Method and apparatus for on-demand system information block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving are provided. The method includes receiving system information from a serving Radio Access Network (RAN), determining whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, and in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, applying the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation and ignoring an excluded cell list in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ON-DEMAND SYSTEM INFORMATION BLOCK 1 (OD-SIB1) OPERATIONS FOR NETWORK ENERGY SAVING

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to methods and apparatus for On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving.

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

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to methods and apparatus for On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a User Equipment (UE) supporting On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving is provided, the UE including at least one processor and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to receive system information from a serving Radio Access Network (RAN), determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, and in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation and ignore an excluded cell list in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

[0005] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is absent in the system information, apply the excluded cell list in the system information for the cell reselection evaluation in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

[0006] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the system information includes at least one of a System Information Block 3 (SIB3) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4), the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list includes an intra-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is received by the UE via the SIB3, and the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list includes an inter-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is received by the UE via the SIB4.

[0007] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, and in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, ignore a cell reselection priority configuration in the system information and apply the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for a frequency prioritization during a cell reselection.

[0008] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is absent in the system information, apply the cell reselection priority configuration in the system information for the frequency prioritization while the UE is staying in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive / idle state.

[0009] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration includes at least one of a cell reselection priority list including one or more cell reselection priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection priority values being associated with a first frequency carrier for the UE to implement an inter-frequency cell reselection, or a cell reselection sub-priority list including one or more cell reselection sub-priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection sub-priority values being associated with a second frequency carrier for the UE to implement the inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0010] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the system information includes a System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4), the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with a serving frequency carrier of a serving cell in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is received by the UE via the SIB2, and the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with one or more neighboring frequency carriers in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is received by the UE via the SIB4.

[0011] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, applying the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list includes excluding all cells identified in the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list from being considered as candidates for cell reselection while the UE is staying in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive / idle state.

[0012] In some implementations of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list and the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration are valid within a system information area associated with a system information area identifier.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) supporting On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving is provided, the method including receiving system information from a serving Radio Access Network (RAN), determining whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, and in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, applying the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation and ignoring an excluded cell list in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

[0014] In some implementations of the second aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is absent in the system information, applying the excluded cell list for the cell reselection evaluation in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information, determining whether an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, ignoring a cell reselection priority configuration in the system information and applying the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for a frequency prioritization during a cell reselection, and in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is absent in the system information, applying the cell reselection priority configuration for the frequency prioritization during the cell reselection.

[0015] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a Base Station (BS) is provided, the BS including at least one processor and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the BS to transmit system information to a User Equipment (UE) supporting On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations, and configure the system information to include an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list, where in a case that the system information further includes an excluded cell list, a presence of the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list enables the UE to ignore the excluded cell list and apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation, where the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list includes an intra-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is transmitted by the BS via a System Information Block 3 (SIB3), and the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list includes an inter-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is transmitted by the BS via a System Information Block 4 (SIB4).

[0016] In some implementations of the third aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the BS to configure the system information to include both a cell reselection priority configuration and an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration, where a presence of the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration enables the UE to ignore the cell reselection priority configuration and apply the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for frequency prioritization during cell reselection.

[0017] In some implementations of the third aspect of the present disclosure, the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration includes at least one of a cell reselection priority list including one or more cell reselection priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection priority values being associated with a first frequency carrier for the UE to implement an inter-frequency cell reselection, or a cell reselection sub-priority list including one or more cell reselection sub-priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection sub-priority values being associated with a second frequency carrier for the UE to implement the inter-frequency cell reselection, where the system information includes a System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4), the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with a serving frequency carrier of a serving cell in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is transmitted by the BS via the SIB2, and the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with one or more neighboring frequency carriers in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is transmitted by the BS via the SIB4.

[0018] In some implementations of the third aspect of the present disclosure, the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list and the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration are valid within a system information area associated with a system information area identifier.

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

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an OD-SIB1 excluded cell operation while both the legacy UE and the OD-SIB1 capable UE are jointly considered, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a signaling flow of an OD-SIB1 (request) procedure, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process performed by a UE supporting OD-SIB1 operations for network energy saving, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process performed by a UE supporting OD-SIB1 operations to implement cell reselection based on an OD-SIB1 specific excluded cell list, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process performed by a UE supporting cell reselections for network energy saving based on an OD-SIB1 specific frequency priority configuration, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0068] Cell A: A Cell A may be defined as a cell that may periodically transmit at least the SIB1 of the cell. In some implementations, a Cell A may transmit the Uplink-WUS (UL-WUS) configuration of neighbor NES Cells to enable UEs to discover and access these energy-saving cells. In some additional implementations, a Cell A may also transmit the UL-WUS configuration of the Cell A itself and neighbor Cell A(s), where these cells may become a NES Cell later in the time domain.

[0069] NES Cell: A NES Cell may be defined as a cell that may transmit SIB1 transmission in response to UL WUS from a UE. In some implementations, a NES Cell may transmit the UL-WUS configuration of the NES Cell itself and the UL-WUS configuration of other NES Cells.

[0070] OD-SIB1 Cell: An OD-SIB1 Cell may be defined as a cell that may support OD-SIB1 functionality. In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 cell may be implemented by a NES Cell. In some other implementations, an OD-SIB1 cell may be implemented as, or only as, a Cell A, maintaining periodic SIB1 transmissions. In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 cell may switch the functionality of the cell between a NES cell and a Cell A dynamically. Therefore, an OD-SIB1 cell may change the role of the cell at different timings based on network conditions or energy-saving requirements. In some implementations, the role switching may occur based on network load, time of day, or energy consumption targets set by the network operator.

[0071] In the present disclosure, although the term “gNB” may have been used throughout the document, it should be understood that the term “gNB” may be replaced by any other type of BS (e.g., an eNB). Additionally, unless specifically noted otherwise, the terms “SSB” and “OD-SSB” may be used interchangeably in the present disclosure.

[0072] A Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) may include, or consist of, a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) payload. The PSS and the SSS may be pseudo-random sequences with a length equal to 127. The PBCH payload may include a Master Information Block (MIB) (24 bits in total) and an 8 bits payload. The information in the MIB may include: a System Frame Number (SFN), a sub-carrier space (SCS), a DeModulation Reference Signal (DMRS) configuration, an Access Control, and mainly a configuration for a System Information Block 1 (SIB1) acquisition. By decoding the PSS and the SSS, a User Equipment (UE) may be able to identify a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) for a corresponding cell and may determine the symbol boundary. Consequently, with the decoding of the PBCH, the UE may determine the frame boundary and may try to decode the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

[0073] The present disclosure may propose designs to enhance the network energy saving mechanism for wireless communication systems (e.g., 3GPP new radio or E-UTRA). The disclosure may provide three primary mechanisms to support the On-Demand SIB1 (OD-SIB1) mechanisms. In some implementations, the first mechanism may involve excluded cell list management to prevent a legacy UE from accessing OD-SIB1 / NES cells. In some implementations, the second mechanism may involve cell reselection priority management to prevent a legacy UE from accessing OD-SIB1 / NES cells. In some implementations, the third mechanism may involve UL-WUS configuration update to enable a UE to initiate an OD-SIB1 request procedure by using a valid UL-WUS configuration. The coverage of the present disclosure may include any combinations of the proposed mechanisms (e.g., mechanisms 1, 2, and 3).

[0074] In some implementations, the present disclosure may propose an OD-SIB1 request procedure and configuration to support the condition when a cell (e.g., an OD-SIB1 cell) may switch the type of the cell between Cell A and NES Cell at different timings. The dynamic switching capability may enable the network to optimize energy consumption while maintaining service quality. In some implementations, when a cell may transition from Cell A to NES Cell, the cell may broadcast transition information to inform connected UEs about the upcoming change. In some implementations, when a cell may transition from NES Cell to Cell A, the cell may resume periodic SIB1 broadcasting to serve both legacy UEs and OD-SIB1 capable UEs. The transition mechanisms may ensure seamless service continuity for all UE types in the network.

[0075] Mechanism 1: Excluded Cell List Management to Support OD-SIB1 Operation

[0076] In some implementations, the serving Radio Access Network (RAN) may need to design a mechanism to stop legacy UEs from measuring, reporting, accessing, or camping on one or more OD-SIB1 cells. The legacy UEs may refer to UEs that do not support the OD-SIB1 mechanism. In some implementations, the design of exclude-list cells in 3GPP R-18 technical specifications may be considered as the baseline. The exclude-list cells may include the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE in SIB3 and the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE in SIB4.

[0077] The IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE may be associated with the frequency carrier of the serving cell. When a UE may receive this list, the UE may identify cells on the same frequency as the serving cell that are marked for exclusion. The InterFreqExcludedCellList IE may be associated with frequency carriers that are different from the serving cell. When a UE may receive this list, the UE may identify cells on different frequencies that are marked for exclusion.

