Auxiliary type i codebook based CSI feedback

Abstract

A method performed by a user equipment (UE), is provided. The method comprises any one or more of the following: receiving one or more CSI report configurations from a network node (NW), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports; receiving (and measuring) downlink channel information and determining the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) according to the one or multiple configured RS resources for channel measurement and associated CSI reporting; and reporting the calculated base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) to the NW, optionally together in the same UL transmission.

Description

AUXILIARY TYPE I CODEBOOK BASED CSI FEEDBACKRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 727546, filed December 03, 2025, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and in particular to channel state information (CSI) feedback.BACKGROUND

[0003] Codebook-based precoding

[0004] Multi-antenna techniques can significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. The performance is improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas, which results in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication channel. Such systems and / or related techniques are commonly referred to as MIMO.

[0005] The New Radio (NR) standard is currently evolving with enhanced MIMO support. A core component in NR is the support of MIMO antenna deployments and MIMO related techniques like for instance spatial multiplexing. The spatial multiplexing mode is aimed for high data rates in favorable channel conditions. An illustration of the spatial multiplexing operation is provided in Figure 1.

[0006] As seen, the information carrying symbol vector s is multiplied by an AT X r precoder matrix W, which serves to distribute the transmit energy in a subspace of the T (corresponding to AT antenna ports) dimensional vector space. The precoder matrix is typically selected from a codebook of possible precoder matrices, and typically indicated by means of a precoder matrix indicator (PMI), which specifies a unique precoder matrix in the codebook for a given number of symbol streams. The r symbols in s each correspond to a layer and r is referred to as the transmission rank. In this way, spatial multiplexing is achieved since multiple symbols can be transmitted simultaneously over the same time / frequency resource element (TFRE). The number of symbols r is typically adapted to suit the current channel properties.

[0007] NR uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) in the downlink and hence the received AR x 1 vector ynfor a certain TFRE on subcarrier n (or alternatively data TFRE number ri) is modeled byyn= +enwhere e_n is a noise / interference vector at the user equipment (UE).

[0008] The precoder matrix W is often chosen to match the characteristics of the N_RxN_T MIMO channel matrix Hn, resulting in so-called channel dependent precoding. This is also commonly referred to as closed-loop precoding. The purpose of the precoding is to focus transmit energy over all the antenna ports to the UE. Precoding is also referred to as beam forming.

[0009] In closed-loop precoding, the UE feeds back a procoder to the gNB based on downlink channel measurement. The channel measurement can be based on a DL reference signal such as Channel State Information (CSI) Reference signal (CSI-RS). The precoder can be for wideband (e.g., the whole bandwidth) or a subband (e.g., a subset of the bandwidth). The precoder is feedback in the form of a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). In addition to the recommended precoder, the UE may feedback other information such as transmission rank indicator (RI) and channel quality indicators (CQIs) conditioned on the RI and precoder.

[0010] Given the CSI feedback from the UE, the gNB determines the transmission parameters it wishes to use to transmit to the UE, including the precoding matrix, transmission rank, and modulation and coding scheme (MCS). These transmission parameters may differ from the recommendations the UE makes. The transmission rank, and thus the number of spatially multiplexed layers, is equal to the number of columns of the precoder W.

[0011] DFT beam based precoders

[0012] A common type of precoding is based on Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) beams, where a precoder used to precode a single-layer transmission with a single-polarized onedimensional (1-D) uniform linear array (ULA) with N antennas is defined as11w1D(Z, N±, OJ = — e727T 1' Wwhere I = 0,1,... O1N1— 1 is the DFT beam index or 1-D precoder index,is an integer oversampling factor, and u(Z, A1(O- represents an over sampled DFT beam. A corresponding precoder for a two-dimensional (2-D) uniform planar array (UP A) withantennas in one dimension and A2antennas in another dimension can be created by taking the Kronecker product of two 1-D DFT precoders asw2D(Z,m) = w1DQ, N1, O2')®w1D(m, N2, O2') =7=l=u(Z, W1,01)(8)u(m, W2,02) = 1 7^7Vl'm’ where vi m= u(Z, N, O ii m, N2, 02~) is a 2-D DFT beam.

