First network node, second network node, wireless device, and methods performed thereby, for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device

Abstract

A method, performed by a first network node (111). The method is for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device (130). The first network node (111) operates in a wireless communications network (100). The first network node (111) obtains (203) first information indicating a position of a wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100). The first network node (111) serves the wireless device (130). The first network node (111) sends (204) a first indication to a second network node (112) operating in the wireless communications network (100). The second network node (112) is a target network node, in a handover procedure, to serve the wireless device (130). The first indication indicates the obtained first information.

Description

[0001] FIRST NETWORK NODE, SECOND NETWORK NODE, WIRELESS DEVICE, AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY, FOR HANDLING INFORMATION INDICATING A POSITION OF A WIRELESS DEVICE

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to a first network node and methods performed thereby for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device. The present disclosure also relates generally to a second network node, and methods performed thereby for handling the information indicating the position of the wireless device. The present disclosure also relates generally to a wireless device, and methods performed thereby for handling the information indicating the position of the wireless device.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Wireless devices within a wireless communications network may be e.g., User Equipments (UEs), stations (STAs), mobile terminals, wireless terminals, terminals, and / or Mobile Stations (MS). Wireless devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellular communications network or wireless communication network, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system, cellular system, or cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone and / or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the wireless communications network. Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablets with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.

[0006] The wireless communications network may cover a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by a network node, which may be an access node such as a radio network node, radio node or a base station, e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., gNB, evolved Node B (“eNB”), “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, Transmission Point (TP), or BTS (Base Transceiver Station), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g., Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations, Home Base Stations, pico base stations, etc... , based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell may be understood as the geographical area where radio coverage may be provided by the base station or radio node at a base station site, or radio node site, respectively. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the terminals within range of the base stations. The wireless communications network may also be a non-cellular system, comprising network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices, with serving beams. In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs, may be directly connected to one or more core networks. In the context of this disclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) may be used for the transmission path from the base station to the wireless device. The expression Uplink (UL) may be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e. , from the wireless device to the base station.

[0007] The standardization organization 3GPP is currently in the process of specifying a New Radio Interface called NR or 5G-UTRA, as well as a Fifth Generation (5G) Packet Core Network (CN), which may be referred to as Next Generation (NG) Core Network, abbreviated as NG-CN, NGC, 5G CN or 5G Core (5GC). NG may be understood to refer to the interface / reference point between the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the CN in 5G / NR. In a 5G System (5GS), a radio base station in NR may be referred to as a gNB or 5G Node B. An NR UE may be referred to as an nUE.

[0008] During mobility procedures in a wireless communications network, communications may experience signal drop or interruption.

[0009] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, according to the following description.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a wireless communications network, according to embodiments herein.

[0012] Figure 2 is a flowchart depicting a method in a first network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0013] Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting a method in a second network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0014] Figure 4 is a flowchart depicting a method in a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

[0015] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram depicting a non-limiting example of aspects of a method, according to embodiments herein.

[0016] Figure 6 is a signalling diagram depicting a non-limiting example of a method, according to embodiments herein. Figure 7 is a signalling diagram depicting a non-limiting example of a method, according to embodiments herein.

[0017] Figure 8 is a signalling diagram depicting a non-limiting example of a method, according to embodiments herein.

[0018] Figure 9 is a signalling diagram depicting a non-limiting example of a method, according to embodiments herein.

[0019] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a first network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0020] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a second network node, according to embodiments herein.

[0021] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiments of a wireless device, according to embodiments herein.

[0022] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a communication system 1300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a UE 1400 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0024] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a network node 1500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0025] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a virtualization environment 1600 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0026] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments herein may be generally understood relate to UE positioning for handover optimization and improved beam management.

[0028] The enhancement to the Handover (HO) Request protocol (3GPP 38.423) described herein may be understood to integrate real-time User Equipment (UE) position data directly into handover signaling, empowering both terrestrial and non-terrestrial nodes to achieve precise, tactical alignment of beams. This approach may be understood to redefine the existing handover process by embedding real-time UE coordinates in the HO Request, allowing target nodes, whether satellite or ground-based, to efficiently focus their beams on the exact location of the incoming UE. This enhancement may be understood to minimize beam drift, optimize resource allocation, and maintain stable, high-certainty connections during the transition of the UE between cells.

[0029] Operationally, the target node may gain access to continuous positioning data, crucial for dynamic tracking and immediate beam lock-on as the UE may cross into its field. Embodiments herein may be understood to leverage existing NGAP Location Reporting mechanisms to synchronize positional updates with the handover, extending the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol to allow real-time data relay during UE transitions. This real-time adaptation may further augment beam resource management and reduce latency by maintaining a constant connection vector to the UE.

[0030] In effect, this approach may enable a fully adaptive handover model, wherein any gNB, terrestrial or non-terrestrial, may dynamically align its beam to match the trajectory of the UE. By pre-configuring and auto-adjusting resources as the UE may enter the range of the target node, embodiments herein may ensure uninterrupted, precise connectivity and optimize network efficiency across all environments.

[0031] Some of the embodiments contemplated will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, the embodiments herein will be illustrated in more detail by a number of exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

[0032] Figure 1 depicts two non-limiting examples, in panel a) and panel b), respectively, of a wireless network or wireless communications network 100, sometimes also referred to as a wireless communications system, cellular radio system, or cellular network, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. The wireless communications network 100 may be a 5G system, 5G network, or Next Gen System. In other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may be a newer system with similar functionality, such as a Sixth Generation (6G) network. In other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may, e.g., alternatively or additionally, support other technologies such as, for example, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g. LTE-M, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE HalfDuplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), LTE operating in an unlicensed band, such as LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced eLAA (eLAA), further enhanced LAA (feLAA) and / or MulteFire. Yet in other examples, the wireless communications network 100 may further support other technologies such as, for example Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network, GSM / Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network, network comprising any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as e.g. Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RAT base stations etc., any 6rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, WiFi networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or any cellular network or system. The wireless communications network 100 may support Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), Internet of Things (loT) and / or NarrowBand loT (NB-loT). Thus, although terminology from 5G / NR and LTE may be used in this disclosure to exemplify embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system.

[0033] The wireless communications network 100 may comprise a plurality of network nodes, whereof a first network node 111 and a second network node 112 are depicted in the nonlimiting example of Figure 1. Any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be a radio network node. That is, a transmission point such as a radio base station, for example a gNB, or any other network node with similar features capable of serving a user equipment, such as a wireless device or a machine type communication device, in the wireless communications network 100. In some examples, such as that depicted in Figure 1 b for the first network node 111 , any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be a distributed node, and may partially perform its functions in collaboration with a virtual node 114 in a cloud 115. Any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be directly connected to one or more core networks, e.g., to one or more network nodes in the one or more core networks.

[0034] The first network node 111 may be a source network node. In some examples, the second network node 112 may be a target network node. In some examples, the second network node 112 may be a neighbor network node of the first network node 111.

[0035] The wireless communications network 100 may cover a geographical area, which in some embodiments may be divided into cell areas or service areas, wherein each cell area or service area may be served by a radio network node, although, one radio network node may serve one or several cells. In some examples, any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may serve receiving nodes with one or more beams. In the non-limiting example of Figure 1 , the first network node 111 serves one or more first beams 121, 122, 123, depicted in Figure 1 as a first beam 121 , a second beam 122, and a third beam 123, and the second network node 112 serves one or more second beams 124, 125, 126, depicted in Figure 1 as a fourth beam 124, a fifth beam 125, and a sixth beam 126. It may be understood that this is for illustration purposes and non-limiting. Any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may serve more or fewer beams than those depicted in Figure 1. Instead of, or additionally to, beams, any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may serve or more cells. Any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may be of different classes, such as, e.g., macro base station, home base station or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. Any of the a first network node 111 and the second network node 112 may support one or several communication technologies, and its name may depend on the technology and terminology used.

[0036] A plurality of wireless devices may be located in the wireless communication network 100, whereof a wireless device 130, is depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 1 . The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be a wireless communication device such as a User Equipment (UE), e.g., 5G UE or nUE, which may also be known as e.g., mobile terminal, wireless terminal and / or mobile station, a mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless device 130 may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer- comprised, or a vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, goggles, a sensor, loT device, NB-loT device, device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a printer or a file storage device, modem, or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in a communications system. The wireless device 130 comprised in the wireless communications network 100 may be enabled to communicate wirelessly in the wireless communications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN, and possibly the one or more core networks, which may be comprised within the wireless communications network 100.

[0037] The first network node 111 , may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the second network node 112, over a first link 141 , e.g., a radio link or a wired link. The first network node 111 , may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the virtual network node 114 over a second link 142, e.g., a radio link or a wired link. The wireless device 130 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the first network node 111 , over a third link, e.g., a radio link, via any of the one or more first beams 121 , 122, 123 or one or more cells. The wireless device 130 may be configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 with the second network node 112, over a fourth link, e.g., a radio link, via any of the one or more second beams 124, 125, 126 or one or more cells.

[0038] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0039] In general, the usage of “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, “fifth” and / or “sixth” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities, and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify, unless otherwise noted, based on context.

[0040] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments.

[0041] More specifically, the following are embodiments related to first network node, such as the first network node 111, e.g., a first gNB, embodiments related to second network node, such as the second network node 112, e.g., a second gNB, and embodiments related to a wireless device, such as the wireless device 130, e.g., a 5G UE, nllE or a UE.

[0042] The first network node 111 embodiments relate to Figure 2, Figures 5-9, Figure 10, and Figures 13-16.

[0043] A method, performed by a first network node, such as the first network node 111, e.g., the first network node 111, is described herein. The method may be understood to be for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device, such as the wireless device 130. The first network node 111 may operate in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100.

