Methods for communicating quality parameters

Abstract

A method in a first network node is described. The first network node is configured to obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. At least one application session is associated with one or more user equipments (UEs). The method includes causing at least one UE to be configured with one or more measurements associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters, and / or transmitting a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE and the second network node. The method also includes obtaining one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information based on one or both of the UE being configured with the one or more measurements and the first request.

Description

[0001] METHODS FOR COMMUNICATING QUALITY PARAMETERS

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to communication of parameters associated with quality of service or quality of experience.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes (NNs), such as base stations, and user equipment (UE), as well as communication between network nodes and between UEs. The 3GPP is also developing standards for Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communication networks.

[0006] Quality of Service vs Quality of Experience measurements

[0007] Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) may refer to two measures for the quality of a telecommunication service / application running on top of a network infrastructure. In a RAN, QoS and QoE measurements may be used to actively monitor and control the quality of the services and / or applications offered by the network to its end users, i.e., user equipments (UEs). While QoS measurements (e.g., throughput, packet-loss etc.) may be collected at the radio and transport layers of the network, the QoE measurements (e.g., application layer buffer levels, round-trip times etc.) may be collected at the application layer of the UE.

[0008] In general, it may be assumed that, when the network ensures a good QoS for the services running on the network infrastructure, the end-users also perceive a good quality of experience (i.e., QoE) at the application layer. However, this inter-dependence does not always hold in the context of certain applications. That is, a good QoS does not necessarily imply a good QoE for the end users. An example is video conferencing applications where simple QoS metrics such as throughput may not translate into good video conferencing experience.

[0009] Both QoS and QoE measurements are standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Nevertheless, while QoS and radio related measurements may be gathered by the RAN independently from the user applications running on top of the UE devices (e.g., via Radio Resource Control (RRC) measurements at the radio layer),gathering QoE related measurements from the application layer is not trivial. Further, collecting application layer measurements (e.g., QoE measurements) to optimize the network performance, requires standardization, since cooperation from the user applications running on the UE device may be required for the exposure of QoE measurements (collected at the UE’s application layer). This, in general, translates into a tedious standardization process for agreeing which QoE measurements are valuable to collect from the UE for network optimization.

[0010] In addition, with respect to QoE measurements, the 3 GPP specifications may describe the collection of QoE measurements from the application layer of the UE and their reporting to the network. Further, 3GPP has specified RAN Visible QoE (RVQoE) measurements, in which the QoE measurement results are reported to the RAN. One reason for introduction of RVQoE measurements is that the RAN can correlate these QoE measurement results with QoS measurement results and / or radio measurements and perform suitable reconfiguration of the RAN to ensure both QoS and QoE are delivered as expected.

[0011] The application servers, i.e., providers to services to the end-users / UEs, may also collect different application specific QoE data from the application client software running on the UE devices, mostly performed in a proprietary manner, i.e., in non-standardized manner. An example may be a video streaming service collecting QoE related information from the video streaming clients to determine the observed QoE at the client side and to make changes to video streams accordingly, e.g., changing codecs or video stream resolution to improve the users’ QoE. The process of QoE-related data gathering at the application servers, however, is proprietary, i.e., transparent to the RAN and the mobile operator’s network, since all application layer information, including these QoE related measurements, is carried as communication payload (e.g., as user plane data) across the network. Borrowing the User-Plane (UP) and Control-Plane (CP) analogy in the RAN for user applications, e.g., video conferencing applications, then the actual audio and video streams would be mapped to UP traffic between the client application and application server while the QoE related measurements collected as part of that service would map to CP traffic meant to adapt the audio and video streams for better QoE.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows example CP and UP streams that a UE may have with a first network node (e.g., RAN / gNB) and a second network node (e.g., one or more application servers). In a first step, a UE, on start-up, establishes connectivity via a CP connection with the first network node (gNB) and, in a second step, the UE uses the network resources to establisha UP connection with application servers, e.g., video streaming servers, AR / VR servers, etc. The connection with the second network node may be viewed as comprising both UP and CP since both application data streams as well as application layer measurements such as QoE measurements may be transmitted over that same connection.

[0013] O-RAN Overview

[0014] FIG. 2 shows an example Open RAN (O-RAN) architecture. In the O-RAN architecture, extended Applications (xApps) are defined as third party applications that run on near real time RIC (Near-RT RIC) framework to provide value-added functionality for RAN performance optimization, such as better traffic steering, better QoS management, etc. FIG. 3 shows example O-RAN Near-RT RIC architecture and interfaces.

[0015] xApps may use the services offered by an open interface between two points (i. e. , E2 interface) using E2 Application Protocol (E2AP), to control the functionality of the RAN nodes (O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP), O-RAN Central Unit User Plane (O-CU-UP), O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU), etc.) for the RAN performance optimization. xApps interact with the Near-RT RIC platform using Near-RT RIC Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and run as cloud-native applications on the O-RAN defined O-Cloud platform. In addition, the application layer measurements may provide an indication of user experience for the services delivered by the network.

[0016] Further, the 3GPP QoE / RVQoE framework is tailored for the 3GPP network architecture. Meanwhile, in the O-RAN architecture, an additional, O-RAN-specific entity, i.e., the Near-real time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC) has been defined, as shown in FIG. 2. The Near-RT RIC is responsible for controlling and optimizing the RAN functionality. The xApps onboarded on the Near-RT RIC use the services of E2AP to control the functionalities of the RAN nodes, i.e., the E2 nodes, such as the O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU and O-eNB.

[0017] In this control loop, as in any other control loop, the accuracy of performance feedback is crucial. In that respect, the application layer measurements (e.g., QoE / RVQoE measurements) provide the most accurate indication of end user’s perception of the received service. However, conventional xApps do not offer the possibility to configure QoE / RVQoE measurements and do not have access to the QoE / RVQoE measurement results.

[0018] SUMMARYSome embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for communication of parameters associated with quality of service or quality of experience.

[0019] In some embodiments, network nodes and / or UEs provide measurement results to other network nodes and / or UEs. Examples of measurement results include results of QoE and / or RVQoE measurement results. In some embodiments, the measurement results are provided to a network comprising a Near-RT RIC or to the Near-RT RIC. Providing the measurement results may improve optimization performance of xApps onboarded onto the Near-RT RIC.

[0020] Some embodiments provide a framework for enabling xApp / Near-RT RIC participation in RVQoE measurement collection at least by: (A) enabling the xApp / Near-RT RIC to configure and request RVQoE measurements; (B) enabling the xApp / Near-RT RIC to gain access to RVQoE measurement results. Enabling xApp / Near-RT RIC participation in RVQoE measurement collection allows improvement of control of E2 nodes (by the xApps / Near-RT RIC).

[0021] According to one aspect, a method in a first network node is described. The first network node is configured to communicate with at least a second network node and obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more user equipments (UEs). The method includes one or both of (A) causing at least one UE of the one or more UEs to be configured with one or more measurements associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters; and (B) transmitting a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE and the second network node. The method also includes obtaining one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information based on one or both of the UE being configured with the one or more measurements and the first request.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the second network node, a first indication indicating that the at least one UE is capable of performing the one or more measurements and selecting the at least one UE based on the first indication.

[0023] In some other embodiments, the first indication includes one or more of: (A) one or more indications of capability of the at least one UE to collect the one or more measurements; (B) first information about one or more UEs that have been configuredwith the one or more measurements; and (C) second information about whether the at least one UE is performing the one or more measurements.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first indication is received in response to the second network node receiving one or both of an application session start indication and a second indication indicating a start of a measurement session.

[0025] In some other embodiments, the method further includes receiving one or more reports for at least one application session that has already started, for at least one ongoing application session, and at least one future application session pertaining to at least one configuration already configured at the UE.

[0026] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from a third network node, a third indication indicating one or more of: (A) the one or more measurements are one or both of available and configurable; (B) one or measurement configuration parameters indicating that the one or more measurement are being configured or will be configured; and (C) collection of the one or more measurements that have started.

[0027] In some other embodiments, the method further includes requesting that the second network node configure the UE with measurements, when the second network node has not indicated availability to the first network node.

[0028] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a second request to one or both of the second network node and the at least one UE, where the second request requests to be informed when one or both of an application session and a measurement session starts. The method also includes receiving a fourth indication indicating that one or both of the application session and the measurement session have started.

[0029] In some other embodiments, the fourth indication further indicates one or more of: (A) one or more identifiers of one or more UEs; (B) an application type; (C) an application service type; (D) an application identifier of a started application; (E) one or more properties of a started session; and (F) one or more expected characteristics of the started session.

