Methods and nodes for low power (LP)-wake up signal (WUS) exit condition based on radio link monitoring (RLM) and beam failure detection (BFD) measurements

Abstract

There is provided a method performed by a user equipment (UE) / wireless device, that comprises a Low Power Wake Up Receiver (LP WUR). The method comprises: receiving a configuration from a network node, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping the LP-WUR; being in a connected mode, performing measurements on a received signal; and in response to determining that the exit condition is fulfilled based on the measurements, stopping the LP-WUR.

Description

Methods and nodes for Low Power (LP)-Wake Up Signal (WUS) exit condition based on Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD) measurementsRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefits of priority of US 63 / 717,359, entitled “Method for Low Power (LP)-Wake Up Signal (WUS) exit condition based on Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD) measurements’" and filed at the USPTO on November 7, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This application relates to communication networks and more particularly to methods and nodes for LP-WUS exit condition based on RLM and BFD measurements.BACKGROUND

[0003] Low Power Wake Up Signal (LP-WUS) in Radio Resource Control (RRC)_IDLE and RRC INACTIVE

[0004] LP-WUS in New Radio (NR) improves User Equipment (UE) power saving when the UE is in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE and the UE monitors paging. With LP-WUS, the UE has a separate receiver, called the Wake-Up Radio (WUR), with a Low power Radio / Receiver (LR) that monitors the LP-WUS. Fig. 1 illustrates a dedicated WUR 10 that is used for monitoring a WUS. The WUR 10 has a main receiver (MR) 12 and a LP WUR 14 (also referred to as LR). When a LP-WUS is detected by the LP WUR 14, and the subgroup information in the LP-WUS indicates that the UE should wake up, then the UE receives the paging on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) / Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) during the following Paging Occasion (PO) in the Discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, using the MR 12. Typically, the UE is not paged during every PO, i.e. the MR can remain in sleep mode multiple / many DRX cycles and save power. The LP WUR consumes much less power compared to the MR (e.g. by a factor of 10 to 100).

[0005] The WUR 10 can be On-off keying (OOK)-based which uses Low Power Synchronization Signal (LP-SS) for synchronization and serving cell measurements. Or the WUR is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based, which uses Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) / Secondary SS (SSS) for synchronization and serving cell measurements.

[0006] Due to its signal characteristics, the LP-WUS may not provide full cell coverage, i.e. near the cell border there is no LP-WUS coverage. Thus, an entry condition (i.e. MR Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) / Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) threshold andoptionally an LR RSRP / RSRQ threshold) and an exit condition (i.e. LR threshold) is used to determine when the UE is allowed to use the LP-WUS in RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE. When the UE is above the entry threshold(s), and the LR performs serving cell measurements using EPSS or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) and the LR uses LP-WUS to monitor paging, then the MR is not required to perform serving cell measurements nor paging monitoring.

[0007] LP-WUS in RRC CONNECTED

[0008] The LP-WUS can be also used in RRC CONNECTED, i.e. when the UE is outside Active Time (AT) to trigger the UE to start monitoring PDCCH again. The UE is outside Active Time when the UE is in between data bursts, or when the UE is waiting to be released, i.e. when the UE is “running idle” in the connected mode. The LP-WUS configured in front of the OnDuration, is used to start the drx-OnDurationTimer, i.e. when the LP-WUS is detected, the UE starts the drx-OnDurationTimer and enters AT. The LP-WUS can be also configured with a certain periodicity (in front of the OnDuration), which enables the gNB to wake the UE up much earlier before the OnDuration at the end of the DRX cycle. This enables a reduction in the downlink latency of new packets that arrive when the UE has entered DRX, i.e. when the UE is outside AT.

[0009] LP-WUS coverage

[0010] Due to its signal characteristics, the LP-WUS may not provide full cell coverage, i.e. near the cell border there is no LP-WUS coverage. Based on existing Radio Resource Management (RRM) / Channel State Information (CSI)-Reference Signal (RS) measurement reporting, the gNB can determine when the UE is inside or outside a LP-WUS coverage and (de-)configure LP-WUS using RRCReconfiguration.

