Radio spectrum sharing

Abstract

Use of radio spectrum is shared between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network. A first communication node generates or receives a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes. The first communication node also autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, determines radio resources on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal. The first communication node transmits the spectrum coordination signal to one or more of the second communication nodes on the radio resources determined.

Description

[0001] P112704W001

[0002] RADIO SPECTRUM SHARING

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present application relates generally to communication networks and relates more particularly to sharing of radio spectrum between nodes in the first and second communication networks.

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] Radio spectrum is a scarce resource, especially when it comes to frequencies with good characteristics for wireless transmissions. In the past, spectrum was allocated strictly to different kinds of users, for example by licensing 100 MHz of spectrum to be used by a mobile radio network, or by declaring 80 MHz of spectrum to be used by license-exempt devices under strict limitations of the transmit power and medium access rules.

[0007] With the increased demand for radio spectrum, more and more parts have been allocated for dual- or even multiple purposes. A good example is the frequency band from 5470 MHz to 5650 MHz. In the European Union, "Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs)" (e.g., Wi-Fi) are allowed to operate within these 180 MHz, although the spectrum is also used by weather-, airport-, and military radars. However, it is mandated from the RLANs that, as so-called "secondary users", they shall use mitigation techniques which are capable to detect the presence of a radar and, if the channel is found to be in use by radar services, to vacate the channel. Thus, the spectrum is not only shared between users of a single technology (i.e. , within different RLAN users), but also between multiple technologies. It can be noted that the coexistence is not symmetric in that a first of the technologies has priority and other technologies must ensure that this first technology is not using spectrum before using it.

[0008] Existing mechanisms for intra-technology spectrum sharing (e.g., Wi-Fi and NR-U) may not be effectively re-used for inter-technology (e.g., Wi-Fi and NR) spectrum sharing. For the operation in license-exempt bands, e.g. the 2.4 GHz ISM band, the 5 GHz band, or the 6 GHz band, the two most commonly used intra-technology spectrum sharing mechanisms are listen before talk (LBT) and frequency hopping (FH). Both serve their purpose well when sharing among participants that use the same technology, but are less efficient in more heterogeneous scenarios.

[0009] In the case of LBT, the efficiency highly depends on the amount of information gained during the "listen" phase that is used to determine if the channel is busy or idle. In the most basic form, the received energy is measured and compared to a threshold. While this can be done completely technology neutral, the received energy can be an inefficient metric to estimate the channel status, as known from "hidden node" or "exposed node"P112704W001

[0010] scenarios. Hence, the clear channel assessment is enriched by further information. For example, in the case of IEEE 802.11, this includes information about channel busy durations, bandwidth, transmission priority, and the level of accepted interference. All of this information is included in frames / fields at the very beginning of every frame exchange sequence, which makes it inherently technology specific.

[0011] In the case of FH, one disadvantage is that it can only be used for narrowband systems that are able to split up the available spectrum into sufficiently many channels to avoid collisions with sufficiently low probability when hopping randomly.

[0012] On the other hand, these solutions do not work well when referring to intertechnology (spectrum sharing), and in particular, when mixing authorization regimes (licensed and unlicensed). For example, while the improved variant of LBT discussed above is suitable to share the channel among IEEE 802.11 devices, it does not work, for example, when looking at sharing between licensed cellular 3GPP technologies and Wi-Fi in the upper 6 GHz, as concluded in ECG PT1(24)175. The main issue is that, due to the different technologies, the efficiency improvements of the clear channel assessment are not applicable, and therefore only energy-based detection is applicable. In this case, the difference of power and coverage of the two systems - typically up to 23 dBm (and tens of meters) by the Wi-Fi Access Point compared to several Watts (and up to kilometres) by the cellular base station, results in many cases of hidden nodes and thus a very inefficient spectrum usage.

[0013] Generally, then, challenges exist with spectrum sharing between licensed technologies (3GPP) and unlicensed technologies (IEEE 802.11, UWB, Bluetooth, etc.). Challenges exist for instance on how both cellular 3GPP technologies and Wi-Fi could share the upper 6 GHz (6425 MHz to 7125 MHz). A similar problem will arise in the context of ITLI-R WRC-27 (World Radiocommunication Conference) Agenda Item 1.7 that is looking at IMT identification of the band 7125“MHz to 8400 MHz, where UWB technologies (7737 MHz to 8236 MHz) have been deployed.

