Method and device for supporting RRC segmentation in wireless communication system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting higher data transmission rates. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) may comprise the steps of: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) setup complete message to a base station; receiving a UE capability enquiry message from the base station; and performing RRC segmentation on a UE capability information message, and transmitting segments according to the RRC segmentation to the base station. In this case, the RRC setup complete message may include either first information indicating that the UE supports segmentation for the UE capability information message or second information indicating that the UE supports segmentation for the UE capability information message on the basis of an indicated maximum number of segments. In addition, the UE capability enquiry message may include either third information indicating that segmentation for the UE capability information message is allowed or fourth information indicating that segmentation for the UE capability information message, based on the maximum number of segments, is allowed.

Description

Method and apparatus for supporting RRC splitting in a wireless communication system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication and to the operation of a terminal and a base station. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for supporting RRC splitting in a wireless communication system.

[0002] 5G mobile communication technology defines a wide frequency band to enable fast transmission speeds and new services, and can be implemented not only in frequency bands below 6 GHz ('Sub 6 GHz'), such as 3.5 gigahertz (3.5 GHz), but also in ultra-high frequency bands called millimeter waves (mmWave), such as 28 GHz and 39 GHz ('Above 6 GHz'). In addition, for 6G mobile communication technology, which is referred to as a system beyond 5G, implementation in the terahertz (THX) band (e.g., the 3 terahertz band at 95 GHz) is being considered to achieve transmission speeds 50 times faster and ultra-low latency reduced to one-tenth compared to 5G mobile communication technology.

[0003] In the early stages of 5G mobile communication technology, aiming to satisfy service support and performance requirements for enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), technologies such as beamforming and Massive MIMO to mitigate path loss and increase transmission distance in ultra-high frequency bands, support for various numerologies (such as the operation of multiple subcarrier spacings) and dynamic operation of slot formats for the efficient utilization of ultra-high frequency resources, initial access techniques to support multi-beam transmission and broadband, definition and operation of Band-Width Parts (BWP), Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes for high-volume data transmission, new channel coding methods such as Polar Codes for the reliable transmission of control information, and L2 pre-processing (L2 Standardization has been carried out for pre-processing, network slicing which provides a dedicated network specialized for specific services, and other methods.

[0004] Currently, discussions are underway to improve and enhance the performance of the initial 5G mobile communication technology, taking into account the services that the 5G mobile communication technology was intended to support. Additionally, standardization of the physical layer is in progress for technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), which helps autonomous vehicles make driving decisions and enhance user convenience based on their own location and status information transmitted by the vehicle; NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed), which aims for system operation in unlicensed bands to comply with various regulatory requirements; NR terminal low power consumption technology (UE Power Saving); Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), which is direct terminal-satellite communication for securing coverage in areas where communication with the terrestrial network is impossible; and positioning.

[0005] In addition, standardization is underway in the field of wireless interface architecture / protocols for technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through linkage and convergence with other industries, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) which provides nodes for expanding network service areas by integrating wireless backhaul links and access links, Mobility Enhancement including Conditional Handover and Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) Handover, and 2-step Random Access (2-step RACH for NR) which simplifies random access procedures. Standardization is also underway in the field of system architecture / services for 5G baseline architectures (e.g., Service based Architecture, Service based Interface) for incorporating Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), which provides services based on the location of the terminal.

[0006] When such 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices, which are increasing explosively, will be connected to communication networks. Accordingly, it is expected that there will be a need to enhance the functionality and performance of 5G mobile communication systems and to integrate the operation of connected devices. To this end, new research is planned to be conducted on 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction, support for AI services, support for metaverse services, and drone communication using eXtended Reality (XR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) to efficiently support Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR).

[0007] Furthermore, the advancement of these 5G mobile communication systems encompasses multi-antenna transmission technologies such as new waveforms to guarantee coverage in the terahertz band of 6G mobile communication technology, Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and large-scale antennas; metamaterial-based lenses and antennas to improve terahertz band signal coverage; high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technology using OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum); and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) technology; as well as Full Duplex technology for enhancing frequency efficiency and system networks in 6G mobile communication technology; AI-based communication technologies that realize system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and the realization of services of complexity exceeding the limits of terminal computing capabilities by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources. It could serve as a foundation for the development of next-generation distributed computing technologies.

[0008] The disclosed embodiments aim to provide an apparatus and method capable of effectively providing services in a mobile communication system.

[0009] A method performed by user equipment (UE) according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include the steps of transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) Setup Complete message to a base station, receiving a UE Capability Enquiry message from the base station, performing RRC segmentation on a UE Capability Information message, and transmitting the segments resulting from the RRC segmentation to the base station. In this case, the RRC Setup Complete message may include either first information indicating that the UE supports segmentation of the UE Capability Information message, or second information indicating that the UE supports segmentation of the UE Capability Information message based on a specified maximum number of segments. Additionally, the UE Capability Enquiry message may include either third information indicating that segmentation of the UE Capability Information message is permitted, or fourth information indicating that segmentation of the UE Capability Information message is permitted based on the maximum number of segments.

[0010] The disclosed embodiments provide an apparatus and method capable of effectively providing services in a mobile communication system.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a wireless connection state transition in a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting up and / or reporting signaling-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting up and / or reporting management-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a UE Capability Information message according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a UE Capability Information message according to the limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to a limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to a limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 10 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs an RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 11 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs an RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to a limit on the number of maximum RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 12 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs retransmission of a QoE report message when an MCG (Master cell group) change (or handover) or an SCG (Secondary cell group) change occurs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 13 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs retransmission of a QoE report message according to the limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a target base station during an MCG (Master cell group) change (or handover) or SCG (Secondary cell group) change according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the internal structure of a terminal applied to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a base station applied to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] In describing the embodiments in this specification, technical details that are well known in the art to which the present invention pertains and are not directly related to the present invention are omitted. This is intended to convey the essence of the present invention more clearly without obscuring it by omitting unnecessary explanations.

[0027] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings have been exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Additionally, the size of each component does not entirely reflect its actual dimensions. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing have been assigned the same reference numbers.

[0028] The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided merely to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components.

[0029] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the process flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams can be executed by computer program instructions. Since these computer program instructions can be loaded into the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, the instructions executed through the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create means to perform the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). Since these computer program instructions can also be stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory that can be directed toward the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the function in a specific way, the instructions stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item containing the means of instruction to perform the function described in the flow diagram block(s). Since computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, instructions that perform a series of operation steps on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a process executed by the computer can also provide steps for executing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0030] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or part of code containing one or more executable instructions for executing a specified logical function(s). Additionally, it should be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks shown in succession may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may be executed in reverse order according to the corresponding function.

[0031] In this disclosure, the term “part” as used refers to a software or hardware component, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the “part” may perform certain roles. However, the “part” is not limited to software or hardware. The “part” may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium or may be configured to run one or more processors. In one embodiment, the “part” may include components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, as well as processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided within the components and “parts” may be combined into a smaller number of components and “parts” or further separated into additional components and “parts.” In addition, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to play one or more CPUs within the device or secure multimedia card.

[0032] Terms used in the following description to identify connection nodes, terms referring to network entities, terms referring to messages, terms referring to interfaces between network entities, terms referring to various identification information, etc., are examples provided for the convenience of explanation. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms referring to objects having equivalent technical meanings may be used.

[0033] For convenience of explanation, the present disclosure uses terms and names defined in the 3GPP LTE (3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution) standard. However, the present disclosure is not limited by the above terms and names and may be applied equally to systems conforming to other standards. In the present disclosure, eNB may be used interchangeably with gNB for convenience of explanation. That is, a base station described as eNB may represent a gNB. Additionally, the term terminal may refer to mobile phones, NB-IoT devices, sensors, as well as other wireless communication devices.

[0034] Hereinafter, the base station is an entity that performs resource allocation for terminals and may be at least one of a gNode B, eNode B, Node B, BS (Base Station), wireless access unit, base station controller, or a node on a network. The terminal may include a UE (User Equipment), MS (Mobile Station), cellular phone, smartphone, computer, or a multimedia system capable of performing communication functions. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples.

[0035] The present disclosure may be applied to 3GPP NR (5th generation mobile communication standard). In addition, the present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, healthcare, digital education, retail, security and safety-related services, etc.) based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology.

[0036] Wireless communication systems are evolving from providing early voice-oriented services to broadband wireless communication systems that provide high-speed, high-quality packet data services, such as communication standards like 3GPP’s HSPA (High Speed ​​Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution or E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Pro, 3GPP2’s HRPD (High Rate Packet Data), UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), and IEEE’s 802.16e.

[0037] As a representative example of a broadband wireless communication system, the LTE system employs the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) method for the downlink (DL) and the Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) method for the uplink (UL). The uplink refers to a wireless link through which a terminal (User Equipment or Mobile Station) transmits data or control signals to a base station (eNode B or Base Station), and the downlink refers to a wireless link through which a base station transmits data or control signals to a terminal. The above multiple access method distinguishes the data or control information of each user by allocating and operating time-frequency resources to be transmitted for each user so that they do not overlap, that is, so that orthogonality is established.

[0038] As a future communication system following LTE, that is, a 5G communication system, it must be able to freely reflect the diverse requirements of users and service providers, and therefore, services that satisfy various requirements simultaneously must be supported. Services being considered for the 5G communication system include Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra Reliability Low Latency Communication (URLLC).

