Mobility during small data transmission (SDT) procedure

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for mobility during small data transmission (SDT) procedures. An example method, performed at a user equipment (UE), generally includes receiving first signaling configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching, initiating a procedure to transmit data while the UE is in an inactive state, performing a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the procedure, and transmitting at least some of the data to the target cell after the cell switch.

Description

Qualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 1MOBILITY DURING SMALL DATA TRANSMISSION (SDT) PROCEDURECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 932,345 filed October 30, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all applicable purposes.Field of the Disclosure

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for mobility during small data transmission (SDT) procedures.Description of Related Art

[0003] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, or other similar types of services. These wireless communications systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communications with multiple users by sharing available wireless communications system resources with those users.

[0004] Although wireless communications systems have made great technological advancements over many years, challenges still exist. For example, complex and dynamic environments can still attenuate or block signals between wireless transmitters and wireless receivers. Accordingly, there is a continuous desire to improve the technical performance of wireless communications systems, including, for example: improving speed and data carrying capacity of communications, improving efficiency of the use of shared communications mediums, reducing power used by transmitters and receivers while performing communications, improving reliability of wireless communications, avoiding redundant transmissions and / or receptions and related processing, improving the coverage area of wireless communications, increasing the number and types of devices that can access wireless communications systems, increasing the ability for different types of devices to intercommunicate, increasing the number and type of wireless communications mediums available for use, and the like. Consequently, there exists a need for further improvements in wireless communications systems to overcome the aforementioned technical challenges and others.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 2SUMMARY

[0005] One aspect provides a method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE). The method includes receiving first signaling configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; initiating a procedure to transmit data while the UE is in an inactive state; performing a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the procedure; and transmitting at least some of the data to the target cell after the cell switch.

[0006] Another aspect provides a method for wireless communication at a network entity. The method includes outputting first signaling configuring a user equipment (UE) with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; and participating in a cell switch procedure, wherein the UE switches from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during a procedure in which the UE transmits data while the UE is in an inactive state.

[0007] Other aspects provide: an apparatus operable, configured, or otherwise adapted to perform any one or more of the aforementioned methods and / or those described elsewhere herein; a non-transitory, computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed (e.g., directly, indirectly, after pre-processing, without pre-processing) by one or more processors of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the aforementioned methods as well as those described elsewhere herein; a computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the aforementioned methods as well as those described elsewhere herein; and / or an apparatus comprising means for performing the aforementioned methods as well as those described elsewhere herein. By way of example, an apparatus may comprise a processing system, a device with a processing system, or processing systems cooperating over one or more networks.

[0008] The following description and the appended figures set forth certain features for purposes of illustration.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] The appended figures depict certain features of the various aspects described herein and are not to be considered limiting of the scope of this disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 1 depicts an example wireless communications network.

[0011] FIG. 2 depicts an example disaggregated base station architecture.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 3

[0012] FIG. 3 depicts aspects of an example base station and an example user equipment.

[0013] FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D depict various example aspects of data structures for a wireless communications network.

[0014] FIG. 5 depicts an example scenario with a pre-configured candidate cell set.

[0015] FIG. 6 depicts an example of UE mobility.

[0016] FIG. 7 depicts an example cell switch command random access channel (RACH) procedure.

[0017] FIG. 8 depicts a diagram illustrating an example small data transmission (SDT) procedure.

[0018] FIGs. 9A, 9B, and 9C depict example random access (RA) procedures.

[0019] FIG. 10 depicts a call flow diagram illustrating a random access (RA)-based SDT procedure with UE context relocation.

[0020] FIGs. 11 A, 11B, 11C, and 11D depict example use cases for mobility (e.g., cell switching) during an SDT procedure.

[0021] FIG. 12 depicts a call flow diagram illustrating cell switching during an SDT procedure, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 13 depicts a timing diagram illustrating network triggered cell switching during an SDT procedure, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 14 depicts a timing diagram illustrating UE initiated cell switching during an SDT procedure, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 15 depicts a method for wireless communications.

[0025] FIG. 16 depicts a method for wireless communications.

[0026] FIG. 17 depicts aspects of an example communications device.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatuses, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable mediums for mobility during small data transmission (SDT) procedures.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 4

[0028] In advanced wireless systems, mobility procedures are in place to help maintain network connections for a wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), as it moves between the coverage areas of different cells. Mobility procedures generally refer to mechanisms that allow a UE to transition from being served by a source cell to being served by a target / candidate cell. Such a transition is generally be referred to as a handover.

[0029] In some cases, for physical layer (PHY or Layer 1 / L1) and / or medium access control layer (MAC or Layer 2 / L2), also referred to as L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM), as a UE moves, a new serving cell (e.g. a primary cell (Pcell)) may be selected (e.g., reselected) for handover among a set of pre-configured candidate cells. The new serving cell may be selected based on measurements of reference signal (RS) made at the physical (PHY or LI) layer (referred to as LI measurements) for the candidate cells. The RSs are typically sent with different beams. To facilitate a handover decision, the UE may generate beam reports containing information about the received signal quality from the different beams of the serving cell and / or candidate cells. These beam reports may then be sent to a serving cell. For example, such beam reports may include measurements (e.g., reference signal (RS) receive power (RSRP), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR)) for AT beams for each of L (serving and / or candidate) cells. Thus, the reports may include M x L total measurements.

[0030] Radio resource control (RRC) INACTIVE generally refers to an RRC state that strikes a balance between connection readiness and power saving for a UE. In this state, the UE retains its context in both the base station (e.g., a gNB) and the core network, allowing it to quickly resume communications without the full overhead of transitioning from RRC IDLE state. This enables faster reconnection times and reduces signaling load compared to transitioning from RRC IDLE to RRC CONNECTED. The RRC INACTIVE state is particularly useful for UEs with intermittent data activity, such as those moving between cells, because it allows the UE to perform cell reselection and maintain mobility without needing to establish a full connection. This state helps reduce latency for data transfers and improves battery efficiency by minimizing the need for frequent state transitions and reducing radio activity.

[0031] Small Data Transmission (SDT) refers to procedures that allow data and / or other signaling transmission while a UE remaining in an RRC INACTIVE state (e.g., without transitioning to an RRC CONNECTED state). An SDT procedure may beP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 5 initiated if a limited amount (e.g., less than a configured amount) of data awaits (e.g., uplink) transmission. Otherwise, conventional data transmission schemes may be used (which would require a full transition from the RRC INACTIVE state).

[0032] During an SDT procedure, a UE may monitor control channels associated with the shared data channel to determine if resources are scheduled for data communications associated with the UE (e.g., for the SDT transmission). In some cases, an SDT procedure may be Random Access (RA)-based SDT (e.g., RA-SDT) or configured grant (CG)-based (e.g., CG-SDT). Significant power / energy savings can be achieved for a UE by performing SDT in an RRC inactive state (e.g., as opposed to transitioning to an RRC CONNECTED state and transmitting using conventional data transmission schemes).

[0033] However, certain restrictions (e.g., specified by NR / 5G wireless communications standards) may apply for SDT procedures. For example, cell switching may not be supported during SDT, SDT-type switching (e.g., from CG to RA, and vice versa) may not be supported, and Rank > 1 transmissions may not be supported for SDT. In some cases, only initial DL / UL BWPs may be configured for SDT. Given that RA- SDT with UE context relocation may be supportable by upper layers in NR / 5G, it may be beneficial to develop / support techniques for mobility enhancement for 6G SDT (e.g., at least for intra-DU and inter-DU use cases described below) to improve UE power saving, cell densification, and NW energy saving (e.g., in accordance with 6G standards).

[0034] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques that may help support mobility during small data transmission (SDT) procedures. For example, certain techniques disclosed herein include lower layer procedures to enable mobility enhancement for 6G SDT, where a UE in an inactive state can perform cell switching (e.g., re-selection and / or handover) without transitioning to an RRC connected state and invoking certain handover (HO) procedures. Utilization of the techniques disclosed herein may improve overall efficiency and performance via enabling mobility / cell switching during SDT procedures. For example, utilizing the techniques disclosed herein may result in enhancement of UE power saving in an inactive state, latency reduction for cell-level mobility during SDT.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 6Introduction to Wireless Communications Networks

[0035] The techniques and methods described herein may be used for various wireless communications networks. While aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with 3G, 4G, and / or 5G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may likewise be applicable to other communications systems and standards not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0036] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a wireless communications network 100, in which aspects described herein may be implemented.

