Detection and exposure of missed sleeping window configurations

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for measuring the performance of a configured sleeping window configurations and exposing the missed sleeping window configurations. Certain embodiments include methods for measuring a first set of information and determining a second set of information. Certain embodiments include methods to transmitting of one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information by a first network node to a second network node. The information can be used in tuning configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup. Based on certain embodiments, the operator can configure better cell sleep window configurations thereby enabling better network energy savings with smaller impact on the end user quality of experience.

Description

DETECTION AND EXPOSURE OF MISSED SLEEPING WINDOW CONFIGURATIONSCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States of America priority application No. 63 / 737,313, filed on December 20, 2024, titled “Detection and Exposure of Missed Sleeping Window Configurations.”TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for tuning sleep and / or wakeup configurations.BACKGROUND

[0003] Network energy saving use cases have gained more attention in the recent past due to the increased efforts by the operators to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, the 0-RAN Network Energy Saving Use Cases Technical Report 2.0 describes different Energy Saving features:• Carrier and Cell Switch Off / On;• RF Channel Reconfiguration Off / On;• Advanced Sleep Mode Selection;• O-Cloud Resource Energy Saving Mode.

[0004] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Energy saving features like cell sleep comes with a risk of degraded UE performance as the number of available resources to fulfil users’ demands is lesser while a cell is sleeping.SUMMARY

[0005] One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a network node for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeupfor a cell. The method comprises: collecting a first set of information; and performing at least one of; performing one or more actions related to tuning of the one or more configurations; or transmitting the first set of information to a second network node.

[0006] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a second network node for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell served by a first network node. The method comprises: receiving a first set of information; determining one or more actions related to tuning the one or more configurations; and transmitting an indication of the one or more actions to the first network node.

[0007] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a network node for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell. The network node comprises: processing circuitry; and a memory storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; collecting a first set of information; and performing at least one of; performing one or more actions related to tuning of the one or more configurations; or transmitting the first set of information to a second network node.

[0008] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a second network node for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell served by a first network node. The second network node comprises: processing circuitry; and a memory storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving a first set of information; determining one or more actions related to tuning the one or more configurations; and transmitting an indication of the one or more actions to the first network node.

[0009] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an indication of the scope of the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0011] Fig. 1 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0012] Fig. 2 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0013] Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0014] Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0015] Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0016] Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0017] Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0018] Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0019] Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a sleeping window;

[0020] Fig. 10 illustrates an example of an O-RAN embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0021] Fig. 11 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0022] Fig. 12 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0023] Fig. 13 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig. 14 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0025] Fig. 15 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0026] Fig. 16 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure; and

[0027] Fig. 17 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0001] Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the parameters of the particularly exemplified systems, methods, apparatus, products, processes, and / or kits, which may, of course, vary. Thus, while certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, with reference to specific configurations, parameters, components, elements, etc., the descriptions are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed embodiments. In addition, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments. Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0002] As discussed above, there currently exist certain challenges. Energy saving features like cell sleep comes with a risk of degraded UE performance as the number of available resources to fulfil users’ demands is lesser while a cell is sleeping. Thus, an operator needs to carefully plan when to perform cell sleep operations. In general operators prefer to configure a time window during which a cell sleep operation is allowed and this information is taken into account by the cell sleep algorithm so that it can perform the cell sleep decisions only during such sleep windows. For example, an operator might configure the cell sleep algorithm to run between 12 in the night and 6 in the morning. During that time window the cell sleep algorithm can put a cell to sleep mode and wake up the cell from sleep. However, the configuration of sleep window might be sub-optimal because of the local traffic patterns, local mobility patterns etc. When the sleeping window configurations are not coordinated with the cell sleep / wakeup parameters, then there is a risk that the sleeping window configurations are not optimal.

[0003] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Certain embodiments propose a framework and the details associated to the measuring the performance of the configured sleeping window configurations and exposing the missed sleeping window configurations (exposing the missed sleep opportunities due to the allowed sleep window configurations).

[0004] Certain embodiments include methods for measuring a first set of information that can comprise e.g., one or more of the following:• T1 -> Time between the start time of the sleeping window and the time at which the cell sleep is initiated.• T2 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window).• T3 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window).• T4 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold or the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window).• T5 - Time between the last instance of cell / radio was woken up and the end time of the sleeping window when the cell / radio was already in the woken up state.• Missed sleep windowTime duration outside the configured sleeping window during which the load of the booster cell does not go above a threshold.

[0005] Certain embodiments include methods for determining a second set of information that can comprise one or more of the following: Too early start of the sleeping window; Too late start of the sleeping window; Too early end of the sleeping window; Too late end of the sleeping window; Missed sleeping window possibility.

[0006] Certain embodiments include methods to transmitting of one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information by a first network node to a second network node. Such embodiments could comprise e.g.: from a distributed unit (DU) toa central unit control plane (CU-CP); transmitting from a first CU-CP to a second CU-CP; transmitting from a CU-CP to an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) node; transmitting from a DU to an OAM node; transmitting from a network vendor OAM node to an operator OAM node.

[0007] The flow charts of Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrates possible example implementations under the present disclosure. The shown steps can be actions performed by a first network node. Figure 1 illustrates a method 100 performed by a network node. In Figure 1, the steps include step 110, performing collection of a first set of information. Step 120 is performing collection of a second set of information (which step may be optional). Step 130 is performing action(s) related to tuning of the cell sleep / wakeup window configuration. Method 100 can comprise a variety of additional, alternative, and / or optional steps and / or other modifications.

[0008] Figure 2 illustrates a method 300 performed by a network node. Step 310 is performing collection of a first set of information. Step 320 is performing collection of a second set of information (which step may be optional). Step 330 is transmitting the first set of information and / or second set of information to a second network node. Method 300 can comprise a variety of additional, alternative, and / or optional steps and / or other modifications.