[0039] In addition, although embodiments of the present invention are described below using LTE, LTE-A, LTE Pro, or 5G (or NR, next-generation mobile communication) systems as examples, embodiments of the present invention may be applied to other communication systems having similar technical backgrounds or channel types. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may be applied to other communication systems with some modifications made at the discretion of a person with skilled technical knowledge, without significantly departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0040] In describing the present disclosure below, specific descriptions of related known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that such detailed descriptions would unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0041] FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 1, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a wireless access network of a mobile communication system (New Radio, NR, or 5G) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be composed of a base station (next generation Node B, hereinafter gNB) (110) and a wireless core network (New Radio Core Network). The wireless core network may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) (105), but is not limited to the example described above and may include various components such as a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), a network repository function (NRF), and a user plane function (UPF). A user terminal (New Radio User Equipment, hereinafter NR UE or terminal) (115) may connect to an external network through the gNB (110) and the AMF (105). The mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be a next-generation mobile communication system, and the base station may be a next-generation base station.

[0043] In FIG. 1, the gNB (110) can correspond to the eNB (Evolved Node B) of an existing long term evolution (LTE) system. The gNB (110) can be connected (120) to an NR UE (115) via a wireless channel and can provide a superior service compared to the existing Node B. In a next-generation mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, since all user traffic is serviced through a shared channel, a device is required to collect state information such as the buffer status, available transmission power status, and channel status of the UEs and perform scheduling, and the gNB (110) can handle this. A single gNB can typically control multiple cells.

[0044] In order to achieve ultra-high-speed data transmission compared to existing LTE, beamforming technology can be additionally used by using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (hereinafter referred to as OFDM) as a wireless access technology, which can have a maximum bandwidth greater than that of existing LTE.

[0045] In addition, according to one embodiment, an Adaptive Modulation & Coding (hereinafter referred to as AMC) method can be applied to determine a modulation scheme and a channel coding rate according to the channel state of the terminal.

[0046] The access and mobility management function (AMF) (105) can perform functions such as mobility support, bearer configuration, and QoS (quality of service) configuration. The AMF (105) is a device responsible for various control functions as well as mobility management functions for the terminal and can be connected to multiple base stations. In addition, the mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure can be linked with an existing LTE system, and the AMF (105) can be connected to a mobility management unit (MME) (125) via a network interface. The MME (125) can be connected to an existing base station eNB (130). A terminal supporting LTE-NR Dual Connectivity can transmit and receive data while maintaining a connection to both the gNB and the eNB (135).

[0047] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a wireless connection state transition in a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] A mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may have three radio resource control (RRC) states or RRC modes.

[0049] The connection mode (RRC_CONNECTED, 205) may indicate that the terminal is in a wireless connection state capable of transmitting and receiving data.

[0050] The standby mode (RRC_IDLE, 230) may indicate that the terminal is in a wireless connection state monitoring whether paging is being transmitted to it. The connection mode and standby mode are wireless connection states applicable to existing long term evolution (LTE) systems, and the detailed description may be the same as that of existing LTE systems. A mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be a next-generation mobile communication system.

[0051] In a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a novel inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) radio access state (215) may be applied. In the inactive radio access state, the UE context is maintained between the base station and the terminal, and RAN (radio access network) based paging is supported. The characteristics of the inactive radio access state are listed below. Of course, the following examples are not limited.

[0052] - Cell re-selection mobility;

[0053] - CN - NR RAN connection (both C / U-planes (control plane / user plane)) has been established for UE;

[0054] - The UE AS (Access Stratum) context is stored in at least one gNB and the UE;

[0055] - Paging is initiated by NR RAN;

[0056] - RAN-based notification area is managed by NR RAN;

[0057] - NR RAN knows the RAN-based notification area which the UE belongs to;

[0058] Referring to 210, a terminal in an inactive wireless connection state according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may transition to a connected mode or an idle mode using a specific procedure. According to the Resume process, the terminal may transition from the inactive mode to the connected mode, and may transition from the connected mode to the inactive mode using a Release procedure including suspend setting information.

[0059] This state transition procedure can be performed by transmitting and receiving one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages between the terminal and the base station, and may consist of one or more steps.

[0060] Referring to 220, the terminal can be switched from inactive mode (INACTIVE) to standby mode (IDLE) through the release procedure after resuming.

[0061] Referring to step 225, the terminal can perform a transition between CONNECTED mode and IDLE mode. At this time, the transition between CONNECTED mode and IDLE mode follows existing LTE technology. That is, the transition between CONNECTED mode and IDLE mode can be achieved through an establishment or release procedure.

[0062] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting up and / or reporting signaling-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 3, at step 310, the terminal's AS (Access stratum, 305) can transmit terminal capability information to the base station (or NG-RAN, 315).

[0064] More specifically, the AS (305) of the terminal can transmit information indicating whether it supports quality of experience (QoE) measurement for each type of service to the base station (or NG-RAN, 315) via a UE capability message (e.g., UECapabilityInformation).

[0065] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the service may include streaming, MTSI (Multimedia Telephony Service for IMS (IP (internet protocol) Multimedia Subsystem)), or VR (virtual reality), but is not limited to the examples above. Additionally, information indicating whether QoE measurement by service type is supported may be qoe-Streaming-MeasReport, qoe-MTSI-MeasReport, or qoe-VR-MeasReport. Of course, it is not limited to the examples above.

[0066] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, before a terminal transmits a UE capability message, a base station may transmit a message (e.g., UECapabilityEnquiry) to the terminal to request a UE capability message.

[0067] Additionally, the terminal or the terminal's AS (305) can report to the base station (315) whether it supports RAN visible QoE measurement for each service type through a UE capability message.

[0068] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the service may include streaming or VR, but is not limited to the above examples. Additionally, information indicating whether RAN visible QoE measurements are supported by service type may be ran-VisibleQoE-Streaming-MeasReport or ran-VisibleQoE-VR-MeasReport. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples.

[0069] Additionally, the terminal or the AS (305) of the terminal may report to the base station whether it supports UL RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg) through a UE capability message.

[0070] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE capability message includes ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation One) information as shown in Table 1 below, and the description of the relevant parameters (i.e., QoE measurement parameters) is as shown in Table 2 below.

[0071] [Table 1]

[0072]

[0073] [Table 2]

[0074]

[0075] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the types of services supported in Long term evolution (LTE) may include streaming and MTSI (Multimedia Telephony Service for IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem)). In the case of New Radio (NR), Rel-17 defined that VR (Virtual Reality) services are additionally supported in addition to the types of services supported in LTE. Furthermore, it was defined that services such as MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services) and XR (Extended Reality) may be additionally supported in future releases.

[0076] In step 330, OAM (Operations Administration and Maintenance, 320) can provide QoE (quality of experience) measurement configuration information to CN (Core Network, 325).

[0077] In step 335, the CN (325) that receives the QoE measurement setting information can enable QoE measurement by transmitting the QoE measurement setting information to the base station (315).

[0078] In step 340, the base station (315) that receives the configuration information from the CN (325) can transmit the QoE configuration information to the terminal's AS (305) through a radio resource control (RRC) message (340).

[0079] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the RRC message may include an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message.

[0080] In addition, the RRC message may include an IE (APPLayerMeasConfig) as shown in Table 3 below, and a description of the relevant parameters is as shown in Table 4 below.

[0081] [Table 3]

[0082]

[0083] [Table 4]

[0084]

[0085] In addition, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal AS (305) that receives QoE setting information from a base station via an RRC message can operate according to the procedure described in Table 5 below.

[0086] [Table 5]

[0087]

[0088] As previously described, in step 350, for the QoE measurement settings included in measConfigAppLayerToAddModList, the AS layer (305) of the terminal can transmit part or all of the setting information to the upper layer or application layer (UE APP, 345) of the terminal via AT Command.

[0089] Additionally, the AS layer (305) of the terminal may send an AT Command to the APP (345) of the terminal to instruct and / or command the APP to delete the configuration information stored for the QoE measurement settings included in measConfigAppLayerToAddReleaseList.

[0090] In step 355, the terminal APP (345) can perform QoE measurement according to the received configuration information. Additionally, the terminal APP (345) can report the result of the measurement according to the configuration information to the terminal AS (305) via an AT command.

[0091] In step 360, the terminal AS (305) that receives the measurement result report from the terminal APP (345) can report the measurement result to the base station (315) via an RRC Message.

[0092] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the RRC message may include a MeasurementReportAppLayer message. Of course, it is not limited to the above example.

[0093] In addition, according to one embodiment, a signaling radio bearer (SRB) 4 may be used for reporting QoE measurement results. The MeasurementReportAppLayer message may include ASN.1 information as shown in Table 6 below, and a description of the relevant parameters is as shown in Table 7 below.

[0094] [Table 6]

[0095]

[0096] [Table 7]

[0097]

[0098] In addition, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the specific procedure of the terminal AS reporting the measurement results may follow the operation described in Table 8 below.

[0099] [Table 8]

[0100]

[0101]

[0102] In step 370, the base station (315) can transmit the measurement result report received from the terminal to the final server (trace collection entity, TCE or MCE (measurement collection entity), 365) that collects the measurement report.

[0103] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for setting up and / or reporting management-based Quality of Experience (QoE) measurements according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0104] Among the operations performed in the Management-based QoE setting and / or reporting procedure of FIG. 4, separate explanations are omitted for operations that are identical / similar to or duplicate those performed in the signaling-based QoE setting and / or reporting procedure described in FIG. 3, and the differences between the Management-based QoE setting and / or reporting procedure and the signaling-based procedure are explained with reference to FIG. 4.

[0105] In a manner related to a Management-based Quality of Experience (QoE) setting and / or reporting procedure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the OAM (Operations Administration and Maintenance, 405) may directly transmit QoE measurement setting information (or QoE measurement configuration) to a base station (NG-RAN, 410).

[0106] More specifically, in step 415, the OAM (Operations Administration and Maintenance, 405) can instruct the base station (410) to enable the QoE measurement of the terminal by transmitting the QoE measurement settings directly to the base station without going through the core network (CN).

[0107] A base station (410) that receives a QoE measurement setting can search for a single or multiple terminals that meet at least one condition. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the condition may be related to at least one of an area scope, an application layer capability, and a service type.

[0108] In step 420, the base station (410) may transmit (or deliver) QoE measurement settings to one of the single or multiple terminals found via a radio resource control (RRC) message. The RRC message may include an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCresume message, but is not limited to the above examples.

