Mtrp measurement reporting for baseline handover

Abstract

A method is provided that includes receiving, from a serving cell, a measurement and reporting configuration that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells. The method includes performing measurements on the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells according to the measurement and reporting configuration. And the method includes reporting the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs to the serving cell according to the measurement and reporting configuration.

Description

MTRP MEASUREMENT REPORTING FOR BASELINE HANDOVER TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications and, in particular, to measurement reporting in a telecommunications system.BACKGROUND

[0002] A telecommunications system can be seen as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities such as user terminals, base stations and / or other nodes by providing carriers between the various entities involved in the communications path. A telecommunications system can be provided for example by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication sessions may comprise, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and / or content data and so on. Non-11-miting examples of services provided comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services and access to a data network system, such as the Internet.

[0003] In a wireless telecommunications system, at least a part of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless telecommunications systems comprise public land mobile networks (PLMN), satellite based communication systems and different wireless local networks, for example wireless local area networks (WLAN). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells, and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] A user can access the telecommunications system by means of an appropriate communication device or terminal. A communication device of a user may be referred to as user equipment (UE) or user device. A communication device is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting apparatus for enabling communications, for example enabling access to a communication network or communications directly with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a station, forexample a base station of a cell, and transmit and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0005] The telecommunications system and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the communication system are permitted to do and how operations should be achieved. Communication protocols and / or parameters which shall be used for connection of the various entities are also typically defined. One example of a telecommunications system is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Other examples of telecommunications systems are Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced and the so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).BRIEF SUMMARY

[0006] Example implementations of the present disclosure are directed to telecommunications and, in particular, to measurement reporting in a telecommunications system. The present disclosure includes, without limitation, the following example implementations.

[0007] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: receive, from a serving cell, a measurement and reporting configuration that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; perform measurements on the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells according to the measurement and reporting configuration; and report the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs to the serving cell according to the measurement and reporting configuration.

[0008] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: receiving, from a serving cell, a measurement and reporting configuration that includes multitransmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; performingmeasurements on the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells according to the measurement and reporting configuration; and reporting the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs to the serving cell according to the measurement and reporting configuration.

[0009] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: send a measurement and reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE) that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; receive a measurement report of measurements performed on the multiple TRPs from the UE according to the measurement and reporting configuration; perform an evaluation of the measurements; and make a determination whether to handover the UE a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on the evaluation.

[0010] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: sending a measurement and reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE) that includes multitransmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; receiving a measurement report of measurements performed on the multiple TRPs from the UE according to the measurement and reporting configuration; performing an evaluation of the measurements; and making a determination whether to handover the UE a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on the evaluation.

[0011] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: receive a handover request from a serving cell for multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) handover of a user equipment (UE) to a target cell, the handover request including measurements performed by the UE on multiple TRPs of the target cell; perform admission control for the UE in which a determination is made whether the mTRP handover is supported based on the measurements and a load on the multiple TRPs; send a handover request acknowledge to the serving cell based on thedetermination, and that includes configuration information for at least one of the multiple TRPs; and carry out a handover of the UE to the at least one of the multiple TRPs using the configuration information.

[0012] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: receiving a handover request from a serving cell for multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) handover of a user equipment (UE) to a target cell, the handover request including measurements performed by the UE on multiple TRPs of the target cell; performing admission control for the UE in which a determination is made whether the mTRP handover is supported based on the measurements and a load on the multiple TRPs; sending a handover request acknowledge to the serving cell based on the determination, and that includes configuration information for at least one of the multiple TRPs; and carrying out a handover of the UE to the at least one of the multiple TRPs using the configuration information.

[0013] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description together with the accompanying figures, which are briefly described below. The present disclosure includes any combination of two, three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure, regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combined or otherwise recited in a specific example implementation described herein. The present disclosure is intended to be read holistically such that any separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of its aspects and example implementations, should be viewed as combinable unless the context of the disclosure clearly dictates otherwise.

[0014] It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described example implementations are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other example implementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of some described example implementations.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE(S)

[0015] Having thus described example implementations of the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications system that includes one or more public land mobile networks (PLMNs) coupled to one or more external data networks, according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a 5G deployment of a PLMN, according to some example implementations;

[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of an information element (IE) to add or modify a measurement identity that links a measurement object with a reporting configuration;

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates multiple transmission and reception point (mTRP) operation, according to some example implementations;

[0020] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a signaling chart of a procedure for mTRP connection setup, according to some example implementations;

[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates the structure of an IE to add or modify a measurement identity that links a mTRP measurement object with a reporting configuration, according to some example implementations;

[0022] FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C illustrate a signaling chart of a procedure for mTRP measurement reporting and handover, according to some example implementations;

[0023] FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method according to various example implementations;

[0024] FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method according to various example implementations;

[0025] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating various steps in a method according to various example implementations; and

[0026] FIG. 11 illustrates an apparatus according to some example implementations.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Some implementations of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which some, but not allimplementations of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, various implementations of the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these example implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

[0028] Unless specified otherwise or clear from context, references to first, second or the like should not be construed to imply a particular order. A feature described as being above another feature (unless specified otherwise or clear from context) may instead be below, and vice versa; and similarly, features described as being to the left of another feature else may instead be to the right, and vice versa. Also, while reference may be made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationships or the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all of these may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptable variations that may occur, such as those due to engineering tolerances or the like.

[0029] As used herein, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, the “or” of a set of operands is the “inclusive or” and thereby true if and only if one or more of the operands is true, as opposed to the “exclusive or” which is false when all of the operands are true. Thus, for example, “[A] or [B]” is true if [A] is true, or if [B] is true, or if both [A] and [B] are true. Further, the articles “a” and “an” mean “one or more,” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified, the terms “data,” “content,” “digital content,” “information,” and similar terms may be at times used interchangeably. The term “network” may refer to a group of interconnected computers including clients and servers; and within a network, these computers may be interconnected directly or indirectly by various means including via one or more switches, routers, gateways, access points or the like.

[0030] The present disclosure discusses systems and architectures that, while specific terms may be used, are broadly applicable across various technologies. For instance, while the present disclosure may reference technologies from 3 GPP such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, 5GNR, 5GAdvanced, and 6G, the present disclosure is equally relevant to non-3GPP technologies like IEEE 802, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy. Example implementations of the present disclosure described herein also mention public land mobile networks (PLMNs) and mobile network operators (MNOs), but example implementations are similarly applicable to standalone non-public networks (SNPNs) and the private entities operating these networks. Furthermore, although some examples and figures focus on radio access networks (RANs) and 3 GPP access, example implementations are applicable to any type of network access. This includes not only 5G or 6G 3GPP access but also non-3GPP access, such as wireline access, untrusted non-3GPP access, and trusted non-3GPP access using wireless access gateway function (W-AGF), non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF), or trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) to connect to a 5G or 6G core network.

[0031] Further, as used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); or (c) hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0032] The above definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications system 100 according to various example implementations of the present disclosure. The telecommunications system generally includes one or more telecommunications networks. As shown, for example, the system includes one or more PLMNs 102 coupled to one or more other external data networks 104 - notably including a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. Each of the PLMNs includes a core network (CN) 106 backbone such as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of LTE, the 5G core network (5GC) or the like; and each of the core networks and the Internet are coupled to one or more RANs 108, air interfaces or the like that implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs). As used herein, a “network device” refers to any suitable device at a network side of a telecommunications network. Examples of suitable network devices are described in greater detail below.

[0034] In addition, the system includes one or more radio units that may be varyingly known as user equipment (UE) 110, terminal device, terminal equipment, mobile station or the like. The UE is generally a device configured to communicate with a network device or a further UE in a telecommunications network. The UE may be a portable computer (e.g., laptop, notebook, tablet computer), mobile phone (e.g., cell phone, smartphone), wearable computer (e.g., smartwatch), or the like. In other examples, the UE may be an Internet of things (loT) device, an industrial loT (IIoT device), a vehicle equipped with a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology, or the like. In some examples, as referenced by 3 GPP, the UE may be a narrowband loT (NB-IoT) device, an enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) device, a reduced capability (RedCap) device, an ambient loT device, or the like.