[0013] Extending the precoder for a dual-polarized UPA may then be done asr 1 1z^ [ w2D(l>m) W2D{1, w2D,DP(l,m,(P) = [e70] ®w2D(Z,m) = [ej0W2D (Z m)0 w Ud • where e7^ is a co-phasing factor that may for instance to be selected from QPSK alphabet (p E {0,p7T,^}. A precoder matrix W2D DPfor multi-layer transmission may be created byappending columns of DFT precoder vectors asW2D, DP=[W2D, Dp(J-l>ml> 01)w2D )p( 2>m2><p2)W2D, Dp(lp>mR> 0 / ?)where R is the number of transmission layers, i.e. the transmission rank. The corresponding DFT beams= Z1(...,lR,m = mhare mutually orthogonal.

[0014] In some cases, two layers may share a same DFT beam. For example, for a rank-2 DFT precoder, l = Z2= I and m1= m2= m, and precoder becomes

[0015] ^2D, DP=[W2D, Dp(l>m> 01)W2D, Dp(J->m> 02)] =w2D(l,m) 0 l r 1 l i0 w2D(Z, m)J Le7^1e7^2F

[0016] Such DFT-based precoders are used for instance in NR Type I CSI feedback, where the beam indices of the DFT beams associated to a precoder are feedback by the UE as part of the PMI feedback.

[0017] Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS)

[0018] For CSI measurement and feedback, CSI-RS are defined. A CSI-RS is transmitted on each antenna port and is used by a UE to measure downlink channel between each of the transmit antenna ports and each of its receive antenna ports. The transmit antenna ports are also referred to as CSI-RS ports. The supported number of antenna ports in NR are {1,2,4,8,12,16,24,32} which is extended in Release 19 to 128. By measuring the received CSI-RS, a UE can estimate the channel that the CSI-RS is traversing, including the radio propagation channel and antenna gains. The CSI-RS for the above purpose is also referred to as Non-Zero Power (NZP) CSI-RS.

[0019] CSI-RS can be configured to be transmitted in certain REs in a slot and certain slots. Figure 2 shows an example of CSI-RS REs for 12 antenna ports, where 1 RE per resource block (RB) per port is shown.

[0020] CSI framework in NR

[0021] In NR, a UE can be configured with multiple CSI reporting settings and multiple CSI-RS resource settings. Each resource setting can contain multiple resource sets, and each resource set can contain up to 8 CSI-RS resources. For each CSI reporting setting, a UE may feed back a CSI report.

[0022] Each CSI reporting setting contains at least the following:• A CSI-RS resource set for channel measurement• An IMR resource set for interference measurement• Optionally, a CSI-RS resource set for interference measurement• Time-domain behavior, i.e. periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic reporting• Frequency granularity, i.e. wideband or subband• CSI parameters to be reported such as RI, PMI, CQI, and CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) in case of multiple CSI-RS resources in a resource set• Codebook types, i.e. type I or II, and codebook subset restriction• Measurement restriction• Subband size. One out of two possible subband sizes is indicated, the value range depends on the bandwidth of the BWP. One CQI / PMI (if configured for subband reporting) is fed back per subband).

[0023] MU-MIMO

[0024] With multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), two or more users in the same cell are coscheduled on the same time-frequency resource. That is, two or more independent data streams are transmitted to different UEs at the same time, and the spatial domain (SD) is used to separate the respective streams. By transmitting several streams simultaneously, the capacity of the system can be increased. In this case, the network needs to make sure that there is minimum interference cross the co-scheduled UEs, i.e., transmission to one UE does not cause interference to other coscheduled UEs. To achieve that, more accurate channel information than NR type I codebook based feedback is needed. For this purpose, type II codebook and various enhancements were introduced in NR.SUMMARYSystems and methods for a configurable PMI reporting are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) includes: receiving one or more CSI report configurations from a network node (NW), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSIreport, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports, receiving (and measuring) downlink channel information and determining the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) according to the one or multiple configured RS resources for channel measurement and associated CSI reporting, reporting the calculated base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) to the NW, optionally together in the same UL transmission.

