UE-based capability coordination in dual connectivity

Abstract

Devices, methods, apparatuses and computer readable media for a UE-based capability coordination in dual connectivity (DC) are provided In a method, a user device receives a set of first candidate resource configurations. Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device. The user device receives a set of second candidate resource configurations. Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device. The user device selects a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a DC communication of the user device with the first and second network devices.

Description

UE-BASED CAPABILITY COORDINATION IN DUALCONNECTIVITYFIELD

[0001] Various example embodiments generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for a user equipment -based (UE -based) capability coordination in dual connectivity (DC).BACKGROUND

[0002] In a DC operation, a user device such as a UE, which is capable of multiple reception / transmission (Rx / Tx), may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different network devices such as radio access network (RAN) nodes connected via a backhaul link. The user device may be served by a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG). The MCG is a cell group associated with a master node (MN), which may include a primary cell (PCell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCells). The SCG is a cell group associated with a secondary node (SN), which may include a primary secondary cell (PSCell) and optionally one or more SCells. Corresponding to resources provided by the MN / SN and utilized by the user device, the MN and the SN each generate their own parts of a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message for configuring the DC to the user device.SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a user device. The user device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user device at least to: receive a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; receive a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; and select a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidateresource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device with the first and second network devices using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first network device. The first network device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first network device at least to: transmit, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receive, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second network device. The second network device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second network device at least to: transmit, to a first network device or a user device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receive, from the first network device or the user device, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a user device. The method comprises: receiving a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a firstcommunication between the user device and a first network device; receiving a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; and selecting a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device with the first and second network devices using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a first network device. The method comprises: transmitting, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receiving, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a second network device. The method comprises: transmitting, to a first network device or a user device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receiving, from the first network device or the user device, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for receiving a set of first candidate resource configurations,each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; means for receiving a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; and means for selecting a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device with the first and second network devices using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and means for receiving, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0011] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first network device or a user device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and means for receiving, from the first network device or the user device, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0012] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readablemedium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth, fifth or sixth aspect.

[0013] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a user device. The user device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user device at least to: receive a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; receive a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; select a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations; transmit at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device or the second network device; and apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0014] In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first network device. The first network device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first network device at least to: transmit, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; receive, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations; and apply the at least one first candidate resource configuration.

[0015] In a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a user device. The method comprises: receiving a set of first candidate resourceconfigurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; receiving a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; selecting a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations; transmitting at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device or the second network device; and applying the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0016] In a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a first network device. The method comprises: transmitting, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; receiving, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations; and applying the at least one first candidate resource configuration.

[0017] In a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for receiving a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; means for receiving a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; means for selecting a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations; means fortransmitting at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device or the second network device; and means for applying the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0018] In a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; means for receiving, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations; and means for applying the at least one first candidate resource configuration.

[0019] In a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the thirteenth or fourteenth aspect.

[0020] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope. Other features will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments can be implemented.

[0023] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example communication environments where a user device is in a single connectivity (SC) mode and a DC mode according to some example embodiments.

[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram showing an example process for coordinating capabilities of a user device according to some example embodiments.

[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram showing another example process for coordinating capabilities of a user device in DC according to some other example embodiments.

[0026] FIGS. 5 A and 5B illustrate an example process of the UE -based capability coordination in DC according to some example embodiments.

[0027] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a user device in accordance with some example embodiments.

[0028] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a first network device in accordance with some example embodiments.

[0029] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a second network device in accordance with some example embodiments.

[0030] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of another example method implemented at a user device in accordance with some other example embodiments.

[0031] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of another example method implemented at a first network device in accordance with some other example embodiments.

[0032] FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments.

[0033] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the computer readable medium which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Principle will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0035] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technicaland scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0036] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0037] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” ..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0038] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0039] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0040] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0041] 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) and(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) and(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.

[0042] This 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.

[0043] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a user device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), thesecond generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), 5G- Advanced, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope to only the aforementioned system.

[0044] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a user device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may comprise a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, the network device may utilize a radio access network (RAN) split architecture where the network device includes a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU).

[0045] The term “user device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smartphone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The user device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “user device”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0046] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, there may be a user device 110 such as a UE and a plurality of network devices including a first network device 120 and a second network device 130. The first network device 120 may operate as a network device (such as a gNB) serving the user device 110. In addition, the second network device 130 may operate as a network device (such as a gNB) communicating with the first network device 120 such as via a Xn-C interface between two gNBs. In some example embodiments, the second network device 130 may also serve the user device 110 when the user device 110 is in a DC operation or mode.

[0047] In some example embodiments, a transmission direction from the first network device 120 or the second network device 130 to the user device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL). A transmission direction from the user device 110 to the first network device 120 or the second network device 130 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the first network device 120 or the second network device 130 is a Tx device (or a transmitter) and the user device 110 is a Rx device (or a receiver). In UL, the user device 110 is a Tx device (or a transmitter) and the first network device 120 or the second network device 130 is a Rx device (or a receiver).

[0048] In the communication environment 100, the user device 110 may operate in eithera single connectivity (SC) mode (or operation) or the DC mode. FIG. 2A illustrates an example communication environment 200A where the user device 110 is in the SC mode according to some example embodiments. As is shown in FIG. 2A, in the SC mode, the user device 110 may be served by a cell 210 (also referred to as a serving cell) that is provided by the first network device 120. In some cases, as the user device 110 moves, there may be candidate target cells to which the user device 110 may be handed over. For example, a cell 220 provided by the second network device 130 may be considered as a candidate target cell or a target cell.

[0049] The DC mode may involve an MN which controls an MCG and terminates MN- terminated signaling radio bearers 1 and 2 (SRB1 and SRB2). The resources provided by an SN may comprise a group of serving cells configured to the user device 110 and referred to as an SCG. Alternatively, or in addition, the resources provided by the SN may comprise a termination of packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) for one or more radio bearers, referred to as SN-terminated bearer(s). FIG. 2B illustrates an example communication environment 200B where the user device 110 is in the DC mode according to some example embodiments. As is shown in FIG. 2B, in the DC mode, the user device 110 may be served by an MCG 230 and an SCG 240. The MCG 230 is a cell group including a PCell and optionally one or more SCells, associated with the first network device 120 which operates as an MN. The SCG 240 is a cell group including a PSCell and optionally one or more SCells, associated with the second network device 130 which operates as an SN.

