Method and apparatus for cross-layer triggered mobility in wireless communication systems

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for cross-layer triggered mobility in wireless communication systems are provided. The method includes receiving, from a serving cell, a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation, performing an L3 measurement on a set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration, determining whether the L3 triggering event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L3 measurement, and initiating the LTM operation in response to determining that the L3 triggering event is satisfied.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CROSS-LAYER TRIGGERED MOBILITY IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

[0001] The present disclosure is related to wireless communication and, more specifically, to methods and apparatuses for cross-layer triggered mobility in wireless communication systems.

[0002] Various efforts have been made to improve different aspects of wireless communication for the cellular wireless communication systems, such as the 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) system, by improving data rate, latency, reliability, and mobility. The 5G NR system is designed to provide flexibility and configurability to optimize network services and types, accommodating various use cases, such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). As the demand for radio access continues to increase, however, there exists a need for further improvements in the art.Summery of Invention

[0003] The present disclosure is related to methods and apparatuses for cross-layer triggered mobility in wireless communication systems.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a User Equipment (UE) is provided, the UE including at least one processor and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to receive a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation, perform an L3 measurement on a set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration, determine whether the L3 triggering event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L3 measurement, and initiate the LTM operation in response to determining that the L3 triggering event is satisfied.

[0005] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the L3 triggering event includes at least one of a signal quality of a serving cell exceeding a first threshold, the signal quality of the serving cell falling below a second threshold, a signal quality of a candidate cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a first offset, the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeding a third threshold, a signal quality of a neighbor cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a second offset, an altitude of the UE exceeding a first altitude threshold, the altitude of the UE falling below a second altitude threshold, a first distance between the UE and a first reference location exceeding a first distance threshold and a second distance between the UE and a second reference location falling below a second distance threshold, a third distance between the UE and a serving cell moving reference location exceeding a third distance threshold and a fourth distance between the UE and a moving reference location falling below a fourth distance threshold, or a time measured at the UE falling within a predetermined duration from a time threshold.

[0006] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to evaluate the L3 triggering event based on a beam-specific signal quality or a cell-specific signal quality derived from the set of reference signals.

[0007] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the LTM operation includes at least one of a conditional early synchronization procedure, a conditional LTM cell switch procedure, or an L3 triggering event reporting procedure to a serving Radio Access Network (RAN).

[0008] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the LTM configuration is associated with a joint conditional event including a combination of an L1 triggering event and the L3 triggering event.

[0009] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to perform a joint measurement, which is associated with an L1 measurement and the L3 measurement, on the set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration, determine whether the joint conditional event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L1 measurement associated with the L1 triggering event and the measurement result of the L3 measurement associated with the L3 triggering event, and initiate the LTM operation in response to determining that the joint conditional event is satisfied.

[0010] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to receive an L3 mobility configuration associated with an L3 mobility procedure and an L1 triggering event, perform an L1 measurement, which is associated with the L1 triggering event, on the set of reference signals based on the L3 mobility configuration, and initiate the L3 mobility procedure in response to determining that the L1 triggering event is satisfied, where the L3 mobility procedure includes at least one of an L3 cell quality reporting procedure, an L3 beam quality reporting procedure, a radio link failure reporting procedure, an L3 measurement report procedure, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) mobility procedure.

[0011] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the L3 mobility configuration is associated with a joint conditional event including a combination of the L1 triggering event and the L3 triggering event.

[0012] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to perform a joint measurement, which is associated with an L1 measurement and the L3 measurement, on the set of reference signals based on the L3 mobility configuration, determine whether the joint conditional event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L1 measurement associated with the L1 triggering event and the measurement result of the L3 measurement associated with the L3 triggering event, and initiate a conditional L3 mobility procedure in response to determining that the joint conditional event is satisfied.

[0013] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the measurement result of the L1 measurement includes at least one of an L1-Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) value, an L1-Reference Signal Received Quality (L1-RSRQ) value, an L1-Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (L1-SINR) value, or an L1-Received Signal Strength Indicator (L1-RSSI), and the set of reference signals includes at least one of a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), or a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS).

[0014] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, performing the L3 measurement on the set of reference signals includes performing the L3 measurement during a time duration determined based on a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) configuration associated with the LTM configuration.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for cross-layer triggered mobility is provided, the method including receiving, from a serving cell, a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation, performing an L3 measurement on a set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration, determining whether the L3 triggering event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L3 measurement, and initiating the LTM operation in response to determining that the L3 triggering event is satisfied.

[0016] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, the network device including at least one processor and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to transmit, to a User Equipment (UE), a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation, enabling the UE to initiate the LTM operation in response to the L3 triggering event being satisfied.

[0017] In some implementations of the third aspect of the present disclosure, the L3 triggering event includes at least one of a signal quality of a serving cell exceeding a first threshold, the signal quality of the serving cell falling below a second threshold, a signal quality of a candidate cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a first offset, the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeding a third threshold, a signal quality of a neighbor cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a second offset, an altitude of the UE exceeding a first altitude threshold, the altitude of the UE falling below a second altitude threshold, a first distance between the UE and a first reference location exceeding a first distance threshold and a second distance between the UE and a second reference location falling below a second distance threshold, a third distance between the UE and a serving cell moving reference location exceeding a third distance threshold and a fourth distance between the UE and a moving reference location falling below a fourth distance threshold, or a time measured at the UE falling within a predetermined duration from a time threshold.

[0018] In some implementations of the third aspect of the present disclosure, the LTM operation includes at least one of a conditional early synchronization procedure, a conditional LTM cell switch procedure, or an L3 triggering event reporting procedure to a serving Radio Access Network (RAN).

[0019] Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed disclosure when read with the accompanying drawings. Various features are not drawn to scale. Dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UE measurement model for L1 filtering and L3 filtering mechanisms in a wireless communication system, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an L1 measurement reporting procedure, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process for cross-layer triggered mobility in a wireless communication system, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conditional LTM operation for wireless communications, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the triggering condition of an entering / leaving condition of L1 / L3 triggering events configured to the UE and the associated TimeToTrigger counting activity of a fulfilled entering condition in the UE side, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating node for wireless communications, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Some of the abbreviations in the present application are defined as follows and, unless otherwise specified, the abbreviations have the following meanings: Abbreviation　　　　　　　　Full name 3GPP　　　　　　　　3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G　　　　　　　　　　　　5th Generation 5GC　　　　　　　　　　　　5G Core ACK　　　　　　　　Acknowledgement AI　　　　　　　　　　　　Artificial Intelligence AN-PDB　　　　　　　　Access Network Packet Delay Budget ARFCN　　　　　　　　Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number AS　　　　　　　　　　　　Access Stratum ASN.1　　　　　　　　Abstract Syntax Notation One BFRQ　　　　　　　　Beam Failure Recovery Request BS　　　　　　　　　　　　Base Station BSR　　　　　　　　　　　　Buffer Status Report BWP　　　　　　　　Bandwidth Part C-RNTI　　　　　　　　Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier CA　　　　　　　　　　　　Carrier Aggregation CAG　　　　　　　　Closed Access Group CB　　　　　　　　　　　　Codebook-Based CC　　　　　　　　　　　　Component Carrier CG　　　　　　　　　　　　Configured Grant CIF　　　　　　　　　　　　Carrier Indicator Field CJT　　　　　　　　　　　　Coherent Joint Transmission CN　　　　　　　　　　　　Core Network CN-PDB　　　　　　　　Core Network Packet Delay Budget CORESET　　　　Control Resource Set CPE　　　　　　　　　　　　Customer Premises Equipment CQI　　　　　　　　　　　　Channel Quality Indication CRC　　　　　　　　Cyclic Redundancy Check CSI　　　　　　　　　　　　Channel State Information CSI-RS　　　　　　　　Channel State Information Reference Signal CS-RNTI　　　　　　　　Configured Scheduling Radio Network Temporary Identifier CSS　　　　　　　　　　　　Common Search Space CU　　　　　　　　　　　　Central Unit DAPS　　　　　　　　Dual Active Protocol Stack DC　　　　　　　　　　　　Dual Connectivity DCI　　　　　　　　　　　　Downlink Control Information DG　　　　　　　　　　　　Dynamic Grant DI　　　　　　　　　　　　Delay Information DL　　　　　　　　　　　　Downlink DL-SCH　　　　　　　　Downlink Shared Channel DMRS　　　　　　　　Demodulation Reference Signal DR　　　　　　　　　　　　Delay Report DRB　　　　　　　　Data Radio Bearer DRX　　　　　　　　Discontinuous Reception DTCH　　　　　　　　Dedicated Traffic Channel DTX　　　　　　　　Discontinuous Transmission DU　　　　　　　　　　　　Distributed Unit ETSI　　　　　　　　European Telecommunications Standards Institute E-UTRA　　　　　　　　Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access EN-DC　　　　　　　　E-UTRA NR Dual Connectivity EPC　　　　　　　　　　　　Evolved Packet Core eMBB　　　　　　　　Enhanced Mobile BroadBand eMTC　　　　　　　　Enhanced Machine Type Communication eNB　　　　　　　　　　　　Evolved Node B FDD　　　　　　　　Frequency Division Duplexing FDRA　　　　　　　　Frequency Domain Resource Allocation FR　　　　　　　　　　　　Frequency Range FR1　　　　　　　　　　　　Frequency Range 1 FR2　　　　　　　　　　　　Frequency Range 2 FWA　　　　　　　　Fixed Wireless Access GEO　　　　　　　　Geostationary Equatorial Orbit gNB　　　　　　　　　　　　Next Generation Node B GNSS　　　　　　　　Global Navigation Satellite System GPS　　　　　　　　　　　　Global Positioning System GW　　　　　　　　　　　　Gateway HARQ　　　　　　　　Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HO　　　　　　　　　　　　Handover FR　　　　　　　　　　　　Frequency Range IAB　　　　　　　　　　　　Integrated Access and Backhaul ID　　　　　　　　　　　　Identity IE　　　　　　　　　　　　Information Element IoT　　　　　　　　　　　　Internet of Things ITS　　　　　　　　　　　　Intelligent Transportation System ITU　　　　　　　　　　　　International Telecommunication Union L1　　　　　　　　　　　　Layer 1 L2　　　　　　　　　　　　Layer 2 L3　　　　　　　　　　　　Layer 3 LAN　　　　　　　　Local Area Network LCH　　　　　　　　Logical Channel LCID　　　　　　　　Logical Channel Identity LEO　　　　　　　　　　　　Low Earth Orbit LTE 　　　　　　　　Long Term Evolution LTM　　　　　　　　Layer 1 / Layer 2 Triggered Mobility LSB　　　　　　　　　　　　Least Significant Bit MAC　　　　　　　　Medium Access Control MAC CE　　　　　　　　MAC Control Element MCG　　　　　　　　Master Cell Group MCS　　　　　　　　Modulation and Coding Scheme MEO　　　　　　　　Medium Earth Orbit MIB　　　　　　　　　　　　Master Information Block MIMO　　　　　　　　Multi-Input Multi-Output ML　　　　　　　　　　　　Machine Learning mMTC　　　　　　　　Massive Machine Type Communications MN　　　　　　　　　　　　Master Node MSG　　　　　　　　Message MTC　　　　　　　　Machine Type Communication NACK　　　　　　　　Negative Acknowledgement NAS　　　　　　　　Non-Access Stratum NB-IoT　　　　　　　　Narrow Band Internet of Things NCB　　　　　　　　Non-Codebook-Based NDI　　　　　　　　　　　　New Data Indicator NES　　　　　　　　　　　　Network Energy Saving NPN　　　　　　　　Non-Public Network NR　　　　　　　　　　　　New Radio NR-U　　　　　　　　NR Unlicensed NTN　　　　　　　　Non-Terrestrial Network OD-SIB1　　　　　　　　On-Demand System Information Block 1 OD-SSB　　　　　　　　On-Demand Synchronization Signal Block PA　　　　　　　　　　　　Power Amplifier PBCH　　　　　　　　Physical Broadcast Channel PCell　　　　　　　　Primary Cell PCI　　　　　　　　　　　　Physical Cell Identity PDB　　　　　　　　　　　　Packet Delay Budget PDCCH　　　　　　　　Physical Downlink Control Channel PDCP　　　　　　　　Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDSCH　　　　　　　　Physical Downlink Shared Channel PDU　　　　　　　　Protocol Data Unit PHY　　　　　　　　Physical PLMN 　　　　　　　　Public Land Mobile Network PMI　　　　　　　　　　　　Precoding Matrix indicator PNI-NPN　　　　　　　　Public Network Integrated Non-Public Network PRACH　　　　　　　　Physical Random Access Channel PSDB　　　　　　　　PDU Set Delay Budget PUCCH　　　　　　　　Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH　　　　　　　　Physical Uplink Shared Channel QCL　　　　　　　　Quasi-CoLocation QoS　　　　　　　　　　　　Quality of Service RA　　　　　　　　　　　　Random Access RACH　　　　　　　　Random Access Channel RAN　　　　　　　　Radio Access Network RAR　　　　　　　　Random Access Response RAT　　　　　　　　　　　　Radio Access Technology RE　　　　　　　　　　　　Resource Element Rel-15　　　　　　　　Release 15 Rel-16　　　　　　　　Release 16 Rel-17 　　　　　　　　Release 17 Rel-18　　　　　　　　Release 18 RF　　　　　　　　　　　　Radio Frequency RLC　　　　　　　　　　　　Radio Link Control RS　　　　　　　　　　　　Reference Signal RLF　　　　　　　　　　　　Radio Link Failure RSTD　　　　　　　　Reference Signal Time Difference Measurement RNTI　　　　　　　　Radio Network Temporary Identifier RO　　　　　　　　　　　　RACH Occasion RRC　　　　　　　　Radio Resource Control RRM　　　　　　　　Radio Resource Management RS　　　　　　　　　　　　Reference Signal RSRP　　　　　　　　Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ　　　　　　　　Reference Signal Receiving Quality RV　　　　　　　　　　　　Redundancy Version RX　　　　　　　　　　　　Reception SCell　　　　　　　　Secondary Cell SCG　　　　　　　　　　　　Secondary Cell Group SDT　　　　　　　　　　　　Small Data Transmission SI　　　　　　　　　　　　System Information SIB　　　　　　　　　　　　System Information Block SL　　　　　　　　　　　　Sidelink SLIV　　　　　　　　Start and Length Indicator Value SN　　　　　　　　　　　　Secondary Node SNPN　　　　　　　　Stand-alone Non-Public Network SpCell　　　　　　　　Special Cell SR　　　　　　　　　　　　Scheduling Request SRB　　　　　　　　　　　　Signaling Radio Bearer SRS　　　　　　　　　　　　Sounding Reference Signal SRI　　　　　　　　　　　　SRS Resource Indicator SSB　　　　　　　　　　　　Synchronization Signal Block SSS　　　　　　　　　　　　Secondary Synchronization Signal SUL　　　　　　　　　　　　Supplementary Uplink TA　　　　　　　　　　　　Timing Advance TAG　　　　　　　　　　　　Timing Advance Group TAT 　　　　　　　　Time Alignment Timer TAU　　　　　　　　　　　　Tracking Area Update TB　　　　　　　　　　　　Transport Block TCI　　　　　　　　　　　　Transmission Configuration Indication TDD　　　　　　　　Time Division Duplexing TDRA　　　　　　　　Time Domain Resource Allocation TN　　　　　　　　　　　　Terrestrial Network TPC　　　　　　　　　　　　Transmission Power Control TPMI　　　　　　　　Transmit Precoder Matrix Indication TRP　　　　　　　　　　　　Transmission Reception Point TRS 　　　　　　　　Tracking Reference Signal TRX　　　　　　　　Transmission / Reception TS　　　　　　　　　　　　Technical Specification TX　　　　　　　　　　　　Transmission UCI　　　　　　　　　　　　Uplink Control Information UE　　　　　　　　　　　　User Equipment UL　　　　　　　　　　　　Uplink UL-CG　　　　　　　　Uplink-Configured Grant UPF　　　　　　　　　　　　User Plane Function URLLC　　　　　　　　Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications USIM　　　　　　　　Universal Subscriber Identity Module USS 　　　　　　　　UE-specific Search Space UTC　　　　　　　　Coordinated Universal Time V2X　　　　　　　　　　　　Vehicle-to-Everything VSAT　　　　　　　　Very Small Aperture Terminal WUS　　　　　　　　Wake-Up Signaling XR　　　　　　　　　　　　Extended Reality