[0011] RRM and CSLRS measurements and reporting

[0012] When in connected mode, the UE is typically configured with Carrier Aggregation(CA) to provide maximum throughput. For the serving cell, measurement reporting is configured for different frequencies to make it possible to configure and activate and deactivate Secondary cells (SCell(s)). Based on the serving cell reports, the UE may also be configured with intra- / inter- frequency measurements for mobility, e.g. the UE reports the measured RSRP / RSRQ of the serving / neighbour cells, for example when a neighbor cell becomes better than a configured threshold. This enables the gNB to prepare and initiate handover. The UE can (initially) also be configured with serving cell measurement reporting only.

[0013] Radio Link Failure (RLF) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD)

[0014] When the UE is in RRC CONNECTED (i.e. in connected mode), the UE is required to detect RLF and BFD. When RLF is detected, the UE initiates connection re-establishment and when BFD is detected, the UE initiates Beam Failure Recovery (BFR).

[0015] A timer, e.g. Timer T310, is started when lower layers indicate N310 consecutive out- of-sync (Qout) and T310 is stopped when receiving N311 in-sync (Qin) indications. When T310 expires, then a RLF is detected. Qout (dB) is defined as the Ll-RSRP threshold that corresponds to 10% Block Error Rate (BLER) being reached, while Qin (dB) is the Ll-RSRP threshold that corresponds to 2% BLER. Beam failure is detected when beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount beam failure instance indications (Qout) have been received while beamFailureDetectionTimer is running.

[0016] Radio Layer Management (RLM) and BED measurements

[0017] For the purpose of RLM and BFD, the UE performs continuous RLM and BFD measurements in RRC CONNECTED:

[0018] - When DRX is used with the configured RS periodicity;

[0019] - When DRX is not used at least every Connected (C)-DRX cycle.

[0020] DRX is not used when the UE is inside Active Time, except when drx-OnDurationTimer is running. In other words, when there is traffic, the UE measures RLM / BFD every RS periodicity, and when there is no traffic at least every C-DRX cycle. RRM / RLM / BFD / CSI-RS measurements are performed by the MR.

[0021] RLM / BFD measurement relaxation

[0022] When configured, the UE can be allowed to relax the RLM / BFD measurements in the connected mode, provided that certain conditions are fulfilled. When the radio link quality for RLM is better than Qin + X dB (X = goodServingCellEvaluationREM offset), then the UE may apply a scaling factor 3 to the RLM measurements. When the radio link quality for BFD is better than Qin + X dB (X = goodServingCellEvaluationBFD offset), then the UE may apply a scaling factor 3 to the RLM measurements.

[0023] RRM / CSI measurement reporting

[0024] Only during Active Time, the UE is required to perform RRM / CSI-RS measurements reporting, if configured. Thus, when there is no traffic for some time, the UE does not send RRM / CSI-RS reports.SUMMARY

[0025] There currently exist certain challenge(s). There is a delay with which the UE reports RRM and CSLRS measurements. For example, RRM measurement reports may only be sent with certain events, e.g. when neighbour cell becomes a configured threshold better than serving cell. Also, CSLRS reports are sent a-periodically (i.e. upon request) or with a configured periodicity. This means that when the UE suddenly loses the LP-WUS coverage in RRC CONNECTED, it may take some time before the gNB de-configures the LP-WUS based on the UE measurementreports. During this time, the gNB uses the LP-WUS to wake the UE up to monitor the PDCCH again but the UE is not able to receive the LP-WUS. During this time, the throughput is impaired.

[0026] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0027] For example, when the UE is in RRC CONNECTED, instead of solely relying on the legacy measurement reporting to de-configure the LP-WUS, the UE stops using the LP-WUS when a configured exit condition based on local UE measurements is fulfilled. The UE performs the RRM / RLM / BFD measurements more often compared to the measurement reporting and the UE can detect a sudden loss of the LP-WUS more quickly locally. When the exit condition is met, the UE stops monitoring the LP-WUS using the LR and starts monitoring the PDCCH directly with the MR.

