Method, apparatus and computer program

Abstract

There is provided a method performed by a communication device, the method comprising: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers, and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

Description

METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Various examples of this disclosure relate to methods, apparatuses, and computer programs for a communication network.BACKGROUND

[0002] A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. A communication device may be provided with a service by an application server.

[0003] 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) standards provided by 3GPP.SUMMARY

[0004] 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.

[0005] According to a first aspect, there is provided a method performed by a communication device, the method comprising: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

[0006] According to a second aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising: means for determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and means for sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

[0007] According to a third aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to perform: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising: circuitry configured to perform: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and circuitry configured to perform: sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

[0010] The following are applicable to each (e.g., one or more, including all) of the above first to fifth aspects.

[0011] In some examples, the bandwidth between two component carriers comprises a frequency block with unwanted signals for the communication device.

[0012] In some examples, the two component carriers are configured for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation.

[0013] In some examples, the metric for the first signal comprises a peak- to- average power ratio.

[0014] In some examples, the metric comprises at least one of: a peak-to-average power ratio a peak power level, an average power level, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and an aggregated power of signals that are associated with the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a power of one of the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a threshold for carrier aggregation, or a value that indicates a delta between the metric of the first signal and a further metric associated with the communication device.

[0015] In some examples, the communication device is caused to perform: changing a mode of operation of the communication device from a second mode to a first mode based on the metric, wherein at least one of: the first mode, or the second mode, is associated with at leastone of: a number of receive chains of the communication device, or whether receive diversity is applied for receiver chains.

[0016] In some examples, the communication device is caused to perform: comparing the metric to at least one threshold; and based on a result from the comparing, changing a mode of operation of the communication device from a second mode to a first mode at the communication device,

[0017] wherein the communication device is configured to utilise more receive chains in response to receiving component carriers for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode.

[0018] In some examples, the communication device is caused to perform: receiving, from the network entity, an indication to change from a second mode to a first mode at the communication device, wherein the communication device is configured to utilise more receive chains in response to receiving component carriers for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode.

[0019] In some examples, the determining of the metric for the first signal comprises at least one of: isolating the first signal, from a frequency range across the two component carriers, based on the at least one signal received by the communication device; determining a power associated with the first signal that has been isolated; or determining a peak-to-average power ratio for the first signal based on the power associated with the first signal.

[0020] In some examples, the at least one signal comprises the two component carriers and the first signal.

[0021] In some examples, the isolating of the first signal comprises one of: applying at least one band-pass filter to filter out at least part of the at least one signal received on frequencies occupied by the two component carriers, so that the first signal is isolated , or performing a fast Fourier transform on the at least one signal to transform the at least one signal to frequency domain, so that sub-carriers that correspond to the first signal are identified and isolated.

[0022] In some examples, the determining of the power comprises: obtaining a power spectral density of the first signal; and integrating the power spectral density over a first bandwidth of the first signal to determine the power.

[0023] In some examples, the determining of the peak-to-average power ratio comprises at least one of: converting the first signal to time domain by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform; identifying a peak power of the first signal, in the time domain, by determining a maximum amplitude of the first signal; determining an average power of the first signal, wherein the determining is based on amplitudes of the first signal, in the time domain, measuredat a number of samples; or determining the peak-to-average power ratio of the first signal based on the peak power and the average power.

[0024] In some examples, the first signal comprises a plurality of signals, wherein each signal of the plurality of signals is located in the bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0025] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a network entity, the method comprising: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0026] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a network entity comprising: means for sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and means for receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0027] 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 a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0028] 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: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0029] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a network entity comprising: circuitry configured to perform: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and circuitry configured to perform: receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0030] The following are applicable to each (e.g., one or more, including all) of the above sixth to tenth aspects.

[0031] In some examples, the bandwidth between two component carriers comprises a frequency block with unwanted signals for the communication device.

[0032] In some examples, the metric for the first signal comprises a peak- to- average power ratio.

[0033] In some examples, the metric comprises at least one of: a peak-to-average power ratio a peak power level, an average power level, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and an aggregated power of signals that are associated with the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a power of one of the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a threshold for carrier aggregation, or a value that indicates a delta between the metric of the first signal and a further metric associated with the communication device.

[0034] In some examples, the network entity is caused to perform: comparing the metric to at least one threshold; and based on a result from the comparing, sending an indication to the communication device to change a mode of operation of the communication device from a second mode to a first mode at the communication device, wherein the communication device is configured to utilise more receive chains, in response to receiving component carriers, for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode.

[0035] In some examples, the first signal comprises a plurality of signals, wherein each signal of the plurality of signals is located in the bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0036] A computer product stored on a medium may cause an apparatus to perform the methods as described herein.

[0037] 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.

[0038] An electronic device may comprise apparatus as described herein.

[0039] Various other aspects and further embodiments are also described in the following detailed description and in the attached claims.

[0040] 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.