[0027] The following contains specific information related to implementations of the present disclosure. The drawings and their accompanying detailed disclosure are merely directed to implementations. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these implementations. Other variations and implementations of the present disclosure will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0028] Unless noted otherwise, like or corresponding elements among the drawings may be indicated by like or corresponding reference numerals. Moreover, the drawings and illustrations in the present disclosure are generally not to scale and are not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

[0029] For consistency and ease of understanding, like features may be identified (although, in some examples, not illustrated) by the same numerals in the drawings. However, the features in different implementations may be different in other respects and shall not be narrowly confined to what is illustrated in the drawings.

[0030] References to “one implementation,” “an implementation,” “example implementation,” “various implementations,” “some implementations,” “implementations of the present application,” etc., may indicate that the implementation(s) of the present application so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every possible implementation of the present application necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one implementation,” or “in an example implementation,” “an implementation,” do not necessarily refer to the same implementation, although they may. Moreover, any use of phrases like “implementations” in connection with “the present application” are never meant to characterize that all implementations of the present application must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic, and should instead be understood to mean “at least some implementations of the present application” includes the stated particular feature, structure, or characteristic.

[0031] The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series, and the equivalent.

[0032] The expression “at least one of A, B and C” or “at least one of the following: A, B and C” means “only A, or only B, or only C, or any combination of A, B and C.” The terms “system” and “network” may be used interchangeably. The term “and / or” is only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist such that A and / or B may indicate that A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, or B exists alone. The character “ / ” generally represents that the associated objects are in an “or” relationship.

[0033] For the purposes of explanation and non-limitation, specific details, such as functional entities, techniques, protocols, and standards, are set forth for providing an understanding of the disclosed technology. In other examples, detailed disclosure of well-known methods, technologies, systems, and architectures are omitted so as not to obscure the present disclosure with unnecessary details.

[0034] Persons skilled in the art will immediately recognize that any network function(s) or algorithm(s) disclosed may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. Disclosed functions may correspond to modules which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0035] A software implementation may include computer executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, such as memory or other type of storage devices. One or more microprocessors or general-purpose computers with communication processing capability may be programmed with corresponding executable instructions and perform the disclosed network function(s) or algorithm(s).

[0036] The microprocessors or general-purpose computers may include Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), programmable logic arrays, and / or one or more Digital Signal Processor (DSPs). Although some of the disclosed implementations are oriented to software installed and executing on computer hardware, alternative implementations implemented as firmware, as hardware, or as a combination of hardware and software are well within the scope of the present disclosure. The computer-readable medium includes but is not limited to Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or any other equivalent medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions.

[0037] A radio communication network architecture such as a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, an LTE-Advanced Pro system, or a 5G NR Radio Access Network (RAN) typically includes at least one base station (BS), at least one UE, and one or more optional network elements that provide connection within a network. The UE communicates with the network such as a Core Network (CN), an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, an Evolved Universal Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN), a 5G Core (5GC), or an internet via a RAN established by one or more BSs.

[0038] A UE may include, but is not limited to, a mobile station, a mobile terminal or device, or a user communication radio terminal. The UE may be a portable radio equipment that includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a sensor, a vehicle, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with wireless communication capability. The UE is configured to receive and transmit signals over an air interface to one or more cells in a RAN. A UE may be referred to as a PHY / MAC / RLC / PDCP / SDAP entity. The PHY / MAC / RLC / PDCP / SDAP entity may be referred to as the UE.

[0039] The BS may be configured to provide communication services according to at least a Radio Access Technology (RAT) such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) that is often referred to as 2G, GSM Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) that is often referred to as 3G based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), LTE, LTE-A, evolved LTE (eLTE) that is LTE connected to 5GC, NR (often referred to as 5G), and / or LTE-A Pro. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to these protocols.

[0040] The BS may include, but is not limited to, a node B (NB) in the UMTS, an evolved node B (eNB) in LTE or LTE-A, a radio network controller (RNC) in UMTS, a BS controller (BSC) in the GSM / GERAN, an ng-eNB in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) BS in connection with 5GC, a next generation Node B (gNB) in the 5G-RAN, or any other apparatus capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The BS may serve one or more UEs via a radio interface.

[0041] The BS may be operable to provide radio coverage to a specific geographical area using multiple cells forming the RAN. The BS may support the operations of the cells. Each cell may be operable to provide services to at least one UE within its radio coverage.

[0042] A software implementation of the technical solutions provided in the present disclosure may include computer-executable instructions and / or Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) module(s) stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a memory or other type of storage devices. One or more microprocessors or general-purpose computers with communication processing capability may be programmed with the corresponding computer-executable instructions and may perform the disclosed network function(s), AI / ML module(s), or algorithm(s). The AI / ML module(s) may be implemented with a supervised learning approach, a semi-supervised learning approach, an unsupervised learning approach (e.g., a Transductive approach and an Inductive approach), a federated learning approach, or a Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The computer-executable instructions associated with the AI module(s) and / or the ML module(s) may include but are not limited to, data management instructions (e.g., collection instructions, validation instructions, etc.), model monitoring and management instructions (e.g., network (NW) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) monitoring, model input / output monitoring, model selection / switching / update / upload / download, model (de)activation, model identification, functionality selection, etc.), and / or pre-process input instructions.

[0043] In some implementations, the UE may be an AI / ML-enabled device and / or an AI / ML capable device that may be equipped with AI module(s) and / or ML module(s).

[0044] In some implementations, the BS may be an AI / ML-enabled device and / or an AI / ML capable device that may be equipped with AI module(s) and / or ML module(s).

[0045] Each cell (often referred to as a serving cell) may provide services to serve one or more UEs within its radio coverage, such that each cell schedules the DL (and optionally UL resources) to at least one UE within its radio coverage for DL (and optionally UL packet transmissions from the UE). The BS may communicate with one or more UEs in the radio communication system via the plurality of cells.