[0035] In operation, these UEs 110 may be configured to connect to one or more of the RANs 108 according to their particular radio access technologies to thereby access a particular CN 106 of a PLMN 102, or to access one or more of the external data networks 104 (e.g., the Internet). The external data network may be configured to provide Internet access, operator services, 3rd party services, etc. For example, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has classified 5G mobile network services into three categories: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra- reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC) or massive internet of things (MIoT).

[0036] Examples of radio access technologies include 3 GPP radio access technologies such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, 5GNR, 5G Advanced, and 6G. Other examples of radio access technologies include IEEE 802 technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.15 (including 802.15.1 (WPAN / Bluetooth), 802.15.4 (Zigbee) and 802.15.6 (WBAN)), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ultra wideband (UWB), and the like. Generally, a radio access technology may refer to any 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G or higher generation mobile communication technology and their different versions, as well as to any other wireless radio access technology that may be arranged to interwork with such a mobile communication technology to provide access to the CN 106 of a mobile network operator (MNO).

[0037] In various examples, a RAN 108 may be configured as one or more macrocells, microcells, picocells, femtocells or the like. The RAN may generally include one or more radio access nodes that are configured to interact with UEs 110. In various examples, a radio access node may be referred to as a base station (BS), access point (AP), base transceiver station (BTS), Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), macro BS, NB (MNB) or eNB (MeNB), home BS, NB (HNB) or eNB (HeNB), next generation NB (gNB), enhanced gNB (en-gNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), or the like. The RAN may include some type of network controlling / governing entity responsible for control of the radio access nodes. The network controlling / governing entity and radio access node may be separate or integrated into a single apparatus. The network controlling / governing entity may include processing circuity configured to carry out various management functions, etc. The processing circuity may be associated with a memory, computer-readable storage medium or database for maintaining information required in the management functions.

[0038] A RAN 108 may be centralized or distributed. In various examples, components of a RAN may be interconnected by Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), optical fiber, dark fiber, passive wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), WDM passive optical network (WDM-PON), optical transport network (OTN), time sensitive networking (TSN) and / or any other data link layer network, possibly including radio links. The RAN may be connected to a CN 106 through one or more gateways, network functions or the like.

[0039] As will be appreciated, a PLMN 102 may be deployed in a number of different manners. In a 4GLTE deployment, the EPC is the CN 106, and the evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) is the RAN 108; and the E-UTRAN includes one or more eNBs (radio access nodes) configured to connect UEs 110 to the E-UTRAN to thereby access the EPC. As shown in FIG. 2, in a 5G deployment 200, the 5GC 202 is the CN, and the next generation (NG) radio access network (NG-RAN) 204 is the RAN; and the NG-RAN includes one or more gNBs 206 (radio access nodes) configured to connect UEs 110 to the NG-RAN to thereby access the 5GC (at times referred to as the NGC). The term ‘gNB’ in 5G may correspond to the eNB in 4G LTE.

[0040] Some deployments of 4G LTE and 5G in particular are considered standalone (SA) deployments. Other deployments combine 4G LTE and 5G technologies, and are referred to as non-standalone (NSA) deployments. In some deployments, the E-UTRAN includes one or more ng-eNBs that are configured to communicate with the 5GC, and that may also be configured to communicate with one or more gNBs. Similarly, in another deployment, the NG-RAN may include one or more en-gNBs that are configured to communicate with the EPC, and that may also be configured to communicate with one or more eNBs. In various instances, a single UE 110, a dual-mode or multimode UE, may support multiple (two or more) RANs — thereby being configured to connect to multiple RANs, such as 4G LTE and 5G.

[0041] In various instances, a single UE 110, a dual-mode or multimode UE, may support carrier aggregation (CA), dual-connectivity (DC) or multi-connectivity (MC). In this regard, CA allows the UE to simultaneously connect to cells on multiple carriers, enabling the UE to reach higher throughputs, as well as fast-time-scale load-balancing across multiple carriers. AUE will generally have a primary cell, known as a PCell, which is typically the cell through which the UE first connects to the NG-RAN 204. The RAN (typically via the PCell) may provide the UE additional configuration information to enable it to simultaneously connect to additional cells on carriers other than the PCell, which are known as the UE’s secondary cells or SCells.

[0042] The PCell radio access node may be referred to as a master node (MN), and the SCell radio access node may be referred to as a secondary node (SN). Relatedly, a master cell group (MCG) refers to a group of serving cells associated with the MN, andthe MCG includes PCell). A secondary cell group (SCG) refers to a group of serving cells associated with the SN, and the SCG includes a primary cell referred to as the primary secondary cell (PSCell). A special cell (SpCell) refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG

[0043] In some deployments, operations of a gNB 206 or other radio access node may be distributed or functionally split into components including one or more remote radio head (RRHs) or radio units (RUs) 208, and a baseband unit (BBU); and in some architectures, the BBU may be split into a distributed unit (DU) 210 and a central / centralized unit (CU) 212, such as a server, host or node. In some architectures, the RRH / RU and DU may be co-located. It is also possible that node operations may be distributed among a plurality of servers, hosts or nodes. It should also be understood that the distribution of work between CN operations and radio access node operations may vary depending on implementation.

[0044] As shown and described, for example, some 5G deployments may be based on a so-called CU-DU split including one or more DUs 210 and a CU 212. One gNB-CU (central node) may control one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU may control a plurality of spatially separated gNB-DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some example implementations, however, the gNB-DUs (also called DU) may include, for example, a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the gNB-CU (also called a CU) may include the layers above the RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC), and an internet protocol (IP) layer. Other functional splits are also possible. It is considered that a skilled person is familiar with the open systems interconnection (OSI) model and the functionalities within each layer.

[0045] In some example implementations, the server or CU 212 may generate a virtual network through which the server communicates with the radio node. In general, virtual networking may involve a process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Such virtual network may provide flexible distribution of operations between the server and the radio head / node. In practice, any digital signal processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU 210, and the boundary where the-11-responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may be selected according to implementation.

[0046] Although only one gNB 206 is shown in FIG. 2, the deployment may comprise multiple gNBs or other radio access nodes, and at least some of the gNBs may be connected to one another by a network interface, such as an Xn interface. Similarly, the gNBs may be connected to the 5GC 202 by a network interface. In 5G NR, the network interface between a gNB and the 5GC is referred to as the NG interface, which is a network interface between the gNB and an access and mobility management function (AMF) of the 5GC. These and other network interfaces may support the exchange of signaling messages between network entities. The signaling messages may be formatted according to an application layer protocol, such as the NG application protocol (NGAP) for the NG interface between the gNB and the 5GC.

[0047] For a UE 110 in an RRC connected state, it is generally desirable to keep the UE’s traffic uninterrupted when the UE moves within a cell (at times referred to as a radio cell) or across different cells of one or more gNBs 206. To continuously monitor the UE’s radio link condition toward a serving cell provided by a serving gNB, the UE may be configured to measure received signal level and quality from the serving cell as well as a list of configured neighbor cells, and report the results to the gNB periodically and / or whenever a configured reporting event is met. These measurements may then be evaluated at the gNB, and may result in a handover (HO) of the UE from the serving cell provided by the serving gNB (a handover source access node) to a new cell provided by a target gNB (a target handover access node). The mobility of a UE may also be provided by a so-called conditional handover (CHO) procedure, a lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) procedure, or the like.

[0048] Each measurement report currently is tied to a single measurement object (measObjectNR) through a measurement identity (measld). FIG. 3 illustrates the structure 300 of an information element (IE) MeasIdToAddMod) to add or modify a measurement identity that links a measurement object with a reporting configuration. As shown, for example, the measurement object provides a configuration for reference signal measurements (referenceSignalConfig such as synchronization signal (SS) block (SSB) and / or channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) measurements. Themeasurement object provides the frequency band (freqBandlndicatorNR) and / or carrier frequency and the frequency of the SSB (ssbFrequency) to be measured. The measurement object also specifies whether reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) is to be measured through a quantity configuration index (quantityConfiglndex) which may also include a layer 3 (L3) filtering coefficient (filterCoefficient) used to adjust how fast previous measurements are forgotten. The measurement object may also indicate other L3 filtering details, such as how many samples are averaged (nrofSS-BlockstoAverage), which may be used to adjust how fast previous measurements are forgotten. And as also shown, the measurement object may include a cell specific offset (celllndividualOffset) and / or a measurement object specific offset (offset MO).

