Multiplexing delay critical data levels

Abstract

A UE (22) is provided. A user equipment, UE (22) includes a buffer (54), and the UE (22) is configured to: determine that a first packet of a plurality of packets is queued in the buffer (54) for transmission after a second packet of the plurality of packets, where the first packet has a first remaining time and the second packet has a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time, report the first and second packets as part of a buffer size for the first remaining time.

Description

[0001] MULTIPLEXING DELAY CRITICAL DATA LEVELS

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to managing a buffer for delay critical data.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile user equipments (UE), as well as communication between network nodes and between UEs. The 3GPP is also developing standards for Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communication networks.

[0006] In particular, 5G is the fifth generation of mobile communications, addressing a wide range of use cases from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to ultra-reliable low- latency communications (URLLC) to massive machine type communications (mMTC). 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC). The NR physical and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification, and to that add needed components when motivated by new use cases.

[0007] Low-latency high-rate applications such as extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming are various use cases in the 5G era. XR may refer to all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. It is an umbrella term for different types of realities including Virtual reality (VR), Augmented reality (AR), Mixed reality (MR), and the areas interpolated among them. The levels of virtuality range from partially sensory inputs to fully immersive VR.

[0008] Low-latency high-rate XR applications

[0009] Low-latency applications like XR and cloud gaming require bounded latency, not necessarily ultra-low latency. The end-to-end latency budget may be in the range of 20-80 ms, which needs to be distributed over several components including application processing latency, transport latency, radio link latency, etc. For these applications, short transmission time intervals (TTIs) or mini-slots targeting ultra-low latency may not be effective. FIG. 1 shows an example of frame latency measured over radio access network (RAN), excluding application & core network latencies. It can be seen that there exist frame latency spikes in RAN. The sources for the latency spikes may include queuing delay, time-varying radio environments, time-varying frame sizes, among others. For example, the frame latency may be measured over RAN excluding application and CN latencies where latency spikes may occur due to instantaneous shortage of radio resources or inefficient radio resource allocation in response to varying frame size.Tools that can help to remove latency spikes are beneficial to enable better 5G support for this type of traffic.

[0010] In addition to bounded latency requirements, the applications like XR and cloud gaming also require high rate transmission. This can occur, for example, from the large frame sizes originated from this type of traffic. The typical frame sizes may range from tens of kilobytes to hundreds of kilobytes. The frame arrival rates may be 60 or 120 frames per second (fps). As a example, a frame size of 100 kilobytes and a frame arrival rate of 120 fps can lead to a rate requirement of 95.8 Mbps.

[0011] A large video frame is usually fragmented into smaller IP packets and transmitted as several transport blocks (TBs) over several TTIs in RAN. FIG. 2 shows an example of the cumulative distribution functions of the number of transport blocks required to deliver a video frame with size ranging from 20 KB to 300 KB. For example, FIG. 2 shows that for delivering the frames with a size of 200 KB each, the median number of needed TBs is 5.

[0012] The characteristics of XR traffic arrival are quite distinct from typical webbrowsing and VoIP traffic as shown in FIG. 3. It is expected that the arrival time is quasi- periodic and largely predictable as VoIP. However, its data size is an order of magnitude larger than VoIP, as discussed above. In addition, similar to web-browsing, the data size is different at every application PDU arrival instance due to dynamics of contents and human motion.

[0013] As mentioned above, many XR applications generate traffic periodically with a variable size. When the application packet enters the internet, the initial packet may be transmitted into a single PDU in the network or may be segmented several PDUs. One application packet could, for instance, correspond to one or several IP packets.

[0014] IP packets arrive to the PDCP layer, i.e., PDCP SDUs, and the PDCP layer creates PDCP PDUs and delivers then to lower layers. When an IP packet arrives to PDCP, the PDCP layer starts a PDCP discard timer. When this timer expires, the PDCP discards the PDCP SDU as well as the corresponding PDCP Data PDU. If the PDCP PDU was delivered to lower layers, PDCP indicates the discard to lower layers. Lower layers, e.g., RLC will discard the PDCP PDUs (RLC SDU) if these RLC SDU or any segment of the RLC SDU has not yet been transmitted to lower layers.

[0015] As discussed above, an application PDU, e.g., a video frame, is divided into multiple IP packets. All these IP packets belong to one video frame and can be defined as PDU Set.

[0016] 3GPP Rel-18 agreements on XR features

[0017] SA2 is a standardization group in 3GPP that is in charge of developing the overall 3GPP system architecture and services. SA2 in 23.700-60 identified that PDU sets could be assigned with a PDU Set Importance indicator. This parameter can be used to identify the importance of a PDU Set within a QoS flow. RAN may use it for PDU Set level packet discarding in presence of congestion.

[0018] *PDU Set as defined by 23.700-60: PDU Set: A PDU Set is composed of one or more PDUs carrying the pay load of one unit of information generated at the application level (e.g., a frame or video slice for XRM Services, as used in TR 26.926). In some implementations, all PDUs in a PDU Set are needed by the application layer to use the corresponding unit of information. In other implementations, the application layer can still recover parts all or of the information unit, when some PDUs are missing.

[0019] 3GPP has agreed on having a “PDU Set Importance” (PSI) indicator which indicates a certain importance level for the PDU Set. The importance level of the PDU Sets indicates how useful the PDU Set is for the application, the assumption is that low importance PDU Sets can be down prioritized, or even discarded, in favor of more reliable delivery of higher importance PDU Sets.

[0020] In 3 GPP Rel-18 XR WI, additional solutions for UL PSI based discarding were introduced. The solution introduced depends on the UE to do the identification of the PSI levels of the PDU Sets, and determines what is a low or high importance PDU Set, and then applies the behavior configured by the network on each of the PDU Set depending on their identified importance. No information about the PDU Sets is delivered to the network.

[0021] Furthermore, a new delay and buffer reporting enhancements were introduced in 3GPP Rel-18; Delay Status Reporting (DSR).The DSR is a new MAC CE, with separate handling from the legacy BSR. The format for the DSR is as shown in FIG. 4.

[0022] The fields in the DSR MAC CE are defined as follows: LCGi: This field indicates the presence of delay information (i.e., the Remaining Time and Buffer Size fields) for the LCG i. The LCGi field set to 1 indicates that the delay information for the LCG i is reported. The LCGi field set to 0 indicates that the delay information for the LCG i is not reported;

[0023] Remaining Time: This field indicates the shortest remaining value of PDCP discardTimer (described in clause 7.3 in 3GPP TS 38.323) among all PDCP SDUs buffered for an LCG, at the time of the first symbol of the first PUSCH transmission that includes this DSR MAC CE. The length of this field is 6 bits. The value r in this field indicates a remaining time within the range of (r, r + 1] msec.