[0044] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0045] - the wireless communications network 100 may be a terrestrial network,

[0046] - the wireless communications network 100 may be a non-terrestrial network.

[0047] The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. In some examples, Action 203 may be performed. In other examples, Action 203 and 204 may be performed. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first network node 111 is depicted in Figure 2. In Figure 2, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines. o Obtaining 203 first information. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the obtaining in this Action 203. The obtaining in this Action 202 may be, e.g., retrieving, fetching, receiving, or similar.

[0048] The first information may indicate a position of the wireless device 130 operating in the wireless communications network 100.

[0049] The first network node 111 may serve the wireless device 130.

[0050] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0051] - the first information may indicate the position of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0052] - the first information may indicate position coordinates of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0053] - the first may indicate a predicted position of the wireless device 130 based on historical data,

[0054] - the position of the wireless device 130 may be accurate to sub-meter level,

[0055] - the first information may comprise at least one of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data and multi-cell triangulation data,

[0056] - the first information may be obtained from one or more of the wireless device 130 and a positioning service,

[0057] - the first information may comprise measurement reports from the wireless device 130,

[0058] - the first indication may be obtained based on a threshold indicating a number of position changes above which the wireless device 130 may be configured to provide the first information. o Sending 204 a first indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 204.

[0059] The sending in this Action 204 may be to the second network node 112. The second network node 112 may operate in the wireless communications network 100.

[0060] The sending, e.g., transmitting, in this Action 204 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0061] The second network node 112 may be a target network node to serve the wireless device 130. The first indication may indicate the obtained first information

[0062] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0063] - the first indication may indicate the position of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0064] - the first indication may indicate position the coordinates of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0065] - the first indication may indicate the predicted position of the wireless device 130 based on historical data, - the sending 204 of the first indication may be via Next Generation Access Protocol (NGAP) signalling,

[0066] - the position of the wireless device 130 may be accurate to sub-meter level,

[0067] - the first information may comprise at least one of GNSS data and multi-cell triangulation data,

[0068] - the first indication may be one of a handover request and sent over a separately established e.g., positional or auxiliary, channel,

[0069] - the first information may be obtained from one or more of the wireless device 130 and the positioning service,

[0070] - the first information may comprise measurement reports from the wireless device 130,

[0071] - the first indication may be obtained based the threshold indicating the number of position changes above which the wireless device 130 may be configured to provide the first information.

[0072] In some embodiments, the method may comprise the following action: o Receiving 201 a request, e.g., a request for handover. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 201.

[0073] The receiving in this Action 201 may be, e.g., from the wireless device 130, e.g., via the third link.

[0074] The obtaining in Action 203 of the first information may be responsive to the received request for handover.

[0075] In some embodiments, the method may comprise one or more of the following two actions: o Receiving 205 a second indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 205.

[0076] The receiving in this Action 205 may be, e.g., from the second network node 112, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0077] The receiving in this Action 205 may be responsive to the sent first indication.

[0078] The second indication may indicate a status of a configuration of one or more beams used / to be used, after or during a mobility procedure, by the second network node 112 to communicate with the wireless device 130.

[0079] The mobility procedure may be a HO.

[0080] The second indication may be a handover request acknowledge. o Sending 206 a third indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 206.

[0081] The sending in this Action 206 may be to the wireless device 130. The sending, e.g., transmitting, in this Action 206 may be performed, e.g., via the third link.

[0082] The sending in this Action 206 may be responsive to the received second indication.

[0083] The third indication may indicate the status of the configuration of the one or more beams used / to be used by the second network node 112 to communicate with the wireless device 130.

[0084] In some embodiments, the method may comprise one or more of the following five actions: o Sending 202 a previous indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 202.

[0085] The sending in this Action 202 may be to at least one of the wireless device 130 and a positioning service.

[0086] The sending, e.g., transmitting, in this Action 206 may be performed, e.g., via the third link.

[0087] The sending in this Action 202 may be responsive to the received request for handover.

[0088] The previous indication may request the first information. The obtaining of the first information may be responsive to the sent previous indication. o Receiving 207 updated first information. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 207.

[0089] The receiving in this Action 207 may be, e.g., from at least one of the wireless device 130 and the positioning service.

[0090] The receiving in this Action 207 may be e.g., periodically.

[0091] The updated first information may indicate an updated position of the wireless device 130. o Sending 208 a fourth indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 208.

[0092] The sending in this Action 208 may be to the second network node 112.

[0093] The sending, e.g., transmitting, in this Action 208 may be performed, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0094] The sending in this Action 208 may be e.g., periodically.

[0095] The fourth indication may indicate the updated first information. The fourth indication may be considered as a new first indication. o Receiving 209 a fifth indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 209.

[0096] The receiving in this Action 209 may be, e.g., from the second network node 112, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0097] The receiving in this Action 209 may be e.g., via an RRC message.

[0098] The receiving in this Action 209 may be e.g., periodically.

[0099] The fifth indication may request updated first information. o Sending 210 a sixth indication. The first network node 111 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 210.

[0100] The sending in this Action 210 may be to the second network node 112, e.g., via the first link 141.

[0101] The sending in this Action 210 may be responsive to the received fifth indication.

[0102] The sending in this Action 210 may be e.g., via another RRC message.

[0103] The sixth indication may indicate the updated first information.

[0104] The sixth indication may be considered as a new first indication.

[0105] The first network node 111 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 10 or in Figure 15.

[0106] The second network node 112 embodiments relate to Figure 3, Figures 5-9, Figure 11, and Figures 13-16.

[0107] A method, performed by a network node, such as the second network node 112, e.g., the second network node 112, is described herein. The method may be understood to be for handling information indicating the position of the wireless device, such as the wireless device 130. The second network node 112 may operate in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100.

[0108] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0109] - the wireless communications network 100 may be the terrestrial network,

[0110] - the wireless communications network 100 may be the non-terrestrial network.

[0111] The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. In some examples, Action 301 may be performed. In other examples, Action 301 and Action 303 may be performed. In some examples Action 301 , Action 302 and Action 303 may be performed. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the second network node 112 is depicted in Figure 3. In Figure 3, optional actions in some embodiments may be represented with dashed lines.

[0112] The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some examples, the first network node 111 may be a source node and the second network node 112 may be a target node in a mobility procedure, e.g., HO, of the wireless device 130. o Receiving 301 the first indication. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 301.

[0113] The receiving in this Action 301 may be from the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.. The first network node 111 may operate in the wireless communications network 100.

[0114] The first indication may indicate the first information.

[0115] The first information may indicate the position of the wireless device 130 operating in the wireless communications network 100.

[0116] The wireless device 130 may be served by the first network node 111.

[0117] The second network node 112 may be a target network node to serve the wireless device 130.

[0118] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0119] - the first indication may indicate the position of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0120] - the first indication may indicate position the coordinates of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0121] - the first indication may indicate the predicted position of the wireless device 130 based on historical data,

[0122] - the receiving 301 of the first indication may be via Next Generation Access Protocol (NGAP) signalling,

[0123] - the position of the wireless device 130 may be accurate to sub-meter level,

[0124] - the first information may comprise at least one of GNSS data and multi-cell triangulation data,

[0125] - the first indication may be one of a handover request and sent over a separately established e.g., positional or auxiliary, channel,

[0126] - the first information may comprise measurement reports from the wireless device 130,

[0127] - the first indication may be obtained based the threshold indicating the number of position changes above which the wireless device 130 may be configured to provide the first information.

[0128] In some embodiments, the method may comprise one or more the following four actions: o Extracting 302 the first information from the received first indication. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the extracting in this Action 302. o Using 303 the extracted first information. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the using in this Action 303.

[0129] The using in this Action 303 of the extracted first information may be to perform a first action, The first action may be e.g., on one or more beams to communicate with the wireless device 130. The first action may comprise one or more of the following:

[0130] - aligning 303a the one or more beams to communicate with the wireless device 130,

[0131] - adjusting 303b the one or more beams to communicate with the wireless device 130,

[0132] - allocating 303c radio resources to the one or more beams. o Sending 304 the second indication. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 304.

[0133] The sending in this Action 304 may be to the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0134] The second indication may indicate the status of the configuration of the one or more beams used or to be used by the second network node 112 to communicate with the wireless device 130.

[0135] The second indication may be the handover request acknowledge. o Receiving 305 a fourth indication. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 305.

[0136] The receiving in this Action 305 may be, e.g., from the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0137] The fourth indication may indicate the updated first information.

[0138] The second network node 112 may repeat the extracting 302 and the using 303 based on the updated first information.

[0139] In some embodiments, the method may comprise one or more the following four actions: o Sending 306 the fifth indication. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 306.

[0140] The sending in this Action 304 may be to the wireless device 130 or the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0141] The sending in this Action 304 may be e.g., via an RRC message.

[0142] The sending in this Action 304 may be e.g., periodically.

[0143] The fifth indication may request updated first information. o Receiving 307 a sixth indication. The second network node 112 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 307.

[0144] The receiving in this Action 307 may be, e.g., from the wireless device 130 or the first network node 111 , e.g., via the first link 141.

[0145] The receiving in this Action 307 may be responsive to the sent fifth indication.

[0146] The receiving in this Action 307 may be e.g., via the another RRC message.

[0147] The sixth indication may indicate the updated first information. The second network node 112 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 11 or in Figure 15.

[0148] The wireless device 130 embodiments relate to Figure 4, Figures 5-9, Figure 12 and Figures 13-16.