[0041] List of Abbreviations:BS: Base StationBW: BandwidthCA: Carrier aggregationCC: Component carrierCN: Core NetworkDL: Downlink eNB : eNodeB gNB : gNodeBLO: Local oscillatorLTE: Long Term EvolutionMIMO: Multiple input / multiple outputNC: Non-contiguousNG-RAN: Next Generation Radio Access NetworkNF: Network FunctionNR: New RadioNW: NetworkOFDM: Orthogonal frequency division multiplexingPAPR: Peak-to-average power ratioPSD: Power special densityRAN: Radio Access NetworkRSRP: Reference signal received powerRF: Radio FrequencyUE: User EquipmentUL: UplinkUPF: User Plane Function3GPP: 3rdGeneration Partnership Project5G: 5thGeneration5GC: 5G Core network5G-AN: 5G Radio Access Network5GS: 5G SystemBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0042] Some examples will now be described, by way of illustrative and non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G communication system;

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus for the 5G communication system of FIG. 1 ;

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a communication device;

[0046] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a communication system using noncontiguous intra-band carrier aggregation;

[0047] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a communication system using noncontiguous intra-band carrier aggregation with reduced resource usage;

[0048] FIG. 6A shows example graphical representations of non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation;

[0049] FIG. 6B shows further example graphical representations of non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation;

[0050] FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of a fragmented carrier in the downlink;

[0051] FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of transitions between modes of operation at a communication device;

[0052] FIG. 9 shows a graphical representation of a power level of an interfering signal between two component carriers;

[0053] FIG. 10 shows an example signalling and operations diagram between a communication device and a network entity for the determining of a metric for an interfering signal;

[0054] FIG. 11 shows an example method flow diagram performed by an apparatus;

[0055] FIG. 12 shows another example method flow diagram performed by an apparatus; and

[0056] FIG. 13 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] In communication systems, such as 5G systems, carrier aggregation (CA) is a technique that is used to increase the data rate per user (or per device) by having multiple frequency blocks (referred to as component carriers (CCs)) that are assigned to the same user. The maximum possible data rate per user is increased the more CCs are assigned to that user.

[0058] Dependent on the relative positions of different CCs, there are three different types of CA. When CCs are contiguous and are located within the same frequency band, then this is often referred to as contiguous intra-band CA. In this context, ‘contiguous’ CCs are CCs that are next to each other (in terms of frequency), such that there is no gap or bandwidth (BW) between the two contiguous CCs. When CCs are in the same frequency band, but are separated by a (frequency) gap, then this is often referred to as non-contiguous intra-band CA. When CCs are located in different frequency bands, then this is often referred to as inter-band CA. From a baseband perspective, there are no differences between the three types of CA described above. The complexity from a radio frequency (RF) perspective is increased in the case of inter-band CA, as described above.

[0059] A ‘fragmented carrier’ is another term that may be used to describe non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation. An example of a fragmented carrier in the downlink (DL) is depicted in FIG. 7, and is discussed in more detail below. It is beneficial for network operators if one or more additional carriers are supported by user equipments (UEs) in certain bands of operation. A UE is able to support more carriers by allowing (or reconfiguring) the UE to receive the non-contiguous intra-band CA using fewer receive chains of the UE (e.g., a single receive chain of a UE is used to receive two CCs rather than two separate receive chains). While a UE may be able to support contiguous intra-band CA using one receive chain, the UE will most likely suffer in receiver performance.

[0060] When a UE and a network operator have an established non-contiguous intra-band CA communication session ongoing, the UE may utilise different HW resources (e.g., receive chains of the UE) in order to receive different CCs. The HW resources used to receive the CCs may change during the communication session, e.g., due to changing in-gap interference. This is depicted in FIGS. 4 to 6.

[0061] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a communication system using noncontiguous intra-band carrier aggregation.

[0062] There is a network entity (e.g., gNB) 401 which configures a first CC (CC1) 403 and second CC (CC2) 405 for a UE 409. There is a frequency gap between CC1 403 and CC2 405, which means that the configuration is non-contiguous intra-band CA. There may be interference in the frequency gap between CC1 403 and CC2 405. The interference may be caused by a further gNB 407, as depicted in FIG. 4. In other examples, any gNB may cause the interference, including gNB 401. This is because network operators may share infrastructure(e.g., shared RAN). As depicted in FIG. 4, the gNB 401 transmits CC1 403 and CC2 405 to the UE 409.

[0063] The UE 409 comprises a front-end module 411 and a diversity module 413. The frontend module 411 is connected to two receive chains (or receive branches) 415 of the UE 409. Receive chains associated with the front-end module 411 may be referred to a main receiver receive chains. The diversity module 413 is connected to two receive chains 415. Receive chains associated with the diversity module 413 may be referred to as diversity receive chains. The receive chains of the UE are hardware (HW) resources of the UE. The UE 409 comprises four receive chains, in this example. A UE would likely comprise more than four receive chains in practice, but for simplicity, four receive chains are depicted in FIG. 4.

[0064] In FIG. 4, the UE 409 utilises each of the four receive chains 415 to receive CC1 403 and CC2 405 from the gNB 401. The four receive chains 415 are shaded to indicate that they are being used (i.e., not available).

[0065] A first graph 417 is associated with a first of the four receive chains 415. The first graph 417 shows that the UE is receiving CC1 utilising the first of the four receive chains 415. A second graph 419 is associated with a second of the four receive chains 415. The second graph 419 shows that the UE is receiving CC2 utilising the second of the four receive chains 415. A third graph 421 is associated with a third of the four receive chains 415. The third graph 421 shows that the UE is receiving CC1 utilising the third of the four receive chains 415. A fourth graph 423 is associated with a fourth of the four receive chains 415. The fourth graph 423 shows that the UE is receiving CC2 utilising the fourth of the four receive chains 415. In this manner, the receive chains associated with both the front-end module 411 and the diversity module 413 are being used to receive CC1 403 and CC2 405.

[0066] In some scenarios, it may be that the interference in the bandwidth between the two CCs is sufficiently low enough, and the quality of the CCs being received is high enough, that CC1 403 and CC2 405 may be received using a reduced number of HW resources at the UE. This is depicted in FIG. 5.