[0009] One embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a first network node. The method comprises: determining a first set of information and / or determining a second set of information; and determining an action to change the cell sleep window configuration based on the first set of information and / or the second set of information. Some variations could further include receiving the first set of information and / or the second set of information from a second network node. Other variations could further include transmitting the determined action to a third network node.

[0010] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. Based on certain embodiments, the operator can configure better cell sleep window configurations thereby enabling better network energy savings with smaller impact on the end user quality of experience. It is also possible for the operator to use the methods of this present disclosure to understand the potential sleep windows in their network without actually enabling the cell sleep functionality, thereby ensuring the good user experience before activating cell sleep functionality.

[0011] Certain embodiments below include detailed description associated to the first set of information and methods to derive the second set of information.

[0012] The details associated to the first set of information are can in some cases be explained using a pictorial representation of the time window for sleeping as shown in Figure 3. In the example depiction given in Figure 3, the sleeping window configurations are such that the sleep window begins at Wstart and the sleep window ends at WE . The duration between Wstart and WEnd is when a cell / radio can be put to sleep and at after the WE , the cell / radio shall be woken up if not done already.

[0013] The current disclosure includes methods for measuring a first set of information that can comprise one or more of the following examples.

[0014] In certain embodiments, T1 can be a time between the start time of the sleeping window and the time at which the cell sleep is initiated. In the example depiction shown in Figure 4, the actual start of the cell sleep begins at Tstart which is after the Wstart. This difference between the Wstart and Tstart is the value stored as Tl. If T1 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are started much earlier than what is required based on the current configuration of the cell / radio sleep parameters. Such a scenario can also be classified as too early start of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When Tl is large, one could either delay the start of the sleep window or change the cell / radio sleep parameters such that the cell / radio sleep can be initiated earlier. If Tl is zero (i.e., the start of the cell / radio sleep began immediately at the start of the sleep window) or a very small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been started earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window. Such a scenario can also be classified as too late start of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When Tl is zero, one could start the sleep window earlier to see if there are any missing sleep opportunities.

[0015] In certain embodiments, T2 can be a time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window). In the example depiction shown in Figure 5, the cell sleep window is ended at WEnd which is earlier than the time TuighLoad, which indicates the time at which the booster cell load goes above a preconfigured threshold value. This difference between the TnighLoad and WEnd is the value stored as T2. If T2 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are ended much earlier than what is requiredbecause despite turning on the booster cell, the load of the booster cell did not go above a threshold until THighLoad. Such a scenario can also be classified as too early end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When T2 is large, one could delay the end of the sleep window and allow for more sleep opportunities leading to better energy savings. If T2 is a small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been ended earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window because the load on the booster cell goes above the pre-configured threshold immediately after ending the sleep window. Such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When T2 is a small value, one could end the sleep window earlier to allow for booster cell to take up the traffic earlier or change the cell / radio wakeup parameters such that the booster cell / radio wakeup can be triggered during the cell sleeping window itself. This would enable better user experience as the users get to access the booster cell’ s resources earlier.

[0016] In certain embodiments, T3 can be a time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold / offset (after the end time of the sleeping window). In the example depiction shown in Figure 6, the cell sleep window is ended at WE which is earlier than the time TLowLoad, which indicates the time at which the coverage cell load goes below a preconfigured threshold value or an offset value (wherein the offset is a relative decrease in the load of the coverage cell in comparison to the load of the coverage cell at WEnd). This difference between the TLowLoad and WEnd is the value stored as T3. If T3 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are ended much earlier than what is required because despite turning on the booster cell, the load of the coverage cell did not go drop below a preconfigured threshold / offset until TLowLoad. Such a scenario can also be classified as too early end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When T3 is large, one could delay the end of the sleep window and allow for more sleep opportunities leading to better energy savings or one could also reevaluate whether the relation between the coverage cell and the booster cell is appropriate as turning on the booster cell did not help to reduce the load of the coverage cell. If T3 is a very small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been ended earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping windowbecause the load on the coverage cell falls below the pre-configured threshold / offset immediately after ending the sleep window. Such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When T3 is a small value, one could end the sleep window earlier to allow for booster cell to take up the traffic earlier or change the cell / radio wakeup parameters such that the booster cell / radio wakeup can be triggered during the cell sleeping window itself. This would enable better user experience as the users get to access the booster cell’s resources earlier.

[0017] In certain embodiments, T4 can be a time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold or the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window). In the example depiction shown in Figure 7, the cell sleep window is ended at WE which is earlier than the time TLoad, which indicates either the time at which the coverage cell load goes below a preconfigured threshold value / an offset value (wherein the offset is a relative decrease in the load of the coverage cell in comparison to the load of the coverage cell at WEnd) or the time at which the booster cell load goes above a preconfigured threshold value. This difference between the TLoad and WEnd is the value stored as T4. If T4 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are ended much earlier than what is required because despite turning on the booster cell, the load of the coverage cell did not go drop below a preconfigured threshold / offset or the load of the booster cell did not go above a preconfigured threshold until TLoad. Such a scenario can also be classified as too early end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When T4 is large, one could delay the end of the sleep window and allow for more sleep opportunities leading to better energy savings or one could also reevaluate whether the relation between the coverage cell and the booster cell is appropriate as turning on the booster cell did not help to reduce the load of the coverage cell. If T4 is a very small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been ended earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window because the load on the coverage cell falls below the pre-configured threshold / offset or the load of the booster cell goes up above the preconfigured threshold immediately after ending the sleep window. Such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the secondset of information. When T4 is a small value, one could end the sleep window earlier to allow for booster cell to take up the traffic earlier or change the cell / radio wakeup parameters such that the booster cell / radio wakeup can be triggered during the cell sleeping window itself. This would enable better user experience as the users get to access the booster cell’s resources earlier.