[0050] In some example embodiments, a single network device (such as gNB) may act both as the MN and the SN. For example, the first network device 120 or the second network device 130 may operate as a gNB that utilizes a RAN split architecture where a gNB may comprise a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DUs. In this architecture, different gNB-DUs may provide an MCG and an SCG to the user device 110. For example, the first network device 120 (such as a gNB) may comprise two DUs (such as gNB-DUs) and one of the two DUs may support one or a plurality of cells. The two DUs of the first network device 120 may provide an MCG and an SCG to the user device 110, respectively.

[0051] In the DC mode, the first network device 120 (which may operate as the MN) and the second network device 130 (which may operate as the SN) each may generate their own parts of an RRC reconfiguration message for configuring the DC to the user device110. One target in this configurating process is a coordination such that the combination of the MN-generated and SN-generated RRC configurations may not exceed radio-access capabilities of the user device 110. Such a coordination may be referred to as a UE- capability coordination.

[0052] In some implementations, for the UE-capability coordination between evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) and NR (for example, band combinations, feature sets and the maximum power for a frequency range 1 (FR1) the UE may use in the SCG) or between an NR MN and an NR SN (for example, band combinations, feature sets and the maximum power for the FR1 and FR2), the MN may determine how to resolve dependency between the MN-generated and the SN-generated RRC configurations. Then, the MN may provide the resulting UE capabilities usable for the SN-generated RRC configuration to the SN, including the list of allowed multi-radio dual connectivity (MR- DC) band combinations and feature sets. The SN may indicate a RRC configuration including the selected band combination and feature set to the MN.

[0053] In some implementations, when the SN delivers its part of the RRC configuration to the MN for the UE-capability coordination, the SN may indicate an expected performance (such as an expected throughput) contribution to the UE from the SN- generated RRC configuration. Based on the expected performance contribution, the MN may determine whether there is sufficient performance gain from configuring the DC to the UE.

[0054] In some implementations, the UE-capability coordination in the DC may be left to the UE. As such, based on a RRC configuration generated by one of the MN and the SN, the UE may determine and indicate its remaining capability to the other of the SN and the MN. In a LTE-NR interworking, the sharing of UE capability between LTE and NR is not easily defined. In this case, a capability change initiated by a UE may resolve UE capability conflict between LTE and NR. In some implementations, in a MultiUniversal Subscriber Identity Module (MUSIM) operation, a MUSIM UE in a RRC CONNECTED state in a network (referred to as a network A) may indicate to the network A its preference on temporary UE capability restriction or a removal of the restriction if the MUSIM UE needs transmission or reception in another network (referred to as a network B) (e.g., including starting or stopping a connection to the network B). The network A may be a NR network, and the network B may either be a E-UTRA or NRnetwork. The MUSIM UE may request a temporary capability restriction after the network indicates via RRC signaling that the temporary capability restriction is allowed. If the temporary capability restriction is allowed by the network A in system information block 1 (SIB1), the MUSIM UE may indicate in an RRCSetupComplete or RRCResumeComplete message to the network A that the capabilities of the MUSIM UE are temporarily restricted while the MUSIM UE is already in the RRC CONNECTED state in the network B.

[0055] In a scenario where the MN and the SN are from different vendors, the UE capability coordination may have some challenges. The way in which the UE reports its radio-access capabilities in the RRC message is complex. In addition, a physical-layer performance-enhancement feature supported by the UE may be supported by only one of the MN and the SN. Accordingly, the interdependence of an enhanced UE capability with other UE capabilities may be understood by only one of the MN and the SN. Thus, it may be difficult for the other one of the MN and the SN to adapt its configuration accordingly.

[0056] In accordance with some example embodiments, there is provided a solution of a UE-based capability coordination in dual connectivity. In this solution, the user device 110 receives two separate sets of candidate resource configurations, referred to as a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of second candidate resource configurations, respectively. Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a communication (referred to as a first communication) between the user device 110 and the first network device 120. Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a communication (referred to as a second communication) between the user device 110 and the second network device 130. From the two sets of candidate resource configurations, the user device 110 selects a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration and at least one second candidate resource configuration based on one or more rules.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the rules may include the selected combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration and at least one second candidate resource configuration not exceeding communication capabilities of the user device 110. The communication capabilities of the user device 110 may include any capabilities related to communications such as radio-access capabilities including a number of cells, a communication bandwidth, a maximum transmission power, and / or the like supportedby the user device 110. Alternatively, or in addition, the rules may include available performance of the user device 110 being increased. The performance may include a throughput, a transmission rate, a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), a delay, and / or any other performance metric of the user device 110.

[0058] By way of example, given the radio-access capabilities of the user device 110, both the first network device 120 (such as the MN) and the second network device 130 (such as the SN) independently generate a set of different candidate resource configurations (which may be RRC configurations) to the user device 110, for example, corresponding to their own parts in the RRC configuration configuring the DC to the user device 110. Then, the generated sets of different candidate RRC configurations are delivered to the user device 110. The user device 110 selects, based on the generated sets of different candidate RRC configurations, the combination of candidate configurations that does not exceed the radio-access capabilities of the user device 110. Some example implementations for the UE-based capability coordination in the DC will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5B.

[0059] FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram showing an example process 300 for coordinating the capabilities of the user device 110 in DC according to some example embodiments. The process 300 involves the user device 110, the first network device 120 that may operate as the MN of the user device 110, and the second network device 130 that may operate as the SN of the user device 110.

[0060] As is shown in FIG. 3, the user device 110 receives (310) a set of first candidate resource configurations (such as an MN-generated set of candidate resource configurations). Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a first communication between the user device 110 and the first network device 120.

