Event-triggered LTM report format

Abstract

A method and apparatus for configuring at least one Mobility Procedure (MP) candidate for performing cell switch. For a User Equipment (UE), the method provides for receiving, from a network node, a resource configuration identifying at least one Layer 1 (L1) resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one MP reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition. The method further provides for measuring the at least one L1 resource; generating a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more L1 resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report including conditions related to the one or more L1 resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition; and transmitting the report to the network node.

Description

Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01SPECIFICATIONEVENT-TRIGGERED LTM REPORT FORMATCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 703,894, filed October 4, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure is related to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to Lower layer Triggered Mobility (LTM), event triggered reporting, Channel State Information (CSI) reporting, and encoding of reports in Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).BACKGROUND

[0003] LTM is a procedure in which a base station (e.g., gNB) of a wireless communication network receives Layer 1 (LI) measurement report(s) from a User Equipment (UE), and on its / their basis the gNB changes UE serving cell by a cell switch command signaled via a MAC CE. The cell switch command indicates an LTM candidate configuration that the gNB previously prepared and provided to the UE through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Then the UE switches to the target configuration according to the cell switch command.

[0004] When configured by the network, it is possible to activate Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states of one or multiple cells that are different from the current serving cell. This is sometimes called pre-activation of a candidate TCI state, since this is pre-activating a TCI state of an LTM candidate cell before the UE receives the LTM cell switch command (i.e., before the LTM cell switch procedure). For instance, the TCI states of the LTM candidate cells can be activated in advance before any of those cells become the serving cell. This allows the UE to be downlink (DL) synchronized with those cells, thereby facilitating a faster cell switch to one of those cells when cell switch is triggered. Cell switch command is conveyed in a MAC CE, which contains the necessary information to perform the LTM cell switch.

[0005] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Event-triggered LI reporting will be standardized in Release 19. At RAN2 discussions, an agreement was made that event-triggered LI -measurements are to be reported by the UE to the network via MAC CE. It remains to specify the format / formats of the measurement reports. The existing Rel-18 LTM measurement reports are signaled as uplink control information (UCI) from the UE to the network and are not suitable for Rel-19 event triggered reports for several reasons. For example, it does not includeAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 information about the event(s) that have been triggered and by what resources and resource quantities. Moreover, it is not flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of different event types.SUMMARY

[0006] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. The solutions described in this disclosure consider several different aspects and requirements on the design of event triggered LTM report format, including: Simple yet flexible design that can be used for all event types Natural evolution of the Rel. 18 report format Through the report content, the receiving network node can gain information about the event, which was triggered, which resources and measurement quantities that triggered it and the relevant measurement quantity values. The report can also include additional information and measurements of other LTM candidates and resources.Efficient encoding to keep the size of the report small.

[0007] The decision to use MAC CE for measurement reporting enables the described report format, which is more flexible and more resource efficient in terms of overhead. The described report format(s) is / are informative to the network in the sense that the network receives the relevant information that it needs to make decisions about LTM execution. The format can be used for the LTM event types which may be implemented. The report format is similar to the Rel. 18 format but provides further information about triggering events and conditions.

[0008] The teachings of certain embodiments may improve reporting and reducing the delay time for User Equipment (UE) handover and / or LTM switching.

[0009] In one aspect of the disclosed technique, a method at a UE provides for configuring at least one Mobility Procedure (MP) candidate for performing cell switch by receiving, from a network node, a resource configuration identifying at least one Layer 1 (LI) resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one MP reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition; measuring the at least one LI resource; generating a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more LI resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report including conditions related to the one or more LI resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition; and transmitting the report to the network node.

[0010] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the MP is a Lower layer Triggered Mobility (LTM) procedure and the MP candidate is an LTM candidate.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0011] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the report is a Channel State Information (CSI) report encoded as a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) with fields including an event identifier to identify the event and resource identifiers to identify resources.

[0012] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the method further including performing the cell switch based on the report.

[0013] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the report comprises a resource identifier for the respective event triggering condition.

[0014] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the report comprises an indication on whether a measurement result included in the report satisfies a corresponding event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition.

[0015] In another aspect of the disclosed method, a number of resource identifiers for the at least one event triggering condition depends on an event type.

[0016] In another aspect of the disclosed method, one or more event triggering resource identifier is used for a serving cell, or wherein one or more event triggering resource identifier is used for a candidate cell, or wherein one or more event triggering resource identifier is used for the serving cell and the candidate cell.

[0017] In another aspect of the disclosed method, a number of additional resource identifiers for candidate cell resources and corresponding measurement quantity values for the report are either decided by the UE or configured by the network node.

[0018] In another aspect of the disclosed method, an event identifier is expressed as: LTM-CSI-ReportConfigID with one-to-one mapping between an event instance and the LTM-CSI-ReportConfigID; an integer which covers a maximum number of specified events; a bit map where a set bit identifies that a corresponding i-th position of the bit refers to an identity of the event; or one or mor bit, which decimal value translate as an event identifier.

[0019] In another aspect of the disclosed method, a single event triggering resource identifier for a candidate cell Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH or SSB) is expressed as SSB Resource Indicator (SSBRI) or LTM-Candidateld and SSB-Index.

[0020] In another aspect of the disclosed method, a single event triggering resource identifier for a candidate cell Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resource is expressed as a CSI-RS Indicator (CRI) or as a LTM-CandidatelD and CSI-RS-ResourcelD.

[0021] In another aspect of the disclosed method, each candidate cell Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH or SSB) is expressed as SSB Resource IndicatorAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01(SSBRI) and is encoded with a fixed number of bits at specified locations in the MAC CE, where the fixed number of bits is determined by a number of SSBs.

[0022] In another aspect of the disclosed method, for measurement quantity values, the measurement quantity values are absolute values, or a first measurement quantity is an absolute value and remaining quantity values are differential values from the absolute value.

[0023] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the format of the report comprises an Event Identity (ID); a Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH or SSB) is expressed as SSB Resource Indicator (SSBRI) which corresponds to an i-th SSRBI index according to the resource configuration; Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value, which corresponds to measured RSRP value of the i-th SSRBI index according to the resource configuration; and a bit indicator to indicate that the resource configuration triggered the report.

[0024] In one aspect of the disclosed technique, a method at a network node provides for configuring at least one Mobility Procedure (MP) candidate for performing cell switch of a User Equipment (UE) by transmitting to the UE a resource configuration identifying at least one LI resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one MP reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition, wherein the UE, based on the resource configuration, measures the at least one LI resource, generates a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more LI resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report including conditions related to the one or more LI resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition; and the network node receiving the report from the UE.

[0025] In another aspect of the disclosed method at a network node, the MP is a LTM procedure and the MP candidate is an LTM candidate.

[0026] In another aspect of the disclosed method at a network node, the report is a CSI report encoded as a MAC CE with fields including an event identifier to identify the event and resource identifiers to identify resources.

[0027] In another aspect of the disclosed technique, a UE provides to configure at least one MP candidate for performing cell switch according to various methods stated above.

[0028] In another aspect of the disclosed technique, a network node provides to configure at least one MP candidate for performing cell switch of a UE according to various methods stated above.

