terminology “means for [performing A, B, C]”, is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C. Further, terminology “means for performing A, means for performing B, means for performing C” is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A user equipment comprising: means for receiving, from a first cell that is serving the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; means for performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; means for determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and means for, based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

2. The user equipment of claim 1 , further comprising: means for, based on determining that the condition has not been triggered, refraining from sending the measurement report to the first cell.

3. The user equipment of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the value is associated with the respective service and wherein the respective service is associated with at least one respective coverage enhancement level.

4. The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: means for determining, based on the measurements performed on the second cell, a coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell, wherein the determining whether the condition has been triggered is based on the determined coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell.

5. The user equipment of claim 4, further comprising:means for determining whether the respective service is associated with the coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell that has been determined, wherein the determining whether the condition has been triggered is performed in response to determining that the respective service is associated with the coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell that has been determined.

6. The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the configuration for the condition is received while the user equipment is utilizing the respective service, the respective service being provided by the first cell.

7. The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one condition comprises a plurality of values.

8. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of values is associated with a different coverage enhancement level for the respective service.

9. The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the configuration identifies the respective service based on at least one of: a QoS indicator value, a QoS flow identifier, a service type, a resource type, a data rate or a data burst volume.

10. The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: means for, when the user equipment is utilizing the respective service that is being provided by the first cell and no value associated with the respective service is received, performing at least one of: refraining from sending the measurement report to the first cell, determining whether the condition has been triggered based on a default value, determining whether the condition has been triggered based on a legacy value, or determining whether the condition has been triggered based on a value defined for a service with a higher priority level than the respective service being utilized.11 . The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the second cell is a low power wide area cell.

12. The user equipment of any of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the value comprises at least one of a: threshold value, or a hysteresis value.

13. A network entity that provides a first cell that is serving a user equipment, the network entity comprising: means for sending, to the user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and means for receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

14. The network entity of claim 13, wherein the value is associated with the respective service and wherein the respective service is associated with at least one respective coverage enhancement level.

15. The network entity of claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the measurement report is related to a service supported at a coverage enhancement level of the user equipment at the second cell.

16. The network entity of claim 15, wherein the configuration for the at least one condition is sent to the user equipment while the user equipment is utilizing the service, the service being provided by the first cell.

17. The network entity of any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the at least one condition comprises a plurality of values.

18. The network entity of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of values is associated with a different coverage enhancement level for the respective service.

19. The network entity of any of claims 13 to 18, wherein the configuration identifies the respective service based on at least one of: a QoS indicator value, a QoS flow identifier, a service type, a resource type, a data rate or a data burst volume.

20. The network entity of any of claims 13 to 19, wherein the value comprises at least one of a: threshold value, or a hysteresis value.

21. A method comprising: receiving, from a first cell that is serving a user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; performing measurements on a second cell that is a candidate for handover; determining whether a condition of the at least one condition has been triggered based on: the measurements, and the respective value associated with the at least one of: the respective service, or the respective coverage enhancement level; and based on the determining that the condition has been triggered, sending a measurement report to the first cell, wherein the measurement report is related to the second cell.

22. A method comprising: sending, to a user equipment, a configuration for at least one condition related to event-based measurement reporting, wherein each of the at least one condition comprises a value, the value being associated with at least one of: a respective service, or a respective coverage enhancement level; and receiving a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report is related to a second cell.

23. A computer program comprising computer executable instructions which when executed cause the method of claim 21 to be performed.

24. A computer program comprising computer executable instructions which when executed cause the method of claim 22 to be performed.

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