[0049] The reporting configuration linked to the measurement object may include a report type (ReportType) that indicates periodic or event-triggered reporting (eventTriggered). In this regard, event-triggered reporting enables the UE 110 to track a reporting event for a specific frequency, as indicated by the measurement object.

[0050] A number of measurement reporting events (also referred to as reporting events, or even more simply, as events) are defined that may be configured to trigger the UE 110 to initiate a measurement reporting. Examples of these events include an event Al (the serving cell becomes better than threshold), an event A2 (the serving cell becomes worse than threshold), an event A3 (neighbor cell becomes offset better than SpCell), an event A4 (neighbor cell becomes better than threshold), an event A5 (SPCell becomes worse than a first threshold and neighbor cell becomes better than a second threshold), and an event A6 (neighbor cell becomes offset better than SCell).

[0051] A reporting event may include an entering condition and a leaving condition. The entering condition may describe one or more criteria that triggers measurement reporting related to the event. The leaving condition on the other hand may describe one or more criteria that determines when the UE 110 stops monitoring and reporting measurements related to the reporting event. The event may also be configured with a time-to-trigger (TTT) interval over which the UE makes sure the entering condition is maintained before sending a report.

[0052] In the context of event A4, for example, the entering condition may be denoted condition A4-1, and the leaving condition may be denoted A4-2. The UE 110 may consider the entering condition for the A4 event to be satisfied when condition A4-1 is fulfilled, and consider the leaving condition for the A4 event to be satisfied when condition A4-2 is fulfilled. The A4-1 (entering condition) and A4-2 (leaving condition) may be expressed as inequalities as follows:Inequality A4-1 (Entering condition)Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > ThreshInequality A4-2 (Leaving condition)Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys < ThreshIn the respective conditions, Mn is the measurement result of the neighbor cell, not taking into account any offsets. Ofn is a measurement object specific offset (pffsetMO) of the reference signal of the neighbor cell. Ocn is a cell specific offset (cellIndividualOffset) of the neighbor cell, and set to zero if not configured for the neighbor cell. Hys is a hysteresis parameter for the event, and Thresh is the threshold for event A4.

[0053] In various instances, a UE 110 may be configured to operate using multiple antenna panels or beams, such as via multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) technology, which may allow the UE to dramatically increase its data rate capabilities. One feature related to this capability is referred to as multiple transmission and reception point (mTRP) (also at times “multi-TRP”), which enables the network to use multiple TRPs to communicate with a UE. A UE may be configured for mTRP such that the UE may receive the signals in a synchronous manner (coherent) or asynchronous manner (noncoherent) from multiple TRPs. In the coherent case, the signal strength of the each TRP may be constructively accumulated at the amplitude domain (gain is higher, e.g., up to 6 dB). In the non-coherent case, the signal strength of each TRP may be accumulated at the power domain (gain is less, e.g., up to 3 dB). In either case, the result of mTRP operation is a higher total throughput for the UE.

[0054] FIG. 4 illustrates mTRP operation 400, according to some example implementations. As shown, for example, a UE 110 connected to a first TRP (TRP1) 402A and a second TRP (TRP2) 402B, although mTRP may include more than two TRPs. Each of the TRPs may be a set of geographically co-located antennas, antennaarrays or panels supporting transmission point (TP) and / or reception point (RP) functionality. In various examples, the TRPs may be radio access nodes (e.g., gNBs 206, ng-eNBs), radio access node antennas, antenna arrays or panels, RRHs, RUs 208, a remote antenna, antenna array or panel of a radio access node, or the like. One of the TRPs may be a default serving TRP for a cell.

[0055] In mTRP operation, a serving cell of a gNB 206 or other radio access node may schedule the UE 110 from two (or more) TRPs 402A, 402B, providing better coverage, reliability and / or data rates for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). There are two different operation modes to schedule mTRP PDSCH transmissions based on downlink control information (DCI), namely, single-DCI and multi-DCI. For both modes, control of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) operation may be implemented at the PHY and MAC layers, within a configuration provided by the RRC layer. In single-DCI mode, the UE may be scheduled by the same DCI for both TRPs; and in multi-DCI mode, the UE may be scheduled by independent DCIs from each TRP.

[0056] FIGS. 5 A and 5B illustrate a signaling chart 500 of a procedure for mTRP connection setup, according to some example implementations. According to some examples, multiple TRPs (including TRP1 402A and TRP2 402B) may be coordinated and share a mTRP connection setup configuration, which may be provided in system information (SI) to a UE 110. The mTRP setup configuration may include, for example, a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration that includes RACH configurations for each TRP for mTRP operation. The mTRP setup configuration may also include a condition for mTRP connection setup; and in some examples, the mTRP connection setup configuration may include a SSB configuration for TRP1.

[0057] In some examples, referred to as beam paired mTRP RACH, the RACH configurations of the TRPs 402A, 402B in the mTRP RACH configuration have RACH occasions (ROs) that map to a pair of beams from both TRPs. In some examples, referred to as preamble paired mTRP RACH, the RACH configurations are dedicated for mTRP configuration, and the UE 110 uses the same preamble over the strongest beam for initial transmissions to the TRPs. In some examples, the condition for mTRP connection setupmay be that measurements on beams of the respective TRPs are above a specific threshold.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 5A, a UE 110 at step 501 measures beams from multiple TRPs, including TRP1 402A and TRP2 402B. The UE at step 502 detects that at least one beam from each of the TRPs fulfills a condition for mTRP operation. For example, the UE may detect that beam 3 from TRP1 and beam 7 from TRP2 are both above -80 dBm at the same time. The UE at step 503 finds a RACH occasion on each TRP that maps to both beams (e.g., beam 3 from TRP1 and beam 7 from TRP2).

[0059] The UE 110 at steps 504, 505 transmits preambles (random access preambles) on the RACH occasion to each TRP 402A, 402B. In some examples involving beam paired mTRP RACH, the preambles may include information that indicates to TRP1 that a preamble is concurrently transmitted to beam 7 of TRP2, and that indicates to TRP2 that a preamble is concurrently transmitted to beam 3 of TRP 1. In some examples involving preamble paired mTRP RACH, the preambles may include information that indicates to TRP1 that the UE is concurrently transmitting a preamble to TRP2, and that indicates to TRP2 that the UE is concurrently transmitting a preamble to TRP1. In both cases, the preambles may include information that indicates an mTRP setup procedure. And in some examples, beam and preamble pairing are combined.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 5B, the TRPs 402A, 402B at step 506 calculate a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) and a timing advance (TA) for the UE 110. The TRPs may also coordinate to build a mTRP configuration, and RAR information for a robust random access response (RAR) transmission towards the UE. The RAR information may include, for example, TAs, uplink grants (PUSCHs), and a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI). In some of these examples, the RAR information may include a TA and uplink grant for both TRPs.

[0061] The TRPs 402A, 402B at steps 507, 508 transmit robust RARs to the UE 100.As indicated above, the RARs include the TAs, uplink grants (PUSCHs), and TC-RNTI. In some examples, the RARs include the same information so that the UE uses combining techniques to improve decoding probability. In other examples, each of the RARs is specific to one of the TRPs, and link diversity is used to improve robustness,enabling the UE to decode and continue communicating to each TRP For example, each RAR may only indicate the uplink grant for its specific TRP.

[0062] The UE 110 receives the robust RARs from the TRPs 402A, 402B, and the UE at steps 509, 510, 511 uses the mTRP configuration from the RARs for a robust setup request transmission, which the UE may repeat on the uplink grants (PUSCHs). In some examples, the UE uses the same transmission beams as for the preamble transmissions at steps 504, 505 for transmission of RRC setup request messages to the TRPs. In some examples, the UE applies the given TAs provided in the robust RARs. Similar to the RARs, the RRC setup request messages may include the same information so that the network uses combining techniques to improve decoding probability. Alternatively, each of the RRC setup request messages may be specific to one of the TRPs, and link diversity may be used to improve robustness.