[0037] Generally, wireless communications network 100 includes various network entities (alternatively, network elements or network nodes). A network entity is generally a communications device and / or a communications function performed by a communications device (e.g., a user equipment (UE), a base station (BS), a component of a BS, a server, etc.). For example, various functions of a network as well as various devices associated with and interacting with a network may be considered network entities. Further, wireless communications network 100 includes terrestrial aspects, such as ground-based network entities (e.g., BSs 102), and non-terrestrial aspects, such as satellite 140 and aircraft 145, which may include network entities on-board (e.g., one or more BSs) capable of communicating with other network elements (e.g., terrestrial BSs) and user equipments.

[0038] In the depicted example, wireless communications network 100 includes BSs 102, UEs 104, and one or more core networks, such as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160 and 5G Core (5GC) network 190, which interoperate to provide communications services over various communications links, including wired and wireless links.

[0039] FIG. 1 depicts various example UEs 104, which may more generally include: a cellular phone, smart phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, laptop, personal digital assistant (PDA), satellite radio, global positioning system, multimedia device, video device, digital audio player, camera, game console, tablet, smart device, wearable device, vehicle, electric meter, gas pump, large or small kitchen appliance, healthcare device, implant, sensor / actuator, display, internet of things (loT) devices, always on (AON) devices, edge processing devices, or other similar devices. UEs 104 may also be referred to more generally as a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobileP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 7 subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a remote device, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, and others.

[0040] BSs 102 wirelessly communicate with (e.g., transmit signals to or receive signals from) UEs 104 via communications links 120. The communications links 120 between BSs 102 and UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a BS 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a BS 102 to a UE 104. The communications links 120 may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity in various aspects.

[0041] BSs 102 may generally include: a NodeB, enhanced NodeB (eNB), next generation enhanced NodeB (ng-eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, transmission reception point, and / or others. Each of BSs 102 may provide communications coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110, which may sometimes be referred to as a cell, and which may overlap in some cases (e.g., small cell 102’ may have a coverage area 110’ that overlaps the coverage area 110 of a macro cell). A BS may, for example, provide communications coverage for a macro cell (covering relatively large geographic area), a pico cell (covering relatively smaller geographic area, such as a sports stadium), a femto cell (relatively smaller geographic area (e.g., a home)), and / or other types of cells.

[0042] While BSs 102 are depicted in various aspects as unitary communications devices, BSs 102 may be implemented in various configurations. For example, one or more components of a base station may be disaggregated, including a central unit (CU), one or more distributed units (DUs), one or more radio units (RUs), a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC, to name a few examples. In another example, various aspects of a base station may be virtualized. More generally, a base station (e.g., BS 102) may include components that are located at a single physical location or components located at various physical locations. In examples in which a base station includes components that are located at various physical locations, the various components may each perform functions such that, collectively, the various components achieve functionality that is similar to a base station that is located at a single physical location. In some aspects, a base station includingP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 8 components that are located at various physical locations may be referred to as a disaggregated radio access network architecture, such as an Open RAN (O-RAN) or Virtualized RAN (VRAN) architecture. FIG. 2 depicts and describes an example disaggregated base station architecture.

[0043] Different BSs 102 within wireless communications network 100 may also be configured to support different radio access technologies, such as 3G, 4G, and / or 5G. For example, BSs 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E- UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 through first backhaul links 132 (e.g., an SI interface). BSs 102 configured for 5G (e.g., 5G NR or Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with 5GC 190 through second backhaul links 184. BSs 102 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160 or 5GC 190) with each other over third backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2 interface), which may be wired or wireless.

[0044] Wireless communications network 100 may subdivide the electromagnetic spectrum into various classes, bands, channels, or other features. In some aspects, the subdivision is provided based on wavelength and frequency, where frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a subcarrier, a frequency channel, a tone, or a subband. For example, 3GPP currently defines Frequency Range 1 (FR1) as including 410 MHz - 7125 MHz, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as “Sub-6 GHz”. Similarly, 3GPP currently defines Frequency Range 2 (FR2) as including 24,250 MHz - 71,000 MHz, which is sometimes referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” (“mmW” or “mmWave”). In some cases, FR2 may be further defined in terms of sub-ranges, such as a first sub-range FR2-1 including 24,250 MHz - 52,600 MHz and a second sub-range FR2-2 including 52,600 MHz - 71,000 MHz. A base station configured to communicate using mmWave / near mmWave radio frequency bands (e.g., a mmWave base station such as BS 180) may utilize beamforming (e.g., 182) with a UE (e.g., 104) to improve path loss and range.

[0045] The communications links 120 between BSs 102 and, for example, UEs 104, may be through one or more carriers, which may have different bandwidths (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, and / or other MHz), and which may be aggregated in various aspects. Carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL).P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 9

[0046] Communications using higher frequency bands may have higher path loss and a shorter range compared to lower frequency communications. Accordingly, certain base stations (e.g., 180 in FIG. 1) may utilize beamforming 182 with a UE 104 to improve path loss and range. For example, BS 180 and the UE 104 may each include a plurality of antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays to facilitate the beamforming. In some cases, BS 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182’. UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the BS 180 in one or more receive directions 182”. UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the BS 180 in one or more transmit directions 182”. BS 180 may also receive the beamformed signal from UE 104 in one or more receive directions 182’. BS 180 and UE 104 may then perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of BS 180 and UE 104. Notably, the transmit and receive directions for BS 180 may or may not be the same. Similarly, the transmit and receive directions for UE 104 may or may not be the same.

[0047] Wireless communications network 100 further includes a Wi-Fi AP 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 via communications links 154 in, for example, a 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum.

[0048] Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communications link 158. D2D communications link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0049] EPC 160 may include various functional components, including: a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and / or a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172, such as in the depicted example. MME 162 may be in communication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. MME 162 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 and the EPC 160. Generally, MME 162 provides bearer and connection management.

[0050] Generally, user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to PDN Gateway 172. PDN Gateway 172P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 10 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP Services 176, which may include, for example, the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Packet Switched (PS) streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0051] BM-SC 170 may provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and / or may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to the BSs 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service, and / or may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

[0052] 5GC 190 may include various functional components, including: an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may be in communication with Unified Data Management (UDM) 196.

[0053] AMF 192 is a control node that processes signaling between UEs 104 and 5GC 190. AMF 192 provides, for example, quality of service (QoS) flow and session management.

[0054] Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through UPF 195, which is connected to the IP Services 197, and which provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions for 5GC 190. IP Services 197 may include, for example, the Internet, an intranet, an IMS, a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0055] In various aspects, a network entity or network node can be implemented as an aggregated base station, as a disaggregated base station, a component of a base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, to name a few examples.

[0056] FIG. 2 depicts an example disaggregated base station 200 architecture. The disaggregated base station 200 architecture may include one or more central units (CUs) 210 that can communicate directly with a core network 220 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 220 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 225 via an E2P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 11 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 215 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 205, or both). A CU 210 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 230 via respective midhaul links, such as an Fl interface. The DUs 230 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 240 via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 240 may communicate with respective UEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 240.

[0057] Each of the units, e.g., the CUs 210, the DUs 230, the RUs 240, as well as the Near-RT RICs 225, the Non-RT RICs 215 and the SMO Framework 205, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communications interfaces of the units, can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally or alternatively, the units can include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver), configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

[0058] In some aspects, the CU 210 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), or the like. Each control function can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 210. The CU 210 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., Central Unit - User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (e.g., Central Unit - Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 210 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the El interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 210 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 230, as necessary, for network control and signaling.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 12

[0059] The DU 230 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 240. In some aspects, the DU 230 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, the DU 230 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 230, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 210.

[0060] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 240. In some deployments, an RU 240, controlled by a DU 230, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or the like), or both, based at least in part on the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RU(s) 240 can be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 104. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communications with the RU(s) 240 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 230. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU(s) 230 and the CU 210 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0061] The SMO Framework 205 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 205 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an 01 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 205 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 290) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an 02 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, CUs 210, DUs 230, RUs 240 and Near-RT RICs 225. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 205 canP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 13 communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 211, via an 01 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 205 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 240 via an 01 interface. The SMO Framework 205 also may include a Non-RT RIC 215 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 205.

[0062] The Non-RT RIC 215 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy -based guidance of applications / features in the Near-RT RIC 225. The Non-RT RIC 215 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an Al interface) the Near-RT RIC 225. The Near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 210, one or more DUs 230, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 225.

[0063] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 225, the Non-RT RIC 215 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 225 and may be received at the SMO Framework 205 or the Non-RT RIC 215 from nonnetwork data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 215 or the Near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 215 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 205 (such as reconfiguration via 01) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as Al policies).