[0109] Each terminal that receives an RRC message can exchange settings and measurement results for QoE measurement through AT commands between the AS layer and the APP, as described above in FIG. 3.

[0110] In step 440, the AS layer of the terminal can report the measurement result of the QoE measurement obtained from the terminal's APP to the base station (410) via an RRC message.

[0111] Subsequently, in step 445, the base station (410) can transmit the measurement results for the QoE measurement to the final server (trace collection entity, TCE) or MCE (measurement collection entity).

[0112] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a UE Capability Information message according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0113] In step 515, the terminal (505) may send an RRC Setup Request message to the base station (510) (e.g., during initial connection). This may be so that the terminal requests an RRC connection from the base station.

[0114] In step 520, the base station may send an RRC Setup message to the terminal. The base station may instruct the terminal to configure RRC connection settings through the RRC Setup message.

[0115] In step 525, the terminal may transmit an RRC Setup Complete message to the base station. At this time, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message, it may include a single indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation) within the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by not including the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator within the RRC Setup Complete message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0116] In step 530, (if the base station receives the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message from the terminal), the base station may allow the terminal to uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry message when transmitting the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal. Conversely, the base station may indicate to the terminal not to allow uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by not including the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry. Of course, an indicator for not allowing may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0117] In step 535, the terminal can generate (or encode) a UE Capability Information message (in response to a UE Capability Enquiry message received from the base station).

[0118] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is smaller than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), the terminal can transmit the UE Capability Information message to the base station without RRC Segmentation.

[0119] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), and if the base station has allowed uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message (e.g., received the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry), the terminal can perform RRC Segmentation on the UE Capability Information message, that is, divide it into multiple segments (e.g., ULDedicatedMessageSegment message) (e.g., up to 16 segments), and then transmit all segments to the base station.

[0120] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), but uplink RRC segmentation for the UE Capability Information message is not permitted from the base station (e.g., if the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry is not received), the terminal may generate (or encode) a new UE Capability Information message such that the size of the UE Capability Information message is smaller than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer) by removing or omitting some content to reduce the size of the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message.

[0121] In step 540, the terminal may transmit a UE Capability Information message to the base station. The terminal may include its capability information within the UE Capability Information message. If the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message, it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation) within the UE Capability Information message (as well as the RRC Setup Complete message) to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by not including the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0122] If the terminal performs RRC segmentation in 535, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (e.g., up to 16 segments) and then transmitted. If the terminal does not perform RRC segmentation in 535, the UE Capability Information message may be transmitted without being segmented.

[0123] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a UE Capability Information message according to the limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0124] In step 615, the terminal (605) may send an RRC Setup Request message to the base station (610) (e.g., during initial connection). This may be so that the terminal requests an RRC connection from the base station.

[0125] In step 620, the base station may send an RRC Setup message to the terminal. The base station may instruct the terminal to configure RRC connection settings through the RRC Setup message.

[0126] In step 625, the terminal may send an RRC Setup Complete message to the base station. At this time, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages, it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation) in the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages by not including the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message.

[0127] Additionally, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages (supporting uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages) and supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed directive described later), it may include one directive (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments) within the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed directive described later). Conversely, by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments directive within the RRC Setup Complete message, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed directive described later). Of course, a directive indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0128] In step 630, (if the base station receives the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message from the terminal), the base station may allow the terminal to uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry message when transmitting the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal. Conversely, the base station may indicate to the terminal not to allow uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by not including the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry. Of course, an indicator for not allowing may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0129] (If the base station includes the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry or allows the terminal to perform uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message), when the base station transmits the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal, it may set the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message to the terminal by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry. For example, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed may indicate an integer value from 2 to 15.

[0130] Conversely, (where the base station includes the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry or allows the terminal to perform uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message), the base station may not limit the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message to the terminal by not including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry when transmitting the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal. This may mean, for example, allowing the terminal to use up to 16 RRC segments. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples, and an indicator indicating that the number of RRC segments limited to the terminal is not limited may be inserted in the message.

[0131] In step 635, the terminal can generate (or encode) a UE Capability Information message (in response to a UE Capability Enquiry message received from the base station).

[0132] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is smaller than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), the terminal can transmit the UE Capability Information message to the base station without RRC Segmentation.

[0133] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), and if uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message is allowed from the base station (e.g., if the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry is received), and if rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed (i.e., the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message) is set from the base station through the UE Capability Enquiry, the terminal can perform RRC Segmentation for the UE Capability Information message into a maximum of rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed segments, that is, divide it into a number of segments less than or equal to rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed (e.g., ULDedicatedMessageSegment message), and then transmit all segments to the base station.

[0134] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), and if uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message is permitted by the base station (e.g., if the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry is received), and if rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed (i.e., the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message) is not set by the base station through the UE Capability Enquiry, the terminal may perform RRC segmentation for the UE Capability Information message with a preset number of segments (e.g., 16) and then transmit all segments to the base station. The preset number (e.g., 16) may be a value greater than the maximum value (e.g., 15) that can be indicated by rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed. Of course, the preset number is not limited to the above examples.

[0135] - If the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), but uplink RRC segmentation for the UE Capability Information message is not permitted from the base station (e.g., if the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry is not received), the terminal may generate (or encode) a new UE Capability Information message such that the size of the UE Capability Information message is smaller than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer) by removing or omitting some content to reduce the size of the generated (or encoded) UE Capability Information message.

[0136] In step 640, the terminal may transmit a UE Capability Information message to the base station. The terminal may include its capability information within the UE Capability Information message. If the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message, it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation) within the UE Capability Information message (as well as the RRC Setup Complete message) to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message by not including the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0137] Additionally, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message (and supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator), it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments) within the UE capability information message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). Conversely, by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments indicator within the UE capability information message, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted within the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0138] If the terminal performs RRC segmentation according to the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (the number indicated by rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed, e.g., one integer value from 2 to 15) and then transmitted. If the terminal performs RRC segmentation without receiving the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (e.g., up to 16) and then transmitted. If the terminal does not perform RRC segmentation in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be transmitted without being segmented.

[0139] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0140] In step 715, the terminal (705) may send an RRC Setup Request message to the base station (710) (e.g., during initial connection). This may be so that the terminal requests an RRC connection from the base station.

[0141] In step 720, the base station may send an RRC Setup message to the terminal. The base station may instruct the terminal to configure RRC connection settings through the RRC Setup message.

[0142] In step 725, the terminal can send an RRC Setup Complete message to the base station.

[0143] In step 730, the base station can send a UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal.

[0144] At step 735, the terminal may transmit a UE Capability Information message (in response to a UE Capability Enquiry message received from the base station). The terminal may include its capability information within the UE Capability Information message. When transmitting the UE Capability Information message, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., MeasurementReportAppLayer messages), it may include a single indicator (e.g., ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg) within the UE Capability Information message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., MeasurementReportAppLayer messages). Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages by not including the ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg indicator within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0145] At step 740, the terminal may receive an RRC Reconfiguration message containing QoE configuration information (e.g., AppLayerMeasConfig). In one embodiment of the present disclosure, after 735, the terminal may transition to RRC_INACTIVE and subsequently establish a new RRC connection with the base station through an RRC Resume procedure, and in the process, receive an RRC Resume message containing QoE configuration information (e.g., AppLayerMeasConfig). (If the terminal indicated ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg at 735) the base station may indicate to the terminal whether to allow RRC segmentation for QoE report messages through QoE settings (e.g., within the RRC Reconfiguration message or the RRC Resume message). For example,

[0146] - A base station may instruct a terminal to allow RRC segmentation in an SRB (e.g., SRB4) used for QoE reporting between a base station or MN (Master node) and a terminal by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4) in the QoE setting (e.g., within an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message). Conversely, a base station may instruct a terminal not to allow RRC segmentation in an SRB (e.g., SRB4) used for QoE reporting between a base station or MN (Master node) and a terminal by not including an indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4) that allows RRC segmentation in the QoE setting (e.g., within an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message). Of course, an indicator for allowance / disallowance may also be inserted within the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0147] - A base station may instruct a terminal to allow RRC segmentation in the SRB (e.g., SRB5) used for QoE reporting between the SN (Secondary node) and the terminal by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowedSRB5) in the QoE setting (e.g., within an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message). Conversely, a base station may instruct a terminal not to allow RRC segmentation in the SRB (e.g., SRB5) used for QoE reporting between the SN (Secondary node) and the terminal by not including an indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowedSRB5) that allows RRC segmentation in the QoE setting (e.g., within an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message). Of course, an indicator for allowance / disallowance may also be inserted within the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0148] In step 745, the terminal can determine whether to perform RRC segmentation on QoE report messages to be transmitted from SRB4 according to the base station settings (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4), and accordingly, the terminal may or may not perform RRC segmentation. Additionally, if the terminal performs RRC segmentation, it may determine the method of performing RRC segmentation. For a detailed explanation of this, refer to FIG. 10.

[0149] In step 750, the terminal can transmit the QoE report message to the base station using SRB4 (after performing or not performing RRC segmentation for the QoE report message according to 745).

[0150] In step 755, the terminal can determine whether to perform RRC segmentation on QoE report messages to be transmitted from SRB5 according to the base station settings (e.g., rrc-SegAllowedSRB5), and accordingly, the terminal may or may not perform RRC segmentation. Additionally, if the terminal performs RRC segmentation, it may determine the method of performing RRC segmentation. For a detailed explanation of this, refer to FIG. 10.

[0151] In step 760, the terminal can transmit the QoE report message to the base station using SRB5 (after performing or not performing RRC segmentation for the QoE report message according to 755).