[0028] The exit condition can be based on a threshold with RRM serving cell measurements during Active Time. Or, the exit condition can be based on a threshold with RLM / BFD Ll-RSRP measurements during Active Time every RS periodicity and outside Active Time at least every C- DRX cycle. The latter ensures that problems with the LP-WUS reception are also detected when there is no traffic. This method does not require any additional measurements of the UE, i.e. it does not increase the UE power consumption, but makes the UE stop monitoring the LP-WUS more quickly when the LP-WUS reception degrades.

[0029] The UE not only starts and stops monitoring the LP-WUS based on RRCReconfiguration, but also stops monitoring the LP-WUS when the exit condition for the LP- WUS monitoring in RRC CONNECTED is fulfilled.

[0030] According to some aspects, there is provided a method in a UE / wireless device. For example, the method comprises: receiving a configuration from a network node, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping the LP-WUR; being in a connected mode, performing measurements on a received signal; and in response to determining that the exit condition is fulfilled based on the measurements, stopping the LP-WUR. A UE / wireless device for implementing this method is also provided.

[0031] There is provided a method in a network node. For example, the method comprises: sending a configuration to the UE, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping the LP-WUR; and based on the configuration, omitting to send a command to the UE to indicate to stop the LP WUR. A network node for implementing this method is also provided.

[0032] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s).

[0033] The UE adapts to the LP-WUS degradation more quickly, i.e. before roaming out of the LP-WUS coverage. The UE stops using LP-WUS monitoring and monitors the PDCCH directly. There is no additional measurement activity in the UE that increases the UE power consumption nor additional signaling that increases the system load. Using RLM / BFD Ll-RSRP measurements for the exit condition, the degradation of the LP-WUS is also detected when there is no traffic, i.e. when the UE is outside Active Time.

[0034] The teachings of certain embodiments may improve, e.g., the data rate, latency, power consumption.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Exemplary embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the following figures, in which:

[0036] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wake up receiver (WUR).

[0037] Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a signal diagram between a UE and a gNB for using LP-WUR.

[0038] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method in a UE, according to an embodiment.

[0039] Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method in a network node, according to an embodiment.

[0040] Fig. 5 shows an example of a communication system, according to an embodiment.

[0041] Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a UE, according to an embodiment.

[0042] Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a network node, according to an embodiment.

[0043] Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment.

[0044] Fig. 9 shows another example of a communication system, according to an embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0046] This disclosure provides a method performed by a base station (such as a gNB) and / or a UE in a cellular network. The method relates to UEs in RRC CONNECTED mode and the embodiments explain how the UE can be configured to monitor the LP-WUS. Further, some of the embodiments explain how exit conditions for LP-WUS monitoring in RRC CONNECTED can be configured and used based on local UE measurements.

[0047] As mentioned earlier, typically in the connected mode, the network (NW) is in control, i.e. through dedicated signaling it configures / instructs / commands the UE of what it should do. Incontrast, in the present embodiments, based on a NW configuration of “exit criteria” the UE itself makes a local decision to stop using the LP-WUS, instead of waiting for the NW to de-configure the LP-WUS.

[0048] Also, it should be noted that the LP-WUS is a power saving feature, as such, no additional (measurement) activities in the UE are introduced, that would increase the power consumption. By using the LP-WUS by the LR, which has a very low power consumption, there is no need to wake up the MR, which has a much higher power consumption. In Idle / Inactive (state / mode), the LP-SS measurements are used for the exit condition, however that signal is not supported in the connected mode.

[0049] In Connected mode / state, the MR has to perform RLM / BFD measurements all the time, i.e. during Active Time, but also every C-DRX cycle, when the LP-WUS is not triggered because there is new DL traffic, i.e. outside Active Time. These measurements are a good choice for the LR exit condition, i.e. they do not increase the measurement activity of the UE, and they are also performed when the LP-WUS is not triggered. The UE shall perform those RLM / BFD measurements every C-DRX cycle outside Active Time, just before the LP-WUS occasions outside Active Time. In such a case, the UE can make a decision whether the LP-WUS is strong enough to be used for monitoring, or that the UE should start monitoring the PDCCH directly using the MR (i.e. determining that the UE is outside the LP-WUS coverage and should not use the LP-WUS to monitor PDCCH).