[0064] FIG. 3 depicts aspects of an example BS 102 and a UE 104.

[0065] Generally, BS 102 includes various processors (e.g., 320, 330, 338, and 340), antennas 334a-t (collectively 334), transceivers 332a-t (collectively 332), which include modulators and demodulators, and other aspects, which enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., data source 312) and wireless reception of data (e.g., data sink 339). For example, BS 102 may send and receive data between BS 102 and UE 104. BS 102P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 14 includes controller / processor 340, which may be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communications.

[0066] Generally, UE 104 includes various processors (e.g., 358, 364, 366, and 380), antennas 352a-r (collectively 352), transceivers 354a-r (collectively 354), which include modulators and demodulators, and other aspects, which enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., retrieved from data source 362) and wireless reception of data (e.g., provided to data sink 360). UE 104 includes controller / processor 380, which may be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communications.

[0067] In regards to an example downlink transmission, BS 102 includes a transmit processor 320 that may receive data from a data source 312 and control information from a controller / processor 340. The control information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), and / or others. The data may be for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), in some examples.

[0068] Transmit processor 320 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols, such as for the primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0069] Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to the modulators (MODs) in transceivers 332a-332t. Each modulator in transceivers 332a- 332t may process a respective output symbol stream to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from the modulators in transceivers 332a-332t may be transmitted via the antennas 334a-334t, respectively.

[0070] In order to receive the downlink transmission, UE 104 includes antennas 352a-352r that may receive the downlink signals from the BS 102 and may provide receivedP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 15 signals to the demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 354a-354r, respectively. Each demodulator in transceivers 354a-354r may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples to obtain received symbols.

[0071] MEMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from all the demodulators in transceivers 354a-354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. Receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 104 to a data sink 360, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 380.

[0072] In regards to an example uplink transmission, UE 104 further includes a transmit processor 364 that may receive and process data (e.g., for the PUSCH) from a data source 362 and control information (e.g., for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)) from the controller / processor 380. Transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal (e.g., for the sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 366 if applicable, further processed by the modulators in transceivers 354a-354r (e.g., for SC-FDM), and transmitted to BS 102.

[0073] At BS 102, the uplink signals from UE 104 may be received by antennas 334a- t, processed by the demodulators in transceivers 332a-332t, detected by a MIMO detector 336 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 104. Receive processor 338 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 339 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 340.

[0074] Memories 342 and 382 may store data and program codes for BS 102 and UE 104, respectively.

[0075] Scheduler 344 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0076] In various aspects, BS 102 may be described as transmitting and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, “transmitting” may refer to various mechanisms of outputting data, such as outputting data from data source 312, scheduler 344, memory 342, transmit processor 320,P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 16 controller / processor 340, TX MIMO processor 330, transceivers 332a-t, antenna 334a-t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, “receiving” may refer to various mechanisms of obtaining data, such as obtaining data from antennas 334a-t, transceivers 332a-t, RX MIMO detector 336, controller / processor 340, receive processor 338, scheduler 344, memory 342, and / or other aspects described herein.

[0077] In various aspects, UE 104 may likewise be described as transmitting and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, “transmitting” may refer to various mechanisms of outputting data, such as outputting data from data source 362, memory 382, transmit processor 364, controller / processor 380, TX MIMO processor 366, transceivers 354a-t, antenna 352a-t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, “receiving” may refer to various mechanisms of obtaining data, such as obtaining data from antennas 352a-t, transceivers 354a-t, RX MIMO detector 356, controller / processor 380, receive processor 358, memory 382, and / or other aspects described herein.

[0078] In some aspects, one or more processors may be configured to perform various operations, such as those associated with the methods described herein, and transmit (output) to or receive (obtain) data from another interface that is configured to transmit or receive, respectively, the data.

[0079] FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D depict aspects of data structures for a wireless communications network, such as wireless communications network 100 of FIG. 1.

[0080] In particular, FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G (e.g., 5GNR) frame structure, FIG. 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G subframe, FIG. 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G frame structure, and FIG. 4D is a diagram 480 illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G subframe.

[0081] Wireless communications systems may utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the uplink and downlink. Such systems may also support half-duplex operation using time division duplexing (TDD). OFDM and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) partition the system bandwidth (e.g., as depicted in FIGS. 4B and 4D) into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. Modulation symbols may be sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and / or in the time domain with SC-FDM.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 17

[0082] A wireless communications frame structure may be frequency division duplex (FDD), in which, for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for either DL or UL. Wireless communications frame structures may also be time division duplex (TDD), in which, for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for both DL and UL.

[0083] In FIG. 4A and 4C, the wireless communications frame structure is TDD where D is DL, U is UL, and X is flexible for use between DL / UL. UEs may be configured with a slot format through a received slot format indicator (SFI) (dynamically through DL control information (DCI), or semi-statically / statically through radio resource control (RRC) signaling). In the depicted examples, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized 1 ms subframes. Each subframe may include one or more time slots. In some examples, each slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the slot format. Subframes may also include mini-slots, which generally have fewer symbols than an entire slot. Other wireless communications technologies may have a different frame structure and / or different channels.

[0084] In certain aspects, the number of slots within a subframe is based on a slot configuration and a numerology. For example, for slot configuration 0, different numerol ogies (p) 0 to 6 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 slots, respectively, per subframe. For slot configuration 1, different numerol ogies 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 slots, respectively, per subframe. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and numerology p, there are 14 symbols / slot and 2p slots / subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are a function of the numerology. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2^ X 15 kHz, where p is the numerology 0 to 6. As such, the numerology p = 0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and the numerology p = 6 has a subcarrier spacing of 960 kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D provide an example of slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and numerology p = 2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 ps.

[0085] As depicted in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, a resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) that extends, for example, 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 18

[0086] As illustrated in FIG. 4A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for a UE (e.g., UE 104 of FIGS. 1 and 3). The RS may include demodulation RS (DMRS) and / or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include beam measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and / or phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0087] FIG. 4B illustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including, for example, nine RE groups (REGs), each REG including, for example, four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol.

[0088] A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of particular subframes of a frame. The PSS is used by a UE (e.g., 104 of FIGS. 1 and 3) to determine subframe / symbol timing and a physical layer identity.

[0089] A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of particular subframes of a frame. The SSS is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing.

[0090] Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the aforementioned DMRS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS)ZPBCH block. The MIB provides a number of RBs in the system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH such as system information blocks (SIBs), and / or paging messages.

[0091] As illustrated in FIG. 4C, some of the REs carry DMRS (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DMRS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may transmit DMRS for the PUCCH and DMRS for the PUSCH. The PUSCH DMRS may be transmitted, for example, in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DMRS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether short or long PUCCHs are transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used. UE 104 may transmit sounding reference signals (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted, for example, in the last symbol ofP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 19 a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and a UE may transmit SRS on one of the combs. The SRS may be used by a base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0092] FIG. 4D illustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.Overview ofPRACH Triggering and Cell Mobility

[0093] PRACH triggering from a network entity may be based on higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC) or, in some cases, lower layer signaling such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In some cases, PRACH transmissions for uplink (UL) timing in a candidate cell may be triggered via a downlink control information (DCI) from a serving cell.

[0094] Triggering PRACH transmissions may be beneficial in the scenario illustrated in FIG. 5, where a UE may move between a preconfigured set 500 of candidate cells. In the illustrated example, the UE moves from a first cell (e.g., an old serving / primary cell) to a new serving candidate cell. In this case, the UE may not receive data or control information in the candidate cell, but may transmit a PRACH in order to facilitate timing adjustment for the new candidate cell before a cell change.

[0095] As will be described in greater detail below, with reference to FIG. 7, a RACH may be triggered via a cell switch command (e.g., a MAC-CE). The cell switch command may be sent by a source / serving cell in order to trigger a RACH transmission in a candidate / target cell.Overview of Dynamic Signaling-Based Mobility

[0096] As noted above, dynamic mobility signaling (e.g., LI and / or L2-centric mobility or LTM) may lead to more efficient intra-cell and inter-cell mobility with reduced latency.

[0097] The general concept of LTM signaling may be understood with reference to the example scenario 600 shown in FIG. 6. As illustrated, the network may configureP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 20(e.g., via RRC signaling), a set of cells for L1 / L2 mobility (referred to herein as an L1 / L2 Mobility Configured cell set). At any given time, the network may also configure (via L1 / L2 signaling) an L1 / L2 Mobility Activated cell set, which refers to a group of cells in the configured set that are activated and can be readily used for data and control transfer. The network may also configure (signal) an L1 / L2 Mobility Deactivated cell set, which refers to a group of cells in the configured set that are deactivated and can be readily activated by L1 / L2 signaling.

