Systems, methods, and appartuses for control of random access procedures

Abstract

A user equipment includes at least one memory and at least one processor. The at least one memory is configured to store instructions. The at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element, receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element, said random access procedure control message including at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

Description

SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND APPARTUSES FOR CONTROL OF RANDOM ACCESS PROCEDURESFIELD

[0001] Various example embodiments relate generally to wireless communications networks and control of random access (RA) procedures.BACKGROUND

[0002] A radio access network (RAN) element may broadcast random access (RA) procedure control messages within a cell. User equipment (UEs) within the cell may initiate a RA procedure towards the RAN element based on various triggers for initiating the RA procedure.SUMMARY

[0003] The scope of protection sought for various example embodiments is set out by the independent claims. The example embodiments and / or features, if any, described in this specification that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments.

[0004] In at least one example embodiment a user equipment may include at least one memory configured to store instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access proceduretowards a radio access network element and receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The at least one processer may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0005] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine geographic location information for the user equipment and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the geographic location information.

[0006] In at least one example embodiment, the random access procedure control message may further include geographic location information for the radio access network element. The at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the geographic location information. In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine a distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element based on the geographic location information for the radio access network element and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the distance. In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to convert the distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element into a timing advance value for the cell and determine whether to initiate the randomaccess procedure based on whether the timing advance value is within the allowed timing advance range. In at least one example embodiment, the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell may include at least one of (i) a maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or (ii) a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell. The at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine a distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element based on the geographic location information for the radio access network element and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the distance and the at least one of the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0007] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine the allowed timing advance range based on the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell, convert the allowed timing advance range into distance information, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the distance information.

[0008] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine that the random access procedure cannot be initiated and determine that the cell is not suitable for camping based on determining that the random access procedure cannot be initiated.

[0009] In at least one example embodiment, the allowed timing advance range may include atleast one of a maximum timing advance value or a minimum timing advance value.

[0010] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell may include at least one of (i) a maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or (ii) a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell. The at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to at least one of convert the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell to a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range or convert the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell to a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range.

[0011] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell may include at least one of (i) a maximum timing advance value of the timing advance range or (ii) a minimum timing advance value of the timing advance range. The at least one processor may be configured to cause the user equipment to at least one of convert the maximum timing advance value to a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or convert the minimum timing advance value to a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0012] Also described herein is a radio access network element. The radio access network element may include at least one memory configured to store instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the radio access network element to transmit a random access procedure control message including at least one first parameterindicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element.

[0013] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one first parameter may include at least one of a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell. In at least one example embodiment, the random access procedure control message may include at least one second parameter indicative of a request to at least one of (i) convert the maximum timing advance value to a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or (ii) convert the minimum timing advance value to a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell. In at least one example embodiment, wherein the at least one first parameter may include at least one of a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0014] In at least one example embodiment, wherein the random access procedure control message may include at least one second parameter indicative of a request to at least one of (i) convert the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment to a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or (ii) convert the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment to a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell. In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the radio access network element to transmit geographic location information for the radio accessnetwork element. In at least one example embodiment, the geographic location information may include at least one of (i) a latitude and a longitude for the radio access network element or (ii) a latitude, a longitude, and a geodetic height for the radio access network element. In at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor is configured to cause the radio access network element to broadcast the random access procedure control message within the cell.

[0015] Also described herein is a user equipment that may include at least one memory configured to store instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element and receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The at least one processer may be configured to cause the user equipment to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0016] Also described herein is a user equipment comprising: means for determining a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element, and means for receiving a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The user equipment may further include means for determining whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0017] Also described herein is a method including determining a trigger for initiating a randomaccess procedure towards a radio access network element and receiving a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The method may further include determining whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0018] Also described herein is a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computerexecutable instruction that, when executed by at least one processor of a system, cause the system to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element and receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The system may be further caused to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0019] Also described herein is an radio access network element comprising: means for transmitting a random access procedure control message including at least one first parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the apparatus.

[0020] Also described herein is a method including transmitting a random access procedure control message including at least one first parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with a radio access network element.

[0021] Also described herein is a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computerexecutable instruction that, when executed by at least one processor of a system, cause thesystem to transmit a random access procedure control message including at least one first parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with a radio access network element.

[0022] Also described herein is a user equipment comprising means for determining a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element, and means for receiving a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The user equipment may further include means for determining whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0023] Also described herein is a method including determining a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element and receiving a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The method may additionally include determining whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0024] Also described herein is a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computerexecutable instruction that, when executed by at least one processor of a system, cause the system to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element and receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element. The random access procedure control message may include at least oneparameter indicative of an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The system may be further caused to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0025] One or more example embodiments may also provide a computer program, or computer program product including a computer program, comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor of a user equipment, radio access network element, etc., cause the respective applicable apparatus to perform one or more methods described herein.

[0026] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.DRAWINGS

[0027] Example embodiments will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are represented by like reference numerals. The example embodiments are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limiting of this disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 1 shows an example of a communications network in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the communications network of FIG. 1 with a user equipment (UE) outside of an allowed TA zone of a network node, in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of the communications network of FIG. 1 with a UE outside of an allowed distance zone of a network node, in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating yet another method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0035] FIG. 8 illustrates a portion of the communications network of FIG. 1 with a UE within a cell of the network node, according to at least one example embodiment.

[0036] FIG. 9 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0037] FIG. 10 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 11 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another method in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a system, in accordance with at least one example embodiment.

[0040] It should be noted that these figures are intended to illustrate the general characteristics of methods, structure and / or materials utilized in certain example embodiments and to supplement the written description provided below. These drawings are not, however, to scale and may not precisely reflect the precise structural or performance characteristics of any given embodiment, and should not be interpreted as defining or limiting the range of values or properties encompassed by example embodiments. The use of similar or identical reference numbers in the various drawings is intended to indicate the presence of a similar or identical element or feature.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] At least one example embodiment may be implemented in a communications network including, but not limited to, one or more of the following types of radio access technologies (RATs): World-wide Interoperability for Micro-wave Access (WiMAX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM, 2G), GSM EDGE radio access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GRPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, and enhanced LTE (eLTE), 5G (also called New Radio (NR)), or any future RAT such as 6G. Moreover, communication within the communications network may utilize one or more wireless communication technologies including, but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and / or Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM).