[0046] A cell may allocate sidelink (SL) resources for supporting the Proximity Service (ProSe) or Vehicle to Everything (V2X) service. Each cell may have overlapped coverage areas with other cells.

[0047] In Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) cases, the primary cell of a Master Cell Group (MCG) or a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) may be referred to as a Special Cell (SpCell). A Primary Cell (PCell) may include the SpCell of an MCG. A Primary SCG Cell (PSCell) may include the SpCell of an SCG. MCG may include a group of serving cells associated with the Master Node (MN), including the SpCell and optionally one or more Secondary Cells (SCells). An SCG may include a group of serving cells associated with the Secondary Node (SN), including the SpCell and optionally one or more SCells.

[0048] As described above, the frame structure for NR supports flexible configurations for accommodating various next generation (e.g., 5G) communication requirements, such as Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), while fulfilling high reliability, high data rate, and low latency requirements. The Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology in the 3GPP may serve as a baseline for an NR waveform. The scalable OFDM numerology, such as adaptive sub-carrier spacing, channel bandwidth, and Cyclic Prefix (CP), may also be used.

[0049] Two coding schemes may be considered for NR, specifically Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code and Polar Code. The coding scheme adaption may be configured based on channel conditions and / or service applications.

[0050] At least the DL transmission data, a guard period, and UL transmission data should be included in a transmission time interval (TTI) of a single NR frame. The respective portions of the DL transmission data, the guard period, and the UL transmission data should also be configurable based on, for example, the network dynamics of NR. SL resources may also be provided in an NR frame to support ProSe services or V2X services.

[0051] Any two or more of the following paragraphs, (sub)-bullets, points, actions, behaviors, terms, or claims described in the present disclosure may be combined logically, reasonably, and properly to form a specific method.

[0052] Any sentence, paragraph, (sub)-bullet, point, action, behaviors, terms, or claims described in the present disclosure may be implemented independently and separately to form a specific method.

[0053] Dependency, e.g., “based on”, “more specifically”, “preferably”, “in one embodiment”, “in some implementations”, etc., in the present disclosure is just one possible example which would not restrict the specific method.

[0054] “A and / or B” in the present disclosure may refer to either A or B, both A and B, or at least one of A and B.

[0055] In this disclosure, “X / Y” may encompass the meanings of “X or Y,” “X and Y,” and “X and / or Y,” as indicated by two or more of the sentences, paragraphs, sub-bullets, points, actions, behaviors, terms, alternatives, aspects, examples, embodiments, or claims described in the following invention(s).

[0056] One aspect of the present disclosure may be applied in various contexts, including communications, communication equipment (such as mobile telephone apparatus, base station apparatus, wireless LAN apparatus, and / or sensor devices), integrated circuits (such as communication chips), and software programs, among others.

[0057] The terms “an antenna port” and “antenna ports,” as discussed in the present disclosure, may refer to “an antenna port used for transmission of PUSCH(s) / PUCCH(s)” and “antenna ports used for transmission of PUSCH(s) / PUCCH(s),” respectively.

[0058] Some of the terms, definitions, and / or abbreviations included in the present disclosure may either be sourced from existing documents (such as those from ETSI, ITU, or other sources) or may be newly created by experts from the 3GPP whenever there was a need for a precise vocabulary.

[0059] Examples of some selected terms in the present disclosure are provided as follows.

[0060] Antenna Panel: A conceptual term for a UE antenna implementation. It may be assumed that a panel may be an operational unit for controlling a transmit spatial filter (beam). A panel may typically include multiple antenna elements. In some implementations, a beam may be formed by a panel, and in order to form two beams simultaneously, two panels may be needed. Such simultaneous beamforming by multiple panels may be subject to the UE capability. A similar definition for “panel” may be applicable by applying spatial receiving filtering characteristics.

[0061] Beam: A beam may include a spatial (domain) filtering. In one example, the spatial filtering may be applied in the analog domain by adjusting a phase and / or amplitude of the signal before being transmitted by a corresponding antenna element. In another example, the spatial filtering may be applied in the digital domain by the Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) technique in the wireless communication system. For example, “a UE made a PUSCH transmission by using a specific beam” may mean that the UE made the PUSCH transmission by using the specific spatial / digital domain filter. The “beam” may also be, but is not limited to be, represented as an antenna, an antenna port, an antenna element, a group of antennas, a group of antenna ports, or a group of antenna elements. The beam may also be formed by a certain reference signal resource. In short, the beam may be equivalent to a spatial domain filter through which the EM wave is radiated. Beam information may include details about the selected or utilized beam or spatial filter. In some implementations, the individual beams (e.g., spatial filters) may be used to transmit individual reference signals. Consequently, a beam or beam information may be represented by one or more reference signal resource indices.

[0062] DCI: DCI may include downlink control information, and there may be various DCI formats used in a PDCCH. The DCI format may be a predefined format in which the downlink control information may be packed / formed and transmitted in a PDCCH.

[0063] TCI state: a TCI state may include parameters for configuring a QCL relationship between one or more DL reference signals and a target reference signal set. For example, a target reference signal set may be the DMRS ports of a PDSCH or a PDCCH.

[0064] HARQ: A functionality that ensures the delivery between peer entities at Layer 1 (e.g., Physical Layer). A single HARQ process may support one Transport Block (TB) when the physical layer is not configured for the downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, and when the physical layer is configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process may support one or more TBs. There may be one HARQ entity per serving cell. Each HARQ entity may support a parallel (number of) DL and UL HARQ process.

[0065] Network (NW): The NW may be a network node, a TRP, a cell, an eNB, a gNB, and / or a base station. In some implementations, the cell may be a SpCell (Special Cell), a PCell, a PSCell, and / or an SCell.

[0066] Serving Cell: A serving cell may be a PCell (Primary Cell), a PSCell, or an SCell (Secondary Cell). The serving cell may be an activated or a deactivated serving cell.

[0067] Special Cell (SpCell): For Dual Connectivity operation, the term Special Cell may refer to the PCell of the MCG (Master Cell Group) or the PSCell of the SCG (Secondary Cell Group) depending on if the MAC entity is associated to the MCG or the SCG, respectively. Otherwise, the term Special Cell may refer to the PCell. A Special Cell may support PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control CHannel) transmission and contention-based Random Access, and may be always activated.

[0068] In the present disclosure, although the term “gNB” may have been used throughout the document, it should be understood that the term “gNB” may be replaced by any other type of BS (e.g., an eNB). Additionally, unless specifically noted otherwise, the terms “SSB” and “OD-SSB” may be used interchangeably in the present disclosure.

[0069] A Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) may include, or consist of, a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) payload. The PSS and the SSS may be pseudo-random sequences with a length equal to 127. The PBCH payload may include a Master Information Block (MIB) (24 bits in total) and an 8 bits payload. The information in the MIB may include: a System Frame Number (SFN), a sub-carrier space (SCS), a DeModulation Reference Signal (DMRS) configuration, an Access Control, and mainly a configuration for a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) acquisition. By decoding the PSS and the SSS, a User Equipment (UE) may be able to identify a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) for a corresponding cell and may determine the symbol boundary. Consequently, with the decoding of the PBCH, the UE may determine the frame boundary and may try to decode the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

[0070] LTM may be a procedure in which a network (NW) may receive L1 measurement reports from a UE, and based on the L1 measurement reports, the gNB may change the serving cell of the UE by a cell switch command signaled via a MAC CE. The cell switch command may indicate an LTM candidate cell configuration that the gNB previously prepared and provided to the UE through RRC signaling. Then the UE may switch to the target cell according to the cell switch command. The LTM procedure may be used to reduce the mobility latency.

[0071] In some implementations, the UE may be configured with L1 measurements with a specific reference signal type (e.g., SSB and / or CSI-RS and / or TRS). In some implementations, the UE may be further configured with "periodical reporting" or "event-triggered reporting" for the UE to transmit the L1 measurement results to the serving RAN.

[0072] In some implementations, the UE may be configured with one or more Layer 1 Events (L1 events) as the triggering events to report the L1 measurement results of the UE. The L1 events may include Event A1-b through Event A6-b. Event A1-b may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes better than an absolute threshold, and Event A1-b may also be known as Event LTM1 in some documents. Event A2-b may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold, and Event A2-b may also be known as Event LTM2 in some documents. Event A3-b may indicate that a beam of a candidate cell becomes an amount of offset better than a beam of a PCell / PSCell / serving cell, and Event A3-b may also be known as Event LTM3 in some documents. Event A4-b may indicate that a beam of a candidate cell becomes better than an absolute threshold, and Event A4-b may also be known as Event LTM4 in some documents. Event A5-b may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold 1 AND a beam of a candidate cell becomes better than another absolute threshold 2, and Event A5-b may also be known as Event LTM5 in some documents. Event A6-b may indicate that a beam of a neighbor cell becomes an amount of offset better than an SCell.

[0073] In some implementations, a UE may consider one of the following beams for the "beam of serving cell" in the events Event A1-b to Event A6-b. The serving beam may be the beam corresponding to the TCI state indicated by the latest DCI. The best beam measured in the serving cell may mean the beam corresponding to the largest RSRP value among the configured beams. The best activated beam measured in the serving cell may mean the beam corresponding to the largest RSRP value among the activated beams. A beam which may be indicated by the serving cell may also be considered.

[0074] In some implementations, the L1 measurement / report / triggering Events may be implemented for LTM purposes.

[0075] Action A may select the candidate beam / cell to trigger early synchronization. Action B may select the target beam / cell and trigger an LTM cell switch procedure. Action C may report an L1 measurement result to the serving RAN.

[0076] In some implementations, the L1 events may also be used to trigger L3 measurement / report / mobility / RRC operations. Action D may trigger / leave an L3 cell / beam quality report or a radio link failure report. Action E may trigger / initiate an RRC procedure, such as a conditional handover (CHO) procedure, conditional PSCell addition (CPA), conditional PSCell addition or change (CPAC), Conditional PSCell change (CPC), RRC re-establish / resume / release / establishment procedure / conditional reconfiguration procedure.

[0077] In some implementations, one or more proposed L1 events may be configured for the UE to trigger / stop the Action D / E alone. In some additional implementations, one or more L1 events may combine with one or more L3 report / triggering events to support the triggering / stop of Action D and / or Action E.

[0078] In some implementations, the proposed L1 measurement / report / triggering event may be configured as an RRC information element as part of configurations / procedures in the RRC layer.

[0079] The present disclosure provides designs to enhance the cellular network / UE architecture while the L1 measurement / report / triggering events are introduced. The designs and embodiments may be disclosed based on 3GPP NR / E-UTRA technical specifications. However, the proposed designs may not be limited by 3GPP NR / E-UTRA specifications.

[0080] In some implementations, the reference signaling types of the proposed L1 events may be associated with CSI-RS, SSB, and TRS. In addition, the configurations of CSI-RS, SSB, and TRS may refer to the CSI-RS configuration, SSB configurations and TRS configuration in 3GPP specifications.

[0081] The present disclosure discusses the enhancements and mutual impacts between the indicated L1 events and L3 cell / beam measurement / report events and / or the proposed Action D / E.