[0024] BT: This field is present only if the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBSR-Table Allowed', otherwise, this field is reserved. If present, the BT field set to 1 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x are used to set the value of the Buffer Size field, while the BT field set to 0 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-2 are used instead.

[0025] Buffer Size: The Buffer Size field indicates the total amount of delay- critical UL data for an LCG according to the data volume calculation procedure specified in clause 5.5 in 3GPP TS 38.322 and clause 5.6 in 3GPP TS 38.323 for the associated RLC and PDCP entities, respectively, after the MAC PDU has been built. If the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBSR-TableAllowed and the amount of delay-critical UL data for an LCG is within the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x, the MAC entity shall use the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x to set the value of this field; otherwise, the MAC entity shall use Table 6.1.3.1-2 instead. This field is indicated in number of bytes. The length of this field is 8 bits.

[0026] The Remaining Time, the BT, and the Buffer Size fields for an LCG is reported in two consecutive octets. These three fields for different LCGs are included in a DSR MAC CE in ascending order based on theLCGi.

[0027] For the purpose of the delay critical buffer volume reporting in the DSR, the PDCP specification in the following 3GPP change request (CR) (e.g., 3GPP 38.323 CR 0128 rev 1 v. 17.5.0): defines delay critical PDCP SDU as the following:

[0028] Delay-critical PDCP SDU: if pdu-SetDiscard is not configured, a PDCP SDU for which the remaining time till discardTimer expiry is less than the remainingTimeThreshold. If pdu-SetDiscard is configured, a PDCP SDU belonging to a PDU Set of which at least one PDCP SDU has the remaining time till discardTimer expiry less than the remainingTimeThreshold. The trigger handling of the DSR is based on the delay-critical data with the discardTimer, i.e., when the smallest remaining time for data running the discardTimer is below the remainingTimeThreshold a new DSR will be triggered. This is described in the following MAC (TS 38.321) text:

[0029] RRC controls the DSR procedure by configuring the following parameter: remainingTimeThreshold'. the threshold on remaining time for triggering a DSR for an LCG.

[0030] If an LCG is configured for delay status reporting, the MAC entity shall:

[0031] 1> if the smallest remaining value of the PDCP discardTimers among all the data buffered for the LCG that has not been transmitted in any MAC PDU or reported as data volume in a DSR MAC CE becomes below remainingTimeThreshold of the LCG; and

[0032] 1> if there is no DSR pending for the LCG since the last transmission of a DSR MAC CE:

[0033] 2> trigger a DSR for the LCG.

[0034] 3GPP Rel-19 continued work on XR features

[0035] Rel-19 WI on XR has started, and enhancements on Rel-18 features are ongoing. One such enhancement is on the DSR, where it has been discussed that the DSR reports with multiple information pairs, i.e., remaining time and buffer sizes. Details have not been settled but a possible format may look as shown in FIG. 5, where each LCG may report multiple information pairs.

[0036] However, existing solutions are not without issues. When data is not ordered according to the remaining time in the UE queue (e.g., because of jitter in arrival time of PDUs belonging to different PDU Sets or different discard timers based on different importance levels) the reporting of remaining time and buffer levels in the DSR can be ambiguous to the network, i.e., the network will not know based on the remaining time how much data needs to be scheduled for the UE to serve the most delay critical data. The issue is illustrated in the example in FIG. 6 where there is an issue with reporting of multiple information pairs when the data in the UE queue is not in remaining time order. SUMMARY

[0037] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for managing a buffer delay critical data.

[0038] In particular, one or more embodiments provide rules on how to report data buffer sizes in the DSR to provide a correct (e.g., accurate, useful, etc.) picture of how much data needs to be served to fulfill the latency requirements.

[0039] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a user equipment, UE, is provided. The UE comprises a buffer. A determination is made that a first packet of a plurality of packets is queued in the buffer for transmission after a second packet of the plurality of packets, where the first packet has a first remaining time and the second packet has a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time. The first and second packets are reported as part of a buffer size for the first remaining time.

[0040] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a determination is made that a third packet of the plurality of packets is queued in the buffer for transmission after the first packet and the second packet, where the third packet has a third remaining time greater than the first remaining time and the second remaining time, and the third packet is reported as part of a buffer size for the third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

[0041] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, at least a subset of the plurality of packets in the buffer are re-ordered according to respective remaining times.

[0042] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the reporting is based on the re-ordering of at least the subset of the plurality of packets.

[0043] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a determination is made that at least one of the plurality of packets is associated with a remaining time that is below a time threshold; and a report of the at least one of the plurality of packets is omitted based on the determination.

[0044] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node to: receive a reporting of a buffer size; provide a transmission grant to the UE based on the reporting of the buffer size; and receive the transmission from the UE that is based on the transmission grant.

[0045] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets is received. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, an indication is received to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmission for packets queued in a buffer does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

[0046] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first packet carries delay critical data and the second packet carries non-delay critical data.

[0047] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment, UE, is provided. The UE comprises a buffer. The UE is configured to: determine that a first packet of a plurality of packets is queued in the buffer for transmission after a second packet of the plurality of packets, where the first packet has a first remaining time and the second packet having a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time; and report the first and second packets as part of a buffer size for the first remaining time.

[0048] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is further configured to: determine a third packet of the plurality of packets is queued in the buffer for transmission after the first packet and the second packet, where the third packet has a third remaining time greater than the first remaining time and the second remaining time; and report the third packet as part of a buffer size for the third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

[0049] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is further configured to re-order at least a subset of the plurality of packets in the buffer according to respective remaining times.

[0050] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the reporting is based on the re-ordering of at least the subset of the plurality of packets.

[0051] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is further configured to: determine that at least one of the plurality of packets is associated with a remaining time that is below a time threshold; and omit a report of the at least one of the plurality of packets based on the determination.

[0052] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node to: receive a reporting of a buffer size; provide a transmission grant to the UE based on the reporting of the buffer size; and receive the transmission from the UE that is based on the transmission grant.

[0053] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is further configured to receive an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is further configured to receive an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmission for packets queued in a buffer does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

[0054] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first packet carries delay critical data and the second packet carries non-delay critical data, e.g., where criticality of data may by based on and / or determined based on a remining time described herein.