[0043] As used herein, the term “network device” or “network node” refers to a node in a communications network via which user equipment may access the network and / or which is capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The network node or network device may be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) element, a base station (BS), an access point (AP) or an access node. The network device may be, depending on the applied technology, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite or a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, or an aircraft network device.

[0044] Moreover, in connection with a split radio access network (RAN), the network device may refer to a centralized unit (CU) of a base station and / or a distributed unit (DU) of a base station. An interface between CU and DU may be referred to as an Fl interface in NR. In the split RAN architecture, node operations may be carried out, at least partly in the CU (e.g. a server, host or node) operationally coupled to the DU (e.g. a radio head / node). One CU may control one or more DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some embodiments, the DUs may comprise, e.g., a radio link control (RLC), a medium access control(MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the CU may comprise layers above the RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) and an internet protocol (IP) layers. Other functional splits are possible, too. In practice, any processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU and the boundary where the responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may depend on the applied implementation.

[0045] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example, a terminal device may be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), or a Mobile Station (MS). The terminal device may include a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal de-vices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and play-back appliances, vehiclemounted wireless terminal devices, USB dongles, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted dis-play (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wire-less devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like.

[0046] The term “resource”, as used herein, may refer to radio resources in time domain, in frequency domain, in space domain, and / or in code domain. Some examples of resources include a physical resource block (PRB), a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a subband, a frequency region, a sub-carrier, a beam, etc. The term “transmission” and / or “reception” mayrefer to wirelessly transmitting and / or receiving via a wireless propagation channel on radio resources.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a communications network 100 will be discussed according to various example embodiments. The communications network 100, for example a cellular or other communications network, may comprise a network node 110 providing service to one or more cells, for example cell 101, and a network node 112 providing service to one or more other cells, such as cell 102. Each cell may include, but is not limited to a macro cell, a micro cell, a femto cell, or a pico cell. A cell may define a coverage area or a service area of the corresponding access node, such as network node 110 and / or network node 112.

[0048] A network node, such as network node 110, may provide one or more instances of user equipment (UEs), such as a user equipment (UE) 120 or UE 122, with wireless access to the communications network 100. The wireless access may comprise downlink (DL) communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, and uplink (UL) communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110. Examples of uplink channels include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for transmitting control information and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for transmitting data towards the network. Examples of downlink channels include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for transmitting control information and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for transmitting data towards the UE.

[0049] There may be multiple UEs, for example, UE 120 and UE 122 in the communications network 100. Each UE may be served by the same or by different network nodes, for example, network node 110 and network node 112. One or more UEs may be configured with dualconnectivity (DC), wherein the UE may be connected to multiple network nodes. In some example embodiments, multiple UEs, for example, UE 120 and UE 122, may communicate directly with each other, using a device-to-device (D2D) communication interface, by establishing a direct link between the two devices, sometimes referred to as a sidelink (SL). Such D2D communications may be referred to as machine-to-machine, peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), communications, for example.

[0050] In example embodiments in which multiple network nodes are included in a communications network, the network nodes may be connected to each other via an interface. LIE specifications refer to such an interface an X2 interface. An interface between an LTE node and a 5G node, or between two 5G nodes may be referred to as an Xn interface.

[0051] The network nodes 110 and 112 may be further connected via another interface to a core network 116 of the communications network 100. The LTE specifications specify the core network 116 as an evolved packet core (EPC), and the core network 116 may comprise, for example, a mobility management entity (MME) and a gateway node. The MME may handle mobility of terminal devices in a tracking area encompassing a plurality of cells and handle signaling connections between the terminal devices and the core network. The gateway node may handle data routing within the core network and to / from the terminal devices. The 5G specifications refer to the core network 116 as a 5G core (5GC). The 5G core may include, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) a user plane function / gateway (UPF), and / or other functions. The AMF may handle termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, NAS ciphering and integrity protection, registration management, connection management, mobility management, access authentication and authorization, and / or securitycontext management. The UPF node may support packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and quality of service (QoS) handling.

[0052] When a UE, such as UE 120 in FIG. 1, is to connect to a wireless communications network (e.g., via network node 110), the UE must synchronize, among other things, on the uplink (UL). To establish UL synchronization and RRC connection, the UE performs a RA procedure.

[0053] The RA procedure includes an UL Msgl / MsgA Random Access Preamble transmission followed by a DL Msg2 / MsgB, which depending on the procedure, either always or based on some conditions, contains a Timing Advance (TA) Command. The TA Command provides the UE with the absolute value of the Timing Advance (TA), which is a mechanism used to synchronize the UL transmission timing between the UE and the network node in the wireless communications system.

[0054] Conventionally, there are practical implementations of network node functionality that allow configuring a geographic size limit of a cell associated with the network node by specifying a maximum allowable distance between the network node and the UE. A current distance between the UE and network node may be estimated by the network node based on the TA.

[0055] Conventionally, in case of a RA procedure between the UE and the network node, when the TA exceeds a TA limit, the network node may (i) ignore a RA preamble (i.e., does not respond with Random Access Response (RAR) message (Msg2 / MsgB)), or (ii) allow for successful completion of the RA procedure but then reject the connection request at the L3 signaling level. However, conventional wireless communications systems do not provide amechanism for termination or prevention of a RA procedure in a controlled manner when desired (e.g., when a TA is outside an allowed TA range).

[0056] One or more example embodiments provide mechanisms for controlling (e.g., selectively initiating and / or selectively terminating) RA procedures, for example, when a TA is outside an allowed TA range. One or more example embodiments also provide mechanisms for a network node to cause or instruct (e.g., explicitly instruct) a UE to terminate a RA procedure with the network node as needed.

[0057] According to at least one example embodiment, the network node may transmit a random access (RA) procedure control message including at least one first parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range or an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element. The UE may selectively initiate the RA procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0058] According to at least one other example embodiment, a network node may transmit the RA procedure control message to facilitate initiation of the RA procedure by the UE, and subsequently transmit a termination parameter to terminate the RA procedure between the UE and the network node. The UE may selectively terminate the RA procedure based on at least one of the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or the termination parameter.