[0098] L1 / L2 signaling may be used for mobility management of the activated set.For example, L1 / L2 signaling may be used to activate / deactivate cells in the set, select beams within the activated cells, and update / switch a primary cell (PCell). This dynamic signaling may help provide seamless mobility within the activated cells in the set. In other words, as the UE moves, the cells from the set are deactivated and activated by L1 / L2 signaling. The cells to activate and deactivate may be based on various factors, such as signal quality (measurements) and loading.

[0099] As in the example illustrated in FIG. 6, in some cases, all cells in the L1 / L2 Mobility Configured cell set may belong to the same DU 630 of a CU 610. This may be similar to carrier aggregation (CA), but cells may be on the same carrier frequencies. The size of the cell set configured for L1 / L2 mobility signaling may vary. In general, the cell set size may be selected to be large enough to cover a meaningful mobility area.

[0100] In some cases, the UE may be provided with a subset of deactivated cells, as a candidate cell set, from which the UE could autonomously choose to add to the activated cell set. The decision of whether to add a cell from the candidate cell set to the activated cell set may be a based various factors, such as measured channel quality and loading information. In some cases, the ability for the UE to autonomously choose to add to the activated cell set may be similar to a UE decision when configured for Conditional Handover (CHO) for fast and efficient addition of the prepared cells.

[0101] As illustrated in FIG. 6, each cell may be served by an RU. Each of the RUs may have multi-carrier (N CCs) support. In such cases, each CC may be a cell (e.g., Cell 2 and Cell 2’ may be different CCs of the same RU). In such cases, activation / deactivation can be done in groups of carriers (cells).

[0102] For PCell management, L1 / L2 signaling may be used to set (select) the PCell out of the preconfigured options within the activated cell set. In some cases, L3 mobilityP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 21 may be used for PCell change (L3 handover) when a new PCell is not from the activated cell set for L1 / L2 mobility. In such cases, RRC signaling may update the set of cells for L1 / L2 mobility at L3 handover.

[0103] In some cases, physical layer (Layer 1 or LI) measurement may be enhanced for L1 / L2 mobility, where a serving cell can be changed via L1 / L2 signalling based on LI measurement, and both synchronous and asynchronous source and target cells may be considered.

[0104] Various mechanisms and procedures of L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility may be specified for mobility latency reduction. These may include configuration and maintenance for multiple candidate cells to allow fast application of configurations for candidate cells. Dynamic switching mechanisms among candidate serving cells (including SpCell and SCell) may be supported for the potential applicable scenarios based on L1 / L2 signaling.

[0105] LI enhancements for inter-cell beam management, may include LI measurement and reporting, as well as beam indication. Timing Advance (TA) management and CU-DU interface signaling may also be provided to support L1 / L2 mobility.

[0106] L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility procedures may be applicable to a variety of scenarios. These scenarios may include standalone, CA and new radio-dual connectivity (NR-DC) cases with serving cell change within one cell group (CG), intra-distributed unit (DU) cases and intra-central unit (CU) inter-DU cases, intra-frequency and interfrequency scenarios, both FR1 and FR2 scenarios, and scenarios where source and target cells may be synchronized or non-synchronized.

[0107] As noted above, a cell switch command may be sent by a source / serving cell in order to trigger a RACH transmission in a candidate / target cell. FIG. 7 depicts an example 700 of such a cell switch command triggered RACH transmission.

[0108] As noted above, for layer 1 / 2 (L1 / L2) triggered mobility (LTM), as a UE moves, a new serving cell may be selected (e.g., reselected) among a set of pre-configured candidate cells based on the UE’ s LI measurement for those cells. To save timing advance (TA) acquisition time, a UE may send a physical random access channel (PRACH) to a target candidate cell for TA measurement before it is selected as a new serving cell. While LTM generally refers to UE mobility (moving from a source cell to a target candidateP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 22 cell) triggered via LI and / or L2 signaling, a broader term triggered mobility may also include L3 signaling (in addition to LI and / or L2 signaling).

[0109] PRACH triggering from the network entity may be based on a cell switch command, as illustrated in FIG. 7. For example, as shown, a current serving cell may transmit a cell switch command to a UE. As illustrated, the cell switch command may trigger the UE to transmit a PRACH to a candidate cell before it is selected as a new serving cell (e.g., in order to save TA acquisition time).As illustrated, the UE may participate in the PRACH procedure (e.g., transmit the PRACH) using a beam selected in accordance with the command (e.g., based on information present or absent in the command).Overview of Small Data Transmission (SDT) Procedures

[0110] As noted above, Small Data Transmission (SDT) procedures allow data and / or signaling transmission (e.g., by a UE) while remaining in an RRC INACTIVE state (e.g., without transitioning to an RRC CONNECTED state). An SDT procedure may be initiated if a limited amount (e.g., less than a configured amount) of data awaits (e.g., uplink) transmission. Otherwise, conventional data transmission schemes may be used. During an SDT procedure, a UE may monitor control channels associated with the shared data channel to determine if resources are scheduled for data communications associated with the UE (e.g., for the SDT transmission). In some cases, an SDT procedure may be Random Access (RA)-based SDT (e.g., RA-SDT) or configured grant (CG)-based (e.g., CG-SDT). Significant power / energy savings can be achieved for a UE by performing SDT in an RRC inactive state (e.g., as opposed to transitioning to an RRC CONNECTED state and transmitting using conventional data transmission schemes).

[0111] FIG. 8 depicts a diagram 800 illustrating an example small data transmission (SDT) procedure. As illustrated at 802, for example, an SDT session / procedure may occur while a UE is in an RRC INACTIVE state.

[0112] As illustrated at 804, a UE may transition from RRC INACTIVE to RRC CONNECTED (e.g., without the need to re-establish the full connection context) using an RRC Resume procedure, and from RRC CONNECTED to RRC INACTIVE using an RRC Release procedure. As illustrated at 806, a UE may transition from RRC CONNECTED to RRC IDLE using an RRC Release procedure, and from RRC IDLE toP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 23RRC CONNECTED using an RRC Establishment procedure (e.g., by sending an RRCSetupRequest message to a gNB).

[0113] When a UE is in the RRC INACTIVE state, it may retain its radio and core network context, allowing for a quick resumption of communication. Upon receiving a paging message or detecting the need for data transmission, the UE may initiate the RRC Resume procedure, which informs the gNB that the UE wants to resume the connection using the context stored during its previous active session. This reduces signaling overhead and latency that would otherwise occur if the UE had been in the RRC IDLE state, where the connection would need to be fully re-established from scratch.

[0114] During RRC Release, the network releases the UE's dedicated resources and may provide information about whether the UE should transition to RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE. The RRC Release may include a "suspend" command, indicating that the network wants the UE to move into the RRC INACTIVE state, meaning the UE will suspend its active radio resources but retain its context (such as UE-specific configuration and security parameters). This is useful for UEs that may not need to maintain an active connection but are expected to require fast reconnection in the near future.

[0115] FIGs. 9 A, 9B, and 9C depict example sequences for transitioning from idle and inactive states to the connected state.

[0116] FIG. 9A depicts an example sequence 900 for a UE transitioning from an IDLE state 902. When an uplink packet (UL pkt) arrives, the UE "warms up" and begins decoding Synchronization Signal Block(s) (SSBs). As illustrated at 904, the UE sends the msgl (Preamble), starting the random access procedure. The gNB responds with msg2, the Random Access Response (RAR), which allocates initial resources to the UE. Next, the UE sends msg3 (RRC Set Up Request), requesting the establishment of an RRC connection. After receiving msg4 (contention resolution), the connection is established, and the UE moves to the RRC Set Up process. Finally, the UE completes the RRC Reconfiguration Process to fully transition to the CONNECTED state 906.

[0117] FIG. 9B depicts an example sequence 930 for a UE transitioning from an INACTIVE state 932. Similar to the IDLE state, when a UL packet arrives, the UE starts by "warming up" and decoding SSB(s). The random access procedure begins with msgl (Preamble), followed by msg2 (RAR). Instead of sending an RRC Setup Request like in the IDLE state, the UE now sends msg3 (RRC Resume Request), indicating that it wantsP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 24 to resume its previous connection using the stored context. After msg4 (contention resolution), the UE enters the RRC Set Up / Resumption process, which is faster because the UE does not need to fully re-establish its connection. This transition is quicker (e.g., reduced overall connection time) than the IDLE-to-CONNECTED transition illustrated in FIG. 9A

[0118] FIG. 9C depicts an example sequence 960, including an SDT procedure, for a UE in an INACTIVE state. The UE remains in an INACTIVE state, but uses dynamic scheduling to transmit small amounts of data (SDT) without fully transitioning to CONNECTED unless necessary.