[0030] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the second network node, a fifth indication indicating that the second network node has sent a measurement configuration to the at least one UE.

[0031] In some other embodiments, the causing the at least one UE of the one or more UEs to be configured with one or more measurements includes transmitting a third request to the second network node. The third request requests the second network node to configure the at least one UE with a set of measurement configuration parameters.In some embodiments, the causing the at least one UE of the one or more UEs to be configured with one or more measurements includes transmitting a fourth request to the second network node. The fourth request requests the second network node to configure at least one UE for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

[0032] In some other embodiments, the fourth request includes a measurement configuration for the second network node to configure at least one UE for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

[0033] In some embodiments, the method further includes one or more of: (A) transmitting a fifth request requesting that the at least one UE reports one or more measurement metrics; (B) triggering activation of the one or more measurements towards a set of central units based on reception of information about available measurement metrics; and (C) transmitting a sixth indication indicating the activation is possible to one or more distributed units.

[0034] In some other embodiments, the one or more measurement results are obtained from one or both of the second network node and the at least one UE.

[0035] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a seventh indication indicating one or more network nodes to activate or deactivate collection of the one or more measurements and transmitting the seventh indication to the one or more interface nodes.

[0036] In some other embodiments, one or more of: (A) the first network node includes one or both of: (a) a near-Real Time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (near-RT RIC); and (b) an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) application, where the O-RAN application includes one or more O-RAN xApps; (B) the second network node includes an O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP); and (C) the one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience (QoE), and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE).

[0037] In some embodiments, one or both of: (A) the one or more measurement results include one or more application layer measurement results; and (B) the additional information includes information related to one or both of the one or more application sessions and an application layer.

[0038] In some other embodiments, the causing of the at least one UE to be configured with one or more measurements and the transmitting of the first request are performedjointly using a single message from the first network node.

[0039] According to another aspect, a first network node is described. The first network node is configured to communicate with at least a second network node and obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more user equipments (UEs). The first network node is configured to perform any one of the steps of the method implemented in the first network node.

[0040] According to one aspect, a method in a second network node is described. The second network node is configured to communicate with at least a first network node and provide one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more user equipments (UEs). The method includes transmitting, to the first network node, a first indication indicating at least one UE performs one or more measurement associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters, obtaining one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information, and transmitting one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information to the first network node.

[0041] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a first request requesting the one or more measurements and causing at least one UE of the one or more UEs to be configured with one or more measurements.

[0042] In some other embodiments, the first indication includes one or more of: (A) one or more indications of capability of the at least one UE to collect the one or more measurements; (B) first information about one or more UEs have been configured with the one or more measurements; and (C) second information about whether the at least one UE is performing the one or more measurements.

[0043] In some embodiments, the first indication is transmitted in response to the second network node receiving one or both of an application session start indication and a second indication indicating a start of a measurement session.

[0044] In some other embodiments, the method further includes: (A) receiving, from the first network node, a first request requesting the one or more measurements; (B) receiving, from the first network node, a second request requesting to be informed when one or bothof an application session and a measurement session starts; and (C) transmitting a fourth indication indicating that one or both of the application session and the measurement session have started.

[0045] In some embodiments, the fourth indication further indicates one or more of: (A) one or more identifiers of one or more UEs; (B) an application type; (C) an application service type; (D) an application identifier of a started application; (E) one or more properties of a started session; and (F) one or more expected characteristics of the started session.

[0046] In some other embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, from the first network node, a fifth indication indicating that the second network node has sent a measurement configuration to the at least one UE.

[0047] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a third request from the first network node. The third request requests the second network node to configure the at least one UE with a set of measurement configuration parameters. The method also includes causing the at least one UE to be configured with the set of measurement configuration parameters.

[0048] In some other embodiments, the method further includes receiving a fourth request from the first network node. The fourth request requests the second network node to configure at least one UE for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session. The method also includes causing the at least one UE to be configured for the at least one of the predetermined service type, the predetermined application type and the predetermined application session.

[0049] In some embodiments, the fourth request includes a measurement configuration for the second network node to configure at least one UE for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

[0050] In some other embodiments, one or more of: (A) the first network node comprises one or both of: (a) a near-Real Time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (near-RT RIC); and (b) an Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, application, the O-RAN application including one or more O-RAN xApps; (B) the second network node comprises an O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP); and (C) the one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience (QoE) and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE).

[0051] In some embodiments, one or both of: (A) the one or more measurement resultsinclude one or more application layer measurement results; and (B) the additional information includes information related to one or both of the one or more application sessions and an application layer.

[0052] According to another aspect, a second network node is described. The second network node is configured to communicate with at least a second network node and provide one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more user equipments (UEs). The second network node is configured to perform any one of the steps of the method implemented in the second network node.

[0053] According to one aspect, a system is described. The system includes at least a first network node, a second network node, and user equipment (UE). At least the first network node is configured to obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more user equipments (UEs). The first network node is configured to: one or both of: (A) cause at least one UE of the one or more UEs to be configured with one or more measurements associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters; and (B) transmit a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE and the second network node. The first network node is also configured to receive one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information based on one or both of the UE being configured with the one or more measurements and the first request. The second network node is configured to receive the first request requesting the one or more measurements, transmit, to the first network node, a first indication indicating the at least one UE performs one or more measurement associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters, and obtain one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information. The second network node is also configured to transmit one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information to the first network node.

[0054] According to another aspect, a computer program is described. The computer program includes one or more Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) xApps whichinclude instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to carry out the method according to any of the steps of the method implemented in the first network node.

[0055] According to one aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is described. The computer-readable storage medium stores an executable computer program comprising one or more Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, xApps, that, when executed by processing circuitry causes the processing circuitry to at least one of perform and control a method implemented in the first network node.

[0056] According to another aspect, a computer program is described. The computer program includes one or more Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) xApps which include instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to carry out the method according to any of the steps of the method implemented in the second network node.

[0057] According to one aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is described. The computer-readable storage medium stores an executable computer program comprising one or more Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, xApps, that, when executed by processing circuitry causes the processing circuitry to at least one of perform and control a method implemented in the second network node.

[0058] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0060] FIG. 1 shows example CP and UP streams associated with a UE, a first network node, and a second network node;

[0061] FIG. 2 shows an example O-RAN architecture;

[0062] FIG. 3 shows example O-RAN Near-RT RIC architecture and interfaces;

[0063] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

[0064] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a network node in communication with a user equipment over a wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example virtualization environment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0065] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process in a first network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0066] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example process in a second network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0067] FIG. 9 shows an example coordination method between components of a system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0068] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] Before describing in detail example embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to communication of parameters associated with quality of service or quality of experience. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0070] As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0071] In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

[0072] In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0073] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0074] The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), application server, software applications (xApps rApps, etc.), RAN intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., non-Real Time RIC (non-RT RIC), near-Real Time RIC (near-RT RIC), etc ), interface nodes (e g., E2 Node), CU (e.g., CU-CP, O-CU-CP, gNB-CU-CP, CU-UP, O-CU-UP, gNB-CU-UP, etc.), DU, etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a user equipment (UE) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

[0075] In some embodiments, the term “near-RT RIC” may refer to an O-RAN near-realtime RAN Intelligent Controller which may be a logical function that enables near-realtime control and optimization of O-RAN elements and resources, e.g., via fine-grained data collection and actions over E2 interface. In some other embodiments, the term “non-RT RIC” may refer to an O-RAN non-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller which may be a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, AI / ML workflow including model training and updates, and policy -based guidance of applications / features in near-RT RIC. In some embodiments, near-RT RIC and non-RT RIC may be implemented using hardware and / or software.

[0076] In some other embodiments, O-CU may refer to an O-RAN Central Unit which may be a logical node hosting various protocols such as RRC, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols. In some embodiments, O-CU-CP may refer to O-RAN Central Unit - Control Plane which may be a logical node hosting the RRC and the control plane part of the PDCP protocol. In some embodiments, O-CU-UP may refer to O-RAN Central Unit - User Plane which may be a logical node hosting the user plane part of the PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol. In some other embodiments, O-DU may refer to O-RAN Distributed Unit which may be a logical node hosting RLC / MAC / High-PHY layers based on a lower layer functional split. Any of the O-CU, O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, and O-DU may be implemented using hardware and / or software.

[0077] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The UE herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radio signals, such as a wireless device (WD). The UE may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and / or low-complexity UE, a sensor equipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device etc.