[0067] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a communication system using noncontiguous intra-band carrier aggregation with reduced resource usage.

[0068] As depicted in FIG. 5, the gNB 401 transmits CC1 403 and CC2 405 to the UE 409. In this example, the UE 409 has determined that using two of the four receive chains 415 would be sufficient for receiving CC1 403 and CC2 405. In other examples, the network may determine that the two receive chains 415 would be sufficient for receiving CC1 403 and CC2405. The determination by the UE 409, or the network, may be based on measurements performed by the UE 409.

[0069] A first receive chain 551 of the four receive chains 415 is utilised for receiving CC1 403 and CC2 405, in addition to the in-gap interference. This is graphically represented in a fifth graph 517. A third receive chain 555 of the four receive chains 415 is also utilised for receiving CC1 403 and CC2 405, in addition to the in-gap interference. This is graphically represented in a sixth graph 519. A second receive chain 553 and a fourth receive chain 557 are now available (or free). The receive chains 553, 557 are depicted without shading to indicate that they are free (i.e., not currently used for receiving a CC). In the example of FIG. 5, one of the receive chains associated with the front-end module 411 is available (i.e., the second receive chain 553) and one of the receive chains associated with the diversity module 413 is available (i.e., the fourth receive chain 557).

[0070] Other examples showing how a UE may utilise its HW resources for receiving CCs is depicted in FIGS. 6 A and 6B.

[0071] FIGS. 6A and 6B show example graphical representations of non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation.

[0072] In FIG. 6A, a first graphical representation 601 shows that a CC1 and a CC2 are both received utilising a (single) receive chain (1 Rx chain) of a first receiver. The first receiver may be referred to as a ‘main’ receiver, in some examples. A second graphical representation 603 shows that the CC1 and the CC2 are also received by a (single) receive chain (1 Rx chain) of a second receiver. The second receiver may be referred to as a ‘diversity’ receiver, in some examples. For a UE comprising four receive chains (e.g., UE 409 of FIG. 4), then there would be two receive chains that would be available (for other uses).

[0073] As depicted in FIG. 6 A, when the in-gap interference is low (e.g., interfering signal has a lower power than the wanted CCs), a single receive chain is used for the first (or main) receiver and a single receive chain is used for the second (or diversity) receiver for noncontiguous, intra-band 2CA. The CCs and interferer can be of different input powers at each antenna. Both the first receiver and the second receiver are shown to operate with a widened analogue filter to receiver both fragmented component carriers as the in-gap interference is sufficiently low to allow this configuration to work with limited impact.

[0074] In FIG. 6B, a third graphical representation 651 shows that a CC1 is received utilising a (single) receive chain of a first receiver (similar to FIG. 5). A fourth graphical representation 653 shows that a CC2 is received by a (single) receive chain of a second receiver. As depicted in third graphical representation 651 and the fourth graphical representation 653, theinterference between CC1 and CC2 is lower (in power) than the power of the received CC1 and CC2, since the analogue filter supports with attenuation of the in-gap interference. The interference is higher compared to the first 601 and second graphical representations 603. For a UE comprising four receive chains (e.g., UE 409 of FIG. 4), then there would be two receive chains that would be available.

[0075] As depicted in FIG. 6B, when in-gap interference is above a threshold, and the quality of a single component carriers themselves are sufficient to receive without the need for diversity gain, the configuration of FIG. 6B may be used, using 2 receive chains, 1 per CC. In FIG. 6B, the receiver usually used for diversity is used for the second component carrier, but it could be any receive chain, depending on the UE design.

[0076] As described in FIG. 4, the interference in the BW gap between two wanted CCs may be caused by one or more gNBs. Each of the one or more gNBs may be associated with a single network operator, or it could be that different operators are associated with each gNB. FIG. 7 shows an example of a fragmented carrier, with spectrum access from a plurality of operators.

[0077] FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of a fragmented carrier in the downlink.

[0078] The frequency spectrum 700 in the downlink (DL) is illustrated in blocks (of frequency). In this example, each of the blocks is 5 Megahertz (MHz) wide. There are three different operators that accessing frequency blocks on the spectrum 700. There is a first operator 701 which has spectrum access for the first two blocks. There is a second operator 703 that has access to the following two blocks. There is a third operator 705 which has spectrum access to the next 5 MHz block. The first operator 701 then has access to the final two blocks of the spectrum 700. In this manner, there is a (frequency) gap 707 between the spectrum accesses of the first operator 701. The BW between the blocks accessed by the first operator 401 may be considered to be interference for any devices that may be receiving data / signals from the first operator 401. The gap 707 may be considered an example of an ingap interferer (or may be referred to as ‘in-gap interference’).

[0079] The in-gap interferer may be several channels, and may be from more than one operator. Some information of the channel usage may be provided by inter-operator communication / co- ordination. However, this is on a general level and there may not be any co-ordination or any explicit information (provided between operators) on the instantaneous use and power levels. In this way, there may be no prior knowledge at communication devices (e.g., UEs) about the interference signal(s). Communication devices may not be aware of the signal strength in thegap between wanted CCs, which means that measurements of the in-gap interference would need to be performed without measuring synchronisation signal blocks (SSBs) (or any other reference signals) associated with signals in the gap. Stated differently, in order for a communication device to measure reference signals associated with the interfering signal, configuration data would need to be used by the communication device to know where reference channels are located and how they are configured. However, as the interfering signal is being transmitted by a different network operator (than the network operator of the communication device), the communication device does not have access to the necessary configuration data in order to measure the reference signals.