[0059] FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the communications network of FIG. 1, wherein the UE 120 is in a prohibited TA zone of a cell associated with the network node 110. For clarity, the portion of the communications network shown in FIG. 2 is referenced as 200. FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram 300 illustrating a method for selectively initiating a RA procedure,according to at least one example embodiment.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 2, within the cell 202, an allowed timing advance range defines an allowed timing advance zone 204. The allowed timing advance range includes a minimum timing advance 206 (also referred to as a minimum timing advance value) and a maximum timing advance 208 (also referred to as a maximum timing advance value). UEs within the allowed TA zone 204 have TA values within the TA range.

[0061] The cell 202 also includes a first prohibited TA zone 20 in which TA values are below the minimum timing advance 206 and the second prohibited TA zone 22 in which TA values are above the maximum timing advance 208. In this regard, TA values for UEs in the first prohibited TA zone 20 are below a minimum timing advance 206 and TA values for UEs in the second prohibited TA zone 22 are above the maximum timing advance 208.

[0062] As also shown in FIG. 2, UE 120 may be in communication with one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to receive signals from the GNSS for determining location. Although example embodiments are described herein with regard to GNSS, example embodiments should not be limited to this example.

[0063] Referring now to FIG. 3, at 304 the UE 120 determines its location based on received GNSS signals 302 from the GNSS. In one example, the UE 120 computes latitude, longitude and geodetic height coordinates for the UE 120. The latitude, longitude and geodetic height may be generally referred to herein as geographical location information. However, it should be understood that the UE 120 need not compute all of the latitude, longitude and geodetic height nor does all of the latitude, longitude and geodetic height need be included in the geographical location information. Rather, for example, geographical location information may refer to alatitude and longitude with or without a geodetic height. Because methods for determining location coordinates based on GNSS signals is generally known, a detailed discussion is omitted.

[0064] At 306, the UE 120 receives a RA procedure control message from the network node 110. The RA procedure control message may be a broadcast, multicast, or point-to-point transmission to the UE 120 from the network node 110. The point-to-point transmission, for example, may be via dedicated signaling. The RA procedure control message may be or may include system information for the cell 202. In at least one example embodiment, the system information, and consequently the RA procedure control message, may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for the cell 202. The UE 120 may determine whether to initiate a RA procedure with the network node 110 based on the at least one parameter.

[0065] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one parameter may include one or more of geographical location information for the network node 110, the maximum timing advance (max TA), the minimum timing advance (min TA), and / or a conversion parameter (also referred to as a distance-TA conversion parameter). The geographical location information for the network node 110 may include a latitude and longitude of the network node 110 with or without a geodetic height of the network node 110. The conversion parameter may indicate that the UE 120 should (or instruct the UE 120 to) convert either a distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110 to a timing advance value or a timing advance value between the UE 120 and the network node 110 to a distance. The UE 120 may determine the needed conversion based on the system information received from the network node 110. In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the conversion parameter indicates that the UE 120 shouldconvert a calculated distance into a TA value in TA units.

[0066] At block 308, the UE 120 calculates a distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110 based on the geographical location information for the UE 120 and the received geographical location information for the network node 110. The distance may be calculated by the UE 120 by known methods of determining distance based on latitude and longitude coordinates with or without geodetic heights of the UE 120 and the network node 110.

[0067] Still referring to block 308, after calculating the distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110, the UE 120 converts the calculated distance to a TA value. In one example, the distance may be converted into TA value according to Equation [1] shown below. rr. . 2dTA = — [1] c

[0068] In Equation [1], d is the computed distance, TA is the computed TA value, and c is the speed of light.

[0069] The conversion parameter may include an additional piece of information (e.g., 5G SubCarrier Spacing (SCS)) for the conversion. The conversion parameter may be used to convert a determined timing advance value into a unit that is capable of being compared to the allowed timing advance zone 204.

[0070] Still referring to block 308, once the UE 120 has determined a TA value from the calculated distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110, the UE 120 may determinewhether to initiate a RA procedure with the network node 110 based on whether the TA value is between the minimum TA and the maximum TA, and thus, within the TA range. If the TA value is within the TA range, then the UE 120 initiates the RA procedure with the network node 110. If the TA value is not within the TA range, then UE 120 does not initiate a RA procedure with the network node 110. The UE 120 also considers the cell not suitable for camping if the TA value is outside of the allowed TA range.

[0071] In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, as noted above, the UE 120 is located in the second prohibited TA zone 22. As a result, the computed TA value at the UE 120 is outside the TA range. In this scenario, at 308 in FIG. 3, the UE 120 does not initiate the RA procedure and considers the cell as not suitable for camping.

[0072] Although described herein with regard to the UE 120 converting a computed distance to a TA value, in at least one other example embodiment, the UE 120 may convert TA values to distance values. For example, the UE 120 may convert the maximum TA into a maximum distance and / or convert the minimum TA into a minimum distance according to the relationship provided by Equation [1], In this example, the UE 120 may determine whether to initiate the RA procedure based on whether the computed distance is between the maximum distance and the minimum distance.

[0073] In other example embodiments, the zones discussed above may be characterized by distance between the UE and the RAN element.

[0074] FIG. 4 illustrates another example embodiment of a portion of the communications network of FIG. 1 when the UE 120 is in a prohibited distance zone of a cell associated with the network node 110. For clarity, the portion of the communication network shown in FIG. 4 isreferenced as 400. FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another method for selectively initiating a RA procedure, according to at least one example embodiment.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 4, within a cell 402, an allowed distance range defines an allowed distance zone 404. The allowed distance zone 404 is defined by a minimum distance 406 (also referred to as a minimum distance value) and a maximum distance 408 (also referred to as a maximum distance value). UEs within the allowed distance zone 404 are located a distance from the network node 110 within the distance range. In at least one example embodiment, the allowed distance range may be indicative of an allowed timing advance range for the cell 402.