[0082] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UE measurement model 100 for L1 filtering and L3 filtering mechanisms in a wireless communication system, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0083] In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE may measure multiple beams of a cell and the UE may average the measurement results to derive the cell quality. The UE may be configured to consider a subset of the detected beams. The UE may perform filtering at two different levels: at the physical layer to derive beam quality and at the RRC level to derive cell quality from multiple beams.

[0084] As illustrated in FIG. 1, point A may represent beam-specific samples internal to the physical layer of the UE. The UE may perform L1 filtering on the inputs measured at point A. Point A1may represent beam-specific measurements that the UE reports from L1 to L3 after L1 filtering.

[0085] The UE may perform Beam Consolidation / Selection to consolidate beam-specific measurements to derive cell quality, with the configuration provided by RRC signaling.

[0086] Point B may represent cell quality that the UE derives from beam-specific measurements after beam consolidation / selection. The UE may perform L3 filtering for cell quality on the measurements at point B, with the configuration provided by RRC signaling. Point C may represent a measurement after the UE performs L3 filtering, which the UE may use as input for evaluation of reporting criteria. The UE may evaluate reporting criteria to determine whether measurement reporting is necessary at point D. The evaluation may be based on more than one flow of measurements at reference point C (e.g., to compare between different measurements), which may be illustrated by input point C and point C1. The UE may evaluate the reporting criteria at least every time a new measurement result is reported at point C or C1. Point D may represent the measurement report that the UE sends on the radio interface.

[0087] In some implementations, the UE may perform L3 beam filtering on beam-specific measurements at point A1. Point E may represent beam-specific measurements after the UE performs L3 beam filtering. The UE may perform Beam Selection for beam reporting to select X measurements from point E for reporting. Point F may represent beam measurement information that the UE includes in the measurement report. The K beams may correspond to measurements on SSB or CSI-RS resources that the gNB configures for L3 mobility and the UE detects at L1.

[0088] In some implementations, the serving RAN may configure L1 measurement / report / triggering events by referring to L3 measurement / report / conditional configuration. In some implementations, the serving RAN may configure L1 measurement / report / triggering events based on the measurement object configuration / report configuration. The present disclosure proposes how to support L1 measurement report by referring to existing L3 (e.g., RRC layer) measurement / report configuration.

[0089] The L1 event configuration may be configured as part of measurement configuration. In 3GPP specification, the serving RAN may associate one measurement object configuration and one report configuration by associating the measObjectId (measurement object ID of the corresponding measurement object configuration) and the reportConfigId (report configuration ID of the corresponding report configuration) while a measurement ID (MeasID) is configured to the UE.

[0090] In some implementations, one MeasID may be associated with both L1 / L3 measurement object configuration(s) / report configuration(s). In some implementations, one MeasID may be associated with only L1 or L3 measurement object configuration / report configuration. In some implementations, a new MeasID-Layer-1 IE may be designed to indicate / associate L1 measurement configuration and L1 report configuration while the serving RAN configures an L1 event based on existing L3 measurement / report configuration.

[0091] The measurement object configuration may be adapted for L1 measurements in various ways. In some implementations, the serving RAN may configure L1 measurement / report / triggering event by reusing all or part of the information elements / parameters in measurement object configurations configured for L3 measurement reporting (by referring to the measurement objects configured for L3 measurement). In some other implementations, the serving RAN may configure new information elements / parameters specific for L1 measurements. In some implementations, one measurement object may be specific for either an L3 measurement object or an L1 measurement object. In some other implementations, one measurement object may be used to indicate either / both one or more L1 events and one or more configurations of L1 measurement / report / triggering event.

[0092] The original L3 measurement object configuration may be reused for L1 measurements. Originally, the measurement object (mo) configured by the serving RAN may be specific for L3 measurement mo configuration. In some implementations, the IEs configured for L3 measurement may also be shared / reused by the serving RAN / UE to configure the L1 measurement object in the UE side. In this condition, the following IEs (which are originally designed for L3 measurement in 3GPP specifications) may be reused directly to indicate / configure L1 measurement activities / implementations: the cellsToAddModList IE, the excludedCellsToAddModList IE, the allowedCellsToAddModList IE, the cellsToRemoveList IE, the excludedCellsToRemoveList IE, the allowedCellsToRemoveList IE, the tx-PoolMeasToRemoveList IE, the tx-PoolMeasToAddModList IE, the ssb-PositionQCL-CellsToRemoveList IE, the ssb-PositionQCL-CellsToAddModList IE, the cca-CellsToRemoveList IE, and the cca-CellsToAddModList IE. In other words, L1 / L3 measurement configurations may be jointly configured in one list (e.g., the cellsToAddModList IE, the allowedCellsToAddModList IE).

[0093] Separate L1 measurement object configuration may also be implemented. In some implementations, specific information elements may be designed / supported (e.g., via 3GPP technical specifications) for L1 measurement configuration. For examples, the following IEs: the cellsToAddModList-L1 IE, the excludedCellsToAddModList-L1 IE, the allowedCellsToAddModList-L1 IE, the cellsToRemoveList-L1 IE, the excludedCellsToRemoveList-L1 IE, the allowedCellsToRemoveList-L1 IE, the tx-PoolMeasToRemoveList-L1 IE, the tx-PoolMeasToAddModList-L1 IE, the ssb-PositionQCL-CellsToRemoveList-L1 IE, the ssb-PositionQCL-CellsToAddModList-L1 IE, the cca-CellsToRemoveList-L1 IE, and the cca-CellsToAddModList-L1 IE may be provided for specific L1 events. In some implementations, separate L1 measurement object configuration may or may not be configured jointly with L1 measurement object configuration in one MO.

[0094] The measurement identity (MeasID) may be configured to support L1 and / or L3 measurements. In some implementations, one MeasID may be associated with both L1 / L3 measurement object configuration / report configuration. In some implementations, one MeasID may be associated with only L1 / L3 measurement object configuration / report configuration.

[0095] The report configuration may be adapted to support L1 measurements. In some implementations, one report configuration (e.g., the ReportConfigNR IE) may be configured with either L1 / L3 report configuration. In some implementations, both L1 report configuration and L3 report configuration may be counted jointly and so the total number of report configuration may not be higher (and / or equivalent) to the maximum allowable number of report configuration (e.g., the maxReportConfigId IE, which is an IE defined as INTEGER ::= 64 in technical specification). In some other implementations, another new maxReportConfigId-L1 IE may be designed to indicate the maximum allowable L1 report configuration for one UE. In addition, the original maxReportConfigId IE may not count the newly designed L1 report configuration.

[0096] In some implementations, the ReportCofigNR IE may be optionally configured with L3 report events (e.g., Event A1 / A2 / A3 / A4 / A5 / D1 / CondEvent A3 / CondEvent A4 / CondEvent A5 / CondEvent D1 / CondEvent D2 / CondEvent T1 / Event X1 / Event X2 / Event I1 / Event H1 / Event H2 / Event A3H1 / Event A3H2 / Event A4H1 / Event A4H2 / Event A5H1 / Event A5H2) or L3 report events (e.g., Event A1-b / A2-b / A3-b / A4-b / A5-b / A6-b).

[0097] In the present disclosure, the prefix “CondEvent” is used to denote conditional events. For example, CondEvent A3 represents a conditional variant of Event A3, where the UE evaluates and executes a reconfiguration (such as conditional handover or conditional PSCell change) autonomously when the neighbor cell's signal becomes better than the serving cell (SpCell) by a specified offset, without needing to report to the network first.

[0098] An example of the ASN.1 representation of the ReportConfigNR IE including the ReportType IE may be provided in Table 1.

[0099] The joint triggering event mechanism may combine L1 and L3 events for enhanced mobility control. In some implementations, the new triggering events (Event A1-b, Event A2-b, Event A3-b, Event A4-b, Event A5-b) may be combined with other existing L3 report / triggering events to develop new triggering events. For example, the A3-b / A4-b / A5-b events may combine with the existing triggering event H1 / H2.

[0100] Event A1-bH1 may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes better than an absolute threshold and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than a threshold.

[0101] Event A1-bH2 may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes better than an absolute threshold and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than a threshold.

[0102] Event A2-bH1 may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than a threshold.

[0103] Event A2-bH2 may indicate that a beam of a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than a threshold.

[0104] Event A3-bH1 may indicate that a beam of a candidate cell becomes an amount of offset better than the beam of PCell / PSCell / serving cell and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than a threshold.

[0105] Event A3-bH2 may indicate that a beam of a candidate cell becomes an amount of offset better than the beam of PCell / PSCell / serving cell and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than a threshold.

[0106] Event A4-bH1 may indicate that a beam of a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 1 and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than threshold 2.

[0107] Event A4-bH2 may indicate that a beam of a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 1 and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than threshold 2.

[0108] Event A5-bH1 may indicate that a beam of a SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 2 and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than threshold 3.

[0109] Event A5-bH2 may indicate that a beam of a SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 2 and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than threshold 3.

[0110] In some implementations, the L1 triggering event (e.g., event A3-b / A4-b / A5-b) may combine with the existing L3 triggering event (e.g., event A1 / A2 / A3 / A4 / A5). In some implementations, Event A1A1-b, Event A1A2-b, Event A1A3-b, Event A1A4-b, Event A1A5-b may not be configured as valid triggering events. In some other implementations, these events may be configured as valid triggering events. Event A2A1-b and Event A2A2-b may not be considered as valid triggering events.

[0111] Event A2A3-b may indicate that a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold and a beam of a neighbor cell becomes offset better than a SpCell.

[0112] Event A2A4-b may indicate that a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold 1 and a beam of a neighbor cell becomes better than an absolute threshold 2.

[0113] Event A2A5-b may indicate that a serving cell becomes worse than an absolute threshold 1 and a beam of a SpCell becomes worse than threshold 2 and a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 3.

[0114] In some implementations, Event A3A1-b, Event A3A4-b, and / or Event A3A5-b may not be considered as valid triggering events. In some other implementations, these events may be considered as valid triggering events.

[0115] Event A3A2-b may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes an amount of offset better than a PCell / PSCell and the beam of a serving cell (e.g., PCell / PSCell) becomes worse than an absolute threshold.

[0116] Event A3A3-b may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes an amount of offset better (based on a given offset value#1) than a PCell / PSCell and the beam of the same neighbor cell becomes an amount of offset better (based on another given offset value#2) than the PCell / PSCell.

[0117] Event A4A2-b may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes better than an absolute threshold and the beam of a serving cell (e.g., PCell / PSCell) becomes worse than an absolute threshold.

[0118] Some combinations of triggering events may be considered not meaningful and so such combinations may not be supported by the technical specification or may not be configured by the serving RAN (e.g., EventA2A5-b). In some implementations, the UE may ignore non-supported combinations received within one RRC signaling and the rest of the received RRC configurations may still be valid. The threshold 1 and threshold 2 may be the same value or different values, which may be decided and configured by the serving RAN.

[0119] In some implementations, the UE may automatically reuse the useAllowedCellList IE to decide the candidate cell(s) where the UE may perform the L1 measurements mentioned in this disclosure. In some other implementations, the serving RAN may also implicitly / explicitly enable / allow the UE to decide the candidate cell(s) where the UE may perform the L1 measurements. Therefore, in some implementations, the serving RAN may transmit / configure a specific information element (such as the ReuseAllowedCellList-Beam IE set to 'enabled / allowed') to configure the UE to reuse the useAllowedCellList IE for L1 measurement. In some implementations, the serving RAN may configure another separate / independent useAllowedCellList-Beam IE to configure the candidate cell(s) where the UE may perform the L1 measurements mentioned in this disclosure.