[0050] Based on the teachings above, now, turning to Fig. 2, a signal diagram 100 between a UE 102 and a gNB 104, for using LP-WUR will be described, according to an embodiment. The UE may comprise a WUR 10, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0051] In step 110, the UE is in connected mode (e.g. it enters the connected mode, after a resume request or a connection request or other situations / conditions).

[0052] In step 120, the UE receives a message comprising a configuration, from the gNB. For example, the configuration can be a LP-WUS configuration. The configuration comprises some criteria, such as thresholds, for the exit condition to be triggered, i.e. once the exit condition is fulfilled, the UE stops using the LP-WUR.

[0053] In step 130, the UE performs measurements on a received signal (e.g. a reference signal), such as Layer 1 (LI) or L3 measurements. Some examples are L3 RSRP / RSRQ / signal-to- interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) measurements, Ll-RSRP RLM / BFD measurements, Block Error Rate (BLER) or Packet Error Rate (PER).

[0054] In step 140, the UE compares the measurements with the criteria and thresholds provided in the configuration of step 120. If the measurements are below the thresholds, the UE determines that the exit condition is fulfilled, for example.

[0055] In step 150, the UE stops the LP-WUR, i.e. the UE stops monitoring for the LP-WUS. Instead, the UE may use the MR to monitor PDDCH.

[0056] The different steps will be explained below with more details.

[0057] In one example, the UE starts monitoring the LP-WUS when the LP-WUS configuration is provided (step 120) and / or enabled in RRCReconfiguration. And the UE stops monitoring the LP-WUS when the LP-WUS configuration is omitted and / or disabled in RRCReconfiguration.

[0058] In some examples, the LP-WUS configuration includes an exit condition criterion based on serving cell LI or L3 measurements of the received signal quality. Examples of the serving cell measurement quantities and thresholds which can be used are L3 RSRP / RSRQ / SINR measurements, Ll-RSRP RLM / BFD measurements, BLER or PER. Other measurements can be also considered. The measured serving cell quality is denoted as Sr in the following.

[0059] Examples of criteria to determine the exit condition to be used in the UE (in step 140 for example) are as follows:

[0060] - Criteria 1: The criteria can be expressed by a general function of one or more threshold(s): a. For example, Sr < Threshold 1. Or Sr <= Threshold 1+ offset. b. For example, Sri < Threshold 1 and Sr2 < Threshold 2. c. The threshold(s) can be some already known threshold(s) with offset, such as Qin / Qout in RLM.

[0061] - Criteria 2: The criteria can be expressed by a general function of PER with a threshold. For example, PER > Threshold 2.

[0062] The above threshold(s) can be predefined or configured by the NW.

[0063] Furthermore, the exit condition criteria can also include a counter and / or a timer. For example, the exit condition criteria can be defined to require N consecutive measurements which are above or below a configured threshold, and after N such measurements, the UE triggers the condition and stops monitoring the LP-WUS. In another example, a timer is configured and when a measurement is above or below a configured threshold for the duration of the timer, the UE triggers the exit and stops monitoring of the LP-WUS signal. In yet another example, the counter is increased by one once the measurement is above or below a configured threshold for the duration of a configured timer, and N such events trigger the exit condition and the UE stops monitoringthe LP-WUS. In another example, when the UE measurements are above all the threshold(s), then the UE is allowed to monitor the LP-WUS. When the UE measurements are below any of the threshold(s), the UE stops to monitor the LP-WUS.

[0064] In some examples, the exit conditions include a counter and a timer which follow the principles of BFR. This means that each time a measurement, e.g. Sr, below a threshold is detected, a timer is started or restarted and a counter is increased by one. If the timer expires, the counter is reset to zero. If the counter reaches a configured maximum number (e.g. maxcount), then the UE stops monitoring the LP-WUS and reverts to monitoring using the MR.