[0063] The TRPs 402A, 402B respond at steps 512, 513 with RRC setup messages to the UE 110. In some examples, each of the RRC setup messages may include the same information, and the information of the RRC setup messages may include the mTRP configuration towards the UE. In other examples, the network may instead determine to switch to single TRP (sTRP) operation but use link diversity to transmit an RRC setup message. In this regard, TRP1 may send the UE a RRC setup message, and if TRP1 does not receive an RRC setup complete message within a time duration, then TRP2 may send the UE a RRC setup message. As shown at step 514, the UE operates in the RRC connected state mTRP operation.

[0064] Briefly returning to FIG. 3, a measurement object (measObjectNR) considers a single cell to be measured. The measurement configuration is agnostic to the presence of multiple TRPs 402A, 402B from the same or another cell. A UE 110 may be configured with a CSI measurement configuration (CSI-MeasConfig) to measure and report CSI, such as for link adaptation and scheduling. The CSI measurement configuration may include a resource configuration (CSI-ResourceConfig) for CSI measurements, and this configuration may include group based beam reporting (groupBasedBeamReporting') that aims to capture resources from two resource sets which may be measured at the same time (concurrently). This configuration may be used for intra-cell decisions in mTRPoperation, but not for an inter-cell mobility procedure that involves measurement and reporting of neighbor cells.

[0065] Example implementations of the present disclosure therefore provide a solution that includes a TRP-aware measurement and reporting configuration to enable mTRP handover of a UE 110. The UE may be configured to perform measurements on multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of each of one or more neighbor cells (each a candidate cell for handover), and evaluate and report the measurements based on the TRPs. A serving (source) cell may evaluate the measurements, and send a handover request to one of the candidate cell(s) as a target cell for a mTRP-based reliable handover procedure. The serving cell may share the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs of the target cell, which the target cell may use to provide mTRP reliable handover procedure parameters, such as a mTRP RACH configuration.

[0066] According to some example implementations, a mTRP measurement object may be configured for mTRP measurement and reporting. In this regard, FIG. 6 illustrates the structure 600 of an IE (MeasIdToAddMod) to add or modify a measurement identity that links a mTRP measurement object (MeasObjectmTRP) with a reporting configuration (ReportConfigNR) for mTRP, according to some example implementations. As shown, the mTRP measurement object includes separate measurement objects (MeasObjectNR) for the TRPs 402A, 402B. In some examples, the measurements objects may include the same information for the TRPs; and in other examples, the information of each of the measurement objects may be specific to one of the TRPs. The separate measurement objects may therefore allow the network to indicate different information for each of the TRPs, such as different configurations for reference signal measurements (referenceSignalConfig), different L3 filtering details (e.g., filterCoefficient, nrofSS-BlockstoAverage), different cell specific offsets (celllndividualOffset), different measurement object specific offsets (pffsetMO), and the like.

[0067] In 3 GPP, an IE (MeasObjectToAddModList) may include a sequence (list) of one or more IES (MeasObjectToAddMod) to add or modify one or more measurement objects. Each of these IEs to add or modify a measurement object includes a field (measObject) that indicates a type of the measurement object. This field is a choice field in that the field can contain one of a number of possible measurement object types; andaccording to some example implementations, the possible measurement types may be enhanced to include a type (measObjectmTRP) for an mTRP measurement object. And in some examples, this type for an mTRP measurement object may include a sequence of measurement objects (MeasObjectNR) for the TRPs 402A, 402B.

[0068] In some other examples, the IE (MeasObjectToAddMod) to add / modify a measurement object may be enhanced to include a type (measObjectTRPList) for a list of measurement objects for multiple TRPs 402A, 402B. In some of these other examples, the IE (MeasObjectToAddModList) with the sequence of IES to add or modify measurement object(s) may be enhanced to further include one or more IEs (measObjectTRP) that include an identifier of a TRP (TRP_ID) and a measurement object (MeasObjectNR) for the identified TRP.

[0069] Returning to FIG. 6, the reporting configuration (ReportConfigNR) may be similar to that described with respect to FIG. 3, but may also include a flag mTRP or other indication that the reporting configuration is for mTRP. In some examples involving event-triggered reporting, the reporting configuration may include configuration(s) of reporting event(s) that may include different information for each of the TRPs 402A, 402B, such as a different TTT interval for each of the TRPs.

[0070] In some examples, reporting event(s) that involve neighbor cell(s) may be enhanced to consider mTRP. In a more particular example, event A4 may be enhanced to an event A7 in which the entering and leaving conditions for the event may be defined for each of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B. Similar logic may be taken to extend other of the events (e.g., event A3, A5).

[0071] In the context of event A7, for example, the entering condition may be denoted condition A7-1, and the leaving condition may be denoted A7-2. The UE 110 may consider the entering condition for the A7 event to be satisfied when condition A7-1 is fulfilled for all of the multiple TRPs, including TRP1 402A and TRP2 402B, and consider the leaving condition for the A7 event to be satisfied when condition A7-2 is fulfilled by any of the multiple TRPs. The A7-1 (entering condition) and A7-2 (leaving condition) may be expressed as inequalities as follows:Inequality A7-1 (Entering condition)Mn_trp1 + Ofn_1 + Ocn_1 – Hys_1 > Thresh_1Mn_trp2 + Ofn_2 + Ocn_2 – Hys_2 > Thresh_2Inequality A7-2 (Leaving condition)Mn trpl + Ofn 1 + Ocn 1 - Hys 1 < Thresh 1Mn trp2 + Ofn 2 + Ocn 2 - Hys 2 < Thresh 2In the respective conditions, Mn_trp1 and Mn_trp2 are the measurement results of respectively TRP1 and TRP2 of the neighbor cell, not taking into account any offsets. Ofn_1 and Ofn_2 are measurement object specific offsets the reference signal of respectively TRP1 and TRP2. Ocn_1 and Ocn_2 are cell specific offsets (cellIndividualOffset) of respectively TRP1 and TRP2, and set to zero if not configured for the neighbor cell. Hys_1 and Hys_2 are hysteresis parameters for the event for respectively TRP1 and TRP2, and Thresh_1 and Thresh_2 are the thresholds for event A7 for respectively TRP1 and TRP2.

[0072] In some examples, one or more reporting events that that involve a comparison of the serving cell and neighbor cell(s) may be defined so that the serving cell and neighbor cell(s) are mTRP aware. In some of these examples, the serving cell may be taken for comparison with the neighbor cell(s) may be the strongest of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the serving cell. In another example, a default serving TRP of the serving cell may be taken for comparison with the neighbor cell(s).

[0073] In another example, the neighbor cell(s) may be compared against each of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the serving cell, and the entering condition of an event may be considered satisfied when the entering condition is satisfied for each of the multiple TRPs of the serving cell. In another example, the event may be defined to include an explicit mapping of which of multiple TRPs of the serving cell shall be compared to which of multiple TRPs of the neighbor cell(s). And in yet another example, the events may be kept the same, but the definition of measurement result may be enhanced. In event A4, for example, neighbor cell measurements may consider the measurements from the multiple TRPs if the reporting configuration (ReportConfigNR) is linked to a mTRP measurement object (MeasObjectmTRP), or the reporting configuration includes a flag (mTRP or other indication that the reporting configuration is for mTRP. This may involve an averaging of the measurements from the multiple TRPs.

[0074] In one example, the network may indicate multiple filter coefficients to be used for each TRP in order to combine the measurements. An example of filter coefficient k that may translated in to a weight (ax= 2-k) for each TRPx may be as follows: a1for TRP1, a2for TRP2 and a3for TRP3. The filtering may done in this example in as follows:Meas_average_TRP(t0) × (1 − a1 − a2 − a3) + meas_TRP1(t1) × a1+ meas_TRP2(t1) × a2+ meas_TRP3(t1) × a3= Meas_average_TRP(t1) As above, the average TRP measurements at time t1(i.e., Meas_average_TRP(t1)) may be calculated by multiplying the Meas_average_TRP(t0)) with the 1 minus the sum of all filter weights. This value may be added to weighted average of each TRP measurement at time t1(meas_TRP1. TRP2,... TRP3). The weighted average of each TRP may be calculated through multiplying the meas TRP 1 with the weight of that TRP, a1for TRP1, a2for TRP2 and a3for TRP3.