[0120] The joint impact under dual-connectivity / multi-RAT dual connectivity scenarios may be considered. In New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC), the UE may receive two independent measConfig IEs associated with different cell groups (e.g., Master Cell Group (MCG) / Secondary Cell Group (SCG)). A measConfig IE, associated with MCG, may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message received via Signaling Radio Bearer 1 (SRB1), and the measConfig IE may include L1 / L3 measurement / report configuration associated with MCG. A measConfig IE, associated with SCG, may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB3, or, alternatively, included within an RRCReconfiguration message embedded in an RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB1, and the measConfig IE may include L1 / L3 measurement / report / triggering configuration associated with SCG. In this case, the UE may maintain two independent VarMeasConfig IEs and VarMeasReportList IEs, one associated with each measConfig IE, and may independently perform all the procedures in 3GPP TS 38.331 v18.2.0 clause 5.5 for each measConfig IE and the associated VarMeasConfig IE and VarMeasReportList IE, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[0121] In NR-DC, the UE may receive two independent measConfig-L1 IEs associated with different cell groups (e.g., MCG / SCG). Specifically, a measConfig-L1 IE, associated with MCG, may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB1, and the measConfig-L1 IE may include L1 measurement / report configuration associated with MCG. A measConfig-L1 IE, associated with SCG, may be included in the RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB3, or, alternatively, included within an RRCReconfiguration message embedded in an RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB1, and the measConfig-L1 IE may include L1 measurement / report configuration associated with SCG.

[0122] In some implementations, for the MCG, the MCG may be configured with both L1 and L3 measurement / report / triggering event configurations. The SCG may be configured with only L3 measurement configurations or only L1 measurement configuration (e.g., via the measConfig-L1 IE configuration). In contrast, in some implementations, for the SCG, the SCG may be configured with both L1 and L3 measurement / report / triggering event configurations. The MCG may be configured with only L3 measurement configurations or only L1 measurement configuration (e.g., via the measConfig-L1 IE configuration).

[0123] In some implementations, the serving RAN may update / change / modify the useAllowedCellList-Beam IE associated with the cell and / or SSB configuration which may allow the UE to measure / evaluate for the L1 measurement / report / triggering event. Therefore, in some implementations, the SSB configuration of the allowed cell(s) may also be configured with the useAllowedCellList-Beam IE.

[0124] The measurement object per ssbFrequency may have specific constraints. In some implementations, for all reference signal types based measurements there may be at most one L3 or L1 measurement object with the same ssbFrequency. In some implementations, while the defined L1 event is configured to trigger action D / E, there may be at most one L1 event with the same ssbFrequency. In some implementations, while the defined L1 event is configured to trigger action D / E, there may be at most one L1 and L3 event combination with the same ssbFrequency. In some other implementations, for all SSB based measurements there may be at most one L3 and one L1 measurement object with the same ssbFrequency. In some additional implementations, for all SSB based measurements there may be more than one L1 measurement object with the same ssbFrequency.

[0125] For that ssbFrequency, the L1 measurement window according to the smtc1 IE configured by the MCG may include the measurement window according to the smtc1 IE configured by the SCG, or vice-versa, with an accuracy of the maximum receive timing difference specified in TS 38.133 v18.6.0 technical specification. In some implementations, the UE may be configured with the smtc1 IE, the smtc2 IE, the smtc3list IE, the smtc4list IE for the L1 measurement / report / triggering event.

[0126] The impact from / to beam failure event of the serving cell may affect L1 measurements. In some implementations, the UE may remove / cancel / drop one pending L1 measurement result / report (e.g., the L1-filtered beam / cell level measurement result / report) after / upon the UE considers that a beam failure event happens and one or more of the L1 triggering event of L1 measurement (e.g., Event A2-b) to the same beam. In some implementations, the UE may not remove / cancel one pending L1 measurement result / report after / upon the UE considers that a beam failure event happens and one or more of the triggering event of L1 measurement (e.g., Event A2-b) to the same beam. In some implementations, the proposed implementations may be applicable to the beam failure event of a special cell and secondary cells configured to the UE. In some other implementations, the proposed implementations may be applicable only to the beam failure event of secondary cells configured to the UE. In some additional implementations, the proposed implementations may be applicable only to the beam failure event of a special cell.

[0127] The prioritization between L1 and L3 events may be handled in different ways. In some implementations, a UE may stop evaluating L1 measurement / report / triggering event upon / after an L3 report event is triggered (e.g., the TimeToTrigger timer of the L3 report is expired) or upon / after the entering condition is fulfilled (e.g., upon the TTT timer is just started).

[0128] In some implementations, the stored L1 measurement results (e.g., L1-filtered measurement result associated with beam / cell) may be released upon the UE stopping evaluating L1 measurement / report / triggering events. In some other implementations, the stored L1 measurement results (e.g., L1-filtered measurement result associated with beam / cell) may be kept / stored upon / after the UE stops evaluating L1 measurement / report / triggering events. In some implementations, a UE may not stop evaluating L1 measurement / report / triggering event upon / after an L3 report event is triggered (e.g., the TimeToTrigger timer of the L3 report is expired) or upon / after the entering condition is fulfilled (e.g., upon the Time-To-Trigger timer is just started).

[0129] The triggering events designs for action A / B / C / D / E may involve various combinations. In some implementations, one set of conditional events may be optionally configured with conditional L3 events (e.g., Event A1, Event A2, Event A3, Event A4, EventA5, EventD1, CondEventA3, CondEventA4, CondEventA5, CondEventD1, CondEventD2, CondEventT1, EventX1, EventX2, EventI1, EventH1, EventH2, EventA3H1, EventA3H2, EventA4H1, EventA4H2, EventA5H1, EventA5H2) and / or L1 report events (e.g., Event A1-b, Event A2-b, Event A3-b, Event A4-b, Event A5-b, Event A6-b).

[0130] The definitions of conditional L3 events based on 3GPP TS 38.331 v18.2.0 may include various event types. (Conditional) Event A1 may indicate that a serving cell becomes better than a threshold.

[0131] (Conditional) Event A2 may indicate that a serving cell becomes worse than a threshold.

[0132] (Conditional) Event A3 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes offset better than a SpCell.

[0133] (Conditional) Event A4 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes better than a threshold.

[0134] (Conditional) Event A5 may indicate that a SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 2.

[0135] (Conditional) Event A6 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes offset better than an SCell.

[0136] (Conditional) Event B1 may indicate that an inter RAT neighbor becomes better than a threshold.

[0137] (Conditional) Event B2 may indicate that a PCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and an inter RAT neighbor becomes better than threshold 2.

[0138] (Conditional) Event I1 may indicate that interference becomes higher than a threshold.

[0139] (Conditional) Event C1 may indicate that the NR sidelink channel busy ratio is above a threshold.

[0140] (Conditional) Event C2 may indicate that the NR sidelink channel busy ratio is below a threshold.

[0141] (Conditional) Event D1 may indicate that a distance between UE and referenceLocation1 is above threshold 1 and a distance between UE and referenceLocation2 is below threshold 2.

[0142] (Conditional) Event D2 may indicate that a distance between UE and a serving cell moving reference location is above threshold 1 and a distance between UE and a moving reference location is below threshold 2.

[0143] (Conditional) Event T1 may indicate that time measured at UE is within a duration from a threshold.

[0144] (Conditional) Event X1 may indicate that a serving L2 UE-to-Network (U2N) Relay UE becomes worse than threshold 1 and an NR Cell becomes better than threshold 2.

[0145] (Conditional) Event X2 may indicate that a serving L2 U2N Relay UE becomes worse than a threshold.

[0146] (Conditional) Event Y1 may indicate that a PCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and a candidate L2 U2N Relay UE becomes better than threshold 2.

[0147] (Conditional) Event Y2 may indicate that a candidate L2 U2N Relay UE becomes better than a threshold.

[0148] (Conditional) Event Z1 may indicate that a serving L2 U2N Relay UE becomes worse than threshold 1 and a candidate L2 U2N Relay UE becomes better than threshold 2.

[0149] (Conditional) Event H1 may indicate that the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than a threshold.

[0150] (Conditional) Event H2 may indicate that the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than a threshold.

[0151] (Conditional) Event A3H1 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes offset better than a SpCell and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than a threshold.

[0152] (Conditional) Event A3H2 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes offset better than a SpCell and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than a threshold.

[0153] (Conditional) Event A4H1 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 1 and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than threshold 2.

[0154] (Conditional) Event A4H2 may indicate that a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 1 and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than threshold 2.

[0155] (Conditional) Event A5H1 may indicate that a SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 2 and the aerial UE altitude becomes higher than threshold 3.

[0156] (Conditional) Event A5H2 may indicate that a SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and a neighbor cell becomes better than threshold 2 and the aerial UE altitude becomes lower than threshold 3.

[0157] In some implementations, one or more of the proposed L1 events may be associated with one or more L3 events above to trigger the action A / B / C / D / E. In some implementations, each conditional L1 / L3 event may be further associated with one ConditionalEvent_ID. In addition, one or multiple ConditionalEvent_ID(s) (where each of the ConditionalEvent_ID may be associated with one L1 / L3 event) may be combined to configure a joint conditional event to trigger an action A / B / C / D / E. In some combinations, one joint conditional event set may be limited to include only one L1 event and one L3 event. In some other combinations, one joint conditional event set may include one or multiple L1 event(s) and one or multiple L3 conditional events.

[0158] The L1 measurement / report / triggering configuration may be based on specific messages or information (e.g., system information). In some implementations, the RAN may provide an excluded cell list to prevent the UE from trying to access / measure / monitor one cell in the RAN. For example, the intraFreqExcludedCellList IE (e.g., used as the excluded cell list) may be transmitted by the RAN in SIB3 to stop the UE from access / measure (e.g., L3 measurement) / monitor the cell. Additionally or alternatively, the interFreqExcludedCellList IE (e.g., used as the excluded cell list) may be transmitted by the RAN in SIB4 to stop the UE from access / measure (e.g., L3 measurement) / monitor the cell.

[0159] In some implementations, the UE may not perform L3 and / or L1 measurement on the cell indicated by the serving RAN via the intraFreqExcludedCellList IE / interFreqExcludedCellList IE transmission. In some other implementations, another intraFreqExcludedCellList-L1 IE may be configured / transmitted by the serving RAN to stop the UE from implementing L1 measurement on those indicated cells. In some other implementations, another interFreqExcludedCellList-L1 IE may be configured / transmitted by the serving RAN to stop the UE from implementing L1 measurement on those indicated cells.

[0160] The proposed intraFreqExcludedCellList-L1 IE and interFreqExcludedCellList-L1 IE may be transmitted by the serving RAN via broadcasting system information (e.g., SIB3 and SIB4 respectively) or via UE specific control signaling (e.g., RRC signaling such as RRC reconfiguration message or RRC setup message / RRC resume message / RRC release message / RRC re-establishment message).