[0076] The cell 402 also includes a first prohibited distance zone 40 corresponding to distance values below the minimum distance 406 and a second prohibited distance zone 42 corresponding to distance values above the maximum distance 408. In this regard, UEs in the first prohibited distance zone 40 are below the minimum distance from the network node 110 and UEs in the second prohibited distance zone 42 are above the maximum distance 408 from the network node 110.

[0077] As also shown in FIG. 4, the UE 120 may be in communication with one or more GNSS to receive signals from the GNSS for determining location.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 5, at 504 the UE 120 determines its geographical location information based on received GNSS signals 502 in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above.

[0079] At 506, the UE 120 receives a RA procedure control message from the network node 110. As with the example embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the RA procedure control message may be sent via broadcast, multicast, or point-to-point transmission. The system information, andconsequently the RA procedure control message, may include at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for the cell 402 to enable the UE 120 to determine whether to initiate a RA procedure with the network node 110.

[0080] In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the at least one parameter may include one or more of geographical location information for the network node 110, the maximum distance 408, and the minimum distance 406. As described above, the geographical location information for the network node 110 may include a latitude and longitude of the network node 110 with or without a geodetic height for the network node 110.

[0081] At block 508, the UE 120 calculates a distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110 based on the geographical location information for the UE 120 and the geographical location information for the network node 110 in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to FIG. 3.

[0082] Still referring to block 508, after calculating the distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110, the UE 120 determines whether to initiate a RA procedure with the network node 110 based on whether the distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110 is between the minimum distance 406 and the maximum distance 408. If the distance between the UE 120 and the network node 110 is between the minimum distance 406 and the maximum distance 408, then the UE 120 initiates the RA procedure with the network node 110. Otherwise, the UE 120 does not initiate a RA procedure with the network node 110 and consider the cell not suitable for camping.

[0083] In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 4, as noted above, the UE 120 is located in the second prohibited distance zone 42. As a result, the computed distance at the UE 120would be outside the distance range. In this scenario, at 508 in FIG. 5, the UE 120 would not initiate the RA procedure and consider the cell as not suitable for camping.

[0084] Further, if the at least one parameter includes at least one of a maximum distance between the network node 110 and the UE 120 within the cell 402 or a minimum distance between the network node 110 and the UE 120 within the cell 402, the UE 120 may be configured to at least one of convert the maximum distance to the maximum timing advance 208 between the network node 110 and the UE 120 within the cell 402 or convert the minimum distance to a minimum timing advance 206 between the network node 110 and the UE 120 within the cell 402. The UE 120 may then use the TA value to determine whether to initiate the RA procedure as discussed above with regard to FIG. 3.

[0085] As discussed in more detail below, according to one or more example embodiments, the UE may also selectively terminate a RA procedure based on at least one of the at least one parameter or a termination parameter.

[0086] FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram 600 illustrating a method for selectively terminating a RA procedure, according to at least one example embodiment. For example purposes, the example embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be discussed with regard to the network node 110 and the UE 120 shown in FIG. 1.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 6, at 602 the UE 120 receives a RA procedure control message from the network node 110. The RA procedure control message may be similar to the RA procedure control message discussed above with regard to FIGS. 2-5, except that the system information, and consequently the RA procedure control message, may include the at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for the cell 102, a temporary offset anda validity time for the temporary offset. In this example, the at least one parameter may include the maximum timing advance and the minimum timing advance. The temporary offset may be a negative temporary offset, which may be an adjustment applied to a measured cell signal level and / or an adjustment applied to a measured cell signal quality during cell selection and / or cell reselection. The measured cell signal level and / or the measured cell signal quality may be measured by the UE 120. The temporary offset may be a value given in decibels (dB). The validity time is an amount of time (time interval) during which the negative temporary offset is to be applied. The validity time may be a value given in seconds in at least one example embodiment. The negative temporary offset and its validity time may be applied to the cell 102 during at least one of cell selection or cell reselection after a RA procedure is terminated by the UE 120.

[0088] In at least one example embodiment, the system information may also include a scaling factor. The scaling factor may be used to scale the temporary offset and / or the validity time. In particular, the scaling factor may be configured to scale the negative temporary offset or the validity time proportionally to the difference between the TA value received by the UE 120 during a RA procedure and a closest value in the allowed TA range.

[0089] Still referring to FIG. 6, at 604 the UE 120 initiates a RA procedure. In at least one example embodiment, prior to initiating the RA procedure, the UE 120 may determine a trigger for initiating the RA procedure towards the network node 110. A trigger for initiating the RA procedure may be a need to establish, resume, or continue interrupted communications. For example, a trigger may be a decision to start a RA procedure before initiating the RA procedure. In at least one example embodiment, a trigger for initiating a RA procedure may occur, but theRA procedure may not be initiated due to an intervening factor such as a RA condition not being fulfilled.

[0090] At 606, after the UE 120 initiates the RA procedure, the UE 120 sends a Random Access Preamble message (Msgl / MsgA) to the network node 110. The Random Access Preamble message may also be referred to herein as a random access request message.

[0091] At 608, the network node 110 calculates a TA value (in TA units) based on a delay in transmission of the Random Access Preamble message. For example, the Random Access Preamble message may include an indication of transmission time (e.g., a transmission time stamp) of the message by the UE 120. The network node 110 may determine the transmission delay for the Random Access Preamble message as the difference between the transmission time and the reception time of the Random Access Preamble message. The network node 110 may then compute the TA value based on the delay.

[0092] At 610, after determining the TA value, the network node 110 transmits the Random Access Response (RAR) message (Msg2 / MsgB), including the TA value, to the UE 120. The RAR message may also be referred to as a preamble response message. The RAR message may be a downlink MAC or RRC message.

[0093] At 612, after receipt of the RAR message, the UE 120 determines whether to terminate the RA procedure with the network node 110 based on the received TA value and the allowed TA range (the maximum TA value and the minimum TA value) included in the system information. If the TA value is within the allowed TA range, then the UE 120 determines that the RA procedure may continue (is not terminated). If, however, the TA value is outside the allowed TA range, then the UE 120 terminates the RA procedure. In at least one exampleembodiment, after terminating the RA procedure with the network node 110, the UE 120 may apply the negative temporary offset to the cell 102 for its validity time for a subsequent cell selection or cell reselection process.