[0061] The user device 110 receives (340) a set of second candidate resource configurations (such as an SN-generated set of candidate resource configurations). Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a second communication between the user device 110 and the second network device 130. In implementations, the set of first or second candidate resource configurations may include one or more candidate resource configurations depending on a network deployment and / or a requirement of the user device 110.

[0062] In some example embodiments, the resource configuration may include a configuration related to a cell, a cell group, a radio bearer, and / or any other resources. For example, the resource configuration provided by a given network device or node may be divided into a plurality of parts on different protocol layers. One part may be a cell configuration or a cell group configuration at a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) or physical (PHY) layer, also referred to as a lower layer configuration, which may be terminated at a gNB-DU in the RAN split architecture. Another part may be an upper layer configuration such as a PDCP configuration which may be terminated at the gNB-CU. Thus, a lower layer configuration such as the RLC, MAC or PHY configuration may be used to configure cell(s) for the UE. The upper layer configuration like the PDCP configuration may be used to configure radio bearer(s) for the UE.

[0063] By way of example, in the case that the first network device 120 is a DC MN and the second network device 130 is a DC SN, the set of first candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate MCG configurations. Each of the candidate MCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in an MCG that is configured by the first network device 120. The set of second candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate SCG configurations. Each of the candidate SCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in a SCG that is configured by the second network device 130.

[0064] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received from at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130. In an example, as shown in FIG. 3, the first network device 120 transmits (305) the set of first candidate resource configurations to the user device 110. The second network device 130 transmits (325) the set of second candidate resource configurations to the first network device 120. After the first network device 120 receives (330) the set of second candidate resource configurations, the first network device 120 transmits (335) the set of second candidate resource configurations to the user device 110.

[0065] In another example, if the second network device 130 has a direct connection with the user device 110, the second network device 130 may transmit the set of second candidate resource configurations to the user device 110. It is also possible that the second network device 130 receives the set of first candidate resource configurations from thefirst network device 120 and forwards them to the user device 110.

[0066] For example, in the case that the user device 110 is in the SC with the first network device 120 as shown in FIG. 2A, there may be an established connection between the user device 110 and the first network device 120 and no established connection between the user device 110 and the second network device 130. In this case, the user device 110 may receive the set of first candidate resource configurations from the first network device 120 directly, but receive the set of second candidate resource configurations via the first network device 120 from the second network device 130. In an example, the user device 110 may receive the set of second candidate resource configurations from the first network device 120 along with the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0067] In the case that the user device 110 is in the DC mode as shown in FIG. 2B, there may be established connections between the user device 110 and the first network device 120 and between the user device 110 and the second network device 130. In this case, the user device 110 may receive the set of first candidate resource configurations from the first network device 120 directly and receive the set of second candidate resource configurations from the second network device 130 directly.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and / or the set of second candidate resource configurations may be transmitted to the user device 110 via RRC signaling. In these example embodiments, first and / or second candidate resource configurations may be referred to candidate RRC configurations. In some example embodiments, one or more RRC configuration messages may be transmitted by the first network device 120 and / or the second network device 130 to carry the set of first candidate resource configurations and / or the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0069] Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the user device 110 selects (365) a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations. The selection may ensure that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device 110. Thus, a dual connectivity communication of the user device 110 with the first network device 120 and the second network device 130 may be enabled by using the selected at least one firstcandidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the communication capabilities of the user device 110 may comprise radio features that the user device 110 supports. For example, the communication capabilities of the user device 110 may comprise a total frequency bandwidth on which the user device 110 is able to receive signals. In this example, the combination of the at least one first candidate resource configuration and the at least one second candidate resource configuration may be selected to ensure that a configured bandwidth of the user device 110 does not exceed the total frequency bandwidth of the user device 110.

[0071] The communication capabilities of the user device 110 may comprise radio access capabilities of the user device 110, for example, including a number of the cells that the user device 110 is able to access at the same time. For example, the communication capabilities of the user device 110 may allow the user device 110 to support a total of 5 concurrent serving cells. In this example, the combination of the at least one first candidate resource configuration and the at least one second candidate resource configuration may be selected to ensure that the total number of configured serving cells of the user device 110 does not exceed the supported total number, for example, 5.

[0072] In some example embodiments, when the first network device 120 generates the set of first candidate resource configurations and the second network device 130 generates the set of second candidate resource configurations, the communication capabilities of the user device 110 may be considered. For example, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations may be generated to leave more unused communication capabilities of the user device 110.

[0073] By way of example, in the case that the first network device 120 operates as a DC MN and the second network device 130 operates as a DC SN, both the set of first candidate resource configurations (for example, the MN-generated set of the candidate configurations) and the set of second candidate resource configurations (for example, the SN-generated set of the candidate configurations) may span a wide range between occupying 0% and 100% of the capabilities of the user device 110. For example, candidate configuration #1 in the set of first candidate resource configurations may leave the mostpercentage of the capabilities of the user device 110 unused, candidate configuration #2 in the set of first candidate resource configurations may leave the second most percentage of the capabilities of the user device 110 unused, and so on. As an example, if the communication capabilities of the user device 110 indicate that the user device 110 is capable of supporting a total of 5 concurrent serving cells, candidate configuration #1 may configure only 1 serving cell and leave 4 serving cells configurable to the user device 110. Candidate configuration #2 may configure 2 serving cells and leave 3 serving cells configurable to the user device 110. The set of first candidate resource configurations may be transmitted to the user device 110 in a descending order of unused communication capabilities of the user device 110, such as in a sequence of candidate configuration #1, candidate configuration #2, etc.

[0074] Likewise, candidate configuration #1 in the set of second candidate resource configurations may configure 0 serving cell and leave 5 serving cells configurable to the user device 110, candidate configuration #2 in the set of second candidate resource configurations may configure 1 serving cell and leave 4 serving cells configurable to the user device 110, and so on. The set of second candidate resource configurations may also be transmitted to the user device 110 in a descending order of unused communication capabilities of the user device 110.