[0080] One or more of the following examples aim to address one or more of the problems identified above.

[0081] In examples, there is a method performed by a communication device (e.g., a UE), the method comprising: determining a metric for a first signal (e.g., a signal that is interference for the UE) based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers. The method also comprising: sending, to a network entity (e.g., a gNB), information related to the metric.

[0082] In some examples, a receiver (e.g., a UE, or other OFDM receiver) is aware of a bandwidth and location of an interfering signal (or interfering signals), receives the interfering signal, and then utilises signal processing techniques to determine a metric (e.g., power or peak- to-average power ratio) of the interfering signal.

[0083] In some examples, a receiver (e.g., a UE) changes a mode of operation based on the metric that has been determined, wherein the change of mode is either autonomous, or in response to an indication from a network entity.

[0084] These examples will be described in more detail below, alongside FIGS. 7 to 13.

[0085] Before explaining the examples above in greater detail, an example communication device (as shown in FIG. 3) that is capable of non-contiguous intra-band CA will be described. The communication device is part of a communication system (as shown in FIG. 1). The communication device is able to communicate with one or more of the entities of the communication system (as shown in FIG. 1) via an apparatus (as shown in FIG. 2), which may be part of / comprised in a base station (e.g., gNB). As described above, a base station andcommunication device may communicate with each other, such that the base station is able transmit data on one or more component carriers to the communication device.

[0086] Certain general aspects of the communication system and the communication device are briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 to assist in understanding the technology underlying the described examples.

[0087] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G communication system 100. In this manner, 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.

[0088] The network node 110 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.

[0089] 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, 112. UE may be configured with dual connectivity (DC), wherein the UE, e.g. UE 120, may be connected to multiple network nodes 110, 112. 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-machine, peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), for example.

[0090] 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.

[0091] The network nodes 110 and 112 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.

[0092] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus 200. The apparatus 200 may be for the 5G communication system of FIG. 1. The apparatus 200 may be for controlling a function of one or more network entities and / or network functions, such as the entities of the 5G-RAN or the 5GC as illustrated on FIG. 1. The apparatus 200 comprises at least one random access memory (RAM) 21 la, at least one read only memory (ROM) 211b, at least one processor 212, 213 and an input / output interface 214. The at least one processor 212, 213 is coupled to the RAM 211a and the ROM 211b. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 215. The software code 215 may for example allow to perform one or more steps to perform one or more of the present aspects or examples. The software code 215 may be stored in the ROM 211b. The apparatus 200 may be interconnected with another apparatus 200 controlling another entity / function of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. . In some examples, apparatus 200 may be configured to provide one or more functions of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. For example, apparatus 200 may be configured to perform at least some functionality of a particular function of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. For example, apparatus 200 may be configured to operate as a particular function of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. In alternative examples, apparatus 200 may be configured to perform at least some functionality of two or more functions of the 5G-AN and / or the 5GC. For example, apparatus 200 may be configured to operate as two or more functions of the 5G-AN and / or the 5GC. The apparatus 200 maycomprise one or more circuits, or circuitry (not shown) which may be configured to perform one or more of the present aspects or examples.

[0093] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication device 300. The communication device 300 may be similar to the communication device 102 illustrated in FIG. 1. The communication device 300 may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples of a communication device 300 are a user equipment, a terminal, a mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or what is known as a ’smart phone’, a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), a personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, a machine-type communications (MTC) device, a Cellular Internet of things (CIoT) device, or a terrestrial / maritime / aerial vehicle such as a car, a truck, a boat, an air plane, or a drone, or any combinations of these or the like. The communication device 300 may provide, for example, communication of data for carrying communications. The communications may be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia, data, machine data and so on.

[0094] The communication device 300 may receive signals over an air or radio interface 307 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In FIG. 3, a transceiver apparatus is designated schematically by block 306. The transceiver apparatus 306 may be provided for example by means of a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

[0095] The communication device 300 may be provided with at least one processor 301, at least one memory ROM 302a, at least one RAM 302b and other possible components 303 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access systems and other communication devices. The at least one processor 301 is coupled to the RAM 302b and the ROM 302a. The at least one processor 301 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 308. The software code 308 may for example allow to perform one or more of the present aspects. The software code 308 may be stored in the ROM 302a. The communication device 300 may comprise one or more circuits, or circuitry (not shown) which may be configured to perform one or more of the present aspects or examples.

[0096] The processor, storage and other relevant control apparatus may be provided on an appropriate circuit board and / or in chipsets. This feature is denoted by reference 304. The communication device may optionally have a user interface such as keypad 305, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof or the like. Optionally one or more of a display, a speaker and a microphone may be provided depending on the type of the device.

[0097] In examples, a communication device (e.g., a UE) is able to receive data on two component carriers, wherein a frequency gap between the two CCs means that one or more signals in the gap cause interference for the communication device. The communication device determines a metric (e.g., PAPR) associated with the one or more signals, which is provided to a network entity. In some examples, the communication device may change a mode of operation based on the metric (related to interference). An example of modes of operation at a communication device, and the switching between modes, is depicted in FIG. 8.

[0098] FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of transitions between modes of operation at a communication device. In the example of FIG. 8, there are three modes of operation associated with non-contiguous intra-band CA (or fragmented carriers) at a communication device (e.g., UE). In other examples, there may be more, or fewer than three modes. In the following examples, the term ‘mode’ is used. It should be understood that any other suitable term may be used, such as ‘state’, ‘configuration’, etc. These terms may be used interchangeably.