[0078] Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell / multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

[0079] Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR) and / or 6G, may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementionedsystem. It is contemplated that other 3GPP systems may make use of the concepts and arrangements disclosed herein. For example, a disclosure relating to NR may also be implementable in a 6G system and / or an LTE system, a disclosure relating to 6G may also be implementable in a NR and / or LTE system, and a disclosure relating to LTE may also be implementable in a NR and / or 6G system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0080] Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a user equipment or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of user equipments and / or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and user equipment described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

[0081] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0082] Referring again to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 4 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3 GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network (RAN) 12, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first user equipment (UE) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second UE 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of UEs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as user equipments 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments areequally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two UEs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more UEs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0083] Also, it is contemplated that a UE 22 can be in simultaneous communication and / or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a UE 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, UE 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0084] A network node 16 is configured to include a node management unit 24 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., network node functions. A user equipment 22 is configured to include a UE management unit 26 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., UE functions.

[0085] Further, any of the radio access network 12 (and / or its components such as network nodes 16 and / or UEs 22) and / or core network 14 may be in communication with network 15. Network 15 may be a remote network such as a cloud network. Although not shown, any of core network 14 and network 15 may include one or more network nodes 16 (and / or UEs 22).

[0086] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE 22 and network node 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0087] The communication system 10 includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10. Network node 16 includes hardware 28 enabling it to communicate with the UE 22. The hardware 28 may include a radio interface 30 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 32 with a UE 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 30 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 30 includes an array of antennas 34 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves. The hardware 28 may also include a communication interface 31 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless / wired connection with a UE 22 and / or other network nodes 16. Any one the radiointerface 30 and communication interface 31 may include any of the interfaces shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, e.g., Al, El, E2, Fl-c, Fl-u, NG-u, NG-c, 01, 02, X2-u, X2-c, Xn-u, Xn-c, Yl, and / or any other interface. For example, the Y1 interface may refer to an interface between the Near-RT RIC and other functions or entities denoted as “Yl consumers”, which may be internal and / or external functions or entities.

[0088] In the embodiment shown, the hardware 28 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and a memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) the memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0089] The hardware 28 of the network node 16 further includes application server 100 and / or RIC 102 and / or interface node 104 and / or CU 106 (which may include CU-CP 108 and / or CU-UP 110) and / or DU 112. Application server 100 may be configured as a service provider and provide a service to UE 22 and / or collect different application specific QoE data from the application client running on the UE 22 and / or coordinate measurements and / or provide related information to other network nodes 16 and / or UEs 22 and / or application 120 functions and / or application server functions described herein and / or any other application server functions. RIC 102 may include a near-RT RIC and / or a non-RT RIC and / or any other type of RIC. Although RIC 102 is described as a RAN intelligent controller, RIC 102 may be any type of controller, controlling unit, or management unit. RIC 102 may be configured to perform near-RT RIC and / or a non-RT RIC functions and / or execute applications such as xApps and / or rApps and / or any other applications. Interface node 104 may be configured to perform interface node functions (e.g., comprise one or more E2 nodes and perform functions associated with E2 Nodes). CU 106 may be configured to perform CU functions (e.g., O-CU functions, gNB-CU functions, etc.). CU-CP 108 may be configured to perform CU-CP functions and / or CU-UP 110 may be configured to perform CU- functions. DU 112 may be configured to perform DU functions. Interface node 104 may include any of CU 106 and / or CU-CP 108 and / or CU-UP 110 and / or DU 112.

[0090] Thus, the network node 16 further has software 42 stored internally in, for example, memory 40, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software may include applications 120 which may include xApps, rApps, and / or any other type of software application. In some embodiments, applications 120 may be referred to as xApps 120 or rApps 120. In some embodiments, xApps may refer to independent software plug-ins to the Near-RT RIC platform to provide functional extensibility to the RAN by third parties. In some embodiments, xApps and / or rApps or any other applications may be implemented using hardware and / or software.

[0091] The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 40 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 may include anode management unit 24 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., network node functions.

[0092] The communication system 10 further includes the UE 22 already referred to. The UE 22 may have hardware 44 that may include a radio interface 46 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 32 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the UE 22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 46 includes an array of antennas 48 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0093] The hardware 44 of the UE 22 further includes processing circuitry 50. The processing circuitry 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 50 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control,e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) memory 54, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0094] Thus, the UE 22 may further comprise software 56, which is stored in, for example, memory 54 at the UE 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the UE 22. The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuitry 50. The software 56 may include an application client 58. In some embodiments, application client 58 is not limited to being a client and refers to an application. The application client 58 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 22 and / or be configured to provide application client functions, e.g., associated with application server 100.

[0095] The processing circuitry 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by UE 22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing UE 22 functions described herein. The UE 22 includes memory 54 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 56 and / or the client application 58 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50, causes the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50 to perform the processes described herein with respect to UE 22. For example, the processing circuitry 50 of the user equipment 22 may include UE management unit 26 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., UE functions.

[0096] In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16 and UE 22 may be as shown in FIG. 5 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 4.

[0097] The wireless connection 32 between the UE 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced userwaiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, beter responsiveness, extended batery lifetime, etc. In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.

[0098] Although FIGS. 4 and 5 show various “units” such as node management unit 24 and UE management unit 26 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

[0099] In some embodiments, the telecommunication system 10 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes 16. An ORAN network node 16 is a node in the telecommunication system 10 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication system 10, including one or more network nodes 16 in the access network 12 and / or core network nodes 14.

[0100] Examples of an ORAN network node 16 include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a 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 O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 16 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 22a, 22b, 22c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 22) to the core network 14 over one or more wireless connections.FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 200 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 200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 200 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0101] Applications 202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 200 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0102] Hardware 204 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 206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 208a and 208b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 208), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 208.

[0103] The VMs 208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 202 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 208, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types ontoindustry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0104] In the context of NFV, a VM 208 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 208, and that part of hardware 204 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 VMs 208 on top of the hardware 204 and corresponds to the application 202.

[0105] Hardware 204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 204 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 210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 202. In some embodiments, hardware 204 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 205 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0106] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process in a first network node 16 (e.g., comprising RIC 102 and / or applications 120 (e.g., xApps)). The first network node 16 is configured to communicate with at least a second network node 16 and obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more UEs. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by processing circuitry 36 (including the node management unit 24) and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 and / or communication interface 31 and / or application server 100 and / or RIC 102 and / or applications 120, etc. The first network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to one or both of cause (Block SI 00) at least oneassociated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters and transmit a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE 22 and the second network node 16. The first network node 16 is also configured to obtain (Block SI 02) one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information based on one or both of the UE 22 being configured with the one or more measurements and the first request.

[0107] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the second network node 16, a first indication indicating that the at least one UE 22 is capable of performing the one or more measurements and selecting the at least one UE 22 based on the first indication.

[0108] In some other embodiments, the first indication includes one or more of: (A) one or more indications of capability of the at least one UE 22 to collect the one or more measurements; (B) first information about one or more UEs 22 that have been configured with the one or more measurements; and (C) second information about whether the at least one UE 22 is performing the one or more measurements.

[0109] In some embodiments, the first indication is received in response to the second network node 16 receiving one or both of an application session start indication and a second indication indicating a start of a measurement session.

[0110] In some other embodiments, the method further includes receiving one or more reports for at least one application session that has already started, for at least one ongoing application session, and at least one future application session pertaining to at least one configuration already configured at the UE 22.

[0111] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from a third network node 16, a third indication indicating one or more of: (A) the one or more measurements are one or both of available and configurable; (B) one or measurement configuration parameters indicating that the one or more measurement are being configured or will be configured; and (C) collection of the one or more measurements that have started.

[0112] In some other embodiments, the method further includes requesting that the second network node 16 configure the UE 22 with measurements, when the second network node 16 has not indicated availability to the first network node 16.

[0113] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a second request to one or both of the second network node 16 and the at least one UE 22, where the second request requests to be informed when one or both of an application session and ameasurement session starts. The method also includes receiving a fourth indication indicating that one or both of the application session and the measurement session have started.

[0114] In some other embodiments, the fourth indication further indicates one or more of: (A) one or more identifiers of one or more UEs 22; (B) an application type; (C) an application service type; (D) an application identifier of a started application; (E) one or more properties of a started session; and (F) one or more expected characteristics of the started session.

[0115] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the second network node 16, a fifth indication indicating that the second network node 16 has sent a measurement configuration to the at least one UE 22.

[0116] In some other embodiments, the causing the at least one UE 22 of the one or more UEs 22 to be configured with one or more measurements includes transmitting a third request to the second network node 16. The third request requests the second network node 16 to configure the at least one UE 22 with a set of measurement configuration parameters.

