Transmission and reception of control information

Abstract

A method performed by a wireless device (410) is provided. The method comprises receiving (210) a transmission (430), receiving (220) control information (440) scheduling a plurality of data transmissions, and transmitting (230) control information (450) that is based on the received transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions 5 based on one or more timing requirements. A method performed by a network node (420) is also provided. The method comprises transmitting (310) a transmission (430), transmitting (320) control information (440) scheduling a plurality of data transmissions, and receiving (330) control information (450) that is based on the transmitted transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing 0 requirements. A corresponding wireless device and a corresponding network node are also provided.

Description

[0001] TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF CONTROL INFORMATION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to transmission and reception of control information.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks, also known as 5G or NR, uplink control information (UCI) is control information sent by a user equipment (UE) to a network node (such as an NR base station, also referred to as a gNB). The UCI may include:

[0006] • hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback, which is feedback information corresponding to a received downlink transport block and which indicates whether the transport block reception was successful or not by providing an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK);

[0007] • channel state information (CSI) related to downlink (DL) channel conditions which provides the gNB with channel-related information useful for downlink scheduling, including information for multi-antenna and beamforming schemes; and

[0008] • a scheduling request (SR) which indicates a need of uplink (UL) resources for an UL data transmission from the UE.

[0009] A UCI is typically transmitted on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). However, if a UE is transmitting data on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) with a valid PUSCH resource overlapping with PUCCH, then the UCI can be multiplexed with UL data and transmitted on PUSCH instead. This is described for example in the third generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specification (TS) 38.213 vl 8.4.0 section 9.2.5, and may be referred to as “UCI-on-PUSCH”.

[0010] In NR, the procedure for receiving a downlink data transmission in the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is that the UE first monitors and decodes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in slot n. The PDCCH includes downlink control information (DCI) pointing to a downlink data transmission in PDSCH scheduled in slot n+Ko, where Ko is larger than or equal to 0. The UE then decodes the downlink data in the scheduled data transmission. Finally, based on the outcome of the decoding, the UE either sends ACK or NACK to the gNB in slot n+Ko+Ki (but in case of slot aggregation for PDSCH, n+Ko would be replaced by the slot where the PDSCH ends). For dynamic scheduling, both Ko and Ki are indicated in the DCI scheduling PDSCH. In this sense, the HARQ-ACK feedback may be considered “scheduled” by the DCI scheduling PDSCH. The resource to be used by the UE for sending the acknowledgement is indicated by the PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) field in the DCI which points to one of the PUCCH resources that have been configured by higher layers.

[0011] Depending on DL / UL slot configurations, or whether carrier aggregation or per codeblock group (CBG) transmission is used in the DL, the feedback for several PDSCHs may need to be multiplexed in one feedback. This is done by constructing HARQ-ACK codebooks. In NR, the UE can be configured to multiplex the HARQ-ACK bits using a semistatic codebook or a dynamic codebook.

[0012] A PUCCH resource for HARQ-ACK transmission can overlap in time with other PUCCH resources for CSI and / or SR transmissions as well as PUSCH transmissions in a slot. The UE may handle this overlap by multiplexing these different pieces of information for joint transmission in the uplink, which may lead to partial or complete dropping of CSI bits.

[0013] In NR, CSI measurements are performed and reported by UEs to gNBs. The CSI measurements are defined to facilitate operations performed by the gNB such as scheduling, link adaptation, selection of antenna ports of the UE, power control adjustment in the DL, power control adjustment in the UL, etc. The CSI measurements are typically performed based on some reference signals, for example CSI-reference signals (CSI-RS) that are transmitted in the DL by the serving cell of the UE. The gNB can request the UE perform measurements and send CSI reports. CSI reports from the UE can be periodic, semi- persistent, or aperiodic. Non-limiting examples of different types of information that may be present in CSI reports are channel quality indication (CQI), precoder matrix indication (PMI), CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), rank indication (RI), layer Indication (LI), and LI -reference signal received power (Ll-RSRP).

[0014] SUMMARY

[0015] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a new way for wireless devices (such as UEs) to send control information to network nodes, which may for example be used in a future generation communication standard and / or in a future release of a an already existing communication standard such as NR.

[0016] A first aspect provides embodiments of a method performed by a wireless device. The method comprises receiving a transmission, receiving control information scheduling a plurality of data transmissions, and transmitting control information that is based on the received transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements.

[0017] Corresponding embodiments of a wireless device are also provided.

[0018] A second aspect provides embodiments of a method performed by a network node. The method comprises transmitting a transmission, transmitting control information scheduling a plurality of data transmissions, and receiving control information that is based on the transmitted transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements.

[0019] Corresponding embodiments of a network node are also provided.

[0020] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] Example embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which:

[0022] Figure 1 illustrates some differences between UCI-on-PUSCH in NR and L2 feedback on PUS CH;

[0023] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a method performed by a wireless device, according to some embodiments;

[0024] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method performed by a network node, according to some embodiments;

[0025] Figure 4 illustrates signalling between a wireless device and a network node, according to some embodiments;

[0026] Figure 5 illustrates signalling between a wireless device and a network node in a scenario where the wireless device sends feedback for a data transmission, according to some embodiments;

[0027] Figure 6 illustrates example timing requirements for the scenario in Figure 5;

[0028] Figure 7 illustrates signalling between a wireless device and a network node in a scenario where the wireless device sends information indicating a channel state, according to some embodiments;

[0029] Figure 8 illustrates example timeline requirements for the scenario in Figure 7;

[0030] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system, according to some embodiments;

[0031] Figure 10 shows another example of a communication system, according to some embodiments; Figure 11 shows a wireless device, according to some embodiments;

[0032] Figure 12 shows a network node, according to some embodiments; and

[0033] Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0034] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0036] A concept that may be considered for a future generation communication standard and / or a future release of an existing communication standard such as NR is what may be referred to as “L2 feedback on PUSCH”. By L2 (Layer 2) feedback is referred to herein as UCI (such as HARQ-ACK feedback providing feedback on decoding of PDSCH or CSI providing feedback on channel conditions experienced by a downlink reference signal) which is multiplexed onto a transport block and transmitted on PUSCH. Note that the L2 feedback on PUSCH considered here is different from the “UCI-on-PUSCH” in NR referred to above in the background section in that the feedback would be multiplexed into a PUSCH transport block and processed jointly (channel coded, modulated, etc.) with UL data (if there is any UL data to be transmitted in the PUSCH transport block), while for UCI-on-PUSCH in NR, the HARQ-ACK feedback would be processed separately from the PUSCH transport block and only multiplexed physically onto the PUSCH by some resource mapping scheme, such as rate-matching or puncturing. This difference between the structure of UCI-on-PUSCH in NR and the structure of L2 feedback on PUSCH is illustrated in Figure 1. In UCI-on-PUSCH in NR, the multiplexing of UCI onto PUSCH may be regarded as multiplexing on layer 1 (LI). Indeed, depending on the UCI payload size, either some resource elements of the PUSCH are reserved for the UCI transmission or punctured by the UCI transmission.

[0037] Another difference between the UCI-on-PUSCH in NR and L2 feedback on PUSCH is how the timing of the UCI is determined. The UCI-on-PUSCH in NR is synchronous as it may be considered “scheduled” by the DL DCI, because a PUCCH resource for sending the UCI is indicated in the DL DCI that schedules the PDSCH. It is when the indicated PUCCH resource collides with a PUSCH that the UCI becomes UCI-on-PUSCH instead of UCI-on- PUCCH. In contrast, L2 feedback on PUSCH may be asynchronous with respect to the DL DCI scheduling the PDSCH as the DL DCI does not necessarily indicate a dedicated UL resource in which to transmit the UCI (such as the HARQ-ACK feedback of the PDSCH). Instead, the UCI can be sent whenever a suitable UL resource (such as PUSCH) is scheduled.

[0038] But it may be useful to have some form of control or criteria for which UL resources that may be used for transmitting L2 feedback on PUSCH. More specifically, it may be useful to apply criteria regarding the timing for when L2 feedback on PUSCH may be transmitted so that the transmitting entity (such as a UE) and the receiving entity (such as a network node) both know in which UL resources the L2 feedback on PUSCH may be transmitted. Embodiments presented in the present disclosure therefore involve use of one or more timing requirements for which data transmissions to be selected for transmission of control information from a wireless device to a network node.

[0039] The description above uses terminology from NR, including terms such as UCI, DCI, PUSCH, PUCCH, HARQ-ACK, etc. While some of the embodiments described below are also presented using such terminology, it will be appreciated that the technical teaching provided herein may apply also to a future generation communication standard even if such a standard uses a different terminology than NR.

[0040] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a method 200 performed by a wireless device (for example a UE), according to some embodiments. The wireless device may for example comprise processing circuitry and / or communication circuitry configured to perform the method 200. The wireless device may for example comprise one or more memories and processing circuitry, where the one or more memories store instructions which when executed by the processing circuitry cause the wireless device to perform the method 200. It will be appreciated that the wireless device is adapted / configured for communicating wirelessly (for example via radio communication), but and that the wireless device could include one or more wired connections (for example internally within the wireless device between one or more of its components).

[0041] The method 200 comprises receiving 210 a transmission. The transmission may for example be received from a network node. However, embodiments may also be envisaged where the transmission is received from some other type of node or entity, such as another wireless device. The transmission may for example be a data transmission or a reference signal.

[0042] The method 200 comprises receiving 220 control information scheduling a plurality of data transmissions. The control information may for example be received from a network node. However, embodiments may also be envisaged where the control information is received from some other type of device or entity, such as another wireless device. The control information may for example include one or more messages, such as for example downlink control information (DCI) messages. The plurality of data transmissions may for example be scheduled by the same message or may for example be scheduled by different messages. The reception of control information at step 220 may for example be performed before or after the reception of the transmission at step 210.