[0029] In another aspect of the disclosed technique, a computer program having instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause a UE to perform operations forAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 configuring at least one MP candidate for performing cell switch according to various methods stated above.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The embodiments of the disclosure may best be understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network that contains a radio base station communicating with a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 2A illustrates an example method for configuring at least one mobility procedure candidate for performing cell switch for a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 2B illustrates an example method for by a network node for configuring at least one mobility procedure candidate for performing cell switch for a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates a MAC CE format 1 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a MAC CE format 2 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 5A illustrates a MAC CE format 3a in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 5B illustrates a MAC CE format 3b in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 6 illustrates a MAC CE format 4 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG. 7 illustrates a MAC CE format 5 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] FIG. 8 illustrates a MAC CE format 6 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0041] FIG. 9 illustrates a MAC CE format 7 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 10 illustrates a MAC CE format 8a in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] FIG. 11 illustrates a MAC CE format 8b in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0044] FIG. 12 illustrates a MAC CE format 9 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 14 illustrates a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 15 illustrates a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualizedDETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. The various embodiments described herein pertain to a UE and network node operating in a 5thGeneration (5G) wireless communication system under 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP). However, the technique of the disclosure may be adapted and practiced in other wireless communication systems as well. Furthermore, the Mobility Procedure (MP) described herein pertains to Lower layer Triggered Mobility (LTM). However, the technique need not be limited to LTM and may be adapted and practiced in other mobility procedures.

[0050] The following description describes numerous specific details such as operative steps, resources, measurements, event types and report formats to provide a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated, however, by one skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, control signals, circuits, memory structures, system and / or networks, and software instructions have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the present disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the included descriptions, will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

[0051] References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” “some embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, model, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 knowledge of one skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, characteristic, or model in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0052] An overall procedure for LTM is shown in FIG. 1 and described below. FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication network 100 that contains a radio base station (commonly referred to a Node B or NB) communicating with a terminal device, commonly referred to a User Equipment (UE) 102. The example communication system 100 is a 5thGeneration (5G) system under 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP). Hence, the base station is referred to as a next generation Node B (gNB) 101.

[0053] A procedure for LTM for network 100 is as follows:

[0054] At operative step 1, the UE 102 sends a MeasurementReport message to the gNB 101. The gNB 101 decides to configure LTM and initiates LTM preparation.

[0055] At operative step 2, the gNB 101 transmits an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE 102, including the LTM candidate configurations.

[0056] At operative step 3, the UE 102 stores the LTM candidate configurations and transmits an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB 101.

[0057] At operative step 4a, the UE 102 performs downlink (DL) synchronization with the candidate cell(s) before receiving the cell switch command. This is triggered upon reception by the UE of a “Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE” for LTM candidate cell(s) configured in CandidateTCLState and CandidateTCLUL-State. Upon reception, in the UE’s MAC entity, the UE’s MAC entity receives a Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE on a Serving Cell, wherein the UE indicates to lower layers the information regarding the Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE.

[0058] At operative step 4b, the UE 102 may also perform uplink (UL) pre-synchronization with the LTM candidate cell(s) if it receives the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) order for early timing advance (TA) acquisition for those candidate cells.

[0059] At operative step 5, the UE 102 performs LI measurements on the configured candidate cell(s) and transmits LI measurement reports to the gNB 101. LI measurement should be performed as long as RRC reconfiguration (step 2) is applicable.

[0060] At operative step 6, the gNB 101 decides to execute cell switch to a target cell and transmits a MAC CE triggering cell switch by including the candidate configuration index of the target cell. The UE switches to the target cell and applies the configuration indicated by candidate configuration index.

[0061] At operative step 7, the UE 102 performs the random-access procedure towards the target cell, if UE does not have valid Timing Advance (TA) of the target cell. Otherwise, if theAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01UE102 receives a valid TA value in LTM cell switch command using early TA acquisition method in operative step 4b, the UE 102 is not required to perform random-access.

[0062] At operative step 8, the UE 102 completes the LTM cell switch procedure by sending RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target cell. If the UE 102 has performed a random-access (RA) procedure in operative step 7, the UE 102 considers that LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the RA procedure is successfully completed. For random-access channel (RACH)-less LTM, the UE 102 considers that LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the UE 102 determines that the network has successfully received its first UL data.

[0063] LTM CSI Report configuration in Release 18:

[0064] In Item 1 of the procedure for LTM above, the UE sends LTM measurement reports to the network. The measurement report is according to a configuration that has been provided by the network to the UE, Information Element (IE) LTM-CSI-ReportConfig:LTM-ReportContent-rl 8 : : = SEQUENCE { nrOfReportedCells-rl 8 ENUMERATED { nl , n2 , n3 , n4 } , nrOfReportedRS-PerCell-rl 8 ENUMERATED { nl , n2 , n3 , n4 } , spCell lnclusion-rl 8 ENUMERATED { true }OPTIONAL — Need R}Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0065] For Rel. 19 Event triggered LTM reporting an expectation is that an event will be associated with a report configuration such that, if the event conditions are met, the UE sends a report to the network according to the configuration.

[0066] Event triggered LI reporting in 3GPP Rel. 19:

[0067] The New Radio (NR) mobility enhancements Phase 4 work item description states the following objective:Measurements related enhancements for purpose of supporting LTM: [RAN2, RANI] Measurement related enhancements are applicable to Intra-CU MCG / SCG LTM and Inter-CU MCG / SCG LTMSpecify necessary components to support event triggered LI measurement reporting [RAN2, RANI]

[0068] In RAN2, an intent is to introduce the following events, according to certain agreement:Support the following LTM events based on beam specific quality of serving cell and candidate cells as the LI LTM measurement events.Event LTM2: Beam of serving cell becomes worse than absolute threshold;Event LTM3: Beam of candidate cell becomes amount of offset better than beam of serving cell;Event LTM4: Beam of candidate cell becomes better than absolute threshold;Event LTM5: Beam of serving cell becomes worse than absolute threshold / 1) and Beam of candidate cell becomes better than another absolute threshold(2).

[0069] Moreover, at RAN2 a discussion is that the event triggered LTM reporting should be done with a new MAC CE.

[0070] To overcome certain challenges when event- triggered LI reporting is standardized in Release 19 one or more of the following may be implemented.

[0071] A resource identifier for a reference signal resource, such as a serving cell or a candidate cell Synchronization Signal Block (SSB)-Index or CSLReference Signal (RS)- Resource ID, uniquely identifies the resource in the LTM configuration and among all serving and LTM candidate cells. The resource identifier can be understood by both the UE 102 and the serving gNB 101. In the context of LTM, the reference signal resource identifier is described by the field LTM-CSLSSB-ResourceSet in TS 38.331 vl8.2.0:Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01LTM-CSI-SSB-ResourceSet-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE { ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB- ResourcesPerSet-rl8)) OF SSB-Index,Itm-CandidateldList-r 18 SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet-rl8)) OF LTM-CandidateId-rl8,}

[0072] In the example, the i-th position of the list in the field Itm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList indicates the Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH or SSB) identity (ID) of the reference signal resource, while the same i-th position of the list in the field Itm- CandidateldList indicates to which LTM candidate configuration index the SSB belongs to.