[0055] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented by a network node that is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, is provided. The UE comprises a buffer with a first packet queued for transmission ahead of a second packet that is queued for transmission, where the first packet has a first remaining time, and the second packet has a second remaining time. A reporting of the first packet and the second packet as part of a buffer size for a first remaining time is received. The first packet and the second packet are scheduled according to the reporting.

[0056] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a reporting is received of third packet as part of a buffer size for a third remaining time, where the reporting of the third packet omits a reporting of the second packet.

[0057] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets is transmitted to the UE.

[0058] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmit packets queued in a buffer does not correspond to an order of remaining times is transmitted to the UE.

[0059] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, where the UE comprises a buffer with a first packet queued for transmission ahead of a second packet that is queued for transmission, and the first packet has a first remaining time and the second packet has a second remaining time. The network node is configured to: receive a reporting of the first packet and the second packet as part of a buffer size for a first remaining time; and schedule the first packet and the second packet according to the reporting.

[0060] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to receive a reporting of third packet as part of a buffer size for a third remaining time, where the reporting of the third packet omits a reporting of the second packet. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to transmit, to the UE, an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

[0061] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to transmit, to the UE, an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmit packets queued in a buffer does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

[0062] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0064] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of frame latency measured over RAN (excluding application & CN latencies);

[0065] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of the cumulative distribution functions of the number of transport blocks required to deliver a video frame with size ranging from 20 KB to 300 KB;

[0066] FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of XR traffic characteristics compared to VoIP and Web-browsing;

[0067] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example DSR MAC CE;

[0068] FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of how a multiple information pair DSR format;

[0069] FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example of reporting with multiple information pairs when the data in the UE queue is not in remaining time order;

[0070] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

[0071] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a network node in communication with a user equipment over a wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0072] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0073] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0074] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of another example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0075] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized;

[0076] FIG. 14 is a diagram of an example of selection of reporting buffer sizes when UE queue is not in remaining time order according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0077] FIG. 15 is a diagram of an example DSR MAC CE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0078] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0079] According to one or more embodiments, it is discussed herein how the UE reports buffer sizes. It will sometimes mention that the UE reports the buffer sizes in terms of packets. Exact details of how the buffer size is reported is not the main focus in the present disclosure, but the reporting may be in terms of one or more of data units such as, for example, bits, bytes, number of packets, etc.

[0080] Some aspects of present disclosure are described such that the behavior or process described herein is performed on a per UE basis; however, the embodiments can be applied per bearer, flow, etc.

[0081] Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to managing a buffer for delay critical data. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0082] As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0083] In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

[0084] In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0085] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0086] The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a user equipment (UE) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

[0087] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The UE herein can be any type of user equipment capable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radio signals, such as a wireless device (WD). The UE may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and / or low-complexity UE, a sensor equipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device etc.

[0088] Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell / multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

[0089] Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0090] Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a user equipment or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of user equipments and / or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and user equipment described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

[0091] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0092] Some embodiments are directed to managing a buffer for delay critical data. Referring again to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 7 a schematic diagram of an example communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18 a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first user equipment (UE) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second UE 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of UEs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as user equipments 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two UEs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more UEs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0093] Also, it is contemplated that a UE 22 can be in simultaneous communication and / or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a UE 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, UE 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0094] A network node 16 (eNB or gNB) is configured to include a configuration unit 24 which is configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions that are described herein. A user equipment 22 is configured to include a management unit 26 which is configured to perform one or more UE 22 functions that are described herein. Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE 22 and network node 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 8.

[0095] The communication system 10 includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 28 enabling it to communicate with the UE 22. The hardware 28 may include a radio interface 30 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 32 with a UE 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 30 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 30 includes an array of antennas 34 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0096] In the embodiment shown, the hardware 28 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and a memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) the memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0097] Thus, the network node 16 further has software 42 stored internally in, for example, memory 40, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 40 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 may include configuration unit 24 which is configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions that are described herein.

[0098] The communication system 10 further includes the UE 22 already referred to. The UE 22 may have hardware 44 that may include a radio interface 46 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 32 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the UE 22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 46 includes an array of antennas 48 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0099] The hardware 44 of the UE 22 further includes processing circuitry 50. The processing circuitry 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 50 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) memory 54, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). Memory 40 may include one or more buffers and / or one or more queues, as described herein.

[0100] Thus, the UE 22 may further comprise software 56, which is stored in, for example, memory 54 at the UE 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the UE 22. The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuitry 50. The software 56 may include a client application 58. The client application 58 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 22.

[0101] The processing circuitry 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by UE 22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing UE 22 functions described herein. The UE 22 includes memory 54 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 56 and / or the client application 58 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50, causes the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50 to perform the processes described herein with respect to UE 22. For example, the processing circuitry 50 of the user equipment 22 may include management unit 26 which is configured to perform one or more UE 22 functions that are described herein.

[0102] In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16 and UE 22 may be as shown in FIG. 8 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 7.

[0103] The wireless connection 32 between the UE 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc. In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.

[0104] Although FIGS. 7 and 8 show various “units” such as configuration unit 24 and management unit 26 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

[0105] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the configuration unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. The network node 16 that is configured to communicate with UE 22 that comprises a non-ordered buffer that includes a plurality of data units where at least one data unit is not queued according to at least one time threshold.

[0106] Network node 16 is configured to receive (Block S100) a reporting of information of a buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54, where each data unit is associated with a respective time threshold of a plurality of time thresholds, as described herein. The reporting is based on at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54, where the at least one rule is configured to at least one of: cause the information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units to be multiplexed in an information pair for a lowest remaining time threshold of the plurality of data units, and omit information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units from the reported information based on at least one time threshold and a temporal order in which at least the first data unit is queued.

[0107] According to one or more embodiments, the at least rule comprises a first rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit: having at least one time threshold greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and being queued in the nonordered buffer before the second data unit.

[0108] According to one or more embodiments, the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54 does not correspond to the plurality of data units in queue in the non-ordered buffer 54.

[0109] According to one or more embodiments, at least the first data unit has at least one time threshold that is greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and that is, before the at least one rule is applied, queued in the non-ordered buffer 54 before the second data unit; and the at least one rule comprises a second rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit by assigning or re-assigning a second data unit before at least the first data unit in the queue of the non-order buffer 54.

[0110] According to one or more embodiments, the second rule is configured to reassign sequence numbers of the plurality of data units in the non-ordered buffer 54 such that a data unit having a lower time threshold than another data unit is assigned a lower sequence number than the other data unit.