[0119] Similarly to FIGs. 9A and 9B, the sequence 960 begins with the UE warming up and decoding the SSB, followed by the random access procedure with msgl (Preamble) and msg2 (RAR). Then, the UE sends msg3 (RRC Resume Request) with a small PUSCH payload for transmitting small data. Next, msg4 (contention resolution) is sent back by the gNB, and the UE resumes its connection. The RRC Set Up / Resumption process begins, but instead of directly moving to CONNECTED, dynamic scheduling is performed during SDT, assessing whether the UE needs to fully transition to the CONNECTED state (as illustrated at 962). If the criteria to CONNECTED mode are satisfied, the UE completes the transition to CONNECTED.

[0120] FIG. 10 depicts a call flow diagram 1000 illustrating a random access (RA)- based SDT procedure with UE context relocation. As illustrated at step 0, the UE may be in an RRC INACTIVE CM-CONNECTED state.

[0121] As illustrated at step 1, the UE sends an RRCResum eRequest as well as UL SDT data and / or UL SDT signaling to the receiving gNB.

[0122] As illustrated at step 2, the receiving gNB identifies the last serving gNB using an I-RNTI and retrieves the UE context by means of Xn-AP Retrieve UE Context procedure. The receiving gNB indicates that the UE request is for an SDT and may also provide SDT assistance information (e.g., single packet, multiple packets).

[0123] As illustrated at step 3, the last serving gNB decides to relocate UE context and responds with the RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT RESPONSE message. The UL SDT data, if any, is delivered from the receiving gNB to the UPF.

[0124] As illustrated at step 4, the receiving gNB decides to keep the UE in RRC INACTIVE state for SDT. If loss of DL user data buffered in the last serving gNBP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 25 shall be prevented, the receiving gNB provides forwarding addresses via the Xn-U ADDRESS INDICATION message.

[0125] As illustrated at steps 5-6, the receiving gNB also initiates an NG-AP Path Switch procedure to establish a NG UE associated signaling connection to the serving AMF. After the Path Switch procedure, the buffered UL NAS PDU, if any, is delivered from the receiving gNB to the AMF. And then, the subsequent UL / DL SDT data and / or signaling are transferred between UE and core network via the receiving gNB.

[0126] As illustrated at step 7, after the SDT transmission is completed, the receiving gNB generates and sends the RRCRelease message including the suspend indication to the UE to complete the SDT procedure and continue in RRC INACTIVE state. In case DL non-SDT data or DL non-SDT signaling arrives, or the UE assistance information (i.e., UL non-SDT data arrival indication) is received from the UE, the receiving gNB may decide to directly send the UE to RRC CONNECTED state by sending the RRCResume message.

[0127] As illustrated at step 8, the receiving gNB indicates to the last serving gNB to remove the UE context by sending the XnAP UE CONTEXT RELEASE message. The XnAP UE CONTEXT RELEASE message can be sent after step 6.

[0128] FIG. 11A illustrates a scenario 1100 involving inter-DU mobility, where a UE is switching from a source cell associated with a first DU to a target cell associated with a second DU.

[0129] FIG. 11B illustrates a scenario 1120 involving intra-DU mobility, where a UE is switching from a source cell associated with a first RU managed by a first CU / DU, to a target cell associated with a second RU that is also managed by the (same) first CU / DU.

[0130] FIG. 11C illustrates a scenario 1140 involving intra-DU mobility, where a UE is switching from a source cell associated with a first RU managed by a first DU, to a target cell associated with a second RU that is also managed by the (same) first DU.

[0131] FIG. 11D illustrates a scenario 1160 involving inter-DU mobility, where a UE is switching from a source cell associated with a first RU managed by a first DU, to a target cell associated with a second RU that is managed by a second DU, where the first DU and the second DU are associated with a same CU.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 26

[0132] These example use cases, illustrated in FIGs. 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D, for (intra-DU and inter-DU) mobility may be candidate scenarios for utilization of the techniques disclosed herein relating to mobility during SDT procedures.Aspects Related to Mobility during Small Data Transmission (SDT) Procedures

[0133] As noted above, certain restrictions (e.g., specified by NR / 5G wireless communications standards) may apply for SDT procedures. For example, cell switching may not be supported during SDT, SDT-type switching (e.g., from CG to RA, and vice versa) may not be supported, and Rank > 1 transmissions may not be supported for SDT. In some cases, only initial DL / UL BWPs may be configured for SDT.

[0134] Given that RA-SDT with UE context relocation may be supportable by upper layers in NR / 5G, it may be beneficial to develop / support techniques for mobility enhancement for 6G SDT (e.g., at least for intra-DU and inter-DU use cases described below) to improve UE power saving, cell densification, and network energy saving (e.g., in accordance with 6G standards).

[0135] Aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques that may help mobility during small data transmission (SDT) procedures. For example, certain techniques disclosed herein include lower layer procedures to enable mobility enhancement for 6G SDT, where a UE in an inactive state can perform cell switching (e.g., re-selection and / or handover) without transitioning to an RRC connected state and invoking certain handover (HO) procedures.

[0136] Techniques for mobility / cell switching during an SDT procedure proposed herein may be understood with reference to the call flow diagram 1200 of FIG. 12. In some aspects, the UE shown in FIG. 12 may be an example of the UE 104 depicted and described with respect to FIG. 1 and 3. Similarly, the network entities (e.g., target cell(s), source cell(s), and / or DU) shown in FIG. 12 may be examples of the BS 102 (e.g., a gNB) depicted and described with respect to FIG. 1 and 3 or a disaggregated base station depicted and described with respect to FIG. 2. As illustrated, in some cases, the network entity may include a DU that is associated with a source cell and / or one or more target cells (e.g., candidate cells for LTM).

[0137] As illustrated at 1202, the UE may receive signaling (e.g., from a current source cell) configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 27

[0138] As illustrated at 1204, the UE may measure RSs (e.g., SSBs) from the source cell and the candidate cell(s). In some aspects, the UE may transmit a measurement report to the network (e.g., the source cell) based on the measurements.

[0139] As illustrated at 1206, the UE may initiate a procedure (e.g., an SDT procedure) to transmit data (e.g., a limited (less than a configured) amount of data) while the UE is in an inactive state. In some aspects, the UE may transmit a portion of the Small Data to the source cell.

[0140] As illustrated at 1208, the UE may perform a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the SDT procedure. The cell switch may be UE requested / initiated or network initiated / triggered. Such a cell switch may be triggered / initiated based various considerations, such as a location change of the UE, traffic offloading, interference management, network energy savings (e.g., cell DTX / DRX), or power / spatial domain adaptation.

[0141] As illustrated at 1210, the UE may transmit at least some (e.g., a remaining portion) of the Small Data (as part of the SDT procedure) to the target cell (e.g., which may now be considered as a serving cell) after the cell switch.

[0142] Cell switching may be triggered by the network or initiated by a UE. In some aspects, when cell switching is triggered by the network, the UE may be expected to receive a cell switching command (e.g., via RRC signaling, a MAC CE, or DCI). In some aspects, the RRC and MAC CE can be multiplexed with other DL data / control information of mobile originated (MO)-SDT or mobile terminated (MT)-SDT, and transmitted on PDSCH of the source cell. In some aspects, a dedicated MAC sub-header may be specified / utilized to indicate control information associated with cell switching. The control information associated with cell switching may include, for example, a cell ID of the target cell, an SDT configuration of the target cell, a random access resource configuration (e.g., which may be needed when UL re-sync is required to continue SDT on the target cell) or an UL grant for the target cell (e.g., if UL re-sync is not needed to initiate / continue SDT on the target cell).

[0143] In some aspects, (e.g., an enhanced / new) DCI may be transmitted in an SDT- specific search space of the source cell, and the DCI payload may carry at least the cell ID of the target cell. In some aspects, if the UE has transmitted msgl / msgA to the target cell before receiving the cell switching command, the enhanced DCI may also include aP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 28 timing advance (TA) command, a TCI state indication, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, and / or other scheduling information for the initial PUSCH transmission on the target cell. If the UE has not transmitted msgl / msgA to the target cell (e.g., before receiving the cell switching command), the source cell may provide a random access resource configuration for the UE to initiate contention free RA (CFRA) or contention based RA (CBRA) on the target cell (e.g., similar to a PDCCH ordered RACH procedure in a connected state).