[0152] As an issue to be resolved in the present invention, the base station may want to limit the number of uplink RRC segmentations for QoE report messages, just as it limited the number of uplink RRC segmentations for the UE Capability Information message in FIG. 6 to the terminal. This is because, for example, if the terminal divides and transmits a QoE report message into more segments (e.g., 10) than the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., 4) that the base station supports assembling for a single QoE report message, the base station may not be able to assemble the RRC message, and the RRC message may be lost. Such operation results in the waste of wireless resources and may cause energy waste for both the base station and the terminal.

[0153] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to a limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0154] The embodiment of FIG. 8 may be an embodiment in which the setting limiting the number of uplink RRC segments of a network (based on the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator, defined for the UE capability information message) described in FIG. 6 is applied commonly to both the UE capability information message and the QoE report message. This is because the number of RRC segments that a base station supports or allows to assemble can be common regardless of the message (e.g., whether it is a UE capability information message or a QoE report message). Of course, the above example is not limited, and the support / allowance status and the number of segments may be set separately for the UE capability information message and the QoE report message, respectively. Additionally, the support / allowance status for the UE capability information message and the QoE report message may be applied commonly while the number of segments is set separately, or the support / allowance status for the segments may be set separately while the number of segments is set separately.

[0155] In step 815, the terminal (805) may send an RRC Setup Request message to the base station (810) (e.g., during initial connection). This may be so that the terminal requests an RRC connection from the base station.

[0156] In step 820, the base station may send an RRC Setup message to the terminal. The base station may instruct the terminal to configure RRC connection settings through the RRC Setup message.

[0157] In step 825, the terminal may send an RRC Setup Complete message to the base station. If the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages, it may include a single indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation) within the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator within the RRC Setup Complete message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, but is not limited to the above examples.

[0158] In addition, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator described later), it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments) within the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator described later). Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages based on the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator described later) by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0159] In step 830, (if the base station receives the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message from the terminal), the base station may allow the terminal to allow uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry message when transmitting the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal. Conversely, the base station may indicate to the terminal not to allow uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry. Of course, an indicator for disallowance may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0160] (Where the base station includes the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry or allows the terminal to perform uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages,) when the base station transmits the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal, by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry, the base station may set the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages to the terminal. For example, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed may indicate an integer value from 2 to 15.

[0161] Conversely, (where the base station includes the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry or allows the terminal to use uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages), when the base station transmits the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal, it may not limit the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry. This may mean, for example, allowing the terminal to use up to 16 RRC segments. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples, and an indicator indicating that the number of RRC segments limited to the terminal is not limited may be inserted in the message.

[0162] In step 835, the terminal may generate and transmit a UE Capability Information message to the base station. For an explanation of this, refer to steps 635 and 640. If the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages, it may include indicators (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation and / or ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg) within the UE Capability Information message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including the indicators (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation and / or ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg) within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator of non-support may also be inserted within the message, but is not limited to the above examples.

[0163] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages, it may include a common indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation-common) within the UE Capability Information message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and QoE report messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and QoE report messages by not including the common indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation-common) within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator of non-support may be inserted within the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0164] Additionally, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages (supporting uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages) according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator), it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments) within the UE capability information message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator) by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments indicator within the UE capability information message. Of course, you can also insert an indicator of non-support within the message, and is not limited to the examples above.

[0165] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when a terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages according to a network RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator), the terminal may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments-QoE) within a UE capability information message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages according to a network RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). This may be an indicator separate from ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments, wherein ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments may be applied to the UE capability information message and ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments-QoE may be applied to the QoE reporting message. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages based on the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator) by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments-QoE indicator in the UE capability information message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0166] If the terminal performs RRC segmentation according to the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (the number indicated by rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed, e.g., one integer value from 2 to 15) and then transmitted. If the terminal performs RRC segmentation without receiving the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (e.g., up to 16) and then transmitted. If the terminal does not perform RRC segmentation according to 635, the UE Capability Information message may be transmitted without being segmented.

[0167] In step 840, the operation of the terminal and the base station may refer to the description in 740. Additionally, when the base station transmits an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message to the terminal (where the terminal is allowed uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5)), it may set the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5) to the terminal by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5). For example, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 may indicate an integer value from 2 to 15.

[0168] Conversely, when allowing uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5) to the terminal, the base station may not limit the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5) to the terminal by not including the indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) when transmitting an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message to the terminal. This may mean, for example, allowing the terminal to use up to 16 RRC segments. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples, and an indicator indicating that the number of RRC segments limited to the terminal is not limited may be inserted in the message.

[0169] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may limit / set to the terminal the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for UE Capability Information messages and / or QoE reporting messages on SRB4 through the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry message in step 830, and may separately limit / set to the terminal the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages on SRB5 through the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 indicator in the RRC Reconfiguration message or RRC Resume message.

[0170] In step 845, the terminal can determine whether to perform RRC segmentation on QoE report messages to be transmitted from SRB4 based on the base station settings (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed and / or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed), and accordingly, the terminal may or may not perform RRC segmentation. Additionally, if the terminal performs RRC segmentation, it may determine the method of performing RRC segmentation. For a detailed explanation of this, refer to FIG. 11.

[0171] In step 850, the terminal can transmit the QoE report message to the base station using SRB4 (after performing or not performing RRC segmentation for the QoE report message according to 845).

[0172] In step 855, the terminal can determine whether to perform RRC segmentation on QoE report messages to be transmitted from SRB5 according to the base station settings (e.g., rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5), and accordingly, the terminal may or may not perform RRC segmentation. Additionally, if the terminal performs RRC segmentation, it may determine the method of performing RRC segmentation. For a detailed explanation of this, refer to FIG. 11.

[0173] In step 860, the terminal can transmit the QoE report message to the base station using SRB5 (after performing or not performing RRC segmentation for the QoE report message according to 855).

[0174] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to a limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0175] The embodiment of FIG. 9 may be an embodiment in which the setting for limiting the number of uplink RRC segments of the network (based on the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator, defined for the UE capability information message) described in FIG. 6 is applied to the UE capability information message, and a setting for separately limiting the number of uplink RRC segments of the network for the QoE report message (the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 indicators described later) is included. This is because the number of RRC segments that the base station supports or allows to assemble may vary depending on the message. For example, if the base station supports the assembly of up to 8 segments, it may allow the terminal to transmit up to 8 segments upon receiving the UE Capability Information message, but may only allow the transmission of up to 4 segments for the QoE report message. This is because the base station may want to receive as much terminal capability information as possible from the terminal (e.g., to provide optimal service suitable for terminal capability), and to this end, it may allow the terminal to transmit as many segments as possible in the UE Capability Information message. On the other hand, since QoE measurement reports may not be essential data for the base station to service the terminal, the base station may not want to use a large amount of computing and radio resources to assemble the QoE measurement reports, and accordingly, the base station may allow the terminal to transmit only a small amount of segments.

[0176] In step 915, the terminal (905) may send an RRC Setup Request message to the base station (910) (e.g., during initial connection). This may be so that the terminal requests an RRC connection from the base station.

[0177] In step 920, the base station may send an RRC Setup message to the terminal. The base station may instruct the terminal to configure RRC connection settings through the RRC Setup message.

[0178] At step 925, the terminal may send an RRC Setup Complete message to the base station. If the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages, it may include a single indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation) within the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator within the RRC Setup Complete message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted into the message, but is not limited to the above examples.

[0179] In addition, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator described later), it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments) within the RRC Setup Complete message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator described later). Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages based on the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator described later) by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0180] In step 930, (if the base station receives the ul-RRC-Segmentation indicator in the RRC Setup Complete message from the terminal), the base station may allow the terminal to uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry message when transmitting the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal. Conversely, the base station may indicate to the terminal not to allow uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry. Of course, an indicator for disallowance may also be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0181] (Where the base station includes the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry or allows the terminal to perform uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages,) when the base station transmits the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal, by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry, the base station may set the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages to the terminal. For example, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed may indicate an integer value from 2 to 15.

[0182] Conversely, (where the base station includes the rrc-SegAllowed indicator in the UE Capability Enquiry or allows the terminal to perform uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages), the base station may not limit the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages to the terminal by not including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed) in the UE Capability Enquiry when transmitting the UE Capability Enquiry message to the terminal. This may mean, for example, allowing the terminal to use up to 16 RRC segments. Of course, not limited to the above examples, an indicator indicating that the number of RRC segments limited to the terminal is not limited may be inserted in the message.

[0183] In step 935, the terminal may generate and transmit a UE Capability Information message to the base station. For an explanation of this, refer to steps 635 and 640. If the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages, it may include indicators (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation and / or ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg) within the UE Capability Information message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages by not including the indicators (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation and / or ul-MeasurementReportAppLayer-Seg) within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator of non-support may also be inserted within the message, but is not limited to the above examples.

[0184] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and / or QoE report messages, it may include a common indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation-common) within the UE Capability Information message to indicate to the base station that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and QoE report messages. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for UE capability information messages and QoE report messages by not including the common indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-Segmentation-common) within the UE Capability Information message. Of course, an indicator of non-support may be inserted within the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0185] Additionally, if the terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message (and supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator), it may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments) within the UE capability information message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). Conversely, by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments indicator within the UE capability information message, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for the UE capability information message according to the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may also be inserted within the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0186] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when a terminal supports uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages according to a network RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator), the terminal may include one indicator (e.g., ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments-QoE) within a UE capability information message to indicate that it supports uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages according to a network RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator). This may be an indicator separate from ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments, wherein ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments may be applied to the UE capability information message and ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments-QoE may be applied to the QoE reporting message. Conversely, the terminal may indicate to the base station that it does not support uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages based on the network's RRC segment count setting (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator) by not including the ul-RRC-MaxCapaSegments-QoE indicator in the UE capability information message. Of course, an indicator indicating non-support may be inserted into the message, and is not limited to the above examples.