[0111] According to one or more embodiments, the at least one rule comprises a third rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit based on a determination that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below the predefined time threshold.

[0112] According to one or more embodiments, the predefined time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node 16 to: receive the reported information; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reported information; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant. According to one or more embodiments, at least one of: the time threshold corresponds time remaining to transmit a data unit and the information of the first data unit of the plurality of data units being included in another reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54. According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to transmit an uplink grant that is based on the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54.

[0113] According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to transmit an indication to apply the at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54.

[0114] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another example process in a network node 16 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the configuration unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. According to one or more embodiments, UE 22 comprises a buffer 54 with a first packet queued for transmission ahead of a second packet that is queued for transmission, where the first packet has a first remaining time and the second packet has a second remaining time. Network node 16 is configured to receive (S102) a reporting of the first packet and the second packet as part of a buffer size for a first remaining time, as described herein. Network node 16 is configured to schedule the first packet and the second packet according to the reporting, as described herein.

[0115] According to one or more embodiments, network node 16 is configured to receive a reporting of third packet as part of a buffer size for a third remaining time, where the reporting of the third packet omits a reporting of the second packet.

[0116] According to one or more embodiments, network node 16 is configured to transmit, to the UE 22, an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

[0117] According to one or more embodiments, network node 16 is configured to transmit, to the UE 22, an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmit packets queued in a buffer 54 does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

[0118] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example process in a UE 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 50 (including the management unit 26), processor 52, memory 54 (e.g., one or more buffers 54) and / or radio interface 46. UE 22 comprising a non-ordered buffer 54 including a plurality of data units where at least one data unit is not queued according to at least one time threshold. UE 22 is configured to apply (Block S106) at least one rule for managing a reporting of information of a buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54 where each data unit is associated with a respective time threshold of a plurality of time thresholds, as described herein.

[0119] UE 22 is configured to, after applying the at least one rule, report (Block S 108) information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54, the at least one rule is configured to at least one of cause the information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units to be multiplexed in an information pair for a lowest remaining time threshold of the plurality of data units, and omit information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units from the reported information based on at least one time threshold and temporal order in which at least the first data unit is queued, as described herein.

[0120] According to one or more embodiments, the at least rule comprises a first rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit: having at least one time threshold greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and being queued in the nonordered buffer 54 before the second data unit.

[0121] According to one or more embodiments, the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54 does not correspond to the plurality of data units in queue in the non-ordered buffer 54.

[0122] According to one or more embodiments, at least the first data unit has at least one time threshold that is greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and that is, before the at least one rule is applied, queued in the non-ordered buffer 54 before the second data unit, and the at least one rule comprises a second rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit by assigning or re-assigning a second data unit before at least the first data unit in the queue of the non-order buffer 54.

[0123] According to one or more embodiments, the second rule is configured to reassign sequence numbers of the plurality of data units in the non-ordered buffer 54 such that a data unit having a lower time threshold than another data unit is assigned a lower sequence number than the other data unit.

[0124] According to one or more embodiments, the UE 22 is further configured to determine that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below a predefined time threshold, and the at least one rule comprises a third rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit based on the determination that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below the predefined time threshold. According to one or more embodiments, the predefined time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node 16 to: receive the reported information; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reported information; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant. According to one or more embodiments, at least one of the time threshold corresponds time remaining to transmit a data unit and the information of the first data unit of the plurality of data units being included in another reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54.

[0125] According to one or more embodiments, the UE 22 is further configured to receive an uplink grant that is based on the reported information of the buffer size of the nonordered buffer 54.

[0126] According to one or more embodiments, the UE 22 is further configured to receive an indication to apply the at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer 54.

[0127] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example process in a UE 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 50 (including the management unit 26), processor 52, memory 54 (e.g., one or more buffers 54) and / or radio interface 46. UE 22 is configured to determine that a first packet of a plurality of packets is queued in the buffer for transmission after a second packet of the plurality of packets, where the first packet has a first remaining time and the second packet has a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time, as described herein. UE 22 is configured to report the first and second packets as part of a buffer size for the first remaining time, as described herein.

[0128] According to one or more embodiments, UE 22 is configured to determine a third packet of the plurality of packets is queued in the buffer 54 for transmission after the first packet and the second packet, where the third packet has a third remaining time greater than the first remaining time and the second remaining time, and report the third packet as part of a buffer size for the third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

[0129] According to one or more embodiments, UE 22 is configured to re-order at least a subset of the plurality of packets in the buffer according to respective remaining times. According to one or more embodiments, the reporting is based on the re-ordering of at least the subset of the plurality of packets.

[0130] According to one or more embodiments, UE 22 is configured to determine that at least one of the plurality of packets is associated with a remaining time that is below a time threshold; and omit a report of the at least one of the plurality of packets based on the determination.

[0131] According to one or more embodiments, the time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node 16 to: receive a reporting of a buffer size; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reporting of the buffer size; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant.

[0132] According to one or more embodiments, UE 22 is configured to receive an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

[0133] According to one or more embodiments, UE 22 is configured to receive an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmission for packets queued in a buffer 54 does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

[0134] According to another example, UE 22 comprises a buffer 54 for queueing a plurality of packets that include a first packet associated with a first remaining time and a second packet associated with a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time where the second packet is queued for transmission ahead the first packet. UE 22 determines a buffer size of packets to report as requiring transmission by the first remaining time where the buffer size includes the first packet and the second packet; and reports the buffer size.

[0135] According to another example, UE 22 comprising a buffer 54 for queueing data where the data includes delay critical data associated with a first remaining time and nondelay critical data associated with a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time, and where the non-delay critical data is queued for transmission ahead the delay critical data. UE 22 is configured to: determine a buffer size of data to report as requiring transmission by the first remaining time, where the buffer size includes the first packet and the second packet; and report the buffer size.

[0136] For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication system 10 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes 16. An ORAN network node 16 is a node in the telecommunication system 10 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication system 10, including one or more network nodes 16 in the access network 12 and / or core network nodes 15.

[0137] Examples of an ORAN network node 16 include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near- real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O- RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 16 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 22) to the core network 14 over one or more wireless connections.

[0138] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 94 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 94 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 94 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0139] Applications 96 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 94 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0140] Hardware 98 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. In some embodiments, hardware 98 may be a subset or all of hardware 28 Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 100 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 102a and 102b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 102), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 100 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 102.