[0078] In some implementations, one InterFreqExcludedCellList IE may be associated with one specific Radio Access Technology (RAT), such as 3GPP NR or E-UTRA. In addition, the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE may be further associated with a frequency carrier implementing these RATs. The frequency carrier may be identified by NR-ARFCN for NR or E-UTRA-ARFCN for E-UTRA.

[0079] Therefore, for an OD-SIB1 capable UE, the influence of the excluded cell list implementations may need to be examined while the excluded cell list may be used to prevent a legacy UE from accessing OD-SIB1 cells.

[0080] Exclude-Listed Cell Check Mechanism for R-19 OD-SIB1 Capable UE

[0081] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an OD-SIB1 excluded cell operation while both the legacy UE and the OD-SIB1 capable UE are jointly considered, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0082] In action 102, the UE may initiate an exclude-listed cell check procedure. In action 104, the UE may determine whether the UE itself is an OD-SIB1 capable UE. The determination may be based on the capability of the UE to support the OD-SIB1 functionality as defined in the 3GPP specifications.

[0083] If the determination in action 104 indicates that the UE is not an OD-SIB1 capable UE (i.e., the UE is a legacy UE), the process may proceed to action 108. In action 108, the UE may apply the excluded-listed cell exclusion. The legacy UE may treat all cells listed in the excluded cell list as inaccessible and may not attempt to measure, report, access, or camp on these cells.

[0084] If the determination in action 104 indicates that the UE is an OD-SIB1 capable UE, the process may proceed to action 106. In action 106, the UE may further check the UL-WUS configuration. The UL-WUS configuration may have been previously received by the UE through system information, SI-on-demand procedure, or UE-specific RRC signaling.

[0085] In action 110, the UE may determine whether the excluded cell is also configured in the UL-WUS configuration. The UE may check if the PCI of the cell that appears in the excluded cell list also appears in the UL-WUS configuration, particularly in the NES-CellId parameter or similar fields.

[0086] If the determination in action 110 indicates that the excluded cell is also configured in the UL-WUS configuration, the process may proceed to action 114. In action 114, the UE may consider that the cell is not excluded. Despite the cell appearing in the excluded cell list, the presence of the cell in the UL-WUS configuration may indicate to the OD-SIB1 capable UE that the cell is an accessible OD-SIB1 cell. The UE may then be allowed to perform measurements, reporting, cell reselection evaluation, or OD-SIB1 request procedures with this cell.

[0087] If the determination in action 110 indicates that the excluded cell is not configured in the UL-WUS configuration, the process may proceed to action 112. In action 112, the UE may consider that the cell is excluded. The OD-SIB1 capable UE may treat the cell as genuinely excluded and may not attempt to access the cell, similar to the behavior of a legacy UE.

[0088] The operation 100 may demonstrate how the same excluded cell list may serve dual purposes. For legacy UEs, all listed cells may be unconditionally excluded. For OD-SIB1 capable UEs, the exclusion may be conditional based on the presence of the cell in the UL-WUS configuration, thereby allowing selective access to OD-SIB1 cells while maintaining backward compatibility.

[0089] The serving RAN may configure the OD-SIB1 cells within the ExcludedCellList IE, which may include the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE in SIB3 and the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE in SIB4. Legacy UEs that do not support OD-SIB1 operation may read these lists and consider the listed OD-SIB1 cells as excluded. In other words, those OD-SIB1 cells may be treated as exclude-listed cells by legacy UEs.

[0090] For SIB3, the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE in SIB3 may be structured as a SEQUENCE with SIZE from 1 to maxCellExcluded OF PCI-Range. Each PCI-Range element may specify a range of Physical Cell Identities. The intraFreqExcludedCellList IE may contain a list of exclude-listed intra-frequency neighbouring cells.

[0091] For SIB4, the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE in SIB4 may be structured as a SEQUENCE with SIZE from 1 to maxCellExcluded OF PCI-Range. The interFreqExcludedCellList IE may contain a list of exclude-listed inter-frequency neighbouring cells.

[0092] In some implementations, when cells are marked as exclude-listed, these cells may not be considered by the UE in L1 / L3 event evaluation procedures. The cells may also not be considered in measurement and reporting procedures. The cells may further not be considered in OD-SIB1 request procedures or other Release 19 (R-19) network energy saving solutions such as on-demand SSB or common signaling adaptation. The common signaling adaptation may include SSB, PRACH, or paging adaptation.

[0093] In addition, an OD-SIB1 capable UE may receive the UL-WUS configuration through different methods. The UE may receive the configuration via broadcasting system information, via SI-on-demand procedure, or via UE-specific RRC signaling reception. The UL-WUS configuration may contain information of one or more OD-SIB1 cells, including the Physical Cell Identity (PCI) or global cell identity of those OD-SIB1 cells.

[0094] In the proposed mechanism, an OD-SIB1 capable UE may determine whether one specific cell with a specific PCI or GCI may be excluded by jointly considering two sets of information. The first set may be the exclude-listed cells contained in the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE or the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE associated with one or more operating NR or E-UTRA frequency carriers. The second set may be the UL-WUS configuration provided by the serving cell.

[0095] As a specific example, consider a cell#1 with PCI#1. If PCI#1 falls within the identity range provided in the excluded cell list (contained in the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE or the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE), an OD-SIB1 capable UE may then check whether PCI#1 also appears in the UL-WUS configuration. If PCI#1 appears in the UL-WUS configuration under the NES-CellId parameter, the UE may determine that cell#1 is an OD-SIB1 cell and may be accessible to the OD-SIB1 capable UE. If PCI#1 does not appear in the UL-WUS configuration under the NES-CellId parameter, the UE may determine that cell#1 remains excluded from event evaluation, cell reselection evaluation, measurement, and reporting procedures.

[0096] In some implementations, the UL-WUS configuration may provide information through a NESCell_Info element. The NESCell_Info element may include the PCI and the ARFCN. The ARFCN may be either NR-ARFCN or E-UTRA-ARFCN depending on the RAT type.

[0097] In some implementations, the OD-SIB1 cell may be indicated by the serving RAN through a PCI-RangeIndex IE. The PCI-RangeIndex IE may identify a physical cell ID range. The PCI-RangeIndex information element may be defined in ASN.1 notation as PCI-RangeIndex ::= INTEGER (1..maxNrofPCI-Ranges), where maxNrofPCI-Ranges may represent the maximum number of PCI ranges that may be configured.

[0098] In some implementations, the serving cell may broadcast the UL-WUS configuration via a new SIB that may be introduced beyond the SIBs defined in 3GPP R-18 specifications. An OD-SIB1 capable UE may implement the proposed dual-checking mechanism after the UE receives both the UL-WUS configuration and the excludedcelllist. Before the UE successfully receives the UL-WUS configuration, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may follow the standard excludedcelllist operation. During this interim period, the UE may treat the cells listed in the inter-frequency or intra-frequency excludedcelllist as excluded from accessing.

[0099] Specific Excluded Cell List for OD-SIB1 Capable UE

[0100] In some implementations, an OD-SIB1-specific excludedcelllist may be configured to OD-SIB1 capable UEs. For example, the IntraFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE and the InterFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE may be configured to the UE via the UL-WUS configuration. These OD-SIB1-specific lists may serve as dedicated excluded cell lists exclusively for OD-SIB1 capable UEs, separate from the standard excluded cell lists used by legacy UEs.

[0101] For an OD-SIB1 capable UE, the UE may ignore the standard IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE and InterFreqExcludedCellList IE configured within SIB3 and SIB4. Instead, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may implement the exclude-listed cell check by referring to the IntraFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE and the InterFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE. In this condition, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may consider the cells provided in the IntraFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE and the InterFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE as excluded from L1 / L3 event evaluation, measurement, and / or reporting procedures, OD-SIB1 request procedures, and cell reselection evaluation.

[0102] In some implementations, the UL-WUS configuration may further include an excluded-NES cell list. When this list is present, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may skip the standard excluded-listed cell but may follow the excluded-NES cell list to determine whether the corresponding NES cell may be excluded. The UL-WUS configuration related to the excluded NES cell may still be appended in the new SIB. Conversely, the UL-WUS configuration of a NES cell may be absent if the NES cell is present in the excluded-NES cell list.

[0103] In some implementations, the UL-WUS configuration may further include an excluded bit. When the bit is set to "0", the UE may ignore the excluded-list cell. When the bit is set to "1", the UE may determine that the NES cell is excluded if the PCI of the NES cell appears in the excluded-list cell and the bit is set to "1" in the UL-WUS configuration.

[0104] In some implementations, the proposed exclude-listed cell operation may be applicable to various cell types. These may include a NES Cell, a Cell A, an OD-SIB1 cell, an R-19 cell that does not support R-19 OD-SIB1 operation, or even a legacy cell such as an R-18 Cell with modifications to prevent a legacy UE from accessing an OD-SIB1 cell.

[0105] Maximum Number of NR Exclude-Listed Cell Ranges

[0106] To support more OD-SIB1 cells in one frequency carrier, the range of maxCellExcluded may need to be extended. The maxCellExcluded IE may be defined as INTEGER ::= 16, representing the maximum number of NR exclude-listed cell ranges in SIB3 and SIB4. One additional IE, maxCellExcluded_Extended, may be defined in the RRC signaling or may be pre-defined in the 3GPP specification to configure more excluded cells to a legacy UE. The extended range may allow the network to exclude more OD-SIB1 cells from legacy UE access when the number of such cells exceeds the original limit of 16.