[0043] The method 200 comprises transmitting 230 control information that is based on the received transmission (that is, the transmission received at step 210) in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements. In other words, which of the data transmissions scheduled at step 220 to be used for transmitting the control information at step 230 is selected based on one or more timing requirements. Hence, the method 200 may for example comprise selecting, based on the one or more timing requirements, a data transmission from the data transmissions scheduled at step 220 to be used for transmitting the control information. The selected data transmission may for example satisfy the one or more timing requirements. It should be noted that more than one of the scheduled data transmissions could be selected, so in some embodiments the control information may be transmitted in more than one data transmission. The control information may for example be transmitted to a network node. However, embodiments may also be envisaged where the control information is transmitted some other type of device or entity, such as another wireless device.

[0044] The timing requirements referred to at step 230 may for example define a start point and / or an end point of a time window during which the control information may be transmitted, and the wireless device may select one or more data transmission scheduled in that time window for transmitting the control information. Examples of the timing requirements referred to at step 230 will be described further below with reference to Figures 5-8.

[0045] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method 300 performed by a network node (for example a base station), according to some embodiments. The network node may for example comprise processing circuitry and / or communication circuitry configured to perform the method 300. The network node may for example comprise one or more memories and processing circuitry, where the one or more memories store instructions which when executed by the processing circuitry cause the network node to perform the method 300.

[0046] The method 300 comprises transmitting 310 a transmission. The transmission may for example be transmitted to a wireless device. However, embodiments may also be envisaged where the transmission is transmitted to some other type of device or entity, such as another network node. The transmission may for example be a data transmission or a reference signal.

[0047] The method 300 comprises transmitting 220 control information scheduling a plurality of data transmissions. The control information may for example be transmitted to a wireless device. However, embodiments may also be envisaged where the control information is transmitted to some other type of device or entity, such as another network node. The control information may for example include one or more messages, such as for example downlink control information (DCI) messages. The plurality of data transmissions may for example be scheduled by the same message or may for example be scheduled by different messages. The transmission of control information at step 320 may for example be performed before or after the transmission of the transmission at step 310.

[0048] The method 300 comprises receiving 330 control information that is based on the transmitted transmission (that is, the transmission transmitted at step 310) in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements. In other words, which of the data transmissions scheduled at step 320 to be used for receiving the control information at step 330 is selected based on one or more timing requirements. Hence, the method 300 may for example comprise selecting, based on the one or more timing requirements, a data transmission from the data transmissions scheduled at step 320 to be used for receiving the control information. It should be noted that more than one of the scheduled data transmissions could be selected, so in some embodiments the control information may be received in more than one data transmission. The control information may for example be received from a wireless device. However, embodiments may also be envisaged where the control information is received from some other type of device or entity, such as another network node.

[0049] The timing requirements referred to at step 330 may for example define a start point and / or an end point of a time window during which the control information may be transmitted, and the network node may select one or more data transmission scheduled in that time window for receiving the control information. Examples of the timing requirements referred to at step 330 will be described further below with reference to Figures 5-8.

[0050] Figure 4 is a signalling diagram showing how a wireless device 410 performing the method 200 may interact with a network node 420 performing the method 300. As shown in Figure 4:

[0051] • the transmission 430 transmitted by the network node 420 at step 310 may be received by the wireless device 410 at step 210; • the control information 440 transmitted by the network node 420 at step 320 may be received by the wireless device 410 at step 220; and

[0052] • the control information 450 transmitted by the wireless device 410 at step 230 may be received by the network node 420 at step 330.

[0053] According to some embodiments, the control information 450 that is based on the transmission 430 is combined with data and processed jointly with the data before being transmitted by the wireless device 410 in the selected data transmission. For example, the control information 450 that is based on the transmission 430 may be multiplexed (for example into a transport block) and processed jointly with data before being transmitted by the wireless device 410 in the selected data transmission. The joint processing with data may for example include channel coding and / or modulation. The control information 450 may for example be treated as in the concept “L2 feedback on PUSCH” described above with reference to Figure 1. In contrast to UCI-on-PUSCH in NR described above, the control information 450 may be multiplexed into a transport block and processed jointly with data before being transmitted in a data transmission, such as a PUSCH transmission.

[0054] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements referred to in the methods 200 and 300 may depend on:

[0055] • a parameter provided from the network node 420 to the wireless device 410 via configuration (for example a parameter provided via radio resource control signalling); and / or

[0056] • a parameter provided from the network node 420 to the wireless device 410 via control information (for example a parameter provided via downlink control information); and / or

[0057] • a capability reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420 (for example as part of UE capability reporting); and / or

[0058] • a subcarrier spacing (SCS).

[0059] For example, the wireless device 410 may need some time to process the transmission 430 received at step 210 and some time to prepare the transmission of the control information 450 that will made at step 230. This may be reflected by a capability reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420 and may affect the one or more timing requirements applied by the wireless device 410 and the network node 420.

[0060] As another example, current circumstances in the network (for example the number of wireless devices connected to a cell, or a type of service that the network is supposed to provide to the wireless device 410) may affect when it would be suitable for the control information 450 to be transmitted. Also, more long term properties of the network (such as how densely the nodes in the network are arranged, or what capacity the nodes have) may affect which timing may be suitable for transmission of the control information 450. The network node 420 may therefore signal one or more parameters to the wireless device 410 that control / affect the one or more timing requirements applied by the wireless device 410 and the network node 420. Different types of signalling may be used for this purpose, such as radio resource control (RRC) signalling, downlink control information (DCI), or medium access control (MAC) signalling such as a MAC control element. The signalling of the one or more parameters may for example be sent from the network node 420 to the wireless device 410 before the transmission 430, but could for example be transmitted after the transmission 430 and / or after the control information 440.

[0061] According to some embodiments, the wireless device transmits the control information 450 that is based on the received transmission 430 in the first of the scheduled data transmissions that satisfies the one or more timing requirements. Similarly, the network node 420 may receive the control information 450 that is based on the transmitted transmission 430 in the first of the scheduled data transmissions that satisfies the one or more timing requirements. This may be used as a deterministic rule to determine where the control information 450 is to be transmitted, to avoid ambiguity and / or uncertainty at the network node 420 in what data transmission to receive the control information 450. If the wireless device 410 and the network node 420 both know that the first of the scheduled data transmissions that satisfies the one or more timing requirements will be selected for transmission of the control information 450, then there may be no need for the selected data transmission to include any indicator or flag to inform the network node 420 that it includes the control information 450. However, embodiments may also be envisaged in which the wireless device 410 transmits the control information 450 in one or more of the first N data transmissions satisfying the one or more scheduling requirements, where N is a positive integer which may for example be signalled from the network node 420 to the wireless device 410, for example via higher layer signalling such as RRC signalling. If PUSCH repetition is applied for the scheduled data transmissions, then the value N may for example include a PUSCH repetition factor.

[0062] According to some embodiments, the data transmission in which to transmit 230 the control information 450 that is based on the received transmission 430 is selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on the one or more timing requirements and based on one or more prioritization rules (for example one or more logical channel prioritization rules). Similarly, the data transmission in which to receive 330 the control information that is based on the transmitted transmission 430 may be selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on the one or more timing requirements and based on one or more prioritization rules (for example one or more logical channel prioritization rules). Information to be transmitted in the scheduled data transmissions may for example be prioritized based on various factors such as what type of service the different pieces of information are associated with, or what channels (for example what logical channels) the different pieces of information are associated with. For example, the first scheduled data transmission that satisfies the one or more timing requirements may be used for data of some type that has higher priority that the control information 450, so the wireless device 410 may instead transmit the control information 450 in some other (for example the second) scheduled data transmission that satisfies the one or more timing requirements. As another example, the wireless device 410 may transmit the control information 450 based on L2 / MAC multiplexing criteria, e.g., following the logical channel prioritization rules including the priorities of different MAC- CE. If the rules result in that the control information 450 should be included in a scheduled data transmission, the UE transmits it as part of the transport block, otherwise the transport block in this data transmission does not include the control information 450. This can result in control information 450 being included in one of the multiple valid data transmissions. As another example, the first scheduled data transmission occasion may be used for C-RNTI MAC CE or data from UL-CCCH with higher priority than the control information 450.

[0063] Thus, the control information 450 may be transmitted in the next scheduled data transmission instead.

[0064] According to some embodiments, an indication is provided in the selected data transmission to indicate presence of the control information 450 that is based on the transmission 430 received by the wireless device 410. Such an indication may help the network node 420 to identify which data transmission includes the control information 450, for example in a scenario where more than one of the scheduled data transmissions satisfy the one or more timing requirements. The indication may for example be provided by a header which is multiplexed, in the selected data transmission, with the control information 450 that is based on the received transmission. The indication may for example be provided by a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). A specific set of DMRS may for example be used for such an indication (e.g., generated from a certain initialization of the sequence used for the DMRS). The network node 420 may know exactly which DMRS sequence in a DMRS set is used by the wireless device 410 to transmit a scheduled data transmission, but what the network node 420 does not know in this scenario is the DMRS set the wireless device 410 uses, so the network node 420 may need to perform a maximum of two hypotheses to get the indication.

[0065] According to some embodiments, the selected data transmission is scheduled with repetitions, and the control information 450 that is based on the received transmission 430 is transmitted also in one or more repetitions of the selected data transmission. This may for example allow the network node 420 to soft combine the selected data transmission and its repetitions. The data transmission in which the control information 450 is transmitted may for example be a PUSCH transmission and the repetitions may for example be PUSCH repetitions. The following examples will be described in the terminology of PUSCH repetitions, but it will be appreciated that analogous examples apply also in scenarios where the data transmissions are not called PUSCH transmissions.

[0066] In some examples, the control information 450 may be transmitted in one or more PUSCHs in a PUSCH repetition if the first PUSCH of the PUSCH repetition satisfies the one or more timing requirements. For example, when the one or more timing requirements are satisfied, the wireless device 410 may transmit the control information 450 in all PUSCHs of the PUSCH repetition.

[0067] In some examples, the control information 450 may be transmitted on a PUSCH in the PUSCH repetition if the PUSCH satisfies the one or more timing requirements, regardless of whether the first PUSCH in the PUSCH repetition satisfies the one or more timing requirements. The wireless device 410 may for example transmit the control information 450 only in the first PUSCH which satisfies the one or more timing requirements, or the wireless device 410 may transmit the control information 450 in any PUSCH of the PUSCH repetition that satisfies the one or more timing requirements.