[0141] The VMs 102 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 100. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 96 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 102, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0142] In the context of NFV, a VM 102 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 102, and that part of hardware 98 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 102 on top of the hardware 98 and corresponds to the application 96.

[0143] Hardware 98 may be implemented in a standalone network node, e.g., network node 16, with generic or specific components. Hardware 98 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 98 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 104, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 96. In some embodiments, hardware 98 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 106 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0144] Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for managing a buffer for delay critical data (e.g., data units).

[0145] Some embodiments provide managing a buffer for delay critical data. One or more UE 22 functions described below may be performed and / or implemented by one or more of processing circuitry 50, processor 52, management unit 26, radio interface 46, etc. One or more network node 16 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 36, processor 38, configuration unit 24, radio interface 30, etc.

[0146] Reporting of remaining time for packets in buffers

[0147] To illustrate some aspects of this present disclosure, consider FIG. 14 where an UL buffer 54 in the UE 22 is shown. There is a "head of queue" which has the first packet which is transmitted by the UE 22, and this is referred to as “packet 1” below and this packet is a blue packet (i.e., labeled “blue”) having a remaining time of 11-20 ms meaning that it would be obsolete if it is sent / processed later than 20 ms. Packet 2 and packet 3 have the same remaining time. Then follows four packets (packet 4-7, i.e., orange packets) with remaining time 0 - 10 ms. If the transmitter chooses first the packets in the head of a queue, these packets, packets 4 to 7, will have to wait for the blue packets (packets 1 to 3) to be transmitted before they (packets 4 to 7) can be transmitted. And last comes two green packets.

[0148] In one embodiment, a UE 22 is configured with a set of remaining time values or ranges, for example, 10 ms (or 0-10 ms), 20 ms (or 10-20 ms), and 40 ms (or 20-40 ms). For a remaining time (Tx), the UE 22 reports the amount of packets / data that the UE 22 must transmit to have sent all packets / data having that remaining time. This means that the UE 22 may indicate that the buffer size is B 1 bytes for a remaining time T1 which means that the UE 22 will have to send B 1 bytes in order to serve all traffic in the UE 22's buffer which has a remaining time Tl. For example, by referring to FIG. 14, the first buffer size would be set to the size of the bottom 7 packets (blue and orange). The reason for this is due to the fact that if the transmitter always has to send the packet in the head of the queue, the UE 22 must send the bottom / first 7 packets in the buffer in order to send all packets (i.e., packets 4-7) which must be sent within 0-10 ms.

[0149] In one or more versions of this embodiment, if a piece of data has been considered / included in a buffer size Bl of a remaining time Tl, that data will not be considered when setting another buffer size B2 of another remaining time T2. Specifically, if a data / packet with a long remaining time has been included in the buffer size of a shorter remaining time, that packet will not be considered when the UE 22 determines how large the buffer size should be set for that longer remaining time. For example, consider the example above where packets 1-3 must be sent / processed within 20 ms, but because they are ahead in the queue of the packets with remaining time 0 - 10 ms, packets 1-3 will be included in the buffer size for remaining time 0 - 10 ms. And according to one or more embodiments of this version, the UE 22 will not consider packets 1-3 when reporting buffer size for the remaining time 10 - 20 ms, i.e., the 10 - 20 ms buffer size will be zero.

[0150] In case new data arrives in the UE 22's buffer which makes the UE 22 adjust the buffer size values, the UE 22 triggers a new report.

[0151] Packets with unassigned or re-assignable order in the buffer

[0152] The UE 22 may not necessarily assign sequence numbers to all packets that the UE 22 has in its uplink buffers. Or, the UE 22 may have the capability to recreate PDUs from SDUs for packets (for example, reassign sequence numbers of packets in the buffer). In any of these cases, the UE 22 may be able to adjust the order of packets in the buffer and if there is a packet which has a short remaining time (e.g., compared to at least one other packet in the buffer), the UE 22 could place that before a packet with longer remaining time. This means that packets which the UE 22 has in its buffer may not necessarily have an assigned order or the order or some packets may be re-assignable.

[0153] If the UE 22 has un- / re-assignable packets in the buffer, the UE 22 would in one embodiment consider unassigned (or re-assignable) packets as if they will be sent in order of their remaining time.

[0154] For example, if the buffer looks like the buffer in FIG. 14, and if packet 3-9 are un- / re-assignable (while packet 1 and 2 are not), the UE would report 6 packets to have 0 - 10 ms remaining time. This is because the first two packets in the queue are not possible to adjust the order of, but the UE 22 can place packets 4-7 (the four orange packets) before packet 3. The UE 22 would then report to the network the 6 packets under the remaining time 0 - 10 ms.

[0155] Omitting information about “too late” data

[0156] In one embodiment, the UE 22 omits information about any data that has a remaining time of T or less, i.e., omit information about “too late” data. The time T may be a time that is short enough to make it impossible for the network node 16 to receive the information, provide a transmission grant to the UE 22, and / or for the data to reach the network node 16. For example, this may be a round trip time between the UE 22 and the network node 16. The value T may depend on a the TDD-configuration which is applied, and / or depend on the numerology / subcarrier spacing which is applied, etc. Another approach is that the network configures the value T.

[0157] One benefit of this configuration is that the network node 16 will not believe that there is data available for transmission in the UE 22 when such data would have been discarded by the UE 22 (e.g., the network node 16 will not consider data that would have been discarded by the UE 22). Consider for example that the UE 22 reports that there are X bytes of data in the UE 22 that has 0-10 ms remaining time left but if those X bytes have, for example, 1 ms remaining time left then by the time that the network node 16 gets the report from the UE 22, the UE 22 may already have discarded that data. Instead, this embodiment ensures that the information that the UE 22 reports (i.e., the amount of data and the remaining time values) contains information that the network and / or network node 16 can act on in time.

[0158] The UE 22 may apply the same behavior to all remaining time values that the UE 22 reports. This means that the UE 22 will subtract a time T from all remaining time values when the UE 22 determines what to send in the report.

[0159] Whether the UE 22 does this or not can be dependent on a configuration from the network, e.g., if a field has a first value (or is present) the UE 22 applies this behavior, while if the field has a second value (or is absent) the UE 22 does not apply this behavior. The default behavior may be that the UE 22 does not apply this behavior, i.e., that if the network does not indicate anything in this regard to the UE 22, the UE 22 will not apply this behavior. Another possibility is that this is implicitly configured based on whether the UE 22 will apply a behavior wherein the UE 22 discards data which has no remaining time. For example, the UE 22 may apply a behavior herein where the UE 22 discards data when the data becomes “too old” and if this behavior is configured for / applied by the UE 22, the UE 22 applies the behavior described in this embodiment (i.e., to not report data which has too short remaining time).