[0025] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the numbered embodiments below:

[0026] In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment, UE, is provided. The method includes any one or more of the following: receiving one or more CSI report configurations from a network node (NW), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports; receiving (and measuring) downlink channel information and determining the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) according to the one or multiple configured RS resources for channel measurement and associated CSI reporting; and reporting the calculated base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) to the NW, optionally together in the same UL transmission.

[0027] In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node is provided. The method includes one or more of the following: transmitting one or more CSI report configurations to a user equipment (UE), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports; or receiving the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) from the UE, optionally together in the same UL transmission.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0029] Figure 1 shows an example of a transmission structure of precoded spatial multiplexing mode in NR;

[0030] Figure 2 shows an example of Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) Resource Elements (REs) for 12 antenna ports, where 1 RE per Resource Block (RB) per port is shown;

[0031] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method at a user equipment, according to some aspects of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method at a network node, according to some aspects of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 6 shows a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with ome aspects of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 7 shows a network node in accordance with ome aspects of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a host, which may be an embodiment of the host of Figure 5, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure described herein;

[0037] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized; and

[0038] Figure 10 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The embodiments and aspects of the disclosure set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode ofpracticing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0040] Some of the embodiments and aspects of the disclosure contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0041] There currently exist certain challenge(s). For MU-MIMO scheduling, it is important to have high resolution channel information at the transmitter and the family of Type-II PMI codebooks have been specified in 3GPP. A problem is that the overhead of such report is high, and another problem is that due to complexity, it is not widely implemented by neither the UE or NW side nodes. Hence, MU-MIMO operation for codebook based operation is not so commonly used which is a problem as high system capacity using MU-MIMO cannot be achieved in networks.

[0042] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. To improve the performance and use of MU-MIMO scheduling, aspects of the disclosure introduce methods for CSI reporting, where multiple CSI report entities that are linked and are transmitted from UE to NW. Such report entity can be simpler than the currently family of Type-II, hence instead of relaying of large CSI report with large overhead and complexity, aspects of the disclosure decompose the CSI reporting into smaller CSI report entities with less overhead and complexity.

[0043] At least one (the first) of the multiple CSI report entities contains PMI that is calculated based on a codebook, and the rest of the CSI report entities, named auxiliary CSI report in this disclosure, can be used together with the first CSI report for determining the MIMO precoders for the UEs in MU-MIMO scheduling. In some aspects of the disclosure, two report entities are linked and reported wherein a first CSI report is a Type I codebook based CSI report.

[0044] These multiple reports may be configured to be based on measurements on a single CSI-RS resource to avoid duplicated CSI-RS transmission overhead and measurements by the UE.

[0045] In some aspects of the disclosure, the report entities are dependent in the sense that although they are measured on the same CSI-RS, they provide different CSI information from the UE to the NW. Hence, there is a need to identify a different purpose of each of the report entities. Note that if legacy CSI reporting of multiple CSI reports (entities) measured on the same CSI-RS would be used in current networks, then it is expected that each report (entity) contains the same,redundant, information. Some aspects of the disclosure allow that the second report entity contains additional information, on top of the first report entity, and so on.

[0046] For example, a first report entity contains the CSI as in legacy operation, i.e. it reports a preferred transmission hypothesis.

[0047] The additional (secondary or auxiliary) report(s), contains auxiliary information (different from what is included in the first report) that together with the first report benefits MU-MIMO scheduling better than using the first report entity alone.

[0048] According to some aspects, a UE is configured to report at least two CSI report entities, a base (first) report and an auxiliary (second) report, wherein the base report may contain a legacy CSI report structure and format (e.g. a CSI report using Type I codebook) while the auxiliary CSI report contains auxiliary CSI information that is useful for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0049] According to some aspects, a rule is defined for the computation of the CSI report entity containing auxiliary information with a PMI selection that depends on the PMI selection of the first CSI report entity.