[0187] If the terminal performs RRC segmentation according to the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (the number indicated by rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed, e.g., one integer value from 2 to 15) and then transmitted. If the terminal performs RRC segmentation without receiving the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed indicator in 635, the UE Capability Information message may be divided into multiple segments (e.g., up to 16) and then transmitted. If the terminal does not perform RRC segmentation according to 635, the UE Capability Information message may be transmitted without being segmented.

[0188] In step 940, the operation of the terminal and base station may be described in 740.

[0189] In addition, when the base station transmits an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message to the terminal (where the terminal is allowed uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB4)), it may set the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB4) to the terminal by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4). For example, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 may indicate an integer value from 2 to 15.

[0190] Conversely, when allowing uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB4) to the terminal, the base station may not limit the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB4) to the terminal by not including the indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) when transmitting an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message to the terminal. This may mean, for example, allowing the terminal to use up to 16 RRC segments. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples, and an indicator indicating that the number of RRC segments limited to the terminal is not limited may be inserted in the message.

[0191] In addition, when the base station transmits an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message to the terminal (where the terminal is allowed uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5)), it may set the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5) to the terminal by including one indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5). For example, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 may indicate an integer value from 2 to 15.

[0192] Conversely, when allowing uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5) to the terminal, the base station may not limit the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE report messages (e.g., on SRB5) to the terminal by not including the indicator (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) when transmitting an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message to the terminal. This may mean, for example, allowing the terminal to use up to 16 RRC segments. Of course, it is not limited to the above examples, and an indicator indicating that the number of RRC segments limited to the terminal is not limited may be inserted in the message.

[0193] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 may be indicators that a base station separately sets for a terminal. The base station may limit / set to the terminal the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages on SRB4 through the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 indicator in an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message, and may separately limit / set to the terminal the maximum number of RRC segments that can be used for uplink RRC segmentation for QoE reporting messages on SRB5 through the rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 indicator in an RRC Reconfiguration message or an RRC Resume message.

[0194] In step 945, the terminal can determine whether to perform RRC segmentation on QoE report messages to be transmitted from SRB4 according to the base station settings (e.g., rrc-SegAllowed and / or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed4), and accordingly, the terminal may or may not perform RRC segmentation. Additionally, if the terminal performs RRC segmentation, it may determine the method of performing RRC segmentation. For a detailed explanation of this, refer to FIG. 11.

[0195] In step 950, the terminal can transmit the QoE report message to the base station using SRB4 (after performing or not performing RRC segmentation for the QoE report message according to 945).

[0196] In step 955, the terminal can determine whether to perform RRC segmentation on QoE report messages to be transmitted from SRB5 according to the base station settings (e.g., rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5), and accordingly, the terminal may or may not perform RRC segmentation. Additionally, if the terminal performs RRC segmentation, it may determine the method of performing RRC segmentation. For a detailed explanation of this, refer to FIG. 11.

[0197] In step 960, the terminal can transmit the QoE report message to the base station using SRB5 (after performing or not performing RRC segmentation for the QoE report message according to 955).

[0198] FIG. 10 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs an RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0199] In step 1005, the terminal may compare the size of the generated (or encoded) QoE report message with the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer). If the size of the generated (or encoded) QoE report message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), the terminal may perform step 1010. If the size of the generated (or encoded) QoE report message is not larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), the terminal may perform step 1025.

[0200] In step 1010, regarding a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting where reportingSRB is not set or reportingSRB is set to SRB4), the terminal can determine (or identify) whether it has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB4 by the base station (e.g., whether it has been set rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 in the QoE setting within an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message). If the terminal has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB4 by the base station (e.g., if it has been set rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 in the QoE setting within an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message), the terminal can perform step 1015. Conversely, if the terminal is not allowed RRC segmentation in SRB4 from the base station (e.g., is not set rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 in the QoE settings within the RRC reconfiguration message or RRC resume message), the terminal may perform step 1020.

[0201] For a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB5 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting in which reportingSRB is set to SRB5), the terminal can determine whether it has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB5 by the base station (e.g., whether it has been set to a QoE setting rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message). If the terminal has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB5 by the base station (e.g., if it has been set to a QoE setting rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message), the terminal can perform step 1015. Conversely, if the terminal has not been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB5 by the base station (e.g., if it has not been set to a QoE setting rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message), the terminal can perform step 1020.

[0202] In step 1015, the terminal can perform RRC segmentation (e.g., up to 16) on QoE report messages to be sent to SRB4, and then send each segment to SRB4. The terminal can perform RRC segmentation (e.g., up to 16) on QoE report messages to be sent to SRB5, and then send each segment to SRB5.

[0203] In step 1020, the terminal may discard the QoE report message that is to be sent to SRB4 or SRB5.

[0204] In step 1025, the terminal can transmit a QoE report message to SRB4 without performing RRC segmentation on the QoE report message that is to be transmitted to SRB4. The terminal can transmit a QoE report message to SRB5 without performing RRC segmentation on the QoE report message that is to be transmitted to SRB5.

[0205] FIG. 11 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs an RRC segmentation procedure of a QoE report message according to a limit on the number of maximum RRC segments of a base station according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0206] In step 1105, the terminal may compare the size of the generated (or encoded) QoE report message with the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer). If the size of the generated (or encoded) QoE report message is larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), the terminal may perform step 1110. If the size of the generated (or encoded) QoE report message is not larger than the maximum (PDCP) SDU size supported (e.g., at the lower layer or PDCP layer), the terminal may perform step 1125.

[0207] In step 1110, regarding a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting where reportingSRB is not set or reportingSRB is set to SRB4), the terminal can determine (or identify) whether it has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB4 by the base station (e.g., whether it has been set rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 in the QoE setting within an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message). If the terminal has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB4 by the base station (e.g., if it has been set rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 in the QoE setting within an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message), the terminal can perform step 1115. Conversely, if the terminal is not allowed RRC segmentation in SRB4 from the base station (e.g., is not set rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 in the QoE settings within the RRC reconfiguration message or RRC resume message), the terminal may perform step 1120.

[0208] For a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB5 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting in which reportingSRB is set to SRB5), the terminal can determine whether it has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB5 by the base station (e.g., whether it has been set to a QoE setting rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message). If the terminal has been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB5 by the base station (e.g., if it has been set to a QoE setting rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message), the terminal can perform step 1115. Conversely, if the terminal has not been allowed RRC segmentation in SRB5 by the base station (e.g., if it has not been set to a QoE setting rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 in an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message), the terminal can perform step 1120.

[0209] In step 1115, regarding a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting where reportingSRB is not set or reportingSRB is set to SRB4), the terminal can determine whether the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) is set by the base station. If the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) is set by the base station, the terminal can perform step 1130. Conversely, if the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) is not set by the base station, the terminal can perform step 1135.

[0210] For a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB5 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting where reportingSRB is set to SRB5), the terminal can determine whether the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) is set by the base station. If the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) is set by the base station, the terminal can perform step 1130. Conversely, if the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) is not set by the base station, the terminal can perform step 1135.

[0211] In step 1130, the terminal can determine whether it can divide / create the QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting where reportingSRB is not set or reportingSRB is set to SRB4) by performing RRC segmentation within the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) set by the base station for SRB4 (or whether the entire message can be included within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB4). If the terminal can divide / create the message within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB4 (or if the entire message can be included within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB4) (e.g., when the size of the message is small), the terminal can perform step 1140. Conversely, if the terminal cannot divide / generate the message within the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB4 from the base station (or cannot include the entire message within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB4 from the base station) (e.g., if the size of the message is large), the terminal may perform step 1145.

[0212] The terminal can determine whether it can divide / create the QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB5 (e.g., a QoE report message for a QoE setting where reportingSRB is set to SRB5) by performing RRC segmentation within the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) set by the base station for SRB5 (or whether the entire message can be included within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB5). If the terminal can divide / create the message within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB5 (or if the entire message can be included within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB5) (e.g., when the size of the message is small), the terminal can perform step 1140. Conversely, if the terminal cannot divide / generate the message within the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB5 from the base station (or cannot include the entire message within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB5 from the base station) (e.g., if the size of the message is large), the terminal may perform step 1145.

[0213] In step 1140, the terminal can transmit each segment to SRB4 by performing RRC segmentation within the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., a value from 2 to 15) set by the base station for SRB4 for a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB4 (or including the entire message within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB4). The terminal can transmit each segment to SRB5 by performing RRC segmentation within the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., a value from 2 to 15) set by the base station for SRB5 for a QoE report message to be transmitted to SRB5 (or including the entire message within the RRC segments within the maximum number of RRC segments set by the base station for SRB5).

[0214] In step 1145, the terminal may discard the QoE report message that is to be sent to SRB4 or SRB5.

[0215] In step 1135, the terminal can perform RRC segmentation (e.g., up to 16) on QoE report messages to be sent to SRB4, and then send each segment to SRB4. The terminal can perform RRC segmentation (e.g., up to 16) on QoE report messages to be sent to SRB5, and then send each segment to SRB5.

[0216] In step 1120, the terminal may discard the QoE report message that is to be sent to SRB4 or SRB5.

[0217] In step 1125, the terminal can transmit a QoE report message to SRB4 without performing RRC segmentation on the QoE report message that is to be transmitted to SRB4. The terminal can transmit a QoE report message to SRB5 without performing RRC segmentation on the QoE report message that is to be transmitted to SRB5.

[0218] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when a base station sets rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 to a terminal, it may set rrc-SegAllowed and / or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 (always).

[0219] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if a terminal is configured with rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5, it may be assumed that rrc-SegAllowed and / or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-SegAllowedSRB5 is configured (even if not configured).

[0220] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 may indicate one of the integer values ​​from 2 to 15.