[0160] Another approach is that if the network or network node 16 configures the value T, then the UE 22 applies this behavior, otherwise the UE 22 applies a default behavior (e.g., that the UE reports the remaining times and buffer sizes as actually seen by the UE 22).

[0161] STANDARDIZING THE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

[0162] Below describes an example of how certain aspects of the proposed solutions could be implemented within the framework of a specific communication standard. In particular, the below example provides an example of how the proposed solutions could be implemented within the framework of a 3GPP TSG RAN standard. The changes described to the 3 GPP standard below are merely intended to illustrate how certain aspects of the proposed solutions could be implemented in a particular standard. However, the proposed solutions could also be implemented in other suitable manners, both in the 3GPP Specification and in other specifications or standards.

[0163] The proposed changes to 3GPP 6.1.3.72 that are in accordance with the present disclosure are shown in bold and underlined.

[0164] 6.1.3.72 Delay Status Report MA C CE

[0165] The Delay Status Report (DSR) MAC CE is identified by MAC subheader with an eLCID as specified in Table 6.2.1-2b.

[0166] The fields in the DSR MAC CE are defined as follows:

[0167] - LCGi: This field indicates the presence of delay information (i.e. the Remaining Time and Buffer Size fields) for the LCG i. The LCGi field set to 1 indicates that the delay information for the LCG i is reported. The LCGi field set to 0 indicates that the delay information for the LCG i is not reported;

[0168] - Remaining Timei: This field indicates the remaining value i. The length of this field is 6 bits. This field is present only if the buffer size indicated by the corresponding Buffer Size field is not zero; otherwise, this field is reserved and set to 0. If present, the value r in this field indicates a remaining time within the range of (r, r + 1] msec;

[0169] - BT: This field is present only if the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBS-TableAllowed and the buffer size indicated by the corresponding Buffer Size field is not zero; otherwise, this field is reserved and set to 0. If present, the BT field set to 1 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-3 are used to set the value of the Buffer Size field, while the BT field set to 0 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-2 are used instead;

[0170] - Buffer Sizei: The Buffer Size field i indicates the total amount of UL data that the UE needs to transmit for an LCG in order to to have sent all data in the buffer for that LCG that has a remaining time i or lower, according to the data volume calculation procedure specified in clause 5.5 in TS 38.322 and clause 5.15 in TS 38.323 for the associated RLC and PDCP entities, respectively, after the MAC PDU has been built. If the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBS- TableAllowed and the amount of delay-critical UL data for an LCG is within the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-3, the MAC entity shall use the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-3 to set the value of this field; otherwise, the MAC entity shall use Table 6.1.3.1-2 instead. This field is indicated in number of bytes. The length of this field is 8 bits.

[0171] The DSR MAC CE shall include delay information of all LCGs which have pending DSRs when the MAC PDU containing this DSR MAC CE is to be built. The Remaining Time, the BT, and the Buffer Size fields for an LCG shall be reported in two consecutive octets. These three fields for different LCGs shall be included in a DSR MAC CE in ascending order based on the LCGi.

[0172] FIG. 15 is a diagram of DSR MAC CE.

[0173] Accordingly, one or more embodiments described herein relate to a non-ordered buffer queue and a DSR report using multiple remaining time thresholds and information pairs (i.e., multiple pairs of buffer size and remaining time), where rules described herein are used multiplex data from the queue into the reporting thresholds. The one or more embodiments advantageously improve the information in the network scheduler of how many resources need to be provided to the UE to serve the time critical data without the need to add an explicit indication of the queue order of the reported data.

[0174] Some Examples

[0175] Example Al. A method implemented in a user equipment (UE 22) that is configured to communicate with a network node 16, the UE 22 comprising a non-ordered buffer including a plurality of data units where at least one data unit is not queued according to at least one time threshold, the method comprising: applying at least one rule for managing a reporting of information of a buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, each data unit being associated with a respective time threshold of a plurality of time thresholds; and after applying the at least one rule, reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, the at least one rule configured to at least one of: cause the information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units to be multiplexed in an information pair for a lowest remaining time threshold of the plurality of data units; and omit information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units from the reported information based on at least one time threshold and a temporal order in which at least the first data unit is queued.

[0176] Example A2. The method of Example Al, wherein the at least rule comprises a first rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit: having at least one time threshold greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units; and being queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit.

[0177] Example A3. The method of Example A2, wherein the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer does not correspond to the plurality of data units in queue in the non-ordered buffer.

[0178] Example A4. The method of any one of Example A1-A3, wherein at least the first data unit has at least one time threshold that is greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and that is, before the at least one rule is applied, queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit; the at least one rule comprises a second rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit by assigning or re-assigning a second data unit before at least the first data unit in the queue of the non-order buffer.

[0179] Example A5. The method of Example A4, wherein the second rule is configured to reassign sequence numbers of the plurality of data units in the non-ordered buffer such that a data unit having a lower time threshold than another data unit is assigned a lower sequence number than the other data unit.

[0180] Example A6. The method of any one of Examples A1-A5, further comprising determining that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below a predefined time threshold; and the at least one rule comprises a third rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit based on the determination that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below the predefined time threshold. Example A7. The method of Example A6, wherein the predefined time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node to: receive the reported information; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reported information; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant.

[0181] Example A8. The method of any one of Examples A1-A7, wherein at least one of: the time threshold corresponds time remaining to transmit a data unit; and the information of the first data unit of the plurality of data units being included in another reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0182] Example A9. The method of any one of Examples A1-A8, further comprising receiving an uplink grant that is based on the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0183] Example A10. The method of any one of Examples A1-A9, further comprising receiving an indication to apply the at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0184] Example Bl. A user equipment (UE 22) that is configured to communicate with a network node 16, the UE 22 comprising a non-ordered buffer including a plurality of data units where at least one data unit is not queued according to at least one time threshold, the UE 22 configured to, and / or comprising a radio interface 46 and / or comprising processing circuitry 36 configured to: apply at least one rule for managing a reporting of information of a buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, each data unit being associated with a respective time threshold of a plurality of time thresholds; and after applying the at least one rule, report information of the buffer size of the nonordered buffer, the at least one rule configured to at least one of: cause the information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units to be multiplexed in an information pair for a lowest remaining time threshold of the plurality of data units; and omit information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units from the reported information based on at least one time threshold and temporal order in which at least the first data unit is queued.