[0014] United States Patent No. 7,480,490 B2 to Haarsten discloses one approach for achieving improved inter-technology spectrum coexistence. This approach relies on a shared broadcast channel that is shared amongst transmitters of different technologies for broadcasting information regarding their spectrum usage. The transmitters must effectively coordinate establishment of the shared broadcast channel. A transmitter in this regard must first scan for whether any shared broadcast channel has already been established amongst the transmitters. If so, the transmitter must re-use that already established shared broadcast channel. If not, the transmitter must establish the shared broadcast channel on a carrier frequency that is suitable for other transmitters to use.

[0015] The approach in Haarsten suffers from drawbacks under some circumstances, suchP112704W001

[0016] as where one technology’s network (e.g., 3GPP) has meaningfully higher transmit power and / or larger coverage area than networks of another technology (e.g., Wi-Fi). In this case, there may be many networks of the latter technology within the larger coverage area of the former technology. These and other scenarios may make establishment of a shared broadcast channel impossible.

[0017] SUMMARY

[0018] Some embodiments herein enable nodes in first and second communication networks to share radio spectrum, without requiring the nodes of the different networks to share a broadcast channel on which to commonly transmit spectrum usage information. According to some embodiments in this regard, a communication node in a first communication network transmits a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information for coordinating use of the radio spectrum, e.g., information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more first communication nodes in the first communication network and / or information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more second communication nodes in the second communication network. Rather than transmitting the spectrum coordination signal on a shared broadcast channel, though, the communication node autonomously determines the radio resources on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal, without having to coordinate selection of the radio resources with any nodes in a second communication network. As such, the spectrum coordination signal may enable nodes in the first and second communication networks to coordinate their use of the radio spectrum, but the nodes do not have to coordinate the radio resources on which the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted. Some embodiments may thereby advantageously enable radio spectrum sharing even in scenarios where establishment of a shared broadcast channel would prove difficult or impossible, e.g., even where one network has a greater coverage area than another.

[0019] More particularly, embodiments herein include a method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network, the method performed by a first communication node. The method comprises generating or receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes. The method also comprises autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, determining radio resources on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal. The method also comprises transmitting the spectrum coordination signal to one or more of the second communication nodes on the radio resources determined.

[0020] Other embodiments include a method for sharing use of radio spectrum between firstP112704W001

[0021] communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network, the method performed by a second communication node. The method comprises receiving, on radio resources autonomously determined by a first communication node without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes. The method also comprises, based on the spectrum coordination signal, controlling use of the radio spectrum by the second communication node and / or relaying the spectrum coordination signal towards one or more other second communication nodes.

[0022] Still other embodiments herein include corresponding apparatus, computer programs, and carriers of those computer programs.

[0023] Details of such embodiments and further embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed description.

[0024] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure XX1 schematically shows first and second communication networks according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure WW1 schematically shows a method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure WW2 schematically shows a method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure YY1 schematically illustrates a communication node as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure QQ1 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure QQ2 schematically illustrates another example of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure QQ3 schematically illustrates structures of a wireless device configured to operate in communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure QQ4 schematically illustrates structures of a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure QQ5 shows a block diagram schematically illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the presentP112704W001

[0034] disclosure may be virtualized.

[0035] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Figure XX1 shows first and second communication networks 10-1 and 10-2 according to some embodiments. First communication nodes 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1 may include communication device(s) (e.g., user equipment(s)) to which the first communication network 10-1 provides communication service and / or may include network node(s) that support such communication service. Similarly, second communication nodes 12-2 in the second communication network 10-2 may include communication device(s) (e.g., user equipment(s)) to which the second communication network 10-2 provides communication service and / or may include network node(s) that support such communication service.

[0037] In some embodiments, the first communication network 10-1 is a wide area network (WAN), and the second communication network 10-2 is a local area network (LAN), e.g., a radio LAN. In one example, for instance, the first communication network 10-1 is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) network, such as a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, a 5G network, or a 6G network, and / or the second communication network 10-2 is a Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

[0038] In these and other embodiments, then, the first and second communication networks 10-1, 10-2 may be configured to operate according to different radio access technologies (RATs) and / or different communication standards. As such, the first and second communication networks 10-1, 10-2 may employ different physical layers. For example, the first and second communication networks 10-1, 10-2 may employ different bandwidths, different modulation schemes, different coding schemes, and / or different frame structures for transmission, e.g., at least for transmission on a data channel.