[0073] Even if in TS 38.331 vl8.2.0 the reference signal resource structure has been standardized only for SSB reference signal, in Rel-19 the support also for Channel State Information-Resource Indicator (CSI-RS) reference signal may be introduced. In this case, the assumption is that there will be also a new field named Itm-CSI-CSI-RS-ResourceList where the i-th position of the list in the field indicated the CSI-RS ID of the reference signal resource.

[0074] As to events or event types'.

[0075] An LI event type is a class of events (e.g., LTM2, LTM3, LTM4, LTM5).

[0076] An LI event or event instance is an instance of an event type, (e.g., an LTM3 event configured with certain parameters like offset, threshold, time-to-trigger etc., and associated with an LTM resource configuration).

[0077] An LI event identifier uniquely identifies an event instance and can be understood by both the UE and the serving gNB.

[0078] A measurement quantity refers to either:Ll-RSRP from SS-RSRP or CSLRSRP, or Ll-SINR from SS-SINR or CSLSINR, or SS-RSRQ or CSLRSRQ. where RSRP is Reference Signal Received Power, SS is Synchronization Signal, CSI is Channel State Information, RSRP is Reference Signal Received Power, SINR is Signal-to-Interference and Noise Ratio, RSRQ is Reference Signal Received Quality.

[0079] The measurement quantity value refers to the value which the UE reports for the measurement quantity of an SSB or a CSI- RS resource, where RS is Reference Signal. In Rel-18 LTM Ll-reporting, the measurement quantity is primarily the SS-RSRP for the LTM measurement resource with the highest measurement and differential SS-RSRP value(s) with respect to the highest SS-RSRP measurement.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0080] A triggering measurement quantity value for an event is a measurement quantity value that meets the conditions for the event and hence triggers the UE to send the measurement report.For LTM2 a triggering measurement quantity value is for a measurement quantity of a serving cell resource.For ETM4 a triggering measurement quantity value is for a measurement quantity of an ETM candidate cell resource.For ETM3 and ETM5, there are two triggering measurement quantity values; the first is for a measurement quantity of a serving cell resource and the second is for a measurement quantity of an ETM candidate cell resource.

[0081] The text also mentions the “report-on-leave” concept which refers to the UE initiating measurement reporting procedure when the leaving condition(s) for an LTM event are met. The text uses the term network node to refer to a source cell, serving cell and / or source gNB.

[0082] Thus, the present disclosure describes a method and apparatus for providing event- triggered LTM reports utilizing a variety of report formats.EMBODIMENTS

[0083] Embodiment Al: At a high level, the disclosure describes a method in a UE, which is configured with at least one mobility procedure (e.g., LTM) candidate that includes CSI resources that are transmitted by the candidate cell and can be measured by the UE. The method including:Receiving a configuration from a network node which includes at least one LTM CSI reporting configuration associated with one or more event triggering conditions and which instruct the UE to measure one or more CSI resources according to a configured LTM candidate configuration.When the conditions for one event are met, sending one or more LTM reports to the first network node according to the associated LTM CSI reporting configuration.

[0084] Report Configuration

[0085] Embodiment A2: The UE receiving a report configuration, wherein the configuration includes at least one LTM CSI reporting configuration for a candidate, the configuration containing some or all, but not limited to:Whether SpCell (Secondary Primary Cell) results should be included in the report Number of beams or resources that should be reported per cell Maximum number of cells to be included in the reportReport all measured quantities per cell (subjecting to the maximum number of beams and cells that can be reported)When this field is indicated or set to true, UE reports all the measured quantities available for the cell irrespective of the beam which triggers the event. If the maximum number of beams that can be reported for cell is 4, UE reports 4 beams per cell.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0086] Embodiment A3: Where the event configuration is associated with at least one LTM event for the UE to trigger the measurement reporting.

[0087] Report Content

[0088] Embodiment A4: Where the report format and content includes one or more of the following:One or more event identifiersAn indication of whether the report for a particular event is associated with event entry condition or event leaving condition.A list of one or more LTM candidate configuration which met the entering condition of the eventA list of one or more LTM candidate configuration which met the leaving condition of the eventOne or more triggering resource identifiers, which are the resource identifiers (e.g., SSB resource identifier or CSLRS resource identifier) of the resources for which an event entering or leaving condition has been met and that triggered the transmission of the report.For each resource that triggered the report, the triggering measurement quantity value, (e.g., Ll-RSRP or Ll-SINR may or may not be included in the report) One or more additional resource identifiers and measurement quantity values.One or more LTM candidate cell identifiersAn indication on whether the measurement results included in the report correspond to the SpCell.An indication on whether the measurement results included in the report correspond fulfil the event condition(s), as defined in the event configuration.An indication about how many resources are included in the report for each included LTM candidate cell identifier

[0089] Embodiment A5. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4, the number of triggering resource identifiers depends on the event type that the event identifier concerns, and if the entry conditions or leave conditions are met.In one alternative for an LI event with entry conditions met, the UE includes one or more triggering resource identifier(s) for a serving cell resource. In other alternative, UE includes N resource identifier(s) corresponding to a serving cell whose event entering condition was met. Wherein, the N resource identifiers include one or more triggering resource identifier(s) and other resource identifiers which did not trigger the event. N can be network configurable, or a fixed number specified in the specification.In one alternative for an LI event with entry conditions met, the UE includes one or more triggering resource identifier(s) for an LTM candidate cell resource or multiple triggering resource identifier(s) where one or more correspond to an LTM candidate cell resource(s) and one corresponds to a serving cell resource. In other alternative for an LI event with entry conditions met, the UE includes N+M resource identifier(s); where N correspond to an LTM candidate cell resource(s) and M corresponds to a serving cell resource. Where N and M may be network configurable, or N and M may be fixed values specified in the specification. In some examples N can be 4 and M can be 1.In one alternative for an LI event with leave conditions met, the UE includes zero triggering resource identifiers or one triggering resource identifiers for a LTM candidateAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 resource or two or more triggering resource identifiers where one is for an LTM candidate resource and one for a serving cell resource.In one alternative for LTM4 event with entry conditions met, the UE includes one or more triggering resource identifier(s) associated to an LTM candidate cell resource.In one alternative, there is one-to-one association between the LTM candidate cell / serving cell resource identifier(s) and the entry / leave condition(s) for the given event identifier. The association can be indicated by a single bit.In another alternative, there is one-to-one association between the LTM candidate cell / serving cell ID and the entry / leave condition / s) for the given event identifier. The association can be indicated by a single bit.In yet another alternative, there is a one-to-one association between the LTM candidate cell / serving cell beam identifier(s) and the entry / leave condition(s) for the given event identifier. The association can be indicated by a single bit.

[0090] Embodiment A6. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4 and / or A5, the number of additional resource identifiers for LTM candidate cell resources and corresponding measurement quantity values are either up to UE implementation or configured by the network node.