[0068] When transmitting the control information 450 in a PUSCH which is not the first PUSCH of the PUSCH repetition, the wireless device 410 may for example indicate the presence of the control information 450. Based on such an indication, the network node 420 may discard that PUSCH when performing reception of the PUSCH repetition, e.g., soft combining only PUSCHs which do not contain the control information 450. One example of the indication is through the use of a specific DMRS indicating the presence of the control information 450 in the PUSCH.

[0069] In some examples, when the control information 450 can only be transmitted in a

[0070] PUSCH which is not the first PUSCH of the PUSCH repetition due to the one or more timing requirements, the wireless device may for example only transmits PUSCH(s) which can carry the control information (i.e. those satisfying the one or more timing requirements) and may not transmit the earlier PUSCH(s).

[0071] In some examples, if one PUSCH out of the PUSCH repetitions is a valid PUSCH for the control information 450 according to the one or more timing requirements, then the control information 450 may be transmitted in the first valid PUSCH and also in the remaining PUSCH repetitions after the first valid PUSCH even if those remaining PUSCH repetitions do not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. This may for example allow the network node 420 to soft combine the selected data transmission and its repetitions. But if the network node 420 for some reason cannot wait for the repetitions that do not satisfy the one or more timing requirements, then the network node 420 may still obtain the control information 450 from the PUSCH that satisfies the one or more timing requirements.

[0072] According to some embodiments, the transmission 430 is a data transmission and the control information 450 is feedback (for example HARQ feedback) regarding successful reception and / or decoding of the received data transmission. This is illustrated in Figure 5, where the transmission 430 from Figure 4 is shown as a data transmission 540, the control information 440 from Figure 4 is shown as control information 550, and the control information 450 from Figure 4 is shown as feedback 560. The feedback 560 may for example be a positive acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK) depending on whether the wireless device 410 was able to successfully receive and decode the data transmission 540. According to some embodiments, the data transmission 540 has been scheduled by control information 510 transmitted 520 from the network node 420 and received 530 by the wireless device 410.

[0073] Figure 6 illustrates example timing requirements which may be applied in the context of Figure 5. In the example shown in Figure 6, the control information 550 schedules three data transmissions: Data transmission 1, Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3. The control information 550 may look like a single message in Figure 6, but it will be appreciated that (while it is possible to have a single DCI schedule multiple data transmissions) the control information 550 may for example include several messages, such that each of the three data transmissions is scheduled by a respective control information message.

[0074] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a first minimum time 610 between the data transmission 540 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted by the wireless device 410. In the example illustrated in Figure 6, Data transmission 1 is too early because the time between the data transmission 540 and Data transmission 1 is shorter than the first minimum time 610. Data transmission 1 therefore does not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. But Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3 both satisfy the timing requirement that the time between the data transmission 540 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted is at least as large as the first minimum time 610. The first minimum time 610 may for example be defined / measured from the end of the data transmission 540 (for example from the last frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission 540) to the beginning of the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted (for example to the first frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted).

[0075] Figure 6 shows a time window 660 during which the control information 560 is allowed to be transmitted. The time window 660 starts at a start time 670 located at the end of the first minimum time 610. The start time 670 may for example be a time at which the wireless device 410 is expected to have had sufficient time to prepare a data transmission including the feedback 560. The time window 660 ends at an end time 680, which may for example be a time after which the network node 420 is not expected to have to wait for the feedback 560. The start time 670, end time 680, and / or length of the time window 660 may for example be configured to the wireless device 410 by the network node 420 through one or more higher layer parameters, or may be indicated dynamically for example in the control information 510 scheduling the data transmission 540.

[0076] According to some embodiments, the first minimum time 610 includes:

[0077] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process control information 510 scheduling the received data transmission 540 (which may be denoted by Tcontrolproc); and / or

[0078] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process the received data transmission 540 (which may be denoted by Tdataproc); and / or

[0079] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the feedback 560 (which may be denoted by Tfeedbackprep); and / or

[0080] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tcontrol2proc); and / or

[0081] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tdataprep). The wireless device 410 may need time to decode and / or process the received data transmission 540 before the feedback 560 may be prepared. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410, such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410. But before the wireless device 410 may decode and / or process the received data transmission 540 it may have to decode and / or process control information 510 scheduling the received data transmission 540. In some scenarios, this decoding and / or processing of the control information 510 may have been completed by the wireless device 410 before the data transmission 540 is received (whereby Tcontrolproc may not contribute to the first minimum time 610). But in other scenarios, the wireless device 410 may for example need to buffer at least part of the data transmission 540 while completing the decoding and / or processing of the control information 510, before the wireless device 410 may decode and / or process the received data transmission 540. Hence, Tcontrolproc may contribute to the first minimum time 610. After the wireless device 410 has decoded and / or processed the received data transmission 540 it may need time to prepare the feedback 560. The wireless device 410 may for example need to determine whether the decoding was successful and determine one or more suitable feedback bits. After the wireless device 410 has prepared the feedback 560, the wireless device 410 may need to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1 for the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, the feedback 560 may need to be multiplexed and jointly processed with the data before being transmitted in the data transmission. This is in contrast to UCI-on-PUSCH where the UCI is processed separately from the data and is merely inserted into suitable resource elements in the PUSCH transmission. But before the wireless device 410 may transmit the feedback 560 in the selected data transmission, the wireless device 410 may also need to decode and / or process the control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. In some scenarios, this decoding and / or processing of the control information 550 may be performed by the wireless device 410 in parallel with the decoding and / or processing of the data transmission 540, with the preparation of the feedback 560, or with the preparation of the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (whereby Tcontrol2proc may not contribute to the first minimum time 610). But in other scenarios, the wireless device 410 may not be able to perform the decoding and / or processing of the control information 550 in parallel to other tasks and may therefore need extra time to perform this. Tcontrol2proc may therefore contribute to the first minimum time 610. Hence, the first minimum time 610 may for example be expressed as: First minimum time 610 =

[0082] Tcontrolproc + Tdataproc + Tfeedbackprep + Tcontrol2proc + Tdataprep But it will be appreciated that the first minimum time 610 could be expressed in other ways, and that not necessarily all of the five terms Tproc, Tcontrolproc, Tfeedbackprep, Tcontrol2proc and Tdataprep may be included. One or more of the terms Tproc, Tcontrolproc, Tfeedbackprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdataprep may for example be defined in the specifications of a communication standard and / or may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 which may be reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420.

[0083] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a second minimum time 620 between reception of control information 510 scheduling the received data transmission 540 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted by the wireless device 410. In the example illustrated in Figure 6, Data transmission 1 is too early because the time between the control information 510 and Data transmission 1 is shorter than the second minimum time 620. Data transmission 1 therefore does not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. But Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3 both satisfy the timing requirement that the time between the control information 510 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted is at least as large as the second minimum time 620. The second minimum time 620 may for example be defined / measured from the end of the control information 510 (for example from the last frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the control information 510) to the beginning of the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted (for example to the first frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted).

[0084] Figure 6 shows a time window 660 during which the control information 560 is allowed to be transmitted. The time window 660 starts at a start time 670 located at the end of the second minimum time 620. The start time 670 may for example be a time at which the wireless device 410 is expected to have had sufficient time to prepare a data transmission including the feedback 560. The time window 660 ends at an end time 680, which may for example be a time after which the network node 420 is not expected to have to wait for the feedback 560. In the example shown in Figure 6, the end of the second minimum time 620 coincides with the end of the first minimum time 610. But embodiments may also be envisaged where this is not the case. The start time 670 of the time window 660 may then for example be located where the last one of the first minimum time 610 and the second minimum time 620 ends. According to some embodiments, the second minimum time 620 includes:

[0085] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process the control information 510 scheduling the received data transmission 540 (which may be denoted by Tcontrolproc); and / or

[0086] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process the received data transmission 540 (which may be denoted by Tdataproc); and / or

[0087] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the feedback 560 (which may be denoted by Tfeedbackprep); and / or

[0088] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tcontrol2proc); and / or

[0089] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tdataprep).

[0090] The wireless device 410 may need time to decode and / or process the received control information 510 before the data transmission may be received. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410, such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410. The wireless device 410 may then need time to decode and / or process the received data transmission 540 before the feedback 560 may be prepared. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410, such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410. After the wireless device 410 has received and / or processed the received data transmission 540 it may need time to prepare the feedback 560. The wireless device 410 may for example need to determine whether the decoding was successful and determine one or more suitable feedback bits. After the wireless device 410 has prepared the feedback 560, the wireless device 410 may need to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1 for the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, the feedback 560 may need to be multiplexed and jointly processed with the data before being transmitted in the data transmission. This is in contrast to UCI-on- PUSCH where the UCI is processed separately from the data and is merely inserted into suitable resource elements in the PUSCH transmission. But before the wireless device 410 may transmit the feedback 560 in the selected data transmission, the wireless device 410 may also need to decode and / or process the control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. In some scenarios, this decoding and / or processing of the control information 550 may be performed by the wireless device 410 in parallel with the decoding and / or processing of the data transmission 540, with the preparation of the feedback 560, or with the preparation of the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (whereby Tcontrol2proc may not contribute to the second minimum time 620). But in other scenarios, the wireless device 410 may not be able to perform the decoding and / or processing of the control information 550 in parallel to other tasks and may therefore need extra time to perform this. Tcontrol2proc may therefore contribute to the second minimum time 620. Hence, the second minimum time 620 may for example be expressed as:

[0091] Second minimum time 620 =

[0092] Tcontrolproc + Tdataproc + Tfeedbackprep + Tcontrol2proc + Tdataprep But it will be appreciated that the second minimum time 620 could be expressed in other ways, and that not necessarily all of the five terms Tcontrolproc, Tproc, Tfeedbackprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdataprep may be included. One or more of the terms Tcontrolproc, Tproc, Tfeedbackprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdataprep may for example be defined in the specifications of a communication standard and / or may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 which may be reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420.

[0093] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a third minimum time 630 between reception of control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. In the example illustrated in Figure 6, Data transmission 1 is too early because the time between the control information 550 and Data transmission 1 is shorter than the third minimum time 630. Data transmission 1 therefore does not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. But Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3 both satisfy the timing requirement that the time between the control information 550 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted is at least as large as the third minimum time 630. The third minimum time 630 may for example be defined / measured from the end of the control information 550 (for example from the last frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the control information 550) to the beginning of the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted (for example to the first frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted).