[0221] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 may indicate a value of one integer from 2 to 16. In this case, if rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and / or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 is indicated as 16, the terminal may perform the operation of 1135.

[0222] FIG. 12 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs retransmission of a QoE report message when an MCG (Master cell group) change (or handover) or an SCG (Secondary cell group) change occurs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0223] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, if a terminal (terminal RRC layer) fails to complete the transmission of a QoE report via SRB4 (to source MCG or MN (Master node)) or SRB5 (to source SCG or SN (Secondary node)) before or during an MCG or SCG change, it may retransmit the report to SRB4 (to target MCG or MN (Master node)) or SRB5 (to target SCG or SN (Secondary node)) after or during the MCG or SCG change.

[0224] In step 1205, the terminal can check whether there exists a QoE report message or at least one QoE report segment that was instructed to transmit to a lower layer or submitted to a lower layer via SRB4 (to the source MCG or MN (Master node)) or SRB5 (to the source SCG or SN (Secondary node)) (before the MCG or SCG change, according to FIG. 10 based on the setting prior to the MCG or SCG change), but for which successful transmission was not acknowledged by the lower layer. If such a QoE measurement report exists, the terminal can perform step 1210 for said QoE measurement report. If such a QoE measurement report does not exist, the terminal can perform step 1235.

[0225] In step 1210, the terminal can determine whether it used RRC segmentation (i.e., whether it submitted a message to the lower layer or submitted RRC segments) when submitting a QoE measurement report to the lower layer (based on the settings prior to the MCG or SCG change according to FIG. 10). If the terminal used RRC segmentation, the terminal can perform step 1215. If the terminal did not use RRC segmentation, the terminal can perform step 1230.

[0226] In step 1215, (after or during an MCG or SCG change) the terminal can determine whether RRC segmentation is allowed for the SRB (SRB4 or SRB5) for QoE reporting (e.g., via rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 or rrc-SegAllowedSRB5). If it is allowed, the terminal can perform step 1220. Conversely, if it is not allowed, the terminal can perform step 1225.

[0227] In step 1220, the terminal may (re)submit all RRC segments to the lower layer for transmission via SRB4 (to the target MCG or MN (Master node)) or via SRB5 (to the target SCG or SN (Secondary node)) for QoE reports that were not completed before the MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged for successful transmission from the lower layer). At this time, the terminal may retransmit QoE report segments that were not completed before the MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged for successful transmission from the lower layer), as well as QoE report segments that were completed (or were acknowledged for successful transmission from the lower layer).

[0228] In step 1225, for QoE reports that failed to complete transmission (or failed to receive confirmation of successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to the MCG or SCG change, all RRC segments may be discarded.

[0229] In step 1230, the terminal may (re)submit a QoE report message to the lower layer (according to FIG. 10, based on the settings provided after or during the MCG or SCG change) to transmit via SRB4 (to the target MCG or MN (Master node)) or via SRB5 (to the target SCG or SN (Secondary node)) for a QoE report that was not completed before the MCG or SCG change (or was not confirmed as a successful transmission from the lower layer).

[0230] In step 1235, the terminal may not perform any action.

[0231] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal operation may be as shown in Table 9 below.

[0232]

[0233]

[0234] FIG. 13 is a flowchart relating to a terminal operation that performs retransmission of a QoE report message according to the limit on the maximum number of RRC segments of a target base station during an MCG (Master cell group) change (or handover) or SCG (Secondary cell group) change according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0235] In step 1305, the terminal can check whether there exists a QoE report message or at least one QoE report segment that was instructed to transmit to a lower layer or submitted to a lower layer via SRB4 (to the source MCG or MN (Master node)) or SRB5 (to the source SCG or SN (Secondary node)) (before the MCG or SCG change, according to FIG. 10 based on the setting prior to the MCG or SCG change), but for which successful transmission was not acknowledged by the lower layer. If such a QoE report exists, the terminal can perform step 1310 for said QoE report. If such a QoE report does not exist, the terminal can perform step 1355.

[0236] In step 1310, regarding a QoE report that was not completed (or was not acknowledged as a successful transmission from a lower layer) prior to an MCG or SCG change, the terminal can determine whether RRC segmentation was used (i.e., whether a message was submitted to a lower layer or RRC segments were submitted) when submitting said QoE measurement report to a lower layer (based on the settings prior to the MCG or SCG change according to FIG. 10). If the terminal used RRC segmentation, the terminal can perform step 1315. If the terminal did not use RRC segmentation, the terminal can perform step 1350.

[0237] In step 1315, (after or during an MCG or SCG change) the terminal can determine whether RRC segmentation is allowed for the SRB (SRB4 or SRB5) for QoE reporting (e.g., via rrc-SegAllowed or rrc-SegAllowedSRB4 or rrc-SegAllowedSRB5). If it is allowed, the terminal can perform step 1320. Conversely, if it is not allowed, the terminal can perform step 1345.

[0238] In step 1320, for QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted before the MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged as having successfully transmitted from a lower layer), if they need to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., when the reportingSRB is not set or the reportingSRB is set to SRB4 after or during the MCG or SCG change), the terminal can determine whether the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) is set by the base station (e.g., after or during the MCG or SCG change). If the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) is set by the base station (e.g., after or during the MCG or SCG change), the terminal can perform step 1325. Conversely, if the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) is not set from the base station (e.g., after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may perform step 1340.

[0239] For QoE reporting segments that have not completed transmission before an MCG or SCG change (or have not received confirmation of successful transmission from a lower layer), if they need to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., when a reportingSRB is not set after or during an MCG or SCG change, or when a reportingSRB is set to SRB4), the terminal can determine whether the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) is set by the base station. If the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) is set by the base station, the terminal can perform step 1325. Conversely, if the maximum number of RRC segments (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) is not set by the base station, the terminal can perform step 1340.

[0240] In step 1325, for QoE reporting segments that have not completed transmission prior to an MCG or SCG change (or have not received confirmation of successful transmission from a lower layer), if transmission to SRB4 is required (e.g., when a reportingSRB is not set or a reportingSRB is set to SRB4 after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may determine one of the following conditions.

[0241] - Condition 1. If the number of QoE reporting segments that were not fully transmitted prior to the MCG or SCG change is less than or equal to the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB4 by the base station (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4)

[0242] - Condition 2. If, after reassembling QoE reporting segments that were not fully transmitted prior to the MCG or SCG change, the number of newly RRC-segmented QoE reporting segments is less than or equal to the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB4 by the base station (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4)

[0243] If the terminal satisfies the above conditions, the terminal may perform step 1330. Conversely, if the terminal does not satisfy the above conditions, the terminal may perform step 1335.

[0244] For QoE reporting segments that have not completed transmission prior to an MCG or SCG change (or have not received acknowledgment of successful transmission from a lower layer), if transmission to SRB5 is required (e.g., when the reportingSRB is set to SRB5 after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may determine one of the following conditions.

[0245] - Condition 1. If the number of QoE reporting segments that were not fully transmitted prior to the MCG or SCG change is less than or equal to the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB5 by the base station (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) (after or during the MCG or SCG change).

[0246] - Condition 2. If, after reassembling QoE reporting segments that were not fully transmitted prior to the MCG or SCG change, the number of newly RRC-segmented QoE reporting segments is less than or equal to the maximum number of RRC segments set for SRB5 by the base station (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5) (after or during the MCG or SCG change).

[0247] If the terminal satisfies the above conditions, the terminal may perform step 1330. Conversely, if the terminal does not satisfy the above conditions, the terminal may perform step 1335.

[0248] In step 1330, for QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted before an MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged as having successfully transmitted by a lower layer), if they need to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., if a reportingSRB is not set or is set to SRB4 after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may transmit all QoE reporting segments to SRB4. Alternatively, the terminal may reassemble the QoE reporting segments and transmit the QoE reporting segments to SRB4, which are RRC segmented within the maximum number of RRC segments newly set for SRB4 by the base station.

[0249] For QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted before an MCG or SCG change (or for which successful transmission was not acknowledged by a lower layer), if they need to be transmitted to SRB5 (e.g., when the reportingSRB is set to SRB5 after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may transmit all QoE reporting segments to SRB5. Alternatively, the terminal may reassemble the QoE reporting segments and transmit the newly RRC-segmented QoE reporting segments to SRB5 within the maximum number of RRC segments newly set for SRB5 by the base station.

[0250] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may retransmit QoE report segments that have not completed transmission (or have not received confirmation of successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to an MCG or SCG change, as well as QoE report segments that have completed transmission (or have received confirmation of successful transmission from the lower layer).

[0251] In step 1335, for QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted (or were not acknowledged for successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to the MCG or SCG change, the terminal may not (re)transmit the QoE reporting segments and may discard them all. The terminal may discard QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted (or were not acknowledged for successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to the MCG or SCG change, as well as QoE reporting segments that were transmitted (or were acknowledged for successful transmission from the lower layer).

[0252] In step 1340, for QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted before an MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged to have been transmitted successfully by a lower layer), if they need to be transmitted to SRB4 (e.g., when a reportingSRB is not set or is set to SRB4 after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may transmit all QoE reporting segments to SRB4. Alternatively, the terminal may reassemble the QoE reporting segments and transmit newly RRC segmented QoE reporting segments (e.g., up to 16) to SRB4.

[0253] For QoE reporting segments that were not transmitted before an MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged to have been transmitted successfully by a lower layer), if they need to be transmitted to SRB5 (e.g., when the reportingSRB is set to SRB5 after or during an MCG or SCG change), the terminal may transmit all QoE reporting segments to SRB5. Alternatively, the terminal may reassemble the QoE reporting segments and transmit the newly RRC segmented QoE reporting segments (e.g., up to 16 segments) to SRB4.

[0254] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may retransmit QoE report segments that have not completed transmission (or have not received confirmation of successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to an MCG or SCG change, as well as QoE report segments that have completed transmission (or have received confirmation of successful transmission from the lower layer).