[0161] In some implementations, the UE may maintain a list of "Exclude-listed cells" (e.g., based on the received intraFreqExcludedCellList IE / interFreqExcludedCellList IE / intraFreqExcludedCellList-L1 IE / interFreqExcludedCellList-L1 IE for L1 and / or L3 measurements). The UE may consider the cells in the Exclude-listed cells are not applicable in event evaluation or measurement reporting for L1 / L3 measurements.

[0162] In some implementations, the RAN may provide a neighbor cell list to indicate / configure the UE to try to access / measure / monitor one cell in the RAN. For example, the intraFreqNeighCellList IE may be transmitted by the RAN in SIB3 to indicate the UE to perform access / measure / monitor the cell. For example, the interFreqNeighCellList IE may be transmitted by the RAN in SIB4 to indicate the UE to perform access / measure / monitor on the cell.

[0163] In some implementations, the UE may perform L3 and / or L1 measurement on (or only on) the cell indicated by the serving RAN via the intraFreqNeighCellList IE / interFreqNeighCellList IE transmission. In some other implementations, another intraFreqNeighCellList-L1 IE may be configured / transmitted by the serving RAN to indicate the UE to implement / perform L1 measurement on those indicated cells. In some other implementations, another interFreqNeighCellList-L1 IE may be configured / transmitted by the serving RAN to indicate the UE to implement / perform L1 measurement on those indicated cells.

[0164] The proposed intraFreqNeighCellList-L1 IE and interFreqNeighCellList-L1 IE may be transmitted by the serving RAN via broadcasting system information (e.g., SIB3 and SIB4 respectively) or via UE specific control signaling (e.g., RRC signaling such as RRC reconfiguration message or RRC setup message / RRC resume message / RRC release message / RRC re-establishment message).

[0165] In some implementations, the UE may maintain a list of "Allowed-listed cells" (e.g., based on the received intraFreqNeighCellList IE / interFreqNeighCellList IE / intraFreqNeighCellList-L1 IE / interFreqNeighCellList-L1 IE for L1 and / or L3 measurements).

[0166] The UE may consider the cells in the Allowed-listed cells are applicable in event evaluation or measurement reporting for L1 / L3 measurements. In some additional implementations, the UE may implement measurement event evaluation or measurement reporting by only considering the Allowed-listed cells.

[0167] In some implementations, the UE may generate a measurement report (e.g., the MeasurementReport IE) based on 3GPP specifications, which may include L3 / L1 measurement results to the serving RAN. In some implementations, the UE may generate another measurement report (e.g., the MeasurementReport-L1 IE) to transmit the L1 measurement results to the serving RAN.

[0168] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an L1 measurement reporting procedure, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. In action 202, the UE may transmit a first measurement report (e.g., MeasurementReport) to the network. In action 204, the UE may further transmit a second measurement report (e.g., MeasurementReport-L1) to the network.

[0169] In some implementations, the L1 measurement results may include L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR, and / or L1-RSSI values. In some implementations, the MeasurementReport-L1 IE may also be transmitted via SRB1 or SRB3. In some implementations, the serving RAN may include any combinations of gNB, eNB, ng-eNB. The proposed algorithms may be applicable to L1 measurements of NR and / or E-UTRA.

[0170] In some implementations, both the L1 / L3 measurement objects may share the same range of measId. In some implementations, another ID, such as the measId-L1 IE, may be defined (e.g., in technical specifications) and configured by the serving RAN to indicate one measurement object and report configuration. In some implementations, a MeasurementReport / MeasurementReport-L1 generated and transmitted by the UE may be allowed / configured / enabled to only include one IE (e.g., either the measId IE or the measId-L1 IE). In some other implementations, one MeasurementReport generated and transmitted by the UE may include both the measId IE and the measId-L1 IE.

[0171] In some implementations, the measResultServingMOList IE may include both the L1 / L3 measurement results associated with a serving cell. In some implementations, another measResultServingMOList-L1 IE may include only L1 measurement results associated with a serving cell. In some additional implementations, one MeasurementReport / MeasurementReport-L1 generated and transmitted by the UE may be allowed / configured / enabled to only include one IE (e.g., either the measResultServingMOList IE or the measResultServingMOList-L1 IE). In some other implementations, one MeasurementReport generated and transmitted by the UE may include both the measResultServingMOList IE and the measResultServingMOList-L1 IE.

[0172] In some implementations, the measResultNeighCells IE may include both the L1 / L3 measurement results associated with a neighbor cell. In some implementations, another measResultNeighCells-L1 IE may include only L1 measurement results associated with a neighbor cell. In some additional implementations, one MeasurementReport / MeasurementReport-L1 generated and transmitted by the UE may be allowed / configured / enabled to only include one IE (e.g., either the measResultNeighCells IE or the measResultNeighCells-L1 IE). In some other implementations, one MeasurementReport generated and transmitted by the UE may include both the measResultNeighCells IE and the measResultNeighCells-L1 IE.

[0173] An example of the ASN.1 representation of the MeasResultNR IE may be provided in Table 2.

[0174] In some implementations, the UE may provide the rsIndexResults-L1 IE in the MeasResultNR IE to report the L1 measurement results associated with one Physical Cell Id. In some implementations, the UE may be able to transmit both the rsIndexResults-L1 IE and the rsIndexResults IE / cellResults IE in one MeasResultNR IE to the serving RAN. In some other implementations, the UE may not be enabled / allowed to transmit the proposed rsIndexResults-L1 IE jointly with the rsIndexResults IE / cellResults IE in one MeasResultNR IE to the serving RAN.

[0175] An example of the ASN.1 representation of the MeasQuantityResults IE may be provided in Table 3.

[0176] An example of the ASN.1 representation of the ResultsPerSSB-IndexList-L1 IE may be provided in Table 4.

[0177] In some implementations, the value of the maxNrofIndexesToReport2-L1 IE may be pre-defined in 3GPP specification. In some other implementations, the value of the maxNrofIndexesToReport2-L1 IE may be the same with the maxNrofIndexesToReport2 IE or the maxNrofIndexesToReport2 IE may be reused directly to define the maximum size of the ResultsPerCSI-RS-IndexList-L1 IE.

[0178] In some implementations, for the measId for which the measurement reporting procedure was triggered, the UE may set the measResults within the MeasurementReport message as follows. The UE may set the measId to the measurement identity that triggered the measurement reporting. For each serving cell configured with servingCellMO, if the reportConfig associated with the measId that triggered the measurement reporting includes rsType, the UE may check if the serving cell measurements based on the rsType included in the reportConfig that triggered the measurement report are available. If such measurements are available, the UE may set the measResultServingCell within measResultServingMOList to include RSRP, RSRQ and the available SINR of the serving cell, derived based on the rsType included in the reportConfig that triggered the measurement report.

[0179] In some implementations, the UE may jointly report the L3 / L1 measurement results associated with the same rsType (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) stored in the UE side while the UE is triggered by an L3 reporting triggering event (e.g., Events A1 to A5 / periodical report). In some implementations, the UE may jointly report the L3 / L1 measurement results associated with the same rsType (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) stored in the UE side while the UE is triggered by an L1 reporting triggering event (e.g., Events A1-b to A6-b / periodical report). This implementation may be defined in technical specification or by UE autonomous implementation.

[0180] In some implementations, the serving RAN may use another IE to enable / disable / allow / not-allow a UE to jointly report L3 / L1 measurement results while the triggering events (which may be an L3 report event or an L1 event) associated with one measId is triggered. Therefore, a UE may transmit L1 beam / cell measurement results after / upon an L3 triggering event is fulfilled (e.g., along with the L3 report interval and report amount). In contrast, a UE may also transmit L3 beam / cell measurement results upon / after an L1 measurement / report / triggering event is fulfilled. This implementation defined in this disclosure may be defined in technical specification or by UE autonomous implementations.

[0181] In some implementations, the measResultServingCell IE may be associated with one serving cell where the UE may report the L1 and / or L3 measurements. In some implementations, the measResultServingCell IE may be only associated with one serving cell where the UE may report the L3 measurements. In some additional implementations, another measResultServingCell-L1 IE may be only associated with one serving cell where the UE may report the L1 measurements.

[0182] In some implementations, the UE may provide SCGFailureInformation, which may include L1 measurement results associated with one or more NR / E-UTRA frequency carriers. In some implementations, the UE may report the MeasResult2NR IE / MeasResult2NR-L1 IE, which may include L1 measurements results, to the serving RAN. In some implementations, the MeasResult2NR IE defined in 3GPP NR protocols may further include IEs of L1 measurement results (e.g., the measResultServingCell-L1 IE / measResultNeighCellListNR-L1 IE). In some additional implementations, one MeasResult2NR IE / MeasResult2NR-L1 IE may include both L1 measurement results (e.g., the measResultServingCell-L1 IE / measResultNeighCellListNR-L1 IE) and L3 measurement results (e.g., the measResultServingCell IE / measResultNeighCellListNR IE). In some other implementations, the MeasResult2NR IE / MeasResult2NR-L1 IE may contain the IEs as shown in Table 5.

[0183] In some implementations, the UE may transmit the MeasResult2NR-L1 IE to the serving RAN. The MeasResult2NR-L1 IE may include the proposed measResultServingCell-L1 IE / measResultNeighCellListNR-L1 IE.

[0184] In some implementations, the MeasurementReport-L1 IE may have a higher priority than the MeasurementReport IE. In some other implementations, the MeasurementReport-L1 IE may have a lower priority than the MeasurementReport IE.

[0185] In some implementations, the RRC entity of the UE side may receive the L1 measurement result (e.g., from the Physical layer / Layer-1) and then the RRC entity may trigger an L1 event / consider an L1 event is fulfilled. In some implementations, lower layers (e.g., Physical layer or MAC layer) of the UE side may trigger one L1 event / decide that an L1 event is fulfilled based on the L1 measurement results. Then, the PHY / MAC entity may inform the RRC entity of the UE side that the L1 event is triggered / fulfilled.

[0186] The timer activities may be configured in relation to L1 events. For example, for the T304 timer for a conditional ReconfigurationWithSync procedure, a UE may be configured to start to count the T304 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. In some implementations, a UE may be configured to stop counting the T304 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled.

[0187] In some implementations, for the T310 timer for a radio link failure procedure, the UE may be configured to start to count the T310 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. In some implementations, a UE may be configured to stop counting the T310 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. The radio link failure procedure may be associated with the MCG or the SCG.

[0188] For the T312 timer for a radio link failure procedure (if T312 and an information element useT312 is configured as ‘true’ by the serving RAN), in some implementations, a UE may be configured to start to count the T312 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. In some implementations, a UE may be configured to stop counting the T312 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. The radio link failure procedure may be associated with the MCG or the SCG.

[0189] For the T316 timer upon transmission of the MCGFailureInformation message, in some implementations, a UE may be configured to start to count the T316 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. In some implementations, a UE may be configured to stop counting the T316 timer to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. The radio link failure procedure may be associated with the MCG or the SCG.