[0091] Embodiment A7. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and one or more of A4-A6, the number of additional resource identifiers for serving cell resources and corresponding measurement quantity values are either up to UE implementation (e.g., decided by the UE) or configured by the network node.

[0092] Embodiment A8. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and one or more of A4-A7, the measurement quantity type (e.g. Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR,...) is the same as the event trigger condition(s) are evaluated on.

[0093] Embodiment A9. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and one or more of A4-A8, the LTM CSI report is encoded as a MAC CE with fields for event identifiers, resource identifiers, or LTM cell identifiers and beam identifiers, and measurement quantity values.Example of a report that can be suitable for LTM3 or LTM5Event identifier#!Entry conditions metTriggering resource identifier#! (corresponding to an LTM candidate resource) Triggering resource measurement quantity value#!Triggering resource identifier#2 (corresponding to a serving cell resource) Triggering resource measurement quantity value#2Additional resource identity#! (corresponding to either a serving cell resource or an LTM candidate cell resource)Additional resource measurement quantity value# 1Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01Additional resource identity#2 (corresponding to either a serving cell resource or an LTM candidate cell resource)Additional resource measurement quantity value#2Example of a report that can be suitable for LTM2:Event identifier#!Entry conditions metAdditional resource identity#! (corresponding to a serving cell resource)Additional resource measurement quantity value# 1Example of a report that can be suitable for LTM3 or LTM5Event identifier#!Entry conditions metTriggering resource identifier#! (corresponding to an LTM candidate resource) Triggering resource measurement quantity value#!Additional resource identity#! (corresponding to a serving cell resource which is also a triggering resource)Additional resource measurement quantity value# 1Additional resource identity#2 (corresponding to either a serving cell resource or an LTM candidate cell resource)Additional resource measurement quantity value#2Example of a report that can be suitable for LTM4Event identifier#!Entry conditions not metTriggering resource identifier#! (corresponding to an LTM candidate resource) Triggering resource measurement quantity value#!Additional resource identity#!Additional resource measurement quantity value# 1Additional resource identity#2Additional resource measurement quantity value#2Example of a report that can be suitable to report both LTM3 and LTM4Event identifier#!Entry conditions metTriggering resource identifier#! (corresponding to an LTM candidate resource) Triggering resource measurement quantity value#!Triggering resource identifier#2 (corresponding to a serving cell resource)Triggering resource measurement quantity value#2Event identifier#2Entry conditions metTriggering resource identifier#! (Corresponding to an LTM candidate resource.If it is the same resource as for the event identifier#!, then the triggering resource measurement quantity value does not need to be repeated.)Additional resource identity#!Additional resource measurement quantity value# 1Additional resource identity#2Additional resource measurement quantity value#2

[0094] Event IdentifiersAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0095] Embodiment A 10. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments Al-A9, an event identity can be expressed as one of the following (but not limited to these):LTM-CSI-ReportConfigld, when there is a one-to-one mapping between LTM-CSI- ReportConfigld and event instance.An integer which covers the maximum number of specified LI events. For instance, if there are 5 events specified, the integer would be a number from 1 to 5 or from 0 to 4 A bit map where a bit set to 1 it means that i-th position of the bit refer to the ID “I” of the event. For instance a bit map equal to 01000 it means that the event ID 2 (the bit 1 is in second position) is the event ID included in reportOne or more bit with translate to the decimal event ID. For instance 10 means that the event ID is 2, if the event ID space starts from 0, or 3, if the event ID space starts from 1.

[0096] Embodiment All. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments Al-A10, the event identity is encoded with a fixed number of bits at a specified location of theMAC CE.

[0097] Embodiment A 12. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments Al-All, the event entry conditions or event leave conditions when met is encoded with a bit at a specified location of the MAC CE.

[0098] Embodiment A13. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments Al-A12, the event entry conditions or even leave conditions when met is encoded with a bit for each reported resource, or for each reported measurement quantity, or for each reported LTM candidate configuration identifier, or for each reported beam identifier in the LTM candidate cell.

[0099] Resource Identifiers

[0100] Embodiment A 14. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodimentsA1-A13, a single resource identity for an LTM candidate cell SSB resource can be expressed as:SSBRI orLTM-Candidateld and SSB-Index

[0101] Embodiment A 15. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodimentsA1-A13, a list of resource identities for LTM candidate cell SSB resources can be expressed as:A list of SSBRIs orA list of LTM-Candidateld andFor each LTM-Candidateld, a list of SSB-Index

[0102] Embodiment A 16. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodimentsA1-A15, a single resource identity for an LTM candidate cell CSLRS resource can be expressed as:CRI orLTM-Candidateld and CSLRS-ResourceSetld and CSLRS-Resourceld (signaled together) orAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01LTM-Candidateld and CSI-RS-ResourceSetld and CSI-RS-Resourceld and measurement quantity (signaled together)

[0103] Embodiment A 17. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments Al -A 16, a list of resource identities for LTM candidate cell CSI-RS resource can be expressed as:A list of CRI orA list of LTM-Candidateld andFor each LTM-Candidateld, a list of CSLRS-ResourceSetldFor each CSLRS-ResourceSetld, a list of CSI-RS-Resourceld A list of elements, where each elements has an LTM-Candidateld and CSLRS- ResourceSetld and CSI-RS-Resourceld and measurement quantity (signaled together)Example with a list of Cell ID and for each Cell ID, a list of SSB ID: Cell ID#1SSB ID#1SSB ID#2Cell ID#2SSB ID#1SSB ID#2SSB ID#3SSB ID#4Example with a list of SSBRI and CRI:SSBRI#1SSBRI#2CRI#1CRI#2

[0104] Embodiment A 18. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A17, each SSBRI is encoded with a fixed number of bits at specified locations in the MAC CE. The number of bits needed to encode SSBRI depends on the maximum number of configurable LTM CandidatelDs and SSBs per LTM candidate cell.

[0105] Embodiment A 19. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A18, a fixed short format for SSBRI is used for the case that the number of configured SSBRIs is lower than the maximum number of configurable SSBRIs. For example, in certain frequency range (FR) (e.g., FR1) only 8 SSBs can be configured per cell while the Release 18 LTM configuration allows for 64 SSBs per cell. Hence, a short SSBRI format for FR1 can be encoded with 6 bits.

[0106] Embodiment A20. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A19, for each resource identifier, one bit is used to indicate if it is a triggering resource identifier (e.g., whether the measurement quantity associated to the resource identifier fulfils the event condition(s)). Alternatively, no bit is used to identify the triggering resource identifier,Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 instead the first one resource identifier in the report is the triggering resource. In another alternative technique, the first resource identifier for the given reported LTM candidate cell corresponds to the triggering resource.

[0107] Embodiment A20-1. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A20, for each resource identifier, one bit is used to indicate if the given resource belongs to the serving cell.

[0108] Embodiment A20-2. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A20, for each resource identifier, one bit is used to indicate whether the measurement quantity associated to the resource identifier fulfils the leaving condition(s) for the event.

[0109] Embodiment A20- 3. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A20, for each resource identity, one bit is used to indicate if it is a triggering resource (e.g., whether the measurement quantity associated to the beam in the LTM candidate cell fulfils the event condition(s)).