[0018] In certain embodiments, T5 can be a time between the last instance of cell / radio was woken up and the end time of the sleeping window when the cell / radio was already in the ON state. In the example depiction shown in Figure 8, the cell sleep window is ended at WEnd which is later than the time Tstart, which indicates the time at which the booster cell was woken up by the cell wakeup algorithm during the cell sleep window and the booster cell continues to be in the ON state at WEnd. This difference between the T start and WEnd is the value stored as T5. When T5 is a non-zero value, it indicates that the sleep window is too large as the booster cell was already in the ON state at the time of ending of the sleep window. Such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information. When T5 is a non-zero value, one could configure the end of the sleep window earlier. It could also be possible for the operator to configure different sleep windows with different sleep modes (e.g., in one sleep mode, the entire radio is slept and in another sleep mode, only the MIMO sleep is allowed etc.) when the T5 is large. For example, the operator could configure time window 1 with sleep mode-1 from the original start of the sleep window until the last instance of the cell / radio wake up and another time window, time window 2 with sleep mode-2 from the last instance of the cell / radio wake up until the original end of the sleep window.

[0019] In certain embodiments, missed sleep window can be a time duration outside the configured sleeping window during which the cell / radio sleeping criterion would be met. In the example depiction shown in Figure 9, the configured sleep window is between Wstart and WEn . However, during the interval between Tstart and TEnd, the cell / radio sleep criterion would be met and thus if it was allowed to go to sleep, then the cell / radio would have slept. Here, Tstart is the time instance when the cell / radio sleep criterion is fulfilled outside the configured sleep window configuration and TEnd is the time instance when the cell / radio sleep criterion is no more fulfilled outside the configured sleep window configuration. The time interval between Tstart and TEnd is referred to as the missed sleep window and both Tstan and TEnd are stored in such an indication. In some embodiments, the Tstart and TEnd is stored for each of the occasion outside the configured sleep window configuration. In some other embodiments, the Tstart and TEnd is storedas a missed sleep window only if the duration between T start and Tpn is above a preconfigured duration. The term ‘cell sleep criterion’ is used above and this is used to refer to any decision making conditions fulfilling which the cell / radio is put to sleep if at that time, the sleep window configuration allows for sleeping. An example of the ‘cell sleep criterion’ could include (but not restricted to) e.g.: the load of the booster cell is below a preconfigured threshold; the load of the coverage cell is below a preconfigured threshold; the load of the booster cell is below a preconfigured threshold and the load of the coverage cell is below another preconfigured threshold.

[0020] In some embodiments, one or more of the above-mentioned measurements are collected for multiple iterations of an existing configuration of the sleeping window. Then so collected measurements are used to derive a single metric indicating the measurement. For example, the T1 measurement is collected for 10 iterations of the existing configuration of the sleeping window and an average value is computed based on the 10 different values. In some embodiments associated to deriving the single metric from multiple measurements, averaging method (weighted averaging or equal weighted averaging) used. In some embodiments associated to deriving the single metric from multiple measurements, the maximum value amongst the collected measurements is used. In some embodiments associated to deriving the single metric from multiple measurements, the minimum value amongst the collected measurements is used.

[0021] In certain above-mentioned measurements, the term load is used. DL PRB utilization, UL PRB utilization, total CPU cycles are some examples of the load metric.

[0022] Certain embodiments can implement various forms of inter-node communication. For example, in some embodiments, a first network node could send a subscription request to a second network for one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information. Such a request could include the periodicity with which the first network node expects the subscribed information, the granularity of the said information etc. As a response to such a subscription request, the second network node could send either a message of acceptance / acknowledgement or a message of rejection. In such an acceptance / acknowledgement message, the second network node could indicate to the first network node regarding which of the requested one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information is acknowledged by the second network node, the periodicity with which the acknowledged information shall be transmitted etc.

[0023] Some examples of first network node and the second network node include, e.g.: a DU being the first network node and a CU-CP being the second network node; a CU-CP being the first network node and another CU-CP being the second network node; a CU-CP being the first network node and an 0AM node being the second network node; a DU being the first network node and an 0AM being the second network node; a CU-CP being the first network node and an AMF node in CN being the second network node; an AMF being the first network node and an 0AM node being the second network node.

[0024] In some embodiments, one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information is exposed by a network node to an operator. For example, the network node that computes or collects the missed sleep window related information could expose this information to the operator so that the operator can configure the sleeping window configurations that could include the exposed missed sleep windows.

[0025] Certain embodiments can comprise cloud implementations. For example, certain embodiments can be implemented in a virtualized or containerized service or micro-service running in the cloud environment.

[0026] Certain embodiments can comprise Open Radio Area Network (0-RAN) implementations. For example, certain embodiments can be implemented as an rAPP or an xAPP. Figure 10 illustrates a schematic view of one possible 0-RAN embodiment with system 1500. SMO (Service Management and Orchestration) framework 1510 can be in communication with an external system 1560, which provides enrichment data. Functions 1540 can be implemented within SMO framework 1510 both within and outside of non-RT RIC framework 1550, which may sit within non-RT RIC 1530. Within non-RT RIC 1530 there may also be rApps 1520 running. Connections (02, 01, Open FH M-Plane (Fronthaul Management Plane), Al) may provide communication between SMO framework 1510 or non-RT RIC framework 1550 with other components.