[0117] In some embodiments, the causing the at least one UE 22 of the one or more UEs 22 to be configured with one or more measurements includes transmitting a fourth request to the second network node 16. The fourth request requests the second network node 16 to configure at least one UE 22 for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

[0118] In some other embodiments, the fourth request includes a measurement configuration for the second network node 16 to configure at least one UE 22 for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

[0119] In some embodiments, the method further includes one or more of: (A) transmitting a fifth request requesting that the at least one UE 22 reports one or more measurement metrics; (B) triggering activation of the one or more measurements towards a set of central units based on reception of information about available measurement metrics; and (C) transmitting a sixth indication indicating the activation is possible to one or more distributed units 112.

[0120] In some other embodiments, the one or more measurement results are obtained from one or both of the second network node 16 and the at least one UE 22.

[0121] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a seventhindication indicating one or more network nodes 16 to activate or deactivate collection of the one or more measurements and transmitting the seventh indication to the one or more network nodes 16.

[0122] In some other embodiments, one or more of: (A) the first network node 16 includes one or both of: (a) a near-Real Time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (near-RT RIC) 102; and (b) an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) application 120, where the O-RAN application 120 includes one or more O-RAN xApps; (B) the second network node 16 includes an O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP) 108; and (C) the one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience (QoE), and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE).

[0123] In some embodiments, one or both of: (A) the one or more measurement results include one or more application layer measurement results; and (B) the additional information includes information related to one or both of the one or more application sessions and an application layer.

[0124] In some other embodiments, the causing of the at least one UE 22 to be configured with one or more measurements and the transmitting of the first request are performed jointly using a single message from the first network node 16.

[0125] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example process in a second network node 16 (e.g., comprising an application server 100). The second network node 16 is configured to communicate with at least a first network node 16 and provide one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information. The one or more measurement results are associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters. At least one application session is associated with one or more UEs 22. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by processing circuitry 36 (including the node management unit 24) and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 and / or communication interface 31 and / or application server 100 and / or RIC 102 and / or applications 120, etc. The first network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to transmit (Block S104), to the first network node 16, a first indication indicating at least one UE 22 performs one or more measurement associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters, obtain (Block SI 06) one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information, and transmit (Block SI 08) one or both of the informationabout the one or more measurement results and the additional information to the first network node 16.

[0126] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a first request requesting the one or more measurements and causing at least one UE 22 of the one or more UEs 22 to be configured with one or more measurements.

[0127] In some other embodiments, the first indication includes one or more of: (A) one or more indications of capability of the at least one UE 22 to collect the one or more measurements; (B) first information about one or more UEs 22 have been configured with the one or more measurements; and (C) second information about whether the at least one UE 22 is performing the one or more measurements.

[0128] In some embodiments, the first indication is transmitted in response to the second network node 16 receiving one or both of an application session start indication and a second indication indicating a start of a measurement session.

[0129] In some other embodiments, the method further includes: (A) receiving, from the first network node 16, a first request requesting the one or more measurements; (B) receiving, from the first network node 16, a second request requesting to be informed when one or both of an application session and a measurement session starts; and (C) transmitting a fourth indication indicating that one or both of the application session and the measurement session have started.

[0130] In some embodiments, the fourth indication further indicates one or more of: (A) one or more identifiers of one or more UEs 22; (B) an application type; (C) an application service type; (D) an application identifier of a started application; (E) one or more properties of a started session; and (F) one or more expected characteristics of the started session.

[0131] In some other embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, from the first network node 16, a fifth indication indicating that the second network node 16 has sent a measurement configuration to the at least one UE 22.

[0132] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a third request from the first network node 16. The third request requests the second network node 16 to configure the at least one UE 22 with a set of measurement configuration parameters. The method also includes causing the at least one UE 22 to be configured with the set of measurement configuration parameters.

[0133] In some other embodiments, the method further includes receiving a fourth request from the first network node 16. The fourth request requests the second network node 16 toconfigure at least one UE 22 for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session. The method also includes causing the at least one UE 22 to be configured for the at least one of the predetermined service type, the predetermined application type and the predetermined application session.

[0134] In some embodiments, the fourth request includes a measurement configuration for the second network node 16 to configure at least one UE 22 for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

[0135] In some other embodiments, one or more of: (A) the first network node 16 comprises one or both of: (a) a near-Real Time Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (near-RT RIC) 102; and (b) an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) application, the O-RAN application including one or more O-RAN xApps; (B) the second network node 16 comprises an O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP) 108; and (C) the one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience (QoE) and Radio Access Network (RAN) Visible QoE (RVQoE).

[0136] In some embodiments, one or both of: (A) the one or more measurement results include one or more application layer measurement results; and (B) the additional information includes information related to one or both of the one or more application sessions and an application layer.

[0137] Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for communication of parameters associated with quality of service or quality of experience.

[0138] In one or more embodiments, the term “xApps” is used and may refer to one or more xApps 120 as described herein. In some other embodiments, references to actions performed by the Near-RT RIC 102 may apply to the xApps 120 onboarded on the Near-RT RIC 102. For example, the Near-RT RIC 102 receiving an indication from an O-CU-CP 108 may comprise the xApps 120 being also notified about the content thereof. The xApps 120 being notified may, for example (without being limited to), be only xApps 120 which have expressed interest in, or requested to be informed of, that kind of notifications, or an xApp 120 that has previously sent a request (to the UE 22 / application or application client 58 in the UE 22) for the kind of notification, or information of the type contained inthe notification, that the Near-RT RIC 102 receives. Also, the Near-RT RIC 102 sending an indication to another node may refer to the originator of the information being the xApp 120 onboarded on the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g. using a Near-RT RIC 102 Application Programming Interface (API) to make the Near-RT RIC 102 send the indication. Further, an xApp 120 receives of any kind of information, message, notification or indication may refer to the Near-RT RIC 102 receives this information, message, notification or indication (e.g., although the xApp 120 may be the only entity in the Near-RT RIC 102 that understands the information, message, notification or indication). Similarly, an xApp 120 sending any kind of information, message, notification, or indication (e.g., to a UE 22 or an application or application client 58 in the UE 22) may refer to the Near-RT RIC 102 sending this information, message, notification, or indication. In some embodiments, the term “application” is used and refers to application client 58, which is not limited to being a client and may be any type of software application.

[0139] In some embodiments, references to actions performed by the UE 22 may equally apply to the application layer in the UE 22 or an application or application client 58 installed and / or running at the application layer in the UE 22.

[0140] In some other embodiments, a message, such as a request, an indication, a notification, or amount of information, described as being sent to the UE 22 may refer to a message actually targeting and being delivered to an application or application client 58 installed and / or running on the application layer in the UE 22 (e.g., unless the message is intended only for an entity / lay er below the application layer in the UE 22, such as the Access Stratum (AS), the radio layers, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) entity / layer, or an entity in the chip / module comprising implementation of functions for communication with the cellular network.

[0141] In some embodiments, the terms “QoE / RVQoE configuration” or “QoE configuration” or “RVQoE configuration” may refer to a QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration, which may also include instruction related to how to send QoE / RVQoE reports.

[0142] In some other embodiments, the term “RAN” may apply to one or more network nodes 16, e.g., E2 nodes or interface nodes 104 such as O-CU-CP 108, O-CU-UP 110, O-DU 112 and O-eNB.

[0143] In some embodiments, the term “legacy QoE measurements” (as opposed to RAN visible QoE measurements) refer to the QoE measurements standardized by 3GPP, where the measurement configuration is received by the RAN directly from the Operations AndManagement (OAM) or via the core network (CN). These measurements may be conducted by the UE 22 and reported to the measurement collection entity in the network, e.g., transparent to the RAN.

[0144] In some other embodiments, information described in one or more embodiments may be transmitted in newly defined messages or in existing messages of the relevant application protocol.

[0145] One or more embodiments applies to QoE, RVQoE and any type of application layer measurements, standardized or application-specific measurements. In some embodiments, the terms “RAN” and “0-RAN” may be used interchangeably. In some other embodiments, the term “collect” is used and may be equivalent to “measure” or “perform measurement”. For example, UE 22 that can “collect and report RVQoE metrics” may be equivalent to a UE 22 that can “measure and report RVQoE metrics.” In some embodiments, an indication of the start of a QoE measurement session and / or the start of an RVQoE measurement session may be implicit indications of the start of an application session (which the QoE measurement session and / or RVQoE measurement session measures on).

[0146] In some other embodiments, measurement results may refer to application layer results or result from measurements associated with application layer signaling, data, etc. Further, measurement results may refer to QoE and / or RVQoE measurement results, but the embodiments are not limited as such, and measurement results may be related to or include any type of measurements.