[0149] A method, performed by a wireless device, such as the wireless device 130 is described herein. The method may be understood to be for handling information indicating the position of the wireless device, such as the wireless device 130. The wireless device 130 may be operating in a wireless communications network, such as the wireless communications network 100.

[0150] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0151] - the wireless communications network 100 may be the terrestrial network,

[0152] - the wireless communications network 100 may be the non-terrestrial network.

[0153] The method may comprise one or more of the following actions. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. In some examples, Action 403 may be performed. In some examples, Action 403 and Action 404 may be performed. In other examples, Action 404 may be performed. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the wireless device 130 is depicted in Figure 4. In Figure 4 optional actions may be represented with dashed lines.

[0154] The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some examples, the first network node 111 may be a source node and the second network node 112 may be a target node in a mobility procedure, e.g., HO, of the wireless device 130. o Sending 403 the first information. The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 403.

[0155] The sending may be, e.g., transmitting, and may be performed, e.g., via the second link.

[0156] The sending in this Action 402 may be to the first network node 111.

[0157] The first network node 111 may operate in the wireless communications network 100

[0158] The first information may indicate the position of the wireless device 130.

[0159] The wireless device 130 may be served by the first network node 111.

[0160] In some examples, one or more of the following may apply:

[0161] - the first information may indicate the position of the wireless device 130 in real time, - the first information may indicate position the coordinates of the wireless device 130 in real time,

[0162] - the first information may indicate the predicted position of the wireless device 130 based on historical data,

[0163] - the position of the wireless device 130 may be accurate to sub-meter level,

[0164] - the first information may comprise at least one of GNSS data and multi-cell triangulation data,

[0165] - the first information may comprise measurement reports from the wireless device 130,

[0166] - the first information may be sent based on the threshold indicating the number of position changes above which the wireless device 130 may be configured to provide the first information.

[0167] In some embodiments, the method may comprise one or more of the following two actions: o Sending 401 the request, e.g., the request for handover. The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 401.

[0168] The sending may be, e.g., transmitting, and may be performed, e.g., via the second link.

[0169] The sending in this Action 401 may be to the first network node 111.

[0170] The sending in Action 403 of the first information may be responsive to the sent handover request. o Receiving 402 the previous indication. The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 402.

[0171] The receiving may be performed, e.g., via the second link.

[0172] The receiving in this Action 402 may be from the first network node 111.

[0173] The receiving in this Action 402 may be responsive to the sent request for handover.

[0174] The previous indication may request the first information. The sending 403 of the first information may be responsive to the received previous indication.

[0175] In some embodiments, the method may comprise one or more of following actions: o Receiving 404 the third indication. The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the receiving in this Action 404.

[0176] The receiving in this Action 404 may be from one of the first network node 111 , e.g., via the second link, and the second network node 112.

[0177] The receiving in this Action 404 may be responsive to the sent first information or the sent request for handover.

[0178] The third indication may indicate the status of the configuration of the one or more beams used or to be used by the second network node 112 to communicate with the wireless device 130, e.g., during or after the mobility procedure. o Performing 405 a second action. The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the performing in this Action 405.

[0179] The performing in this Action 405 may be responsive to the received third indication.

[0180] The performing in this Action 405 may be based on the status of the configuration of the one or more beams.

[0181] The second action may be, e.g., beam locking, e.g., locking onto one of the one or more beams.

[0182] In some embodiments, the method may comprise following action: o Sending 406 the updated first information. The wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the sending in this Action 406.

[0183] The sending may be, e.g., transmitting, and may be performed, e.g., via the second link.

[0184] The sending in this Action 406 may be to the first network node 111.

[0185] The sending in this Action 406 may be e.g., periodically.

[0186] The updated first information may indicate the updated position of the wireless device 130.

[0187] The wireless device 130 may then repeat the receiving of the third indication based on the sent updated first information

[0188] The wireless device 130 may comprise an arrangement as shown in Figure 12 or in Figure 14.

[0189] Some embodiments herein will now be further described with some non-limiting examples, which may be combined with the embodiments just described.

[0190] In the following description, any reference to a / the UE, or simply “UE” may be understood to equally refer the wireless device 130; any reference to a / the source gNB and / or a / the source network node, and / or a / the “source RAN node”, and / or a / the “source node” may be understood to equally refer to the first network node 111 ; any reference to a / the target gNB, and / or a / the “target node” and / or a / the target network node, and / or a / the “target RAN node” and / or a / the “target RAN” may be understood to equally refer to the second network node 112; in some examples, the second network node 112 may be a neighbor node; any reference to a / the neighboring node may be understood to equally refer to the second network node 112.

[0191] General

[0192] The term “network” may be used in the description of embodiments herein to refer to a network node, which may typically be a gNB, e.g., in an NR based Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), or an eNB, e.g., in an LTE based NTN, such as an loT NTN, but which may also be a base station or an access point in another type of network based on communication via satellites or High-altitude platform station (HAPS), or any other network node, in a network involving satellites or HAPS, with the ability to directly or indirectly communicate with a UE. Refinements with finer granularity may be also conceivable. For instance, a gNB may be an en- gNB, and if a split gNB architecture is applied, dividing the gNB into multiple separate entities or notes, the term “network” or “network node” or “node” may refer to a part of the gNB, such as a gNB-Central Unit (CU), often referred to as just CU, a gNB-Distributed Unit (DU), often referred to as just DU, a gNB-CU-Control Plane (CP) or a gNB-CU-User Plane (UP). Similarly, an eNB may be an ng-eNB, and if a split eNB architecture is applied, dividing the gNB into multiple separate entities or notes, the term “network”, and the network node it may be understood to imply, may refer to a part of the eNB, such as an eNB-CU, an eNB-DU, an eNB-CU-CP or an eNB-CU-UP. Furthermore, the term “network”, and the network node it may be understood to imply, may also refer to an Integrated Access and Backhaul (lAB)-donor, lAB-donor-CU, IAB- donor-DU, lAB-donor-CU-CP, or an lAB-donor-CU-UP.

[0193] The terms “source node”, “target node” and “candidate target node” may be used in the description of embodiments herein. The “node” in these terms may be understood as typically being a RAN node in a NTN based on NR technology, LTE technology or any other RAT in which conditional handover or another conditional mobility concept may be defined. In an NR based NTN, such a RAN node may be assumed to be a gNB. In an LTE based NTN, including an loT NTN, such a RAN node may be assumed to be an eNB. Alternatives to, or refinements of, these interpretations may be however also conceivable. For instance, a gNB may be an en- gNB, and if a split gNB architecture is applied, dividing the gNB into multiple separate entities or notes, the term “node” may refer to a part of the gNB, such as a gNB-CU, often referred to as just CU, a gNB-DU, often referred to as just DU, a gNB-CU-CP or a gNB-CU-UP. Similarly, an eNB may be an ng-eNB, and if a split eNB architecture is applied, dividing the gNB into multiple separate entities or notes, the term “node” may refer to a part of the eNB, such as an eNB-CU, an eNB-DU, an eNB-CU-CP or an eNB-CU-UP. Furthermore, the “node” in the terms may also refer to an lAB-donor, lAB-donor-CU, lAB-donor-DU, lAB-donor-CU-CP, or an lAB-donor-CU- UP.

[0194] A condition included in a Conditional Handover (CHO) configuration governing the execution of the conditionally configured procedure may be referred to as a CHO execution condition, an HO execution condition, a CHO trigger condition, a HO trigger condition or sometimes just a trigger condition. Furthermore, phases of the procedure may be referred to as the Handover Preparation phase, the Handover Execution and / or the Handover Completion phase, or may be referred to as the Conditional Handover Preparation phase, or the (conditional) Handover Preparation phase, the Conditional Handover Execution phase and / or the Conditional Handover Completion phase. When accessing a target cell during a HO or a CHO, the first message the UE may send to the target node in the target cell, after having sent a random access preamble and having received a Random Access Response message, may be an RRCReconfigurationComplete message, indicating the successful completion of the HO or CHO. It may be noted that this RRCReconfigurationComplete message may be often referred to as a Handover Complete message.

[0195] The terms information element (IE) and field may be used more or less interchangeably in this document. Also, the term parameter may be sometimes used to denote the same concept.

[0196] Parameters / IEs / fields used in the description of embodiments herein may refer to the existing procedural text and signaling in the 3GPP RRC specification for 5G / NR, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.331 version 18.3.0. Parameters may be often named with a suffix indicating the number of the release of the 3GPP standard the parameter / IE / field was introduced in, e.g., the suffix “-r17” for a parameter / IE / field introduced in release 17 of the 3GPP standard, which for convenience has been omitted in the description of embodiments herein.

[0197] In the context of a handover preparation procedure for a UE between a source RAN node and a target RAN node, embodiments herein may comprise one or more the following examples:

[0198] Location Retrieval: Before or during the handover preparation procedure, the source RAN node may retrieve the real-time location of the UE to be handed over. This may be achieved through integration with existing positioning protocols, enabling precise tracking of the current position of the UE.

[0199] Enhanced HANDOVER REQUEST Message: During the handover preparation procedure, the source RAN node may include the location of the UE to be handed over in the HANDOVER REQUEST message it may send to the target RAN node.