[0027] Figure 11 illustrates a possible method embodiment under the present disclosure. Method 1700 comprises a method performed by a network node fortuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell. Step 1710 is collecting a first set of information. Step 1720 is performing at least one of; performing one or more actions related to tuning of the one or more configurations; or transmitting the first set of information to a second network node. Method 1700 can comprise a variety of additional, alternative, and / or optional stepsand / or other modifications. For example, some embodiments can further comprise collecting a second set of information. Some embodiments can further comprise transmitting the second set of information to the second network node. Some embodiments can further comprise receiving, from the second network node, an indication of which of the one or more actions to perform. In some variations, the performing one or more actions is performed after receiving the indication. In some embodiments, the one or more configurations comprises one or more settings for when to perform evaluation of entering or exiting sleep and / or wakeup. In some embodiments, the first set of information comprises at least one of a first time between a start time of a sleeping window and an initiation time at which the booster cell sleeping is initiated; a second time between an end time of a sleeping window of a booster cell and a threshold time at which a load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a third time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; a fourth time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and either; a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; or a threshold time at which the load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a fifth time between a previous time a cell was woken up and an end time of the sleeping window when the cell was already in a woken up state; a sixth time measuring a time duration outside the sleeping window during which a load of the booster cell does not go above a threshold. In some variations, the second set of information comprises at least one of too early start of the sleeping window; too late start of the sleeping window; too early end of the sleeping window; too late end of the sleeping window; missed sleeping window possibility. In some embodiments, the transmitting comprises at least one of transmitting from a DU to a CU-CP; transmitting from a first CU-CP to a second CU-CP; transmitting from a CU-CP to an OAM node; transmitting from a DU to an 0AM node; transmitting from a network vendor OAM node to an operator OAM node. In some embodiments, either collecting a first set of information and / or collecting a second set of information comprises receiving, from a / the second network node, the first set of information or the second set of information.

[0028] Figure 12 illustrates another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure. Method 1900 comprises a method performed by a second network node for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell served by a first network node. Step 1910 is receiving a first set of information. Step 1920 is determining one or more actionsrelated to tuning the one or more configurations. Step 1930 is transmitting an indication of the one or more actions to the first network node. Method 1900 can comprise a variety of additional, alternative, and / or optional steps and / or other modifications. For example, some embodiments can further comprise receiving a second set of information. In some embodiments, the first set of information and / or the second set of information are received from the first network node. Some variations can further comprise transmitting, to the first network node, an indication of which of the one or more actions to perform. In some variations, the performing one or more actions is performed after the second network node transmits the indication. In some embodiments, the one or more configurations comprises one or more settings for when to perform evaluation of entering or exiting sleep and / or wakeup. In some embodiments, the first set of information comprises at least one of a first time between a start time of a sleeping window and an initiation time at which the booster cell sleeping is initiated; a second time between an end time of a sleeping window of a booster cell and a threshold time at which a load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a third time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; a fourth time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and either; a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; or a threshold time at which the load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a fifth time between a previous time a cell was woken up and an end time of the sleeping window when the cell was already in a woken up state; a sixth time measuring a time duration outside the sleeping window during which a load of the booster cell does not go above a threshold. In some embodiments, the second set of information comprises at least one of too early start of the sleeping window; too late start of the sleeping window; too early end of the sleeping window; too late end of the sleeping window; missed sleeping window possibility. In some embodiments, the receiving comprises at least one of receiving, from a DU, by a CU-CP; receiving, from a first CU-CP, by a second CU-CP; receiving, from a CU-CP, by an 0AM node; receiving, from a DU, by an 0AM node; receiving, from a network vendor 0AM node, by an operator 0AM node. In some variations, either receiving a first set of information and / or receiving a second set of information comprises receiving from the first network node.

[0029] Figure 13 shows an example of a communication system 4100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0030] In the example, the communication system 4100 includes a telecommunications network 4102 that includes an access network 4104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 4106, which includes one or more core network nodes 4108. The access network 4104 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes 4110A and 4110B are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 4110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network 4104 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes 4110 of access network 4104 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 4112A, 4112B, 4112C, and 4112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 4112) to the core network 4106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0031] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 4102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 4102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 4102, including one or more access network nodes 4110 and / or core network nodes 4108.

[0032] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network nodemay be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O- Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.

[0033] The network nodes 4110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs 4112 to the core network 4106 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 4100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 4100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0034] The UEs 4112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 4110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 4108, 4110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network 4102) with the UEs 4112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 4102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network 4102. More specifically, UEs 4112 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes 4108, 4110 or other elements of the telecommunications network 4102 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes 4108, 4110 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs 41122, other network nodes 4108, 4110, and other devices in telecommunications network 4102 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a corenetwork node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE 4112 by transmitting the message to an access network node 4110 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE 4112. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE 4112 by receiving the message from an access network node 4110 that itself received the message from the UE 4112.

[0035] In the depicted example, the core network 4106 connects elements of the access network 4104 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes 4110) to one or more host computing systems, such as host 4116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 4106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 4108) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 4108. Network nodes 4108 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 4108. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0036] The host 4116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 4104 and / or the telecommunications network 4102. The host 4116 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 4116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0037] As a whole, the communication system 4100 of Figure 13 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 4100 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specificstandards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z- Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system 4100 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system 4100 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0038] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 4104 may contain some access network nodes 4110 that support 3GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 4110 support (or the same access network nodes 4110 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network 4102 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0039] Telecommunications network 4102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 4102. For example, the telecommunications network 4102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0040] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 4112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 4104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 4104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi -standardmode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0041] In the example, the hub 4114 communicates with the access network 4104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 4112C and / or 4112D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 4110B). In some examples, the hub 4114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 4114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 4106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 4114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 4110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 4114.