[0147] In some embodiments, the term “measurement configuration” is used and may refer to a configuration usable to perform application layer measurements, or may be refer to a QoE and / or RVQoE configuration.

[0148] In some embodiments, a UE may be configured with a measurement configuration, which may include a QoE / RVQoE measurement configuration. However, the embodiments are not limited as such, and the UE may be configured with any other configuration.

[0149] In one or more embodiments, one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience, QoE, and Radio Access Network, RAN, Visible QoE, RVQoE, but the embodiments are not limited as such, and quality parameters may include or relate to any other quality parameters. For example, quality parameters may be related to one or both of QoE and RVQoE. In addition, a quality parameter may be QoE measure (e.g., a QoE rating on a scale, e.g., from 0 to 10) or any metric from which QoE can implicitly bederived, e.g., a startup delay.

[0150] In some other embodiments, a first network node 16 may cause at least one UE 22 to be configured with one or more measurements. The causing step may include the UE requesting the O-CU-CP 108 to configure the UE 22 with measurements such as QoE / RVQoE measurements. The first network node 16 may transmit a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE and a second network node 16. In some embodiments, the network node 16 (e.g., xApp / Near-RT RIC) may in a single message request the second network node (e.g., O-CU-CP) to configure the UE 22 with QoE / RVQoE measurements and send future measurement results to the second network node 16 (xApp / Near-RT RIC). In some embodiments, the causing step and the transmitting step are performed jointly using a single message from the first network node 16 (xApp / Near-RT RIC).

[0151] In some embodiments, the first network node 16 may receive, from a third network node 16, an indication indicating the collection of the one or more measurements that have started. The UE 22 may collect measurement data, i.e., UE 22 measures or performs measurements. Collection of measurements may also refer to collection of already obtained measurement results, e.g. that the network node 16 collects measurement results that the UE 22 has logged. In some embodiments, this allows the xApp to get also the logged results / information or the results / information pertaining to an ongoing measurement.

[0152] In some other embodiments, a network node 16 may transmit an indication indicating the activation is possible to one or more distributed units, e.g., to one or more distributed units associated with the set of central units, to one or more distributed units, each associated with one of the central units in the set of central units, etc. In some embodiments, a second network node 16 (O-CU-CP) indicates to the first network node 16 (near-RT RIC) that it has deactivated / released the measurement configuration at the UE 22.

[0153] In some embodiments, the first network node 16 may determine an indication indicating or requesting that one or more network nodes (E2 nodes) to activate or deactivate collection of the one or more measurements.

[0154] FIG. 9 shows an example method according to one of more embodiments. The method includes, at step S 110, making near-RT RIC 102 aware of a possibility to configure RVQoE measurements / receive RVQoE measurement results, at step SI 12, causing the Near-RT RIC 102 to configure the RVQoE measurements, at step SI 14,exchanging RVQoE measurement results, and at step SI 16, receiving, by the near-RT RIC 102, the RVQoE measurement results and performing one or more actions based on the received RVQoE measurement results. The steps of the method need not necessarily be executed in the order they are presented, and, in some implementations, some steps may be omitted, and / or other steps added.

[0155] Step SI 10: Near-RT RIC 102 becoming aware of a possibility to configure RVQoE measurements / receive RVQoE measurement results

[0156] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 becomes aware of the possibility of one or more UEs 22 performing RVQoE measurements. In some other embodiments, a prerequisite for involving the Near-RT RIC 102 into the management of RVQoE measurement collection is that the Near-RT RIC 102 becomes aware of the possibility of one or more UEs 22 performing RVQoE measurements. The making the near-RT RIC 102 become aware or making the near-RT RIC 102 aware may include providing information to the near-RT RIC 102 which may include one or more of the following or providing, e.g., by other entities such as O-CU-CP 108 to the near-RT RIC 102, one or more of the following: (A) a capability of one or more UEs 22 to collect QoE / RVQoE measurements, e.g., if configured to do so; (B) information or indication indicating that one or more UEs 22 have been configured with QoE / RVQoE measurements; and (C) information about or indication indicating whether the UEs 22 have or do not have an ongoing measurement.

[0157] In some other embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 provides the information to the Near-RT RIC 102, every time O-CU-CP 108 receives an application session start indication, or an indication of the start of a QoE measurement session and / or the start of an RVQoE measurement session (which may be implicit indications of the start of an application session), from the UE 22.

[0158] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 informs the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g., one or more xApps 120 which has / have requested to be informed, that a UE 22 has been configured to perform QoE measurements on application sessions of a certain service type. In some other embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 may include in this information indications of the metrics that are eligible for RVQoE measurements, and which of the UE 22 can be configured to collect and report. If the UE 22 has already been configured or is about to be configured with measurements, the information may include one or more of the parameters of the measurement configuration.

[0159] In some other embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 receives from another network node (e.g., an Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), or an entity within the SMO(such as aNon-Real Time RIC 102 or an rApp within aNon-Real Time RIC 102)) an indication that indicates that RAN visible QoE (RVQoE) measurements (e.g., in general), or that certain RAN visible QoE measurements are available, or that RVQoE measurements can be configured or are possible to be measured for a predetermined UE 22, or predetermined UEs 22, or for a group of UEs 22.

[0160] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 receives from another network node, e.g., an SMO, or an entity within the SMO, such as aNon-Real Time RIC 102 or an rApp within aNon-Real Time RIC 102, one or more QoE measurement configuration parameters indicating that QoE measurements are being configured, or will be configured for a predetermined UE 22, or a predetermined UEs 22, or for a group of UEs 22.

[0161] In some other embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 receives from another network node, e.g., an SMO, or an entity within the SMO, such as aNon-Real Time RIC 102 or an rApp within aNon-Real Time RIC 102, or another node or entity, such as a UE 22 or an O-CU-CP 108, an indication (e.g., a session status indication) indicating that collection of QoE measurements and / or RAN Visible QoE measurements has started (or is ongoing) for a UE 22.

[0162] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 requests that the O-CU-CP 108 informs the Near-RT RIC 102 whenever an application session (as one option) or a QoE measurement session (e.g., as another option) or an RVQoE measurement session (e.g., as, yet another, option) starts in one or more particular UEs 22, or in any QoE / RVQoE-capable UE 22. For any session start / stop at the UE 22, the UE 22 may send the session start / stop indication for any session, or for any session of a predetermined type or a predetermined set of types. The session for which start / stop triggers the sending of the indication may be an application session or a QoE measurement session or an RVQoE measurement session, depending on what the Near-RT RIC 102 has requested and / or what the UE 22 has been configured to do. In conventional systems, the UE sends such an indication of the start of a QoE measurement session to the O-CU-CP for every started QoE measurement session pertaining to a QoE configuration which includes an instruction to the application to send session start / stop indications. After receiving such an indication from the UE 22, the O-CU-CP 108 will forward it to the Near-RT RIC 102. Alternatively, the Near-RT RIC 102 can send the request to the UE 22 (e.g. via the O-CU-CP 108), and the UE 22 will generate and send the requested kind of session start / stop indications to the Near-RT RIC 102 (e.g. via the O-CU-CP 108).

[0163] For example, in the former alternative where the Near-RT RIC 102 sends therequest to the O-CU-CP 108, the sending of the request may be by the O-CU-CP 108 sending an “empty” QoE configuration inside the measConflgAppLayer message to the UE 22. Such a message may only include (possibly, in addition to an identifier of the QoE configuration) an indication of service type and an instruction to the UE 22 to send a session start / stop indication whenever an application session for the indicated service type starts / ends (or, as another option, whenever a QoE measurement session associated with the application session of the indicated service type starts / ends, or, as yet another option, whenever an RVQoE measurement session associated with the application session of the indicated service type starts / ends).

[0164] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 - or the UE 22 - explicitly or implicitly, informs the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g., one or more xApps 120 that has / have requested to be informed, that an application session has started in a UE 22, and sends additional information together with the indication of the start of the application session. The additional information may (explicitly or implicitly) comprise one or more of the following:

[0165] • An indication that QoE measurements on the application session have started, or an indication of whether QoE measurements on the application session have started, or an indication of start of QoE measurements on the application session, or an indication of end of QoE measurements on the application session, or an indication of whether QoE measurements on the application session have ended, or an indication of whether QoE measurements on the application session are ongoing, or an indication of pause of QoE measurements on the application session, or an indication of resume of QoE measurements on the application session.

[0166] o As a further option: Additional information about the QoE measurements, e.g. QoE configuration data.