[0050] Additionally or alternatively, both the base report and the auxiliary report reuse the existing Type-I reporting framwork, in order to maximally reuse existing implementations.

[0051] In this case, only the “rule” how the CSI should be selected for the auxiliary reports needs to be redefined compared to the legacy UE behaviour where such reports would be independent.

[0052] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). According to some aspects, benefits for MU-MIMO scheduling without the need to implement the more complicated Type II based codebook, are provided, leveraging on the widespread use and implementation of Type I codebook reporting in NR.

[0053] Some of the proposed solutions with auxiliary CSI report(s) may improve MU-MIMO scheduling compared to using only SU-MIMO based CSI report, such as Type I CSI report, Type II CSI report.

[0054] Some aspects disclosed herein are depicted in the flowchart of Figure 3. According to some aspects, a method for a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving (100) one or more CSI report configurations from a network node (NW), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiplereference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports, receiving (and measuring) downlink channel information and determining (102) the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) according to the one or multiple configured RS resources for channel measurement and associated CSI reporting and reporting (103) the calculated base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) to the NW, optionally together in the same UL transmission.

[0055] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart for a method at a network node (NW), according to other aspects of the disclosure. The method includes) transmitting (200) one or more CSI report configurations to a user equipment (UE), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports. The method further comprises receiving (202) the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) from the UE, optionally together in the same UL transmission.

[0056] At the NW side, the base CSI report can directly be used for SU-MIMO scheduling / transmission if desired. The auxiliar CSI report(s) can be used to modify / adjust the base report, so that the resultant CSI report can be used for MU-MIMO scheduling, when needed.

[0057] According to some aspects, UE receives two CSI report (entity) configurations. The first CSI report configuration configures the UE to calculate a Type I CSI report as a base report, e.g., with report quantity set to CRI-RI-PMI-CQI, while the second CSI report configuration configures the UE to calculate one or more auxiliary report(s) that contain(s) CSI that can be used together with the type I CSI for MU-MIMO scheduling.

[0058] According to some aspects, the two reports (base and auxiliary) can be transmitted to the NW in the same UL transmission (PUSCH transmission) however, alternatively, the first (base) report is a CSI report that is configured to the UE to be periodically transmitted while (some of) the auxiliary report(s) is(are) aperiodically triggered, since the NW needs that report only when MU-MIMO is to be scheduled (and needs the first report irrespectively if SU or MU is scheduled).

[0059] According to some aspects, the first CSI report configuration and the second CSI report configuration are linked via one of the following (the terminology CSI report configuration is used here which is equivalent to CSI report entity configuration previously described).:• An identifier of the first CSI report configuration (e.g., a CSI report Configuration ID associated with the first CSI report configuration) is configured as part of the second CSI report configuration. From the identifier of the first CSI report configuration that is configured as part of the second CSI report configuration, the UE knows what CSI is computed / reported corresponding to the first CSI report configuration and can take this into account when computing / reporting CSI corresponding to the second CSI report configuration. For example, the same (N1, N2) and codebook subset restriction configuration (i.e., the bitmap parameter nl-n2 for codebook configuration in 3gpp TS38.331, section 6.3.2) in the first CSI report configuration is used also in the second CSI report configuration; or • An identifier of the second CSI report configuration (e.g., a CSI report Configuration ID associated with the second CSI report configuration) is configured as part of the first CSI report configuration. From the identifier of the second CSI report configuration that is configured as part of the first CSI report configuration, the UE knows what CSI is computed / reported corresponding to the first CSI report configuration and can take this into account when computing / reporting CSI corresponding to the second CSI report configuration.

[0060] The second (auxiliary) CSI report(s) can be aperiodic, i.e., dynamically triggered in a needed basis. It can be triggered at the same time as the first CSI report if the first CSI report is also aperiodic. Alternatively, the first CSI report can be periodic or semi-persistent and the second CSI can be aperiodic.