[0107] In some implementations, the proposed maxCellExcluded_Extended IE may only be applicable or configurable to the specific excludedcelllist for OD-SIB1 capable UEs. This selective application may ensure that the extension does not affect legacy UE behavior while providing enhanced flexibility for OD-SIB1 operations.

[0108] Additional Transmission Scheme for IntraFreqExcludedCellList and InterFreqExcludedCellList

[0109] In some implementations, a legacy UE may receive the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE and the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE through multiple transmission methods. These lists, which may include the OD-SIB1 cell list, may be transmitted not only via broadcasting in SIB3 and SIB4 but also via UE-specific control signaling. The UE-specific control signaling may include RRC signaling such as the RRCReconfiguration message or the RRCRelease message.

[0110] In some additional implementations, an OD-SIB1 capable UE may also receive multiple types of excluded cell lists through various transmission methods. The UE may receive the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE, the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE, the IntraFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE, or the InterFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE, which may include the OD-SIB1 cell list. These lists may be transmitted not only via broadcasting in SIB3 and SIB4 but also via UE-specific control signaling such as the RRCReconfiguration message or the RRCRelease message.

[0111] ExcludedCellsToAddModList Reception for OD-SIB1 Capable UE

[0112] In some implementations, a UE may receive the ExcludedCellsToAddModList IE associated with at least one measurement object. In this condition, the UE may decide whether to exclude one specific cell by further considering the received ExcludedCellsToAddModList IE.

[0113] For example, consider an OD-SIB1 cell#1 with an associated PCI#1 that appears in both the UL-WUS configuration and the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE or the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE. An OD-SIB1 capable UE may initially consider that the OD-SIB1 cell#1 is applicable to the UE itself based on the joint checking mechanism. However, the UE may receive one ExcludedCellsToAddModList IE associated with one measurement object, such as MeasObjectEUTRA or MeasObjectNR. In this case, the UE may still exclude the OD-SIB1 cell#1 from the associated measurement object. In other words, the UE may not measure or report the OD-SIB1 cell#1 while implementing measurements based on that specific measurement object.

[0114] In some implementations, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may start the measurement, reporting, event evaluation, OD-SIB1 operation, or R-19 NES functions associated with the OD-SIB1 cell#1 when cell#1 is present in both the ExcludedCellsToAddModList IE and the UL-WUS configuration. In some implementations, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may not exclude the OD-SIB1 cell#1 when cell#1 is present in both the ExcludedCellsToAddModList IE and the UL-WUS configuration.

[0115] In addition, the UE may restart the measurement and reporting associated with the OD-SIB1 cell#1 if PCI#1 is removed from the excluded cell list that is reconfigured by the serving RAN. The reconfiguration may also occur via the transmission of the ExcludedCellsToAddModList IE.

[0116] Indicator for the OD-SIB1 Excluded-Cell Operation

[0117] In some implementations, one explicit indicator may be configured to an OD-SIB1 capable UE. The indicator may explicitly indicate whether the OD-SIB1 capable UE may refer to the UL-WUS configuration to decide if one cell is excluded from accessing or not. The UE may check the PCI or GCI provided in the UL-WUS configuration as part of this decision process.

[0118] For example, when the OD-SIB1 Excluded-cell operation indicator is set to 'true', this may indicate that an OD-SIB1 capable UE may refer to the UL-WUS configuration. The UE may check the PCI or GCI list provided in the UL-WUS configuration to decide that a cell is accessible to the OD-SIB1 capable UE. In contrast, when the OD-SIB1 Excluded-cell operation indicator is set to 'false', this may indicate that an OD-SIB1 capable UE may not refer to the UL-WUS configuration for this purpose.

[0119] When the OD-SIB1 Excluded-cell operation indicator is set to 'false', the UE may consider one cell as excluded when the cell identity such as PCI appears in both the UL-WUS configuration and the excluded cell list (the intraFreqExcludedCellList IE or the interFreqExcludedCellList IE). Therefore, the UE may not initiate a UL-WUS transmission for an OD-SIB1 request if the cell appears in the excluded cell list, even when the UL-WUS configuration associated with the cell is also provided to UEs.

[0120] An OD-SIB1 capable UE may refer to the UL-WUS configuration to decide whether one cell is accessible to the UE only after the UE receives the OD-SIB1 Excluded-cell operation indicator set to 'true'. Otherwise, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may still consider an OD-SIB1 cell as excluded from accessing if the UE does not receive the OD-SIB1 Excluded-cell operation indicator set to 'true'.

[0121] In some implementations, only an OD-SIB1 capable UE may receive and decode the indicator for the OD-SIB1 Excluded-cell operation. In contrast, a legacy UE may ignore or may not decode the indicator for the OD-SIB1 excluded-cell operation, as the legacy UE may not have the capability to process this OD-SIB1-specific information.

[0122] Exclusion Operation Which Covers OD-SIB1 Operation

[0123] In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 capable UE may consider one cell as excluded from OD-SIB1 request operation if the PCI or GCI of the cell appears in the UL-WUS configuration but the actual UL-WUS parameters associated with the PCI or GCI are absent in the UL-WUS configuration. In other words, only the PCI or GCI of the cell may be provided in the UL-WUS configuration without the corresponding configuration details. In this condition, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may in default still follow the intraFreqExcludedCellList IE or the interFreqExcludedCellList IE.

[0124] In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 capable UE may consider one cell as excluded from OD-SIB1 operation or OD-SIB1 request mechanism if the PCI or GCI of the cell is absent from the UL-WUS configuration. In this condition, the UE may identify an OD-SIB1 cell by receiving the MIB or PBCH broadcasted by the OD-SIB1 cell. However, the UE may not consider the OD-SIB1 cell during event evaluation, measurement, reporting, or OD-SIB1 request operation. In other words, the UE may not continue monitoring the OD-SIB1 cell and the UE may not wait for the OD-SIB1 cell to start broadcasting the SIB1 of the cell.

[0125] In contrast, the UE may consider or determine that one OD-SIB1 cell is not excluded from the event evaluation, measurement, reporting, or OD-SIB1 request operation if the UE has obtained the UL-WUS configuration associated with the concerned OD-SIB1 cell. Alternatively, the UE may consider the cell as not excluded if the UE has successfully obtained the SIB1 of the OD-SIB1 cell through other means.

[0126] NES Cell and Cell A Type in UL-WUS Configuration

[0127] In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 cell may be configured by a radio access network in a UL-WUS configuration. The cell identity of the OD-SIB1 cell may be provided in the UL-WUS configuration. In addition, one specific OD-SIB1 cell type may also be configured to be associated with the cell configured in the UL-WUS configuration. The cell type may be set as either 'NES Cell' or 'Cell A'.

[0128] For example, in some conditions, one cell may be configured with OD-SIB1 cell type set to "NES Cell". This configuration may indicate that the UE may transmit a UL-WUS to the cell directly for OD-SIB1 reception if a Cell A is not broadcasting OD-SIB1 while the UE is monitoring the Cell A. In some other conditions, one cell may be configured with OD-SIB1 cell type set to "Cell A". This configuration may mean that the cell is currently operating as a Cell A but the cell may become a NES Cell later.

[0129] In some implementations, a UE may not be allowed to initiate an OD-SIB1 request procedure with one OD-SIB1 Cell#1. The UE may be disabled from transmitting a UL-WUS to an OD-SIB1 cell#1 to request the SIB1 of the OD-SIB1 Cell#1 if or while the concerned OD-SIB1 Cell#1 is operating as a Cell A. In contrast, a UE may be allowed to initiate an OD-SIB1 request procedure with one OD-SIB1 Cell#1. The UE may be enabled to transmit a UL-WUS to an OD-SIB1 cell#1 to request the SIB1 of the OD-SIB1 Cell#1 only while the concerned OD-SIB1 Cell#1 is operating as a NES Cell.

[0130] In some implementations, the UE may not be allowed to initiate an OD-SIB1 request procedure with one Cell A. For example, the UE may be disabled from transmitting a UL-WUS to a Cell A such as Cell_A#1 for an OD-SIB1 request procedure to request the OD-SIB1 of the Cell_A#1, when the Cell_A#1 is also operating as a Cell A.

[0131] In some implementations, a UE may transmit one UL-WUS to a Cell A such as Cell_A#1 to request the OD-SIB1 of one NES Cell. The NES Cell may be supported by the Cell_A#1 for the OD-SIB1 request procedure. In some other implementations, a UE may also be enabled to transmit one UL-WUS to a Cell A such as Cell_A#1 to request the OD-SIB1 of another Cell A such as Cell_A#2, where the Cell_A#2 may become a NES Cell later. In some additional implementations, one UE may not be enabled to transmit one UL-WUS to a Cell A such as Cell_A#1 to request the OD-SIB1 of another OD-SIB1 cell that is also operating as a Cell A. In addition, the UE may be enabled to transmit a UL-WUS to a Cell A for an OD-SIB1 request of another OD-SIB1 cell only while the target OD-SIB1 cell is operating as a NES Cell.