[0110] Measurement Quantity Values

[0111] Embodiment A21. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A20, the measurement quantity value is an absolute measurement quantity value in a specified value range in units of dBm and encoded with a specific number of bits.

[0112] Embodiment A22. In particular, when operative with one or more of embodiments A1-A20, the measurement quantity value is a relative measurement quantity value in a specified value range in units of dBm and encoded with a specific number of bits. The absolute reference value for the relative measurement quantity value can be one ofA first absolute measurement quantity value:In one alternative, the first absolute measurement value may be the strongest measurement quantity value of the report.In one alternative, for LTM3, the first absolute measurement quantity value is that of the triggering serving cell resource or the triggering LTM Candidate cell resource.In one alternative, the first absolute measurement value may be the strongest measurement quantity value of the given LTM candidate cell.An absolute threshold:In one alternative, for LTM2 and LTM4, the threshold is the threshold for triggering an event instance that indicated by an event identifier of the report.In one alternative, for LTM5,A first threshold is used as absolute reference value for relative measurement quantity values of serving cell resources. The first threshold is given by the threshold for serving cell resources of the LTM5 event instance indicated by an event identifier of the report.A second threshold is used as absolute reference value for relative measurement quantity values of LTM Candidate resources. The second threshold is given by the threshold for LTM Candidate cell resources of the LTM5 event instance indicated by an event identifier of the report.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01In one alternative the first absolute threshold is based on a previously assigned parameter (e.g., rsrp-ThresholdSSB).

[0113] Embodiment A23. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4, the measurement report includes a list of LTM-Candidateld and, for each LTM-Candidateld, a list of SSB-Index. The measurement quantity value of the first SSB-Index of each LTM-Candidateld is an absolute measurement quantity value and the reference value for all other measurement quantity values reported for other SSB-Indexes of the LTM-Candidateld.

[0114] Embodiment A24. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4, the measurement report includes a list of SSB indices and the LTM candidate cell IDs to which a certain SSB belongs. The measurement quantity value of the first SSB-Index (associated to an LTM-Candidateld) is an absolute measurement quantity value and the reference value for all the other measurement quantity values in the same measurement report carried in MAC CE.

[0115] Embodiment A25. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4, the measurement report includes a list of SSB resource identifiers. The measurement quantity value of the first SSB-resource identifier is an absolute measurement quantity value and the reference value for all the other measurement quantity values in the MAC CE report.

[0116] Embodiment A26. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4, the measurement report includes a list of LTM-Candidateld and, for each LTM-Candidateld, a list of CSLRS-ResourceSetld and for each CSLRS-ResourceSetld a list of CSLRS-Resources. The measurement quantity value of the first CSLRS-Resources of each CSLRS-ResourceSetld or each LTM-Candidateld is an absolute measurement quantity value and the reference value for all other measurement quantity values reported for other CSLRS-Resources of CSLRS- ResourceSetld or the LTM-Candidateld.

[0117] Embodiment A27. In particular, when operative with embodiments Al and A4, the measurement report includes a list of LTM-Candidateld and, for each LTM-Candidateld, a list of CSLRS-ResourceSetld and for each CSLRS-ResourceSetld a list of CSLRS-Resources. The measurement quantity value of the first CSLRS-Resources in any of the CSLRS-ResourceSetld or LTM-Candidateld is an absolute measurement quantity value and the reference value for all other measurement quantity values reported in the same measurement report.ExamplesAn absolute Ll-RSRP value for a serving cell SSB is encoded with 7 bits in a value range from -140 to -44 dBm and a resolution of IdBm.An event identifier of the report points to an instance of an LTM4 event type configured with threshold -70dBm for Ll-RSRP of LTM Candidate cell resources. This threshold is the absolute reference value for the triggering measurement quantity value in the report, which is reported with 4 bits and value range 0 to 15 dBm and resolution IdBm, relative the absolute reference.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01An event identifier of the report points to an instance of an LTM3 event type. The triggering measurement quantity value of a first cell (serving cell) resource is reported as an absolute value with 7 bits in a value range from -140 to -44 dBm and a resolution of IdBm. The triggering measurement quantity value of a second cell (candidate LTM cell) resource is reported as a relative value with 4 bits in a value range from 0 to 15 dBm and a resolution of IdBm.

[0118] Based on the various embodiments described above, a method can be implemented between a network node (e.g., gNB) and a terminal device (e.g., UE) to configure the UE to measure resources and configure the UE to report on the measurements performed on the resources. In some embodiments, the configuration of the UE can be achieved by operative step 2 and the measurements reported by the UE in a measurement report transmitted to gNB in operative step 5 as shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, other operatives procedures can be implemented between the gNb and the UE.

[0119] FIG. 2A illustrates an example method performed by a UE for configuring at least one mobility procedure (e.g., LTM) candidate for performing cell switch for a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the particular instance, the technique is applicable with 5G wireless communication between a base station (e.g., gNB) and a terminal device (e.g., UE). FIG. 2A illustrates an example method 200 for configuring at least one mobility procedure (e.g., LTM) candidate configuration for performing cell switch.

[0120] At operation 201, the UE receives, from a network node (e.g., gNB), a resource configuration identifying at least one LI resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one mobility procedure (MP) reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition. At operation 202, the UE measures the at least one LI resource. At operation 203, the UE generates a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more LI resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report includes conditions related to the one or more LI resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition. At operation 204, the UE transmits the report (or in some instances, reports) to the network node. The report(s) having various formatting and content configured by the reporting configuration.

[0121] In some embodiments the report is a LTM CSI report encoded as a MAC CE with fields with event identifier(s) and resource identifier(s). The report format may also be based on one of the report formats illustrated in FIG. 3 - FIG.12. Furthermore, as shown in optional operation 205, the UE and the network node can perform the cell switch based on the report(s).

[0122] FIG. 2B illustrates an example method performed by a network node for configuring at least one MP (e.g., LTM) candidate for performing cell switch of a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the particular instance, the technique isAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 applicable with 5G wireless communication between a base station (e.g., gNB) and a terminal device (e.g., UE). FIG. 2B illustrates an example method 210 performed by the network node for configuring at least one MP (e.g., LTM) candidate for performing cell switch of a UE.

[0123] At operation 211, the network node transmits to the UE a resource configuration identifying at least one LI resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one MP reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition. At operation 212, the UE, based on the resource configuration measures the at least one LI resource, generates a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more LI resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report includes conditions related to the one or more 11 resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition. At operation 213 the network node receives the report from the UE. The report having various formatting and content configured by the reporting configuration.

[0124] In some embodiments the report is a LTM CSI report encoded as a MAC CE with fields with event identifiers and resource identifiers. The report format may also be based on one of the report formats illustrated in FIG. 3 - FIG.12. Furthermore, as shown in optional operation 214, the network node and the UE can perform the cell switch based on the report.