[0094] At 614, the UE 120 evaluates cell selection criteria for the cell 102. In at least one example embodiment, the cell selection criteria may not be satisfied if the negative temporary offset is in place (e.g., the validity time for the temporary offset has not yet expired). If the cell selection criteria are not satisfied, the UE 120 determines that the cell 102 is not suitable for camping.

[0095] Although the negative temporary offset and the corresponding validity time are described herein as being transmitted from the network node 110 to the UE 120, in at least one example embodiment the negative temporary offset and the corresponding validity time may be fixed and known a priori at the UE 120. Thus, the UE 120 may not receive these parameters from the network node 110, but may still implement the negative temporary offset and the corresponding validity time when the UE 120 terminates a RA procedure.

[0096] FIG. 7 is a signal flow diagram 700 illustrating a method for selectively terminating a RA procedure, according to at least one example embodiment. As with FIG. 6, the example embodiment shown in FIG. 7 will be discussed with regard to the network node 110 and the UE 120 shown in FIG. 1.

[0097] At 702, the UE 120 receives a RA procedure control message from the network node 110. The RA procedure control message may be similar to the RA procedure control message described above with regard to FIG. 6, except that the system information, and consequently the RA procedure control message, may include the at least one parameter and a penalty time. In atleast one example embodiment, the penalty time is a delay time or interval where the UE 120 does not initiate a further RA procedure with the network node 110. Once the penalty time has lapsed, the UE 120 may initiate a further RA procedure.

[0098] At 704, after receipt of the RA procedure control message, the UE 120 initiates a RA procedure. In at least one example embodiment, prior to initiating the RA procedure, the UE 120 may determine a trigger for initiating the RA procedure towards the network node 110.

[0099] At 706, after the UE 120 initiates the RA procedure, the UE 120 sends the Random Access Preamble message (Msgl / MsgA) to the network node 110 as discussed above with regard to 606 in FIG. 6.

[0100] At 708, the network node 110 calculates a TA value based on the transmission delay of the Random Access Preamble message as discussed above with regard to 608 in FIG. 6.

[0101] At 710, after determining the TA value, the network node 110 transmits a RAR message including the TA value to the UE 120. The RAR message may be the same or substantially the same as that discussed above with regard to 610 in FIG. 6.

[0102] At 712, after receipt of the RAR message, the UE 120 determines whether to terminate the RA procedure based on the received TA value and the allowed TA range in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to 612 in FIG. 6. Also at 712, once having determined that termination of the RA procedure is needed (e.g., if the TA value received from the network node 110 is outside the allowed TA range), the UE 120 terminates the RA procedure and considers the cell 102 unsuitable for camping for the duration of the penalty time included in the system information received from the network node 110 at 702. Once the penalty time expires, the UE 120 may re-initiate the RA procedure with thenetwork node as needed.

[0103] According to one or more example embodiments, the network node may determine that termination of the RA procedure at the UE is needed, and may cause or explicitly instruct the UE to terminate the RA procedure. In one example, the network node may cause the UE to terminate the RA procedure by setting and sending, to the UE, a TA value outside the allowed TA range. The TA value outside the allowed TA range may be included in the RAR message or another message within the RA procedure. In another example, the network node 110 may cause the UE to terminate the RA procedure by including a termination parameter in the RAR message or another message within the RA procedure. These example embodiments will be described in more detail with regard to FIGS. 8-11.

[0104] FIG. 8 illustrates another example embodiment of a portion of the communications network 200 of FIG. 1 for explaining the example embodiments shown in FIGS. 9-11. For clarity, the portion of the communication network shown in FIG. 8 is referenced as 800.

[0105] Referring to FIG. 8, within a cell 802, an allowed TA range defines an allowed TA zone 804. The allowed TA zone 804 includes a minimum TA 806 and a maximum TA 808. UEs within the allowed TA zone 804 have TA values within the allowed TA range.

[0106] The cell 802 also includes a first prohibited distance zone 80 in which TA values are below the minimum TA 806 and a second prohibited TA zone 82 in which TA values are above the maximum TA 808. In this regard, TA values for UEs in the first prohibited distance zone 80 are below the minimum TA 806 and TA values for UEs in the second prohibited TA zone 82 are above the maximum TA 808.

[0107] FIG. 9 is a signal flow diagram 900 illustrating a method for selectively terminatinga RA procedure, according to at least one example embodiment.

[0108] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, at 902 the UE 120 receives the RA procedure control message from the network node 110. In this example, the RA procedure control message is the same as the RA procedure control message discussed above with regard to 602 in FIG. 6.

[0109] At 904, after receipt of the RA procedure control message, the UE 120 may initiate a RA procedure in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to 604 in FIG. 6.

[0110] At 906, the UE 120 sends the Random Access Preamble message (Msgl / MsgA) to the network node 110 as discussed above with regard to 606 in FIG. 6.

[0111] At 908, when the network node 110 determines that the RA procedure of the UE 120 should be terminated, the network node 110 sets the TA value (e.g., for the UE 120) outside of the allowed TA range. In at least one example embodiment, the RA procedure may be terminated due to overload or high doppler shift. Further, the RA procedure may be terminated if the RA procedure was only initiated to check whether the UE 120 is located within the cell without an intention to establish a wireless connection. According to at least some example embodiments, the network node 110 may set the TA value for the UE to a value outside of the allowed TA range even if, or independent of, whether the UE 120 is located within the allowed TA zone.

[0112] At 910, after determining that the RA procedure should be terminated, the network node 110 sends the TA value outside the allowed TA range to the UE 120. In one example, the network node 110 may send the TA value in the RAR message as discussed above with regard to, for example, 610 in FIG. 6. In another example, the network node 110 may include the TAvalue outside the allowed TA range in another DL message within the RA procedure.

[0113] At 912, upon receipt of the RAR or other message including the TA value outside the allowed TA range, the UE 120 determines that the RA procedure with the network node 110 should be terminated and terminates the RA procedure accordingly. After terminating the RA procedure with the network node 110, the UE 120 may apply the negative temporary offset to the cell 102 for its validity time for a subsequent cell selection or cell reselection process in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to 612 in FIG. 6.