[0039] Regardless, the first communication nodes 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1 and the second communication nodes 12-1 in the second communication network 10-2 are configured to share use of radio spectrum 14. This radio spectrum 14 may span any frequency range that both communication networks 10-1, 10-2 are allowed to use, e.g., according to rules governing use of that radio spectrum 14. For instance, in embodiments where the first communication network 10-1 is a 3GPP network and the second communication network 10-2 is a Wi-Fi network, the radio spectrum 14 may be the frequency range from 6425 MHz to 7125 MHz. As another example, in embodiments where the first communication network 10-1 is a 3GPP network and the second communication network 10-2 is an Ultra- Wideband (UWB) network, the radio spectrum 14 may be the frequency range from 7737 MHz to 8236 MHz. In these and other cases, the first communication nodes 12-1 may have licensed access to the radio spectrum 14, e.g., as granted by a governing or regulatory body, whereas the second communication nodesP112704W001

[0040] 12-2 may still be allowed unlicensed access to the radio spectrum 14. Whether because of a license to use the radio spectrum 14 or otherwise, though, the first communication nodes 12-1 in some embodiments may have priority to the radio spectrum 14 over the second communication nodes 12-2, e.g., in the sense that any competition for use of the radio spectrum 14 is resolved in favor of the first communication nodes 12-1. Despite the communication networks 10-1, 10-2 operating according to different RATS, different standards, and / or different priorities to the radio spectrum 14, some embodiments nonetheless enable the first and second communication nodes 12-1, 12-2 to share use of the radio spectrum 14. Some embodiments even enable this without requiring the nodes 12-1, 12-2 of the different networks 10-1, 10-2 to share a broadcast channel on which to commonly transmit spectrum usage information.

[0041] Towards this end, Figure XX1 shows that a first communication node 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1 obtains a spectrum coordination signal 16. In some embodiments, the first communication node 12-1 obtains the spectrum coordination signal 16 by generating the signal 16 itself. In other embodiments, though, the first communication node 12-1 obtains the spectrum coordination signal 16 by receiving the signal 16 from another first communication node 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1. Either way, the spectrum coordination signal 16 conveys information for coordinating use of the radio spectrum 14 between the first and second communication nodes 12-1, 12-2.

[0042] In some embodiments, for example, the spectrum coordination signal 16 conveys information 16-1 about use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more first communication nodes 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1. This information 16-1 may for instance include information about use of the radio spectrum 14 by the first communication node 12-1 that itself transmits the spectrum coordination signal 16 and / or may include information about use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more other first communication nodes 12-1.

[0043] Regardless, the information 16-1 conveyed may indicate that one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 are using, or will use, at least a portion of the radio spectrum 14. In other embodiments, the information 16-1 conveyed may alternatively or additionally indicate one or more characteristics of one or more transmissions that are performed, or will be performed, by one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 on the radio spectrum 14. For example, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission may include a portion of the radio spectrum 14 occupied by the transmission, a priority of the transmission, a radio access technology or communication standard according to which the transmission is performed, a carrier frequency of the transmission, a frequency bandwidth of the transmission, a timing and / orP112704W001

[0044] duty cycle of the transmission, a transmit power level of the transmission, and / or a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0045] Alternatively or additionally, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may convey information 16-2 governing use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more second communication nodes 12-2 in the second communication network 12-2. In some embodiments, for example, the information 16-2 may indicate that one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum 14. In these and other embodiments, the information 16-2 may indicate (i) a minimum duration of time for which the one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum 14; and / or (ii) one or more portions of the radio spectrum 14 that are to be vacated.

[0046] In still other embodiments, the information 16-2 may indicate and / or govern one or more conditions under which one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 are allowed, or are not allowed, to use the radio spectrum 14 at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1. For example, the information 16-2 may govern a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 are allowed to use the radio spectrum 14 at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 if interference attributable to that use remains below an allowed interference level, where the information 16-2 indicates this allowed interference level. Or, the information 16-2 may govern a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 are allowed to use the radio spectrum 14 at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 if a received strength of the spectrum coordination signal 16 is above a detection level, where information 16-2 indicates this detection level. In one such embodiment, the information 16-2 indicates that and / or how the detection level varies with a transmit power of the one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2, e.g., such that a second communication node 12-2 may continue to use the radio spectrum 14 if it reduces its transmit power. Rather than indicating by how much the transmit power must be reduced, though, the information 16-2 may more generally indicate that one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 must reduce transmit power (e.g., by a predefined amount) as a condition for being allowed to continue using at least a portion of the radio spectrum 14.