[0200] Directional Beam Targeting: After retrieving the location of the incoming UE from the HANDOVER REQUEST message, the target RAN node may point a beam in the direction of the incoming UE, or, if a beam is already pointing in that direction, it may allocate resources on that beam for the incoming UE. This may be done e.g., during the Random Access (RA) procedure and when the target RAN may be required to send Message 2 (Msg2) and Message 4 (Msg4) using Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (PDSCH) prior to any Channel State Information (CSI)-Reference Signal (RS) measurements of the UE in the target RAN. Instead of using the wider and less directional Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beam that the RAN may usually use during RA, the target RAN may use the narrow and more directive beam produced by the position-to-beam mapping mechanism to improve the Msg2 and Msg4 performance and any other transmission prior to the UE reporting its preferred beam inside the target RAN. The first opportunity for the target gNB to leverage the position data of the UE may be during the Random Access Response (RAR) with Msg2. This may be understood to be before the UE may perform new CSI-RS measurements and report a preferred beam. By using the pre-known UE position, the target gNB may pre-select a narrow, directional beam instead of relying on the broader SSB beams. This may be understood to improve transmission performance during Msg2 and Msg4, ensuring more efficient resource allocation before the UE may report its preferred beam.

[0201] Enhanced HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE Message: After pointing a beam, in the direction of the incoming UE, the target RAN node may use the Handover Request Acknowledge message to inform the source RAN node about the configuration of the beam(s) pointing in the direction of the incoming UE.

[0202] Enhanced Handover command: Once the target node may have pointed a beam in the direction of the incoming UE, the target node may include the configuration of the beam in the Handover command which it may have sent to the UE via the source node, so that the UE may use the configuration for the Handover execution.

[0203] Location Retrieval (Pre-Handover Phase)

[0204] • Operation: o The source RAN node may interact with existing positioning systems such multicell triangulation mechanisms to retrieve the current coordinates of the UE, which may include latitude, longitude, altitude, and accuracy metrics. o The source RAN node may also request the UE, e.g., via dedicated or broadcast signaling, to report its location with existing mechanisms, e.g., location-based measurement report, or new signaling, e.g., new indication in a new or existing RRC procedure, or procedures. An example of such new procedure may be that the network may configure the UE with a positioning threshold so that it may only report its location if its movement exceeds the provided threshold. o Alternatively, the UE may proactively report its location without any explicit network configuration, whenever there may be signaling support to send such information. o This operation may be triggered before the handover process begins, and the UE may be identified as preparing to move out of the coverage area of the source node. o The retrieved location may then be temporarily stored within the handover context of the source node until it may be transmitted in the HANDOVER REQUEST message.

[0205] • Integration with Positioning Protocols: o The source node may leverage established protocols, e.g., Next Generation Access Protocol (NGAP) Location Reporting or Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) to fetch precise UE positioning data. o For UEs in non-terrestrial networks (NTN), such as those connected to satellites, the positioning system may also factor in orbital or geospatial data to enhance the accuracy of the location.

[0206] In another example, the source RAN may have assigned a specific beam to the UE in the serving cell, e.g., by the UE reporting a preferred beam via CSI-RS measurements. The source RAN may then have a “beam-to-position” mapping mechanism that may assign a specific beam to a geographical area (beam footprint) that this beam may correspond to. Since this beam-to- position mapping may be understood to be cell specific, the source gNB may not just directly indicate a beam index to the target gNB. The source gNB may need to first map the UE beam to a position that may correspond e.g., to the center of the beam footprint. The source gNB may then send this position to the target gNB inside the hand-over request. Upon reception, the target gNB may be required to perform the opposite “position-to-beam” mapping, where it may map the received position to the nearest beam footprint center of its own beam map.

[0207] In an alternative to the previous example, the “beam-to-position” mapping may have a fixed relationship, e.g., pre-decided, for instance, during the deployment phase, where a beam may be associated with a unique geographical area identifier, e.g., a parameter encoded with an INTEGER ASN.1 type. The geographical area identifier may be preconfigured in the whole network, e.g., via Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM), and known by the source and target nodes. Therefore, instead of sending the position of the UE, the source node, knowing which beam the UE may be utilizing, may simply forward the unique geographical area identifier to the target node, e.g., as part of the handover request preparation. The target network node may utilize this identifier in the same way described above as the position of the UE. In addition, the target network node may optionally indicate the selected beam of the target for the UE, which may correspond to the associated geographical area identifier provided by the source target node, in the RRC reconfiguration message, a.k.a. handover message, which may be sent to the source node to be forwarded to the UE. For example, the target network node may provide the specific SSB index, e.g., SSB-lndex IE, or Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, e.g., TCI-State IE, that the UE may have to use to continue with the handover procedure, e.g., sending Msg1 or Message 3 (Msg3).

[0208] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of estimating and sending an estimate of the UE position via beam-to-position mapping according to embodiments herein. Enhanced HANDOVER REQUEST Message

[0209] • Operation: o During the handover preparation phase, the source RAN node may provide a new indication in the HANDOVER REQUEST message to include the real-time position coordinates of the UE. o This extension to the message format may include a new information element (IE):

[0210] ■ IE: RealTimePositionCoordinates

[0211] ■ Fields: Latitude, Longitude, Altitude (for NTN cases), and Accuracy metrics. o The addition of this positional data may ensure that the target node may preemptively adjust its beam alignment to the exact location of the UE as the UE may transition between cells.

[0212] • Transmission: o The source RAN node may transmit the enhanced HANDOVER REQUEST to the target RAN node through NGAP signaling. This may ensure that the target node may adjust its resources before the UE may complete the handover.

[0213] Directional Beam Targeting at Target RAN Node

[0214] • Operation: o Upon receiving the HANDOVER REQUEST, the target RAN node may immediately extract the location of the UE from the RealTimePositionCoordinates field of the message. o The node may then use this information to adjust its communication beam, either:

[0215] ■ Aligning a new beam in the direction of the incoming UE.

[0216] ■ Fine-tuning an existing beam if it is already aligned within the trajectory of the UE.

[0217] • Beam Management: o For Terrestrial gNB Nodes: The gNB may adjust its antenna array to focus the beam in the direction of the UE with sub-meter precision, ensuring that the UE may have a strong, uninterrupted signal upon entering the coverage of the target node. o For Non-Terrestrial Nodes (NTN): Satellite nodes may rely on beamforming techniques to reorient beams based on the updated position of the UE in relation to the orbit of the satellite, adjusting as the UE may move rapidly across the coverage area of the satellite.

[0218] • Resource Allocation: o After the beam is aligned, the target RAN node may allocate radio resources, such as frequency, power, and modulation schemes, on the beam, ensuring the UE may seamlessly switch from the source node to the target node. Enhanced HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE Message

[0219] • Operation: o Once the target RAN node may successfully align its beam and allocate resources, it may send back an Enhanced HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message to the source node. o This message may include a new field that may communicate the status of beam configuration:

[0220] ■ Field Name: BeamConfigurationStatus

[0221] ■ Options:

[0222] ■ Aligned: The beam has been aligned based on the received position data.

[0223] ■ Adjusted: The beam may have required fine-tuning but has been adjusted to match the position of the UE.

[0224] ■ Not Required: Beam adjustment was not necessary as resources on the existing beam were sufficient.

[0225] • Continuous Updates (Optional): o In certain cases, e.g., high-speed UEs or NTNs, the target RAN node may continue to receive positional updates throughout the transition of the UE, dynamically adjusting the beam as needed. These updates may be communicated via NGAP Continuous Positional Update messages.

[0226] This approach may apply to both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (TN and NTN), where precision may be relevant for minimizing beam adjustments and resource allocation during the transition of the UE between cells. The work may be understood to integrate positioning mechanisms directly into the handover signaling process, enabling seamless targeting and resource readiness at the target RAN node.

[0227] Embodiments herein may be understood to operate through a sequence of steps that may embed the positional data of the UE in the handover process, allowing the target node to use this data for optimized beam alignment:

[0228] 1 . Location Retrieval (Pre-Handover) o Prior to initiating handover, the source RAN node may retrieve the current position of the UE using available GNSS or multi-cell triangulation. This may be triggered as part of the handover preparation and once acquired, the position data may be stored temporarily in the source RAN node.

[0229] 2. Inclusion of Positional Data in HANDOVER REQUEST o During the handover preparation phase, the source RAN node may insert the location coordinates of the UE directly into the HANDOVER REQUEST message. This embedding may bypass additional signaling steps, directly transferring the positional data to the target RAN node.

[0230] 3. Target Node Beam Alignment and Resource Allocation o Upon receiving the HANDOVER REQUEST, the target RAN node may extract the positional information of the UE, which may be used to either direct a beam towards the UE or, if a beam is already in that position, allocate resources on the pre-existing beam. This process may ensure the beam alignment is ready for the anticipated entry of the UE.

[0231] 4. Continuous Positional Updates During Handover o In cases requiring further precision, a continuous positioning update may be triggered alongside the handover procedure. These updates, sent via NGAP Location Reporting, may allow the target node to adjust the beam as needed, particularly in high-mobility scenarios or in NTN cases where satellites may need real-time alignment adjustments.

[0232] Changes to NGAP

[0233] NGAP, the protocol responsible for signaling between the gNB (terrestrial node) or NTN (satellite node) and the 5G core, may undergo some enhancements to accommodate real-time UE position data. The modifications to NGAP may include:

[0234] Extended HANDOVER REQUEST Message

[0235] • Current State: o The HANDOVER REQUEST message may include information about the UE, such as mobility context, radio capabilities, and bearer information. o No positional data is currently transmitted.

[0236] • New State (Enhanced): o The HANDOVER REQUEST message may include a new information element (IE) for Real-Time UE Position Data:

[0237] ■ New Information Element (IE):

[0238] ■ Field Name: RealTimePositionCoordinates

[0239] ■ Data Type: Latitude, Longitude, and Altitude, in the case of nonterrestrial nodes

[0240] ■ Precision: may incorporate geolocation data accurate to the submeter level if available from GNSS or multi-cell triangulation. o New Step: Upon initiation of the handover procedure, the source RAN node may retrieve the real-time position of the UE and embed it into the HANDOVER REQUEST before forwarding it to the target node.