[0099] In a first mode 801, the UE utilises four Rx chains to receive two CCs for noncontiguous intra-band CA. The first mode 801 utilises both main receiver Rx chains of the UE, and both diversity Rx chains of the UE (e.g., similar to the reception performed by the UE 409 in FIG. 4). In a second mode 803, the UE utilises two Rx chains to receive two CCs for noncontiguous intra-band CA (e.g., similar to the reception performed by the UE 409 in FIG.5). In the second mode 803, diversity is maintained such that a single Rx chain of the main receiver and a single Rx chain of the diversity receiver is utilised. In a third mode 805, the UE utilises two Rx chains to receive two CCs for non-contiguous intra-band CA. In the third mode 805, the UE will not have any diversity gain such that the two Rx chains of the main and the diversity receiver(s) are used to receive one or more of the two CCs (e.g., similar to the graphical representation in FIG. 6B, whereby an analogue filter is placed relative to the down-conversion frequency at CC1 for the main receiver and at CC2 for the diversity receiver, each applying a narrower analogue filter, which allows attenuation of the in-gap interference). In this manner,the second 803 and third modes 805 of the UE utilise fewer Rx chains of the UE to receive two CCs, compared to the first mode 801.

[0100] When the UE is operating according to the first mode 801, when the frequency bandwidth between the two CCs is sufficiently low (e.g., below a threshold), then the UE may switch (shown with label ‘4’) to the second mode 803.

[0101] When the UE is operating according to the second mode 803, when the quality of the CCs is low, the interference is high, and diversity is needed, then the UE may switch (shown with label ‘5’) to the first mode 801.

[0102] When the UE is operating according to the third mode 805, when the quality of the CCs is sufficient, the interference is low, and diversity improves the reception, then the UE may switch (as shown with label ‘6’) to the second mode 803.

[0103] When the UE is operating according to the second mode 803, when the quality of the CCs is sufficient, the interference is high, and the need to suppress the in-gap interferer is larger than the advantage of the diversity gain (diversity gain sacrificed), then the UE may switch (as shown with label ‘7’) to the third mode 805.

[0104] When the UE is operating according to the third mode 805, when the quality of the CCs is too low, the interference is high, and diversity is needed, then the UE may switch (as shown with label ‘8’) to the first mode 801.

[0105] When the UE is operating according to the first mode 801, when the quality of the CCs is sufficient, the interference is high, and diversity may be sacrificed, then the UE may switch (shown with label ‘9’) to the third mode 805.

[0106] Each of the mode switches described above may be UE-initiated or NW-initiated. In the second 803 and third modes 805, the UE will have additional HW resources available (temporarily) as long as the conditions for in-gap interference and diversity are maintained as described above. This allows the UE to use the free RX chains for other purposes, such as for example, receiving additional CCs, additional measurements, or higher order inter-band combinations.

[0107] In order to determine whether a mode that the communication device is currently operating is suitable (according to current interference), information (e.g., a metric) about the interfering signal should be determined. Furthermore, instead of a mode change, the information about the interfering signal may be utilised by a network to change transmissionsto the communication device and / or change a configuration of the communication device (e.g., change a configuration of CCs). In some examples, a power level associated with an interfering signal (or interfering signals) is determined, which is graphically represented in FIG. 9.

[0108] FIG. 9 shows a graphical representation of a power level of an interfering signal between two component carriers.

[0109] The graph 900 has frequency on the x-axis, and power on the y-axis. A first CC (CC1) 901 and a second CC (CC2) 903 are plotted on the graph 900. CC1 901 and CC2 903 are configured for a communication device. There is a frequency gap between CC1 901 and CC2 903. In the frequency gap (BW) is a further signal (herein referred to as the ‘interfering signal’ 905). The frequency gap (BW) between CC1 901 and CC2 903 comprises a frequency block with unwanted signals for the communication device. In the example of FIG. 9, a single interfering signal 905 is shown, but in other examples, there may be a plurality of signals that are interfering for the communication device. There is also shown an analogue channel filter 907 on the graph, wherein the analogue channel filter 907 is associated with the power of CC1 901 and CC2 903. It is an aim of the analogue channel filter 907 to suppress co-channel interference. However, the analogue channel filter 907 has no effect on the in-gap interference as it is in-bandwidth interference rather than co-channel interference.

[0110] The power of the interfering signal 905 is not known to the communication device, as depicted within label 909. The communication device may be aware (only) of the bandwidth that the interfering signal (or signals) is comprised in. The communication device may determine the bandwidth comprising the interfering signal (or signals) based on CC1 901 and CC2 903 that have been configured for the communication device. Stated differently, the communication device may not have prior knowledge of: the interfering signal to measure, the number of channels, the number of operators, the location of any reference signals, etc. An example signalling and operations diagram, whereby a communication device determines one or more metrics for at least one interfering signal based on the bandwidth of the at least one interfering signal is shown in FIG. 10.

[0111] FIG. 10 shows an example signalling and operations diagram between a communication device and a network entity for the determining of a metric for an interfering signal. In the example of FIG. 10, the signalling and operations are between a UE and a gNB.

[0112] At S1001, the UE and the gNB establish a non-contiguous intra-band CA connection. The gNB sends, to the UE, a configuration of two CCs for non-contiguous intra-band CA. Theconfiguration may be sent using, for example, an ‘RRCReconfiguration’ message. The UE may send an acknowledgement of the configuration to the gNB. Subsequent to the configuration, the gNB may send, to the UE, an indication to activate the two CCs (that were previously configured). Alternatively, it may be that the two CCs are implicitly activated when the configuration was provided to the UE (i.e., an ‘explicit’ activation is not sent to the UE).