[0061] Non-exclusive examples are given below to further explain the content and usage of auxiliary report(s).

[0062] According to some aspects, the auxiliary report(s) is(are) configured to only contain PMI(s) defined in a Type I codebook.• According to some aspects, the reported PMI(s) in the auxiliary report(s) is(are) associated with weak directions of the channel whereas the report PMI(s) of the base report are associated with the strong directions of the channel (desired channel).o In this case, NW can schedule UE#1 with the PMI in its base report, together with a UE#2 in MU-MIMO with a PMI that is the same or closeto the PMI in the auxiliary report(s) of UE#1. Then, UE#2 will only cause small interference to UE#1.o According to some aspects, the UE may be configured to report NAUX >1 PMI(s) as part of the auxiliary report that correspond to NAUX weak directions. In one example embodiment, the value of NAUX may be configured as part of the second CSI reporting configuration. When NAUX PMI(S) are reported by the UE as part of the auxiliary report(s), the NW can schedule this UE with the PMI in the base report, together with a second UE with a PMI that is the same as one of the NAUX PMI(S) in the auxiliary report(s).• Additionally or alternatively, the reported PMI(s) in the auxiliary report(s) is(are) associated with strong directions of the channel, but chosen by the UE as different from those reported in the linked base report.o In this case, NW can schedule this UE with the PMI reported in the base report, together with a second UE with a PMI that is not in the base report or the auxiliary report. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to report NAUX>1 PMI(S) as part of the auxiliary report that correspond to NAUX strong directions. In one example embodiment, the value of NAUX may be configured as part of the second CSI reporting configuration. When NAUX PMI(S) are reported by the UE as part of the auxiliary report, the NW can schedule this UE with the PMI in the base report, together with a second UE with a PMI that is not the same as the PMI in the based report or any one of the NAUX PMI(S) in the auxiliary report.

[0063] According to some aspects, the Type I PMI(s) in the auxiliary report only contains the beam index, i.e., ii in 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 5.2.2.2. I. In case the UE is configured to report NAUX PMIS in the auxiliary report, then the auxiliary report contains NAUX beam indices (e.g., NAUX different ii indices wherein ii is defined as in 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 5.2.2.2.1).

[0064] According to some aspects, the auxiliary report only contains the beam index in only one of the dimensions (e.g., either ii or ii^as defined in 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 5.2.2.2.1,). In case the UE is configured to report NAUX PMIS in the auxiliary report, then the auxiliary report contains NAUX beam indices in only one of the dimensions (e.g., NAUX different ii,i indices or ii,2 indices wherein ii and ii,2 are defined as in 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 5.2.2.2.1).

[0065] According to some aspects, the Type I PMI(s) in the auxiliary report can only be selected (according to a specified rule) by the UE as beam indices, eg,., ii, ii,i or ii,2 in 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 5.2.2.2.1 that are different from the corresponding beam indices selected for the base report. In case the UE is configured to report NAUX PMIS in the auxiliary report, then the auxiliary report contains NAUX beam indices (e.g., NAUX different ii indices wherein ii is defined as in 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 5.2.2.2.1). In this way, the auxiliary reports can be seen as add-on information of the base report that contains the strongest beam. For example, the base report contains the strongest beam, the first auxiliary report contains the second strongest beam and so on. This allows a gradual increase of spatial information of the channel to the UE, when NAUX is configured to a higher value. In this case, there could be an additional side condition for PMI selections that the beam selected in the first auxiliary report must be orthogonal to the beam in the base report, and the beam selected in the second auxiliary report must be orthogonal to the beam selected in the base report and the first auxiliary report and so on.

[0066] According to one aspect, the PMIs in the base report and in the auxiliary report(s) are calculated based on the same channel measurement resource(s).