[0065] In one option, the beamFailureDetectionTimer and BFI COUNTER (as specified in 3GPP 38.321) are used for the purpose of determining when the UE should stop using the LP- WUS. In this case, a specific stop-WUS-max count could be configured to ensure that the UE stops LP-WUS monitoring before BFR is triggered.

[0066] In one example, the actions upon fulfilling the exit condition (step 150) can further be that the UE reverts to continuous PDCCH monitoring. In another option, the UE reverts to monitoring PDCCH during the configured time instances when the UE would have monitored PDCCH if an LP-WUS indication would have been received. In some examples, in case the exit condition criteria for LP-WUS monitoring in RRC CONNECTED is not specified (in a configuration message for example), some of the above examples and embodiments are implemented in the UE. This means that the UE would trigger exit from LP-WUS monitoring based on the criteria implemented in the UE software / firmware. The UE makes its own decision on whether to use the LR for measurements based on LP-WUS or MR for the measurements without LP-WUS, but the functionality follows the embodiments above.

[0067] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a flow chart for a method 200 performed in a UE, such as UE 102 of Fig. 2 or UE 512 of Fig. 5 or UE 600 of Fig. 6. The UE may have a WUR, which comprises a LP-WUR and a MR, as shown in Fig. 1. Also, the UE is in connected mode. Method 200 comprises:

[0068] Step 210: receiving a configuration from a network node, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping (or deactivating) the LP-WUR;

[0069] Step 220: being in a connected mode, performing measurements on a received signal; and

[0070] Step 230: in response to determining that the exit condition is fulfilled based on the measurements, stopping the LP-WUR.

[0071] It should be noted that the terms “stop” and “deactivate” can be interchangeably used.

[0072] In some examples, the configuration can be implemented in the UE (e.g. in software / hardware or other ways). As such, the UE obtains the configuration by fetching it, reading it from its implementation. When the UE receives the configuration from a network node, the network node is e.g. gNB 104, or network node 510 of Fig. 5 or network node 700 of Fig. 7. The configuration can be sent via RRC signaling, for example, in a RRCConfiguration or RRCReconfiguration message. The configuration message can be sent with other signaling, e.g. via LI or L2.

[0073] Examples of the configuration and the exit condition criteria have been described earlier. In some examples, the configuration is a LP-WUS configuration. In some examples, the UE starts monitoring a LP-WUS upon reception of the configuration, using the LR, for example. In some examples, the exit condition comprises one or more criteria based on one or more of serving cell measurement quantities, one or more thresholds, a timer and a counter. In some examples, the serving cell measurement quantities comprises one or more of L3 RSRP / RSRQ / SINR measurements, LI -RSRP RLM / BFD measurements, BLER or PER. In some examples, the one or more thresholds comprise one of Qin / Qout and Qin / Qout with an offset value. In some examples, the UE determines that the exit condition is fulfilled by determining that the measurements are above or below a threshold given in the received configuration. In some examples, the UE determines that the exit condition is fulfilled by determining N consecutive measurements which are above or below a configured threshold. In some examples, the UE determines that the exit condition is fulfilled by determining that the measurements are below a threshold for a configured duration of time. In some examples, the UE determines that the exit condition is fulfilled by determining that the measurements are below a threshold for a configured number of times. In some examples, the UE monitors a PDCCH, using a main receiver. In some examples, criteria for the exit condition are implemented in the UE.

[0074] Now turning to Fig. 4, a flow chart of a method 300, implemented in a network node for communicating with a UE will be described. The network node can be the gNB 104, or network node 510 of Fig. 5 or network node 700 of Fig. 7. The UE can be UE 102 of Fig. 2 or UE 512 of Fig. 5 or UE 600 of Fig. 6. The UE may have a WUR, which comprises a LP-WUR and a MR, as shown in Fig. 1. Also, the UE is in connected mode. Method 300 comprises:

[0075] Step 310: sending a configuration to the UE, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping (or deactivating) the LP-WUR;

[0076] Step 320: based on the configuration, omitting to send a command to the UE to indicate to stop the LP WUR. For example, the network node indicates to the UE to stop using the LR or to deactivate the LR.