[0144] In response to the cell switching command received on the source cell, the UE may transmit msgl / msgA, PUSCH, or PUCCH on the target cell. In some aspects, the UE ID may be included in msg3 / msgA / PUCCH or the initial PUSCH transmission on the target cell, serving as an implicit acknowledgement (ACK) to the cell switching command.

[0145] FIG. 13 depicts a timing diagram 1300 illustrating network triggered cell switching during an SDT procedure, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. As illustrated, at time tO, the UE may report layer 3 (L3) or filtered layer 1 (LI) measurements and may declare capability for cell switching during SDT.

[0146] As illustrated, at time tla, the UE may receive SDT configurations for a source cell and / or (optionally) multiple candidate target cells. As illustrated, at time tlb, the UE may receive an RRC Release with suspend configuration, and may prepare to transition to an inactive state. In some aspects, a time period starting at tla (e.g., for receiving SDT configurations) may overlap with a time period starting at tlb, if the payload size exceeds a threshold.

[0147] As illustrated, at time / 2, the UE may initiate an SDT procedure in the source cell. In some aspects, a maximum spacing between tlb and t2 may be determined by a timer (e.g., an SDT-specific timer).

[0148] As illustrated at 1302, the UE may (e.g., at a time occurring between t2 and 13) measure (e.g., and report) L3 or filtered LI measurements associated with the source cell and / or the target cell(s) during the SDT procedure. In some aspects, the UE may optionally perform early timing advance (TA) acquisition for the target cell during the SDT procedure.

[0149] As illustrated, at time t3, the UE may receive a cell switching command from the source cell. As illustrated, at time t4, the UE may transmit uplink (UL) signaling (e.g.,P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 29 at least a portion of the SDT) to the target cell after switching from the source cell to the target cell.

[0150] In some aspects, a minimum gap (TS) between the last symbol of the cell switching command and the first symbol of the first UL transmission on the target cell may be specified, which may be based on UE capability information (e.g., associated with one or more of BWP switching, RF retuning, DL / UL grant processing, timing advance, etc.). In some aspects, to support cell switching during SDT and to facilitate power saving, UE capabilities in an RRC inactive state may be different (e.g., and / or separately specified / indicated) from UE capabilities in an RRC connected state.

[0151] In some aspects, if the UE receives an indication of a time offset (e.g., carried by the cell switching command), the time offset may not be expected to be less than the minimum gap TS. For example, the time offset may be greater than or equal to the minimum gap TS.

[0152] FIG. 14 depicts a timing diagram 1400 illustrating UE requested / initiated cell switching during an SDT procedure, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0153] Timing diagram 1400 is similar to the timing diagram 1300 (illustrating network triggered cell switching during an SDT procedure) from time tO (when the UE reports measurements and indicates support for cell switching during SDT) to time t2 (when the UE initiates the SDT procedure).

[0154] In some aspects, before or during the SDT procedure, the UE may be provided with resources to measure / report L3 and filtered LI measurements for source cell and target cell(s). In some aspects, based on measurement reports of the UE and / or network optimization (e.g., traffic offloading from source cell to target cell, network energy savings for source cell, etc.), the UE may be configured with one or multiple candidate target cells before / during SDT and / or conditions to trigger cell switching during SDT.

[0155] As illustrated at 1402, the UE may (e.g., at a time occurring between t2 and 13) measure (e.g., and report) L3 or filtered LI measurements associated with the source cell and / or the target cell(s) during the SDT procedure, and may evaluate conditions for triggering cell switching (e.g., where the conditions may be network configured, UE determined, or specified by wireless communications standards). By evaluating the conditions for triggering cell switching, the UE may determine whether to trigger cellP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 30 switching, and may choose an option (e.g., Option 1 or Option 2, described below) for cell switching.

[0156] As illustrated, at time t3, the UE may trigger cell switching according to Option 1 or Option 2. According to a first option (Option 1), the UE’s request for cell switching (e.g., which may trigger cell switching) may be transmitted to the source cell via RRC signaling (e.g., UE Assistance Information (UAI)), uplink control information (UCI), msgl / msgA / msg3 transmission, or CG-PUSCH transmission. According to a second option (Option 2), the UE may initiate cell switching autonomously, and may transmit uplink signaling to the target cell to continue the SDT procedure.

[0157] As illustrated, at time t4, after cell switching is complete (e.g., according to Option 1 or Option 2), the UE may transmit uplink signaling (e.g., at least a portion of the SDT) to the target cell after switching from the source cell to the target cell.

[0158] Utilization of the techniques disclosed herein may improve overall efficiency and performance via enabling mobility / cell switching during SDT procedures. For example, utilizing the techniques disclosed herein may result in enhancement of UE power saving in an inactive state, latency reduction for cell-level mobility during SDT.Example Operations

[0159] FIG. 15 shows an example of a method 1500 of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), such as a UE 104 of FIGS. 1 and 3.

[0160] Method 1500 begins at step 1505 with receiving first signaling configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0161] Method 1500 then proceeds to step 1510 with initiating a procedure to transmit data while the UE is in an inactive state. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for initiating and / or code for initiating as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0162] Method 1500 then proceeds to step 1515 with performing a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the procedure. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for performing and / or code for performing as described with reference to FIG. 17.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 31

[0163] Method 1500 then proceeds to step 1520 with transmitting at least some of the data to the target cell after the cell switch. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for transmitting and / or code for transmitting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0164] In some aspects, the procedure comprises a small data transmission (SDT) procedure to transmit less than a configured amount of data.

[0165] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes measuring reference signals (RSs) from the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells, wherein the cell switch is based on the measuring. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for measuring and / or code for measuring as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0166] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes transmitting a measurement report to the source cell based on the measuring. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for transmitting and / or code for transmitting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0167] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes signaling a capability of the UE to support cell switching during the procedure. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for signaling and / or code for signaling as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0168] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes receiving, from the source cell, second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0169] In some aspects, the second signaling comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0170] In some aspects, the MAC CE includes a header that indicates control information associated with the cell switch.

[0171] In some aspects, the control information comprises at least one of a cell ID of the target cell, a configuration for the procedure in the target cell, a random access resource configuration, or an uplink grant.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 32

[0172] In some aspects, the second signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in a search space associated with the procedure.

[0173] In some aspects, the DCI indicates information for performing the procedure in the target cell, wherein the information comprises at least one of a timing advance (TA) command, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, or scheduling information.

[0174] In some aspects, the DCI indicates a random access resource configuration for UE to initiate a random access (RA) procedure on the target cell.

[0175] In some aspects, the UE signals an ID of the UE to the target cell when transmitting at least one of: the at least some of the data; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0176] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes receiving signaling indicating a minimum time gap between the second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch and the transmitting of at least some of the data in the target cell. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0177] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes measuring reference signals (RSs) from the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for measuring and / or code for measuring as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0178] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes initiating the cell switch based on the measuring. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for initiating and / or code for initiating as described with reference to FIG. 17

[0179] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes receiving information regarding one or more conditions, wherein the UE is configured to initiate the cell switch when at least one of the conditions is met. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 33

[0180] In some aspects, the method 1500 further includes evaluating the one or more conditions based on the measuring. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for evaluating and / or code for evaluating as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0181] In some aspects, initiating the cell switch comprises transmitting, to the source cell, a request for cell switching.

[0182] In some aspects, the request is conveyed via at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0183] In one aspect, method 1500, or any aspect related to it, may be performed by an apparatus, such as communications device 1700 of FIG. 17, which includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1500. Communications device 1700 is described below in further detail.

[0184] Note that FIG. 15 is just one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps are possible consistent with this disclosure.

[0185] FIG. 16 shows an example of a method 1600 of wireless communication at a network entity, such as a BS 102 of FIGS. 1 and 3, or a disaggregated base station as discussed with respect to FIG. 2.