[0042] As another example, the hub 4114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 4114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 4114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 4114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 4114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0043] The hub 4114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 4110B. The hub 4114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 4114 and UEs (e.g., UE 4112C and / or 4112D), and between the hub 4114 and the core network 4106. In other examples, the hub 4114 is connected to the core network 4106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 4114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 4104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 4110 while still connected via the hub 4114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 4114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 4110B. In otherembodiments, the hub 4114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 4110B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0044] Figure 14 is another example of a communication system 4200 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 4200 includes multiple access points (APs) 4210 (with four exemplary APs 4210A, 4210B, 4210C, and 4210D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 4200 as stations (STAs) 4212 (referred to individually as STA 4212A, STA 4212B, STA 4212C, STA 4212D, and STA 4212E). STA 4212A is served by AP 4210A in a first basic service set (BSS) 4220A. STA 4210B and STA 4210C are served by AP 4210B in a second BSS, BSS 4220B. STA 4212D is served by AP 4210C in a third BSS, BSS 4220C. STA 4212E is served by AP 4210D in a fourth BSS, BSS 4220D. Stations 4212 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, headmounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations 4212 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0045] Each of STAs 4212 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 4210. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 4212, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0046] Each AP 4210 may provide data connectivity to STAs 4212 connected to a particular AP 4210. As illustrated, APs 4210 may be connected to a data network 4230. In this way, APs 4210 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 4212 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 4212 and its serving AP 4210 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 4212, e.g., a voice service, a multimediaservice, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 4212 and / or on a device linked to STA 4212. By way of example, Figure 14 illustrates an application service platform 4232 provided in data network 4230. The application(s) executed on STA 4212 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 4212 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 4212 and / or the application service platform 4232, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 4212.

[0047] Figure 15 shows a wireless device 4300, which may be configured to operate in communication system 4100 of Figure 13 or in communication system 4200 of Figure 14. The wireless device 4300 may be alternatively referred to as a UE 4300, like a UE 4112 within the context of communication system 4100, or as a station (STA) 4300 or as a non-access-point station (non-AP STA) 4300, like a STA 4212 within the context of the communication system 4200, in accordance with respective embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0048] A wireless device 4300 may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to- infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device 4300 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, wireless device 4300 may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, wireless device 4300 mayrepresent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0049] In particular embodiments, wireless device 4300 includes processing circuitry 4302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4304 to an input / output interface 4306, a power source 4308, a memory 4310, a communication interface 4312, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain embodiments of wireless device 4300 may include all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 15. The level of integration between the components may vary from one embodiment of wireless device 4300 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device 4300, processing circuitry 4302, input / output interface 4306, power source 4308, memory 4310, and communication interface 4312 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device 4300. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices 4300 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0050] The processing circuitry 4302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 4310. The processing circuitry 4302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general -purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 4302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0051] In the example, the input / output interface 4306 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into wireless device 4300. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. Thepresence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0052] In some embodiments, the power source 4308 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. The power source 4308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 4308 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of wireless device 4300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power source 4308 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 4300 to which power is supplied.

[0053] The memory 4310 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 4310 includes one or more programs 4314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 4316. The memory 4310 may store, for use by wireless device 4300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0054] The memory 4310 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / orISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 4310 may allow wireless device 4300 to access instructions, programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 4310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0055] The processing circuitry 4302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or using the communication interface 4312. The communication interface 4312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 4322. The communication interface 4312 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another wireless device or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 4318 and / or a receiver 4320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 4318 and receiver 4320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 4322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0056] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 4312 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0057] In particular embodiments, wireless device 4300 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface 4312, via a wireless connection toa network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 4300 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wireless device 4300. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0058] As another example, wireless device 4300 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device 4300 may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0059] Wireless device 4300, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Nonlimiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. In particular embodiments, wireless device 4300 represents an loT device that comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the example embodiment of wireless device 4300 shown in Figure 15.

[0060] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device 4300 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device 4300 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, wireless device 4300 may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device 4300 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0061] In practice, any number of wireless devices 4300 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 4300 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 4300 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 4300 may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second wireless device 4300 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device 4300 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0062] Figure 16 shows a network node 4400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node 4400 may be configured to operate in communication system 4100 of Figure 13, like network nodes 4108 or 4110, or in communication system 4200 of Figure 14, like an AP 4210 or a station 4212. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR. NodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., O- RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0063] Network nodes 4400 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro basestations, or macro base stations. Network node 4400 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes 4400 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0064] Other examples of network nodes 4400 include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0065] In particular embodiments, network node 4400 includes a processing circuitry 4402, a memory 4404, a communication interface 4406, and a power source 4408. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node 4400, processing circuitry 4402, memory 4404, communication interface 4406, and power source 4408 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node 4400.

[0066] The network node 4400 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 4400 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 4400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 4404 or portions of memory 4404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 4410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 4400 may also include multiple sets of thevarious illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 4400, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 4400.

[0067] The processing circuitry 4402 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory 4404, to provide network node 4400 functionality.

[0068] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 4402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 4402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 4412 and baseband processing circuitry 4414. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 4412 and the baseband processing circuitry 4414 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 4412 and baseband processing circuitry 4414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0069] The memory 4404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 4402. The memory 4404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 4402 and utilized by the network node 4400. The memory 4404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 4402 and / or any data received via the communication interface 4406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 4402 and memory 4404 is integrated.

[0070] The communication interface 4406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface 4406 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 4416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node 4300 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface 4406 may also include radio front-end circuitry 4418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna 4410. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry 4418 include filter(s) 4420 and amplifier(s) 4422. The radio front-end circuitry 4418 may be connected to an antenna 4410 and processing circuitry 4402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 4410 and processing circuitry 4402. The radio front-end circuitry 4418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio frontend circuitry 4418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 4420 and / or amplifiers 4422. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna 4410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 4410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 4418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 4402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0071] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 4400 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 4418, instead, the processing circuitry 4402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 4410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 4412 is part of the communication interface 4406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 4406 includes one or more ports or terminals 4416, the radio front-end circuitry 4418, and the RF transceiver circuitry 4412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 4406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 4414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0072] The antenna 4410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 4410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 4418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving dataand / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 4410 is separate from the network node 4400 and connectable to the network node 4400 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0073] The antenna 4410, communication interface 4406, and / or the processing circuitry 4402 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 4400. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 4410, the communication interface 4406, and / or the processing circuitry 4402 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node 4400. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0074] The power source 4408 provides power to the various components of network node 4400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 4408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 4400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 4400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 4408. As a further example, the power source 4408 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0075] Embodiments of the network node 4400 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 16 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 4400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 4400 and to allow output of information from the network node 4400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 4400.