[0067] According to one aspect, the auxiliary report(s) contain(s CQI. The CQI in the auxiliary report can be used for adjusting the CQI reported in the base report when MU-MIMO is scheduled. For example, if NW schedule this UE with a PMI from the base report, together with a second UE with a PMI from the auxiliary report, then, the CQI (or Modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for link adaptation) for this UE may be adjusted according the CQI value in the auxiliary report. As another example, the auxiliary report only contains CQI, then CQI in the auxiliary report may be used to adjust the CQI in the base report, when this UE is served with a PMI in the base report, together with a second UE using a PMI that is not in but orthogonal to the PMI in the base report.

[0068] In some cases, the CQI in the auxiliary report can be a delta CQI, where the delta CQI is added on top of the CQI in the base report to get a final CQI when MU-MIMO is scheduled.

[0069] In some cases, multiple CQI values are reported in the auxiliary report. For example, each CQI may be corresponding to a transmission hypothesis (e.g., with PMI in the base report and which PMI in the auxiliary report are used together).

[0070] According to one aspect, the auxiliary report(s) contain(s) RI. The RI in the auxiliary report(s) can be used for adjusting the RI reported in the base report when MU-MIMO is scheduled. For example, if NW schedule this UE with a PMI from the base report, together with a second UE with a PMI from the auxiliary report, then, the RI for this UE may be adjusted according to the RI in the auxiliary report.

[0071] According to one aspect, the UE is using / configured to use always a configured rank (e.g RI=4) for the auxiliary report in order to provide maximal information of the spatial characteristics of the channel.

[0072] After receiving the CSI reports, the NW can determine DL transmission scheme. When NW performs SU-MIMO transmission, only the base CSI report may be used. When NW performs MU-MIMO transmission, the base CSI report and the auxiliary reports may be jointly used.

[0073] Figure 5 shows an example of a communication system 500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0074] In the example, the communication system 500 includes a telecommunication network 502 that includes an access network 504, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 505, which includes one or more core network nodes 508. The access network 504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 510A and 510B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 510), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 502, including one or more network nodes 510 and / or core network nodes 508.

[0075] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualizationenvironment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 512A, 512B, 512C, and 512D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 512) to the core network 505 over one or more wireless connections.

[0076] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0077] The UEs 512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 502.

[0078] In the depicted example, the core network 506 connects the network nodes 510 to one or more hosts, such as host 516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 505 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDF),Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0079] The host 516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 504 and / or the telecommunication network 502 and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0080] As a whole, the communication system 500 of Figure 5 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 500 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (5G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.5 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0081] In some examples, the telecommunication network 502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 502. For example, the telecommunication network 502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0082] In some examples, the UEs 512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 504. Additionally, a UE may beconfigured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e., being configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0083] In the example, a hub 514 communicates with the access network 504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 512C and / or 512D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 510B). In some examples, the hub 514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 514. As another example, the hub 514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0084] The hub 514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 510B. The hub 514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 514 and UEs (e.g., UE 512C and / or 512D), and between the hub 514 and the core network 505. In other examples, the hub 514 is connected to the core network 505 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 514 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 510 while still connected via the hub 514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 510B. In other embodiments, the hub 514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 510B, but which isadditionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0085] Figure 6 shows a UE 600 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3 GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0086] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehi cl e-to- Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0087] The UE 600 includes processing circuitry 602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 604 to an input / output interface 606, a power source 608, memory 610, a communication interface 612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 6. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0088] The processing circuitry 602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 610. The processing circuitry 602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.);programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 602 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0089] In the example, the input / output interface 606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0090] In some embodiments, the power source 608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 600 to which power is supplied.

[0091] The memory 610 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 610 includes one or more application programs 614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 616. The memory 610 may store, for use by the UE 600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0092] The memory 610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 610 may allow the UE 600 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0093] The processing circuitry 602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 612. The communication interface 612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 622. The communication interface 612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 618 and / or a receiver 620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 618 and receiver 620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 622) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0094] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 612 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.6, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet,Transmission Control Protocol / Intemet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0095] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 10 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0096] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0097] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 600 shown in Figure 6.

[0098] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of suchmonitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0099] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0100] Figure 7 shows a network node 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0101] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0102] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi -Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O& M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes,Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0103] The network node 700 includes processing circuitry 702, memory 704, a communication interface 706, and a power source 708. The network node 700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., aNodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 700 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 700.