[0125] MAC CE Implementations

[0126] Various MAC CE formats are available for the embodiments A1-A27 described above. Some of those embodiments are illustrated in FIG. 3 - FIG.12 and described below. However, MAC CE formats that can be used for reporting are not limited to the ones illustrated. Other MAC CE formats can be used as well. Accordingly, below are some descriptive list of possible MAC formats. The various formats are shown in octet (Oct) length with R indicating reserved or unused bits.

[0127] FIG. 3 illustrates a MAC CE format 300 (Format 1) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0128] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report

[0129] Lj: Corresponds to the i-th LTM candidate ID. If the field is set to 1 it means that the i-th LTM candidate ID is part of the report.

[0130] Mij: Corresponds to the i-th LTM candidate ID and the j-th number of SSBs of the i- th LTM candidate ID. If the field is set to 1 it means that the j-th number of SSBs of the i-th LTM candidate ID is part of the report.

[0131] RF IDij: Corresponds to the i-th reference signal (SSB or CSLRS) of the j-th LTM candidate ID.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0132] RSRP valuei : Correspond to the RSRP value measured on the i-th reference signal of the j-th LTM candidate ID.

[0133] F : If the value is set to 1 this means that the RF IDij is the measured reference signal which has fulfilled the event criteria.

[0134] FIG. 4 illustrates a MAC CE format 400 (Format 2) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0135] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report

[0136] Li: Corresponds to the i-th LTM candidate ID. If the field is set to 1 it means that the i-th LTM candidate ID is part of the report.

[0137] Ni: Indicated the number of reference signals which are reported of the i-th LTM candidate ID indicated by the field Lj. The i-th LTM candidate ID is considered in the order of appearance (from right to left) of the field Ni.

[0138] RF IDij: Corresponds to the i-th LTM candidate ID and j-th reference signal (SSB or CSLRS) according to the fields Li and Ni, respectively.

[0139] RSRP valuer;: Correspond to the RSRP value measured on the i-th reference signal of the j-th LTM candidate ID.

[0140] F: If the value is set to 1 this means that the RF IDij is the measured reference signal which has fulfilled the event criteria.

[0141] FIG. 5A illustrates a MAC CE format 500 (Format 3a) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0142] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report

[0143] SSBRIi: Corresponds to the i-th SSRBI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration.In one alternative, SSBRI is replaced by CRI for the case that the event is defined for CSLRS, where CSI is Channel State Information, RS is Reference Signal, and CRI is CSLRS Resource Indicator.

[0144] RSRP valuei: Correspond to the measured RSRP value of the i-th SSRBI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration.

[0145] F : If the value is set to 1 this means that the SSB or CSLRS of the LTM candidate configuration corresponding to the i-th SSRBI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration has triggered the report.

[0146] FIG. 5B illustrates a MAC CE format 510 (Format 3b) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0147] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the reportAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0148] Ft: If the value is set to 1 this means that the i-th SSBRI in the report is the measured SSB which has fulfilled the event criteria.

[0149] SSBRIi: Corresponds to the i-th SSBRI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration. In one alternative, SSBRI is replaced by CRI for the case that the event is defined for CSI- RS.

[0150] RSRPi: Correspond to the measured RSRP value of the i-th SSBRI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration.

[0151] FIG. 6 illustrates a MAC CE format 600 (Format 4) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0152] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report

[0153] SSBRIi: Corresponds to the i-th SSRBI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration. In this case, the SSBRI is truncated to maximum 128 value (max 16 SSBs for each LTM candidate cell).In one alternative, SSBRI is replaced by CRI for the case that the event is defined for CSI-RS.

[0154] RSRP valuei: Correspond to the measured RSRP value of the i-th SSRBI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration.

[0155] F : If the value is set to 1 this means that the SSB or CSLRS of the LTM candidate configuration corresponding to the i-th SSRBI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration has triggered the report.

[0156] FIG. 7 illustrates a MAC CE format 700 (Format 5) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0157] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report (3 bits for 8 events). It can also be replaced by the reportConfigID, taking up to 8 bits for 256 LTM reporting configurations.

[0158] SSB ID_x: Corresponds to the SSB ID of a given LTM candidate cell ID, currently 64 SSBs can be configured per LTM cell (6 bits for 64 SSBs).In one alternative, SSB ID is replaced by CSLRS Resource Set ID and CSLRS Resource Id for the case that the event is defined for CSLRS.

[0159] ry bit: Corresponds to whether the measurement for the SSB index in the LTM candidate cell is associated to the report-on-leave or not. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0160] Alternatively, the report-on-leave flag can also be configured in the event configuration and signaled in the report per event ID. In that case, any reserved bit in the first octet can be used to indicate report-on-leave.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0161] S : Indicates that whether the given measurement is related to the UE’s serving cell. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0162] LTM Cell ID_y: Corresponds to the LTM Candidate Cell ID, currently 8 LTM cells can be configured per UE (3 bits for 8 LTM cells).

[0163] RSRP value: Corresponds to the RSRP value measured for the given SSB of the LTM candidate ID. The best RSRP value takes the 7 bits (like in UCI reporting). The remaining RSRP values are differential RSRPs related to the best RSRP and take 4 bits in the report.

[0164] F: Indicates that whether the given RSRP / differential RSRP measurement fulfills the event criteria. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0165] FIG. 8 illustrates a MAC CE format 800 (Format 6) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0166] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report (3 bits for 8 events). It can also be replaced by the reportConfigID, taking up to 8 bits for 256 LTM reporting configurations.

[0167] SSBRIi: Corresponds to the i-th SSBRI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration. With 7-bits, up to 128 SSBRIs can be configured in the LTM CSI resource configuration (16 SSBs per LTM candidate cell). It can also be a CSLRS resource identifier for the same LTM candidate cell, according to the received resource configuration.In one alternative, SSBRI is replaced by CRI for the case that the event is defined for CSLRS.

[0168] S : Indicates that whether the given measurement is related to the UE’s serving cell. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0169] RSRP value: Corresponds to the RSRP value measured for the given SSBRI according to received LTM CSI resource configuration. The best RSRP value takes the 7 bits (like in UCI reporting). The remaining RSRP values are differential RSRPs related to the best RSRP and take 4 bits in the report.

[0170] F : Indicates that whether the given RSRP / differential RSRP measurement fulfills the event criteria. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0171] ri bit: Corresponds to whether the measurement for the given SSBRI. according to received LTM CSI resource configuration, is associated to the report-on-leave or not. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0172] Alternatively, the report-on-leave flag can also be configured in the event configuration and signaled in the report per event ID. In that case, any reserved bit in the first octet can be used to indicate report-on-leave.

[0173] FIG. 9 illustrates a MAC CE format 900 (Format 7) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0174] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report (3 bits for 8 events). It can also be replaced by the reportConfigID, taking up to 8 bits for 256 LTM reporting configurations.

[0175] SSBRIi: Corresponds to the i-th SSBRI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration. With 6-bits, up to 64 SSBRIs can be configured in the LTM CSI resource configuration (8 SSBs per LTM candidate cell). It can also be a CSLRS resource identifier for the same LTM candidate cell, according to the received resource configuration.In one alternative, SSBRI is replaced by CRI for the case that the event is defined for CSLRS.