[0241] Enhanced NGAP HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE

[0242] Current State: o The HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message may be sent by the target node to confirm the receipt of the request and to provide the source node with the necessary information to proceed with the handover.

[0243] New State (Enhanced): o The HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE may include a new field indicating that the beam alignment has been performed based on the received UE position:

[0244] ■ New Field: BeamConfigurationStatus

[0245] ■ Data Type: Enumeration (Aligned, Adjusted, Not Required)

[0246] ■ New Step: The target node may send this acknowledgment, informing the source node that the beam has either been aligned or adjusted based on the real-time UE position data.

[0247] NGAP Location (Continuous Updates)

[0248] Current State: o NGAP may support periodic location reporting, but it is generally not tied directly to the handover process.

[0249] New State (Enhanced): o New Step: During high-mobility handover scenarios, continuous location updates may be triggered via NGAP to provide real-time positional data throughout the transition of the UE. This may allow the target node to adjust the beam dynamically during the handover. o New Element: NGAPContinuousLocationUpdate message may be introduced, periodically sent from the source node to the target node to relay the updated position of the UE in high-mobility or non-terrestrial cases.

[0250] Extended Message Fields: o Field Name: UpdatedRealTimePositionCoordinates

[0251] ■ Content: Real-time updates on Latitude, Longitude, Altitude o Interval: Continuous updates may occur at configurable intervals depending on UE speed and mobility profile, e.g., every 50ms for fast-moving UEs, or on an event basis.

[0252] Changes to RRC (Radio Resource Control) Protocol The RRC protocol may manage the control plane signaling between the UE and the gNB or satellite node, responsible for establishing and maintaining radio connections. The extension of RRC may focus on enabling real-time relay of positional data during the handover process.

[0253] Extension to RRC Messages for Position Data

[0254] • Current State: o RRC may manage UE radio resources and does not relay positional data during the handover process.

[0255] • New State (Enhanced): o New RRC Messages: Two new RRC messages may be added to support the realtime exchange of UE positional data prior and during handover, particularly for high-mobility UEs:

[0256] ■ RRCPositionalUpdateRequest (sent from target node to source node):

[0257] ■ Purpose: Request updated positional data from the UE during the handover.

[0258] ■ RRCPositionalUpdateResponse (sent from source node to target node):

[0259] ■ Purpose: Provide the target node with the updated position of the UE.

[0260] ■ Content: Include updated Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, and Precision metrics. o Extensions to existing messages: positional data may be provided as an extension to RRC messages already present in the specification. Based on network configuration or request, positional data may be included at different stages. For instance, when the UE establishes or reconfigures an RRC connection, e.g., RRCSetup, RRCResumeComplete, RRCReconfigurationComplete, or it may be configured to provide assistance information, e.g., UElnformationResponse. o New Step: As the UE crosses from the coverage area of the source node to the target node, the RRC protocol may initiate real-time relay of updated positional data in the form of continuous RRCPositionalUpdate messages, allowing for precise beam adjustments in real time.

[0261] Threshold for location

[0262] A network node, e.g., gNB, may configure a UE to report its location in two manners: using the UEAssistancelnformation procedure or along with neighbor measurement reports. In the second example, this may be done through the parameter coarseLocationRequest included in the measurement Report Configuration.

[0263] In one example, the network may provide a new threshold associated with the location request configuration, either via existing signaling, e.g., an existing RRC message, or newly introduced procedures, e.g., detailed in the preceding section. The UE may use the configure value to limit its location reports to the occasions where its movement may have exceeded the provided threshold, that is, its position may have changed more than the specified threshold.

[0264] Real-Time Positional Feedback

[0265] • New Step: RRC may facilitate a feedback loop where the target node may continuously adjust its beam based on the incoming positional updates. A source network node, e.g., gNB, may configure the UE to report its location. This may use existing RRC mechanisms or new procedures as presented above, in the section entitled “Extension to RRC Messages for Position Data”. The reporting may be periodic, or event based, and their configurations may be provided by the source network node. The former report type may be associated with an offset, with respect to the serving cell timing, and a periodicity. The latter form of reporting may be associated with position conditions, see the section entitled “Threshold for location report procedures”, RSRP conditions, received power for either or both the serving or neighbor / target cell, or time-events, e.g., absolute time, as measured in UTC, may be above a certain threshold. Each time a positional update may be received, the target node may verify the current location of the UE and recalculate beam alignment if necessary.

[0266] • Extended Field in RRC Messages: o Field Name: CurrentPositionStatus

[0267] ■ Data Type: Enumeration, In Sync, Drift Detected, Beam Adjustment Required

[0268] ■ Purpose: May indicate the current status of beam alignment based on positional updates.

[0269] New Steps in the Handover Process

[0270] Step 1: Location Retrieval at Source RAN Node (Pre-Handover)

[0271] • New Step: Before or during the handover preparation phase, the source RAN node may retrieve the real-time position of the UE using existing GNSS or multi-cell triangulation mechanisms. o The source node may store the positional data in temporary memory until the HO Request is sent. o This process may occur asynchronously with ongoing mobility management procedures. Step 2: Transmission of HANDOVER REQUEST with Embedded Position Data

[0272] • New Step: The source RAN node may insert the position data of the UE into the HANDOVER REQUEST message and forward it to the target RAN node. o The message may now include precise coordinates (latitude, longitude, and altitude for NTN) and positional accuracy.

[0273] Step 3: Beam Alignment and Resource Allocation at Target RAN Node

[0274] • New Step: Upon receiving the HANDOVER REQUEST with positional data, the target RAN node may perform real-time beam alignment based on the location of the UE. o If the beam is already aligned, the node may allocate resources directly on the existing beam. o If beam alignment is reguired, the target node may perform beam adjustments before proceeding with resource allocation.

[0275] Step 4: HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE with Beam Configuration

[0276] . New Step: The target node may send the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message, indicating whether the beam has been successfully aligned or adjusted based on the positional data. o The message may contain the BeamConfipurationStatus field to ensure the source node that the handover may proceed.

[0277] (Optional) Step 5: Continuous Positional Updates During Handover

[0278] • New Step: If necessary, e.g., for high-mobility UEs or in NTN scenarios, the source RAN node may send continuous positional updates during the handover. This step may ensure that the target node may dynamically adjust its beam as the UE may move through its range. o These updates may be sent via NGAPContinuousLocationUpdate messages and relayed using the RRCPositionalUpdateResponse in high-mobility situations.

[0279] Step 6: Final Handover Execution and Resource Commitment

[0280] • New Step: After the beam alignment and resource allocation steps may be confirmed, the handover process may be executed. The UE may switch from the source node to the target node with full beam alignment and optimized resource allocation, minimizing the risk of signal drop or interruption.

[0281] Examples

[0282] This example may involve the source RAN node retrieving the UE location and embedding it directly into the HANDOVER REQUEST message sent to the target RAN node.

[0283] Figure 6 is a signalling diagram depicting a non-limiting example of a method according to embodiments herein, with location retrieval and direct embedding in HANDOVER REQUEST.

[0284] In this example, the UE may continuously send its updated location to the source RAN node, which may then forward it to the target RAN node, ensuring real-time beam alignment during the handover. Figure 7 is a signalling diagram depicting another non-limiting example of a method according to embodiments herein, depicting continuous positional updates during handover.

[0285] This example may use historical trajectory data of the UE stored by the source RAN node to predict the likely entry position and align the beam of the target RAN node accordingly, without continuous updates.

[0286] Figure 8 is a signalling diagram depicting a further non-limiting example of a method according to embodiments herein, with predictive beam alignment using historical data. This example may establish a secondary signaling channel specifically for transmitting positional data to the target RAN node independently of the primary handover signaling. This approach may separate handover control signaling from positional updates.

[0287] Figure 9 is a signalling diagram depicting yet another non-limiting example of a method according to embodiments herein, illustrating multi-layered handover with separate positional signaling channel.

[0288] In scenarios where real-time positional accuracy may be paramount, e.g., UEs moving at high speed or in NTN cases where the satellite may have limited re-alignment capabilities, the RRC protocol may also be configured to support real-time updates by establishing an auxiliary channel. This may ensure continuous beam adjustment and resource management as the UE may progress through its trajectory.

[0289] Technical Feasibility:

[0290] Embedding positional data into the Handover Request may induce marginal signaling overhead, anticipated to remain within acceptable latency parameters. Initial projections suggest that with optimized encoding, the impact on overall network throughput may be negligible. This approach may leverage the evolving capacities of both terrestrial and satellite infrastructure, with minimal adaptive latency for most densely populated areas due to incremental refinements in signaling prioritization.

[0291] Reliability and Accuracy:

[0292] Positional data accuracy, integral for beam precision, may be enhanced through multiconstellation and time-synchronized cellular triangulation. Calibration protocols may account for environmental interferences, maintaining a consistent targeting fidelity. Beam divergence allowances may be defined to mitigate slight inaccuracies, ensuring that coverage loss may be minimized within pre-established tolerances, even under adversarial conditions.

[0293] Scalability and Interoperability:

[0294] Interoperability with legacy nodes may be assured through backward-compatible signaling schemas; transitional deployments may incorporate multi-protocol support, requiring limited node-specific recalibration.

[0295] Operational Limitations and Edge Cases:

[0296] In the event of positional update failure, fallback mechanisms may trigger predictive motion algorithms to estimate UE trajectory based on the most recent valid data, thus maintaining handover continuity. High-mobility scenarios may employ a hybrid adaptive tracking model, which may recalibrate beam focus using probabilistic trajectory mapping, thus optimizing service stability under variable-speed conditions.