[0094] It should be noted that if, for example, Data transmission 2 is scheduled by a second control information message that is separate from the control information message scheduling Data transmission 1, then the third minimum time 630 may be defined / measured from that second control information message when it is checked / evaluated whether Data transmission 2 satisfies the one or more timing requirements, so the end of the third minimum time 630 may also be different for Data transmission 2 than for Data transmission 1. Hence, if a time window 660 is employed relative to the control information scheduling the data transmission in which the control information 560 is to be transmitted, then the start time 670 of the time window 660 could be different for Data transmission 2 than for Data transmission 1. In the example shown in Figure 6, the end of the third minimum time 630 coincides with the end of the first minimum time 610. But embodiments may also be envisaged where this is not the case. The start time 670 of the time window 660 may then for example be located where the last one of the first minimum time 610, the second minimum time 620, and the third minimum time 630 ends.

[0095] According to some embodiments, the third minimum time 630 includes:

[0096] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process the control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tcontrol2proc); and / or

[0097] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tdataprep).

[0098] The wireless device 410 may need time to decode and / or process the received control information 550 before the data transmission that will carry the feedback 560 may be prepared. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410, such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410. The wireless device 410 may need to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1 for the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, the feedback 560 may need to be multiplexed and jointly processed with the data before being transmitted in the data transmission. This is in contrast to UCI-on-PUSCH where the UCI is processed separately from the data and is merely inserted into suitable resource elements in the PUSCH transmission. Hence, the third minimum time 630 may for example be expressed as:

[0099] Third minimum time 630 = Tcontrollproc + dataprep

[0100] But it will be appreciated that the third minimum time 630 could be expressed in other ways, and that not necessarily all of the two terms Tcontrol2proc and Tdataprep may be included. One or more of the terms Tcontrol2proc and Tdataprep may be defined in the specifications of a communication standard and / or may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 which may be reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420. According to some embodiments, the first minimum time 610 and / or the second minimum time 620 and / or the third minimum time 630 includes an offset. For example, in one or more of the three equations above for the first minimum time 610, the second minimum time 620, and the third minimum time 630, there may be an extra offset term, which could be positive or negative. A positive offset term may for example be used to provide an extra safety margin to the one or more timing requirements, or for taking into account additional delays than those described above. A negative offset may for example be used to compensate if some of the terms in an equation count the same delay several times. For example, some processing step may be accounted for in several of the terms in an equation, so when these terms are added together, a negative offset may be applied to compensate for this. As another example, the wireless device 410 may be constructed in such a manner that some of the processing steps associated with the terms Tcontrolproc, Tdataproc, Tfeedbackprep, Tcontrol2proc and / or Tdataprep may be performed in parallel, whereby a negative offset could be included in the equation above for the second minimum time 620.

[0101] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a first maximum time 640 between the received data transmission 540 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. This is illustrated in Figure 6. The end of the first maximum time 640 may for example provide and end time 680 of a time window 660 during which the control information 560 may be transmitted. In the example shown in Figure 6, the control information 560 need to be provided earlier than Data transmission 3 since Data transmission 3 is scheduled too late (i.e. more than the first maximum time 640 after the data transmission 540), but Data transmission 2 is scheduled sufficiently early. Similarly to the first minimum time 610 described above, the first maximum time 640 may be measured / defined from the end (for example the last frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the data transmission 540 to the start (for example the first frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. In some example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions beginning not later than the end of the first maximum time 640 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the feedback 560. In other example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions ending not later than the end of the first maximum time 640 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the feedback 560.

[0102] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a second maximum time 650 between reception of control information 510 scheduling the received data transmission 540 and the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. This is illustrated in Figure 6. The end of the second maximum time 650 may for example provide and end time 680 of a time window 660 during which the control information 560 may be transmitted. In the example shown in Figure 6, the control information 560 needs to be provided earlier than Data transmission 3 since Data transmission 3 is scheduled too late (i.e. more than the second maximum time 650 after the control information 510), but Data transmission 2 is scheduled sufficiently early. Similarly to the second minimum time 620 described above, the second maximum time 650 may be measured / defined from the end (for example the last frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the control information 510 to the start (for example the first frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted. In some example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions beginning not later than the end of the second maximum time 650 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the feedback 560. In other example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions ending not later than the end of the second maximum time 650 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the feedback 560.

[0103] The first maximum time 640 and / or the second maximum time 650 may for example indicate how long it is acceptable for the network node 420 to wait for the feedback 560. Waiting longer could for example affect latency and / or data throughput. If the feedback 560 cannot be provided within this time after the data transmission 540 and / or the control information 510, the wireless device 410 may for example not transmit the feedback to the network node 420. If the network node 420 does not schedule any data transmission satisfying the timing requirements (for example if none of the scheduled data transmissions are located in the time window 660), then the network node 420 may for example assume that the feedback 560 will not be transmitted by the wireless device 410. If the network node 420 does schedule a data transmission satisfying the timing requirements (for example a data transmission located in the time window 660) but does not receive feedback 560 within the first maximum time 640 and / or second maximum time 650, the network node 420 could interpret this in different ways. In one example, the network node 420 interprets that the control information 550 scheduling the data transmission was not received by the wireless device 410. In another example, the network node 420 may interpret not receiving the feedback 560 within the first maximum time 640 and / or second maximum time 650 as an implicit negative acknowledgement or an implicit positive acknowledgement by the wireless device 410. The first maximum time 640 and / or the second maximum time 650 may for example be at least partially controlled via one or more parameters transmitted from the network node 420 to the wireless device 410.

[0104] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a requirement that reception of control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is to be transmitted does not precede reception of control information 510 scheduling the received data transmission 540. This may for example be referred to as an out-of-order prohibition. For example (referring to Figure 6), when the wireless device 410 receives the control information 510 scheduling the data transmission 540 and realizes that feedback 560 should be transmitted for the data transmission 540, the wireless device 410 should not consider already scheduled data transmissions as candidates for transmitting the feedback 560. Instead, the wireless device 410 should only consider data transmissions that are scheduled by control information 550 received after reception of the control information 510. Without such an out-of-order prohibition, the wireless device 410 may be prevented from preparing scheduled uplink data transmissions because it may suddenly receive control information scheduling a downlink data transmission for which feedback should be transmitted in one of the already scheduled uplink transmissions. A wireless device that relies on the out-of-order prohibition may for example start to prepare a PUSCH as soon as it receives a PDCCH scheduling the PUSCH and may not be able to redo the PUSCH preparation when a later PDCCH indicates that control information 560 should transmitted in the uplink. Whether the wireless device 410 relies on the out-of-order prohibition, or whether the wireless device 410 is able to handle also such an out-of-order scenario may for example be based on a capability reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420. The out-of-order prohibition may also be referred to as out-of-order processing restriction.

[0105] According to some embodiments, the transmission 430 in Figure 4 includes a reference signal, and the control information 450 that is based on the transmission 430 is information indicating a channel state. This is illustrated in Figure 7, where the transmission 430 from Figure 4 is shown as reference signal 740, the control information 440 from Figure 4 is shown as control information 750, and the control information 450 from Figure 4 is shown as information 760 indicating a channel state. The reference signal 740 may for example be a signal known to the wireless device 410 on which the wireless device 410 may perform one or more measurements, for example for estimating / determining conditions and / or properties of a channel between the network node 420 and the wireless device 410. It will be appreciated that transmission 430 in Figure 4 may for example include a plurality of reference signals, on which one or more measurements may be performed by the wireless device 410, so the reference signal 740 may in at least some scenarios represent a plurality of reference signals. The reference signal 740 may for example be a downlink reference signal. The reference signal 740 may for example be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). The information 760 indicating a channel state may for example be channel state information (CSI). The information 760 indicating a channel state may for example include a channel quality indication (CQI), a precoder matrix indication (PMI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a rank indication (RI), a layer indication (LI), and / or a Ll-Reference Signal Received Power (Ll-RSRP).

[0106] According to some embodiments, the information 760 indicating a channel state has been triggered by a signal or message 710 received by the wireless device 410, for example from the network node 420. The signal or message 710 may for example be provided by downlink control information (DCI), for example as a certain value of a field in the DCI, or by medium access control (MAC) signalling, or by radio resource control (RRC) signalling. The signal or message 710 may for example trigger the wireless device 410 to perform a measurement on the reference signal 740, and / or to prepare information based on the measurement, and / or to report the information via the information 760 indicating a channel state. The signal or message 710 may for example be received by the wireless device 410 before the reference signal 740, but the signal or message 710 could instead be received after the reference signal 740 for example in a scenario where the wireless device 410 has already performed measurements on the reference signal 740 and the signal or message 710 only triggers reporting of the information 760 based on the measurement result.

[0107] Figure 8 illustrates example timing requirements which may be applied in the context of Figure 7. In the example shown in Figure 8, the control information 750 schedules three data transmissions: Data transmission 1, Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3. The control information 750 may look like a single message in Figure 8, but it will be appreciated that the control information 750 may for example include several messages, such that each of the three data transmissions is scheduled by a respective control information message.

[0108] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements referred to in the methods 200 and 300 include a fourth minimum time 810 between the received reference signal 740 and the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted. In the example illustrated in Figure 8, Data transmission 1 is too early because the time between the reference signal 740 and Data transmission 1 is shorter than the fourth minimum time 810. Data transmission 1 therefore does not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. But Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3 both satisfy the timing requirement that the time between the reference signal 740 and the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted is at least as large as the fourth minimum time 810. The fourth minimum time 810 may for example be defined / measured from the end of the reference signal 740 (for example from the last frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the reference signal 740) to the beginning of the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted (for example to the first frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted).

[0109] Figure 8 shows a time window 860 during which the information 760 indicating a channel state is allowed to be transmitted. The time window 860 starts at a start time 870 located at the end of the fourth minimum time 810. The start time 870 may for example be a time at which the wireless device 410 is expected to have had sufficient time to prepare a data transmission including the information 760 indicating a channel state. The time window 860 ends at an end time 880, which may for example be a time after which the network node 420 is not expected to have to wait for the information 760 indicating a channel state.