[0075] In some examples, the reporting configuration may include one or more enhancements to report measurements from the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B separately. In some of these examples, when the reporting configuration (reporlConfig) associated with a measurement identity (measld) that triggered a measurement reporting includes a flag (mTRP) or other indication that the reporting configuration is for mTRP, for each TRP with a measurement object (MeasObjectNR), the report may include TRP measurement information according to the reporting configuration.

[0076] More particularly, for example, the UE 110 may be configured to report beamlevel measurement results for CSI-RS measurements (resultsCSI-RS-Indexes) and / or SSB measurements (resultsSSB-Indexes). These beam-level measurement results may include the index associated to the best beam for CSI-RS and SSB sorting quantity for each TRP that UE receives at the same time from the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may be configured to report cell-level measurement results for CSI-RS measurements (resultsCSI-RS-report) and / or SSB measurements (resultsSSB-report). And these cell-level measurement results may include the average results of each CSI-RS and SSB sorting quantity for each TRP that UE receives at the same time from the multiple TRPs.

[0077] FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C illustrate a signaling chart 700 of a procedure for mTRP measurement reporting and handover, according to some example implementations. The procedure involves a UE 110 and a serving cell 722, which may be provided by a serving gNB 206. The procedure also involves multiple TRPs for one or more neighbor cells of the serving cell. These neighbor cell(s) may be candidate cell(s) for handover of the UE, and one of the candidate cell(s) may be a target cell 724 for the handover. Similar to the serving cell, the target cell may be provided by a target gNB. The multiple TRPs include TRP1 402A and TRP2 402B for the target cell, although the target cell may include more than two TRPs. In some examples, TRP1 is a default serving TRP for the target cell, carrying out operations of the target gNB.

[0078] According to some example implementations, the gNBs 206 that provide the respective cells may inform each other about SSB measurement configurations for their TRPs. As shown, for example, the target cell 724 (via TRP1 402A) at step 701 sends a RAN configuration setup / update message to the serving cell 722 that includes information, such as a CSI-resource configuration, a mTRP resource configuration, or the like, which explicitly maps to the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the target cell. The serving cell at step 702 returns a RAN configuration setup / update acknowledge (ACK) to the target cell. This information may be used for the UEs that are connected to the gNBs providing the cells, including the UE which at step 703 is in an RRC connected state with the serving cell.

[0079] The serving cell 722 (or more particularly the serving gNB) at steps 704, 705 generates a measurement configuration for mTRP operation with the candidate cell(s), and sends the measurement configuration to the UE 110. The measurement configuration may include, for example, a measurement object for mTRP and a reporting configuration for mTRP. As explained above, the measurement object for mTRP may indicate reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the candidate cell(s) (including target cell 724). In some examples, the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes respective measurement objects for the multiple TRPs, and each of the respective measurement objects indicates a reference signal resource of a TRP of the multiple TRPs. In some other examples, the measurement object may be defined tosupport mTRP by a single measurement object that indicates the reference signal resources on a per TRP basis.

[0080] As also explained above, the reporting configuration may include, for example, a flag (mTRP or other indication that the reporting configuration is for mTRP The UE 110 may use this flag or other indication to report measurement results from the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the candidate cell(s), or refrain from reporting when there is not measurement result from any of the multiple TRPs. In some examples, a reporting configuration for event-triggered reporting may be enhanced for mTRP operation, such as by the enhancement of event(s) to other event(s) for mTRP, such as described above in which event A4 may be enhanced to event A7.

[0081] In another example, event(s) may be separately evaluated for each TRP of the multiple TRPs. In either case, an entering condition for an event may be satisfied when the condition is fulfilled for all of the multiple TRPs, and the leaving condition may be satisfied when the condition is fulfilled for any of the multiple TRPs. In another example, as a fallback, the UE may be configured to report a single TRP without postponing the report for mTRP, such as based on the condition that the serving cell has degraded and handover may be imminent.

[0082] In some examples, the measurement objects and / or reporting configuration may include different information for each of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B. In the measurement objects, for example, this information may include different configurations for reference signal measurements, L3 filtering details, cell specific offsets, measurement object specific offsets, and the like. In the reporting configuration, for example, the UE may be configured with a different TTT interval for each of the multiple TRPs.

[0083] As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the UE 110 at steps 706, 707, 708 receives the measurement configuration for mTRP operation, and starts measuring beams of each of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of each of the candidate cell(s). For each candidate cell, the UE may average the beams of each TRP separately. The UE at step 709 evaluates the results of measurements on reference signals of the multiple TRPs received by the UE at the same time, such as in a manner similar to average cell measurements. In various examples, these reference signals may be received at the same time with reference to a time instance, a radio frame or a measurement occasion.

[0084] More particularly, in some examples, the UE 110 receiving reference signals of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B at the same time may refer to the UE receiving separate signals from the multiple TRPs over multiple panels in the same time instance, similar to directive antenna based reception if UE has the necessary number of receive chains to process these signals in parallel. In other examples, the UE receiving from each TRP at the same time may refer to the UE receiving separate signals from the multiple TRPs with the same panel and use digital separation of the signals, similar to code division multiplexing. In yet other examples, the UE receiving from each TRP at the same time may refer to the UE receiving separate signals from the multiple TRPs in a time division multiplex (TDM) manner, i.e., separated in time but close to each other, such as in the same radio frame, so the UE can store and process the signals in a combined manner for reliability if needed or for increased throughput. And in yet other examples, the UE receiving from each TRP at the same time may refer to the UE receiving separate signals from the multiple TRPs in the same measurement occasion.

[0085] For event-triggered reporting, once the UE 110 detects that the entering condition for an event is fulfilled for the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of at least one candidate cell (e.g., target cell 724), the UE at step 710 sends a TRP measurement report, which may indicate TRP averages (L3 filtering) to the network. In examples in which periodic reporting is configured, the UE may send a TRP measurement report without evaluation of a reporting event, but refrain from reporting when the UE lacks measurement results for at least one of the multiple TRPs.

[0086] The serving cell 722 performs an evaluation of the TRP measurement report including the measurement results, and decides to initiate handover of the UE 110 to the target cell 724. The serving cell at step 711 sends a handover request for mTRP handover of the UE to the target cell. The handover request may include an indication that the handover is for mTRP; and in some examples, the handover request may include the measurement results for the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the target cell.

[0087] The target cell 724 at step 712 performs admission control for the UE determines whether mTRP handover can be supported based on the measurement results of the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B, and a load on the multiple TRPs. In some examples in which mTRP handover is supported, the target cell may configure an mTRP RACHprocedure, mTRP RAR procedure and mTRP RRC reconfiguration complete procedure, such as in a manner similar to mTRP connection setup as described above with respect to FIGS. 5A and 5B. And in some examples in which mTRP handover is not supported, the target cell may indicate to the UE to execute sTRP handover to one of the target cell’s TRPs (e.g., TRP1 402A), and initiate mTRP after RRC reconfiguration complete.

[0088] The target cell at step 713 returns a handover request ACK to the serving cell 722. In some examples in which mTRP handover is supported, the handover request ACK may include configuration information for the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B of the target cell, which may configure the UE 110 for the mTRP RACH procedure, mTRP RAR procedure and mTRP RRC reconfiguration complete procedure. In some examples in which mTRP handover is not supported, the handover request ACK may include configuration information for one of the multiple TRPs (e.g., TRP1) of the target cell, which may configure the UE for sTRP handover. The serving cell 722 then at step 714 sends a handover command to the UE that includes the configuration information for the multiple TRPs (for mTRP handover) or for one of the multiple TRPs (for sTRP handover).

[0089] In some examples in which the handover command to the UE 110 includes the configuration information for the multiple TRPs 402A, 402B (for mTRP handover), the UE and multiple TRPs at steps 715, 716, 717, 718, 719 and 720 may carry out the mTRP handover based on the as-configured mTRP RACH procedure, mTRP RAR procedure and mTRP RRC reconfiguration complete procedure. In this regard, the mTRP handover may be carried out in a manner similar to the mTRP connection setup as described above.