[0075] In this way, the UE-capability coordination may be implemented by the user device 110. Thus, there is no need for the first network device 120 (e.g. the MN) and the second network device 130 (e.g. the SN) to know and understand the configurations of the user device 110 provided by each other. In the case that the MN and the SN are provided by different vendors, inter-vendor interoperability may be improved between the MN and the SN.

[0076] In addition to the communication capabilities of the user device 110, or as an alternative, the combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration and at least one second candidate resource configuration may be selected by the user device considering a performance estimate. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the user device 110 may receive (320) a set of first performance estimates. Each of the first performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110. The user device 110 may also receive (360) a set of second performance estimates. Each of the second performance estimatesindicates a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110.

[0077] The performance may include any performance metric. For example, the performance may be a throughput such as a total throughput of the user device 110. Accordingly, the performance estimate may be an estimated configuration-specific throughput contribution. In some example embodiments, the performance metric may be more complex than merely the total throughput. In an example, the total throughput may be considered together with a traffic type. For example, for a best-effort traffic, the total throughput may be only considered as the performance metric. For a traffic with a strict delay constraint, in addition to the total throughput, a delay may be considered as a performance metric.

[0078] Thus, the combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations may be selected by the user device 110 further based on the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates. In this way, the user device 110 may select the combination based on the performance estimates to achieve performance optimization (for example, to maximize its total throughput). Thus, a joint UE -based capability coordination and the performance optimization may be achieved.

[0079] Similar to the reception of the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations, the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates may be received from at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130. In an example, as shown in FIG. 3, the first network device 120 transmits (315) the set of first performance estimates to the user device 110. The second network device 130 may transmit (345) the set of second performance estimates to the first network device 120. After the first network device 120 receives (350) the set of second performance estimates, the first network device 120 may transmit (355) the set of second performance estimates to the user device 110. If there is a direct connection between the user device 110 and the second network device 130, the second network device 130 may transmit the set of second performance estimates or even the set of first performance estimates to the user device 110.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the set of first performance estimates may bereceived in association with the set of first candidate resource configurations. The set of second performance estimates may be received in association with the set of second candidate resource configurations. In some example embodiments, a set of first candidate configuration information pairs may be received, where each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimate from the set of first performance estimates. Similarly, a set of second candidate configuration information pairs may be received, where each of the second configuration information pairs includes a second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations and an associated second performance estimate from the set of second performance estimates.

[0081] For example, in the example embodiments where the first network device 120 operates as a DC MN and the second network device 130 operates as a DC SN, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations (e.g. the MN-generated and the SN-generated sets of different candidate RRC configurations) transmitted to the user device 110 may be accompanied with the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates, respectively. Each of the candidate resource configurations may be accompanied with a performance estimate for the user device 110 (e.g. estimated configuration-specific throughput contribution). As an example, the MN may generate a set {{MN-config_l, MCG- Throughput l }, {MN-config_2, MCG-Throughput_2}, ... }, where MN-config_N represents an MN-generated candidate configuration, MCG-Throughput_N represents a corresponding estimated configuration-specific throughput contribution and an index N is any positive integer. The SN may generate a set {{SN-config_l, SCG-Throughput_l }, {SN-config_2, SCG-Throughput2_}, ... } where SN-config_M represents an SN- generated candidate configuration, SCG-Throughput_M represents a corresponding estimated configuration-specific throughput contribution and an index M is any positive integer. Each MCG-Throughput_N is related to the corresponding MN-config_N, and each SCG-Throughput_M is related to the corresponding SN-config_M. For example, the MN-config_N or the SN-config_M may comprise a number of the serving cells, and the MCG-Throughput_N or the SCG-Throughput_M may be the estimated throughput related to the configured serving cells. A complete RRC configuration for configuring DC to the user device 110 is a combination {MN-config_N, SN-config_M} for some indices N andM.

[0082] In some example embodiments, both the MN-generated and SN-generated sets may span a wide range between occupying 0% and 100% of the capabilities of the user device 110 (e.g. a UE). As the percentages of capabilities of the user device 110 occupied by the candidate resource configurations increase, the throughputs corresponding to the candidate resource configurations may increase.

[0083] These MN-generated and SN-generated sets may be delivered to the user device 110. The user device 110 may select the combination of candidate configurations {MN- config_N, SN-config_M] that does not exceed its radio-access capabilities and increase its available performance. For instance, in the example embodiments where the communication capabilities of the user device 110 includes a total of 5 concurrent serving cells that the user device 110 is capable of supporting, the total number of cells in {MN- config_N, SN-config_M] does not exceed 5, and the total throughput of the estimated configuration-specific throughput contribution {MCG-Throughput_N, SCG- Throughput M] is a maximum.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may transmit (370) at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130. For example, the user device 110 may transmit, to the first network device 120, an indication (referred to as a first indication) to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and to apply the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration. After the first network device 120 receives (375) the first indication, the first network device 120 may transmit (385), to the second network device 130, a second indication to apply the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration. Correspondingly, the second network device 130 may receive (390) the second indication from the first network device 120.

[0085] As another example, if the user device 110 has a direct connection to the second network device 130, the user device 110 may transmit, to the first network device 120, an indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration, and transmit, to the second network device 130, an indication to apply the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0086] In some example embodiments, if the user device 110 receives at least one of the set of first candidate resource configurations or the set of second candidate resource configurations via at least one RRC configuration message, the user device 110 may transmit the at least one indication to the first network device 120 and / or the second network device 130 via at least one response to the at least one RRC configuration message. For example, at least one of the set of first candidate resource configurations or the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received via a RRC- Reconfiguration message. In this example, the user device 110 may transmit the at least one indication via an RRC-ReconfigurationComplete message. Other signaling or messages may also be used by the user device 110 to transmit the at least one indication. The scope of example embodiments will not be limited in this regard.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may use its previous RRC configurations to transmit the at least one indication, for example, the RRC- ReconfigurationComplete message carrying the at least one indication. In the case that the different candidate configurations differ in terms of how the user device 110 may transmit e.g. uplink RRC messages, the use of the previous RRC configurations may bring benefit.