[0132] In some implementations, radio nodes or base stations may exchange the UL-WUS configuration of each other through a backhaul connection. The backhaul connection may be the Xn interface or the X2 interface. In addition, the base stations may also exchange and update the cell type information with neighbor cells once the cell type of one cell changes between Cell A, NES Cell, OD-SIB1 cell, or legacy cell.

[0133] In some implementations, a cell that does not support OD-SIB1 functionality may also support the UL-WUS configuration broadcasting for the neighbor cells. These neighbor cells may be Cell A, NES Cell, or OD-SIB1 cells operating in the new radio protocol. In addition, the cell may be implemented on the E-UTRA protocol or the New Radio protocol. Therefore, in some implementations, an E-UTRA UE may receive the UL-WUS configuration from the serving E-UTRA cell of the UE. Then, the E-UTRA UE may switch the serving RAT of the UE from E-UTRA to New Radio. In addition, the UE may implement a cell (re)selection procedure based on the proposed excludedCellList, cell (re)selection priority, cell (re)selection sub-priority, and UL-WUS configuration.

[0134] Mechanism 2: Cell Reselection Priority Management to Support OD-SIB1 Operation

[0135] In some implementations, a legacy UE or an OD-SIB1 incapable UE may receive cell reselection priority or cell reselection sub-priority to prevent the UE from camping on one OD-SIB1 cell, Cell A, or NES Cell. The OD-SIB1 incapable UE may refer to a UE that does not support OD-SIB1 functionality or a UE that is not an OD-SIB1 capable UE based on the 3GPP Release-19 discussion progress.

[0136] For example, in some implementations, a high priority value may be configured and provided to the UE for one target OD-SIB1 cell. The high priority value may represent a low priority setting for cell (re)selection, meaning the cell may be evaluated later in the selection process. Therefore, the UE may implement a cell (re)selection procedure based on the given cell (re)selection priority value accordingly.

[0137] In contrast, a low priority value may represent high importance of one target Non-OD-SIB1 cell or legacy cell. The low priority value may also be configured to the legacy UE or OD-SIB1-Non-capable UE accordingly. The UE may consider and evaluate a cell from low priority value to high priority value. The low priority value may mean high priority or importance sequence during the evaluation, while the high priority value may mean low priority or importance sequence during the evaluation. Based on the given priority, an OD-SIB1-Non-capable UE may be prevented from accessing an OD-SIB1 cell.

[0138] In some implementations, one given OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value may be associated with one target frequency carrier. The frequency carrier may be an E-UTRA or NR frequency carrier. Therefore, in some implementations, a high OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value (e.g., a high priority value) associated with one NR or E-UTRA frequency carrier may be configured and provided to the UE. The high priority value may present a low priority or importance sequence. In contrast, a low OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value (e.g., a low priority value) associated with one NR or E-UTRA frequency carrier may be configured and provided to the UE. The low priority value may present a high priority or importance sequence. During a cell reselection procedure, a UE which supports / implement OD-SIB1 operation / functionality would firstly camp on a cell (e.g., which is also a serving cell to the UE), which is operating on a camping frequency carrier with a given (OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection) priority value. Then, the UE may always keep monitoring other frequency carriers which is associated with a priority value lower than (or equivalent to) the given priority value of the camping frequency carrier. In contrast, the UE may just occasionally monitor other frequency carriers which is associated with a priority value higher than (or equivalent to) the given priority value of the camping frequency carrier (e.g., with less times in comparison with the other frequency carriers which are associated with a lower priority value (or equivalent priority value) than the given priority value of the camping frequency carrier). In some additional implementations, UE may stop / skip monitoring other frequency carriers which is associated with a priority value higher than (or equivalent to) the given priority value of the camping frequency carrier. UE would keep searching for a suitable cell for camping by monitoring the camping frequency carrier and other frequency carriers.

[0139] In some implementations, the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value associated one frequency carrier may be zero (e.g., the highest priority) or a positive integer. In some additional implementations, OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value may be configured within the integer value range between 0 (the highest priority) and 7 (the lowest priority). In some additional implementations, one additional OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value may be configured to be associated with one target frequency carrier. So, if the additional OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value is configured with one target frequency carrier, a OD-SIB1 capable UE (or a UE which supports / implements OD-SIB1) would determine the priority of the target frequency carrier by adding the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value with the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value. In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value may be configured as a decimal among one or more options, which may be pre-defined in technical specifications. In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value of one target frequency carrier may be configured as 0.2 among a set of optional values {0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8}. In additional, the target frequency carrier may also be further associated with one OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value=1. Therefore, the UE would determine the priority of the target frequency carrier (during cell (re)selection) by implementing “OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value” + “OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value”=1.2. This rule would also be applied for the UE to determine the priority value of each neighbor frequency and camping frequency. Please also note, in some implementations, the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value may not be configured by the serving RAN alone if the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value is absent. In other words, the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value could only be configured by the serving RAN with the OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value jointly. Please also note, to a UE which supports OD-SIB1, the UE would only consider { OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value, OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value} to determine the priority of one target frequency carrier. In addition, the UE would not combine the legacy { cell (re)selection priority value, cell (re)selection sub-priority value} with the { OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value, OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value}, such as the combination of { (legacy) cell (re)selection priority value, OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value}, { OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value, (legacy) cell (re)selection sub-priority value}, and { (legacy) cell (re)selection priority value, (legacy) specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value} to determine the priority of the target frequency carrier.

[0140] In some implementations, a high sub-priority value associated with one NR or E-UTRA frequency carrier may be configured and provided to the UE. The high sub-priority value may present a low priority or importance sequence. In contrast, a low sub-priority value associated with one NR or E-UTRA frequency carrier may be configured and provided to the UE. The low sub-priority value may present a high priority or importance sequence.

[0141] Please also note, in some implementations, a UE may re-decide / re-determine the priority of one target frequency carrier between { OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection priority value, OD-SIB1 specific cell (re)selection sub-priority value} and { (legacy) cell (re)selection priority value, (legacy) cell (re)selection sub-priority value} upon / after the UE switches / changes from OD-SIB1 operation (or network energy saving (NES) operation) to non-OD-SIB1 operation (or legacy / Non-NES) or vice versa.

[0142] Therefore, the UE may implement a cell (re)selection procedure based on the given cell (re)selection priority value accordingly. Finally, the UE would reselect to a cell operating on a higher priority NR or inter-RAT frequency (in comparison with the priority of the camping frequency / camped cell before the cell reselection) if a cell on that high priority frequency fulfills specific downlink reference signaling quality / level thresholds (e.g., higher than or equivalent to a given first DL-RSRP / DL-RSRQ / DL-RSSI threshold) for a monitoring time interval. In contrast, the UE may reselect to a target cell operating on a lower priority NR or inter-RAT frequency if the DL signaling quality of the serving cell degrades below a threshold (e.g., lower than or equivalent to a given second DL-RSRP / DL-RSRQ / DL-RSSI threshold) AND the DL signaling quality of the target cell (which is operating on a low priority frequency carrier) maintains a good quality / level threshold(e.g., higher than or equivalent to a given third DL-RSRP / DL-RSRQ / DL-RSSI threshold).

[0143] In contrast, a low priority value may represent a high priority setting of one target E-UTRA or NR frequency carrier. The low priority value may also be configured to the UE accordingly. Based on the given priority, an OD-SIB1-Non-capable UE may be prevented from accessing an OD-SIB1 cell.

[0144] In some additional scenarios, a high priority value may be used to indicate a high sub-priority setting to a cell for cell reselection, and a low sub-priority value may be used to indicate a low priority setting to another cell for cell reselection. However, the sub-priority value may not influence the proposed mechanism and sequence of priority setting in the proposed mechanism. The UE may also try to monitor or detect the cells in a higher priority frequency carrier or a higher priority cell.

[0145] Joint Implementation of Excluded-List Cell and Cell (Re)selection Priority

[0146] In some implementations, a serving RAN may implement both the excluded-listed cell mechanism and the cell reselection priority or sub-priority mechanism to prevent a legacy UE from accessing OD-SIB1 cells on an operating frequency.

[0147] In some other implementations, a serving RAN may implement only the excluded-listed cell approach or only the cell reselection priority or sub-priority approach to prevent a legacy UE from accessing OD-SIB1 cells on an operating frequency.

[0148] Impact to OD-SIB1 Capable UE

[0149] In some implementations, one set of OD-SIB1-specific cell (re)selection priority or sub-priority may be configured to facilitate the OD-SIB1 capable UE to find an operating Cell A.

[0150] In some implementations, another set of OD-SIB1-specific cell (re)selection priority or sub-priority may also be configured to an OD-SIB1 capable UE. For example, the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE may be configured. Therefore, for an OD-SIB1 capable UE, the UE may ignore the cellReselectionPriority IE or the cellReselectionSubPriority IE provided to a legacy UE. In addition, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may decide the priorities of each frequency carrier for the following cell (re)selection priority by referring to the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE instead.