[0076] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 4500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context,virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 4500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 4500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0077] Applications 4502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0078] Hardware 4504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 4506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM 4508A and VM 4508B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs 4508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 4506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs 4508.

[0079] The VMs 4508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer 4506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 4502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 4508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used toconsolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0080] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 4508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 4508, and that part of hardware 4504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs 4508 on top of the hardware 4504 and corresponds to an application 4502.

[0081] Hardware 4504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 4504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 4504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 4510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 4502. In some embodiments, hardware 4504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 4512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0082] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0083] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.Example Embodiments

[0084] Provided below are possible example embodiments to illustrate certain features and benefits of various embodiments under the present disclosure. Examples are given as examples only and are not intended to limit the disclosure.Group A Embodiments

[0085] A first embodiment comprises a method performed by a wireless device for tuning of cell sleep / wakeup configuration, the method comprising: performing collection of a first set of information; (optional) performing collection of a second set of information; and performingat least one of; performing action(s) related to tuning of the cell sleep / wakeup window configuration; or transmitting the first set of information and / or second set of information to a second network node.

[0086] A second embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.Group B Embodiments

[0087] A third embodiment comprises a method performed by a network node for tuning of cell sleep / wakeup configuration, the method comprising: performing collection of a first set of information; (optional) performing collection of a second set of information; and performing at least one of; performing action(s) related to tuning of the cell sleep / wakeup window configuration; or transmitting the first set of information and / or second set of information to a second network node.

[0088] A fourth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the first set of information comprises at least one of: T1 - Time between the start time of the sleeping window and the time at which the cell sleep is initiated; T2 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window); T3 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window); T4 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold or the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window); T5 - Time between the last instance of cell / radio was woken up and the end time of the sleeping window when the cell / radio was already in the woken up state; or missed sleep window a Time duration outside the configured sleeping window during which the load of the booster cell does not go above a threshold.

[0089] A fifth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of too early start of the sleeping window; too late start of the sleeping window; too early end of the sleeping window; too late end of the sleeping window; missed sleeping window possibility.

[0090] A sixth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the transmitting comprises at least one of from a DU to a CU-CP; from a CU-CP to another CU-CP; from a CU-CP to an 0AM node; from a DU to an 0AM node; from a network vendor 0AM node to an operator 0AM node.

[0091] A seventh embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein either of the performing collection of a first set of information and performing collection of a second set of information comprises receiving such information from a second network node.

[0092] An eighth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the performing action(s) related to tuning of the cell sleep / wakeup window configuration comprises transmitting the first or second set of information to a third network node.

[0093] A ninth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the sleeping window configurations are such that the sleep window begins at WStart and the sleep window ends at Wend, and the duration between WStart and WEnd is when a cell / radio can be put to sleep and at after the WEnd, the cell / radio shall be woken up if not done already.

[0094] A tenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein, T1 - Time between the start time of the sleeping window and the time at which the cell sleep is initiated, and optionally wherein at least one of the actual start of the cell sleep begins at TStart which is after the WStart; this difference between the WStart and TStart is the value stored as Tl; if T1 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are started much earlier than what is required based on the current configuration of the cell / radio sleep parameters; such a scenario can also be classified as too early start of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when Tl is large, one could either delay the start of the sleep window or change the cell / radio sleep parameters such that the cell / radio sleep can be initiated earlier; if Tl is zero (i.e., the start of the cell / radio sleep began immediately at the start of the sleep window) or a very small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could havebeen started earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window; such a scenario can also be classified as too late start of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T1 is zero, one could start the sleep window earlier to see if there are any missing sleep opportunities.

[0095] An eleventh embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein, T2 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window), and wherein optionally at least one of the cell sleep window is ended at WEnd which is earlier than the time THighLoad, which indicates the time at which the booster cell load goes above a preconfigured threshold value; this difference between the THighLoad and WEnd is the value stored as T2; if T2 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are ended much earlier than what is required because despite turning on the booster cell, the load of the booster cell did not go above a threshold until THighLoad; such a scenario can also be classified as too early end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T2 is large, one could delay the end of the sleep window and allow for more sleep opportunities leading to better energy savings; if T2 is a small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been ended earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window because the load on the booster cell goes above the preconfigured threshold immediately after ending the sleep window; such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T2 is a small value, one could end the sleep window earlier to allow for booster cell to take up the traffic earlier or change the cell / radio wakeup parameters such that the booster cell / radio wakeup can be triggered during the cell sleeping window itself.

[0096] A twelfth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein T3 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold / offset (after the end time of the sleeping window), and optionally wherein at least one of the cell sleep window is ended at WEnd which is earlier than the time TLowLoad, which indicates the time at which the coverage cell load goes below a preconfigured threshold value or an offset value (wherein the offset is a relative decrease in the load of the coverage cell incomparison to the load of the coverage cell at WEnd); this difference between the TLowLoad and WEnd is the value stored as T3; if T3 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are ended much earlier than what is required because despite turning on the booster cell, the load of the coverage cell did not go drop below a preconfigured threshold / offset until TLowLoad; such a scenario can also be classified as too early end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T3 is large, one could delay the end of the sleep window and allow for more sleep opportunities leading to better energy savings or one could also reevaluate whether the relation between the coverage cell and the booster cell is appropriate as turning on the booster cell did not help to reduce the load of the coverage cell; if T3 is a very small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been ended earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window because the load on the coverage cell falls below the pre-configured threshold / offset immediately after ending the sleep window; such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T3 is a small value, one could end the sleep window earlier to allow for booster cell to take up the traffic earlier or change the cell / radio wakeup parameters such that the booster cell / radio wakeup can be triggered during the cell sleeping window itself.