[0088] Then, the network may decide whether to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration. For example, if the first network device 120 receives (375) the at least one indication, the first network device 120 may determine whether to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration. If the first network device 120 determines to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, the first network device 120 may send the second indication to the second network device 130 to indicate the applying of the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the applying of the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration may be decided by the user device 110. Some example embodiments in this regard will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0090] FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram showing another example process 400 forcoordinating the capabilities of the user device 110 in DC according to some other example embodiments. The process 400 involves the user device 110, the first network device 120 that may operate as the MN of the user device 110, and the second network device 130 that may operate as the SN of the user device 110.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 4, the first network device 120 transmits (401) the set of first candidate resource configurations to the user device 110. Correspondingly, the user device 110 receives (403) the set of first candidate resource configurations from the first network device 120.

[0092] The second network device 130 transmits (409) the set of second candidate resource configurations to the first network device 120. After the first network device 120 receives (411) the set of second candidate resource configurations, the first network device 120 may transmit (413) the set of second candidate resource configurations to the user device 110. Correspondingly, the user device 110 receives (415) the set of second candidate resource configurations from the first network device 120. In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations may be transmitted together by the first network device 120 to the user device 110.

[0093] In some example embodiments, if there is an established connection between the user device 110 and the second network device 130, the user device 110 may receive the set of first candidate resource configurations and / or the set of second candidate resource configurations from the second network device 130.

[0094] Then, the user device 110 selects (425) a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations. The selection may be performed by the user device 110 based on at least one rule. In some example embodiments, the at least one rule may comprise that the combination does not exceed the communication capabilities of the user device 110.

[0095] In some example embodiments, at shown in FIG. 4, the user device 110 may further receive (407) a set of first performance estimates. Each of the first performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110. The user device 110 may further receive(423) a set of second performance estimates. Each of the second performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110.

[0096] Similarly, the user device 110 may receive the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates from at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130. In some example embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the first network device 120 may transmit (405) the set of first performance estimates to the user device 110. The second network device 130 may transmits (417) the set of second performance estimates to the first network device 120. After the first network device 120 receives (419) the set of second performance estimates, the first network device 120 may transmit (421) the set of second performance estimates to the user device 110.

[0097] In the example embodiments where the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates are received by the user device 110, the at least one rule for selecting the combination of the at least one first candidate resource configuration and the at least one second candidate resource configuration may include that the available performance of the user device 110 is increased.

[0098] The user device 110 transmits (427), to the first network device 120, at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration. Then, the user device 110 applies (430) the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration. As such, the selected resource configurations may be taken into use by the user device 110 after transmitting (427) at least one indication to apply the selected resource configurations.

[0099] After the first network device 120 receives (429) from the user device 110, the at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, the first network device 120 applies (431) the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration.

[0100] The first network device 120 transmits (433), to the second network device 130, the second indication to apply the selected at least one second candidate resourceconfiguration. After the second network device 130 receives (435) the second indication, the second network device 130 applies (437) the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0101] In this way, the applying of the selected resource configurations may be triggered by the user device 110 without network configuring, which may be more flexible.

[0102] It is to be understood that all operations and / or features related to the user device 110, the first network device 120 and the second network device 130 as described above with reference to FIG. 3 are likewise applicable to the process 400 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will not be repeated.

[0103] Example processes for coordinating the capabilities of the user device 110 in DC will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. In these example embodiments, a UE 501 is an example of the user device 110, an MN 502 is an example of the first network device 120, and an SN 503 is an example of the second network device 130.

[0104] In a process 500 A as shown in FIG. 5 A, the UE 501 may operate (505) in RRC_CONNECTED towards the MN 502 and not in DC. The MN 502 may transmit (507), an RRCReconfiguration message which configures measurements of cells of the SN 503. Correspondingly, the UE 501 receives (509) the RRCReconfiguration message from the MN 502. The UE 501 may transmit (511), to the MN 502, a measurement report related to the measurements of cells of the SN 502. Correspondingly, the MN 502 may receive (513) the measurement report from the UE 501.

[0105] Based on the measurement report from the UE 501, the MN 502 may transmit (515) a SN addition request to the SN 503. Correspondingly, the SN 503 may receive (517) the SN addition request from the MN 502. Then, the SN 503 may generate (519) candidate SN configurations and estimated performance contributions of the candidate SN configurations to the UE 501.

[0106] The SN 503 may transmit (521), to the MN 502, a SN addition request acknowledge which includes the candidate SN configurations and the corresponding estimated performance contributions. Correspondingly, the MN 502 may receive (523) the SN addition request acknowledge from the SN 503.

[0107] The MN 502 may generate (525) candidate MN configurations and estimatedperformance contributions of the candidate MN configurations to the UE 501. Then, the MN 502 may transmit (527), to the UE 501, an RRC-Reconfiguration message including the generated candidate MN and SN configurations and the corresponding estimated performance contributions of the candidate MN and SN configurations. Correspondingly, the UE 501 may receive (529), from the MN 502, the RRC-Reconfiguration message including the generated candidate MN and SN configurations and the corresponding estimated performance contributions. The UE 501 may select (531) the best combination of the MN and the SN candidate configurations.

[0108]

[0109] As an example, the capabilities (e.g., radio access capabilities) of the UE 501 may allow the UE 501 to support a total of 5 concurrent serving cells, each of the cells having a 20MHz carrier bandwidth. Any cell(s) between 1 to 5 of serving cells may be in an MCG on a frequency band where the MN 502 operates where the value 5 implies no serving cells in an SCG configured by the SN 503 to the UE 501. The remaining cell(s) of the 5 concurrent serving cells may be in the SCG on the frequency band where the SN 503 operates.

[0110] The MN 502 may generate one candidate MCG configuration for each of the possible 1 to 5 serving cells in the MCG, and the SN 503 may generate one candidate SCG configuration for each of the possible 1 to 4 serving cells in the SCG (in case that at least one serving cell in the MCG is needed in DC). The frequency resources of the MN 502 may be heavily loaded, and thus the estimated throughput (as an example of the performance estimate) to the UE 501 in the MN-generated candidate configurations is 10Mbps per serving cell in the MCG (i.e. 50Mbps if 5 serving cells in the MCG). In contrast, the frequency resources of the SN 503 may be lightly loaded, and thus the estimated throughput to the UE 501 in the SN-generated candidate configurations is 20Mbps per serving cell in the SCG.