[0185] Example B2. The UE 22 of Example Bl, wherein the at least rule comprises a first rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit: having at least one time threshold greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units; and being queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit.

[0186] Example B3. The UE 22 of any one of Examples B 1-B2, wherein the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer does not correspond to the plurality of data units in queue in the non-ordered buffer.

[0187] Example B4. The UE 22 of any one of Examples B 1-B3, wherein at least the first data unit has at least one time threshold that is greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and that is, before the at least one rule is applied, queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit; and the at least one rule comprises a second rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit by assigning or re-assigning a second data unit before at least the first data unit in the queue of the non-order buffer.

[0188] Example B5. The UE 22 of Example B4, wherein the second rule is configured to reassign sequence numbers of the plurality of data units in the non-ordered buffer such that a data unit having a lower time threshold than another data unit is assigned a lower sequence number than the other data unit.

[0189] Example B6. The UE 22 of any one of Examples B 1-B5, wherein the UE 22 is further configured to determine that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below a predefined time threshold; and the at least one rule comprises a third rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit based on the determination that the at least one time threshold of at least the first data unit is below the predefined time threshold.

[0190] Example B7. The UE 22 of Example B6, wherein the predefined time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node to: receive the reported information; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reported information; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant.

[0191] Example B8. The UE 22 of any one of Examples B 1-B7, wherein at least one of: the time threshold corresponds time remaining to transmit a data unit; and the information of the first data unit of the plurality of data units being included in another reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer. Example B9. The UE 22 of any one of Examples B 1-B8, wherein the UE 22 is further configured to receive an uplink grant that is based on the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0192] Example BIO. The UE 22 of any one of Examples B1-B9, wherein the UE 22 is further configured to receive an indication to apply the at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0193] Example Cl. A method implemented in a network node 16 that is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE 22, that comprises a non-ordered buffer that includes a plurality of data units where at least one data unit is not queued according to at least one time threshold, the method comprising: receiving a reporting of information of a buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, each data unit being associated with a respective time threshold of a plurality of time thresholds; and the reporting being based on at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, the at least one rule being configured to at least one of: cause the information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units to be multiplexed in an information pair for a lowest remaining time threshold of the plurality of data units; and omit information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units from the reported information based on at least one time threshold and a temporal order in which at least the first data unit is queued.

[0194] Example C2. The method of Example Cl, wherein the at least rule comprises a first rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit: having at least one time threshold greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units; and being queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit.

[0195] Example C3. The method of Example C2, wherein the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer does not correspond to the plurality of data units in queue in the non-ordered buffer.

[0196] Example C4. The method of any one of Example C1-C3, wherein at least the first data unit has at least one time threshold that is greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and that is, before the at least one rule is applied, queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit; the at least one rule comprises a second rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit by assigning or re-assigning a second data unit before at least the first data unit in the queue of the non-order buffer.

[0197] Example C5. The method of Example C4, wherein the second rule is configured to reassign sequence numbers of the plurality of data units in the non-ordered buffer such that a data unit having a lower time threshold than another data unit is assigned a lower sequence number than the other data unit.

[0198] Example C6. The method of any one of Examples C1-C5, wherein the at least one rule comprises a third rule that act on information of at least the first data unit based on a determination that the at least one time threshold of the first data unit is below the predefined time threshold.

[0199] Example C7. The method of Example C6, wherein the predefined time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node to: receive the reported information; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reported information; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant.

[0200] Example C8. The method of any one of Examples C1-C7, wherein at least one of: the time threshold corresponds time remaining to transmit a data unit; and the information of the first data unit of the plurality of data units being included in another reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0201] Example C9. The method of any one of Examples C1-C8, further comprising transmitting an uplink grant that is based on the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0202] Example CIO. The method of any one of Examples C1-C9, further comprising transmitting an indication to apply the at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0203] Example DI. A network node 16 that is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE 22, that comprises a non-ordered buffer that includes a plurality of data units where at least one data unit is not queued according to at least one time threshold, the network node 16 configured to, and / or comprising a radio interface 30 and / or comprising processing circuitry 36 configured to: receive a reporting of information of a buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, each data unit being associated with a respective time threshold of a plurality of time thresholds; and the reporting being based on at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer, the at least one rule being configured to at least one of: cause the information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units to be multiplexed in an information pair for a lowest remaining time threshold of the plurality of data units; and omit information of at least a first data unit of the plurality of data units from the reported information based on at least one time threshold and a temporal order in which at least the first data unit is queued.

[0204] Example D2. The network node 16 of Example DI, wherein the at least rule comprises a first rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit: having at least one time threshold greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units; and being queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit.

[0205] Example D3. The network node 16 of Example D2, wherein the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer does not correspond to the plurality of data units in queue in the non-ordered buffer.

[0206] Example D4. The network node 16 of any one of Example D1-D3, wherein at least the first data unit has at least one time threshold that is greater than at least a second data unit of the plurality of data units and that is, before the at least one rule is applied, queued in the non-ordered buffer before the second data unit; the at least one rule comprises a second rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit by assigning or re-assigning a second data unit before at least the first data unit in the queue of the non-order buffer.

[0207] Example D5. The network node 16 of Example D4, wherein the second rule is configured to reassign sequence numbers of the plurality of data units in the non-ordered buffer such that a data unit having a lower time threshold than another data unit is assigned a lower sequence number than the other data unit.

[0208] Example D6. The network node 16 of any one of Examples D1-D5, wherein the at least one rule comprises a third rule that acts on information of at least the first data unit based on a determination that the at least one time threshold of the first data unit is below the predefined time threshold.

[0209] Example D7. The network node 16 of Example D6, wherein the predefined time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node 16 to: receive the reported information; provide a transmission grant to the UE 22 based on the reported information; and receive the transmission from the UE 22 that is based on the transmission grant. Example D8. The network node 16 of any one of Examples D1-D7, wherein at least one of: the time threshold corresponds time remaining to transmit a data unit; and the information of the first data unit of the plurality of data units being included in another reporting information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0210] Example D9. The network node 16 of any one of Examples D1-D8, wherein the network node 16 is further configured to transmit an uplink grant that is based on the reported information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0211] Example DIO. The network node 16 of any one of Examples D1-D9, wherein the network node 16 is further configured to transmit an indication to apply the at least one rule for managing the reporting of information of the buffer size of the non-ordered buffer.