[0151] In some implementations, the UE may ignore the cellReselectionPriority IE or the cellReselectionSubPriority IE only if the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE is configured to the UE. Therefore, if the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE is released, removed, or dropped by the UE or by the serving cell, the UE may fallback to refer to the cellReselectionPriority IE or the cellReselectionSubPriority IE for frequency carrier priority decision during the following cell (re)selection procedure. The release may occur when the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE is configured with a "Need R" value.

[0152] In some implementations, an OD-SIB1 capable UE may decide the priority values associated with frequency carriers based on the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE during a given time period pre-configured by the serving RAN. The time period may be controlled by referring to the timer T320 operation and the T325 operation.

[0153] DeprioritisationReq and DeprioritisationReqODSIB1 Triggering by Cell Type Switch

[0154] In some implementations, a cell may change the role of the cell between a Cell A, NES Cell, OD-SIB1 cell, and a legacy cell. The legacy cell may be a cell that does not implement OD-SIB1 functionality or R-18 / R-19 NES functionality. Therefore, in some implementations, a serving cell may instruct an OD-SIB1 capable UE to deprioritize the current frequency carrier on which the serving cell is operating, while the serving cell may change the role of the cell later. For example, the serving cell may change from a Cell A or a NES Cell after releasing or suspending the RRC connection with the concerned OD-SIB1 capable UE. The change may be triggered by transmitting an RRCRelease message with or without a suspend configuration (suspendconfiguration).

[0155] For legacy UEs, in some implementations, the deprioritisationReq IE may also be reused by the serving RAN to prevent a legacy UE from accessing the RAT or current frequency. This prevention may be necessary because the serving cell may become a Cell A or NES Cell after releasing the RRC connection with the UE.

[0156] In some implementations, one OD-SIB1 capable UE may ignore the standard deprioritisationReq IE and may refer to the new OD-SIB1-specific deprioritisationReq IE to decide whether to deprioritize the current operating frequency or RAT.

[0157] In some implementations, one additional OD-SIB1-specific deprioritisationReq IE may also be configured to the UE to further indicate that the current frequency or RAT is to be de-prioritized. In some additional implementations, the OD-SIB1-specific de-prioritization implementation triggered by the deprioritisationReq reception may also be configured with a T325 counting timer mechanism. The timer may serve as the validity control of the OD-SIB1-specific de-prioritization implementation. For example, the serving cell may originally be a Cell A while serving the concerned OD-SIB1 capable UE, and then the serving cell may switch to become a NES Cell.

[0158] In some implementations, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may be configured with a conventional initial T325 value by referring to 3GPP R-18 technical specifications. Alternatively, an additional OD-SIB1-specific T325 may be configured to reflect the validity time period for which the serving RAN instructs the OD-SIB1 capable UE to implement the deprioritisationReq.

[0159] In some implementations, for one OD-SIB1 capable UE, a legacy deprioritisationReq IE may be configured to prevent an OD-SIB1 capable UE from searching or monitoring a concerned frequency carrier as a conventional de-prioritization approach. An OD-SIB1-specific deprioritisationReq IE may be configured to prevent an OD-SIB1 capable UE from initiating an OD-SIB1 request procedure with the cell operating on the concerned frequency carrier. For example, the serving cell may become a NES Cell later.

[0160] In some additional implementations, one OD-SIB1 capable UE may consider one target frequency carrier as unavailable by referring to the conventional deprioritisationReq IE only if the OD-SIB1-specific deprioritisationReq is absent.

[0161] In some implementations, an OD-SIB1-capable UE may be provided with an indicator in the RRCRelease message. The indicator may be the deprioritisationType IE, where the indicator may indicate to the UE to deprioritize all OD-SIB1 cells for which the UE has received the UL-WUS configuration. In some implementations, the UE may also receive a timer length for T325 along with the indicator. The timer length may be provided through the deprioritisationTimer IE. The timer length may also be applied to the OD-SIB1 cells as described above. In some implementations, the T325 associated with the deprioritisationType IE, referred to as T325-deprioritisationType, may be defined with a different or larger value range in comparison with the conventional T325 value range for a legacy UE. The value range may be in seconds or milliseconds. The RRCRelease message may be transmitted by the serving RAN to instruct the UE to move from RRC Connected state to RRC inactive state or RRC idle state, or from RRC inactive state to RRC idle state.

[0162] In some implementations, the UE may move from RRC Connected state to RRC inactive state after receiving the RRCRelease message that instructs the UE to move to RRC inactive state. The RRCRelease message may contain the deprioritisationType IE and the T325-deprioritisationType timer value. The UE may also trigger the proposed T325-deprioritisationType counting activity specific for OD-SIB1 operation after the UE moves to RRC inactive state. In addition, the UE may keep counting the T325-deprioritisationType timer and may deprioritize all OD-SIB1 cells if the UE further switches from RRC inactive state to RRC idle state later. In some additional implementations, the UE may stop counting the T325-deprioritisationType timer and the UE may not deprioritize all OD-SIB1 cells if the UE further switches from RRC inactive state to RRC idle state later.

[0163] In some implementations, the proposed T325-deprioritisationType timer counting activity and deprioritisationType configuration to deprioritize all OD-SIB1 cells may be continued and kept if the UE triggers an inter-RAT cell (re)selection procedure. The timer and configuration may also be maintained if the UE switches the operating RAT of the UE from New Radio to E-UTRA or another RAT. For example, the switch may be from NR RRC inactive state to E-UTRA RRC idle state or from NR RRC idle state to E-UTRA RRC idle state. In some other implementations, the proposed T325-deprioritisationType timer counting activity and deprioritisationType configuration to deprioritize all OD-SIB1 cells may be interrupted and released if the UE triggers an inter-RAT cell (re)selection procedure or if the UE switches the operating RAT of the UE from New Radio to E-UTRA or another RAT.

[0164] In some implementations, the UE that supports OD-SIB1 may not be allowed to mix the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority or sub-priority with the legacy cell reselection priority or sub-priority while determining the priority values of the serving frequency carriers and neighboring frequency carriers. In this scenario, the UE may exclusively use the OD-SIB1-specific parameters for all frequency carriers involved in the cell reselection evaluation.

[0165] Therefore, for the BS, the BS may need to provide the information elements of OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority or sub-priority for both the serving frequency and neighbor frequency carriers. This comprehensive configuration may enable the UE to determine the priority values of all of the candidate frequency carriers that the UE may consider for cell reselection. The UE may determine these priority values by only considering the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority or sub-priority among all of the candidate frequency carriers. This exclusive use of OD-SIB1-specific parameters may ensure consistent cell reselection behavior across all frequency carriers for OD-SIB1 capable UEs.

[0166] In some alternative implementations, the UE that supports OD-SIB1 may be allowed or enabled to mix or add the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority or sub-priority with the legacy cell reselection priority or sub-priority while determining the priority values of the serving frequency carriers and neighboring frequency carriers. For example, for the serving frequency carrier, only the legacy cell reselection priority or sub-priority value may be configured in the SIB2. In addition, for neighboring frequency carriers, the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority or sub-priority values may be provided in SIB4 for neighboring frequency carriers. In this condition, the UE may decide the priority values among the serving frequency carriers by using the legacy cell reselection priority or sub-priority value from SIB2. The UE may also decide the priority values for neighboring frequency carriers by using the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority and / or sub-priority values from SIB4. This hybrid approach may provide flexibility in network deployment where not all cells or frequency carriers have been upgraded to support OD-SIB1-specific configurations.

[0167] Mechanism 3: Partial Update of UL-WUS Configuration

[0168] The update mechanism of the UL-WUS configuration may involve several implementation considerations for UE behavior. An assumption may be made that all of the radio nodes in a RAN may configure and update the latest UL-WUS configuration simultaneously in the access stratum signaling.

[0169] In some implementations, a UE may first receive a UL-WUS configuration from a serving Cell A. For example, the UE may receive a UL-WUS configuration#1 from a Cell_A#1.

[0170] In some implementations, a UE may receive another UL-WUS configuration after the initial configuration. For example, the UE may receive a UL-WUS configuration#2 from a Cell_A#2 or an OD-SIB1-Cell#1. One OD-SIB1 cell with PCI#1 may be configured in both UL-WUS configuration#1 and UL-WUS configuration#2. In addition, different UL-WUS configuration parameters may be associated with the PCI#1 in the UL-WUS configuration#1 and UL-WUS configuration#2 respectively. In this condition, the UE may replace the UL-WUS configuration received from the UL-WUS configuration#1 by storing the UL-WUS configuration received from the UL-WUS configuration#2. In some additional implementations, the UL-WUS configuration of other cells such as a Cell#K stored in the UL-WUS configuration#1 may not be impacted if the UL-WUS configuration#2 does not provide UL-WUS configuration associated with Cell#K, or if the UL-WUS configuration#2 and UL-WUS configuration#1 provide the same UL-WUS configuration associated with Cell#K.