[0047] No matter the particular type of information 16-1, 16-2 conveyed by the spectrum coordination signal 16, or how the first communication node 12-1 obtains the spectrum coordination signal 16, the first communication node 12-1 transmits this spectrum coordination signal 16 to one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 in the second communication network 10-2. A second communication node 12-2 in reception of the spectrum coordination signal 16 may control its use of the radio spectrum 14 based onP112704W001

[0048] the spectrum coordination signal 16 and / or may relay the spectrum coordination signal 16 towards other second communication node(s) 12-2. A second communication node 12-2 may for example vacate its use o the radio spectrum 14 based on the information 16-1, 16-2 conveyed by the spectrum coordination signal 16, e.g., given the first communication nodes’ priority to the radio spectrum 14.

[0049] Notably, though, the first communication node 12-1 need not transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 on a shared broadcast channel or otherwise coordinate transmission of the spectrum coordination signal 16 with any of the second communication nodes 12-2. Instead, the first communication node 12-1 autonomously determines radio resources 18 on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16, e.g. where the radio resources 18 may include frequency resources, time resources, spatial resources, etc. In embodiments where the radio resources 18 include frequency resources, the radio resources 18 may include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially within the radio spectrum 14 and / or may include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially outside of the radio spectrum 14.

[0050] The autonomous nature with which the first communication nodes 12-1 determines the radio resources 18 on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 means that the first communication node 12-1 need not coordinate selection of the radio resources 18 with any second communication nodes 12-2 in the second communication network 10-2. That is, the first communication node 12-1 may unilaterally select the radio resources 18 on which it transmits the spectrum coordination signal 16, e.g., to accommodate the needs or preferences of the first communication node 12-1 or other first communication nodes in the first communication network 10-1. The first communication node 12-1 may accordingly select to use radio resources 18 of a channel that is not shared with the second communication nodes 12-2, e.g., in the sense that the second communication nodes 12-2 do not transmit any spectrum coordination signal of their own on the channel and thus the first communication node 12-1 need not itself monitor for such a spectrum coordination signal from the second communication nodes 12-2. As such, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may enable nodes 12-1, 12-2 in the first and second communication networks 10-1, 10-2 to coordinate their use of the radio spectrum 14, but relieves the nodes 12-1, 12-2 from the burden of having to coordinate the radio resources 18 on which the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted. Some embodiments may thereby advantageously enable radio spectrum sharing even in scenarios where establishment of a shared broadcast channel would prove difficult or impossible, e.g., even where the first communication network 10-1 has a greater coverage area than the second communication network 10-2.

[0051] The autonomous radio resource determination in some embodiments is performedP112704W001

[0052] as part of the first communication node 12-1 autonomously adapting which radio resources 18, and / or how many radio resources 18, it uses to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16. For example, the first communication node 12-1 may autonomously adapt on which frequency resources, and / or how many frequency resources, the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted, autonomously adapt on which time resources, and / or on how many time resources, the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted, and / or autonomously adapt on which spatial resources, and / or on how many spatial resources, the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted. In these and other embodiments, the adaptation may accommodate for changes over time in the needs or preferences of the first communication node 12-1.

[0053] In some embodiments, for example, the first communication node 12-1 selects the radio resources 18 from amongst a pool of radio resources, with each radio resource being allocatable by the first communication node 12-1 for either the spectrum coordination signal 16 or other signal(s) such as data signal(s) or control signal(s). In this case, the first communication node 12-1 may adapt which radio resources 18, and / or how many radio resources 18, it uses from the pool to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16, as needed to accommodate for transmission of the other signal(s). The first communication node 12-1 may for instance use fewer radio resources 18 to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 when more radio resources are needed to transmit the other signal(s), and may correspondingly use more radio resources 18 to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 when less radio resources are needed to transmit the other signal(s). This adaptation may furthermore be performed in conjunction with the first communication node 12-1 adapting what transmit power it uses to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 and / or what modulation and / or coding scheme it uses to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16.

[0054] As another example, the first communication node 12-1 in some embodiments determines (e.g., selects) the radio resources 18 based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 in the radio spectrum 14. The interference may be measured or estimated by the first communication node 12-1 itself or be reported to the first communication node 12-1 by one or more other first communication nodes 12-1. Either way, the first communication node 12-1 in one example may determine the radio resources 18 to be the same as those radio resources on which interference from second communication nodes 12-2 is measured or estimated. The spectrum coordination signal 16 in this case may trigger any second communication nodes 12-2 causing this interference to vacate the radio resources 18 on which the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted, while also freeing up non-selected radio resources for use by the first communication node 12-1 to transmit other signal(s). As the radioP112704W001

[0055] resources on which interference from second communication nodes 12-2 changes over time, then, the first communication node 12-1 may adapt on which radio resources 18 it transmits the spectrum coordination signal 16.