[0176] S : Indicates that whether the given measurement is related to the UE’s serving cell. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0177] ri bit: Corresponds to whether the measurement for the given SSBRI. according to received LTM CSI resource configuration, is associated to the report-on-leave or not. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0178] Alternatively, the report-on-leave flag can also be configured in the event configuration and signaled in the report per event ID. In that case, any reserved bit in the first octet can be used to indicate report-on-leave.

[0179] RSRP value: Corresponds to the RSRP value measured for the given SSBRI according to received LTM CSI resource configuration. The best RSRP value takes the 7 bits (like in UCI reporting). The remaining RSRP values are differential RSRPs related to the best RSRP and take 4 bits in the report.

[0180] F : Indicates that whether the given RSRP / differential RSRP measurement fulfills the event criteria. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0181] FIG. 10 illustrates a MAC CE format 1000 (Format 8a) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0182] This MAC CE report format assumes that only up to 4 LTM candidate cells are configured, with each LTM candidate cell having only up to 4 SSBs in the measurement configuration.

[0183] FIG. 11 illustrates a MAC CE format 1100 (Format 8b) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.

[0184] Event ID: The event ID which triggered the report (3 bits for 8 events). It can also be replaced by the reportConfigID, taking up to 8 bits for 256 LTM reporting configurations.

[0185] bO bl: Indicate how many SSBRIs are reported ahead which belong to the same LTM candidate cell, so that the network reads MAC CE accordingly (2 bits to indicate up to 4 beams per LTM candidate cell). For example, bit combination “1 0” may indicate that the next 3 SSBRIs and their respective RSRP measurements correspond to the same LTM candidate cell.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0186] SSBRIi: Corresponds to the i-th SSBRI index according to received LTM CSI resource configuration for the LTM candidate cell which is being reported. With 4-bits, up to 16 SSBRIs can be configured in the LTM CSI resource configuration (4 SSBs per LTM candidate cell). It can also be a CSLRS resource identifier for the same LTM candidate cell, according to the received resource configuration.In one alternative, SSBRI is replaced by CRI for the case that the event is defined for CSLRS.

[0187] RSRP value: Corresponds to the RSRP value measured for the given SSBRI. The best RSRP value takes the 7 bits (like in UCI reporting). The remaining RSRP values in the same LTM cell (as indicated by bO bl) are differential RSRPs related to the best RSRP, and take 4 bits.

[0188] F : If the value is set to 1 this means that the best SSBRI (in the given LTM candidate cell) fulfills the event criteria.

[0189] S: Indicates that whether the SSBRI with the best RSRP (and the remaining SSBRIs in the same LTM candidate cell) corresponds to the serving cell.

[0190] ri bit: Corresponds to whether the measurement for the ith LTM candidate cell in the report is associated to the report-on-leave or not. Otherwise, the bit is a reserved bit.

[0191] FIG. 12 illustrates a MAC CE format 1200 (Format 9) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The following explanations apply.The is the number of reported cells (LTM Candidate ID or serving cell) is configured by the network, denote it by L.The number of reported SSBs per cell is configured by the network, denote it by M. Event ID is in the range 1-8 (or 0-7), encoded with 3 bitsP indicates if the event leave conditions are met (P=0) or if the event entry conditions are met (P=l)LTM Candidate ID is in the range 1-8, encoded with 3 bits.SSB ID short: SSB id in the range 1-8, encoded with 3 bits. Note that this short format assumes that at most 8 SSBs can be configured per LTM Candidate. It is therefore suitable for FR1 but not FR2.In one alternative, SSB ID short is replaced by CSLResource Set ID and CSL Resource ID, for the case that the event is defined for CSLRS.RSRP: Absolute Ll-RSRP value, 7 bits.Differential RSRP: Relative / differential RSRP value, 4 bits.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0192] In this format, it is assumed that the first reported resource (SSB) of the first reported cell is the triggering resource. This format occupies 1+L*(1+M) octets. For example, with L=4, M=4 it is 17 octets or 136 bits.

[0193] FIG. 13 shows an example of a communication system 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. The various embodiments described above may be practiced in communication system 1300. The UE 1312 (1312A-1312D) can be the above described UE and the network node 1310 (131OA-131OB) of access network 1304 can be the above described network node.

[0194] In the example, the communication system 1300 includes a telecommunications network 1302 that includes an access network 1304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1306, which includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308). The access network 1304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1310A and 1310B (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 1310), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 1302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 1302 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 1302, including one or more of the network nodes 1310 and / or core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308).

[0195] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU- CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or moreAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, and 1312d (which may be collectively referred to as UEs 1312) to the core network 1306 over one or more wireless connections.

[0196] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1300 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1300 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0197] The UEs 1312 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1310 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1312 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 1302 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network 1302.

[0198] In the depicted example, the core network 1306 connects the network nodes 1310 to one or more host computing systems (which also may be referred to as “nodes”), such as host 1316. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1306 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1308). Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription IdentifierAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0199] The host 1316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1304 and / or the telecommunications network 1302, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1316 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0200] As a whole, the communication system 1300 of FIG. 13 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0201] In some examples, the telecommunications network 1302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 1302. For example, the telecommunications network 1302 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0202] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 1312 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1304. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi- standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio)Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0203] In the example, the hub 1314 communicates with the access network 1304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1312C and / or UE 1312D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1310B). In some examples, the hub 1314 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1314 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1314. As another example, the hub 1314 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0204] The hub 1314 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1310B. The hub 1314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1314 and UEs (e.g., UE 1312C and / or UE 1312D), and between the hub 1314 and the core network 1306. In other examples, the hub 1314 is connected to the core network 1306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1304 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1310 while still connected via the hub 1314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1314 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1310B. In other embodiments, the hub 1314 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1310B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0205] FIG. 14 shows a UE 1400 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1400 can be the above described UE to practice the various techniques described above, including theAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 method of FIG. 2A. The UE 1400 presents additional details of some embodiments of one or more of the UEs 1312 of FIG. 13. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0206] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0207] The UE 1400 includes processing circuitry 1402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1404 to an input / output interface 1406, a power source 1408, a memory 1410, a communication interface 1412, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 14. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0208] The processing circuitry 1402 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1410. The processing circuitry 1402 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computerAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0209] In the example, the input / output interface 1406 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1400. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence- sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence- sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0210] In some embodiments, the power source 1408 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1408 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1400 to which power is supplied.

[0211] The memory 1410 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1410 includes one or more programs 1414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1416. The memory 1410 may store, for use by the UE 1400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems, including program instructions for performing the method 200 of FIG. 2A. The program instructions canAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 be stored in memory 1410. The program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and executed by the processing circuitry 1402.

[0212] The memory 1410 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1410 may allow the UE 1400 to access instructions, programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0213] The processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1412. The communication interface 1412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1422. The communication interface 1412 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1418 and / or a receiver 1420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1418 and receiver 1420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0214] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1412 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division MultipleAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0215] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1412, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0216] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0217] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1400 shown in FIG. 14.