[0077] Examples of the configuration and the exit condition criteria have been described earlier. By using this method, the network node does not need to send a command to the UE to deactivate the LP-WUR, when the LP-WUR is degrading or out of coverage.

[0078] In some examples, the configuration is a LP-WUS configuration. The network node may send the configuration via RRC, for example. In some examples, the exit condition comprises one or more criteria based on one or more of serving cell measurement quantities, one or more thresholds, a timer and a counter. In some examples, the serving cell measurement quantities comprise one or more of L3 RSRP / RSRQ / SINR measurements, Ll-RSRP RLM / BFD measurements, BLER or PER. In some examples, the one or more thresholds comprise one of Qin / Qout and Qin / Qout with an offset value.

[0079] Fig. 5 shows an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0080] In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 506, which includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510a and 510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar 3GPP access nodes or non- 3 GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 502, including one or more network nodes 510 and / or core network nodes 508.

[0081] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU- CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such asan Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0082] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0083] The UEs 512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 502.

[0084] In the depicted example, the core network 506 connects the network nodes 510 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. Example core network nodes include functions of oneor more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0085] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502. The host 516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0086] As a whole, the communication system 500 of Fig. 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0087] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunications network 502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0088] In some examples, the UEs 512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or externalevent, or in response to requests from the access network 504. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0089] In the example, the hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 510b). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0090] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510b. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g., UE 512c and / or 512d), and between the hub 514 and the core network 506. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 510b. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0091] Fig. 6 shows a UE 600 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 600 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 512 of Fig. 5. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3 GPP, including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. The UE can have a WUR, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0092] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0093] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, a memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Fig. 6. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0094] The processing circuitry 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 610. The processing circuitry 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs,general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). Furthermore, the processing circuitry 602 is configured to perform any one the steps of method 200 of Fig. 3.

[0095] In the example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a smartcard, and the like. The presencesensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. A Universal Serial Bus port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0096] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0097] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0098] The memory 610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage(HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0099] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0100] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0101] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, via a wireless connection to a network node.Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic, random, in response to a triggering event, in response to a request or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0102] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change.

[0103] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity mete, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 600 shown in Fig. 6.

[0104] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard.

[0105] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0106] Fig. 7 shows a network node 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, accesspoints (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs (NBs), evolved NBs (eNBs) and NR NBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0107] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0108] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0109] The network node 700 includes a processing circuitry 702, a memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NBs. In such a scenario, each unique NB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may beintegrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 700.

[0110] The processing circuitry 702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality.[OHl] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. Furthermore, the processing circuitry 702 is configured to perform any steps of method 300 of Fig. 4.

[0112] The memory 704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 702. The memory 704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and memory 704 is integrated.

[0113] The communication interface 706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of,the antenna 710. Radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 720 and amplifiers 722. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to an antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 710 and processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 720 and / or amplifiers 722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0114] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718, instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0115] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0116] The antenna 710, communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0117] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 708. As a further example, the power source 708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0118] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Fig. 7 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 700 and to allow output of information from the network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 700. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 5, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 718 and the RF transceiver circuitry 712 may be omitted.

[0119] Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 800 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0120] Applications 802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0121] Hardware 804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 808a and 808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 808.

[0122] The VMs 808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 808, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0123] In the context of NFV, a VM 808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 808, and that part of hardware 804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 808 on top of the hardware 804 and corresponds to the application 802.