[0113] At S1002, the UE determines a metric for a first signal based on a signal (or signals) received by the UE. The first signal is located within a BW between two CCs. As previously described, the BW between two (configured CCs) comprises a frequency block with unwanted signals for the UE. As the first signal is located in (comprised) in the BW between the two CCs, the first signal is considered to be interfering (or an interfering signal) for the UE.

[0114] In some examples, a frequency range (or BW) of the first signal is a sub-range of the BW between the two CCs. In other examples, a frequency range (or BW) of the first signal is the same as the BW between the two CCs. For example, if the BW between the two CCs is 100MHz to 200MHz, then the frequency range of the first signal may be 120MHz to 160MHz (i.e., a sub-range), or the frequency range of the first signal may be 100MHz to 200MHz (i.e., the full range, or the full BW between the 2 CCs).

[0115] In some examples, there are a plurality of first signals located within the BW between the two CCs. When there are a plurality of first signals, a metric is determined for a sum of the plurality of (interfering) signals. Each of the first signals may be associated with a (single) network operator, or may be associated with different network operators.

[0116] In some examples, the determining of the metric for the first signal may comprise: configuring a receiver (of the UE), isolating the first signal, measuring a parameter (e.g., power) of the first signal, and then calculating the metric (e.g., a PAPR) for the first signal. This is described in more detail below.

[0117] The configuring of the receiver of the UE may comprise: ensure the receiver (e.g., OFDM receiver) is capable of receiving a total bandwidth covering the two CCs, and the interfering signal between the two CCs (e.g., as depicted in FIG. 9, see signal 905) which is a signals that pass (extends beyond) the analogue channel filter (e.g., see label 907 in FIG. 9). Stated differently, the receiver (UE) should support a total bandwidth that is at least as wide as the sum of the bandwidths of two CCs (e.g., CC1 901 and CC2 903 of FIG. 9), and the first signal (e.g., the interfering signal 905 of FIG. 9). This support of the receiver (UE) may bedetermined (or ensured) by radio resource control (RRC) signalling between the UE and the gNB.

[0118] The isolating of the first signal may comprise: performing at least one digital signal processing technique on the at least one signal (or signals) received by the UE. The digital signal processing may comprise one of: a time-domain filtering, or a fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis. The time-domain filtering may comprise: applying at least one band-pass filter (e.g., a digital band pass filter) that rejects the frequencies occupied by the two CCs (e.g., CC1 901 and CC2 903 of FIG. 9), in order to isolate the frequency range of the first signal (e.g., to isolate the interfering signal 905 of FIG. 9). The FFT analysis may comprise: performing an FFT on the at least one signal received by the UE to transform it from the time domain to the frequency domain. Once the FFT has been performed, the UE then identifies and isolates subcarriers that correspond to the first signal. Stated differently, the FFT is done on the full range signal (that is received by the UE) as the receiver supports a BW at least as wide as the sum of the bandwidths of the two CCs, and the interfering signal between the two CCs. The subcarriers corresponding to the interfering signal are then isolated.

[0119] The measuring of the parameter of the first signal may comprise: once the first signal has been isolated, determining (or calculating) a power, based on the first signal. The determination of the power may comprise integrating a power spectral density (PSD) of the first signal over a bandwidth of the first signal (i.e., a frequency range of the first signal, wherein there is a starting frequency (f_start) of the first signal and an ending frequency (f_end) of the first signal). The PSD may be estimated / determined from sub-carriers corresponding to the interfering signal (which is a subset of the full frequency range signal (see above regarding the FFT analysis). The power, P, of the first signal may be determined, for example, using the following equation: r CndP = PSD(f) , df‘' fstart

[0120] In other examples, any other suitable method, or equation, may be used to determine the power for the first signal.

[0121] The calculating of the metric for the first signal may comprise: determining a peak power of the first signal by identifying a maximum amplitude (Amax) of the first signal (in the time domain). If an FFT of the first signal has been previously performed (and is the frequency domain), before the determining of the peak power, an inverse FFT is performed to convert thefirst signal to the time domain. The calculating of the metric for the first signal may further comprise: determining (or calculating) an average power (Pavg) of the first signal in the time domain. The average power may be determined with a mean of the squared amplitudes of signal samples of the first signal. In this manner, the average power (Pavg) may be determined, for example, using the following equation:

[0122] In other examples, any other suitable method, or equation, may be used to determine the average power (Pavg) for the first signal. The calculating of the metric for the first signal may further comprise: determining (or calculating) a PAPR for the first signal based on the peak power / maximum amplitude (Amax) and the average power (Pavg)- For example, the peak power may be divided by the average power. In this manner, the PAPR may be determined, for example, using the following equation:PAPR = 'A”ax' avg

[0123] In other examples, any other suitable method, or equation, may be used to determine the PAPR for the first signal.

[0124] In the example above, the metric that is determined for the first signal is at least one of: power, and PAPR. It should be understood that these are examples only. In other examples, other suitable metrics are determined for the first signal. The metric may be a different power- related metric. For example, the metric may comprises at least one of: a peak power, an average power, a delta (i.e., a difference) to an aggregated power of signals that are associated with the two CCs, a delta to a power of one of the two CCs, a delta to a threshold (e.g., a fragmented CA threshold), or a delta to a further metric (e.g., a performance metric) associated with the UE. The word “delta”, herein, means a difference, e.g., between two values.