[0110] According to some embodiments, the fourth minimum time 810 includes:

[0111] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process a signal or message 710 triggering reporting of the information 760 indicating a channel state (which may be denoted by Ttriggerproc); and / or

[0112] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the information 760 indicating a channel state (which may be denoted by Tinfoprep); and / or

[0113] • a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tcontrol2proc); and / or

[0114] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tdata2prep).

[0115] The wireless device 410 may need time to prepare the information 760 indicating a channel state, which may for example include time to perform measurements on the reference signal 740 and time to process the results of the measurements to generate the information 760 to be transmitted. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410 (such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410 and / or a measurement capability of the wireless device 410) and / or properties of the reference signal 740 such as reference signal type, frequency range of the reference signal 740 etc. But before the wireless device 410 may prepare the information 760 it may have to decode and / or process the signal or message 710 triggering reporting of the information 760. In some scenarios, this decoding and / or processing of the trigger 710 may have been completed by the wireless device 410 before the reference signal 740 is received (whereby Ttriggerproc may not contribute to the fourth minimum time 810). But in other scenarios, the wireless device 410 may for example need to buffer at least part of the reference signal 740 while completing the decoding and / or processing of the trigger 710, before the wireless device 410 may prepare the information 760. Hence, Ttriggerproc may contribute to the fourth minimum time 810. After the wireless device 410 has prepared the information 760, the wireless device 410 may need time to prepare the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1 for the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, the information 760 may need to be multiplexed and jointly processed with the data before being transmitted in the data transmission. This is in contrast to UCI-on-PUSCH where the UCI is processed separately from the data and is merely inserted into suitable resource elements in the PUSCH transmission. But, similarly as described above for the first minimum time 610, Tcontrol2proc may also contribute to the fourth minimum time 810. Hence, the fourth minimum time 810 may for example be expressed as:

[0116] Fourth minimum time 810 =

[0117] Ttriggerproc + Tinf oprep + +Tcontrol2proc + Tdata prep But it will be appreciated that the fourth minimum time 810 could be expressed in other ways, and that not necessarily all of the terms Ttriggerproc, Tinfoprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdata2prep may be included. One or more of the terms Ttriggerproc, Tinfoprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdata2prep may for example be defined in the specifications of a communication standard and / or may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 which may be reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420.

[0118] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements referred to in the methods 200 and 300 include a fifth minimum time 820 between a signal or message 710 (also referred to herein as a trigger 710) triggering reporting of the information 760 indicating a channel state and the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted. In the example illustrated in Figure 8, Data transmission 1 is too early because the time between the trigger 710 and Data transmission 1 is shorter than the fifth minimum time 820. Data transmission 1 therefore does not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. But Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3 both satisfy the timing requirement that the time between the trigger 710 and the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted is at least as large as the fifth minimum time 820. The fifth minimum time 720 may for example be defined / measured from the end of the trigger 710 (for example from the last frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the trigger 710) to the beginning of the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted (for example to the first frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted).

[0119] Figure 8 shows a time window 860 during which the information 760 is allowed to be transmitted. The time window 860 starts at a start time 870 located at the end of the fifth minimum time 820. The start time 870 may for example be a time at which the wireless device 410 is expected to have had sufficient time to prepare a data transmission including the information 760. The time window 860 ends at an end time 880, which may for example be a time after which the network node 420 is not expected to have to wait for the information 760. In the example shown in Figure 8, the end of the fifth minimum time 820 coincides with the end of the fourth minimum time 810. But embodiments may also be envisaged where this is not the case. The start time 870 of the time window 860 may then for example be located where the last one of the fourth minimum time 810 and the fifth minimum time 820 ends.

[0120] According to some embodiments, the fifth minimum time 820 includes:

[0121] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process the signal or message 710 triggering reporting of information 760 indicating a channel state (which may be denoted by Ttriggerproc); and / or

[0122] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the information 760 indicating a channel state (which may be denoted by Tinfoprep); and / or

[0123] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process control information 550 scheduling the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tcontrol2proc); and / or

[0124] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tdata2prep). The wireless device 410 may need time to decode and / or process the signal or message 710 triggering reporting of the information 760 before the reference signal 740 may be received and / or before measurements may be performed on the reference signal 740. The time needed for this may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410. Then the wireless device 410 may need time to prepare the information 760 indicating a channel state, which may for example include time to perform measurements on the reference signal 740 and time to process the results of the measurements to generate the information 760 to be transmitted. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410 (such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410 and / or a measurement capability of the wireless device 410) and / or properties of the reference signal 740 such as reference signal type, frequency range of the reference signal 740 etc. After the wireless device 410 has prepared the information 760, the wireless device 410 may need time to prepare the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1 for the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, the information 760 may need to be multiplexed and jointly processed with the data before being transmitted in the data transmission. This is in contrast to UCI-on-PUSCH where the UCI is processed separately from the data and is merely inserted into suitable resource elements in the PUSCH transmission. But, similarly as described above for the second minimum time 620, Tcontrol2proc may also contribute to the fifth minimum time 820. Hence, the fifth minimum time 820 may for example be expressed as:

[0125] Fifth minimum time 820 = Tcontrolproc + Tinf oprep + Tcontrol2proc + Tdata prep

[0126] But it will be appreciated that the fifth minimum time 820 could be expressed in other ways, and that not necessarily all of the terms Tcontrolproc, Tinfoprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdata2prep may be included. One or more of the terms Tcontrolproc, Tinfoprep, Tcontrol2proc, and Tdata2prep may for example be defined in the specifications of a communication standard and / or may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 which may be reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420.

[0127] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements include a sixth minimum time 830 between reception of control information 750 scheduling the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted and the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted. In the example illustrated in Figure 8, Data transmission 1 is too early because the time between the control information 750 and Data transmission 1 is shorter than the sixth minimum time 730. Data transmission 1 therefore does not satisfy the one or more timing requirements. But Data transmission 2 and Data transmission 3 both satisfy the timing requirement that the time between the control information 750 and the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted is at least as large as the sixth minimum time 830. The sixth minimum time 830 may for example be defined / measured from the end of the control information 750 (for example from the last frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the control information 750) to the beginning of the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted (for example to the first frame or subframe or slot or symbol of the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted).

[0128] It should be noted that if, for example, Data transmission 2 is scheduled by a second control information message that is separate from the control information message scheduling Data transmission 1, then the sixth minimum time 830 may be defined / measured from that second control information message when it is checked / evaluated whether Data transmission 2 satisfies the one or more timing requirements, so the end of the sixth minimum time 830 may also be different. Hence, if a time window 860 is employed relative to the control information scheduling the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted, then the start time 870 of the time window 860 could be different for Data transmission 2 than for Data transmission 1. In the example shown in Figure 8, the end of the sixth minimum time 830 coincides with the end of the fourth minimum time 810. But embodiments may also be envisaged where this is not the case. The start time 870 of the time window 860 may then for example be located where the last one of the fourth minimum time 810, the fifth minimum time 820, and the sixth minimum time 830 ends.

[0129] According to some embodiments, the sixth minimum time 830 includes:

[0130] • a time for the wireless device 410 to decode and / or process the control information 750 scheduling the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tcontrol2proc); and / or

[0131] • a time for the wireless device 410 to prepare the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted (which may be denoted by Tdata2prep).

[0132] The wireless device 410 may need time to decode and / or process the received control information 750 before the data transmission that will carry the information 760 may be prepared. The time needed for this may depend on capability of the wireless device 410, such as a processing capacity of the wireless device 410. The wireless device 410 may need to prepare the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1 for the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, the information 760 may need to be multiplexed and jointly processed with the data before being transmitted in the data transmission. This is in contrast to UCI-on-PUSCH where the UCI is processed separately from the data and is merely inserted into suitable resource elements in the PUSCH transmission. Hence, the sixth minimum time 830 may for example be expressed as:

[0133] Sixth minimum time 830 = T controllproc + datalprep

[0134] But it will be appreciated that the sixth minimum time 830 could be expressed in other ways, and that not necessarily all of the terms Tcontrol2proc and Tdata2prep may be included. One or more of the terms Tcontrol2proc and Tdata2prep may for example be defined in the specifications of a communication standard and / or may depend on a capability of the wireless device 410 which may be reported by the wireless device 410 to the network node 420.

[0135] According to some embodiments, the fourth minimum time 810 and / or the fifth minimum time 820 and / or the sixth minimum time 830 includes an offset. For example, in one or more of the three equations above for the fourth minimum time 810, the fifth minimum time 820 and the sixth minimum time 830 there may be an extra offset term, which could be positive or negative. A positive offset term may for example be used to provide an extra safety margin to the one or more timing requirements, or for taking into account additional delays than those described above. A negative offset may for example be used to compensate if some of the terms in an equation count the same delay several times. For example, some processing step may be accounted for in several of the terms in an equation, so when these terms are added together, a negative offset may be applied to compensate for this. As another example, the wireless device 410 may be constructed in such a manner that some of the processing steps associated with the terms Tcontrolproc, Tinfoprep, Tcontrol2proc, and / or Tdata2prep may be performed in parallel, whereby a negative offset could be included in the equation above for the fifth minimum time 820.

[0136] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements referred to in the methods 200 and 300 include a third maximum time 840 between the received reference signal 740 and the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted. This is illustrated in Figure 8. The end of the third maximum time 840 may for example provide and end time 880 of a time window 860 during which the information 760 may be transmitted. In the example shown in Figure 8, the information 760 needs to be provided earlier than Data transmission 3 since Data transmission 3 is scheduled too late (i.e. more than the third maximum time 840 after the reference signal 740), but Data transmission 2 is scheduled sufficiently early. Similarly to the fifth minimum time 810 described above, the third maximum time 840 may be measured / defined from the end (for example the last frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the reference signal 740 to the start (for example the first frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted. In some example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions beginning not later than the end of the third maximum time 840 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the information 760. In other example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions ending not later than the end of the third maximum time 840 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the information 760.