[0090] FIGS. 8 A - 8C are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method 800 according to various example implementations. The method includes receiving, from a serving cell, a measurement and reporting configuration that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells, as shown at block 802 of FIG. 8A. The method includes performing measurements on the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells according to the measurement and reporting configuration, as shown at block 804. And the method includes reporting the measurements performed on themultiple TRPs to the serving cell according to the measurement and reporting configuration, as shown at block 806.

[0091] In some examples, the method 800 further includes receiving a command from the serving cell for mTRP handover to a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on an evaluation of the measurements at the serving cell, the command including a configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell, as shown at block 808 of FIG. 8B. In some of these examples, the method also includes carrying out the mTRP handover to the multiple TRPs of the target cell using the configuration information for the multiple TRPs, as shown at block 810.

[0092] In some examples, the configuration information for the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration. In some of these examples, carrying out the mTRP handover block 810 includes carrying at block 8xx out a RACH procedure with the multiple TRPs of the target cell according to the mTRP RACH configuration.

[0093] In some examples, the measurement and reporting configuration includes a measurement object for mTRP that indicates reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells.

[0094] In some examples, the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs indicates a reference signal resource of one of the multiple TRPs.

[0095] In some examples, the measurement object includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs is identified by an identifier of one of the multiple TRPs and indicates a reference signal resource of the one of the multiple TRPs.

[0096] In some examples, the measurement and reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration for mTRP with one or more events that trigger measurement reporting. In some of these examples, the method 800 further includes performing an evaluation of the one or more events based on the measurements, as shown at block 812 of FIG. 8C. The method also includes making a determination that an event of the one or more events is fulfilled based on the evaluation, as shown at block 814. And in some ofthese examples, the measurements are reported to the serving cell at block 806 in a measurement report sent to the serving cell triggered by the determination.

[0097] In some examples, the event includes at least one entering condition, and making the determination the event is fulfilled at block 814 includes determining the at least one entering condition for the event is satisfied for the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

[0098] In some examples, the at least one entering condition includes an entering condition, and making the determination the event is fulfilled at block 814 includes determining the entering condition is satisfied for each of the multiple TRPs.

[0099] In some examples, the at least one entering condition includes an entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs. And the method includes determining the at least one entering condition is satisfied includes determining the entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs is satisfied.

[0100] In some examples, the entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs includes an offset and a hysteresis parameter that is specific to one of the multiple TRPs.

[0101] In some examples, the event includes at least one leaving condition, and making the determination the event is fulfilled at block 814 includes determining the at least one leaving condition for the event is satisfied for at least one of the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

[0102] In some examples, the measurements are performed at block 804 on reference signals of the multiple TRPs, and the evaluation of the one or more events is performed at block 812 on the measurements performed on the reference signals received at the same time with reference to a time instance, a radio frame, or a measurement occasion.

[0103] In some examples, the method 800 further includes filtering the measurements performed on the multipole TRPs, and the measurements are filtered according to TRP-specific filter coefficients or weights.

[0104] FIGS. 9A - 9C are flowcharts illustrating various steps in a method 900 according to various example implementations. The method includes sending a measurement and reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE) that includes multitransmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells, as shown atblock 902 of FIG. 9A. The method includes receiving a measurement report of measurements performed on the multiple TRPs from the UE according to the measurement and reporting configuration, as shown at block 904. The method includes performing an evaluation of the measurements, as shown at block 906. And the method includes making a determination whether to handover the UE a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on the evaluation, as shown at block 908.

[0105] In some examples, the determination is made at block 908 to handover the UE to a target cell among the one or more candidate cells. In some of these examples, the method 900 further includes sending a command to the UE for mTRP handover to the target cell triggered by the decision, the command including configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell.

[0106] In some examples, the measurement and reporting configuration includes a measurement object for mTRP that indicates reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells.

[0107] In some examples, the method 900 further includes receiving, from the one or more candidate cells, a configuration of the reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells, as shown at block 910 of FIG. 9B. In some of these examples, the method also includes generating the measurement and reporting configuration based on the configuration of the reference signal resources, as shown at block 912.

[0108] In some examples, the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs indicates a reference signal resource of one of the multiple TRPs.

[0109] In some examples, the measurement object includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs is identified by an identifier of one of the multiple TRPs and indicates a reference signal resource of the one of the multiple TRPs.

[0110] In some examples, the measurement and reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration for mTRP with one or more events that trigger measurementreporting by the UE, and the measurement report is triggered by a determination at the UE that an event of the one or more events is fulfilled.

[0111] In some examples, the event includes at least one entering condition, and the event is fulfilled when the at least one entering condition for the event is satisfied for the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

[0112] In some examples, the method 900 further includes sending a handover request for the mTRP handover to the target cell, the handover request including the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs of the target cell, as shown at block 914 of FIG. 9C. In some of these examples, the method also includes receiving a handover request acknowledge from the target cell that indicates the mTRP handover is supported, and that includes the configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell, as shown at block 916.

[0113] In some examples, the configuration information for the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration.

[0114] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating various steps in a method 1000 according to various example implementations. The method includes receiving a handover request from a serving cell for multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) handover of a user equipment (UE) to a target cell, the handover request including measurements performed by the UE on multiple TRPs of the target cell, as shown at block 1002. The method includes performing admission control for the UE in which a determination is made whether the mTRP handover is supported based on the measurements and a load on the multiple TRPs, as shown at block 1004. The method includes sending a handover request acknowledge to the serving cell based on the determination, and that includes configuration information for at least one of the multiple TRPs, as shown at block 1006.And the method includes carrying out a handover of the UE to the at least one of the multiple TRPs using the configuration information, as shown at block 1008.

[0115] In some examples, the method 1000 further includes sending a configuration of the reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs to the serving cell for configuration of the UE to perform the measurements on the reference signal resources.

[0116] In some examples, the configuration information for the at least one of the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration.

[0117] In some examples, the determination is that mTRP handover is not supported, and the handover request acknowledge includes configuration information for one of the multiple TRPs. In some of these examples, the handover of the UE is carried out to the one of the multiple TRPs at block 1008.

[0118] In some examples, the determination is that mTRP handover is supported, and the handover request acknowledge includes configuration information for the multiple TRPs. In some of these examples, the handover of the UE is carried out to the multiple TRPs at block 1008.

[0119] According to example implementations of the present disclosure, a telecommunications system 100 or PLMN 102, and its components such as a UE 110, gNB 206, RU 208, DU 210, CU 212, TRP1 402A and / or TRP2 402B, may be implemented by various means. Means for implementing the system and its components may include hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. In some examples, one or more apparatuses may be configured to function as or otherwise implement the system and its components shown and described herein. In examples involving more than one apparatus, the respective apparatuses may be connected to or otherwise in communication with one another in a number of different manners, such as directly or indirectly via a wired or wireless network or the like.

[0120] According to some example implementations, at least some of the method 800 described with respect to FIGS. 8 A - 8C may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. Similarly, at least some of the method 900 described with respect to FIGS. 9A - 9C may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. And at least some of the method 1000 described with respect to FIG. 10 may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. Examples of a suitable apparatus may include a user equipment, user device, user terminal or the like. Other examples of a suitable apparatus may include a gNB (e.g., gNB-DU, gNB-CU), ng-eNB or any suitable apparatus, such as a server, host or node.

[0121] FIG. 11 illustrates an apparatus 1100 in which means for performing various functions includes hardware, alone or under direction of one or more computer programsfrom a computer-readable storage medium or other memory, such as computer memory, according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. Generally, an apparatus of example implementations of the present disclosure may comprise, include or be embodied in one or more fixed or portable electronic devices. Examples of suitable electronic devices include a wearable computer, mobile phone, portable computer, desktop computer, workstation computer, server (server computer) or the like. The apparatus may include one or more of each of a number of components such as, for example, processing circuitry 1102 connected to computer-readable storage medium or other memory 1104.

[0122] The processing circuitry 1102 may be composed of one or more processors alone or in combination with one or more computer-readable storage media. The processing circuitry is generally any piece of computer hardware that is capable of processing information such as, for example, data, computer programs and / or other suitable electronic information. The processing circuitry is composed of a collection of electronic circuits some of which may be packaged as an integrated circuit or multiple interconnected integrated circuits (an integrated circuit at times more commonly referred to as a “chip”). The processing circuitry may be configured to execute computer programs, which may be stored onboard the processing circuitry or otherwise stored in the memory 1104 (of the same or another apparatus).