[0171] The UL-WUS configuration may be broadcasted by the Cell_A#1 via a System Information Block (SIB). In some implementations, the SIB may be valid within a given geographic area of the serving RAN. For example, the SIB may be associated with areascope='true'. In addition, the SIB may be further associated with a systeminformationareaID IE, which may be shared by one or multiple cells in a serving RAN, PLMN, or SNPN. Therefore, by receiving the UL-WUS configuration and the areascope or systeminformationareaID IE, the UE may know that the UL-WUS configuration may be valid among the cells that share the same systeminformationareaID.

[0172] The proposed OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may be broadcasted by the RAN via a System Information Block (SIB) (e.g., SIB3 or SIB4). In some additional implementations, serving RAN may transmit SIB3 and SIB4 via one or more UE-specific RRC signaling. In some implementations, the SIB may be valid within a given geographic area of the serving RAN. For example, the SIB may be associated with areascope='true'. In addition, the SIB may be further associated with a systeminformationareaID IE, which may be shared by one or multiple cells in a serving RAN, PLMN, or SNPN. Therefore, by receiving the proposed OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list and the areascope or systeminformationareaID IE, the UE may know that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may be valid among the cells that share the same systeminformationareaID.

[0173] The proposed OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration may be broadcasted by the RAN via a System Information Block (SIB) (e.g., SIB2 or SIB4). In some additional implementations, serving RAN may transmit SIB2 and SIB4 via one or more UE-specific RRC signaling. In some implementations, the SIB may be valid within a given geographic area of the serving RAN. For example, the SIB may be associated with areascope='true'. In addition, the SIB may be further associated with a systeminformationareaID IE, which may be shared by one or multiple cells in a serving RAN, PLMN, or SNPN. Therefore, by receiving the proposed OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration and the areascope or systeminformationareaID IE, the UE may know that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration may be valid among the cells that share the same systeminformationareaID.

[0174] While the UE is moving around the serving RAN, the UE may still receive UL-WUS configuration that provides one or more NES Cell or OD-SIB1 cell lists. The configuration may provide the PCI or GCI of those NES Cells or OD-SIB1 cells and the UL-WUS configuration associated with the provided NES Cell or OD-SIB1 cell.

[0175] On-Demand SIB1 (Request) Procedure

[0176] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a signaling flow of an OD-SIB1 (request) procedure, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0177] The On-Demand SIB1 request procedure may be divided into several actions as shown in FIG. 2.

[0178] Action A: WUS Configuration

[0179] Action A may include any combinations of Action A-1 and Action A-2.

[0180] Action A-1 may involve WUS configuration_NES transmission from the NES Cell and WUS configuration_NES reception at the UE side. In some implementations, a NES Cell may broadcast the UL-WUS configuration of the NES cell itself or the UL-WUS configuration of neighbor cells. The neighbor cells may be NES cells, Cell As, or OD-SIB1 cells.

[0181] Action A-2 may involve WUS configuration_A transmission from the Cell A and WUS configuration_A reception at the UE side.

[0182] In some implementations, the UE may be able to receive WUS configurations from the NES Cell via WUS configuration_NES reception and WUS configuration from the Cell A via WUS configuration_A reception. In addition, the UE may store both of the WUS configurations from the NES Cell and Cell A. In some other implementations, the UE may only store one WUS configuration, which may be received via WUS configuration_NES reception or WUS configuration_A reception even when the UE may be capable of receiving both WUS configurations. In some additional implementations, the UE may only choose to store the latest or up-to-date WUS configuration. Therefore, a new WUS configuration reception such as WUS configuration_NES reception or WUS configuration_A reception may overwrite a stored WUS configuration such as WUS configuration_NES or WUS configuration_A. In some additional implementations, the UE may always only receive and store the WUS configuration from either network node, which may be a NES Cell or a Cell A. In some implementations, different priorities may be provided to the WUS configuration from different network nodes.

[0183] Action B: On-Demand SIB1 Request

[0184] Action B may include any combinations of Action B-1 and Action B-2.

[0185] Action B-1 may involve WUS Transmission_NES transmission from the UE to the NES Cell and WUS Transmission_NES reception at the NES Cell.

[0186] Action B-2 may involve WUS Transmission_A transmission from the UE to Cell A and WUS Transmission_A reception at the Cell A.

[0187] In some implementations, the UE may be able to transmit one or more WUS to the NES Cell via WUS Transmission_NES procedure or one or more WUS to the Cell A via WUS Transmission_A procedure. In some other implementations, one WUS transmission on one common uplink radio resource from the UE may be detectable by both the NES Cell and the Cell A. In addition, both nodes may exchange the detection results of the nodes via a backhaul connection to support or trigger NES Cells broadcasting SIB1 after receiving the request from UEs. In some additional implementations, one common configuration may be shared among more than one Cell A, Cell A', or NES Cell.

[0188] In some implementations, the WUS configuration may include the Wake-Up-Signal configuration, which may refer to one or more preambles in 3GPP specifications. The WUS configuration may also include uplink resource configuration, which may refer to RACH configuration in 3GPP specifications.

[0189] Action C: On-Demand SIB1 Response

[0190] Action C may include any combinations of Action C-1 and Action C-2.

[0191] Action C-1 may involve WUS Response_NES transmission from the NES Cell to the UE and WUS Response_NES reception at the UE side.

[0192] Action C-2 may involve WUS Response_A transmission from the Cell A to the UE and WUS Response_A reception at the UE side.

[0193] In some implementations, the UE may be configured with DL resource to receive the WUS message as part of the WUS Response_NES reception or WUS Response_A reception. The DL resource configuration may refer to Random Access Response message reception during a 2-step or 4-step RA procedure in 3GPP specifications.

[0194] In some implementations, the UE may monitor WUS Response by referring to the Random Access Response (RAR) reception. For example, the UE may try to monitor and decode Downlink Control Information (DCI) during a given time period TWUS after transmitting WUS. The DCI may be scrambled by an RA-RNTI or another WUS-RNTI that is specified for the on-demand SIB1 request procedure. In some additional implementations, the UE may decide the time span of TWUS by referring to the Random Access Response window time period.

[0195] Action D: On-Demand SIB1 Transmission

[0196] Action D may include any combinations of Action D-1 and Action D-2.

[0197] Action D-1 may involve SIB1 Transmission_NES transmission from the NES Cell to the UE and SIB1 Transmission_NES reception at the UE side.

[0198] Action D-2 may involve SIB1 Transmission_A transmission from the Cell A to the UE and SIB1 Transmission_A reception at the UE side.

[0199] One On-Demand SIB1 procedure may or may not include all of the indicated actions shown in FIG. 2. For example, in some implementations, the NES Cell or Cell A may not reply with the On-Demand SIB1 Response to the UE after receiving the On-Demand SIB1 Request message from the UE. Instead, the NES Cell or Cell A may transmit the On-Demand SIB1 to the UE directly via broadcasting system information of the NES Cell or Cell A.

[0200] In some other implementations, the NES Cell or Cell A may reply with a NACK message to the UE when the On-Demand SIB1 Request message is not received successfully. Therefore, On-Demand SIB1 Transmission may not occur in such a condition.

[0201] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process 300 performed by a UE supporting OD-SIB1 operations for network energy saving, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. Although actions 302, 304 and 306 are illustrated, as separate actions, represented as independent blocks in FIG. 3, these separately illustrated actions should not be construed as to be necessarily order-dependent. The order in which the actions are performed in FIG. 3 is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the disclosed blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternative method. Each of actions 302, 304 and 306 may be performed independent of the other actions, and may be omitted in some implementations of the present disclosure. Moreover, method / process 300 may be combined with other procedures / methods described in the present disclosure. Process 300 may be performed by a UE, with each action of process 300 corresponding to an operation executed by the UE.

[0202] In action 302, the UE may receive system information from a serving RAN. In some implementations, the system information may be broadcasted periodically by the serving cell or may be provided through UE-specific RRC signaling such as an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCRelease message. The system information may contain configuration parameters for cell reselection procedures, including excluded cell lists that identify cells the UE should avoid during cell reselection evaluation. In some implementations, the system information may also include UL-WUS configuration parameters that enable OD-SIB1 operations for network energy saving.

[0203] In action 304, the UE may determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information. In some implementations, the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may include the IntraFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE for intra-frequency cells or the InterFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE for inter-frequency cells. The OD-SIB1-specific lists may be distinct from the standard excluded cell lists (the IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE and the InterFreqExcludedCellList IE) that are intended for legacy UEs. The determination in action 304 may involve the UE checking specific information elements within the received system information to identify whether these OD-SIB1-specific parameters have been configured. In some implementations, the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may be included within the UL-WUS configuration or may be provided as a separate information element in a new SIB designed for OD-SIB1 operations.