[0104] The processing circuitry 702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 700 components, such as the memory 704, to provide network node 700 functionality.

[0105] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 712 and baseband processing circuitry 714. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 and the baseband processing circuitry 714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0106] The memory 704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a harddisk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 702. The memory 704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 702 and utilized by the network node 700. The memory 704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 702 and the memory 704 are integrated.

[0107] The communication interface 706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 716 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 710. The radio front-end circuitry 718 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be connected to the antenna 710 and the processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 710 and the processing circuitry 702. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 820 and / or the amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 702. In other embodiments, the communication interface 706 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0108] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 718; instead, the processing circuitry 702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 712 is part of the communication interface 706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 706 includes the one or more ports or terminals 716, the radio front-end circuitry 718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 712 as part of a radio unit (notshown), and the communication interface 706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0109] The antenna 710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 710 is separate from the network node 700 and connectable to the network node 700 through an interface or port.

[0110] The antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 700. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 710, the communication interface 706, and / or the processing circuitry 702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 700. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0111] The power source 708 provides power to the various components of the network node 700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 708. As a further example, the power source 708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0112] Embodiments of the network node 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 7 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 700 and to allow output of information from the network node 700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 700.

[0113] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a host 800, which may be an embodiment of the host 516 of Figure 5, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 800 may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 800 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0114] The host 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input / output interface 806, a network interface 808, a power source 810, and memory 812. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 6 and 7, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 800.

[0115] The memory 812 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 814 and data 816, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 800 or data generated by the host 800 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 800 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 814 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.76), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of LEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, and heads-up display systems). The host application programs 814 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 800 may select and / or indicate a different host for Over-The-Top (OTT) services for a UE. The host application programs 814 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH or MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0116] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 9000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates toan implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 9000 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 9000 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0117] Applications 9002 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 9000 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0118] Hardware 9004 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 9006 (also referred to as hypervisors or VM Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 9008A and 9008B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 9008), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 9006 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 9008.

[0119] The VMs 9008 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 9006. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 9002 may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 9008, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0120] In the context of NFV, a VM 9008 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 9008, and that part of the hardware 9004 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs 9008, formsseparate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 9008 on top of the hardware 9004 and corresponds to the application 9002.

[0121] The hardware 9004 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 9004 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 9004 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 9010, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 9002. In some embodiments, the hardware 9004 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a RAN or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 9012 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0122] Figure 10 shows a communication diagram of a host 1002 communicating via a network node 1004 with a UE 1006 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as the UE 512A of Figure 5 and / or the UE 600 of Figure 6), the network node (such as the network node 510A of Figure 5 and / or the network node 700 of Figure 7), and the host (such as the host 516 of Figure 5 and / or the host 800 of Figure 8) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 10.

[0123] Like the host 800, embodiments of the host 1002 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1002 also includes software, which is stored in or is accessible by the host 1002 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1006 connecting via an OTT connection 1050 extending between the UE 1006 and the host 1002. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1050.

[0124] The network node 1004 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1002 and the UE 1006. The connection 1060 may be direct or pass through a core network (like the core network 506 of Figure 5) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0125] The UE 1006 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1006 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1006 with the support of the host 1002. In the host 1002, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1050 terminating at the UE 1006 and the host 1002. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1050 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1050.

[0126] The OTT connection 1050 may extend via the connection 1060 between the host 1002 and the network node 1004 and via a wireless connection 1070 between the network node 1004 and the UE 1006 to provide the connection between the host 1002 and the UE 1006. The connection 1060 and the wireless connection 1070, over which the OTT connection 1050 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1002 and the UE 1006 via the network node 1004, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0127] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1050, in step 1008, the host 1102 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1006. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1006 that shares data with the host 1002 without explicit human interaction. In step 1010, the host 1002 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1006. The host 1002 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1006. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1006 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1006. The transmission may pass via the network node 1004 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1012, the network node 1004 transmits to the UE 1006 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1002 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1014, the UE 1006 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1006 associated with the host application executed by the host 1002.