[0167] • An indication that RVQoE measurements on the application session have started, or an indication of whether RVQoE measurements on the application session have started, or an indication of start of RVQoE measurements on the application session, or an indication of end of RVQoE measurements on the application session, or an indication of whether RVQoE measurements on the application session have ended, or an indication of whether RVQoE measurements on the application session are ongoing, or an indication of pause of RVQoE measurements on the application session, or an indication of resumeof RVQoE measurements on the application session.

[0168] o As a further option: Additional information about the RVQoE measurements, e.g. RVQoE configuration data (e.g. reporting interval and metrics to be collected).

[0169] • an indication that QoE measurements on the application session have stopped.

[0170] • an indication that QoE measurements on the application session are ongoing, • an indication of whether QoE measurements on the application session are ongoing.

[0171] • an indication of the status of QoE measurements on the application session, • an indication that RVQoE measurements on the application session have stopped.

[0172] • an indication that RVQoE measurements on the application session are ongoing.

[0173] • an indication of whether RVQoE measurements on the application session are ongoing.

[0174] • an indication of the status of RVQoE measurements on the application session.

[0175] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring QoE has started.

[0176] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring QoE has ended.

[0177] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring QoE has been paused,

[0178] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring QoE has been resumed.

[0179] • an indication of whether an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring QoE is ongoing.

[0180] • an indication of the status of an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring QoE,

[0181] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring RVQoE has started.

[0182] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring RVQoE has ended.

[0183] • an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring RVQoE has been paused.• an indication that an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring RVQoE has been resumed.

[0184] • an indication of whether an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring RVQoE is ongoing.

[0185] • an indication of the status of an application session on which the UE 22 is capable of measuring RVQoE.

[0186] • The application type.

[0187] • The service type of the application, or the service type to which the application is associated with.

[0188] • The communication service type of the application, or the communication service type for delivering at least part of the application session.

[0189] • Application identifier of the started application (e.g. application identifier (app ID), e.g. such an app ID that can be assigned to or can be used for an application made available by a digital distribution service such as Google Play or Apple App Store).

[0190] • Properties of the started session, e.g. duration of the content (e.g. measured as play-out time of a video).

[0191] • Expected characteristics of the started session, e.g. required bit rate (possibly divided into what bit rate is required to sustain a certain quality, e.g. in terms of video quality), delay tolerance, etc.

[0192] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 informs the Near-RT RIC 102 whenever it has sent a legacy QoE configuration to a UE 22, without waiting for the UE 22 to send a session start indication. The O-CU-CP 108 informs the Near-RT RIC 102 that there is a possibility to configure the UE 22 with RVQoE measurements and may optionally also inform the Near-RT RIC 102 of the RVQoE metric(s) the Near-RT RIC 102 may configure the UE 22 to perform or may request the O-CU-CP 108 to configure the UE 22 to perform. The indication can be sent for more than one UE 22 (e.g., a group of UEs 22).

[0193] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 informs the Near-RT RIC 102 that it has configured RVQoE measurements for a UE 22 or a group of UEs 22. For example, the O-CU-CP 108 can configure RVQoE measurements for one or more UEs 22, informs the Near-RT RIC 102 and queries whether the Near-RT RIC 102 is interested in receiving the RVQoE reports generated by the RVQoE measurements.

[0194] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 realizes by itself (e.g., by packet inspection) that a UE 22 has started a certain application session or has a certainapplication session ongoing. For example, the UP traffic is duplicated and sent to Near-RT RIC 102 for deep packet inspection. Alternatively, the Near-RT RIC 102 uses E2 interface to ask E2 nodes to start / stop deep packet inspection with relevant filters (for example, the E2 nodes can look for packets with headers / header parameters matching a certain filtering criterion).

[0195] In some other embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 learns from UE capabilities (e.g., received from the O-CU-CP 108) that the UE 22 is capable of RVQoE measurements, after which it may, e.g., invoke the O-CU-CP 108 to notify the Near-RT RIC 102 about application session start at the UE 22 or it may send the preferred RVQoE configuration to the O-CU-CP 108.

[0196] In one or more or all of the embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 may also send to the Near-RT RIC 102 the latest assessment of channel quality for the UE 22. This information may help or be used by the Near-RT RIC 102 in selecting the UEs 22 to be configured to perform RVQoE measurements (and optionally also help the Near-RT RIC 102 in selecting the RVQoE metric(s) to configure the selected UEs 22 to measure).

[0197] Step SI 12: The Near-RT RIC 102 configuring the RVQoE measurements

[0198] In some embodiments, after the Near-RT RIC 102 has been notified about the possibility to (or requested to) configure one or more UEs 22 to perform RVQoE measurements, the Near-RT RIC 102 determines which of the UEs 22 to configure for the measurements.

[0199] In some other embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 may invoke the O-CU-CP 108 regarding the RVQoE in an unsolicited manner, i.e., without being notified about the possibility to (or a request to) configure RVQoE measurements for a UE 22, and without learning it by itself.

[0200] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 informs the O-CU-CP 108 that, for any UE 22 that is configured with QoE and / or RVQoE measurements for a certain service type, the O-CU-CP 108 is to configure such UEs 22 with a certain set of RVQoE measurement configuration parameters (e.g., certain RVQoE metrics or reporting periodicity).

[0201] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g. an xApp 120, may instruct the O-CU-CP 108 to configure RVQoE measurements for a UE 22 for a predetermined service type, for a predetermined application type, for a predetermined application (e.g. identified by an application identifier, e.g. an App ID of the form / type) or for a certain application session (in which case the instruction from the Near-RT RIC 102 may betriggered by an indication of the start of an application session in the UE 22 which the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g. the xApp 120, received from the O-CU-CP 108 (or from the UE 22, e.g. via the O-CU-CP 108). In some other embodiments, the instruction may include information about the RVQoE metrics the O-CU-CP 108 should configure the UE 22 to collect / measure and report. In some embodiments, the instruction may include an indication to the O-CU-CP 108 to configure the UE 22 to collect / measure and report all available RVQoE metrics, i.e. all RVQoE metrics that are eligible for collection / measurement and reporting. In some other embodiments, the instruction may also include the desired reporting periodicity and / or triggering conditions for starting / ending the measurements.

[0202] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g. an xApp 120, may instruct the O-CU-CP 108 to configure RVQoE measurements for a group of UEs 22 or for any or all UEs 22 with suitable properties (e.g. UEs 22 known to run or have installed a certain application type and / or UEs 22 with certain capabilities) for a predetermined service type, for a predetermined application type, for a predetermined application (e.g. identified by an application identifier, e.g. an App ID of the form / type) or for a certain application session (in which case the instruction from the Near-RT RIC 102 may be triggered by an indication of the start of an application session in the UE 22 which the Near-RT RIC 102, e.g. the xApp 120, received from the O-CU-CP 108 (or from the UE 22, e.g. via the O-CU-CP 108). In some other embodiments, the instruction may include information about the RVQoE metrics the O-CU-CP 108 should configure the UE 22 to collect / measure and report. In some embodiments, the instruction may include an indication to the O-CU-CP 108 to configure the UE 22 to collect / measure and report all available RVQoE metrics, i.e. all RVQoE metrics that are eligible for collection / measurement and reporting. In some other embodiments, the instruction may also include the desired reporting periodicity and / or triggering conditions for starting / ending the measurements.

[0203] In some other embodiments, after the Near-RT RIC 102 selects the UEs 22, the Near-RT RIC 102 sends to the O-CU-CP 108 the desired RVQoE measurement configuration. The configuration may be the same or different for each selected UE 22.

[0204] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 does not indicate any preference for RVQoE configuration parameters but indicates whether the RVQoE measurements for this UE 22 are desired, e.g. whether the Near-RT RIC 102 wants to receive RVQoE measurement results reported by the UE 22.

[0205] In some other embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 may request that the UE 22reports standardized RVQoE metrics. In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 may request that the UE 22 reports application-specific RVQoE metrics. The Near-RT RIC 102 may become aware of these metrics by communicating with the O-CU-CP 108, or by communicating with the UE 22 (e.g. the application client 58 in the UE 22 or an entity below or outside the application layer, e.g. an RRC entity) via the O-CU-CP 108, or by communicating with the xApp 120.

[0206] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 triggers activation of RVQoE measurements towards a set of O-CUs 106 based on reception of information about available RVQoE metrics from SMO (or rApps within SMO). The activation of RVQoE measurements can target specific UEs 22, or all UEs 22 served by the O-CU 106, or all the UEs 22 served by certain O-DUs 112 controlled by certain O-CU 106.