[0114] At 914, the UE 120 evaluates cell selection criteria for the cell 102. In at least one example embodiment, as discussed above with regard to 614 in FIG. 6, the cell selection criteria may not be satisfied if the negative temporary offset is in place (e.g., the validity time for the temporary offset has not yet expired). If the cell selection criteria are not satisfied, the UE 120 determines that the cell 102 is not suitable for camping.

[0115] FIG. 10 is a signal flow diagram 1000 illustrating a method for selectively terminating a RA procedure, according to at least one example embodiment.

[0116] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 10, at 1002 the UE 120 receives the RA procedure control message from the network node 110. In this example, the RA procedure control message is the same as the RA procedure control message discussed above with regard to 702 in FIG. 7.

[0117] At 1004, after receipt of the RA procedure control message, the UE 120 may initiate a RA procedure in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to 704 in FIG. 7.

[0118] At 1006, the UE 120 sends the Random Access Preamble message (Msgl / MsgA)to the network node 110 as discussed above with regard to 706 in FIG. 7.

[0119] At 1008, when the network node 110 determines that the RA procedure of the UE 120 should be terminated, the network node 110 sets the TA value (e.g., for the UE 120) outside of the allowed TA range. In at least one example embodiment, as noted above, the RA procedure may be terminated due to overload or high doppler shift. Further, the RA procedure may be terminated if the RA procedure was only initiated to check whether the UE 120 is located within the cell without an intention to establish a wireless connection. According to at least some example embodiments, the network node 110 may set the TA value for the UE to a value outside of the allowed TA range even if, or independent of, whether the UE 120 is located within the allowed TA zone.

[0120] At 1010, after determining that the RA procedure should be terminated, the network node 110 sends the TA value outside the allowed TA range to the UE 120 in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to 910 in FIG. 9.

[0121] At 1012, upon receipt of the RAR or other message including the TA value outside the allowed TA range, the UE 120 determines that the RA procedure with the network node 110 should be terminated and terminates the RA procedure accordingly. The UE 120 then considers the cell 102 unsuitable for camping for the duration of the penalty time included in the system information received from the network node 110 at 902. Once the penalty time expires, the UE 120 may re-initiate the RA procedure with the network node as needed.

[0122] FIG. 11 is a signal flow diagram 1100 illustrating another method for selectively terminating a RA procedure, according to at least one example embodiment.

[0123] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 11, at 1102 the UE 120 may initiate a RA procedure in thesame or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to FIGS. 6, 7, 9 or 10. Although not shown in FIG. 11, the UE 120 may receive system information in the same or substantially the same manner as discussed above with regard to, for example. FIGS. 6, 7, 9 or 10. In at least one example embodiment, prior to initiating the RA procedure, the UE 120 may determine a trigger for initiating the RA procedure towards the network node 110.

[0124] At 1104, the UE 120 sends the Random Access Preamble message (Msgl / MsgA) to the network node 110 as discussed above with regard to FIGS. 6, 7, 9 or 10.

[0125] At 1106, the network node 110 determines that the RA procedure of the UE 120 should be terminated. In at least one example embodiment, as noted above, the RA procedure may be terminated due to overload or high doppler shift. Further, the RA procedure may be terminated if the RA procedure was only initiated to check whether the UE 120 is located within the cell without an intention to establish a wireless connection.

[0126] At 1108, after determining that the RA procedure of the UE 120 should be terminated, the network node 110 sends a RA procedure message including a termination parameter. In at least one example embodiment, the RA procedure message may be the RAR message or another DL message within the RA procedure as discussed above with regard to FIGS. 6, 7, 9 and 10.

[0127] At 1110, upon receipt of the RAR or other message including the termination parameter, the UE 120 determines that the RA procedure with the network node 110 should be terminated and terminates the RA procedure accordingly. The UE 120 then considers the cell 102 unsuitable for camping for the duration of the penalty time. In this example, the penalty time may be the same or substantially the same as that discussed above with regard to FIGS. 7and 10, but may not be sent to the UE 120 along with the system information. Rather, the penalty time may be fixed or known a priori at the UE 120.

[0128] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a system 1200 according to an example embodiment.

[0129] Referring to FIG. 12, the system 1200 includes: a processor 1210, a memory 1220 connected to the processor 1210, and various communication interfaces 1230 connected to the processor 1210. The various communication interfaces 1230 may constitute a transceiver for transmitting / receiving data from / to other system elements. The system 1200 may implement the systems and methods described herein.

[0130] As will be appreciated, depending on the implementation of the system 1200, the system 1200 may include many more components than those shown in FIG. 12. However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose the illustrative example embodiment. For example purposes, the example embodiment shown in FIG. 12 will be discussed with regard to the processor 1210. However, it should be understood that the system 1200 shown in FIG. 12 may include one or more processors or other processing circuitry, such as one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).

[0131] The memory 1220 may be a computer readable storage medium that generally includes a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and / or a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive. The memory 1220 may also store an operating system and any other routines / modules / applications for providing the functionalities of the system 1200 to be executed by the processor 1210. These software components may also be loaded from a separate computer readable storage medium into the memory 1220 using a drive mechanism (not shown). Such separate computer readable storage medium may include a disc, tape,DVD / CD-ROM drive, memory card, or other like computer readable storage medium (not shown). In some example embodiments, software components may be loaded into the memory 1220 via one of the various communication interfaces 1230, rather than via a computer readable storage medium.

[0132] The processor 1210 or other processing circuitry may be configured to carry out instructions of a computer program by performing the arithmetical, logical, and input / output operations of the system. Instructions may be provided to the processor 1210 by the memory 1220.

[0133] The various communication interfaces 1230 may be wired and may include components that interface the processor 1210 with the other input / output components. As will be understood, the various communication interfaces 1230 and programs stored in the memory 1220 to set forth the special purpose functionalities of the system 1200 will vary depending on the implementation of the network node. In at least one example embodiment, the various communication interfaces 1230 may provide the system 1200 with communication capabilities. For example, the various communication interfaces 1230 may include a receiver configured to receive information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard and / or a transmitter configured to transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non- cellular standard. The receiver may comprise more than one receiver. The transmitter may comprise more than one transmitter. In at least one example embodiment, the various communication interfaces 1230 may include a transceiver configured to receive and transmit information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. The transceiver may comprise more than one transceiver.