[0255] In step 1345, all RRC segments may be discarded for QoE reporting segments that were not completed (or were not acknowledged for a successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to the MCG or SCG change. The terminal may discard QoE reporting segments that were not completed (or were not acknowledged for a successful transmission from the lower layer) prior to the MCG or SCG change, as well as QoE reporting segments that were completed (or were acknowledged for a successful transmission from the lower layer).

[0256] In step 1350, for QoE report messages that were not completed before the MCG or SCG change (or were not acknowledged as successful transmission from the lower layer), the terminal may resubmit the QoE report message to the lower layer (according to FIG. 10 based on the settings provided after or during the MCG or SCG change) to transmit via SRB4 (to the target MCG or MN (Master node)) or via SRB5 (to the target SCG or SN (Secondary node)).

[0257] In step 1355, the terminal may not perform any action.

[0258] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal operation may be as shown in Table 10 below.

[0259]

[0260]

[0261] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 is a setting that limits the number of RRC segments for QoE reports (transmitted by the terminal) that the MN receives through SRB4, so the MN can determine whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 is set (whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 is included in the QoE setting or not) or the setting value (true or false). Since rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 is a setting that limits the number of RRC segments for QoE reports (transmitted by the terminal) that the SN receives via SRB5, the SN can determine whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 is set (whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 is included in the QoE setting or not) or the setting value (true or false).

[0262] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the node transmitting QoE settings to the terminal may be one (MN or SN). For example, the MN provides / transmits / transmits QoE settings to the terminal, and the MN may set rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 to the terminal. Meanwhile, although the MN may provide rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 to the terminal when setting QoE, the MN may not be able to determine whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 is set (i.e., whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 is included in the QoE settings or not) or the setting value (true or false). The reason is that the MN may not know the maximum number of RRC segments that the SN supports / allows assembly. Methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure can solve this problem. Conversely, the SN provides / transmits / transmits QoE settings to the terminal, and the SN may set rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or both rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 to the terminal. Meanwhile, although SN may provide both rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 and rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5 to the terminal when setting QoE, SN may not be able to determine whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 is set (whether rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4 is included in the QoE setting or not) or the setting value (true or false).This is because SN may not know the maximum number of RRC segments that MN supports / allows assembly. Methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure can solve this problem.

[0263] Additionally, when the MN determines / configures the SRB for QoE reporting (e.g., whether the terminal will use SRB4 or SRB5 for QoE reporting), it may require (or need to determine) the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments for the SN's SRB5 (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB5). From the perspective of the MN, the reason it is necessary to determine the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for the SN's SRB5 is that if the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for the MN's SRB4 are greater than the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for the SN's SRB5, the MN can decide / set the SRB for QoE reporting to SRB4 by considering a relatively small value for the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for SRB5 and a relatively large value for the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for SRB4 in order to prevent the loss of large-sized QoE reporting. Additionally, if the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for the SN's SRB5 are greater than the maximum supported / allowed RRC segments for the MN's SRB4, the MN can decide / set the SRB for QoE reporting to SRB5 in order to prevent the loss of large-sized QoE reporting. For this reason, for example, when an SN determines / sets an SRB (e.g., SRB4 or SRB5) for QoE reporting, it may need the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments for the MN's SRB4 (e.g., rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowed or rrc-MaxCapaSegAllowedSRB4) (it may be necessary to identify this).

[0264] In order to resolve the situations described above where MN does not know the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of SN (for SRB5), where SN does not know the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of MN (for SRB4), where MN needs to determine the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of SN (for SRB5), and where SN needs to determine the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of MN (for SRB4), information on the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of MN can be exchanged between MN and SN according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0265] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, Node 1 (e.g., an MN or SN that directs QoE settings to a terminal) may request Node 2 (e.g., other nodes, SN or MN) to transmit the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of Node 2 (e.g., when QoE initial settings are made to a terminal). In order for Node 1 to request Node 2 to transmit the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of Node 2, one indicator (e.g., indicator A) may be defined within the S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST and / or S-NODE MODIFACATION REQEUST and / or S-NODE MODIFICATION REQURIED and / or S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE and / or S-NODE MODIFACATION REQEUST ACKNOWLEDGE and / or S-NODE MODIFICATION CONFIRM messages, and indicator A may also be defined within various messages other than those described above. Node 1 may request the transmission of the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of Node 2 by including indicator A in the message or setting it to true. Additionally, Node 1 may not request the transmission of the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of Node 2 by not including the indicator A in the message or setting it to false.

[0266] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when Node 2 (e.g., SN or MN) receives a request from Node 1 (e.g., MN or SN) for the transmission of the maximum supported / allowed RRC segment number (e.g., when receiving a message containing or set to true the indicator A), Node 2 (SN or MN) may transmit Node 2's maximum supported / allowed RRC segment number to Node 1 (MN or SN). In one embodiment of the present disclosure, without an (explicit) request for the transmission of Node 1's maximum supported / allowed RRC segment number (where said request is not defined in the standard), Node 2 may transmit Node 2's maximum supported / allowed RRC segment number to Node 1 (MN or SN). In order for Node 2 to transmit the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of Node 2 to Node 1, a single indicator (e.g., indicator B) may be defined within the S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST and / or S-NODE MODIFACATION REQEUST and / or S-NODE MODIFICATION REQURIED and / or S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE and / or S-NODE MODIFACATION REQEUST ACKNOWLEDGE and / or S-NODE MODIFICATION CONFIRM messages, and indicator B may also be defined within various messages other than those described above. Node 2 may indicate / transmit the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments of Node 2 (e.g., a value of 15 in 2) through the indicator B within the message. Subsequently, Node 1 or Node 2 may indicate the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments for Node 2 to the terminal.

[0267] By receiving information about the indicator B from Node 2, Node 1 can set the maximum number of supported / allowed RRC segments for Node 2 to the terminal, and can also determine / set the QoE reporting SRB (SRB4 or SRB5) in consideration of this.

[0268] FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the internal structure of a terminal applied to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0269] Referring to FIG. 14, the terminal may include an RF (Radio Frequency) processing unit (1410), a baseband processing unit (1420), a storage unit (1430), and a control unit (1440). Of course, it is not limited to the above example, and the terminal may include fewer or more configurations than the configuration shown in FIG. 14.

[0270] The RF processing unit (1410) can perform functions for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel, such as signal band conversion and amplification. That is, the RF processing unit (1410) can up-convert a baseband signal provided by the baseband processing unit (1420) into an RF band signal and transmit it through an antenna, and down-convert an RF band signal received through the antenna into a baseband signal. For example, the RF processing unit (1410) may include a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC (digital to analog converter), an ADC (analog to digital converter), etc. Although only one antenna is shown in the drawing, the terminal may be equipped with multiple antennas. In addition, the RF processing unit (1410) may include multiple RF chains.

[0271] Furthermore, the RF processing unit (1410) can perform beamforming. For beamforming, the RF processing unit (1410) can adjust the phase and magnitude of each of the signals transmitted and received through multiple antennas or antenna elements. Additionally, the RF processing unit can perform MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) and can receive multiple layers when performing MIMO operation. The RF processing unit (1410) can perform receiving beam sweeping by appropriately setting multiple antennas or antenna elements according to the control of the control unit, or adjust the direction and beam width of the receiving beam so that the receiving beam is coordinated with the transmitting beam.

[0272] The baseband processing unit (1420) can perform conversion functions between baseband signals and bit sequences according to the physical layer specifications of the system. For example, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1420) can generate complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bit sequence. In addition, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1420) can restore the received bit sequence by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal provided by the RF processing unit (1410).

[0273] For example, in the case of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) method, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1420) can generate complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bit sequence, map the complex symbols to subcarriers, and then construct OFDM symbols through inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) operations and cyclic prefix (CP) insertion. Additionally, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1420) can divide the baseband signal provided by the RF processing unit (1410) into OFDM symbol units, restore the signals mapped to subcarriers through fast Fourier transform (FFT) operations, and then restore the received bit sequence through demodulation and decoding.

[0274] The baseband processing unit (1420) and the RF processing unit (1410) can transmit and receive signals as described above. Accordingly, the baseband processing unit (1420) and the RF processing unit (1410) may be referred to as a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, a transmitting and receiving unit, or a communication unit. Furthermore, at least one of the baseband processing unit (1420) and the RF processing unit (1410) may include a plurality of communication modules to support a plurality of different wireless access technologies.

[0275] Additionally, at least one of the baseband processing unit (1420) and the RF processing unit (1410) may include different communication modules to process signals of different frequency bands. For example, the different wireless access technologies may include wireless LAN (e.g., IEEE 802.11), cellular network (e.g., LTE), etc. Additionally, the different frequency bands may include super high frequency (SHF) bands (e.g., 2.NRHz, NRHz) and millimeter wave (e.g., 60GHz) bands. The terminal may transmit and receive signals with a base station using the baseband processing unit (1420) and the RF processing unit (1410), and the signals may include control information and data.

[0276] The storage unit (1430) can store data such as a basic program, an application program, and setting information for the operation of the terminal. In particular, the storage unit (1430) can store information related to a second connection node that performs wireless communication using wireless connection technology. Additionally, the storage unit (1430) can provide the stored data upon a request from the control unit (1440). The storage unit (1430) may be composed of a storage medium or a combination of storage media such as ROM, RAM, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD. According to one embodiment, the storage unit (1430) may store a program for performing the embodiment described in this disclosure.