[0218] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of suchAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0219] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0220] FIG. 15 shows a network node 1500 in accordance with some embodiments. The network node 1500 can be the above described network node to practice the various techniques described above, including the method of FIG. 2B.As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0221] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0222] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi- standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllersAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0223] The network node 1500 includes a processing circuitry 1502, a memory 1504, a communication interface 1506, and a power source 1508. The network node 1500 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1500 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1500, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1500.

[0224] The processing circuitry 1502 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory 1504, to provide network node 1500 functionality.

[0225] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1512 and the baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0226] The memory 1504 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1502. The memory 1504 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1502 and utilized by the network node 1500. The memory 1504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1502 and memory 1504 are integrated. The memory 1504 may include program instructions for performing the method 210 of FIG. 2B. The program instructions can be stored in memory 1504. The program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and executed by the processing circuitry 1502.

[0227] The communication interface 1506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UE(s), other network node(s), and / or any other network equipment. As illustrated, the communication interface 1506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1510. Radio front-end circuitry 1518 comprises filters 1520 and amplifiers 1522. The radio front-end circuitry 1518 may be connected to an antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front-end circuitry 1518 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1520 and / or amplifiers 1522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0228] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1518, instead, the processing circuitry 1502 includes radio front-endAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1512 is part of the communication interface 1506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1506 includes one or more port(s) / terminal(s) 1516, the radio front-end circuitry 1518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0229] The antenna 1510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1510 is separate from the network node 1500 and connectable to the network node 1500 through an interface (e.g., port(s) / terminal(s) 1516).

[0230] The antenna 1510, communication interface 1506, and / or the processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1500. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1510, the communication interface 1506, and / or the processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1500. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0231] The power source 1508 provides power to the various components of network node 1500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1508. As a further example, the power source 1508 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0232] Embodiments of the network node 1500 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 15 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1500 may include userAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1500 and to allow output of information from the network node 1500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1500. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 13, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 1518 and the RF transceiver circuitry 1512 may be omitted.

[0233] FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1600 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1600 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1600 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0234] Applications 1602 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0235] Hardware 1604 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate a virtualization layer 1606 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM); and which may refer to one or multiple virtualization layers), provide VM 1608 A and VM 1608B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs 1608), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs 1608.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01

[0236] The VMs 1608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by the virtualization layer 1606 (or a corresponding virtualization layer if there is more than one). Different instances of a virtual appliance 1602 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 1608, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0237] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 1608 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1608, and that part of hardware 1604 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs 1608 on top of the hardware 1604 and corresponds to one of the applications 1602.

[0238] Hardware 1604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1604 may implement some functions via virtualization.Alternatively, hardware 1604 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1602. In some embodiments, hardware 1604 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0239] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or convertedAtty. Docket No.: P112176WO01 information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0240] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO01CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method (200) at a User Equipment, UE, for configuring at least one Mobility Procedure, MP, candidate for performing cell switch, the method comprising: receiving (201), from a network node, a resource configuration identifying at least one Layer 1, LI, resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one MP reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition; measuring (202) the at least one LI resource; generating (203) a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more LI resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report including conditions related to the one or more LI resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition; and transmitting (204) the report to the network node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the MP is a Lower layer Triggered Mobility, LTM, procedure and the MP candidate is an LTM candidate.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein the report is a Channel State Information, CSI, report encoded as a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, with fields including an event identifier to identify the event and resource identifiers to identify resources.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 further including performing (205) the cell switch based on the report.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the report comprises a resource identifier for the respective event triggering condition.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the report comprises an indication on whether a measurement result included in the report satisfies a corresponding event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein a number of resource identifiers for the at least one event triggering condition depends on an event type.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO018. The method according to claim 7, wherein one or more event triggering resource identifier is used for a serving cell, or wherein one or more event triggering resource identifier is used for a candidate cell, or wherein one or more event triggering resource identifier is used for the serving cell and the candidate cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein a number of additional resource identifiers for candidate cell resources and corresponding measurement quantity values for the report are either decided by the UE or configured by the network node.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein an event identifier is expressed as:LTM-CSI-ReportConfigID with one-to-one mapping between an event instance and the LTM-CSI-ReportConfigID; an integer which covers a maximum number of specified events; a bit map where a set bit identifies that a corresponding i-th position of the bit refers to an identity of the event; or one or mor bit, which decimal value translate as an event identifier.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein a single event triggering resource identifier for a candidate cell Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel, SS / PBCH or SSB, is expressed as SSB Resource Indicator, SSBRI, or LTM-Candidateld and SSB-Index.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein a single event triggering resource identifier for a candidate cell Channel State Information-Reference Signal, CSI-RS, resource is expressed as a CSI-RS Indicator, CRI, or as a LTM-CandidatelD and CSI-RS- ResourcelD.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein each candidate cell Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel, SS / PBCH or SSB, is expressed as SSB Resource Indicator, SSBRI, and is encoded with a fixed number of bits at specified locations in the MAC CE, where the fixed number of bits is determined by a number of SSBs.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein for measurement quantity values, the measurement quantity values are absolute values, or a first measurement quantity is an absolute value and remaining quantity values are differential values from the absolute value.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO0115. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein the format of the report comprises an Event Identity, ID; a Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel, SS / PBCH or SSB, is expressed as SSB Resource Indicator, SSBRI, which corresponds to an i-th SSRBI index according to the resource configuration; Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, value, which corresponds to measured RSRP value of the i-th SSRBI index according to the resource configuration; and a F bit indicator to indicate that the resource configuration triggered the report.

16. A method (210) at a network node for configuring at least one Mobility Procedure, MP, candidate for performing cell switch of a User Equipment, UE, the method comprising: transmitting (211) to the UE a resource configuration identifying at least one Layer 1, LI, resource to measure and a reporting configuration identifying at least one MP reporting configuration associated with at least one event triggering condition, wherein the UE, based on the resource configuration, measures (212) the at least one LI resource, generates a report based on the at least one MP reporting configuration when one or more LI resource measurement satisfies a respective event triggering condition of the at least one event triggering condition, wherein a format for the report including conditions related to the one or more LI resource measurement and an event that triggered the respective event triggering condition; and receiving (213) the report from the UE.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the MP is a Lower layer Triggered Mobility, LTM, procedure and the MP candidate is an LTM candidate.

18. The method according to any one of claims 16-17, wherein the report is a Channel State Information, CSI, report encoded as a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, with fields including an event identifier to identify the event and resource identifiers to identify resources.

19. A User Equipment, UE, (102, 1312, 1400) to configure at least one Mobility Procedure, MP, candidate for performing cell switch according to any one of the methods (200) of claim 1- 15.

20. A network node (101, 1310, 1500) to configure at least one Mobility Procedure, MP, candidate for performing cell switch of a User Equipment, UE, according to any one of the methods (210) of claims 16-18.Atty. Docket No.: P112176WO0121. A computer program comprising instructions (1410) which, when executed on at least one processor (1402), cause a User Equipment, UE, for configuring at least one Mobility Procedure, MP, candidate for performing cell switch of a User Equipment, UE, according to any one of the methods (200) of claims 1-14.

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