[0297] Energy and Resource Consumption:

[0298] Power metrics may indicate a sustainable energy footprint. Resource allocation may be dynamically modulated, wherein inactive beams may enter a low-power state until requisite targeting data may reactivate them. For satellite nodes, onboard energy management systems may utilize stored solar or kinetic reserves, designed to support prolonged engagement with energy-dense handover transitions.

[0299] Examples for neighboring nodes Beam Configuration Exchange and Coordination

[0300] The following steps detail the coordination and data exchange that may be performed between neighboring nodes, ensuring seamless handover processes with efficient beam management and resource allocation. These may be especially important in high-mobility and non-terrestrial network (NTN) scenarios, where timing and precise beam alignment may be critical.

[0301] Beam Footprint Mapping Exchange

[0302] Objective: Neighboring nodes may exchange mappings between beams and their geographical coverage (beam footprints).

[0303] Sequence:

[0304] 1. Xn Setup / NG-RAN Configuration Update: o Neighboring nodes may initiate an exchange using an Xn Setup Request or NG- RAN Node Configuration Update. The source node may flag the requirement for beam footprint exchange as part of this request.

[0305] 2. Request for Beam Footprint Data: o The source node may send a flag request for Beam Footprint Information from the neighboring node. This may include Beam Footprint Identifiers (BFI) that may link beam IDs to their geographic area. o The neighboring node may respond with Beam Footprint Mapping that may detail which beams cover which areas.

[0306] Purpose: This exchange may help each node understand the spatial coverage of the other beams of the node, facilitating precise handover execution and preemptive resource allocation.

[0307] Beam Scheduling and Activation / Deactivation Planning

[0308] Objective: Nodes may coordinate their beam schedules to optimize resource management during the handover process.

[0309] Sequence:

[0310] 1. Scheduling Request and Exchange: o The source node may request the Active / lnactive Beam Schedule from the target node, ensuring synchronization of active periods between neighboring nodes.

[0311] 2. Beam Activation / Deactivation Timing: o Based on the response, both nodes may align their schedules. This information may help to avoid conflicts and congestion during handover. If the source node is aware that a specific beam may be inactive during the handover window, it may preemptively adjust to use a different beam or timing.

[0312] Purpose: This planning may allow nodes to activate the necessary beams at the right time, reducing idle resources and ensuring beams may be ready for the handover.

[0313] Proactive Handover Assistance

[0314] Objective: The source node may pre-configure the UE to measure specific beams based on expected handover, optimizing beam alignment in high-speed or NTN scenarios.

[0315] Sequence:

[0316] 1. Handover Preparation: o Prior to initiating the handover, the source node may calculate the trajectory of the UE and may flag specific beams for measurement. It may send a measurement request to the UE, instructing it to begin beam measurements related to the target node.

[0317] 2. Measurement Data Exchange: o The UE may perform the requested measurements on the specified beams and may reports back to the source node. The source node may then share these measurement reports with the target node as part of the Handover Request.

[0318] 3. Beam Selection by Target Node: o The target node, upon receiving the Handover Request and measurement reports, may adjust its resources and beams accordingly, preparing for the incoming UE based on its predicted location.

[0319] Purpose: This step may be crucial for optimizing handover in high-speed scenarios where precise, real-time measurements may be ensure beam alignment before the UE may arrive in the coverage area of the target node.

[0320] Coordination for NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks)

[0321] Objective: NTNs may require additional coordination due to the orbital positioning of the satellite, making beam adjustments complex and dynamic.

[0322] Sequence:

[0323] 1 . Orbital Path Data Exchange: o Neighboring terrestrial nodes may exchange orbital path information for connected NTNs, allowing nodes to anticipate when a UE may transition between terrestrial and non-terrestrial coverage.

[0324] 2. Beam Footprint and Adjustment Information: o Based on orbital path data, NTNs may calculate and exchange the expected beam drift or necessary adjustments with terrestrial nodes. This information may ensure seamless transitions as the UE may move across satellite and terrestrial beams.

[0325] 3. Proactive Beam Alignment: o The terrestrial node may flag its intent to handover to an NTN, triggering the satellite to pre-align its beam based on the predicted UE location, ensuring a smooth transition without losing signal quality.

[0326] Purpose: In NTN scenarios, precise timing and coordination may be critical due to satellite movement. Proactive alignment may reduce latency and resource wastage during handovers.

[0327] Neighboring Node Handover Process: Detailed Embodiments with Flag Requests Source Node Embodiment

[0328] 1. Position Retrieval: o The source node may flag the current position retrieval of the UE from the positioning system, e.g., GNSS, multi-cell triangulation. o If preconfigured, the source node may retrieve the beam-to-position mapping that may correlates the beam of the UE to its location in the serving cell.

[0329] 2. Handover Request: o The source node may send a Handover Request to the target node, embedding the beam-to-position mapping or geographical area identifier in the request message. o The request may also include any measurement data from the UE, allowing the target node to pre-configure resources and align beams based on the trajectory of the UE.

[0330] 3. Optional Updates: o In dynamic scenarios, the source node may continue to send position updates to the target node, ensuring precise tracking throughout the handover.

[0331] Target Node Example

[0332] 1. Beam Pre-Alignment: o Upon receiving the Handover Request, the target node may flag its beam alignment process based on the real-time position or predicted trajectory of the UE. o The node may adjust its beam either by pre-aligning it for the UE or by fine-tuning existing resources if a beam is already active in the trajectory of the UE.

[0333] 2. Resource Allocation: o The target node may allocate frequency, power, and modulation resources on the pre-aligned beam, ensuring that the UE may receive a stable connection upon handover.

[0334] 3. Handover Request Acknowledge: o The target node may respond with a Handover Request Acknowledge, flagging the beam status (Aligned, Adjusted, Not Required). This may inform the source node that the target may be ready for handover.

[0335] UE Embodiment

[0336] 1. Measurement Reports: o The UE may perform beam measurements based on instructions from the source node. It may flag these reports and send them back to assist the source node in verifying its position and trajectory.

[0337] 2. Beam Locking: o During the final handover phase, the UE may lock onto the pre-aligned beam from the target node. The beam configuration data received via the source node may allow the UE to seamlessly transition into the target node coverage of the UE.

[0338] Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and SLAs for Beam-to-Position Mapping: Monitoring and Reporting

[0339] 1. HO Success Rate (HSR): o Flag request: Nodes may track the success of handover events, measuring how many are completed without signal loss or retransmissions.

[0340] 2. Beamforming Alignment Accuracy (BAA): o Flag request: Nodes may continuously monitor and report the accuracy of beam alignments based on UE position data.

[0341] 3. Resource Utilization Efficiency (RUE): o Flag request: Nodes may log how efficiently resources, e.g., power, frequency, may be allocated across beams, especially during handovers, and track wastage.

[0342] 4. Measurement Reporting Latency (MRL): o Flag request: UEs may flag the time taken between measurement reports and their reception by the source / target node. Any delays may be monitored for optimization.

[0343] 5. Pre-Handover Beam Accuracy (PHA): o Flag request: Nodes may measure the accuracy of beam alignment before the handover may be executed, ensuring minimal drift.

[0344] 6. Retransmission Rate (RR): o Flag request: Nodes may track how often handovers may require retransmissions due to incomplete data or incorrect beam alignment, helping to optimize future handovers.

[0345] Examples for the Handover procedure

[0346] The following examples may be related to a handover procedure when a UE may be handed over from the source node to the target node.

[0347] Examples at the source node: The source node may: retrieve the position of an outgoing UE: o from the UE reporting its precise GNNS coordinates, o from the UE reporting radio measurements and a per node preconfigured mapping between the radio measurements and geographical areas. o By requestion UE position from a network positioning system.

[0348] - send the location of an outgoing UE to the target node in the Handover Request Message. The location may consist of, but not restricted to: o precise GNSS coordinates, o a geographical area or a polygon or a shape representing the area, o a vector which may correspond to the trajectory the UE may be following with or without the information about the UE speed, instruct the UE to perform measurements on specific beams based on the beam(s), information received from the target node in the Handover Request ACK message.

[0349] Examples at the target node: The target node may: point a beam in the direction of an incoming UE based on the location of the UE provided by the source node in the Handover Request message.

[0350] Include the information of the beam pointing in the direction of the UE in the Handover command message sent to the UE via the source node,

[0351] Include the information about the beam(s) pointing in the direction of the incoming UE in the Handover Request ACK message sent to the source node.

[0352] Examples at the UE: The UE may be required to:

[0353] Report its location upon request from the source node, Upon request from the source node, the UE may be required to report the measurements enabling the source node to determine location of the UE. Use the beam information relative to its location received from the target node via the source node for the Handover command execution.

[0354] Use the beam(s) information relative to its location received from the source node based on the information the source node may have received on its turn from the target node to perform and report measurements for the aforementioned beam(s) for radio resource management and or UE mobility purposes.

[0355] Point a beam in the direction of an incoming UE.

[0356] Certain embodiments disclosed herein may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s), which may be summarized as follows.

[0357] Embodiments herein may provide an enhancement that may surpass conventional beam management systems by integrating real-time positioning with a high degree of temporal resolution, surpassing predictive algorithms limited by static positional approximations. Efficiency may be demonstrated through precise beam directionality, reducing collateral signal dispersion. Existing alternatives lack the integration and adaptability required for seamless realtime handover in high-mobility, high-density environments.

[0358] In NTN, satellites may not be able to serve all beams at the same time. Thus, this enhancement may become fundamental for an efficient network operation.

[0359] Figure 10 depicts an example of the arrangement that the first network node 111 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 2 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0360] Several embodiments are comprised herein. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some examples, the first network node 111 may be a source node and the second network node 112 may be a target node in a mobility procedure, e.g., HO, of the wireless device 130.