[0277] The control unit (1440) can control the overall operations of the terminal. For example, the control unit (1440) can transmit and receive signals through the baseband processing unit (1420) and the RF processing unit (1410). Additionally, the control unit (1440) writes and reads data to and from the storage unit (1430). To this end, the control unit (1440) may include at least one processor. For example, the control unit (1440) may include a communication processor (CP) that performs control for communication and an application processor (AP) that controls upper layers such as applications, and may include a multiple connection processing unit (14-42) as illustrated in the drawing. Additionally, at least one component of the terminal may be implemented as a single chip. Each component of the terminal may operate to perform the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0278] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a base station applied to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0279] Referring to FIG. 15, a base station according to one example of the present disclosure may include an RF processing unit (1510), a baseband processing unit (1520), a backhaul communication unit (1530), a storage unit (1540), and a control unit (1550). Of course, it is not limited to the above example, and the base station may include fewer or more configurations than the configuration shown in FIG. 15.

[0280] The RF processing unit (1510) can perform functions for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel, such as signal band conversion and amplification. That is, the RF processing unit (1510) can up-convert a baseband signal provided by the baseband processing unit (1520) into an RF band signal and transmit it through an antenna, and down-convert an RF band signal received through an antenna into a baseband signal. For example, the RF processing unit (1510) may include a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC, an ADC, etc. Although only one antenna is shown in the drawing, the base station may be equipped with multiple antennas. In addition, the RF processing unit (1510) may include multiple RF chains.

[0281] Furthermore, the RF processing unit (1510) can perform beamforming. For beamforming, the RF processing unit (1510) can adjust the phase and magnitude of each of the signals transmitted and received through multiple antennas or antenna elements. The RF processing unit can perform down-to-down MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) operation by transmitting one or more layers.

[0282] The baseband processing unit (1520) can perform a conversion function between a baseband signal and a bit sequence according to the physical layer specifications of the wireless access technology. For example, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1520) can generate complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bit sequence. In addition, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1520) can restore the received bit sequence by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal provided by the RF processing unit (1510).

[0283] For example, in the case of an OFDM method, when transmitting data, the baseband processing unit (1520) generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmitted bit sequence, maps the complex symbols to subcarriers, and then constructs OFDM symbols through IFFT operation and CP insertion. Additionally, when receiving data, the baseband processing unit (1520) divides the baseband signal provided by the RF processing unit (1510) into OFDM symbol units, restores the signals mapped to subcarriers through FFT operation, and then restores the received bit sequence through demodulation and decoding.

[0284] The baseband processing unit (1520) and the RF processing unit (1510) can transmit and receive signals as described above. Accordingly, the baseband processing unit (1520) and the RF processing unit (1510) may be referred to as a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, a transmitting and receiving unit, a communication unit, or a wireless communication unit. The base station can transmit and receive signals with a terminal using the baseband processing unit (1520) and the RF processing unit (1510), and the signals may include control information and data.

[0285] The backhaul communication unit (1530) can provide an interface for performing communication with other nodes within the network. That is, the backhaul communication unit (1530) can convert a bit sequence transmitted from the main base station to another node, e.g., an auxiliary base station, a core network, etc., into a physical signal, and convert a physical signal received from the other node into a bit sequence. Additionally, the backhaul communication unit (1530) may be referred to as a communication unit.

[0286] The storage unit (1540) can store data such as basic programs, application programs, and configuration information for the operation of the base station. In particular, the storage unit (1540) can store information regarding bearers assigned to connected terminals, measurement results reported from connected terminals, etc. Additionally, the storage unit (1540) can store information that serves as a criterion for determining whether to provide or discontinue multiple connections to the terminal. Furthermore, the storage unit (1540) can provide the stored data in accordance with a request from the control unit (1550). The storage unit (1540) may be composed of a storage medium or a combination of storage media such as ROM, RAM, hard disk, CD-ROM, and DVD. Additionally, the storage unit (1540) may be composed of multiple memories. According to one embodiment, the storage unit (1540) may store a program for performing the embodiment described in this disclosure.

[0287] The control unit (1550) can control the overall operations of the base station. For example, the control unit (1550) transmits and receives signals through the baseband processing unit (1520) and the RF processing unit (1510) or through the backhaul communication unit (1530). Additionally, the control unit (1550) writes and reads data to and from the storage unit (1540). To this end, the control unit (1550) may include at least one processor and may include a multiple connection processing unit (15-52) as illustrated in the drawing. Additionally, at least one component of the base station may be implemented as a single chip. Additionally, each component of the base station may operate to perform the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0288] Methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present invention may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0289] When implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium may be provided for storing one or more programs (software modules). One or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured for execution by one or more processors within an electronic device. One or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute methods according to embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present invention.

[0290] Such programs (software modules, software) may be stored in random access memory, non-volatile memory including flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), magnetic disc storage devices, Compact Disc-ROM (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), or other forms of optical storage devices, magnetic cassettes. Alternatively, they may be stored in memory composed of some or all of these. Additionally, each constituent memory may include multiple units.

[0291] In addition, the above program may be stored on an attachable storage device that can be accessed via a communication network such as the Internet, Intranet, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide LAN (WLAN), or Storage Area Network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present invention through an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on a communication network may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0292] In the specific embodiments of the present invention described above, the components included in the invention are expressed in a singular or plural form according to the specific embodiments presented. However, the singular or plural expression is selected to suit the situation presented for convenience of explanation, and the present invention is not limited to singular or plural components; even if a component is expressed in the plural form, it may be composed in the singular form, or even if a component is expressed in the singular form, it may be composed in the plural form.

[0293] Meanwhile, although specific embodiments have been described in the detailed description of the present invention, it is understood that various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims set forth below as well as equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method performed by a UE (user equipment) of a wireless communication system, A step of transmitting an RRC (radio resource control) Setup Complete message to the base station; A step of receiving a UE Capability Enquiry message from the base station; and The method includes the step of performing RRC segmentation on a UE Capability Information message and transmitting the segments resulting from the RRC segmentation to the base station. The above RRC Setup Complete message is: It includes either first information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message or second information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message based on the maximum number of splits indicated, and The above UE Capability Enquiry message is: A method comprising either third information indicating that splitting of the UE Capability Information message is allowed, or fourth information indicating that splitting of the UE Capability Information message is allowed based on the maximum number of splits.

2. In Paragraph 1, If the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above third information and does not include the above fourth information: The above method further includes the step of considering the maximum number of segments of the UE Capability Information message to be 16.

3. In Paragraph 1, If the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above 4th information and does not include the above 3rd information: The above method further comprises the step of identifying the maximum number of segments of the UE Capability Information message as a value indicated by the fourth information.

4. In Paragraph 1, The method, wherein the fourth information includes an integer representing the maximum number of divisions allowed by the base station.

5. A method performed by a base station of a wireless communication system, A step of receiving an RRC (radio resource control) Setup Complete message from UE (user equipment); The step of sending a UE Capability Enquiry message to the above UE; and The method includes the step of receiving segments related to RRC segmentation for a UE Capability Information message from the above UE, The above RRC Setup Complete message is, It includes either first information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message or second information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message based on the maximum number of splits indicated, and The above UE Capability Enquiry message is, A method comprising either third information indicating that splitting of the UE Capability Information message is allowed, or fourth information indicating that splitting of the UE Capability Information message is allowed based on the maximum number of splits.

6. In Paragraph 5, A method in which, when the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above third information and does not include the above fourth information, the maximum number of segments of the above UE Capability Information message is 16.

7. In Paragraph 5, A method in which, when the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above fourth information and does not include the above third information, the maximum number of segments of the above UE Capability Information message is the value indicated by the above fourth information.

8. In Paragraph 5, The method, wherein the fourth information includes an integer representing the maximum number of divisions allowed by the base station.

9. Regarding UE (user equipment): At least one transceiver; At least one processor communicatively coupled to the above at least one transceiver; and It includes at least one memory that is communicationally coupled to the above at least one processor and stores instructions, and The above instructions are executed individually or in any combination by the above at least one processor, so that the UE: Send an RRC (radio resource control) Setup Complete message to the base station, and Receive a UE (user equipment) Capability Enquiry message from the above base station, and Perform RRC segmentation on the UE Capability Information message, and transmit the segments resulting from the RRC segmentation to the base station. The above RRC Setup Complete message is, It includes either first information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message or second information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message based on the maximum number of splits indicated, and The above UE Capability Enquiry message is, A UE comprising either a third information indicating that splitting is allowed for the above-mentioned UE Capability Information message or a fourth information indicating that splitting is allowed for the above-mentioned UE Capability Information message based on the maximum number of splits.

10. In Paragraph 9, If the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above third information and does not include the above fourth information: The above method further includes the step of considering the maximum number of segments of the UE Capability Information message to be 16, for a UE.

11. In Paragraph 9, If the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above 4th information and does not include the above 3rd information: The above method further comprises the step of identifying the maximum number of segments of the UE Capability Information message as a value indicated by the fourth information, for a UE.

12. In Paragraph 9, The above fourth information is a UE including an integer representing the maximum number of divisions allowed by the base station.

13. Regarding base stations: At least one transceiver; At least one processor communicatively coupled to the above at least one transceiver; and It includes at least one memory that is communicationally coupled to the above at least one processor and stores instructions, and The above instructions are executed individually or in any combination by the above at least one processor, so that the base station: Upon receiving an RRC (radio resource control) Setup Complete message from the UE (user equipment), Send a UE Capability Enquiry message to the above UE, and From the above UE, receive segments related to RRC partitioning for the UE Capability Information message, and The above RRC Setup Complete message is, It includes either first information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message or second information indicating that the UE supports splitting for the UE Capability Information message based on the maximum number of splits indicated, and The above UE Capability Enquiry message is, A base station comprising either third information indicating that splitting of the above UE Capability Information message is allowed, or fourth information indicating that splitting of the above UE Capability Information message is allowed based on the maximum number of splits.

14. In Paragraph 13, A base station in which, when the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above third information and does not include the above fourth information, the maximum number of segments of the above UE Capability Information message is 16.

15. In Paragraph 13, A base station in which, when the above UE Capability Enquiry message includes the above fourth information and does not include the above third information, the maximum number of segments of the above UE Capability Information message is the value indicated by the above fourth information.

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