[0212] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and / or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and / or functionality described herein may be performed by, and / or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0213] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0214] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0215] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0216] It is to be understood that the functions / acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality / acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

[0217] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 31

[0218] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and / or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

[0219] Abbreviations that may be used in the preceding description include:

[0220] AR Augmented Reality

[0221] BSR Buffer Status Report

[0222] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0223] DSR Delay Status Report eMBB Enhanced MBB

[0224] IP Internet Protocol

[0225] KB Kilo Bytes

[0226] LCH Logical Channel

[0227] LCG Logical Channel Group

[0228] MAC Medium Access Control

[0229] MAC CE MAC Control Element

[0230] MBB Mobile Broadband

[0231] Mbps Megabits per second mMTC Massive MTC

[0232] MR Mixed Reality

[0233] MTC Machine Type Communication

[0234] NG Next Generation

[0235] RAN Radio Access Network

[0236] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0237] PDU Packet Data Unit

[0238] PSI PDU Set Importance

[0239] QoS Quality of Service

[0240] Rel Release

[0241] RLC Radio Link Control SA System Aspects

[0242] SDU Service Data Unit

[0243] TB Transport Blocks

[0244] TR Technical Report

[0245] TTI Transmission Time Interval

[0246] UE User Equipment

[0247] VoIP Voice over IP

[0248] VR Virtual Reality

[0249] WI Work Item

[0250] XR extended Reality

[0251] 3 GPP 3rd generation partnership project

[0252] 5G 5th generations telecom networks

[0253] 5GC 5G Core Network

[0254] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method implemented in a user equipment, UE (22), the UE (22) comprising a buffer (54), the method comprising: determining (S106) that a first packet of a plurality of packets is queued in the buffer for transmission after a second packet of the plurality of packets, the first packet having a first remaining time and the second packet having a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time; and reporting (S108) the first and second packets as part of a buffer size for the first remaining time.

2. The method of Claim 1, further comprising: determining a third packet of the plurality of packets is queued in the buffer (54) for transmission after the first packet and the second packet, the third packet having a third remaining time greater than the first remaining time and the second remaining time; and reporting the third packet as part of a buffer size for the third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

3. The method of any one of Claims 1-2, further comprising re-ordering at least a subset of the plurality of packets in the buffer (54) according to respective remaining times.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein the reporting is based on the re-ordering of at least the subset of the plurality of packets.

5. The method of any one of Claims 1-4, further comprising: determining that at least one of the plurality of packets is associated with a remaining time that is below a time threshold; and omitting a report of the at least one of the plurality of packets based on the determination.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein the time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node (16) to: receive a reporting of a buffer size;provide a transmission grant to the UE (22) based on the reporting of the buffer size; and receive the transmission from the UE (22) that is based on the transmission grant.

7. The method of any one of Claims 1-6, further comprising receiving an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

8. The method of any one of Claims 1-7, further comprising receiving an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmission for packets queued in a buffer (54) does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

9. The method of any one of Claims 1-8, wherein the first packet carries delay critical data and the second packet carries non-delay critical data.

10. A user equipment, UE (22), the UE (22) comprising a buffer (54), the UE (22) is configured to: determine that a first packet of a plurality of packets is queued in the buffer (54) for transmission after a second packet of the plurality of packets, the first packet having a first remaining time and the second packet having a second remaining time that is greater than the first remaining time; and report the first and second packets as part of a buffer size for the first remaining time.

11. The UE (22) of Claim 10, wherein the UE (22) is further configured to: determine a third packet of the plurality of packets is queued in the buffer (54) for transmission after the first packet and the second packet, the third packet having a third remaining time greater than the first remaining time and the second remaining time; and report the third packet as part of a buffer size for the third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

12. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 10-11, wherein the UE (22) is further configured to re-order at least a subset of the plurality of packets in the buffer (54) according to respective remaining times.

13. The UE (22) of Claim 12, wherein the reporting is based on the re-ordering of at least the subset of the plurality of packets.

14. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 10-13, wherein the UE (22) is further configured to: determine that at least one of the plurality of packets is associated with a remaining time that is below a time threshold; and omit a report of the at least one of the plurality of packets based on the determination.

15. The UE (22) of Claim 14, wherein the time threshold corresponds to a minimum time required for a network node (16) to: receive a reporting of a buffer size; provide a transmission grant to the UE (22) based on the reporting of the buffer size; and receive the transmission from the UE (22) that is based on the transmission grant.

16. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 10-15, wherein the UE (22) is further configured to receive an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

17. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 10-16, wherein the UE (22) is further configured to receive an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmission for packets queued in a buffer (54) does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

18. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 10-17, wherein the first packet carries delay critical data and the second packet carries non-delay critical data.

19. A method implemented by a network node (16) that is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE (22), the UE (22) comprising a buffer (54) with a first packet queued for transmission ahead of a second packet that is queued fortransmission, the first packet having a first remaining time, the second packet having a second remaining time, the method comprising: receiving (S102) a reporting of the first packet and the second packet as part of a buffer size for a first remaining time; and scheduling (S104) the first packet and the second packet according to the reporting.

20. The method of Claim 19, further comprising receiving a reporting of third packet as part of a buffer size for a third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

21. The method of any one of Claims 19-20, further comprising transmitting, to the UE (22), an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

22. The method of any one of Claims 19-21, further comprising transmitting, to the UE (22), an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmit packets queued in a buffer does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

23. A network node (16) is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE (22), the UE (22) comprising a buffer (54) with a first packet queued for transmission ahead of a second packet that is queued for transmission, the first packet having a first remaining time, the second packet having a second remaining time, the network node (16) configured to: receive a reporting of the first packet and the second packet as part of a buffer size for a first remaining time; and schedule the first packet and the second packet according to the reporting.

24. The network node (16) of Claim 23, wherein the network node (16) is further configured to receive a reporting of third packet as part of a buffer size for a third remaining time, the reporting of the third packet omitting a reporting of the second packet.

25. The network node (16) of any one of Claims 23-24, wherein the network node (16) is further configured to transmit, to the UE (22), an uplink grant that is based on reporting of the first and second packets.

26. The network node (16) of any one of Claims 23-25, wherein the network node (16) is further configured to transmit, to the UE (22), an indication to apply at least one rule for managing the reporting of packets of the buffer size when an order to transmit packets queued in a buffer (54) does not correspond to an order of remaining times.

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