[0361] The embodiments herein in the first network node 111 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1001 in the first network node 111 depicted in Figure 10, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the first network node 111. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the first network node 111.

[0362] The first network node 111 may further comprise a memory 1002 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1002 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the first network node 111.

[0363] In some embodiments, the first network node 111 may receive information from, e.g., the second network node 112, the wireless device 130, and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 1003. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1003 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in first network node 111. Since the receiving port 1003 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1001, the receiving port 1003 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry

[0364] 1001. The receiving port 1003 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0365] The processing circuitry 1001 in the first network node 111 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the second network node 112, the wireless device 130, and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 1004, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1001, and the memory

[0366] 1002.

[0367] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1001 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1001, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0368] The processing circuitry 1001 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 2 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0369] Also, in some embodiments, the first network node 111 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 2 and / or ant of Figures 5-9 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1001. Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first network node 111 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1005 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1001 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1001 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 111. The computer program 1005 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1006. The computer- readable storage medium 1006, having stored thereon the computer program 1005, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1001 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1001 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first network node 111. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1006 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1005 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1005 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1006, as described above.

[0370] The first network node 111 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the first network node 111 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the second network node 112, the wireless device 130, and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0371] In other embodiments, the first network node 111 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1007, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1003 and the sending port 1004. The radio circuitry 1007 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the second network node 112, the wireless device 130 and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0372] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the first network node 111 comprising the processing circuitry 1001 and the memory 1002, said memory 1002 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1001, whereby the first network node 111 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the first network node 111, e.g., in Figure 2 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0373] Figure 11 depicts an example of the arrangement that the second network node 112 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 3 and / or ant of Figures 5-9. Several embodiments are comprised herein. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the second network node 112 and will thus not be repeated here. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some examples, the first network node 111 may be a source node and the second network node 112 may be a target node in a mobility procedure, e.g., HO, of the wireless device 130.

[0374] The embodiments herein in the second network node 112 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1101 in the second network node 112 depicted in Figure 11, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the second network node 112. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the second network node 112.

[0375] The second network node 112 may further comprise a memory 1102 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1102 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the second network node 112.

[0376] In some embodiments, the second network node 112 may receive information from, e.g., the first network node 111, the wireless device 130, and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 1103. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1103 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in second network node 112. Since the receiving port 1103 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1101 , the receiving port 1103 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1101. The receiving port 1103 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0377] The processing circuitry 1101 in the second network node 112 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first network node 111, the wireless device 130, and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 1104, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1101, and the memory 1102. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1101 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1101, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0378] The processing circuitry 1101 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 3 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0379] Also, in some embodiments, the second network node 112 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 3 and / or ant of Figures 5-9 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1101.

[0380] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second network node 112 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1105 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1101, cause the at least one processing circuitry 1101 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second network node 112. The computer program 1105 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1106. The computer-readable storage medium 1106, having stored thereon the computer program 1105, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1101, cause the at least one processing circuitry 1101 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second network node 112. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1106 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1105 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1105 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1106, as described above.

[0381] The second network node 112 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the second network node 112 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first network node 111, the wireless device 130, and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0382] In other embodiments, the second network node 112 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1107, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1103 and the sending port 1104. The radio circuitry 1107 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first network node 111 , the wireless device 130 and / or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0383] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the second network node 112 comprising the processing circuitry 1101 and the memory 1102, said memory 1102 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1101 , whereby the second network node 112 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the second network node 112, e.g., in Figure 3 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0384] Figure 12 depicts an example of the arrangement that the wireless device 130 may comprise to perform the method actions described above in relation to Figure 4 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0385] Several embodiments are comprised herein. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the wireless device 130 and will thus not be repeated here. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first network node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some examples, the first network node 111 may be a source node and the second network node 112 may be a target node in a mobility procedure, e.g., HO, of the wireless device 130.

[0386] The embodiments herein in the wireless device 130 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1201 in the wireless device 130 depicted in Figure 12, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the wireless device 130. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the wireless device 130.

[0387] The wireless device 130 may further comprise a memory 1202 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1202 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the wireless device 130. In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may receive information from, e.g., the first network node 111 , the second network node 112, another wireless device, or from another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a receiving port 1203. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1203 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in wireless device 130. Since the receiving port 1203 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1201, the receiving port 1203 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1201. The receiving port 1203 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0388] The processing circuitry 1201 in the wireless device 130 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first network node 111, the second network node 112, another wireless device, or to another structure in the wireless communications network 100, through a sending port 1204, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1201, and the memory 1202.

[0389] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the processing circuitry 1201 described above may comprise a combination of analog and digital modules, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1201, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0390] The processing circuitry 1201 may be configured to, or operable to, perform the method actions according to Figure 4 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0391] Also, in some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may be configured to perform the actions of Figure 4 and / or ant of Figures 5-9 with respective units that may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1201.

[0392] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the wireless device 130 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1205 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1201, cause the at least one processing circuitry 1201 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. The computer program 1205 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1206. The computer- readable storage medium 1206, having stored thereon the computer program 1205, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1201, cause the at least one processing circuitry 1201 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the wireless device 130. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1205 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1205 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1206, as described above.

[0393] The wireless device 130 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate communications between the wireless device 130 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first network node 111 , the second network node 112, another wireless device, or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0394] In other embodiments, the wireless device 130 may also comprise a radio circuitry 1207, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1203 and the sending port 1204. The radio circuitry 1207 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first network node 111 , the second network node 112, another wireless device, or another structure in the wireless communications network 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0395] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the wireless device 130 comprising the processing circuitry 1201 and the memory 1202, said memory 1202 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1201 , whereby the wireless device 130 is operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the wireless device 130, e.g., in Figure 4 and / or ant of Figures 5-9.

[0396] Further Extensions And Variations

[0397] Figure 13 shows an example of a communication system 1300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0398] In the example, the communication system 1300, such as the wireless communications network 100, includes a telecommunication 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 1308. The access network 1304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112, such as network nodes 1310a and 1310b (one or more of which may be generally 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 telecommunication network 1302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication 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 nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1302, including one or more network nodes 1310 and / or core network nodes 1308.

[0399] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O- Cll user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non- real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O- 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 (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1312) to the core network 1306 over one or more wireless connections. Any of the UEs 1312a, 1312b, 1312c, and 1312d are examples of the wireless device 130.

[0400] 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.

[0401] The wireless device 130, exemplified in Figure 13 as 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 any of the first network node 111 and the second network node 112, exemplified in Figure 13 as 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 telecommunication 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 telecommunication network 1302.

[0402] In the depicted example, the core network 1306 connects the network nodes 1310 to one or more host computing systems, 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 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 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 Identifier Deconcealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0403] 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 telecommunication network 1302. 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.

[0404] As a whole, the communication system 1300 of Figure 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.

[0405] In some examples, the telecommunication 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 telecommunication 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.

[0406] In some examples, 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) 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).

[0407] 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 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.

[0408] 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 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.

[0409] Figure 14 shows a UE 1400 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1400 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 1312 of Figure 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-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0410] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP 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).

[0411] 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 Figure 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.

[0412] 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 computer 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).

[0413] 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.

[0414] 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.

[0415] 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 read-only 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 application 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.

[0416] 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 (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1410 may allow the UE 1400 to access instructions, application 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.

[0417] 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.

[0418] 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 Multiple Access (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.

[0419] 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).

[0420] 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.

[0421] 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 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 Figure 14.

[0422] 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 such 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 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT 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.

[0423] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single example. 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.

[0424] Figure 15 shows a network node 1500 in accordance with some embodiments. 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 telecommunication 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).

[0425] 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).

[0426] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers 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).

[0427] 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.

[0428] 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 network node 1500 components, such as the memory 1504, to provide network node 1500 functionality.

[0429] 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 radio frequency (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.

[0430] 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 is integrated.

[0431] The communication interface 1506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. 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.

[0432] 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-end 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 ports or terminals 1516, the radio frontend 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).

[0433] 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 or port.

[0434] 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. 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. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0435] 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.

[0436] Embodiments of the network node 1500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 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 user 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.

[0437] Figure 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 the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 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 0-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0438] 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.

[0439] 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 one or more virtualization layers 1606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1608a and 1608b (one or more of which may be generally 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 the VMs 1608.

[0440] The VMs 1608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1606. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1602 may be implemented on one or more of 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.

[0441] In the context of NFV, a VM 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 VMs 1608 on top of the hardware 1604 and corresponds to the application 1602.

[0442] 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.

[0443] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) 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 converted 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.

[0444] 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.

[0445] REFERENCES 1. RP-234078, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) for NR Phase 3 (Release 19)3GPP TS

[0446] 38.331 - Radio Resource Control (RRC)3GPP TS 38.413 - NG-RAN; NG Application Protocol (NGAP).

[0447] 2. 3GPP TS 38.423 - NG-RAN; Xn Application Protocol (XnAP).

[0448] 3. 3GPP TS 38.401 - NG-RAN Architecture. 4. 3GPP TR 38.812 - Machine Learning (ML) for NR Air Interface.

[0449] 5. 3GPP TS 23.791 - Enablers for Network Automation.

[0450] 6. 3GPP TS 23.288 - NWDAF for network analytics.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method performed by a first network node (111), the method being for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device (130), the first network node (111) operating in a wireless communications network (100), and the method comprising:- obtaining (203) first information indicating a position of the wireless device (130) operating in the wireless communications network (100), wherein the first network node (111) serves the wireless device (130), and- sending (204) a first indication to a second network node (112) operating in the wireless communications network (100), the second network node (112) being a target network node in a handover procedure, to serve the wireless device (130), wherein the first indication indicates the obtained first information.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:- receiving (201) a request for handover from the wireless device (130), and wherein the obtaining (203) of the first information is responsive to the received request for handover.