[0190] In some implementations, a UE may be configured to start to count a specific timer (e.g., the T300 / T301 / T302 / T311 / T319 / T319a / T320 / T322 / T325 / T330 / T331 / T432 / T345 / T346-related timer for UEAssistanceInformation message transmission for L1 measurement report proposed in this disclosure) to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled. In some implementations, a UE may be configured to stop counting a specific timer (e.g., the T300 / T301 / T302 / T311 / T319 / T319a / T320 / T322 / T325 / T330 / T331 / T432 / T345 / T346-related timer for UEAssistanceInformation message transmission for L1 measurement report proposed in this disclosure) to zero while at least one of the configured L1 event is fulfilled.

[0191] The present disclosure proposes the L1 measurement / report / triggering events which may be configured (e.g., by the serving RAN) for the UE to trigger the proposed action D and / or action E.

[0192] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating method / process 300 for cross-layer triggered mobility in a wireless communication system, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. Although actions 302, 304, 306, and 308 are illustrated, as separate actions, represented as independent blocks in FIG. 3, these separately illustrated actions should not be construed as to be necessarily order-dependent. The order in which the actions are performed in FIG. 3 is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the disclosed blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternative method. Each of actions 302, 304, 306, and 308 may be performed independent of the other actions, and may be omitted in some implementations of the present disclosure. Moreover, method / process 300 may be combined with other procedures / methods described in the present disclosure. Process 300 may be performed by a UE, with each action of process 300 corresponding to an operation executed by the UE.

[0193] In action 302, the UE may receive an LTM configuration including parameters (or IEs) for an L3 triggering event associated with an LTM operation. In action 304, the UE may perform an L3 measurement on a set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration. In action 306, the UE may determine whether the L3 triggering event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L3 measurement. In action 308, the UE may initiate the LTM operation in response to determining that the L3 triggering event is satisfied.

[0194] In some implementations, the L3 triggering event may include at least one of (Event A1) a signal quality of a serving cell exceeding a first threshold, (Event A2) the signal quality of the serving cell falling below a second threshold, (Event A3) a signal quality of a candidate cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a first offset, (Event A4) the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeding a third threshold, (Event A6) a signal quality of a neighbor cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a second offset, (Event H1) an altitude of the UE exceeding a first altitude threshold, (Event H2) the altitude of the UE falling below a second altitude threshold, (Event D1) a first distance between the UE and a first reference location exceeding a first distance threshold and a second distance between the UE and a second reference location falling below a second distance threshold, (Event D2) a third distance between the UE and a serving cell moving reference location exceeding a third distance threshold and a fourth distance between the UE and a moving reference location falling below a fourth distance threshold, or (Event T1) a time measured at the UE falling within a predetermined duration from a time threshold.

[0195] In some implementations, the UE may evaluate the L3 triggering event based on a beam-specific signal quality or a cell-specific signal quality derived from the set of reference signals.

[0196] In some implementations, the LTM operation may include at least one of a conditional early synchronization procedure, a conditional LTM cell switch procedure, or an L3 triggering event reporting procedure to a serving RAN.

[0197] In some implementations, the LTM configuration may be associated with a joint conditional event including a combination of an L1 triggering event and the L3 triggering event.

[0198] In some implementations, the UE may perform a joint measurement, which is associated with an L1 measurement and the L3 measurement, on the set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration. The UE may determine whether the joint conditional event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L1 measurement associated with the L1 triggering event and the measurement result of the L3 measurement associated with the L3 triggering event, and initiate the LTM operation in response to determining that the joint conditional event is satisfied.

[0199] In some implementations, the UE may receive an L3 mobility configuration associated with an L3 mobility procedure and an L1 triggering event. The UE may perform an L1 measurement, which is associated with the L1 triggering event, on the set of reference signals based on the L3 mobility configuration, and initiate the L3 mobility procedure in response to determining that the L1 triggering event is satisfied. The L3 mobility procedure may include at least one of an L3 cell quality reporting procedure, an L3 beam quality reporting procedure, a radio link failure reporting procedure, an L3 measurement report procedure, or an RRC mobility procedure.

[0200] In some implementations, the L3 mobility configuration may be associated with a joint conditional event including a combination of the L1 triggering event and the L3 triggering event.

[0201] In some implementations, the UE may perform a joint measurement, which is associated with an L1 measurement and the L3 measurement, on the set of reference signals based on the L3 mobility configuration. The UE may determine whether the joint conditional event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L1 measurement associated with the L1 triggering event and the measurement result of the L3 measurement associated with the L3 triggering event, and initiate a conditional L3 mobility procedure in response to determining that the joint conditional event is satisfied.

[0202] In some implementations, the measurement result of the L1 measurement may include at least one of an L1-RSRP value, an L1-RSRQ value, an L1-SINR value, or an L1-RSSI. The configured type of the set of the reference signals may include at least one of a CSI-RS, an SSB, or a TRS.

[0203] In some implementations, performing the L3 measurement on the set of reference signals may include performing the L3 measurement during a time duration determined based on an SSB Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) configuration associated with the LTM configuration.

[0204] Process 300 may provide several technical benefits and advantages for cross-layer triggered mobility in wireless communication systems. Process 300 may enable more efficient and responsive mobility management by allowing L3 triggering events to initiate LTM operations, which may traditionally be triggered only by L1 / L2 events. This cross-layer approach may enhance the flexibility of mobility decisions and may provide better adaptation to various network conditions and UE scenarios.

[0205] One advantage of process 300 may be the improved mobility performance through the integration of L3 measurements with LTM procedures. By allowing L3 events such as altitude-based triggers, distance-based triggers, or time-based triggers to initiate LTM operations, the system may respond to a broader range of mobility scenarios that may not be adequately captured by traditional L1 / L2 measurements alone. This may be particularly beneficial for aerial UEs, high-speed UEs, or UEs in complex deployment scenarios where L3 information may provide valuable context for mobility decisions.

[0206] Furthermore, the bidirectional triggering capability, where L3 events may trigger LTM operations and L1 events may trigger L3 mobility procedures, may create a more integrated and responsive mobility framework. This cross-layer interaction may enable the system to leverage the strengths of different protocol layers, where L1 may provide fast beam-level measurements while L3 may provide cell-level and context-aware information, resulting in more informed and timely mobility decisions.

[0207] The present disclosure provides specific implementation examples for various aspects of process 300, as well as implementation approaches that may be combined with process 300. The disclosed implementations include detailed configurations for L1 measurement events, joint L1 / L3 triggering events, measurement object configurations, report configurations, and timer operations that may enhance the cross-layer triggered mobility framework described in process 300. These implementations may demonstrate how the LTM configuration, L3 triggering events, and L3 measurements referenced in process 300 may be realized in practical deployments.

[0208] The present disclosure also describes various implementation options that may be integrated with process 300, such as the use of shared or separate measurement identities (measId and measId-L1), joint or separate measurement reporting mechanisms, priority handling between L1 and L3 measurement reports, and cross-layer message exchange mechanisms. These implementation approaches may provide flexibility in how process 300 is deployed in different network scenarios and may allow network operators to optimize the cross-layer mobility framework based on specific requirements.

[0209] Unless specifically indicated otherwise, the implementations and approaches described in the foregoing content may also be realized independently of process 300. For example, the L1 measurement event configurations, the measurement model with L1 and L3 filtering mechanisms, the system information-based configuration approaches, and the timer operations may be implemented as standalone features in wireless communication systems without necessarily being tied to the specific cross-layer triggered mobility procedure outlined in process 300. This flexibility may allow the disclosed technical solutions to be adopted in various deployment scenarios and may provide backward compatibility with existing systems while enabling future enhancements.

[0210] It should also be noted that the network device, such as the BS, may perform methods / actions corresponding to those performed by the UE. For example, the receiving actions performed by the UE may correspond to the transmitting / configuring actions of the network device; the transmitting actions performed by the UE may correspond to the receiving actions of the network device. That is, the network device and the UE may have reciprocally aligned roles in transmission and reception. For example, the network device may transmit, to a UE, an LTM configuration associated with an L3 triggering event and an LTM operation, enabling the UE to initiate the LTM operation in response to the L3 triggering event being satisfied.

[0211] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conditional LTM operation for wireless communications, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4, in action 401, the UE may send a measurement report (e.g., MeasurementReport message) to the gNB. In action 402, the gNB may decide to configure LTM and may initiate LTM (candidate) preparation. In action 403, the gNB may transmit an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration message) to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message may include the LTM (candidate) configurations associated with multiple L3 triggering events / L1 triggering events associated with an LTM operation. In action 404, the UE may store the LTM configurations and may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to the gNB.

[0212] In action 405, the UE may perform a DL synchronization procedure, which may be one of the configured LTM operations, with an LTM candidate cell if the L3 triggering event / L1 triggering event associated with the DL synchronization procedure is considered fulfilled by the UE. In some implementations, the UE may also activate or deactivate the TCI states of the LTM candidate cells, as triggered by the gNB (e.g., activate or deactivate by a DCI transmission).

[0213] In action 406, the UE may perform UL synchronization with the same LTM candidate cell of the DL synchronization procedure before receiving the cell switch command, by using UE-based TA measurement, if configured, and / or by transmitting a preamble towards the candidate cell, as triggered by the gNB. When UE-based TA measurement is configured, the UE may acquire the TA values of the candidate cells by measurement. The UE may perform early TA acquisition with the candidate cells as requested by the network before receiving the cell switch command as specified in clause 9.2.6 of 3GPP TS 38.300. This may be done via CFRA triggered by a PDCCH order from the source cell, following which the UE may send a preamble towards the indicated candidate cell. In order to minimize the data interruption of the source cell due to CFRA towards the candidate cells, the UE may not receive a random access response from the network for the purpose of TA value acquisition and the TA value of the candidate cell may be indicated in the cell switch command. The UE may not maintain the TA timer for the candidate cell and may rely on network implementation to guarantee the TA validity.

[0214] In action 407, the UE may perform L1 / L3 measurements on the configured LTM candidate cells and may transmit L1 / L3 measurement reports, which may be one of the configured LTM operations, to the gNB if the L3 triggering event / L1 triggering event associated with the L1 / L3 measurement report procedure is considered fulfilled by the UE. In some implementations, the L1 / L3 measurement may be performed as long as the RRC reconfiguration is applicable.

[0215] In action 408, the UE may decide to execute the LTM cell switch procedure, which may be one of the configured LTM operations, with a target cell if the L3 (beam-level / cell-level) triggering event / L1 (beam-level) triggering event associated with the LTM cell switch procedure is considered fulfilled by the UE. For the LTM cell switch procedure, in some implementations, the UE may perform a 2-step / 4-step random access procedure towards the target cell, if the UE does not have a valid TA of the target cell as specified in clause 5.18.35 of 3GPP TS 38.321. In some additional implementations, the UE may skip the action 408 if the UE have a valid TA of the target cell.

[0216] In action 409, the UE may complete the LTM cell switch procedure by sending an RRC reconfiguration complete message (e.g., RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to the target cell. If the UE has performed an RA procedure, the UE may consider / determine that the LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the random access procedure is successfully completed. For a RACH-less LTM operation, the UE may consider that the LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the UE determines that the network has successfully received the first UL data of the UE.