[0128] In some examples, the UE 1006 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1002. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1002. Accordingly, in step 1016, the UE 1006 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1006. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1006 initiates, in step 1018, transmission of the user data towards the host 1002 via the network node 1004. In step 1020, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1004 receives user data from the UE 1006 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1002. In step 1022, the host 1002 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1006.

[0129] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1006 using the OTT connection 1050, in which the wireless connection 1070 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the e.g., data rate, latency, power consumption, etc. and thereby provide benefits such as e.g., reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

[0130] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1002. As another example, the host 1002 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1002 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1002 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1002 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR which it can broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1002 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0131] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 between the host 1002 and the UE 1006 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1002 and / or the UE 1006. Insome embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1050 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1050 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1004. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like by the host 1002. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1050 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0132] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in practice computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0133] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0134] While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

[0135] Embodiments:Group A Embodiments1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, the method comprising any one or more of the following:receiving (100) one or more CSI report configurations from a network node (NW), where the One or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports;receiving (and measuring) downlink channel information and determining (102) the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) according to the one or multiple configured RS resources for channel measurement and associated CSI reporting.reporting (103) the calculated base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) to the NW, optionally together in the same UL transmission.2. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:providing user data; andforwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.Group B Embodiments3. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising one or more of thefollowing:transmitting (200) one or more CSI report configurations to a user equipment (UE), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSI-RS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports;receiving (202) the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) from the UE, optionally together in the same UL transmission4. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:obtaining user data; andforwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group C Embodiments5. A user equipment compri sing:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.6. A network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.7. A user equipment (UE) comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; anda battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.8. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:processing circuitry configured to provide user data; anda network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.9. The host of the previous embodiment, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; andthe UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.10. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:providing user data for the UE; andinitiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.11. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.12. The method of any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.13. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the communication system comprising:a host comprising:processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; anda network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.14. The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and / orthe UE.15. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; anda network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host. 16. The host of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that receives the user data; andthe host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.17. The host of the any of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data.18. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host.19. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.

[0136] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, the method comprising any one or more of the following:receiving (100) one or more channel state information (CSI) report configurations from a network node (NW), where the One or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSLRS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports;receiving (and measuring) downlink channel information and determining (102) the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) according to the one or multiple configured RS resources for channel measurement and associated CSI reporting; or reporting (103) the calculated base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) to the NW, optionally together in the same UL transmission.

2. The method of the previous claims, further comprising:providing user data; andforwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

3. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising one or more of the following:transmitting (200) one or more CSI report configurations to a user equipment (UE), where the one or more CSI report configurations comprise one or more of: a first CSI report configuration for a base (Or first) CSI report, a second CSI report configuration for one or more auxiliary (or secondary) CSI reports, linkage information between the first CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI reports, e.g., how the PMI of an auxiliary report should relate to the PMI reported in the first report, indication of one or multiple reference signal (RS) resource(s) (e.g., CSLRS resource(s)) configured for channel measurement that is used for all the configured CSI reports;receiving (202) the base CSI report and the one or more auxiliary CSI report(s) from the UE, optionally together in the same UL transmission4. The method of the previous claims, further comprising:obtaining user data; andforwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

5. A user equipment compri sing:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of either claim 1 or 2; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

6. A network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of either claim 3 or 4; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

7. A user equipment (UE) comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of either claim 1 or 2; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; anda battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

8. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:processing circuitry configured to provide user data; anda network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of either claim 3 or 4 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

9. The host of the previous claim, wherein:the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; andthe UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host.

10. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:providing user data for the UE; andinitiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of either claim 3 or 4 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

11. The method of the previous claim, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE.

12. The method of any of the previous 2 claims, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

13. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the communication system comprising:a host comprising:processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; anda network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of either claim 3 or 4 to transmit the user data from the host to the UE.

14. The communication system of the previous claim, further comprising:the network node; and / orthe UE.

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