[0204] In action 306, in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, the UE may apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation and may ignore an excluded cell list in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information. The application of the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may mean that the UE uses this specialized list to determine which cells should be excluded from cell reselection candidates while the UE is in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state. The standard excluded cell list, which may be present in SIB3 or SIB4 and intended to prevent legacy UEs from accessing OD-SIB1 cells, may be ignored by the OD-SIB1 capable UE (e.g., a UE supporting OD-SIB1 operations) when the OD-SIB1-specific list is available. This dual-list mechanism may enable the network to simultaneously prevent legacy UEs from accessing energy-saving cells while allowing OD-SIB1 capable UEs to properly identify and access these cells when appropriate.

[0205] In some implementations, the UE may further perform additional actions not shown in FIG. 3. For example, when the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is absent, the UE may fall back to using the standard excluded cell list for cell reselection evaluation (if the excluded cell list is present in the received system information). In some implementations, the UE may also jointly consider the excluded cell lists with the UL-WUS configuration to determine whether a cell that appears in the excluded cell list is actually an accessible OD-SIB1 cell.

[0206] In some implementations, in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is absent in the system information, the UE may apply the excluded cell list in the system information for the cell reselection evaluation in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information. This fallback mechanism may ensure backward compatibility where an OD-SIB1 capable UE may behave similarly to a legacy UE when the network has not yet configured the OD-SIB1-specific parameters. For example, when the UE camps on a cell that has not been upgraded to support OD-SIB1 operations, the UE may use the standard IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE or InterFreqExcludedCellList IE from SIB3 or SIB4 to determine which cells to exclude from cell reselection candidates.

[0207] In some implementations, the system information may include at least one of a SIB3 or a SIB4. The OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may include an intra-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is received by the UE via the SIB3, and the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may include an inter-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is received by the UE via the SIB4. The intra-frequency excluded cell list may identify cells operating on the same frequency carrier as the serving cell, while the inter-frequency excluded cell list may identify cells operating on different frequency carriers. This distinction may allow the network to manage cell exclusion policies differently for intra-frequency and inter-frequency scenarios, which may have different implications for UE power consumption and mobility performance.

[0208] In some implementations, the UE may determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information. In response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, the UE may ignore a cell reselection priority configuration in the system information and apply the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for a frequency prioritization during a cell reselection. The OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration may include parameters such as the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE. By applying these OD-SIB1-specific priorities, the UE may be guided to preferentially select cells that support OD-SIB1 operations, thereby facilitating network energy saving while the legacy priorities configured for legacy UEs may guide them away from energy-saving cells that they cannot properly access.

[0209] In some implementations, in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is absent in the system information, the UE may apply the cell reselection priority configuration in the system information for the frequency prioritization while the UE is staying in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state or idle state. This fallback behavior may ensure that the UE can still perform cell reselection even when camping on cells that have not been configured with OD-SIB1-specific parameters. The cell reselection priority configuration may include the cellReselectionPriority IE or the cellReselectionSubPriority IE that are also used by legacy UEs.

[0210] In some implementations, the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration may include at least one of a cell reselection priority list including one or more cell reselection priority values. Each of the one or more cell reselection priority values may be associated with a first frequency carrier for the UE to implement an inter-frequency cell reselection. Alternatively or additionally, the configuration may include a cell reselection sub-priority list including one or more cell reselection sub-priority values, where each of the one or more cell reselection sub-priority values may be associated with a second frequency carrier for the UE to implement the inter-frequency cell reselection. The priority values may determine the order in which the UE evaluates different frequency carriers during cell reselection, where lower numerical values may indicate higher priority. The sub-priority values may provide additional granularity when multiple carriers have the same priority value, allowing finer control over cell reselection behavior.

[0211] In some implementations, the system information may include a System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4). The OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration may be associated with a serving frequency carrier of a serving cell in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is received by the UE via the SIB2. This configuration may allow the serving cell to adjust the priority of the current serving frequency specifically for OD-SIB1 capable UEs. The OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration may be associated with one or more neighboring frequency carriers in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is received by the UE via the SIB4. This configuration may enable the network to guide OD-SIB1 capable UEs toward or away from specific neighboring frequencies based on whether those frequencies have cells supporting OD-SIB1 operations.

[0212] In some implementations, in action 306, the UE may exclude all cells identified in the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list from being considered as candidates for cell reselection while the UE is staying in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state or idle state. The exclusion may mean that the UE may not measure these cells for cell reselection purposes, may not evaluate them against cell reselection criteria, and / or may not attempt to camp on them even if they appear to have strong signal quality. This exclusion may be particularly relevant for cells that are genuinely unavailable or unsuitable for OD-SIB1 capable UEs, as distinguished from cells that appear in the (standard) excluded cell list merely to prevent legacy UE access.

[0213] It should also be noted that the network device, such as the BS, may perform methods / actions corresponding to those performed by the UE. For example, the receiving actions performed by the UE may correspond to the transmitting / configuring actions of the network device; the transmitting actions performed by the UE may correspond to the receiving actions of the network device. That is, the network device and the UE may have reciprocally aligned roles in transmission and reception. For example, the BS may transmit system information to a UE supporting OD-SIB1 operations, and configure the system information to include an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list. In a case that the system information further includes an excluded cell list, a presence of the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may enable the UE to ignore the excluded cell list and apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation, where the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may include an intra-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is transmitted by the BS via a SIB3 and the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list may include an inter-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is transmitted by the BS via a SIB4.

[0214] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process 400 performed by a UE supporting OD-SIB1 operations to implement cell reselection based on an OD-SIB1 specific excluded cell list, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. Although actions 402, 404, 406, and 408 are illustrated as separate actions, represented as independent blocks in FIG. 4, these separately illustrated actions should not be construed as necessarily order-dependent. The order in which the actions are performed in FIG. 4 is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the disclosed blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternative method. Process 400 may be performed by a UE, with each action of process 400 corresponding to an operation executed by the UE.

[0215] In action 402, the UE may receive system information from a serving RAN. The system information reception may occur through periodic broadcasts of System Information Blocks or through dedicated RRC signaling. The received system information may contain both standard excluded cell lists intended for legacy UEs and OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell lists designed for OD-SIB1 capable UEs.

[0216] In action 404, the UE may determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the received system information. For example, the determination may involve checking for the presence of the IntraFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE or the InterFreqExcludedCellList_ODSIB1 IE within the system information. The OD-SIB1-specific list(s) may be transmitted via SIB3 for intra-frequency cells or SIB4 for inter-frequency cells, or may be included within an UL-WUS configuration.

[0217] If the determination in action 404 is positive (Yes branch), the process may proceed to action 408. In action 408, the UE may apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for cell reselection and may ignore an excluded cell list. The application of the OD-SIB1-specific list may mean that the UE uses this specialized list exclusively to determine which cells to exclude from cell reselection candidates, overriding any standard excluded cell lists that may also be present in the system information. This behavior may enable the OD-SIB1 capable UE to access cells that are marked as excluded for legacy UEs but are actually available for OD-SIB1 operations.

[0218] If the determination in action 404 is negative (No branch), the process may proceed to action 406. In action 406, the UE may apply an excluded cell list for cell reselection in a case the excluded cell list is present. This fallback mechanism may ensure that when OD-SIB1-specific parameters are not configured, the OD-SIB1 capable UE may behave similarly to a legacy UE by using the standard IntraFreqExcludedCellList IE or InterFreqExcludedCellList IE from the system information.

[0219] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process 500 performed by a UE supporting cell reselections for network energy saving based on an OD-SIB1 specific frequency priority configuration, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. Although actions 502, 504, 506, and 508 are illustrated as separate actions, represented as independent blocks in FIG. 5, these separately illustrated actions should not be construed as necessarily order-dependent. The order in which the actions are performed in FIG. 5 is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the disclosed blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternative method. Process 500 may be performed by a UE, with each action of process 500 corresponding to an operation executed by the UE.

[0220] In action 502, the UE may receive system information from a serving RAN. The system information may include SIB2 containing priority configurations for the serving frequency carrier and SIB4 containing priority configurations for neighboring frequency carriers. The system information may contain both standard cell reselection priority configurations for legacy UEs and OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configurations for OD-SIB1 capable UEs.

[0221] In action 504, the UE may determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the received system information. For example, the determination may involve checking for the presence of the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE within the system information. The OD-SIB1-specific priority configuration(s) may provide a separate frequency prioritization compared to the standard configuration (e.g., the (standard) cell reselection priority configuration), potentially guiding OD-SIB1 capable UEs toward cells that support energy-saving operations.

[0222] If the determination in action 504 is positive (Yes branch), the process may proceed to action 508. In action 508, the UE may apply the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for cell (re)selection and may ignore a cell reselection priority configuration. The application of the OD-SIB1-specific configuration may mean that the UE uses the cellReselectionPriorityODSIB1 IE or the cellReselectionSubPriorityODSIB1 IE to determine the priority order for evaluating different frequency carriers during cell reselection. The standard cellReselectionPriority IE or cellReselectionSubPriority IE that may be configured for legacy UEs may be ignored by the OD-SIB1 capable UE.