[0137] According to some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements referred to in the methods 200 and 300 include a fourth maximum time 850 between a signal or message 710 triggering reporting of the information 760 indicating a channel state and the data transmission in which the information 760 indicating a channel state is to be transmitted. This is illustrated in Figure 8. The end of the fourth maximum time 850 may for example provide an end time 880 of a time window 860 during which the information 760 may be transmitted. In the example shown in Figure 8, the information 760 needs to be provided earlier than Data transmission 3 since Data transmission 3 is scheduled too late (i.e. more than the fourth maximum time 850 after the trigger 710), but Data transmission 2 is scheduled sufficiently early. Similarly to the fifth minimum time 820 described above, the fourth maximum time 850 may be measured / defined from the end (for example the last frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the trigger 710 to the start (for example the first frame, subframe, slot, or symbol) of the data transmission in which the information 760 is to be transmitted. In some example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions beginning not later than the end of the fourth maximum time 850 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the information 760. In other example implementations, only scheduled data transmissions ending not later than the end of the fourth maximum time 850 may be regarded as valid for transmission of the information 760.

[0138] The third maximum time 840 and / or the fourth maximum time 850 may for example indicate how long it is acceptable for the network node 420 to wait for the information 760. Waiting longer could for example affect an ability of network node 420 to adapt to changing channel conditions, which may affect data throughput and / or error rates. If the information 760 cannot be provided within this time after the reference signal 740 and / or the trigger 710, the wireless device 410 may for example not transmit the information 760 to the network node 420. If the network node 420 does not schedule any data transmission satisfying the timing requirements (for example if none of the scheduled data transmissions are located in the time window 860), then the network node 420 may for example assume that the information 760 will not be transmitted by the wireless device 410. If the network node 420 does schedule a data transmission satisfying the timing requirements (for example a data transmission located in the time window 860) but does not receive the information 760 within the third maximum time 840 and / or fourth maximum time 850, the network node 420 could interpret this in different ways. In one example, the network node 420 interprets that the signal or message 710 triggering the reporting of the information 760 was not received by the wireless device 410.

[0139] The third maximum time 840 and / or the fourth maximum time 650 may for example be at least partially controlled via one or more parameters transmitted from the network node 420 to the wireless device 410.

[0140] Several examples of timing requirements have been described above with reference to Figures 5-8. Embodiments described herein use these timing requirements in a different way than for example how NR uses the timeline conditions described in 3GPP TS 38.213 vl 8.4.0 section 9.2.5. Indeed, in NR the network controls when the UE transmits control information, for example by indicating by an offset parameter Ki in a DCI scheduling PDSCH when the HARQ-ACK feedback for the PDSCH is to be transmitted. In NR the control information is normally transmitted by the UE in PUCCH but if the indicated timing for the control information overlaps with a scheduled PUSCH then the UE multiplexes the control information with the PUSCH. In NR the UE can assume that the timeline conditions described in 3GPP TS 38.213 vl 8.4.0 section 9.2.5 are satisfied. In other words, the NR UE can assume that the network has followed these timeline conditions when scheduling the uplink control information (for example by setting the parameter Ki large enough so that the UE gets enough time to process the PDSCH and prepare for the HARQ-ACK feedback, see for example the UE PDSCH processing procedure time in 3GPP TS 38.214 v 18.4.0 section 5.3). Hence, the traditional NR UE does not use the timeline conditions to select in which PUSCH to transmit uplink control information.

[0141] In NR the network controls when the UE transmits control information, for example by indicating by an offset parameter Ki in a DCI scheduling PDSCH when the HARQ-ACK feedback for the PDSCH is to be transmitted. It may be quite complicated for the network to determine suitable points in time for both the PDSCH and the HARQ-ACK transmission before transmitting the DCI, and the same DCI needs to include information of the timing of these transmissions. By instead having the UE and the network use one or more of the timing requirements described above with reference to Figures 5-8, the scheduling of the downlink traffic (PDSCH) and the scheduling of the uplink traffic (HARQ-ACK) may be separated so that the network does not need plan / coordinate both of these things before transmitting the DCI scheduling the PDSCH. This provides more freedom for the network. Also, bits may be saved in the DCI scheduling the PDSCH if it does not need to indicate timing of the HARQ- ACK feedback.

[0142] Another advantage compared to traditional NR is the decoupling of schedulers across different carriers in a carrier aggregation scenario. This may greatly reduce scheduling complexity. In NR baseline, for dynamic (Type-2) HARQ-ACK codebook (3GPP TS 38.213 V18.4.0, section 9.1.3), the codebook is determined based on downlink assignment index (DAI) information included in the DCI scheduling PDSCH (for type-2 HARQ-ACK codebook on PUCCH) or PUSCH (in case of UCI on PUSCH). The way DAI works is that it involves counter information across carriers. For example, before transmitting DL DCI scheduling PDSCH in one carrier, DL scheduling decisions across all other component carriers (CCs) need to be exchanged. With the proposed concept L2 feedback on PUSCH, DAI is not needed as the information related to the feedback (e.g., which HARQ ID, which carrier the feedback corresponds to) may be included together with the feedback information transmitted by the UE.

[0143] Another advantage associated with L2 feedback on PUSCH is improved reliability of the feedback. Jointly encoding feedback with data and appending a longer cyclic redundancy check (CRC) would make false detection of feedback very unlikely. False detection of feedback is an issue with some LI feedback schemes.

[0144] As described above, the concept L2 feedback on PUSCH is different from UCI-on- PUSCH in 5GNR in that the feedback would be multiplexed into a PUSCH transport block and processed jointly (channel coded, modulated, etc.) with any UL data, while for the NR UCI-on-PUSCH solution, the HARQ-ACK feedback would be processed separately from the PUSCH transport block and only multiplexed physically onto the PUSCH by some resource mapping scheme, e.g., rate-matching or puncturing. A difference from the NR UCI-on- PUSCH solution is that for L2 feedback of PUSCH the network doesn’t need to know the precise size of the UCI part of the message and separate that from the L2 message (such as MAC CE or RRC signalling) in order to decode correctly the information carried on PUSCH. So L2 feedback on PUSCH enables asynchronous transmission of the DL related feedback on the uplink channel without increasing the decoding effort for network.

[0145] As exemplified in Figures 5 and 7, the control information 450 in Figure 4 transmitted from the wireless device 410 and received by the network node 420 may be feedback 560 (e.g. HARQ feedback) regarding reception and / or decoding of a data transmission or information 760 (e.g. CSI) indicating a channel state. In general, the control information 450 may be any information related to a received signal or channel (e.g. a packet or received / measured DL reference signal), including one or more of:

[0146] • HARQ-ACK information of PDSCH,

[0147] • soft information (multi-bit feedback) corresponding to the decoding outcome of the received packet,

[0148] • estimated received Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) on some reference resources of the received packet,

[0149] • UL report in response to a triggering signal carried in the received packet,

[0150] • UE channel state information (CSI), etc.,

[0151] • event based beam report, where the received packet here can correspond to PDCCH, PDSCH, or a received / measured reference signal such as CSI-RS, SSB, or DMRS associated with PDCCH or PDSCH.

[0152] According to some embodiments, the control information 450 in Figure 4 shall be transmitted by the wireless device 410 if there is a valid resource available after a start time (exemplified by the start time 670 in Figure 6 and the start time 870 in Figure 8). But if the control information 450 is ready at the wireless device 410 even earlier than this start time, the wireless device 410 may use opportunistic reporting and transmit the control information 450 earlier than the start time. In such embodiments, there may be a threshold T which is analogous to the first minimum time 610, second minimum time 620, third minimum time 630, fourth minimum time 810, fifth minimum time 820 or sixth minimum time 830, but shorter, after which the wireless device 810 is allowed to transmit the control information 450 if the wireless device 410 is able to. Using such a smaller threshold T would enable a wireless device 410 to transmit the control information 450 faster than the requirement, if available, but still enable the network to detect that the control information 450 is missing if not received in transmissions after the ordinary start time (exemplified by the start time 670 in Figure 6 and the start time 870 in Figure 8). The threshold T could be configured by the network node 420 using dedicated or broadcast signalling or be set in the standard. In the extreme case T could be 0, so that there is no limit on how soon the control information 450 may be sent. In some embodiments, the one or more timing requirements may depend on subcarrier spacing (SCS). For example, one or more of the time components involved in the timing requirements may depend on the SCS. The SCS may for example be signalled by the network node 420 to the wireless device 410. In a scenario where a plurality of component carriers is involved in the transmissions illustrated in Figure 4, 5 or 7, the smallest SCS configuration used among these component carriers is used for determining the one or more timing requirements.

[0153] In some embodiments, one or more time components in the one or more timing requirements are dependent on the position of the time domain resource allocation for the channels. One example is the allocation of PDSCH OFDM symbols relative to the slot boundary, e.g. if the starting symbol of the PDSCH is from the first OFDM symbol of the slot, the required minimum processing time for the control information 450 to be ready is longer than if the staring symbol of the PDSCH is located later in the slot.

[0154] In some embodiments, one or more time components in the one or more timing requirements are dependent on the relative position in time domain of different channels. For example, if the control information 510 and the data transmission 540 overlap in time, the required minimum processing time for decoding the data transmission 540 and / or for getting the feedback 560 ready may be longer.

[0155] The dependency related to time domain resource allocation or relative position of different channels in time domain reflects how the wireless device 410 buffers data and processing sequentially or in parallel of different channels, and hence these components may also depend on a capability of the wireless device 410. Different wireless devices may report different capabilities and may therefore use different timing requirements.

[0156] In some embodiments, the time components related to decoding of the control information 550 carrying a DL scheduling assignment and decoding of the data transmission 540 which is scheduled by the DL scheduling assignment can be combined and defined by a single parameter in the specifications.

[0157] In some embodiments, the time components related to decoding of the control information 550 carrying an UL grant and preparing of a corresponding data transmission which carries the feedback 560 can be combined and defined by a single parameter in the specifications.