[0111] Having received these candidate configurations, the UE 501 may discard the combinations that result in more than 5 serving cells (in total over the MCG and the SCG) being configured, because more than 5 serving cells exceed the radio-access capabilities of the UE 501. From the remaining combinations, the UE 501 may select the candidate configuration with 1 serving cell in the MCG and 4 serving cells in the SCG, as the combination that maximizes its throughput.

[0112] The UE 501 may transmit (533), to the MN 502, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message which indicates the selected candidate MN and SN configurations. A random-access procedure may be performed (537) between the UE501 and the SN 503. The UE 501 may apply (547) the selected candidate MN and SN configurations.

[0113] After the MN 502 receives (535), from the UE 501, the RRCReconfigurationComplete message indicating the selected candidate MN and SN configurations, the MN 502 may apply (539) the candidate MN configuration selected by the UE 501. The MN 502 may transmit (541), to the SN 503, an SN reconfiguration complete message which indicates the selected candidate SN configuration. After the SN 503 receives (543), from the MN 502, the SN reconfiguration complete message indicating the selected candidate SN configurations, The SN 503 may apply (545) the candidate SN configuration selected by the UE 501.

[0114] In a process 500B as is shown in FIG. 5B, different from the process 500A, the UE 501 may operate (551) in a DC mode and be in RRC CONNECTED towards the MN502 and the SN 503. In this case, the UE 501 may communicate with the SN 503 directly, with no need of the MN 502 acting as an intermediary.

[0115] The MN 502 and the SN 503 may generate and transmit the candidate resource configurations to the UE 501 when the UE-capability coordination is needed. In the process 500B, a measurement report transmitted (553) from the UE 501 to the MN 502 may trigger the MN 502 and the SN 503 to generate candidate MN and SN configurations. As shown in FIG. 5B, after the MN 502 receives (555) a measurement report related to cells of the SN 503, the MN 502 may send to the SN 503 an SN modification request (instead of an SN addition request in FIG. 5A). The SN 503 may generate (561) candidate SN configurations and estimated performance contributions of the candidate SN configurations to the UE 501. Then, the SN 503 may transmit (563), to the UE 501, an RRCconfiguration message which includes the candidate SN configurations and the corresponding estimated performance contributions.

[0116] In addition, the MN 502 may generate (562) candidate MN configurations and estimated performance contributions of the candidate MN configurations to the UE 501. the MN 502 may transmit (567), to the UE 501, an RRCconfiguration message which includes the candidate MN configurations and the corresponding estimated performancecontributions.

[0117] After the UE 501 receives (565, 569) the generated candidate MN and SN configurations and the estimated performance contributions of the candidate MN and SN configurations from the MN 502 and the SN 503, the UE 501 may select (571) the best combination of the MN and the SN candidate configurations.

[0118] Then, the UE 501 may transmit (573), to the MN 502, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message which indicates the selected candidate MN configuration and transmit (577), to the SN 503, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message which indicates the selected candidate SN configuration. After the MN 502 receives (575), from the UE 501, the RRCReconfigurationComplete message indicating the selected candidate MN configuration, the MN 502 may apply (581) the selected candidate MN configuration. After the SN 503 receives (579), from the UE 501, the RRCReconfigurationComplete message indicating the selected candidate SN configuration, the SN 503 may apply (585) the selected candidate SN configuration. The UE 501 may apply (585) the selected MN and SN configurations.

[0119] It is to be understood that all operations and / or features related to the UE 501, the MN 502 and the SN 503 in the process 500A as described above with reference to FIG. 5A are likewise applicable to the process 500B and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will not be repeated.

[0120] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a user device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the user device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0121] At block 610, the user device 110 receives a set of first candidate resource configurations. Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a first communication between the user device 110 and the first network device 120.

[0122] At block 620, the user device 110 receives a set of second candidate resource configurations. Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a second communication between the user device 110 and the second network device 130.

[0123] At block 630, the user device 110 selects a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device 110 with the first and second network devices 120 and 130 using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device 110.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may transmit at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may receive a set of first performance estimates, each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110. The user device 110 may further receive a set of second performance estimates, each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to the available performance of the user device 110. In these example embodiments, the combination of the at least one first candidate resource configuration and the at least one second candidate resource configuration is selected further based on the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates, to increase the available performance of the user device 110.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the set of first performance estimates may be received in association with the set of first candidate resource configurations. The set of second performance estimates may be received in association with the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0127] In some example embodiments, a set of first candidate configuration information pairs may be received, where each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimate from the set of first performance estimates. A set of second candidate configuration information pairs may bereceived, where each of the second configuration information pairs includes a second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations and an associated second performance estimate from the set of second performance estimates.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received from at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130.

[0129] In some example embodiments, at least one of the set of first candidate resource configurations or the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received via at least one RRC configuration message. The at least one indication may be transmitted via at least one response to the at least one RRC configuration message.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received along with the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may be in a SC mode or a DC mode.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may comprise a DC MN, and the second network device 130 may comprise a DC SN.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate MCG configurations. Each of the candidate MCG configurations corresponds to a number of cells in an MCG, and the MCG is configured by the first network device 120. The set of second candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate SCG configurations. Each of the candidate SCG configurations corresponds to a number of cells in a SCG, and the SCG is configured by the second network device 130.

[0134] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the user device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600 and / or any of the described one or more example embodiments thereof. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the user device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0135] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a first network device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the first network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0136] At block 710, the first network device 120 transmits, to the user device 110, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates. Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a first communication between the user device 110 and the first network device 120, and each of the first performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110.