[0124] Hardware 804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management andorchestration 810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 802. In some embodiments, hardware 804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0125] Fig. 9 is another example of a communication system 900 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 900 includes multiple access points (APs) 910 (with four exemplary APs 910A, 910B, 910C, and 910D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 900 as stations (STAs) 912 (referred to individually as STA 912A, STA 912B, STA 912C, STA 912D, and STA 912E). STA 912A is served by AP 910A in a first basic service set (BSS) 920A. STA 910B and STA 910C are served by AP 910B in a second BSS, BSS 920B. STA 912D is served by AP 910C in a third BSS, BSS 920C. STA 912E is served by AP 910D in a fourth BSS, BSS 920D. Stations 912 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations 912 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0126] Each of STAs 912 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 910. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 912, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0127] Each AP 910 may provide data connectivity to STAs 912 connected to a particular AP 910. As illustrated, APs 910 may be connected to a data network 930. In this way, APs 910 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 912 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 912 and its serving AP 610 may be used for providing variouskinds of services to STA 912, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 912 and / or on a device linked to STA 912. By way of example, Fig. 9 illustrates an application service platform 932 provided in data network 930. The application(s) executed on STA 912 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 912 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 912 and / or the application service platform 932, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 912.

[0128] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non- computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0129] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0130] The above-described embodiments are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the description.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE (102, 512, 600), that comprises a Low Power Wake Up Receiver (LP WUR), the method comprising:- receiving (210) a configuration from a network node, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping the LP-WUR;- being in a connected mode, performing (220) measurements on a received signal; and- in response to determining that the exit condition is fulfilled based on the measurements, stopping (230) the LP-WUR.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration is a LP-Wake Up Signal (WUS) configuration.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising starting monitoring a LP-WUS upon reception of the configuration.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the exit condition comprises one or more criteria based on one or more of serving cell measurement quantities, one or more thresholds, a timer and a counter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the serving cell measurement quantities comprises one or more of Layer 3 (L3) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) / Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) / Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) measurements, Layer 1 (Ll)- RSRP Radio Layer Monitoring (RLM) / Beam Failure Dectection (BFD) measurements, Block Error Rate (BLER) or Packet Error Rate (PER).

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more thresholds comprise one of Qin / Qout and Qin / Qout with an offset value.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining that the exit condition is fulfilled comprises determining that the measurements are above or below a threshold given in the received configuration.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining that the exit condition is fulfilled comprises determining N consecutive measurements which are above or below a configured threshold.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining that the exit condition is fulfilled comprises determining that the measurements are below a threshold for a configured duration of time.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining that the exit condition is fulfilled comprises determining that the measurements are below a threshold for a configured number of times.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel, using a main receiver.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein criteria for the exit condition are implemented in the UE.

13. A method performed by a network node (104, 510, 700) for communicating with a User Equipment, UE (102, 512, 600), which comprises a Low Power Wake Up Receiver (LP WUR), the method comprising:- sending (310) a configuration to the UE, the configuration comprising an exit condition for stopping the LP-WUR; and- based on the configuration, omitting (320) to send a command to the UE to indicate to stop the LP WUR.

14. The method of claiml3, wherein the configuration is a LP-Wake Up Signal (WUS) configuration.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the exit condition comprises one or more criteria based on one or more of serving cell measurement quantities, one or more thresholds, a timer and a counter.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the serving cell measurement quantities comprises one or more of Layer 3 (L3) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) / Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) / Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) measurements, Layer 1 (Ll)- RSRP Radio Layer Monitoring (RLM) / Beam Failure Dectection (BFD) measurements, Block Error Rate (BLER) or Packet Error Rate (PER).

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more thresholds comprise one of Qin / Qout and Qin / Qout with an offset value.

18. A user equipment, UE (102, 512, 600) which comprises a Low Power Wake Up Receiver (LP WUR), the UE comprising: one or more antennas (622); processing circuitry (602); a communication interface (612) connected to the one or more antennas and to the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

19. A network node (104, 510, 700) for communicating with a user equipment (UE) which comprises a Low Power Wake Up Receiver (LP WUR), the network node comprising: processing circuitry (702) configured to perform any of the steps of the method of any one of claims 13 to 17; power supply circuitry (708) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry (702).

20. A computer program product comprising a computer readable memory storing computer executable instructions thereon that when executed by a computer perform any one of the methods of any one of claims 1 to 17.

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