[0158] In some embodiments, all the time components involved in a minimum time employed in the one or more timing requirements may be combined and defined by a single parameter in the specifications. According to some embodiments, the wireless device 410 is operable to use different modes for transmitting control information, where at least one of these modes includes use of the one or more timing requirements as described above with reference to Figures 5-8. Another of these modes may for example be to use traditional ways from NR to transmit control information, such as transmitting control information on PUCCH or using NR UCI- on-PUSCH. The method 200 described above with reference to Figure 2 may for example comprise receiving an indication to use a transmission mode which includes using the one or more timing requirements for selecting in which scheduled data transmission to transmit the control information. The method 200 may for example then proceed with steps 210, 220, and 230.

[0159] In some embodiments, the time requirement related to the time needed to process the data transmission 540 (for example the first minimum time 610) may be a sum of time components related to decoding the control information 510 carrying a DL scheduling assignment, decoding the data transmission 540 which is scheduled by the DL scheduling assignment, and preparing the feedback 560 to be transmitted in a scheduled data transmission, subtracted by one or more time offsets. For example, depending on the definitions of these time components, there might be a common part in two components which would have been counted twice in the summation. The offset may compensate for this. The time offset may for example be related to time for decoding of control information and / or processing time for multiplexing of control information (e.g. the feedback 560) with data.

[0160] In some embodiments, the first minimum time 610 may depend on whether the data transmission 540 is scheduled in the same slot or a different slot compared to its scheduling control information 510. For example, the time needed to process the control information 510 may not be included in the first minimum time 610 if the data transmission 540 is scheduled in a cross-slot scheduling manner (i.e., in a later slot than the one used for transmission of the control information 510). Alternatively, this may be handled with the offset described above, i.e., the time offset may depend on whether the data transmission is cross-slot scheduled.

[0161] Similarly, in some embodiments, the time requirement related to time for preparing the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is the be transmitted may be a sum of time components related to decoding control information 550 carrying an UL grant and preparing a corresponding data transmission which carries the feedback 560, subtracted by some time offset. The time offset may for example be related to processing time for multiplexing of control information (e.g. the feedback 560) with data. In embodiments described above, the time requirement related to time for preparing the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is the be transmitted may depend on whether the feedback size is known a-priori by the wireless device 410. If so, the wireless device 410 can already perform some L2 processing and once the content of the feedback 560 is known, the wireless device 410 can insert the bits. In this case the time for preparing the data transmission in which the feedback 560 is the be transmitted could be shorter. Alternatively, this may be handled with the time offset described above. In some embodiments the wireless device 410 may have the option to include either a feedback format with a-priori known size or a format with a variable size. In such an alternative embodiment the wireless device 410 may decide on the format to use dependent on if the processing time is sufficient to include the variable size message, and if not instead use the a-priori set format.

[0162] The time offset referred to in embodiments described above may for example depend on whether a priority of the control information 450 (for example the feedback 560) with respect to other MAC CE(s) to be multiplexed in a transport block is known beforehand. The time offset can depend on the timing when the priority of the control information 450 is known to the wireless device 410.

[0163] Embodiments have been described above for the minimum processing time requirement for feedback 560 related to reception / decoding of a data transmission 540, illustrated in Figures 5-6. Such embodiments can however be extended to apply to the minimum processing time requirement for information 760 indicating a channel state (for example an aperiodic-CSI report) illustrated in Figure 7-8. For example, the wireless device 410 can transmit a CSI report on a PUSCH if the starting symbol of the PUSCH is not before a fifth minimum time 820 after the end of a PDCCH triggering the A-CSI and is not before a fourth minimum time 810 after the end of a reference signal 740 to which the A-CSI corresponds.

[0164] Note that embodiments described in the present disclosure (for example those related to processing time requirements for feedback 560 related a downlink transmission 540) use different timing requirements than the existing minimum UE processing time requirement in NR. In current releases of NR, the time requirement for HARQ-ACK feedback only involves PDSCH processing time. For the proposed concept of L2 feedback on PUSCH, the one or more timing requirements referred to in the method 200 and 300 may for example involve both PDSCH processing time and PUSCH preparation time.

[0165] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system 900 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 900 includes a telecommunications network 902 that includes an access network 904, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 906, which includes one or more core network nodes 908. The access network 904 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes 910A and 910B are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 910), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network 904 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes 910 of access network 904 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 912A, 912B, 912C, and 912D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 912) to the core network 906 over one or more wireless connections.

[0166] Moreover, 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 telecommunications network 902 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 902 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 network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 902, including one or more access network nodes 910 and / or core network nodes 908.

[0167] 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). An ORAN 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 network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (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 O- RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.

[0168] The network nodes 910 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs 912 to the core network 906 over one or more wireless connections. 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 900 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 900 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0169] The UEs 912 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 910 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 908, 910 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network 902) with the UEs 912 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 902 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network 902. More specifically, UEs 912 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes 908, 910 or other elements of the telecommunications network 902 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes 908, 910 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs 912, other network nodes 908, 910, and other devices in telecommunications network 902 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 908 may transmit a particular message to a UE 912 by transmitting the message to an access network node 910 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE 912. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE 912 by receiving the message from an access network node 910 that itself received the message from the UE 912. In the depicted example, the core network 906 connects elements of the access network 904 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes 910) to one or more host computing systems, such as host 916. 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 906 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 908) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 908. Network nodes 908 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 908. Example core network nodes provide 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).

[0170] The host 916 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 904 and / or the telecommunications network 902. The host 916 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 916 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.

[0171] As a whole, the communication system 900 of Figure 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 900 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 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi- Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low- power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system 900 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system 900 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0172] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 904 may contain some access network nodes 910 that support 3GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 910 support (or the same access network nodes 910 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network 902 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0173] Telecommunications network 902 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 902. For example, the telecommunications network 902 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 loT services to yet further UEs.

[0174] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 912 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 904 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 904. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E- UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0175] In the example, the hub 914 communicates with the access network 904 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 912C and / or 912D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 910B). In some examples, the hub 914 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 914 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 906 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 914 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 910, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 914.

[0176] As another example, the hub 914 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 914 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 914 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 914 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 914 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0177] The hub 914 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 910B. The hub 914 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 914 and UEs (e.g., UE 912C and / or 912D), and between the hub 914 and the core network 906. In other examples, the hub 914 is connected to the core network 906 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 914 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 904 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 910 while still connected via the hub 914 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 914 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 910B. In other embodiments, the hub 914 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 910B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0178] Figure 10 shows another example of a communication system 1000 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 1000 includes multiple access points (APs) 1010 (with four exemplary APs 1010A, 1010B, 1010C, and 1010D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 1000 as stations (STAs) 1012 (referred to individually as STA 1012A, STA 1012B, STA 1012C, STA 1012D, and STA 1012E). STA 1012Ais served by AP lOlOAin a first basic service set (BSS) 1020A. STA 101 OB and STA 1010C are served by AP 1010B in a second BSS, BSS 1020B. STA 1012D is served by AP 1010C in a third BSS, BSS 1020C. STA 1012E is served by AP 1010D in a fourth BSS, BSS 1020D. Stations 1012 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations 1012 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0179] Each of STAs 1012 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 1010. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 1012, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0180] Each AP 1010 may provide data connectivity to STAs 1012 connected to a particular AP 1010. As illustrated, APs 1010 may be connected to a data network 1030. In this way, APs 1010 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 1012 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 1012 and its serving AP 1010 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 1012, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 1012 and / or on a device linked to STA 1012. By way of example, Figure 10 illustrates an application service platform 1032 provided in data network 1030. The application(s) executed on STA 1012 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 1012 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 1012 and / or the application service platform 1032, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 1012.

[0181] Figure 11 shows a wireless device 1100, which may be configured to operate in communication system 900 of Figure 9 or in communication system 1000 of Figure 10. The wireless device 1100 may be alternatively referred to as a UE 1100, like a UE 912 within the context of communication system 900, or as a station (STA) 1100 or as anon-access-point station (non-AP STA) 1100, like a STA 1012 within the context of the communication system 1000, in accordance with respective embodiments. The wireless device 1100 may for example be the wireless device 410 described above with reference to Figure 4. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, 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, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0182] A wireless device 1100 may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short- Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device 1100 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, wireless device 1100 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, wireless device 1100 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).

[0183] In particular embodiments, wireless device 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input / output interface 1106, a power source 1108, a memory 1110, a communication interface 1112, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain embodiments of wireless device 1100 may include all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 11. The level of integration between the components may vary from one embodiment of wireless device 1100 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device 1100, processing circuitry 1102, input / output interface 1106, power source 1108, memory 1110, and communication interface 1112 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device 1100. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices 1100 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0184] The processing circuitry 1102 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 1110. The processing circuitry 1102 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 1102 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0185] In the example, the input / output interface 1106 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 wireless device 1100. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presencesensitive 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.

[0186] In some embodiments, the power source 1108 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 to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. The power source 1108 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1108 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of wireless device 1100 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power source 1108 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 1100 to which power is supplied.

[0187] The memory 1110 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1110 includes one or more programs 1114, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1116. The memory 1110 may store, for use by wireless device 1100, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0188] The memory 1110 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 random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or 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 ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1110 may allow wireless device 1100 to access instructions, 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 1110, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0189] The processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or using the communication interface 1112. The communication interface 1112 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1122. The communication interface 1112 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 wireless device or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1118 and / or a receiver 1120 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1118 and receiver 1120 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1122) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0190] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1112 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, 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 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0191] In particular embodiments, wireless device 1100 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface 1112, via a wireless connection to a network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 1100 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wireless device 1100. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 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).

[0192] As another example, wireless device 1100 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, wireless device 1100 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.

[0193] Wireless device 1100, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, 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 TV, 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 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. In particular embodiments, wireless device 1100 represents an loT device that 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 example embodiment of wireless device 1100 shown in Figure 11.

[0194] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device 1100 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device 1100 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, wireless device 1100 may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device 1100 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0195] In practice, any number of wireless devices 1100 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 1100 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 1100 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 1100 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 wireless device 1100 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device 1100 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators. Figure 12 shows a network node 1200 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 telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node 1200 may be configured to operate in communication system 900 of Figure 9, like network nodes 908 or 910, or in communication system 1000 of Figure 10, like an AP 1010 or a station 1012. The network node 1200 may for example be the network node 420 described above with reference to Figure 4. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0196] Network nodes 1200 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. Network node 1200 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes 1200 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 O- RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units 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).