[0125] At S1003, the UE sends, to the gNB, information related to the metric. In some examples, the information related to the metric comprises the metric (itself). For example, the UE sends an indication of one of: power, or PAPR, of the first signal to the gNB.

[0126] At S1004a, the gNB sends, to the UE, an indication to change a mode of operation of the UE. The gNB may send the indication based on the information related to the metric (as sent by the UE). The gNB may send the indication based on a determination at the NW that theinterference is too high, or too low, and thus the mode of operation should be changed at the UE. For example, the indication may be to change from the second mode (e.g., as shown in FIG. 8) to the first mode (e.g., as shown in FIG. 8) at the UE. The UE is configured to utilise more receive chains when receiving component carriers (e.g., receiving data on the component carriers) for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode. For example, the gNB may determine that the metric (e.g., the PAPR) of the first signal is higher than a threshold, which indicates that the interference is not suitable for the second mode, and the UE should switch to the first mode.

[0127] At S1005a, based on the indication received in S1004a, the UE changes the mode of operation at the UE.

[0128] As an alternative to S1004a and S1005a, there is S1004b.

[0129] At S1004b, the UE determines to change the mode of operation at the UE, based on the metric for the first signal. In some examples, the UE compares the metric of the first signal to a threshold. Based on the comparing, the UE then changes a mode of operation of the communication device. For example, changing from the second mode (e.g., as shown in FIG. 8) to the first mode (e.g., as shown in FIG. 8) at the UE. The UE is configured to utilise more receive chains when receiving component carriers for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode. For example, the UE may determine that the metric (e.g., the PAPR) of the first signal is higher than the threshold, which indicates that the interference is not suitable for the second mode, and the UE should switch to the first mode.

[0130] It should be understood that, in other examples, one or more of the steps in FIG. 10 may not be performed, or may be performed in a different order.

[0131] The procedure of FIG. 10 provides a way to measure the (in-band) interference in a communication system (such as an OFDM system), by determining a power and / or PAPR of an interfering signal (e.g., the first signal) located in the frequency gap between the two desired signals (i.e., the two CCs). These metrics (e.g., power, PAPR) may then be used to estimate when the interference is high enough (e.g., by comparing the metric to a threshold) to cause significant degradation of the quality of two CCs (e.g., to the interfering signal 905 to degrade CC1 901 and CC2 903 of FIG. 9). In particular, the PAPR may be used to determine / estimate when a receive chain of the UE will start clipping the signal (which should be avoided) but at the same time, maximize the wanted signal(s) at the analogue to digital converter (ADC) input. PAPR is defined in the time domain, and clipping at the ADC occurs when the full BW (in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q), I / Q signal) (i.e., the two CCs + the interfering signal) has amplitude peaks that exceed a maximum voltage (Vmax) of the ADC.

[0132] The metric(s) that have been determined are then be shared with the gNB via signalling, or are used by the UE itself, to determining whether a change of mode of operation would be suitable (e.g., see FIG. 8). The criteria for changing mode may be provided to the UE by the NW. Alternatively, the criteria for changing the mode may be established by the UE itself (e.g., pre-configured at the UE). In some examples, the UE may provide the criteria for changing the mode as a UE capability to the gNB (e.g., in UE capability information).

[0133] The determination (and potential sharing) of the metric(s) for the interfering signal enables the UE to change between the second mode and first mode. The metric(s) may also allow the UE to include the third mode (see FIG. 8) in the change of modes, if the HW and SW architecture of the UE supports the utilisation of the diversity sacrifice.

[0134] One or more of the examples discussed above have the advantage that information about the interfering signal between wanted signals is determined without the measuring of SSBs or other reference signals (which may not be possible due to a lack of knowledge on the UE-side). The information about the interfering signal may be utilised by the UE and / or the network to ensure that the UE is operating according to a suitable mode to ensure that established communication sessions between the UE and the gNB can continue to operate efficiently.

[0135] FIG. 11 shows an example method flow performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be a communication device. For example, the communication device may be a UE, terminal device, or other mobile device.

[0136] In SI 101, the method comprises: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers.

[0137] In SI 103, the method comprises: sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

[0138] It should be understood that, in some examples, one or more additional method steps are included in the method flow of FIG. 11 and are performed by the apparatus. In some examples, one or more of the method steps of FIG. 11 detailed above may not be performed, or may be performed in a different order.

[0139] FIG. 12 shows an example method flow performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be a network entity. For example, the network entity may be a base station, gNB, access point, or other network node.

[0140] In S1201, the method comprises: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation.

[0141] In S1203, the method comprises: receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

[0142] It should be understood that, in some examples, one or more additional method steps are included in the method flow of FIG. 12 and are performed by the apparatus. In some examples, one or more of the method steps of FIG. 12 detailed above may not be performed, or may be performed in a different order.

[0143] FIG. 13 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus. FIG. 13 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.

[0144] 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 / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), 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 processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), 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) accompanyingsoftware 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.

[0145] 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.

[0146] 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).

[0147] For example, the apparatus 10 is a communication device (or terminal device), such as the UE involved in the signalling of FIG. 10. As another example, the apparatus is comprised in such a communication device, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the communication device. The apparatus 10 may be caused or configured to perform at least the method of FIG. 11 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0148] As another example, the apparatus 10 is a network entity (or network node), e.g. gNB involved in the signalling of FIG. 10. 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. 12 and / or any one or more of the embodiments described.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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 18may 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.