[0134] The various communication interfaces 1230 may also include one or more user input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, or the like) and user output devices (e.g., a display, a speaker, or the like).

[0135] In at least one example embodiment, the system 1200 may be included in a terminal device, such as the UE 120 or the UE 122 of Fig. 1. For example, the system may be included in a terminal device as a chipset configured to control the terminal device.

[0136] In another example embodiment, the system 1200 may be a network node, e.g. the network node 110 or the network node 112 of Fig. 1. In another embodiment, the system 1200 is comprised in such a network node, e.g. as a chipset configured to control the network node.

[0137] The system 1200 may comprise one or more entities of any of protocol layers, such as a MAC entity, an RRC entity, an RLC entity, a PDCP entity or a PHY entity. In some embodiments, the entity is configured to perform at least a method in accordance with any one or more of the example embodiments described.

[0138] In an embodiment, at least some of the processes described herein may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for carrying out at least some of the described processes. Means for performing method steps as disclosed herein may include software and / or hardware components of the system 1200. For example, the processor 1210, the memory 1220, and the computer program code form means for carrying out the method or methods as disclosed herein, and any of the embodiments thereof. At least one other example embodiment may include a computer program including program segments or instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a system or an apparatus, cause the system or the apparatus to perform the method or methods disclosed herein.

[0139] As used herein the term “means” is to be construed in singular form, i.e. referring to a single element, or in plural form, i.e. referring to a combination of single elements. Therefore, terminology “means for [performing A, B, C]”, is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C. Further, terminology “means for performing A, means for performing B, means for performing C” is to be interpreted to cover an apparatus in which there is only one means for performing A, B and C, or where there are separate means for performing A, B and C, or partially or fully overlapping means for performing A, B, C.

[0140] Illustrative Embodiment 1. A user equipment comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element, receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element, said random access procedure control message comprising at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0141] Illustrative Embodiment 2. The user equipment of illustrative embodiment 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to determine geographic location information for the user equipment, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the geographic location information.

[0142] Illustrative Embodiment 3. The user equipment of illustrative embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the random access procedure control message further includes geographic location information for the radio access network element, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the geographic location information.

[0143] Illustrative Embodiment 4. The user equipment of illustrative embodiment 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to determine a distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element based on the geographic location information for the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the distance.

[0144] Illustrative Embodiment 5. The user equipment of illustrative embodiment 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to convert the distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element into a timing advance value for the cell, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on whether the timing advance value is within the allowed timing advance range.

[0145] Illustrative Embodiment 6. The user equipment of illustrative embodiment 3, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell includes at least one of (i) a maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or (ii) a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell, and wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to cause the user equipment to: determine a distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element based on the geographic location information for the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the distance and the at least one of the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0146] Illustrative Embodiment 7. The user equipment of any of the preceding illustrative embodiments, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to: determine the allowed timing advance range based on the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell; convert the allowed timing advance range into distance information; and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the distance information.

[0147] Illustrative Embodiment 8. The user equipment of any of the preceding illustrative embodiments, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to: determine that the random access procedure cannot be initiated, and determine that the cell is not suitable for camping based on determining that the random access procedure cannot be initiated.

[0148] Illustrative Embodiment 9. The user equipment of any of the preceding illustrating embodiments, wherein the allowed timing advance range includes at least one of a maximum timing advance value or a minimum timing advance value.

[0149] Illustrative Embodiment 10. The user equipment of any of the preceding illustrating embodiments, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance rangefor the cell includes at least one of (i) a maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or (ii) a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to at least one of: convert the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell to a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range, or convert the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell to a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range.

[0150] Illustrative Embodiment 11. The user equipment of any of the preceding illustrative embodiments, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell includes at least one of (i) a maximum timing advance value of the timing advance range or (ii) a minimum timing advance value of the timing advance range, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to at least one of: convert the maximum timing advance value to a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell, or convert the minimum timing advance value to a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0151] Illustrative Embodiment 12. A radio access network element comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the radio access network element to transmit a random access procedure control message including at least one first parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element.

[0152] Illustrative Embodiment 13. The radio access network element of illustrative embodiment 12, wherein the at least one first parameter includes at least one of a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell.

[0153] Illustrative Embodiment 14. The radio access network element of illustrative embodiment 13, wherein the random access procedure control message includes at least one second parameter indicative of a request to at least one of (i) convert the maximum timing advance value to a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or (ii) convert the minimum timing advance value to a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0154] Illustrative Embodiment 15. The radio access network element of illustrative embodiment 13 or 14, wherein the at least one first parameter includes at least one of a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

[0155] Illustrative Embodiment 16. The radio access network element of illustrative embodiment 15, wherein the random access procedure control message includes at least one second parameter indicative of a request to at least one of (i) convert the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment to a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or (ii) convert the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment to a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell.

[0156] Illustrative Embodiment 17. The radio access network element of any of illustrative embodiments 13-16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the radio access network element to transmit geographic location information for the radio access network element.

[0157] Illustrative Embodiment 18. The radio access network element of illustrative embodiment 17, wherein the geographic location information includes at least one of (i) a latitude and a longitude for the radio access network element or (ii) a latitude, a longitude, and a geodetic height for the radio access network element.

[0158] Illustrative Embodiment 19. The radio access network element of any of illustrative embodiments 13-18, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the radio access network element to broadcast the random access procedure control message within the cell.

[0159] Illustrative Embodiment 20. A user equipment comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element, receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element, said random access procedure control message comprising at least one parameter indicative of an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

[0160] As discussed herein, the terminology “one or more” and “at least one” may be used interchangeably. Although the specification may refer to “an”, “one”, or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations of the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is made to thesame embodiment(s), or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection of an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to apply such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0161] For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases “at least one of A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, and “A and / or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and / or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C).