[0186] Method 1600 begins at step 1605 with outputting first signaling configuring a user equipment (UE) with a set of candidate cells for cell switching. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for outputting and / or code for outputting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0187] Method 1600 then proceeds to step 1610 with participating in a cell switch procedure, wherein the UE switches from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during a procedure in which the UE transmits data while the UE is in an inactive state. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for participating and / or code for participating as described with reference to FIG. 17

[0188] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes transmitting reference signals (RSs) associated with the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells. InP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 34 some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for transmitting and / or code for transmitting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0189] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes receiving a measurement report based on measurements of the RSs, wherein the cell switch procedure is based on the measurements. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0190] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes receiving an indication of a capability of the UE to support cell switching during the procedure. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0191] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes transmitting second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for transmitting and / or code for transmitting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0192] In some aspects, the second signaling comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0193] In some aspects, the MAC CE includes a header that indicates control information associated with the cell switch.

[0194] In some aspects, the control information comprises at least one of a cell ID of the target cell, a configuration for the procedure in the target cell, a random access resource configuration, or an uplink grant.

[0195] In some aspects, the second signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in a search space associated with the procedure.

[0196] In some aspects, the DCI indicates information for performing the procedure in the target cell, wherein the information comprises at least one of a timing advance (TA) command, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, or scheduling information.

[0197] In some aspects, the DCI indicates a random access resource configuration for UE to initiate a random access (RA) procedure on the target cell.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 35

[0198] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes transmitting signaling indicating a minimum time gap between the second signaling and transmission, to the target cell from the UE, of data associated with the procedure. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for transmitting and / or code for transmitting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0199] In some aspects, the UE initiates the cell switch based on measurements of reference signals (RSs).

[0200] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes transmitting information regarding one or more conditions. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for transmitting and / or code for transmitting as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0201] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes configuring the UE to initiate the cell switch when at least one of the conditions is met. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for configuring and / or code for configuring as described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0202] In some aspects, the method 1600 further includes receiving, from the UE, a request for cell switching. In some cases, the operations of this step refer to, or may be performed by, circuitry for receiving and / or code for receiving as described with reference to FIG. 17

[0203] In some aspects, the request is conveyed via at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0204] In one aspect, method 1600, or any aspect related to it, may be performed by an apparatus, such as communications device 1700 of FIG. 17, which includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1600. Communications device 1700 is described below in further detail.

[0205] Note that FIG. 16 is just one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps are possible consistent with this disclosure.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 36Example Communications Device(s)

[0206] FIG. 17 depicts aspects of an example communications device 1700. In some aspects, communications device 1700 is a user equipment, such as UE 104 described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3. In some aspects, communications device 1700 is a network entity, such as BS 102 of FIGS. 1 and 3, or a disaggregated base station as discussed with respect to FIG. 2.

[0207] The communications device 1700 includes a processing system 1702 coupled to the transceiver 1750 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). In some aspects (e.g., when communications device 1700 is a network entity), processing system 1702 may be coupled to a network interface 1754 that is configured to obtain and send signals for the communications device 1700 via communication link(s), such as a backhaul link, midhaul link, and / or fronthaul link as described herein, such as with respect to FIG. 2. The transceiver 1750 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communications device 1700 via the antenna 1752, such as the various signals as described herein. The processing system 1702 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communications device 1700, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communications device 1700.

[0208] The processing system 1702 includes one or more processors 1704. In various aspects, the one or more processors 1704 may be representative of one or more of receive processor 358, transmit processor 364, TX MIMO processor 366, and / or controller / processor 380, as described with respect to FIG. 3. In various aspects, one or more processors 1704 may be representative of one or more of receive processor 338, transmit processor 320, TX MIMO processor 330, and / or controller / processor 340, as described with respect to FIG. 3. The one or more processors 1704 are coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1726 via a bus 1748. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1726 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by the one or more processors 1704, cause the one or more processors 1704 to perform the method 1500 described with respect to FIG. 15, or any aspect related to it; and the method 1600 described with respect to FIG. 16, or any aspect related to it. Note that reference to a processor performing a function of communications device 1700 may include one or more processors 1704 performing that function of communications device 1700.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 37

[0209] In the depicted example, computer-readable medium / memory 1726 stores code (e.g., executable instructions), such as code for receiving 1728, code for initiating 1730, code for performing 1732, code for transmitting 1734, code for measuring 1736, code for signaling 1738, code for evaluating 1740, code for outputting 1742, code for participating 1744, and code for configuring 1746. Processing of the code for receiving 1728, code for initiating 1730, code for performing 1732, code for transmitting 1734, code for measuring 1736, code for signaling 1738, code for evaluating 1740, code for outputting 1742, code for participating 1744, and code for configuring 1746 may cause the communications device 1700 to perform the method 1500 described with respect to FIG. 15, or any aspect related to it; and the method 1600 described with respect to FIG. 16, or any aspect related to it.

[0210] The one or more processors 1704 include circuitry configured to implement (e.g., execute) the code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1726, including circuitry for receiving 1706, circuitry for initiating 1708, circuitry for performing 1710, circuitry for transmitting 1712, circuitry for measuring 1714, circuitry for signaling 1716, circuitry for evaluating 1718, circuitry for outputting 1720, circuitry for participating 1722, and circuitry for configuring 1724. Processing with circuitry for receiving 1706, circuitry for initiating 1708, circuitry for performing 1710, circuitry for transmitting 1712, circuitry for measuring 1714, circuitry for signaling 1716, circuitry for evaluating 1718, circuitry for outputting 1720, circuitry for participating 1722, and circuitry for configuring 1724 may cause the communications device 1700 to perform the method 1500 described with respect to FIG. 15, or any aspect related to it; and the method 1600 described with respect to FIG. 16, or any aspect related to it.

[0211] Various components of the communications device 1700 may provide means for performing the method 1500 described with respect to FIG. 15, or any aspect related to it; and the method 1600 described with respect to FIG. 16, or any aspect related to it. For example, means for transmitting, sending or outputting for transmission may include transceivers 354 and / or antenna(s) 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 3, transceivers 332 and / or antenna(s) 334 of the BS 102 illustrated in FIG. 3, and / or the transceiver 1750 and the antenna 1752 of the communications device 1700 in FIG. 17. Means for receiving or obtaining may include transceivers 354 and / or antenna(s) 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 3, transceivers 332 and / or antenna(s) 334 of the BS 102 illustrated in FIG. 3,P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 38 and / or the transceiver 1750 and the antenna 1752 of the communications device 1700 inFIG. 17Example Clauses

[0212] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0213] Clause 1 : A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving first signaling configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; initiating a procedure to transmit data while the UE is in an inactive state; performing a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the procedure; and transmitting at least some of the data to the target cell after the cell switch.

[0214] Clause 2: The method of Clause 1, wherein the procedure comprises a small data transmission (SDT) procedure to transmit less than a configured amount of data.

[0215] Clause 3: The method of any one of Clauses 1-2, further comprising: measuring reference signals (RSs) from the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells, wherein the cell switch is based on the measuring.

[0216] Clause 4: The method of Clause 3, further comprising transmitting a measurement report to the source cell based on the measuring.

[0217] Clause 5: The method of any one of Clauses 1-4, further comprising signaling a capability of the UE to support cell switching during the procedure.

[0218] Clause 6: The method of any one of Clauses 1-5, further comprising receiving, from the source cell, second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch.

[0219] Clause 7: The method of Clause 6, wherein the second signaling comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0220] Clause 8: The method of Clause 7, wherein the MAC CE includes a header that indicates control information associated with the cell switch.

[0221] Clause 9: The method of Clause 8, wherein the control information comprises at least one of a cell ID of the target cell, a configuration for the procedure in the target cell, a random access resource configuration, or an uplink grant.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 39

[0222] Clause 10: The method of Clause 6, wherein the second signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in a search space associated with the procedure.

[0223] Clause 11 : The method of Clause 10, wherein the DCI indicates information for performing the procedure in the target cell, wherein the information comprises at least one of a timing advance (TA) command, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, or scheduling information.

[0224] Clause 12: The method of Clause 10, wherein the DCI indicates a random access resource configuration for UE to initiate a random access (RA) procedure on the target cell.

[0225] Clause 13: The method of Clause 6, wherein the UE signals an ID of the UE to the target cell when transmitting at least one of: the at least some of the data; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUS CH).

[0226] Clause 14: The method of Clause 6, further comprising receiving signaling indicating a minimum time gap between the second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch and the transmitting of at least some of the data in the target cell.

[0227] Clause 15: The method of any one of Clauses 1-14, further comprising: measuring reference signals (RSs) from the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells; and initiating the cell switch based on the measuring.

[0228] Clause 16: The method of Clause 15, further comprising receiving information regarding one or more conditions, wherein the UE is configured to initiate the cell switch when at least one of the conditions is met.

[0229] Clause 17: The method of Clause 16, further comprising evaluating the one or more conditions based on the measuring.