[0223] If the determination in action 504 is negative (No branch), the process may proceed to action 506. In action 506, the UE may apply cell reselection priority configuration for cell reselection in a case the cell reselection priority configuration is present. This fallback behavior may ensure that the UE can still perform frequency prioritization using the standard cellReselectionPriority IE or cellReselectionSubPriority IE when OD-SIB1-specific configurations are not available. For example, the UE may apply the standard priority values provided by the cell reselection priority configuration while staying in the RRC inactive state or in the RRC idle state, maintaining normal cell reselection behavior when camping on cells without OD-SIB1 support.

[0224] The processes illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 may work together to provide comprehensive cell reselection management for OD-SIB1 capable UEs, where FIG. 4 addresses which cells to exclude and FIG. 5 addresses how to prioritize different frequencies, both contributing to efficient network energy saving while maintaining backward compatibility with legacy network deployments.

[0225] It should be understood that the processes illustrated in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 may be implemented independently of each other. Each process may stand alone as a complete method for achieving specific aspects of OD-SIB1 operations. Furthermore, each individual action within these processes may also be implemented independently. For example, the UE may implement only action 302 and action 304 of process 300 without necessarily performing action 306, depending on the network configuration and UE capabilities. Similarly, actions 402 and 404 of process 400 may be performed without actions 406 or 408 in certain scenarios where the UE only needs to determine the presence of OD-SIB1-specific parameters without immediately applying them. The modular nature of these processes and actions may provide flexibility in implementation, allowing network operators and device manufacturers to adopt OD-SIB1 features incrementally or selectively based on deployment requirements and network evolution strategies. In some implementations, a UE may implement only the excluded cell list management of process 300 or process 400 without implementing the priority configuration management of process 500, or vice versa. This selective implementation may be suitable for networks that have partially deployed OD-SIB1 features or for UEs with varying levels of OD-SIB1 support. The independence of these processes may ensure that the benefits of network energy saving can be realized even when not all aspects of the OD-SIB1 framework are fully deployed across the network.

[0226] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating node 600 for wireless communications, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 6, node 600 may include transceiver 620, processor 628, memory 634, one or more presentation components 638, and at least one antenna 636. Node 600 may also include a radio frequency (RF) spectrum band module, a BS communications module, a network communications module, and a system communications management module, Input / Output (I / O) ports, I / O components, and a power supply (not illustrated in FIG. 6).

[0227] Each of the components may directly or indirectly communicate with each other over one or more buses 640. Node 600 may be a UE or a BS that performs various functions disclosed with reference to FIGs. 1 to 5.

[0228] Transceiver 620 has transmitter 622 (e.g., transmitting / transmission circuitry) and receiver 624 (e.g., receiving / reception circuitry) and may be configured to transmit and / or receive time and / or frequency resource partitioning information. Transceiver 620 may be configured to transmit in different types of subframes and slots including, but not limited to, usable, non-usable, and flexibly usable subframes and slot formats. Transceiver 620 may be configured to receive data and control channels.

[0229] Node 600 may include a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by node 600 and include volatile (and / or non-volatile) media and removable (and / or non-removable) media.

[0230] The computer-readable media may include computer-storage media and communication media. Computer-storage media may include both volatile (and / or non-volatile media), and removable (and / or non-removable) media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or data.

[0231] Computer-storage media may include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory (or other memory technology), CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) (or other optical disk storage), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage (or other magnetic storage devices), etc. Computer-storage media may not include a propagated data signal. Communication media may typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanisms and include any information delivery media.

[0232] The term “modulated data signal” may mean a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Communication media may include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media, such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the aforementioned listed components should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0233] Memory 634 may include computer-storage media in the form of volatile and / or non-volatile memory. Memory 634 may be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. Example memory may include solid-state memory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, etc. As illustrated in FIG. 6, memory 634 may store a computer-readable and / or computer-executable instructions 632 (e.g., software codes) that are configured to, when executed, cause processor 628 to perform various functions disclosed herein, for example, with reference to FIGs. 1 to 5. Alternatively, instructions 632 may not be directly executable by processor 628 but may be configured to cause node 600 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform various functions disclosed herein.

[0234] Processor 628 (e.g., having processing circuitry) may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. Processor 628 may include memory. Processor 628 may process data 630 and instructions 632 received from memory 634, and information transmitted and received via transceiver 620, the baseband communications module, and / or the network communications module. Processor 628 may also process information to send to transceiver 620 for transmission via antenna 636 to the network communications module for transmission to a CN.

[0235] One or more presentation components 638 may present data indications to a person or another device. Examples of presentation components 638 may include a display device, a speaker, a printing component, a vibrating component, etc.

[0236] In view of the present disclosure, it is obvious that various techniques may be used for implementing the disclosed concepts without departing from the scope of those concepts. Moreover, while the concepts have been disclosed with specific reference to certain implementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of those concepts. As such, the disclosed implementations are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. It should also be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the particular implementations disclosed and many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A User Equipment (UE) supporting On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving, the UE comprising: 　　　　at least one processor; and 　　　　at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to: 　　　　receive system information from a serving Radio Access Network (RAN); 　　　　determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information; and 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation and ignore an excluded cell list in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is absent in the system information, apply the excluded cell list in the system information for the cell reselection evaluation in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

3. The UE of claim 1, wherein: 　　　　the system information comprises at least one of a System Information Block 3 (SIB3) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4), 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list comprises an intra-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is received by the UE via the SIB3, and 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list comprises an inter-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is received by the UE via the SIB4.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　determine whether an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information; 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, ignore a cell reselection priority configuration in the system information and apply the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for a frequency prioritization during a cell reselection.

5. The UE of claim 4, wherein the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list and the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration are valid within a system information area associated with a system information area identifier.

6. The UE of claim 4, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is absent in the system information, apply the cell reselection priority configuration in the system information for the frequency prioritization while the UE is staying in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive / idle state.

7. The UE of claim 4, wherein the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration comprises at least one of: 　　　　a cell reselection priority list comprising one or more cell reselection priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection priority values being associated with a first frequency carrier for the UE to implement an inter-frequency cell reselection, or 　　　　a cell reselection sub-priority list comprising one or more cell reselection sub-priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection sub-priority values being associated with a second frequency carrier for the UE to implement the inter-frequency cell reselection.

8. The UE of claim 4, wherein: 　　　　the system information comprises a System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4), 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with a serving frequency carrier of a serving cell in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is received by the UE via the SIB2, and 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with one or more neighboring frequency carriers in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is received by the UE via the SIB4.

9. The UE of claim 1, wherein applying the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list comprises: 　　　　excluding all cells identified in the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list from being considered as candidates for cell reselection while the UE is staying in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive / idle state.

10. A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) supporting On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations for network energy saving, the method comprising: 　　　　receiving system information from a serving Radio Access Network (RAN); 　　　　determining whether an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information; 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is present in the system information, applying the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation and ignoring an excluded cell list in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is absent in the system information, applying the excluded cell list for the cell reselection evaluation in a case that the excluded cell list is present in the system information; 　　　　determining whether an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information; 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is present in the system information, ignoring a cell reselection priority configuration in the system information and applying the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for a frequency prioritization during a cell reselection; and 　　　　in response to determining that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is absent in the system information, applying the cell reselection priority configuration for the frequency prioritization during the cell reselection.

12. A Base Station (BS), the BS comprising: 　　　　at least one processor; and 　　　　at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the BS to: 　　　　transmit system information to a User Equipment (UE) supporting On-Demand System Information Block 1 (OD-SIB1) operations; 　　　　configure the system information to include an OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list, wherein in a case that the system information further includes an excluded cell list, a presence of the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list enables the UE to ignore the excluded cell list and apply the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list for a cell reselection evaluation, wherein: 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list comprises an intra-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is transmitted by the BS via a System Information Block 3 (SIB3), and 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list comprises an inter-frequency excluded cell list in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list is transmitted by the BS via a System Information Block 4 (SIB4).

13. The BS of claim 12, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the BS to: 　　　　configure the system information to include both a cell reselection priority configuration and an OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration, wherein a presence of the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration enables the UE to ignore the cell reselection priority configuration and apply the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration for frequency prioritization during cell reselection.

14. The BS of claim 13, wherein the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration comprises at least one of: 　　　　a cell reselection priority list comprising one or more cell reselection priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection priority values being associated with a first frequency carrier for the UE to implement an inter-frequency cell reselection, or 　　　　a cell reselection sub-priority list comprising one or more cell reselection sub-priority values, each of the one or more cell reselection sub-priority values being associated with a second frequency carrier for the UE to implement the inter-frequency cell reselection, 　　　　wherein: 　　　　the system information comprises a System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or a System Information Block 4 (SIB4), 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with a serving frequency carrier of a serving cell in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is transmitted by the BS via the SIB2, and 　　　　the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is associated with one or more neighboring frequency carriers in a case that the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration is transmitted by the BS via the SIB4.

15. The BS of claim 13, wherein the OD-SIB1-specific excluded cell list and the OD-SIB1-specific cell reselection priority configuration are valid within a system information area associated with a system information area identifier.

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