[0162] Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of this disclosure. As used herein, the term “and / or,” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Similarly, the term “or” includes both its conjunctive and disjunctive meanings.

[0163] When an element is referred to as being “connected,” or “coupled,” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. By contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected,” or “directly coupled,” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe a physical relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between,” versus “directly between,” “adjacent,” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).

[0164] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0165] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions / acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, figures shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality / acts involved.

[0166] Specific details are provided in the preceding description to provide a thorough understanding of example embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that example embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, systems may be shown in block diagrams so as not to obscure the example embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known processes, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring example embodiments.

[0167] As discussed herein, illustrative embodiments have been described with reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations (e.g., in the form of flow charts, flow diagrams, data flow diagrams, structure diagrams, block diagrams, etc.) that may be implemented as program modules or functional processes include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types and may be implemented using existing hardware at, for example, existing user equipment or other network elements and / or hardware. Such existing hardware may be processing or control circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors, one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), one or more controllers, one or more arithmetic logic units (AUUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more microcomputers, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more System-on-Chips (SoCs), one or more programmable logic units (PLUs), one or more microprocessors, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other device or devices capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner.

[0168] Although a flow chart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel, concurrently, or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may be terminated when its operations are completed, but may also have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.

[0169] As disclosed herein, the term “storage medium,” “computer readable storage medium” or “non-transitory computer readable storage medium” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and / or other tangible machine-readable mediums for storing information. The term“computer-readable medium” may include, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other non-transitory, physical media capable of storing or instruction(s) and / or data.

[0170] Furthermore, example embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine or computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium. When implemented in software, a processor or processors will perform the necessary tasks. For example, as mentioned above, according to one or more example embodiments, at least one memory may include or store computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with at least one processor, cause a network element or network device to perform the necessary tasks. Additionally, the processor, memory, and example algorithms, encoded as computer program code, serve as means for providing or causing performance of operations discussed herein.

[0171] A code segment of computer program code may represent a procedure, function, subprogram, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or any combination of instructions, data structures or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable technique including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0172] The terms “including” and / or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (z.e., open language). The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. Terminology derived from the word “indicating” (e.g., “indicates” and “indication”) is intended to encompass all the various techniques available for communicating or referencing the object / information being indicated. Some, but not all, examples of techniques available for communicating or referencing the object / information being indicated include the conveyance of the object / information being indicated, the conveyance of an identifier of the object / information being indicated, the conveyance of information used to generate the object / information being indicated, the conveyance of some part or portion of the object / information being indicated, the conveyance of some derivation of the object / information being indicated, and the conveyance of some symbol representing the object / information being indicated.

[0173] According to example embodiments, user equipment, other network elements, or the like, may be (or include) hardware, firmware, hardware executing software or any combination thereof. Such hardware may include processing or control circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors, one or more CPUs, one or more controllers, one or more ALUs, one or more DSPs, one or more microcomputers, one or more FPGAs, one or more SoCs, one or more PLUs, one or more microprocessors, one or more ASICs, or any other device or devices capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner.

[0174] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments of the invention. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause or result in such benefits, advantages, orsolutions, or cause such benefits, advantages, or solutions to become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A user equipment comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element, receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element, said random access procedure control message comprising at least one parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to determine geographic location information for the user equipment, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the geographic location information.

3. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the random access procedure control message further includes geographic location information for the radio access network element, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the geographic location information.

494. The user equipment of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to determine a distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element based on the geographic location information for the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the random access procedure control message and the distance.

5. The user equipment of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to convert the distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element into a timing advance value for the cell, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on whether the timing advance value is within the allowed timing advance range.

6. The user equipment of claim 3, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell includes at least one of (i) a maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or (ii) a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to determine a distance between the user equipment and the radio access network element based on the geographic location information for the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the distance and the at least one of the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

7. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to determine the allowed timing advance range based on the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell;convert the allowed timing advance range into distance information; and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the distance information.

8. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the user equipment to determine that the random access procedure cannot be initiated, and determine that the cell is not suitable for camping based on determining that the random access procedure cannot be initiated.

9. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the allowed timing advance range includes at least one of a maximum timing advance value or a minimum timing advance value.

10. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell includes at least one of (i) a maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell or (ii) a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to at least one of convert the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell to a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range, or convert the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell to a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range.

11. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of the allowed timing advance range for the cell includes at least one of (i) a maximum timing advance value of the timing advance range or (ii) a minimum timing advance value of the timing advance range, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the user equipment to at least one of convert the maximum timing advance value to a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell, or convert the minimum timing advance value to a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

12. A radio access network element comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the radio access network element to transmit a random access procedure control message including at least one first parameter indicative of an allowed timing advance range for a cell associated with the radio access network element.

13. The radio access network element of claim 12, wherein the at least one first parameter includes at least one of a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell.

14. The radio access network element of claim 13, wherein the random access procedure control message includes at least one second parameter indicative of a request to at least one of (i) convert the maximum timing advance value to a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or (ii) convert the minimum timing advance value to a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

15. The radio access network element of claim 13, wherein the at least one first parameter includes at least one of a maximum distance between the radio access network element and a user equipment within the cell or a minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment within the cell.

16. The radio access network element of claim 15, wherein the random access procedure control message includes at least one second parameter indicative of a request to at least one of (i) convert the maximum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment to a maximum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell or (ii) convert the minimum distance between the radio access network element and the user equipment to a minimum timing advance value of the allowed timing advance range for the cell.

17. The radio access network element of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the radio access network element to transmit geographic location information for the radio access network element.

18. The radio access network element of claim 17, wherein the geographic location information includes at least one of (i) a latitude and a longitude for the radio access network element or (ii) a latitude, a longitude, and a geodetic height for the radio access network element.

19. The radio access network element of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the radio access network element to broadcast the random access procedure control message within the cell.

20. A user equipment comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the user equipment to determine a trigger for initiating a random access procedure towards a radio access network element,receive a random access procedure control message from the radio access network element, said random access procedure control message comprising at least one parameter indicative of an allowed distance for a cell associated with the radio access network element, and determine whether to initiate the random access procedure based on the at least one parameter.

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