[0151] 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. It is noted that while the above describes example embodiments, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0152] The examples may thus vary within the scope of the attached claims. In general, some embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although embodiments are not limited thereto. While various embodiments may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0153] The examples may be implemented by computer software stored in a memory and executable by at least one data processor of the involved entities or by hardware, or by acombination of software and hardware. Further in this regard it should be noted that any procedures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD.

[0154] The 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. RAM vs ROM).

[0155] As used herein, “at least one of the following:” and “at least one of: ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and”, or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0156] The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), gate level circuits and processors based on multi core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0157] As used herein, the terms “means for”, “means for performing operations including”, “means configured to perform operations including”, or “means configured to perform” (or similar) may be any means that are suitable for performing the feature(s). The “means” may be configured to perform one or more of the functions and / or method steps previously described. For example, the “means” may include one or more of: at least one processor, at least one memory, transceiver circuitry, antenna circuitry, etc. It should be understood that these are provided as non-limiting examples.

[0158] Alternatively, or additionally some examples may be implemented using circuitry. The circuitry may be configured to perform one or more of the functions and / or method steps previously described. That circuitry may be provided in the base station and / or in the communications device.

[0159] 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 analogue and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as: (i) a combination of analogue and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as the communications device or base station to perform the various functions previously described; and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0160] This definition of circuitry applies to uses of the term “means” 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 integrated device. 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 a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0161] The foregoing description has provided by way of exemplary and non-limiting examples a full and informative description of some embodiments. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings will still fall within the scope as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A communication device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device at least to perform: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the two component carriers are configured for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation.

3. The communication device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the metric for the first signal comprises a peak-to-average power ratio.

4. The communication device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the metric comprises at least one of: a peak-to-average power ratio, a peak power level, an average power level, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and an aggregated power of signals that are associated with the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a power of one of the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a threshold for carrier aggregation, or a value that indicates a delta between the metric of the first signal and a further metric associated with the communication device.

5. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication device is further caused to perform:changing a mode of operation of the communication device from a second mode to a first mode based on the metric, wherein at least one of: the first mode, or the second mode, is associated with at least one of: a number of receive chains of the communication device, or whether receive diversity is applied for receiver chains.

6. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the communication device is further caused to perform: comparing the metric to at least one threshold; and based on a result from the comparing, changing a mode of operation of the communication device from a second mode to a first mode at the communication device, wherein the communication device is configured to utilise more receive chains in response to receiving component carriers for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode.

7. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication device is further caused to perform: receiving, from the network entity, an indication to change from a second mode to a first mode at the communication device, wherein the communication device is configured to utilise more receive chains in response to receiving component carriers for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode.

8. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the determining of the metric for the first signal comprises at least one of: isolating the first signal, from a frequency range across the two component carriers, based on the at least one signal received by the communication device; determining a power associated with the first signal that has been isolated; or determining a peak-to-average power ratio for the first signal based on the power associated with the first signal.

9. The communication device according to claim 8, wherein the isolating of the first signal comprises one of: applying at least one band-pass filter to filter out at least part of the at least one signal received on frequencies occupied by the two component carriers, so that the first signal is isolated, orperforming a fast Fourier transform on the at least one signal to transform the at least one signal to frequency domain, so that sub-carriers that correspond to the first signal are identified and isolated.

10. The communication device according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the determining of the power comprises: obtaining a power spectral density of the first signal; and integrating the power spectral density over a first bandwidth of the first signal to determine the power.

11. The communication device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the determining of the peak-to-average power ratio comprises at least one of: converting the first signal to time domain by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform; identifying a peak power of the first signal, in the time domain, by determining a maximum amplitude of the first signal; determining an average power of the first signal, wherein the determining is based on amplitudes of the first signal, in the time domain, measured at a number of samples; or determining the peak-to-average power ratio of the first signal based on the peak power and the average power.

12. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first signal comprises a plurality of signals, wherein each signal of the plurality of signals is located in the bandwidth between the two component carriers.

13. A method performed by a communication device, the method comprising: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

14. A computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform:determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

15. A communication device, comprising means for: determining a metric for a first signal based on at least one signal received by the communication device, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between two component carriers; and sending, to a network entity, information related to the metric.

16. 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 at least to perform: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

17. The network entity according to claim 16, wherein the bandwidth between two component carriers comprises a frequency block with unwanted signals for the communication device.

18. The network entity according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the metric for the first signal comprises a peak-to-average power ratio.

19. The network entity according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the metric comprises at least one of: a peak-to-average power ratio, a peak power level, an average power level,a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and an aggregated power of signals that are associated with the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a power of one of the two component carriers, a value that indicates a delta between a power of the first signal and a threshold for carrier aggregation, or a value that indicates a delta between the metric of the first signal and a further metric associated with the communication device.

20. The network entity according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the network entity is further caused to perform: comparing the metric to at least one threshold; and based on a result from the comparing, sending an indication to the communication device to change a mode of operation of the communication device from a second mode to a first mode at the communication device, wherein the communication device is configured to utilise more receive chains, in response to receiving component carriers, for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation in the first mode compared to the second mode.

21. The network entity according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein the first signal comprises a plurality of signals, wherein each signal of the plurality of signals is located in the bandwidth between the two component carriers.

22. A method performed by a network entity, the method comprising: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

23. A computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to perform: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; andreceiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

24. A network entity, comprising means for: sending, to a communication device, a configuration with two component carriers for the communication device for non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation; and receiving, from the communication device, information related to a metric for a first signal, wherein the first signal is located within a bandwidth between the two component carriers.

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