3. The method according to any of claims 1-2, further comprising:- receiving (205), responsive to the sent first indication, a second indication from the second network node (112), the second indication indicating a status of a configuration of one or more beams used / to be used by the second network node (112) to communicate with the wireless device (130), and- sending (206), responsive to the received second indication, a third indication to the wireless device (130), the third indication indicating the status of the configuration of the one or more beams used or to be used by the second network node (112) to communicate with the wireless device (130).

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, further comprising one or more of:- sending (202), responsive to the received request for handover, a previous indication, to at least one of the wireless device (130) and a positioning service, the previous indication requesting the first information, and wherein the obtaining of the first information is responsive to the sent previous indication,- receiving (207) updated first information indicating an updated position of the wireless device (130),- sending (208) a fourth indication to the second network node (112) indicating the updated first information,- receiving (209) a fifth indication, from the second network node (112) requesting updated first information, and- sending (210), responsive to the received fifth indication, a sixth indication, to the second network node (112) indicating the updated first information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the receiving (207) and / or the sending (208) and / or the receiving (208) and / or the receiving (209) is periodical.

6. The method according to any of claims 4-5, wherein the fifth indication is received as an radio resource control, RRC, message, and / or the sixth indication is sent as another RRC message.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein one or more of:- the first indication indicates the position of the wireless device (130) in real time,- the first indication indicates position coordinates of the wireless device (130) in real time,- the first indication indicates a predicted position of the wireless device (130) based on historical data,- the sending (204) of the first indication is via Next Generation Access Protocol, NGAP, signalling,- the position of the wireless device (130) is accurate to sub-meter level,- the first information comprises at least one of Global Navigation Satellite Systems data and multi-cell triangulation data,- the first indication is one of a handover request and sent over a separately established, positional or auxiliary, channel,- the first information is obtained from one or more of the wireless device (130) and a positioning service,- the first information comprises measurement reports from the wireless device (130),- the first indication is obtained based on a threshold indicating a number of position changes above which the wireless device (130) is configured to provide the first information.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the second indication is a handover request acknowledge.

9. The method according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the one or more of:the wireless communications network (100) is a terrestrial network, the wireless communications network (100) is a non-terrestrial network.

10. A method performed by a second network node (112), the method being for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device (130), the second network node (112) operating in a wireless communications network (100), and the method comprising:- receiving (301) a first indication from a first network node (111) operating in the wireless communications network (100), the first indication indicating first information, the first information indicating a position of the wireless device (130) operating in the wireless communications network (100) being served by the first network node (111), wherein the second network node (112) is a target network node, in a handover procedure, to serve the wireless device (130);- extracting (302) the first information from the received first indication, and- using (303) the extracted first information to perform an first action on one or more beams used / to be used to communicate with the wireless device (130).

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first action comprises one or more of:- aligning (303a) the one or more beams to communicate with the wireless device (130),- adjusting (303b) the one or more beams to communicate with the wireless device (130),- allocating (303c) radio resources to the one or more beams, and wherein the method further comprises one or more of:- sending (304), responsive to the received first indication, a second indication to the first network node (111), the second indication indicating a status of a configuration of the one or more beams used, or to be used, by the second network node (112) to communicate with the wireless device (130), and- receiving (305) a fourth indication from the first network node (111) indicating updated first information, and repeating the extracting (302) and the using (303) based on the updated first information.

12. The method according to any of claims 10-11 , further comprising one or more of:- sending (306), a fifth indication, to the wireless device (130) or the first network node (111) requesting updated first information, andreceiving (307), responsive to the sent fifth indication, a sixth indication, from the wireless device (130) or the first network node (111) indicating the updated first information.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the fifth indication is sent periodically and / or via a radio resource control, RRC, message.

14. The method according to any of claims 12-13, wherein the sixth indication is sent via another RRC message.

15. The method according to any of claims 10-14, wherein one or more of:- the first indication indicates the position of the wireless device (130) in real time,- the first indication indicates position coordinates of the wireless device (130) in real time,- the first indication indicates a predicted position of the wireless device (130) based on historical data,- the receiving (301) of the first indication is via Next Generation Access Protocol, NGAP, signalling,- the position of the wireless device (130) is accurate to sub-meter level,- the first information comprises at least one of Global Navigation Satellite Systems data and multi-cell triangulation data,- the first indication is one of a handover request and sent over a separately established, positional or auxiliary, channel,- the first information comprises measurement reports from the wireless device (130),- the first indication is obtained based on a threshold indicating a number of position changes above which the wireless device (130) is configured to provide the first information.

16. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the second indication is a handover request acknowledge.

17. The method according to any of claims 10-16, wherein the one or more of:- the wireless communications network (100) is a terrestrial network,- the wireless communications network (100) is a non-terrestrial network.

18. A method performed by a wireless device (130), the method being for handling information indicating a position of the wireless device (130), the wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100), and the method comprising:- sending (403) first information indicating a position of the wireless device (130) to a first network node (111) operating in the wireless communications network (100), wherein the wireless device (130) is served by the first network node(111).

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising one or more of:- sending (401) a request for handover to the first network node (111), and wherein the sending (403) of the first information is responsive to the sent request for handover, and- receiving (402), responsive to the sent request for handover, a previous indication from the first network node (111), the previous indication requesting the first information, and wherein the sending (403) of the first information is responsive to the received previous indication.

20. The method according to any of claims 18-19, further comprising one or more of:- receiving (404), responsive to the sent first information or the sent request for handover, a third indication from one of the first network node (111) and the second network node (112), the third indication indicating the status of a configuration of one or more beams used / to be used by the second network node(112) to communicate with the wireless device (130), and.- perform (405), responsive to the received third indication a second action based on the status of the configuration of the one or more beams.

21. The method according to any of claims 18-20, further comprising:- sending (406), to the first network node (111), updated first information indicating an updated position of the wireless device (130).

22. The method according claim 21, wherein the sending (406) is periodical.

23. The method according to any of claims 18-22, wherein one or more of:- the first information indicates the position of the wireless device (130) in real time,- the first information indicates position coordinates of the wireless device (130) in real time,- the first information indicates a predicted position of the wireless device (130) based on historical data,- the position of the wireless device (130) is accurate to sub-meter level,- the first information comprises at least one of Global Navigation Satellite Systems data and multi-cell triangulation data,- the first information comprises measurement reports from the wireless device (130),- the first information is sent based on a threshold indicating a number of position changes above which the wireless device (130) is configured to provide the first information.

24. The method according to any of claims 18-23, wherein the one or more of:- the wireless communications network (100) is a terrestrial network,- the wireless communications network (100) is a non-terrestrial network.

25. A first network node (111), for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device (130), the first network node (111) operating in a wireless communications network (100), the first network node (111) comprising processing circuitry (1001) and a memory (1002) storing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry (1001), cause the first network node (111) to:- obtain (203) first information indicating a position of the wireless device (130) operating in the wireless communications network (100), wherein the first network node (111) serves the wireless device (130), and- send (204) a first indication to a second network node (112) operating in the wireless communications network (100), the second network node (112) being a target network node in a handover procedure, to serve the wireless device (130), wherein the first indication indicates the obtained first information.

26. The first network node (111) of claim 25, wherein the instructions are further such that they, when executed by the processing circuitry (1001), cause the first network node (111) to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 9.

27. A second network node (112), for handling information indicating a position of a wireless device (130), the second network node (112) operating in a wireless communications network (100), the second network node (112) comprising processing circuitry (1101) and a memory (1102) storing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry (1101), cause the second network node (112) to:- receive (301) a first indication from a first network node (111) operating in the wireless communications network (100), the first indication indicating first information, the first information indicating a position of the wireless device (130) operating in the wireless communications network (100) being served by the first network node (111), wherein the second network node (112) is a target network node, in a handover procedure, to serve the wireless device (130);- extract (302) the first information from the received first indication, and- use (303) the extracted first information to perform an first action on one or more beams used / to be used to communicate with the wireless device (130).

28. The second network node (112) of claim 27, wherein the instructions are further such that they, when executed by the processing circuitry (1101), cause the second network node (112) to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 17.

29. A wireless device (130) for handling information indicating a position of the wireless device (130), the wireless device (130) operating in a wireless communications network (100), the wireless device (130) comprising processing circuitry (1201) and a memory (1202) storing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry (1201), cause the wireless device (130) to:- send (403) first information indicating a position of the wireless device (130) to a first network node (111) operating in the wireless communications network (100), wherein the wireless device (130) is served by the first network node (111).

30. The wireless device (130) of claim 29, wherein the instructions are further such that they, when executed by the processing circuitry (1201), cause the wireless device (130) to perform the method of any one of claims 19 to 24.

31. A computer program (1005) comprising instructions which when executed on a processor (1001) of a first network node (111) causes the first network node (111) to perform a method according to any of claims 1 to 9.

32. A computer program product which comprises a computer readable storage medium (1006) on which a computer program (1005) according to claim 31 is stored.

33. A computer program (1105) comprising instructions which when executed on a processor (1101) of a second network node (112) causes the second network node (112) to perform a method according to any of claims 10 to 17.

34. A computer program product which comprises a computer readable storage medium (1106) on which a computer program (1105) according to claim 33 is stored.

35. A computer program (1205) comprising instructions which when executed on a processor (1201) of a wireless device (130) causes the wireless device (130) to perform a method according to any of claims 18 to 24.

36. A computer program product which comprises a computer readable storage medium (1206) on which a computer program (1205) according to claim 35 is stored.

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