[0207] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 indicates that the activation of RVQoE measurements is possible to one or more O-DUs 112 based on the receiving of information about available RVQoE metrics from SMO (or rApps within SMO). The activation of RVQoE measurements can refer to specific UEs 22, or a group of UEs 22 served by the O-DUs 112, or all UEs 22 served by certain O-DUs 112.

[0208] Step SI 14: Exchange of RVQoE measurement results

[0209] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 can send the RVQoE measurement results to the Near-RT RIC 102 after the above-mentioned coordination. In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 can send the RVQoE measurement results in an unsolicited manner. In some embodiments, the UE 22 (or an application or application client 58 in the UE 22) can send the RVQoE measurement results to the Near-RT RIC 102. In some embodiments, the Near RT RIC 102 can retrieve the RVQoE measurement results from the UE 22 (or from an application or application client 58 in the UE 22).

[0210] Step SI 16: The Near-RT RIC 102 receiving the RVQoE measurement results and acting upon the results

[0211] In one embodiment, upon (or after) receiving RVQoE measurements, the Near RT RIC 102, or an xApp 120 within the Near-RT RIC 102 derives indications to send to E2 nodes. Non-limiting examples of indications can be configurations or re-configurations related to alternative QoS related parameters, traffic steering parameters to control UE mobility, priority related parameters for QoE and / or RVQoE reporting, priority related parameters for scheduling, radio resource partitioning related parameter, etc. In one option, the Near RT RIC 102 can send indication towards E2 node to activate / deactivate collection of RVQoE measurements for a UE 22 or a group of UEs 22.Further interaction between Near-RT RIC 102 and O-CU-CP 108

[0212] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 sends to the Near-RT RIC 102 an indication that one or more of the O-DUs 112 controlled by the O-CU-CP 108 has indicated to deactivate (alternatively to reactivate, or to pause, or to resume) transfer of QoE (and / or RVQoE) information, e.g. reported RVQoE measurement results, from O-CU-CP 108 to O-DUs 112 for a certain UE 22, or for a list of UEs 22, or for all the UEs 22, or for a certain O-DU 112.

[0213] In some embodiments, the O-CU-CP 108 sends to the Near-RT RIC 102 the indication that one or more of the O-DUs 112 controlled by the O-CU-CP 108 has(have) indicated preferences in RVQoE configuration (e.g., which RVQoE metrics to collect and / or receive from UEs 22).

[0214] Further interaction between Near-RT RIC 102 and O-DU 112

[0215] In some embodiments, an O-DU 112 sends to the Near-RT RIC 102 indications of preferences in RVQoE configuration (e.g., which RVQoE metrics to collect and / or receive from UEs 22).

[0216] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102, upon receiving the indication of availability of at least one RVQoE metric (i.e. at least one RVQoE metric the UE 22 can potentially be configured to collect / measure and report), e.g., from SMO, sends one or more indication(s) to one or more O-DUs 112 112 to: (A) indicate that RVQoE metrics (e.g. one or more of the at least one RVQoE metric) are being collected or will be collected; and / or (B) indicate the RVQoE metric(s) which the O-DU 112 can expect to receive from the UE 22 (via the Near-RT RIC 102 or via the controlling O-CU-CP 108).

[0217] In some embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102, upon receiving the indication of availability of at least one RVQoE metric (i.e. the indication of at least one RVQoE metric the UE 22 can potentially be configured to collect / measure and report), e.g., from SMO, sends a request / query to one or more O-DUs 112, to request whether the O-DUs 112 are interested in receiving RVQoE metrics.

[0218] Example O-RAN Implementation

[0219] Some embodiments are based on an O-RAN architecture, specifically the Near-RT RIC 102, E2 nodes and relevant interfaces. Some embodiments provide for QoE / RVQoE observability in the Near-RT RIC 102 and subsequent control and optimizations of the RAN by the Near-RT RIC 102 which may include one or more of the following:

[0220] • QoE / RVQoE observability in the Near-RT RIC 102: A dedicated, or an enhanced existing, E2 Service Model may be implemented on the E2 node(s)e.g., O-CU-CP 108, O-DU 112, etc., to expose QoE / RVQoE related services to the Near-RT RIC 102. This exposure may be based on the O-RAN standardized approach for exchanging E2 service model information between the Near-RT RIC 102 and the E2 nodes (e.g., as part of information exchange in “E2 Set Up” or “E2 Service Update” procedures in the O-RAN E2AP specification). In some embodiments, the capability to gather QoE / RVQoE information from a UE 22 or list of UEs 22 may be provided through an E2 Service Model (E2SM) (e.g., generic E2SM) where these measurements are carried as payload over generic Information Element (IE) containers in the generic E2SM. In such embodiments, the Near-RT RIC 102 / xApps 120 may get information over 01 and / or O2dms interface from the SMO about which E2 nodes are capable of delivering QoE / RVQoE information using the generic E2SM IES.

[0221] • Configuration of QoE / RVQoE measurements: In the embodiments where the QoE / RVQoE measurements are gathered in the Near-RT RIC 102 using standardized E2SMs, the O-RAN specified E2 interface procedures may be used to set specific QoE / RVQoE related event triggers (e.g., UE session start, end etc.) to trigger related actions (e.g., gather and transfer QoE / RVQoE measurements from a UE 22 or list of UEs 22).

[0222] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and / or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and / or functionality described herein may be performed by, and / or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0223] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0224] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0225] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0226] It is to be understood that the functions / acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality / acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

[0227] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on theuser's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0228] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and / or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

[0229] Abbreviations that may be used in the preceding description include:

[0230] 3 GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0231] API Application Programming Interface

[0232] AS Access Stratum

[0233] CE Control Element

[0234] CP Control Plane

[0235] CU Central Unit

[0236] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0237] DU Distributed Unit

[0238] El The interface between a CU-CP and a CU-UP.

[0239] E1AP El Application Protocol

[0240] E2AP E2 Application Protocol

[0241] E2SM E2 Service Model

[0242] F1AP Fl Application Protocol

[0243] F 1 -c The control plane part of F 1.

[0244] F 1 -u The user plane part of F 1.

[0245] FQDN Fully Qualified Domain Name

[0246] ID Identity / Identifier

[0247] IE Information Element

[0248] IP Internet ProtocolMAC Medium Access Control

[0249] Near-RT RIC Near Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller

[0250] OAM Operation and Maintenance

[0251] O-CU-CP 0-RAN CU-CP

[0252] O-CU-UP 0-RAN CU-UP

[0253] 0-DU 0-RAN DU

[0254] 0-RAN Open RAN

[0255] QoE Quality of Experience

[0256] QoS Quality of Service

[0257] RAN Radio Access Network

[0258] RIC RAN Intelligent Controller

[0259] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0260] RT Real-Time

[0261] RVQoE RAN Visible QoE

[0262] TR Technical Report

[0263] TS Technical Specification

[0264] UE User Equipment

[0265] UP User Plane

[0266] xApp extended application

[0267] Y1 The interface between the Near-RT RIC and other functions or entities denoted as “Y1 consumers”, which may be internal and / or external functions or entities.

[0268] Y1AP Y1 Application Protocol

[0269] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings and following claims.

Claims

1. What is claimed is:

1. A method in a first network node (16) configured to communicate with at least a second network node (16) and obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information, the one or more measurement results being associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters, at least one application session being associated with one or more user equipments, UEs, (22) the method comprising:one or both (SI 00) of:causing at least one UE (22) of the one or more UEs (22) to be configured with one or more measurements associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters; andtransmitting a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE (22) of the one or more UEs and the second network node (16); andobtaining (SI 02) one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information based on one or both of the UE (22) being configured with the one or more measurements and the first request.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the method further includes: receiving, from the second network node (16), a first indication indicating that the at least one UE (22) is capable of performing the one or more measurements; and selecting the at least one UE (22) based on the first indication.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the first indication includes one or more of:one or more indications of capability of the at least one UE (22) to collect the one or more measurements;first information about one or more UEs (22) that have been configured with the one or more measurements; andsecond information about whether the at least one UE (22) is performing the one or more measurements.

4. The method of any one of Claims 2 and 3, wherein the first indication is received in response to the second network node (16) receiving one or both of:an application session start indication; anda second indication indicating a start of a measurement session.