[0137] At block 720, the first network device 120 receives, from the user device 110, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0138] In some example embodiments, a set of first candidate configuration information pairs may be transmitted to the user device 110, where each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimate from the set of first performance estimates.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of first performance estimates may be transmitted to the user device 110 via a RRC configuration message. The first indication may be received from the user device 110 via a response to the RRC configuration message.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may receive, from the second network device 130, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates. Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a second communication between the user device 110 and the second network device 130, and each of the second performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to the available performance of the user device 110. The first network device 120 may transmit, to the user device 110, the set of second candidate resource configurations and the set of second performance estimates.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of first performance estimates may be transmitted to the user device 110 along with the set of second candidate resource configurations and the set of second performance estimates.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the first indication may further indicate applying of at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations. In these example embodiments, the first network device 120 may send, to the second network device 130, a second indication to apply the at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may comprise a DC MN of the user device 110, and the second network device 130 may comprise a DC SN of the user device 110.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate MCG configurations. Each of the candidate MCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in an MCG, and the MCG is configured by the first network device 120 for the user device 110.

[0145] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 700 (for example, the first network device 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 700 and / or any of the described one or more example embodiments thereof. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0146] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a second network device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the second network device 130 in FIG. 1.

[0147] At block 810, the second network device 130 transmits, to the first network device 120 or the user device 110, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates. Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a second communication between the userdevice 110 and the second network device 130, and each of the second performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110.

[0148] At block 820, the second network device 130 receives, from the first network device 120 or the user device 110, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0149] In some example embodiments, a set of second candidate configuration information pairs may be transmitted, where each of the second configuration information pairs includes a second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations and an associated second performance estimate from the set of second performance estimates.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may comprise a DC MN of the user device 110, and the second network device 130 comprises a DC SN.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the set of second candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate SCG configurations. Each of the candidate SCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in an SCG, and the SCG is configured by the second network device 130 for the user device 110.

[0152] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 800 (for example, the second network device 130 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 800 and / or any of the described one or more example embodiments thereof. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second network device 130 in FIG.1.

[0153] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of another example method 900 implemented at a user device in accordance with some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the user device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0154] At block 910, the user device 110 receives a set of first candidate resource configurations. Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a first communication between the user device 110 and the first network device 120.

[0155] At block 920, the user device 110 receives a set of second candidate resource configurations. Each of the second candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device 130.

[0156] At block 930, the user device 110 selects a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0157] At block 940, the user device 110 transmits at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130.

[0158] At block 950, the user device 110 applies the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may receive a set of first performance estimates. Each of the first performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110. The user device 110 may further receive a set of second performance estimates. Each of the second performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to the available performance of the user device 110. In these example embodiments, the combination of the at least one first candidate resource configuration and the at least one second candidate resource configuration may be selected based on at least one rule. The at least one rule may comprise at least one of the combination not exceeding communication capabilities of the user device 110, or the available performance of the user device 110 being increased.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the set of first performance estimates may be received in association with the set of first candidate resource configurations. The set of second performance estimates may be received in association with the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0161] In some example embodiments, a set of first candidate configuration informationpairs may be received, where each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimate from the set of first performance estimates. A set of second candidate configuration information pairs may be received, where each of the second configuration information pairs includes a second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations and an associated second performance estimate from the set of second performance estimates.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received from at least one of the first network device 120 or the second network device 130.

[0163] In some example embodiments, at least one of the set of first candidate resource configurations or the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received via at least one RRC configuration message. The at least one indication may be transmitted via at least one response to the at least one RRC configuration message.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the set of second candidate resource configurations may be received from the first network device 120 along with the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the user device 110 may be in a SC mode or a DC mode.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may comprise a DC MN of the user device 110, and the second network device 130 may comprise a DC SN.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate MCG configurations. Each of the candidate MCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in an MCG, and the MCG is configured by the first network device 120. The set of second candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate SCG configurations. Each of the candidate SCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in a SCG, and the SCG is configured by the second network device 130.

[0168] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 900 (for example, the user device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing therespective operations of the method 900 and / or any of the described one or more example embodiments thereof. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the user device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0169] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of another example method 1000 implemented at a first network device in accordance with some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the first network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0170] At block 1010, the first network device 120 transmits, to the user device 110, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates. Each of the first candidate resource configurations is available for configuring a first communication between the user device 110 and the first network device 120, and each of the first performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device 110.

[0171] At block 1020, the first network device 120 receives, from the user device 110, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

[0172] At block 1030, the first network device 120 applies the at least one first candidate resource configuration.

[0173] In some example embodiments, a set of first candidate configuration information pairs may be transmitted to the user device 110, where each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimate from the set of first performance estimates.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of first performance estimates may be transmitted to the user device 110 via a RRC configuration message, and the first indication may be received from the user device 110 via a response to the RRC configuration message.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may receive, from a second network device 130, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates. Each of the second candidate resource configurationsis available for configuring a second communication between the user device 110 and the second network device 130, and each of the second performance estimates indicates a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to the available performance of the user device 110. The first network device 120 may transmit, to the user device 110, the set of second candidate resource configurations and the set of second performance estimates.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of first performance estimates may be transmitted to the user device 110 along with the set of second candidate resource configurations and the set of second performance estimates.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the first indication may further indicate applying of at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations. In these example embodiments, the first network device 120 may send, to the second network device 130, a second indication to apply the at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the first network device 120 may comprise a DC MN of the user device 110, and the second network device 130 may comprise a DC SN of the user device 110.

[0179] In some example embodiments, the set of first candidate resource configurations may comprise a set of candidate MCG configurations. Each of the candidate MCG configurations may correspond to a number of cells in an MCG, and the MCG is configured by the first network device 120 for the user device 110.

[0180] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1000 (for example, the first network device 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000 and / or any of the described one or more example embodiments thereof. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0181] FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 that is suitable forimplementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the user device 110, the first network device 120 or the second network device 130 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memories 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, and one or more communication modules 1140 coupled to the processor 1110.

[0182] The communication module 1140 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1140 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1140 may include at least one antenna.

[0183] The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0184] The memory 1120 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1124, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a randomaccess memory (RAM) 1122 and other volatile memories that will not last in the powerdown duration.