[0097] A thirteenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein T4 - Time between the end time of the sleeping window and the time at which the load of the coverage cell (a cell that was awake and carrying the traffic in the same area while the booster cell was sleeping before the booster cell’s sleeping window expired) goes below a threshold or the time at which the load of the booster cell (the cell whose sleeping window expired) goes above a threshold (after the end time of the sleeping window), and optionally wherein at least one of: the cell sleep window is ended at WEnd which is earlier than the time TLoad, which indicates either the time at which the coverage cell load goes below a preconfigured threshold value / an offset value (wherein the offset is a relative decrease in the load of the coverage cell in comparison to the load of the coverage cell at WEnd) or the time at which the booster cell load goes above a preconfigured threshold value; this difference between the TLoad and WEnd is the value stored as T4; if T4 is large, then it indicates that the sleeping windows are ended much earlier than what is required because despite turning on the booster cell, the load of the coverage cell did not go drop below a preconfigured threshold / offset or the load of the booster cell did not go above a preconfigured threshold until TLoad; such a scenario can also be classified as too earlyend of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T4 is large, one could delay the end of the sleep window and allow for more sleep opportunities leading to better energy savings or one could also reevaluate whether the relation between the coverage cell and the booster cell is appropriate as turning on the booster cell did not help to reduce the load of the coverage cell; if T4 is a very small value, then it indicates that the sleeping windows could have been ended earlier than what is allowed in the current configuration of the sleeping window because the load on the coverage cell falls below the pre-configured threshold / offset or the load of the booster cell goes up above the preconfigured threshold immediately after ending the sleep window; such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of the sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T4 is a small value, one could end the sleep window earlier to allow for booster cell to take up the traffic earlier or change the cell / radio wakeup parameters such that the booster cell / radio wakeup can be triggered during the cell sleeping window itself.

[0098] A fourteenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein T5 - Time between the last instance of cell / radio was woken up and the end time of the sleeping window when the cell / radio was already in the ON state, and optionally wherein at least one of: the cell sleep window is ended at WEnd which is later than the time TStart, which indicates the time at which the booster cell was woken up by the cell wakeup algorithm during the cell sleep window and the booster cell continues to be in the ON state at Wend; this difference between the TStart and WEnd is the value stored as T5; when T5 is a non-zero value, it indicates that the sleep window is too large as the booster cell was already in the ON state at the time of ending of the sleep window; such a scenario can also be classified as too late end of sleep window and such a classification could be part of the second set of information; when T5 is a nonzero value, one could configure the end of the sleep window earlier. It could also be possible for the operator to configure different sleep windows with different sleep modes (e.g., in one sleep mode, the entire radio is slept and in another sleep mode, only the MIMO sleep is allowed etc.) when the T5 is large; the operator could configure time window 1 with sleep mode-1 from the original start of the sleep window until the last instance of the cell / radio wake up and another time window, time window 2 with sleep mode-2 from the last instance of the cell / radio wake up until the original end of the sleep window.

[0099] A fifteenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein missed sleep window a Time duration outside the configured sleeping window during which the cell / radio sleeping criterion would be met, and optionally wherein at least one of the configured sleep window is between WStart and Wend; during the interval between TStart and TEnd, the cell / radio sleep criterion would be met and thus if it was allowed to go to sleep, then the cell / radio would have slept; TStart is the time instance when the cell / radio sleep criterion is fulfilled outside the configured sleep window configuration and TEnd is the time instance when the cell / radio sleep criterion is no more fulfilled outside the configured sleep window configuration; the time interval between TStart and TEnd is referred to as the missed sleep window and both TStart and TEnd are stored in such an indication; the TStart and TEnd is stored for each of the occasion outside the configured sleep window configuration; the TStart and TEnd is stored as a missed sleep window only if the duration between TStart and TEnd is above a preconfigured duration.[000100] A sixteenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the term ‘cell sleep criterion’ is used to refer to any decision making conditions fulfilling which the cell / radio is put to sleep if at that time, the sleep window configuration allows for sleeping, and wherein an example of the ‘cell sleep criterion’ could include (but not restricted to): the load of the booster cell is below a preconfigured threshold; the load of the coverage cell is below a preconfigured threshold; the load of the booster cell is below a preconfigured threshold and the load of the coverage cell is below another preconfigured threshold.[000101] A seventeenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the first or second set of information are collected for multiple iterations of an existing configuration of the sleeping window.[000102] An eighteenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the so collected measurements are used to derive a single metric indicating the measurement.[000103] A nineteenth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein the T1 measurement is collected for 10 iterations of the existing configuration of the sleeping window and an average value is computed based on the 10 different values.[000104] A twentieth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein in some embodiments associated to deriving the single metric from multiple measurements, averaging method (weighted averaging or equal weighted averaging) is used.[000105] A twenty-first embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein in some embodiments associated to deriving the single metric from multiple measurements, the maximum value amongst the collected measurements is used.[000106] A twenty-second embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein in some embodiments associated to deriving the single metric from multiple measurements, the minimum value amongst the collected measurements is used.[000107] A twenty-third embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein DL PRB utilization, UL PRB utilization, and total CPU cycles are some examples of the load metric.[000108] A twenty-fourth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein a first network node could send a subscription request to a second network for one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information.[000109] A twenty -fifth embodiment comprises the method of the twenty-fourth embodiment, wherein such a request could include the periodicity with which the first network node expects the subscribed information, the granularity of the said information, etc.[000110] A twenty-sixth embodiment comprises the method of the twenty-fourth or twenty -fifth embodiment, wherein as a response to such a subscription request, the second network node could send either a message of acceptance / acknowledgement or a message of rejection.[000111] A twenty-seventh embodiment comprises the method of the twenty-sixth embodiment, wherein in such an acceptance / acknowledgement message, the second network node could indicate to the first network node regarding which of the requested one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information is acknowledged by the second network node, the periodicity with which the acknowledged information shall be transmitted etc.[000112] A twenty-eighth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein some examples of first network node and the second network node include one or more of: a DU being the first network node and a CU-CP being the second network node;a CU-CP being the first network node and another CU-CP being the second network node; a CU- CP being the first network node and an OAM node being the second network node; a DU being the first network node and an OAM being the second network node; a CU-CP being the first network node and an AMF node in CN being the second network node; an AMF being the first network node and an OAM node being the second network node.[000113] A twenty-ninth embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein one or more of the first set of information and / or one or more of the second set of information is exposed by a network node to an operator.[000114] A thirtieth embodiment comprises the method of embodiment 29, wherein the network node that computes or collects the missed sleep window related information could expose this information to the operator so that the operator can configure the sleeping window configurations that could include the exposed missed sleep windows.[000115] A thirty -first embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein it comprises a cloud implementation, for example, certain embodiments can be implemented in a virtualized or containerized service or micro-service running in the cloud environment.[000116] A thirty-second embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, wherein it comprises an Open Radio Area Network (O-RAN) implementations, for example, certain embodiments can be implemented as an rAPP or an xAPP.[000117] A thirty-third embodiment comprises the method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.Group C Embodiments[000118] A thirty-fourth embodiment comprises a wireless device for tuning of cell sleep / wakeup configuration, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; and a power source configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.[000119] A thirty-fifth embodiment comprises a network node for tuning of cell sleep / wakeup configuration, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured toperform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments; a power source circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.[000120] A thirty-sixth embodiment comprises a wireless device for tuning of cell sleep / wakeup configuration, the wireless device comprising: one or more antennas; communication interface connected to the one or more antennas and to processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a power source connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method (1700) performed by a network node (4400) for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell, the method comprising: collecting (1710) a first set of information; and performing (1720) at least one of; performing one or more actions related to tuning of the one or more configurations; or transmitting the first set of information to a second network node.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting a second set of information.