5. The method of any one of Claims 1-4, wherein the method further includes: receiving one or more reports for at least one application session that has already started, for at least one ongoing application session, and at least one future application session pertaining to at least one configuration already configured at the UE (22).6 The method of any one of Claims 1-5, wherein the method further includes: receiving, from a third network node (16), a third indication indicating one or more of:the one or more measurements are one or both of available and configurable;one or measurement configuration parameters indicating that the one or more measurement are being configured or will be configured; andcollection of the one or more measurements that have started.

7. The method of any one of Claims 1-6, wherein the method further includes: requesting that the second network node (16) configure the UE (22) with measurements, when the second network node (16) has not indicated availability to the first network node (16).

8. The method of any one of Claims 1-7, wherein the method further includes: transmitting a second request to one or both of the second network node (16) and the at least one UE (22), the second request requesting to be informed when one or both of an application session and a measurement session starts; andreceiving a fourth indication indicating that one or both of the application session and the measurement session have started.

9. The method of Claims 8, wherein the fourth indication further indicates one or more of:one or more identifiers of one or more UEs (22);an application type;an application service type;an application identifier of a started application (120);one or more properties of a started session; andone or more expected characteristics of the started session.

10. The method of any one of Claims 1-9, wherein the method further includes:receiving, from the second network node (16), a fifth indication indicating that the second network node (16) has sent a measurement configuration to the at least one UE (22).

11. The method of any one of Claims 1-10, wherein the causing the at least one UE (22) of the one or more UEs (22) to be configured with one or more measurements includes:transmitting a third request to the second network node (16), the third request requesting the second network node (16) to configure the at least one UE (22) with a set of measurement configuration parameters.

12. The method of any one of Claims 1-11, wherein the causing the at least one UE (22) of the one or more UEs (22) to be configured with one or more measurements includes:transmitting a fourth request to the second network node (16), the fourth request requesting the second network node (16) to configure at least one UE (22) for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein the fourth request includes a measurement configuration for the second network node (16) to configure at least one UE (22) for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

14. The method of any one of Claims 1-13, wherein the method further includes one or more of:transmitting a fifth request requesting that the at least one UE (22) reports one or more measurement metrics;triggering activation of the one or more measurements towards a set of central units based on reception of information about available measurement metrics; and transmitting a sixth indication indicating the activation is possible to one or more distributed units.

15. The method of any one of Claims 1-14, wherein the one or more measurement results are obtained from one or both of the second network node (16) and the at least one UE (22).

16. The method of any one of Claims 1-15, wherein the method further includes:determining a seventh indication indicating one or more network nodes (16) to activate or deactivate collection of the one or more measurements; andtransmitting the seventh indication to the one or more network nodes (16).

17. The method of any one of Claims 1-16, wherein one or more of:the first network node (16) comprises one or both of:a near-Real Time Radio Access Network, RAN, Intelligent Controller, near-RT RIC (102); andan Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, application (120), the O-RAN application (120) including one or more O-RAN xApps;the second network node (16) comprises an O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane, O-CU-CP (108); andthe one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience, QoE, and Radio Access Network, RAN, Visible QoE, RVQoE.

18. The method of any one of Claims 1-17, wherein one or both of:the one or more measurement results include one or more application layer measurement results; andthe additional information includes information related to one or both of the one or more application sessions and an application layer.

19. The method of any one of Claims 1-18, wherein the causing of the at least one UE (22) to be configured with one or more measurements and the transmitting of the first request are performed jointly using a single message from the first network node (16).

20. A first network node (16) configured to communicate with at least a second network node (16) and obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information, the one or more measurement results being associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters, at least one application session being associated with one or more user equipments, UEs, (22) the first network node (16) being configured to perform the steps of any one of Claims 1-19.

21. A method in a second network node (16) configured to communicate with at least a first network node (16) and provide one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information, the one or more measurement results being associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters, at least one application session being associated with one or more user equipments, UEs, (22) the method comprising:transmitting (S104), to the first network node (16), a first indication indicating at least one UE (22) performs one or more measurement associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters;obtaining (S 106) one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information; andtransmitting (SI 08) one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information to the first network node (16).

22. The method of Claim 21, wherein the method further includes: receiving a first request requesting the one or more measurements; and causing at least one UE (22) of the one or more UEs (22) to be configured with one or more measurements.

23. The method of any one of Claims 21 and 22, wherein the first indication includes one or more of:one or more indications of capability of the at least one UE (22) to collect the one or more measurements;first information about one or more UEs (22) have been configured with the one or more measurements; andsecond information about whether the at least one UE (22) is performing the one or more measurements.

24. The method of any one of Claims 21-23, wherein the first indication is transmitted in response to the second network node (16) receiving one or both of:an application session start indication; anda second indication indicating a start of a measurement session.

25. The method of any one of Claims 21-24, wherein the method further includes:receiving, from the first network node (16), a first request requesting the one or more measurements;receiving, from the first network node (16), a second request requesting to be informed when one or both of an application session and a measurement session starts; andtransmitting a fourth indication indicating that one or both of the application session and the measurement session have started.

26. The method of Claim 25, wherein the fourth indication further indicates one or more of:one or more identifiers of one or more UEs (22);an application type;an application service type;an application identifier of a started application (120);one or more properties of a started session; andone or more expected characteristics of the started session.

27. The method of any one of Claims 21-26, wherein the method further includes:transmitting, to the first network node (16), a fifth indication indicating that the second network node (16) has sent a measurement configuration to the at least one UE (22).

28. The method of any one of Claims 21-27, wherein the method further includes:receiving a third request from the first network node (16), the third request requesting the second network node (16) to configure the at least one UE (22) with a set of measurement configuration parameters; andcausing the at least one UE (22) to be configured with the set of measurement configuration parameters.

29. The method of any one of Claims 21-28, wherein the method further includes:receiving a fourth request from the first network node (16), the fourth request requesting the second network node (16) to configure at least one UE (22) for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session; andcausing the at least one UE (22) to be configured for the at least one of the predetermined service type, the predetermined application type and the predetermined application session.

30. The method of Claim 29, wherein the fourth request includes a measurement configuration for the second network node (16) to configure at least one UE (22) for at least one of a predetermined service type, a predetermined application type and a predetermined application session.

31. The method of any one of Claims 21-30, wherein one or more of:the first network node (16) comprises one or both of:a near-Real Time Radio Access Network, RAN, Intelligent Controller, near-RT RIC (102); andan Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, application (120), the O-RAN application (120) including one or more O-RAN xApps;the second network node (16) comprises an O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane, O-CU-CP (108); andthe one or more quality parameters include one or both of Quality of Experience, QoE, and Radio Access Network, RAN, Visible QoE, RVQoE.

32. The method of any one of Claims 21-31, wherein one or both of:the one or more measurement results include one or more application layer measurement results; andthe additional information includes information related to one or both of the one or more application sessions and an application layer.

33. A second network node (16) configured to communicate with at least a second network node (16) and provide one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information, the one or more measurement results being associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters, at least one application session being associated with one or more user equipments, UEs, (22) the second network node (16) being configured to perform any one of the steps of any one of Claims 21-32.

34. A system (10) comprising at least a first network node (16), a second network node (16), and user equipment, UE, (22) at least the first network node (16) being configured to obtain one or both of information about one or more measurement results and additional information, the one or more measurement results being associated with one or more application sessions and one or more quality parameters, at least one application session being associated with one or more user equipments, UEs, (22) in which:the first network node (16) is configured to:one or both of:cause at least one UE (22) of the one or more UEs (22) to be configured with one or more measurements associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters; andtransmit a first request requesting the one or more measurements from one or both of the at least one UE (22) and the second network node (16);receive one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information based on one or both of the UE (22) being configured with the one or more measurements and the first request; andthe second network node (16) is configured to:receive the first request requesting the one or more measurements;transmit, to the first network node (16), a first indication indicating the at least one UE (22) performs one or more measurement associated with the one or more application sessions and the one or more quality parameters;obtain one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information; andtransmit one or both of the information about the one or more measurement results and the additional information to the first network node (16).

35. A computer program comprising one or more Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, xApps, the one or more O-RAN xApps comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to carry out the method according to any one of Claims 1-19.

36. A computer-readable storage medium storing an executable computer program comprising one or more Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, xApps, that, when executed by processing circuitry (36) causes the processing circuitry (36) to at least one of perform and control a method according to and one of Claims 1-19.

37. A computer program comprising one or more Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, xApps, the one or more O-RAN xApps comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to carry out the method according to any one of Claims 21-32.

38. A computer-readable storage medium storing an executable computer program comprising one or more Open Radio Access Network, O-RAN, xApps, that, when executed by processing circuitry (36) causes the processing circuitry (36) to at least one of perform and control a method according to and one of Claims 21-32.

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