[0230] Clause 18: The method of Clause 15, wherein initiating the cell switch comprises transmitting, to the source cell, a request for cell switching.

[0231] Clause 19: The method of Clause 18, wherein the request is conveyed via at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 40

[0232] Clause 20: A method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: outputting first signaling configuring a user equipment (UE) with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; and participating in a cell switch procedure, wherein the UE switches from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during a procedure in which the UE transmits data while the UE is in an inactive state.

[0233] Clause 21 : The method of Clause 20, further comprising: transmitting reference signals (RSs) associated with the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells; and receiving a measurement report based on measurements of the RSs, wherein the cell switch procedure is based on the measurements.

[0234] Clause 22: The method of any one of Clauses 20-21, further comprising receiving an indication of a capability of the UE to support cell switching during the procedure.

[0235] Clause 23: The method of any one of Clauses 20-22, further comprising transmitting second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch.

[0236] Clause 24: The method of Clause 23, wherein the second signaling comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0237] Clause 25: The method of Clause 24, wherein the MAC CE includes a header that indicates control information associated with the cell switch.

[0238] Clause 26: The method of Clause 25, wherein the control information comprises at least one of a cell ID of the target cell, a configuration for the procedure in the target cell, a random access resource configuration, or an uplink grant.

[0239] Clause 27: The method of Clause 23, wherein the second signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in a search space associated with the procedure.

[0240] Clause 28: The method of Clause 27, wherein the DCI indicates information for performing the procedure in the target cell, wherein the information comprises at least one of a timing advance (TA) command, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, or scheduling information.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 41

[0241] Clause 29: The method of Clause 27, wherein the DCI indicates a random access resource configuration for UE to initiate a random access (RA) procedure on the target cell.

[0242] Clause 30: The method of Clause 23, further comprising transmitting signaling indicating a minimum time gap between the second signaling and transmission, to the target cell from the UE, of data associated with the procedure.

[0243] Clause 31 : The method of any one of Clauses 20-30, wherein the UE initiates the cell switch based on measurements of reference signals (RSs).

[0244] Clause 32: The method of Clause 31, further comprising: transmitting information regarding one or more conditions; and configuring the UE to initiate the cell switch when at least one of the conditions is met.

[0245] Clause 33: The method of Clause 31, further comprising receiving, from the UE, a request for cell switching.

[0246] Clause 34: The method of Clause 33, wherein the request is conveyed via at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0247] Clause 35: An apparatus, comprising: at least one memory comprising executable instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method in accordance with any combination of Clauses 1-34.

[0248] Clause 36: An apparatus, comprising means for performing a method in accordance with any combination of Clauses 1-34.

[0249] Clause 37: A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method in accordance with any combination of Clauses 1-34.

[0250] Clause 38: A computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing a method in accordance with any combination of Clauses 1-34.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 42Additional Considerations

[0251] The preceding description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. The examples discussed herein are not limiting of the scope, applicability, or aspects set forth in the claims. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. For example, changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various actions may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method that is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to, or other than, the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0252] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a system on a chip (SoC), or any other such configuration.

[0253] As used herein, “a processor,” “at least one processor” or “one or more processors” generally refers to a single processor configured to perform one or multiple operations or multiple processors configured to collectively perform one or moreP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 43 operations. In the case of multiple processors, performance of the one or more operations could be divided amongst different processors, though one processor may perform multiple operations, and multiple processors could collectively perform a single operation. Similarly, “a memory,” “at least one memory” or “one or more memories” generally refers to a single memory configured to store data and / or instructions, multiple memories configured to collectively store data and / or instructions.

[0254] In some cases, rather than actually transmitting a signal, an apparatus (e.g., a wireless node or device) may have an interface to output the signal for transmission. For example, a processor may output a signal, via a bus interface, to a radio frequency (RF) front end for transmission. Accordingly, a means for outputting may include such an interface as an alternative (or in addition) to a transmitter or transceiver. Similarly, rather than actually receiving a signal, an apparatus (e.g., a wireless node or device) may have an interface to obtain a signal from another device. For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a signal, via a bus interface, from an RF front end for reception. Accordingly, a means for obtaining may include such an interface as an alternative (or in addition) to a receiver or transceiver.

[0255] While the present disclosure may describe certain operations as being performed by one type of wireless node, the same or similar operations may also be performed by another type of wireless node. For example, operations performed by a user equipment (UE) may also (or instead) be performed by a network entity (e.g., a base station or unit of a disaggregated base station). Similarly, operations performed by a network entity may also (or instead) be performed by a UE.

[0256] Further, while the present disclosure may describe certain types of communications between different types of wireless nodes (e.g., between a network entity and a UE), the same or similar types of communications may occur between same types of wireless nodes (e.g., between network entities or between UEs, in a peer-to-peer scenario). Further, communications may occur in reverse order than described.

[0257] Means for receiving, means for initiating, means for performing, means for transmitting, means for measuring, means for signaling, means for evaluating, means for outputting, means for participating, and means for configuring may comprise one or more processors, such as one or more of the processors described above with reference to FIG. 17.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 44

[0258] As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of’ a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0259] As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and the like.

[0260] The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more actions for achieving the methods. The method actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. Further, the various operations of methods described above may be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. The means may include various hardware and / or software component(s) and / or module(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, or functions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0261] The following claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. Within a claim, reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for”. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beP+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 45 known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PC

Claims

Qualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 46WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to: receive first signaling configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; initiate a procedure to transmit data while the UE is in an inactive state; perform a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the procedure; and transmit at least some of the data to the target cell after the cell switch.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the procedure comprises a small data transmission (SDT) procedure to transmit less than a configured amount of data.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: measure reference signals (RSs) from the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells, wherein the cell switch is based on the measuring.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit a measurement report to the source cell based on the measuring.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: signal a capability of the UE to support cell switching during the procedure.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the source cell, second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 477. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second signaling comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the MAC CE includes a header that indicates control information associated with the cell switch.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control information comprises at least one of a cell ID of the target cell, a configuration for the procedure in the target cell, a random access resource configuration, or an uplink grant.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in a search space associated with the procedure.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the DCI indicates information for performing the procedure in the target cell, wherein the information comprises at least one of a timing advance (TA) command, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, or scheduling information.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the DCI indicates a random access resource configuration for UE to initiate a random access (RA) procedure on the target cell.

13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the UE signals an ID of the UE to the target cell when transmitting at least one of: the at least some of the data; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

14. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to:P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 48 receive signaling indicating a minimum time gap between the second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch and the transmitting of at least some of the data in the target cell.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: measure reference signals (RSs) from the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells; and initiate the cell switch based on the measuring.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive information regarding one or more conditions, wherein the UE is configured to initiate the cell switch when at least one of the conditions is met.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: evaluate the one or more conditions based on the measuring.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein initiating the cell switch comprises transmitting, to the source cell, a request for cell switching.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the request is conveyed via at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling; a random access (RA) message; a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

20. An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: at least one memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and cause the apparatus to:P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 49 output first signaling configuring a user equipment (UE) with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; and participate in a cell switch procedure, wherein the UE switches from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during a procedure in which the UE transmits data while the UE is in an inactive state.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit reference signals (RSs) associated with the source cell and one or more of the candidate cells; and receive a measurement report based on measurements of the RSs, wherein the cell switch procedure is based on the measurements.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive an indication of a capability of the UE to support cell switching during the procedure.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit second signaling indicating that the UE is to perform the cell switch.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the second signaling comprises a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the MAC CE includes a header that indicates control information associated with the cell switch.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the control information comprises at least one of a cell ID of the target cell, a configuration for the procedure in the target cell, a random access resource configuration, or an uplink grant.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PCQualcomm Ref. No.: 2404480WO 5027. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the second signaling comprises downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in a search space associated with the procedure.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the DCI indicates information for performing the procedure in the target cell, wherein the information comprises at least one of a timing advance (TA) command, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, a waveform indication, a coverage enhancement, or scheduling information.

29. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving first signaling configuring the UE with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; initiating a procedure to transmit data while the UE is in an inactive state; performing a cell switch from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during the procedure; and transmitting at least some of the data to the target cell after the cell switch.

30. A method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: outputting first signaling configuring a user equipment (UE) with a set of candidate cells for cell switching; and participating in a cell switch procedure, wherein the UE switches from a source cell to a target cell, from the set of candidate cells, during a procedure in which the UE transmits data while the UE is in an inactive state.P+S Ref. No.: QUAL / 2404480PC

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