[0217] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the triggering condition of an entering / leaving condition of L1 / L3 triggering events configured to the UE and the associated TimeToTrigger counting activity of a fulfilled entering condition in the UE side, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 5, an L1 / L3 triggering event may be configured with a threshold. The threshold may be presented by L1 / L3 beam-level / cell-level DL-RSRP / DL-RSRQ / DL-SINR value.

[0218] In some implementations, the L1 / L3 triggering event may be further configured with a Time-To-Trigger value (e.g., the Tt). Based on the configuration of the Tt, the UE may perform the associated LTM operation after the UE detects / observes an L1 / L3 triggering event or a combined L1 / L3 triggering event is consistently / continuously fulfilled longer than a time period Tt (e.g., the time period between time stamps 501 and 503). In some implementations, the UE may set a Time-To-Trigger (TTT) timer (e.g., the TTT timer 511), and the initial value of the TTT timer 511 may be equivalent to Tt. Upon the UE detecting / observing an L1 measurement / report / triggering event is fulfilled (e.g., at time stamp 501), the UE may not perform the LTM operation immediately unless the condition of the L1 / L3 triggering event (e.g., which may activate the Tt counting activity) is still fulfilled during the time period that the TTT timer is still running. In addition, the UE may initiate / start / perform the associated LTM operation upon / after the TTT timer expires and the L1 / L3 triggering event or the combined L1 / L3 triggering event is still fulfilled (e.g., at time stamp 503). In other words, the TTT timer 511 may be stopped / released when the L1 measurement / report / triggering event which triggers the TTT timer running activity becomes not valid / non-fulfilled. In other words, the L1 / L3 triggering event or the combined L1 / L3 triggering event may become invalid and then the UE may not implement any action associated with the invalid L1 measurement / report / triggering event. In some additional implementations, the UE may also evaluate whether a leaving condition is fulfilled by initiate another TTT timer counting activity (e.g., TTT timer 513 is counted between the time stamps 503 and 507). Then, upon the time stamp 506, the UE may consider the leaving condition is fulfilled upon the leaving condition is fulfilled between the time stamp 503 and 507.

[0219] Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the L1 / L3 Measurement threshold value 531 may be decide based on the criteria configured by the L1 / L3 triggering event and the triggering threshold value 533 (e.g., corresponding to the DL-RSRP value of the triggering condition) may be decided by an additional hysteresis value (e.g., the Hysteresis value 540 as illustrated in FIG. 5), which may also be configured as part of the L1 / L3 triggering event configuration, to prevent an unstable triggering condition decided by the UE. The leave threshold value 535 (e.g., corresponding to the DL-RSRP value of the leaving condition) may be configured for the UE to consider the fulfilled L1 / L3 triggering event is not fulfilled anymore once the monitoring DL-RSRP value becomes lower than the leave threshold value, which is also decided by jointly considering the L1 / L3 Measurement threshold value 531 and the additional hysteresis value 540 to prevent a leaving condition decided by the UE.

[0220] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating node 600 for wireless communications, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 6, node 600 may include transceiver 620, processor 628, memory 634, one or more presentation components 638, and at least one antenna 636. Node 600 may also include a radio frequency (RF) spectrum band module, a BS communications module, a network communications module, and a system communications management module, Input / Output (I / O) ports, I / O components, and a power supply (not illustrated in FIG. 6).

[0221] Each of the components may directly or indirectly communicate with each other over one or more buses 640. Node 600 may be a UE or a BS that performs various functions disclosed with reference to FIGs. 1 to 5.

[0222] Transceiver 620 has transmitter 622 (e.g., transmitting / transmission circuitry) and receiver 624 (e.g., receiving / reception circuitry) and may be configured to transmit and / or receive time and / or frequency resource partitioning information. Transceiver 620 may be configured to transmit in different types of subframes and slots including, but not limited to, usable, non-usable, and flexibly usable subframes and slot formats. Transceiver 620 may be configured to receive data and control channels.

[0223] Node 600 may include a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by node 600 and include volatile (and / or non-volatile) media and removable (and / or non-removable) media.

[0224] The computer-readable media may include computer-storage media and communication media. Computer-storage media may include both volatile (and / or non-volatile media), and removable (and / or non-removable) media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or data.

[0225] Computer-storage media may include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory (or other memory technology), CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) (or other optical disk storage), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage (or other magnetic storage devices), etc. Computer-storage media may not include a propagated data signal. Communication media may typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanisms and include any information delivery media.

[0226] The term “modulated data signal” may mean a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Communication media may include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media, such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the aforementioned listed components should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0227] Memory 634 may include computer-storage media in the form of volatile and / or non-volatile memory. Memory 634 may be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. Example memory may include solid-state memory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, etc. As illustrated in FIG. 6, memory 634 may store a computer-readable and / or computer-executable instructions 632 (e.g., software codes) that are configured to, when executed, cause processor 628 to perform various functions disclosed herein, for example, with reference to FIGs. 1 to 5. Alternatively, instructions 632 may not be directly executable by processor 628 but may be configured to cause node 600 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform various functions disclosed herein.

[0228] Processor 628 (e.g., having processing circuitry) may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. Processor 628 may include memory. Processor 628 may process data 630 and instructions 632 received from memory 634, and information transmitted and received via transceiver 620, the baseband communications module, and / or the network communications module. Processor 628 may also process information to send to transceiver 620 for transmission via antenna 636 to the network communications module for transmission to a CN.

[0229] One or more presentation components 638 may present data indications to a person or another device. Examples of presentation components 638 may include a display device, a speaker, a printing component, a vibrating component, etc.

[0230] In view of the present disclosure, it is obvious that various techniques may be used for implementing the disclosed concepts without departing from the scope of those concepts. Moreover, while the concepts have been disclosed with specific reference to certain implementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of those concepts. As such, the disclosed implementations are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. It should also be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the particular implementations disclosed and many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A User Equipment (UE), the UE comprising: 　　　　at least one processor; and 　　　　at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to: 　　　　receive a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation; 　　　　perform an L3 measurement on a set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration; 　　　　determine whether the L3 triggering event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L3 measurement; and 　　　　initiate the LTM operation in response to determining that the L3 triggering event is satisfied.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the L3 triggering event comprises at least one of: 　　　　a signal quality of a serving cell exceeding a first threshold, 　　　　the signal quality of the serving cell falling below a second threshold, 　　　　a signal quality of a candidate cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a first offset, 　　　　the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeding a third threshold, 　　　　a signal quality of a neighbor cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a second offset, 　　　　an altitude of the UE exceeding a first altitude threshold, 　　　　the altitude of the UE falling below a second altitude threshold, 　　　　a first distance between the UE and a first reference location exceeding a first distance threshold and a second distance between the UE and a second reference location falling below a second distance threshold, 　　　　a third distance between the UE and a serving cell moving reference location exceeding a third distance threshold and a fourth distance between the UE and a moving reference location falling below a fourth distance threshold, or 　　　　a time measured at the UE falling within a predetermined duration from a time threshold.

3. The UE of claim 2, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　evaluate the L3 triggering event based on a beam-specific signal quality or a cell-specific signal quality derived from the set of reference signals.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the LTM operation comprises at least one of: 　　　　a conditional early synchronization procedure, 　　　　a conditional LTM cell switch procedure, or 　　　　an L3 triggering event reporting procedure to a serving Radio Access Network (RAN).

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the LTM configuration is associated with a joint conditional event comprising a combination of an L1 triggering event and the L3 triggering event.

6. The UE of claim 5, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　perform a joint measurement, which is associated with an L1 measurement and the L3 measurement, on the set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration; 　　　　determine whether the joint conditional event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L1 measurement associated with the L1 triggering event and the measurement result of the L3 measurement associated with the L3 triggering event; and 　　　　initiate the LTM operation in response to determining that the joint conditional event is satisfied.

7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　receive an L3 mobility configuration associated with an L3 mobility procedure and an L1 triggering event; 　　　　perform an L1 measurement, which is associated with the L1 triggering event, on the set of reference signals based on the L3 mobility configuration; and 　　　　initiate the L3 mobility procedure in response to determining that the L1 triggering event is satisfied, wherein the L3 mobility procedure comprises at least one of: 　　　　an L3 cell quality reporting procedure, 　　　　an L3 beam quality reporting procedure, 　　　　a radio link failure reporting procedure, 　　　　an L3 measurement report procedure, or 　　　　a Radio Resource Control (RRC) mobility procedure.

8. The UE of claim 7, wherein the L3 mobility configuration is associated with a joint conditional event comprising a combination of the L1 triggering event and the L3 triggering event.

9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　perform a joint measurement, which is associated with an L1 measurement and the L3 measurement, on the set of reference signals based on the L3 mobility configuration; 　　　　determine whether the joint conditional event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L1 measurement associated with the L1 triggering event and the measurement result of the L3 measurement associated with the L3 triggering event; and 　　　　initiate a conditional L3 mobility procedure in response to determining that the joint conditional event is satisfied.

10. The UE of claim 6, wherein: the measurement result of the L1 measurement comprises at least one of: 　　　　an L1-Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) value, 　　　　an L1-Reference Signal Received Quality (L1-RSRQ) value, 　　　　an L1-Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (L1-SINR) value, or 　　　　an L1-Received Signal Strength Indicator (L1-RSSI), and the set of reference signals comprises at least one of: 　　　　a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), 　　　　a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), or 　　　　a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS).

11. The UE of claim 1, wherein performing the L3 measurement on the set of reference signals comprises performing the L3 measurement during a time duration determined based on a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) configuration associated with the LTM configuration.

12. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for cross-layer triggered mobility, the method comprising: 　　　　receiving, from a serving cell, a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation; 　　　　performing an L3 measurement on a set of reference signals based on the LTM configuration; 　　　　determining whether the L3 triggering event is satisfied based on a measurement result of the L3 measurement; and 　　　　initiating the LTM operation in response to determining that the L3 triggering event is satisfied.

13. A network device, the network device comprising: 　　　　at least one processor; and 　　　　at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to: 　　　　transmit, to a User Equipment (UE), a Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) configuration including parameters for a Layer 3 (L3) triggering event associated with an LTM operation, enabling the UE to initiate the LTM operation in response to the L3 triggering event being satisfied.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the L3 triggering event comprises at least one of: 　　　　a signal quality of a serving cell exceeding a first threshold, 　　　　the signal quality of the serving cell falling below a second threshold, 　　　　a signal quality of a candidate cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a first offset, 　　　　the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeding a third threshold, 　　　　a signal quality of a neighbor cell exceeding the signal quality of the serving cell by a second offset, 　　　　an altitude of the UE exceeding a first altitude threshold, 　　　　the altitude of the UE falling below a second altitude threshold, 　　　　a first distance between the UE and a first reference location exceeding a first distance threshold and a second distance between the UE and a second reference location falling below a second distance threshold, 　　　　a third distance between the UE and a serving cell moving reference location exceeding a third distance threshold and a fourth distance between the UE and a moving reference location falling below a fourth distance threshold, or a time measured at the UE falling within a predetermined duration from a time threshold.

15. The network device of claim 13, wherein the LTM operation comprises at least one of: 　　　　a conditional early synchronization procedure, 　　　　a conditional LTM cell switch procedure, or 　　　　an L3 triggering event reporting procedure to a serving Radio Access Network (RAN).

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