[0123] The processing circuitry 1102 may be a number of processors, a multi-core processor or some other type of processor, depending on the particular implementation. Further, the processing circuitry may be implemented using a number of heterogeneous processor systems in which a main processor is present with one or more secondary processors on a single chip. As another illustrative example, the processing circuitry may be a symmetric multi-processor system containing multiple processors of the same type. In yet another example, the processing circuitry may be embodied as or otherwise include one or more ASICs, FPGAs or the like. Thus, although the processing circuitry may be capable of executing a computer program to perform one or more functions, the processing circuitry of various examples may be capable of performing one or more functions without the aid of a computer program. In either instance, the processingcircuitry may be appropriately programmed to perform functions or operations according to example implementations of the present disclosure.

[0124] The memory 1104 is generally any piece of computer hardware that is capable of storing information such as, for example, data, computer programs, instructions 1106 (e.g., computer-readable program code) and / or other suitable information either on a temporary basis and / or a permanent basis. The memory may include volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, and may be fixed or removable. Examples of suitable memory include recording media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard drive, a flash memory, a thumb drive, a removable computer diskette, an optical disk or some combination thereof.

[0125] The memory 1104 is a non-transitory device capable of storing information. One example of a suitable memory is a computer-readable storage medium, which is distinguishable from a computer-readable transmission medium capable of carrying information from one location to another. Examples of suitable computer-readable transmission media comprise electronic carrier signals, telecommunications signals, or some combination thereof. As used herein, the term “non-transitory” is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM versus ROM). A computer-readable medium as described herein generally refers to a computer-readable storage medium or computer-readable transmission medium. A computer-readable medium is any entity or device capable in which information, such as one or more computer programs or portions thereof, may be stored and carried.

[0126] In addition to the memory 1104 (e.g., computer-readable storage medium), the processing circuitry 1102 may also be connected to one or more interfaces for displaying, transmitting and / or receiving information. The interfaces may include a communications interface 1108 and / or one or more user interfaces. The communications interface may be configured to transmit and / or receive information, such as to and / or from other apparatus(es), network(s) or the like. The communications interface may be configured to transmit and / or receive information by physical (wired) and / or wireless communications links. Examples of suitable communication interfaces include a network interface controller (NIC), wireless NIC (WNIC) or the like.

[0127] The user interfaces may include a display 1110 and / or one or more user input interfaces 1112. The display may be configured to present or otherwise display information to a user, suitable examples of which include a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, organic LED (OLED) display, active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) or the like. The user input interfaces may be wired or wireless, and may be configured to receive information from a user into the apparatus, such as for processing, storage and / or display. Suitable examples of user input interfaces include a microphone, image or video capture device, keyboard or keypad, joystick, touch-sensitive surface (separate from or integrated into a touchscreen), biometric sensor or the like. The user interfaces may further include one or more interfaces for communicating with peripherals such as printers, scanners or the like.

[0128] Execution of the instructions 1106 by the processing circuitry 1102, or storage of the instructions in the memory 1104, supports combinations of operations for implementing example implementations of the present disclosure. In this manner, an apparatus 1100 may comprise at least one processing circuitry and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processing circuitry, where the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute instructions stored in the at least one memory. It will also be understood that one or more functions, and combinations of functions, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems and / or processing circuitry which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and program code instructions.

[0129] Some example implementations of the present disclosure may also be carried out in the form of a computer process defined by one or more computer programs or portions thereof. Example implementations of the present disclosure may be carried out by executing at least one portion of a computer program comprising instructions. The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable medium that is readable by a computer, processing circuitry or other suitable apparatus. As indicated above, for example, the computer program may be stored in a memory, such as a computer-readable storage medium. Additionally or alternatively, for example, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable transmission medium. Thecoding of software for carrying out example implementations of the present disclosure is well within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0130] As will be appreciated, any suitable instructions may be loaded onto a computer, a processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus from a memory or a computer-readable medium (e.g., computer-readable storage medium, computer-readable transmission medium) to produce a particular machine, such that the particular machine becomes a means for implementing the functions specified herein. The instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, a processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner to thereby generate a particular machine or particular article of manufacture. In some examples, the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium may produce an article of manufacture, where the article of manufacture becomes a means for implementing functions described herein. The instructions may be retrieved from a computer-readable medium and loaded into a computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to configure the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to execute operations to be performed on or by the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus.

[0131] Retrieval, loading and execution of instructions comprising program code instructions may be performed sequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loaded and executed at a time. In some example implementations, retrieval, loading and / or execution may be performed in parallel such that multiple instructions are retrieved, loaded, and / or executed together. Execution of the program code instructions may produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions executed by the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing functions described herein.

[0132] As explained above and reiterated below, the present disclosure includes, without limitation, the following example implementations.

[0133] Clause 1. A method comprising: receiving, from a serving cell, a measurement and reporting configuration that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; performing measurements on the multiple TRPs of the oneor more candidate cells according to the measurement and reporting configuration; and reporting the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs to the serving cell according to the measurement and reporting configuration.

[0134] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a command from the serving cell for mTRP handover to a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on an evaluation of the measurements at the serving cell, the command including a configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell; and carrying out the mTRP handover to the multiple TRPs of the target cell using the configuration information for the multiple TRPs.

[0135] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the configuration information for the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration, and carrying out the mTRP handover includes carrying out a RACH procedure with the multiple TRPs of the target cell according to the mTRP RACH configuration.

[0136] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a measurement object for mTRP that indicates reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells.

[0137] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs indicates a reference signal resource of one of the multiple TRPs.

[0138] Clause 6. The method of clause 4 or clause 5, wherein the measurement object includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs is identified by an identifier of one of the multiple TRPs and indicates a reference signal resource of the one of the multiple TRPs.

[0139] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration for mTRP with one or more events that trigger measurement reporting, and the method further comprises: performing an evaluation of the one or more events based on the measurements; and making a determination that an event of the one or more events is fulfilled based on the evaluation,wherein the measurements are reported to the serving cell in a measurement report sent to the serving cell triggered by the determination.

[0140] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the event includes at least one entering condition, and making the determination the event is fulfilled includes determining the at least one entering condition for the event is satisfied for the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

[0141] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the at least one entering condition includes an entering condition, and making the determination the event is fulfilled includes determining the entering condition is satisfied for each of the multiple TRPs.

[0142] Clause 10. The method of clause 8 or clause 9, wherein the at least one entering condition includes an entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs, and determining the at least one entering condition is satisfied includes determining the entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs is satisfied.

[0143] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein the entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs includes an offset and a hysteresis parameter that is specific to one of the multiple TRPs.

[0144] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 7 to 11, wherein the event includes at least one leaving condition, and making the determination the event is fulfilled includes determining the at least one leaving condition for the event is satisfied for at least one of the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

[0145] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 7 to 12, wherein the measurements are performed on reference signals of the multiple TRPs, and the evaluation of the one or more events is performed on the measurements performed on the reference signals received at the same time with reference to a time instance, a radio frame, or a measurement occasion.

[0146] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the method further comprises filtering the measurements performed on the multipole TRPs, and the measurements are filtered according to TRP-specific filter coefficients or weights.

[0147] Clause 15. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least onememory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 14.

[0148] Clause 16. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 14.

[0149] Clause 17. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 14.

[0150] Clause 18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 14.

[0151] Clause 19. A computer program comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 14.

[0152] Clause 20. A method comprising: sending a measurement and reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE) that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; receiving a measurement report of measurements performed on the multiple TRPs from the UE according to the measurement and reporting configuration; performing an evaluation of the measurements; and making a determination whether to handover the UE a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on the evaluation.

[0153] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein the determination is made to handover the UE to a target cell among the one or more candidate cells, and the method further comprises sending a command to the UE for mTRP handover to the target cell triggered by the decision, the command including configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell.

[0154] Clause 22. The method of clause 20 or clause 21, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a measurement object for mTRP that indicates reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells.

[0155] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the one or more candidate cells, a configuration of the reference signalresources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells; and generating the measurement and reporting configuration based on the configuration of the reference signal resources.