[0185] A computer program 1130 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1110. The instructions of the program 1130 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1130 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1124. The processor 1110 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1130 into the RAM 1122.

[0186] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1130 so that the device 1100 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 10. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0187] In some example embodiments, the program 1130 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1100 (such as in the memory 1120) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1100. The device 1100 may load the program 1130 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1122 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non -transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, 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 vs. ROM).

[0188] FIG. 12 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1200 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1200 has the program 1130 stored thereon.

[0189] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0190] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of themethods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0191] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0192] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0193] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0194] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shownor in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0195] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A user device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user device at least to: receive a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; receive a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; and select a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device with the first and second network devices using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device.

2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the user device to: transmit at least one indication to apply the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, to at least one of the first network device or the second network device.

3. The user device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by theat least one processor, further cause the user device to: receive a set of first performance estimates, each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receive a set of second performance estimates, each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to the available performance of the user device, wherein the combination of the at least one first candidate resource configuration and the at least one second candidate resource configuration is selected further based on the set of first performance estimates and the set of second performance estimates, to increase the available performance of the user device.

4. The user device of claim 3, wherein the set of first performance estimates are received in association with the set of first candidate resource configurations, and the set of second performance estimates are received in association with the set of second candidate resource configurations.

5. The user device of claim 4, wherein a set of first candidate configuration information pairs are received, wherein each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimation from the set of first performance estimates, and a set of second candidate configuration information pairs are received, wherein each of the second configuration information pairs includes a second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations and an associated second performance estimation from the set of second performance estimates.

456. The user device of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of second candidate resource configurations are received from at least one of the first network device or the second network device.

7. The user device of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the set of first candidate resource configurations or the set of second candidate resource configurations are received via at least one radio resource control (RRC) configuration message, and the at least one indication is transmitted via at least one response to the at least one RRC configuration message.

8. The user device of claim 7, wherein the set of second candidate resource configurations are received along with the set of first candidate resource configurations.

9. The user device of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the user device is in a single connectivity mode or a dual connectivity mode.

10. The user device of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first network device comprises a dual connectivity master node, and the second network device comprises a dual connectivity secondary node.

11. The user device of claim 10, wherein the set of first candidate resource configurations comprises a set of candidate master cell group (MCG) configurations, each of the candidate MCG configurations corresponding to a number of cells in an MCG, the MCG being configured by the first network device, and the set of second candidate resource configurations comprises a set of candidate secondary cell group (SCG) configurations, each of the candidate SCG configurations46corresponding to a number of cells in a SCG, the SCG being configured by the second network device.

12. A first network device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first network device at least to: transmit, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receive, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

13. The first network device of claim 12, wherein a set of first candidate configuration information pairs are transmitted to the user device, wherein each of the first configuration information pairs includes a first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and an associated first performance estimation from the set of first performance estimates.

14. The first network device of any of claims 12 to 13, wherein the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of first performance estimates are transmitted to the user device via a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message, and the first indication is received from the user device via a response to the RRC configuration message.

15. The first network device of any of claims 12 to 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first network device to: receive, from a second network device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to the available performance of the user device; and transmit, to the user device, the set of second candidate resource configurations and the set of second performance estimates.

16. The first network device of claim 15, wherein the set of first candidate resource configurations and the set of first performance estimates are transmitted to the user device along with the set of second candidate resource configurations and the set of second performance estimates.

17. The first network device of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the first indication further indicates applying of at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first network device to: send, to the second network device, a second indication to apply the at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

18. The first network device of any of claims 12 to 17, wherein the first network device comprises a dual connectivity master node of the user device, and the second network device comprises a dual connectivity secondary node of the user device.

19. The first network device of claim 18, wherein the set of first candidate resource configurations comprises a set of candidate master cell group (MCG) configurations, each of the candidate MCG configurations corresponding to a number of cells in an MCG, the MCG being configured by the first network device for the user device.

20. A second network device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second network device at least to: transmit, to a first network device or a user device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receive, from the first network device or the user device, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

21. The second network device of claim 20, wherein a set of second candidate configuration information pairs are transmitted, wherein each of the second configuration information pairs includes a second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations and an associated second performance estimation from the set of second performance estimates.

22. The second network device of any of claims 20 to 21, wherein the first network device comprises a dual connectivity master node of the user device, and the second49network device comprises a dual connectivity secondary node.

23. The second network device of claim 22, wherein the set of second candidate resource configurations comprises a set of candidate secondary cell group (SCG) configurations, each of the candidate SCG configurations corresponding to a number of cells in an SCG, the SCG being configured by the second network device for the user device.

24. A method comprising: at a user device, receiving a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; receiving a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; and selecting a combination of at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device with the first and second network devices using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device.

25. A method comprising: at a first network device, transmitting, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations anda set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receiving, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

26. A method comprising: at a second network device, transmitting, to a first network device or a user device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and receiving, from the first network device or the user device, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations.

27. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving a set of first candidate resource configurations, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and a first network device; means for receiving a set of second candidate resource configurations, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and a second network device; and means for selecting a combination of at least one first candidate resource51configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations and at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of second candidate resource configurations, to enable a dual connectivity communication of the user device with the first and second network devices using the selected at least one first candidate resource configuration and the selected at least one second candidate resource configuration, wherein the selecting ensures that the combination does not exceed communication capabilities of the user device.

28. An apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to a user device, a set of first candidate resource configurations and a set of first performance estimates, each of the first candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a first communication between the user device and the first network device, and each of the first performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the first candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and means for receiving, from the user device, a first indication to apply at least one first candidate resource configuration from the set of first candidate resource configurations.

29. An apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to a first network device or a user device, a set of second candidate resource configurations and a set of second performance estimates, each of the second candidate resource configurations being available for configuring a second communication between the user device and the second network device, and each of the second performance estimates indicating a contribution of one of the second candidate resource configurations to an available performance of the user device; and means for receiving, from the first network device or the user device, a second indication to apply at least one second candidate resource configuration from the set of52second candidate resource configurations.

30. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 24 or the method of claim 25 or the method of claim 26.

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