[0197] Other examples of network nodes 1200 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 base station 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).

[0198] In particular embodiments, network node 1200 includes a processing circuitry 1202, a memory 1204, a communication interface 1206, and a power source 1208. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node 1200, processing circuitry 1202, memory 1204, communication interface 1206, and power source 1208 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node 1200.

[0199] The network node 1200 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1200 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities 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 1200 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 1204 or portions of memory 1204 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1210 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1200 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1200, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, 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 network node 1200.

[0200] The processing circuitry 1202 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, 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 components, such as the memory 1204, to provide network node 1200 functionality.

[0201] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1212 and the baseband processing circuitry 1214 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 RF transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0202] The memory 1204 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, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), 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 computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1202. The memory 1204 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 1202 and utilized by the network node 1200. The memory 1204 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1202 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1206. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 and memory 1204 is integrated.

[0203] The communication interface 1206 is used in wired or wireless communication of signalling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface 1206 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1216 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node 1200 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface 1206 may also include radio front-end circuitry 1218 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna 1210. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry 1218 include filter(s) 1220 and amplifier(s) 1222. The radio frontend circuitry 1218 may be connected to an antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. The radio front-end circuitry 1218 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 1218 may convert the digital data into a radio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1220 and / or amplifiers 1222. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna 1210. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1210 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1218. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1202. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0204] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1200 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1218, instead, the processing circuitry 1202 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1210. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1212 is part of the communication interface 1206. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1206 includes one or more ports or terminals 1216, the radio front-end circuitry 1218, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1212, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1206 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1214, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0205] The antenna 1210 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1210 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1218 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1210 is separate from the network node 1200 and connectable to the network node 1200 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0206] The antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and / or the processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1200. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1210, the communication interface 1206, and / or the processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1200. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0207] The power source 1208 provides power to the various components of network node 1200 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1208 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1200 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1200 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1208. As a further example, the power source 1208 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.

[0208] Embodiments of the network node 1200 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 12 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 1200 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1200 and to allow output of information from the network node 1200. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1200.

[0209] Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1300 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 to an 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 1300 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a 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 1300 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.

[0210] Applications 1302 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0211] Hardware 1304 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 1306 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM 1308A and VM 1308B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs 1308), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1306 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs 1308. The VMs 1308 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer 1306. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1302 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1308, 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.

[0212] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 1308 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 1308, and that part of hardware 1304 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate 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 of the VMs 1308 on top of the hardware 1304 and corresponds to an application 1302.

[0213] Hardware 1304 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1304 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1304 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 1310, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1302. In some embodiments, hardware 1304 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 radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signalling can be provided with the use of a control system 1312 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0214] 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.

[0215] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on 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 hard-wired 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.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method (200) performed by a wireless device (410), the method comprising: receiving (210) a transmission (430); receiving (220) control information (440) scheduling a plurality of data transmissions; and transmitting (230) control information (450) that is based on the received transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is multiplexed into a transport block and processed jointly with data before being transmitted in the selected data transmission.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the joint processing with data includes channel coding and / or modulation.

4. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more timing requirements depend on: a parameter received via configuration; and / or a parameter received via control information; and / or a capability reported by the wireless device; and / or a subcarrier spacing.

5. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the received transmission is a data transmission (540), and wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is feedback (560) regarding successful reception and / or decoding of the received data transmission.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a first minimum time (610) between the received data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first minimum time includes:a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (510) scheduling the received data transmission; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process the received data transmission; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the feedback; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

8. The method of any of claims 5-7, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a second minimum time (620) between reception of control information (510) scheduling the received data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second minimum time includes: a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process the control information scheduling the received data transmission; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process the received data transmission; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the feedback; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

10. The method of any of claims 5-9, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a third minimum time (630) between reception of control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the third minimum time includes: a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process the control information scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted; and / ora time for the wireless device to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

12. The method of any of claims 6-11, wherein the first minimum time and / or the second minimum time and / or the third minimum time includes an offset.

13. The method of any of claims 5-12, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a first maximum time (640) between the received data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted; and / or a second maximum time (650) between reception of control information (510) scheduling the received data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

14. The method of any of claims 5-13, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a requirement that reception of control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted does not precede reception of control information (510) scheduling the received data transmission.

15. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the received transmission includes a reference signal (740), and wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is information (760) indicating a channel state.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a fourth minimum time (810) between the received reference signal and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the fourth minimum time includes: a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process a signal or message (710) triggering reporting of the information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted; and / ora time for the wireless device to prepare the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted.

18. The method of any of claims 15-17, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a fifth minimum time (820) between a signal or message (710) triggering reporting of the information indicating a channel state and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the fifth minimum time includes: a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process the signal or message triggering reporting of information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted; and / or a time for the wireless device to prepare the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted.

20. The method of any of claims 16-19, wherein the fourth minimum time and / or the fifth minimum time includes an offset.

21. The method of any of claims 15-20, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a third maximum time (840) between the received reference signal and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted; and / or a fourth maximum time (850) between a signal or message (710) triggering reporting of the information indicating a channel state and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted.

22. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the wireless device transmits the control information that is based on the received transmission in the first of the scheduled data transmissions that satisfies the one or more timing requirements.

23. The method of any of claims 1-21, wherein the data transmission in which to transmit the control information that is based on the received transmission is selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on the one or more timing requirements and based on one or more prioritization rules.

24. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein an indication is provided in the selected data transmission to indicate presence of the control information that is based on the received transmission.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the indication is a header which is multiplexed, in the selected data transmission, with the control information that is based on the received transmission.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the indication is a demodulation reference signal, DMRS.

27. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the selected data transmission is scheduled with repetitions, and wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is transmitted also in one or more repetitions of the selected data transmission.

28. A method (300) performed by a network node (420), the method comprising: transmitting (310) a transmission (430); transmitting (320) control information (440) scheduling a plurality of data transmissions; and receiving (330) control information (450) that is based on the transmitted transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is multiplexed into a transport block and processed jointly with data in the selected data transmission.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the joint processing with data includes channel coding and / or modulation.

31. The method of any of claims 28-30, wherein the one or more timing requirements depend on: a parameter transmitted via configuration; and / or a parameter transmitted via control information; and / or a capability reported by a wireless device (410); and / or a subcarrier spacing.

32. The method of any of claims 28-31, wherein the transmitted transmission is a data transmission (540), and wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is feedback (560) regarding successful reception and / or decoding of the received data transmission.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a first minimum time (610) between the transmitted data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first minimum time includes: a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (510) scheduling the transmitted data transmission; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to decode and / or process the transmitted data transmission; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the feedback; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted.

35. The method of any of claims 32-34, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a second minimum time (620) between transmission of control information (510) scheduling the received data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the second minimum time includes: a time for a wireless device (410) to decode and / or process the control information scheduling the transmitted data transmission; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to decode and / or process the transmitted data transmission; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the feedback; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be transmitted; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received.

37. The method of any of claims 32-36, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a third minimum time (630) between transmission of control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the third minimum time includes: a time for a wireless device (410) to decode and / or process the control information scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received.

39. The method of any of claims 33-38, wherein the first minimum time and / or the second minimum time and / or the third minimum time includes an offset.

40. The method of any of claims 32-39, wherein the one or more timing requirements include:a first maximum time (640) between the transmitted data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received; and / or a second maximum time (650) between transmission of control information (510) scheduling the transmitted data transmission and the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received.

41. The method of any of claims 32-40, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a requirement that transmission of control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the feedback is to be received does not precede transmission of control information (510) scheduling the transmitted data transmission.

42. The method of any of claims 28-31, wherein the transmitted transmission includes a reference signal (740), and wherein the control information that is based on the transmitted transmission is information (760) indicating a channel state.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a fourth minimum time (810) between the transmitted reference signal and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be received.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the fourth minimum time includes: a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process a signal or message (710) triggering reporting of the information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted; and / or a time for a wireless device (410) to prepare the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be received.

45. The method of any of claims 42-44, wherein the one or more timing requirements include:a fifth minimum time (820) between a signal or message (710) triggering reporting of the information indicating a channel state and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be received.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the fifth minimum time includes: a time for a wireless device (410) to decode and / or process the signal or message triggering reporting of information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for a wireless device (420) to prepare the information indicating a channel state; and / or a time for the wireless device to decode and / or process control information (550) scheduling the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be transmitted; and / or a time for a wireless device (430) to prepare the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be received.

47. The method of any of claims 43-46, wherein the fourth minimum time and / or the fifth minimum time includes an offset.

48. The method of any of claims 42-47, wherein the one or more timing requirements include: a third maximum time (840) between the transmitted reference signal and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be received; and / or a fourth maximum time (850) between a signal or message (710) triggering reporting of the information indicating a channel state and the data transmission in which the information indicating a channel state is to be received.

49. The method of any of claims 28-48, wherein the network node receives the control information that is based on the transmitted transmission in the first of the scheduled data transmissions that satisfies the one or more timing requirements.

50. The method of any of claims 28-48, wherein the data transmission in which to receive the control information that is based on the transmitted transmission is selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on the one or more timing requirements and based on one or more prioritization rules.

51. The method of any of claims 28-50, wherein an indication is provided in the selected data transmission to indicate presence of the control information that is based on the transmitted transmission.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the indication is a header which is multiplexed, in the selected data transmission, with the control information that is based on the transmitted transmission.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the indication is a demodulation reference signal, DMRS.

54. The method of any of claims 28-53, wherein the selected data transmission is scheduled with repetitions, and wherein the control information that is based on the received transmission is received also in one or more repetitions of the selected data transmission.

55. A wireless device (410) configured to: receive a transmission (430); receive control information (440) scheduling a plurality of data transmissions; and transmit control information (450) that is based on the received transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements.

56. The wireless device of claim 55, configured to perform the method of any of claims 2-27.

57. A network node (420) configured to: transmit a transmission (430); transmit control information (440) scheduling a plurality of data transmissions; and receive control information (450) that is based on the transmitted transmission in a data transmission selected from the scheduled data transmissions based on one or more timing requirements.

58. The network node of claim 57, configured to perform the method of any of claims 29-54.

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