[0156] Clause 24. The method of clause 22 or clause 23, wherein the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs indicates a reference signal resource of one of the multiple TRPs.

[0157] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 22 to 24, wherein the measurement object includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs is identified by an identifier of one of the multiple TRPs and indicates a reference signal resource of the one of the multiple TRPs.

[0158] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 20 to 25, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration for mTRP with one or more events that trigger measurement reporting by the UE, and the measurement report is triggered by a determination at the UE that an event of the one or more events is fulfilled.

[0159] Clause 27. The method of clause 26, wherein the event includes at least one entering condition, and the event is fulfilled when the at least one entering condition for the event is satisfied for the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

[0160] Clause 28. The method of any of clauses 20 to 27, wherein the method further comprises: sending a handover request for the mTRP handover to the target cell, the handover request including the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs of the target cell; and receiving a handover request acknowledge from the target cell that indicates the mTRP handover is supported, and that includes the configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell.

[0161] Clause 29. The method of clause 28, wherein the configuration information for the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration.

[0162] Clause 30. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least onememory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 20 to 29.

[0163] Clause 31. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 20 to 29.

[0164] Clause 32. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 20 to 29.

[0165] Clause 33. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 20 to 29.

[0166] Clause 34. A computer program comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 20 to 29.

[0167] Clause 35. A method comprising: receiving a handover request from a serving cell for multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) handover of a user equipment (UE) to a target cell, the handover request including measurements performed by the UE on multiple TRPs of the target cell; performing admission control for the UE in which a determination is made whether the mTRP handover is supported based on the measurements and a load on the multiple TRPs; sending a handover request acknowledge to the serving cell based on the determination, and that includes configuration information for at least one of the multiple TRPs; and carrying out a handover of the UE to the at least one of the multiple TRPs using the configuration information.

[0168] Clause 36. The method of clause 35, wherein the method further comprises sending a configuration of the reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs to the serving cell for configuration of the UE to perform the measurements on the reference signal resources.

[0169] Clause 37. The method of clause 36, wherein the configuration information for the at least one of the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration.

[0170] Clause 38. The method of any of clauses 35 to 37, wherein the determination is that mTRP handover is not supported, and the handover request acknowledge includesconfiguration information for one of the multiple TRPs, and wherein the handover of the UE is carried out to the one of the multiple TRPs.

[0171] Clause 39. The method of any of clauses 35 to 38, wherein the determination is that mTRP handover is supported, and the handover request acknowledge includes configuration information for the multiple TRPs, and wherein the handover of the UE is carried out to the multiple TRPs.

[0172] Clause 40. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 35 to 39.

[0173] Clause 41. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 35 to 39.

[0174] Clause 42. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 35 to 39.

[0175] Clause 43. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 35 to 39.

[0176] Clause 44. A computer program comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 35 to 39.

[0177] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated figures. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and the associated figures describe example implementations in the context of certain example combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided by alternative implementations without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Inthis regard, for example, different combinations of elements and / or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus comprising:at least one memory configured to store instructions; andat least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least:receive, from a serving cell, a measurement and reporting configuration that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; perform measurements on the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells according to the measurement and reporting configuration; andreport the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs to the serving cell according to the measurement and reporting configuration.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further at least:receive a command from the serving cell for mTRP handover to a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on an evaluation of the measurements at the serving cell, the command including a configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell; andcarry out the mTRP handover to the multiple TRPs of the target cell using the configuration information for the multiple TRPs.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the configuration information for the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration, and the apparatus caused to carry out the mTRP handover includes the apparatus caused to carry out a RACH procedure with the multiple TRPs of the target cell according to the mTRP RACH configuration.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a measurement object for mTRP that indicates reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs indicates a reference signal resource of one of the multiple TRPs.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the measurement object includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs is identified by an identifier of one of the multiple TRPs and indicates a reference signal resource of the one of the multiple TRPs.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration for mTRP with one or more events that trigger measurement reporting, and the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further at least:perform an evaluation of the one or more events based on the measurements; and make a determination that an event of the one or more events is fulfilled based on the evaluation,wherein the measurements are reported to the serving cell in a measurement report sent to the serving cell triggered by the determination.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the event includes at least one entering condition, and the apparatus caused to make the determination the event is fulfilled includes the apparatus caused to determine the at least one entering condition for the event is satisfied for the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one entering condition includes an entering condition, and the apparatus caused to make the determination the event is fulfilled includes the apparatus caused to determine the entering condition is satisfied for each of the multiple TRPs.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one entering condition includes an entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs, and the apparatus caused to determine the at least one entering condition is satisfied includes the apparatus caused to determine the entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs is satisfied.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the entering condition for each of the multiple TRPs includes an offset and a hysteresis parameter that is specific to one of the multiple TRPs.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the event includes at least one leaving condition, and the apparatus caused to make the determination the event is fulfilled includes the apparatus caused to determine the at least one leaving condition for the event is satisfied for at least one of the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the measurements are performed on reference signals of the multiple TRPs, and the evaluation of the one or more events is performed on the measurements performed on the reference signals received at the same time with reference to a time instance, a radio frame, or a measurement occasion.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further filter the measurements performed on the multipole TRPs, and the measurements are filtered according to TRP-specific filter coefficients or weights.

15. An apparatus comprising:at least one memory configured to store instructions; andat least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least:send a measurement and reporting configuration to a user equipment (UE) that includes multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) configuration information for reporting measurements performed on multiple TRPs of one or more candidate cells; receive a measurement report of measurements performed on the multiple TRPs from the UE according to the measurement and reporting configuration;perform an evaluation of the measurements; andmake a determination whether to handover the UE a target cell among the one or more candidate cells based on the evaluation.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the determination is made to handover the UE to a target cell among the one or more candidate cells, and the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further send a command to the UE for mTRP handover to the target cell triggered by the decision, the command including configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a measurement object for mTRP that indicates reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further at least:receive, from the one or more candidate cells, a configuration of the reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs of the one or more candidate cells; and generate the measurement and reporting configuration based on the configuration of the reference signal resources.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the measurement object is a mTRP measurement object that includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs indicates a reference signal resource of one of the multiple TRPs.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the measurement object includes at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs, and the at least one measurement object for each of the multiple TRPs is identified by an identifier of one of the multiple TRPs and indicates a reference signal resource of the one of the multiple TRPs.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the measurement and reporting configuration includes a reporting configuration for mTRP with one or more events that trigger measurement reporting by the UE, and the measurement report is triggered by a determination at the UE that an event of the one or more events is fulfilled.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the event includes at least one entering condition, and the event is fulfilled when the at least one entering condition for the event is satisfied for the multiple TRPs of at least one of the one or more candidate cells.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further at least:send a handover request for the mTRP handover to the target cell, the handover request including the measurements performed on the multiple TRPs of the target cell; andreceive a handover request acknowledge from the target cell that indicates the mTRP handover is supported, and that includes the configuration information for the multiple TRPs of the target cell.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the configuration information for the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration.

25. An apparatus comprising:at least one memory configured to store instructions; andat least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least:receive a handover request from a serving cell for multi-transmission reception point (mTRP) handover of a user equipment (UE) to a target cell, the handover request including measurements performed by the UE on multiple TRPs of the target cell;perform admission control for the UE in which a determination is made whether the mTRP handover is supported based on the measurements and a load on the multiple TRPs;send a handover request acknowledge to the serving cell based on the determination, and that includes configuration information for at least one of the multiple TRPs; andcarry out a handover of the UE to the at least one of the multiple TRPs using the configuration information.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to further send a configuration of the reference signal resources of the multiple TRPs to the serving cell for configuration of the UE to perform the measurements on the reference signal resources.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the configuration information for the at least one of the multiple TRPs includes a mTRP random access channel (RACH) configuration.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the determination is that mTRP handover is not supported, and the handover request acknowledge includes configuration information for one of the multiple TRPs, andwherein the handover of the UE is carried out to the one of the multiple TRPs.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the determination is that mTRP handover is supported, and the handover request acknowledge includes configuration information for the multiple TRPs, andwherein the handover of the UE is carried out to the multiple TRPs.

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