3. The method of claim 2, further transmitting the second set of information to the second network node.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising; receiving, from the second network node, an indication of which of the one or more actions to perform.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the performing one or more actions is performed after receiving the indication.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one or more configurations comprises one or more settings for when to perform evaluation of entering or exiting sleep and / or wakeup.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first set of information comprises at least one of: a first time between a start time of a sleeping window and an initiation time at which the booster cell sleeping is initiated; a second time between an end time of a sleeping window of a booster cell and a thresholdtime at which a load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a third time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; a fourth time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and either; a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; or a threshold time at which the load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a fifth time between a previous time a cell was woken up and an end time of the sleeping window when the cell was already in a woken up state; a sixth time measuring a time duration outside the sleeping window during which a load of the booster cell does not go above a threshold.

8. The method of any of claims 2 to 7, wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of: too early start of the sleeping window; too late start of the sleeping window; too early end of the sleeping window; too late end of the sleeping window; missed sleeping window possibility.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the transmitting comprises at least one of: transmitting from a distributed unit, DU, to a central unit control plane, CU-CP; transmitting from a first CU-CP to a second CU-CP; transmitting from a CU-CP to an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance, OAM, node; transmitting from a DU to an 0AM node; transmitting from a network vendor OAM node to an operator OAM node.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein either collecting a first set of information and / or collecting a second set of information comprises receiving, from a / the second network node, the first set of information or the second set of information.

11. A method (1900) performed by a second network node (4400) for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell served by a first network node, the method comprising: receiving (1910) a first set of information;determining (1920) one or more actions related to tuning the one or more configurations; and transmitting (1930) an indication of the one or more actions to the first network node.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving a second set of information.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the first set of information and / or the second set of information are received from the first network node.

14. The method of any of claims 11 to 13, further comprising; transmitting, to the first network node, an indication of which of the one or more actions to perform.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the performing one or more actions is performed after the second network node transmits the indication.

16. The method of any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the one or more configurations comprises one or more settings for when to perform evaluation of entering or exiting sleep and / or wakeup.

17. The method of any of claims 11 to 16, wherein the first set of information comprises at least one of: a first time between a start time of a sleeping window and an initiation time at which the booster cell sleeping is initiated; a second time between an end time of a sleeping window of a booster cell and a threshold time at which a load of the booster cell goes above a threshold; a third time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; a fourth time between an end time of a sleeping window of the booster cell and either; a coverage threshold time at which a coverage load of a coverage cell goes below a threshold; or a threshold time at which the load of the booster cell goes above a threshold;a fifth time between a previous time a cell was woken up and an end time of the sleeping window when the cell was already in a woken up state; a sixth time measuring a time duration outside the sleeping window during which a load of the booster cell does not go above a threshold.

18. The method of any of claims 12 to 17, wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of too early start of the sleeping window; too late start of the sleeping window; too early end of the sleeping window; too late end of the sleeping window; missed sleeping window possibility.

19. The method of any of claims 11 to 18, wherein the receiving comprises at least one of receiving, from a distributed unit, DU, by a central unit control plane, CU-CP; receiving, from a first CU-CP, by a second CU-CP; receiving, from a CU-CP, by an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance, OAM, node; receiving, from a DU, by an 0AM node; receiving, from a network vendor OAM node, by an operator OAM node.

20. The method of any of claims 11 to 19, wherein either receiving a first set of information and / or receiving a second set of information comprises receiving from the first network node.

21. A network node (4400) for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell, the network node comprising: processing circuitry (4402) configured to perform any of the operations of any of claims 1 to 20; a power source circuitry (4408) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

22. A network node (4400) for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell, the network node comprising: processing circuitry (4402); and a memory (4404) storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; collecting a first set of information; andperforming at least one of; performing one or more actions related to tuning of the one or more configurations; or transmitting the first set of information to a second network node.

23. A second network node (4400) for tuning one or more configurations related to sleep and / or wakeup for a cell served by a first network node (4400), the second network node comprising: processing circuitry (4402); and a memory (4404) storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of; receiving a first set of information; determining one or more actions related to tuning the one or more configurations; and transmitting an indication of the one or more actions to the first network node.

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