[0056] For instance, the first communication node 12-1 may adapt on which frequency resources the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 on frequency resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 is measured or estimated.

[0057] Alternatively or additionally, the first communication node 12-1 may adapt on which spatial resources the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 on spatial resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 is measured or estimated. Where the spatial resources correspond to spatial directions, this may mean that the first communication node 12-1 selectively transmits the spectrum coordination signal 16 towards the spatial directions in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 is measured or estimated. Alternatively or additionally, the first communication node 12-1 may adapt on which time resources the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted, as needed to as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 on time resources that coincide with times when the measured or estimated interference exceeds an interference threshold. In this case, then, the first communication node 12-1 may effectively only transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 when the second communication nodes 12-2 cause interference, e.g., of at least a threshold level.

[0058] That said, in some embodiments, the autonomous radio resource determination may not dictate whether and / or when the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted; rather, that may be dictated by other first communication node(s) 12-1. In one such embodiment, the first communication node 12-1 may autonomously determine the radio resources 18 and transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 according to a command or instruction that the first communication node 12-1 receives from another node in the first communication network 10-1. The command or instruction may for example be a command or instruction to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16. In fact, in some embodiments, the command or instruction may be received in conjunction with receiving the spectrum coordination signal 16 itself, or at least the information conveyed by the spectrum coordination signa 16. In this case, the first communication node 12-1 may transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 as part of forwarding or relaying it towards the second communication nodes 12-2.

[0059] No matter how the first communication node 12-1 determines the radio resources 18 on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16, the first communication nodeP112704W001

[0060] 12-1 herein may transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 in such a way that it is receivable by a second communication node 12-1 in the second communication network 10-2. This may be the case even if the communication networks 10-1, 10-2 operate according to different RATS, different communication standards, different priorities to the radio spectrum 14, different physical layers, and / or other operational differences. In these and other embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be transmitted in a way that is agnostic to these operational differences, in a way that exploits commonalities between the operational differences, and / or in a way that exploits capabilities common between different supporting hardware.

[0061] In some embodiments, for example, the first communication devices 12-1 are each configured to operate according to a first communication standard (e.g., a 5G or 6G communication standard specified by 3GPP), whereas the second communication devices 12-2 are each configured to operate according to a second communication standard (e.g., a Wi-Fi standard, UWB standard, Bluetooth standard, or other radio LAN standard). In one such embodiment, the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted in a way that is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards. The spectrum coordination signal 16 may for example be transmitted in a way that is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that with which either of the first or the second communication standards specify, e.g., at least for transmission of a data channel such as a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). Alternatively or additionally, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be transmitted in a way that exploits commonalities between the first and second communication standards and / or in a way that exploits capabilities common between hardware that supports the first communication standard and hardware that supports the second communication standard. For example, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be modulated with a modulation scheme (e.g., an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme) which differs from that used by either the first or the second communication standard (at least for data transmission), but that both hardware supporting the first communication standard and hardware supporting the second communication standard are capable of using. As another example, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may encode the information 16-1, 16-2 conveyed with an encoding scheme (e.g., Manchester encoding) which differs from that used by either the first or the second communication standard (at least for data transmission), but that both hardware supporting the first communication standard and hardware supporting the second communication standard are capable of using.

[0062] In other embodiments, as another example, the first communication devices 12-1P112704W001

[0063] are each configured to operate according to a first RAT (e.g., Long Term Evolution or New Radio), whereas the second communication devices 12-2 are each configured to operate according to a second RAT (e.g., a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth). In one such embodiment, the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted according to a third RAT that differs from both the first and second RATs. As such, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be transmitted in a way that is agnostic to both the first and second RATs. The spectrum coordination signal 16 may for example be transmitted in a way that is agnostic to both the first and second RATs in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or the second RAT. Alternatively or additionally, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be transmitted in a way that exploits commonalities between the first and second RATs and / or in a way that exploits capabilities common between hardware that supports the first RAT and hardware that supports the second RAT. For example, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be modulated with a modulation scheme (e.g., an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme) which differs from that used by either the first or the second RAT (at least for data transmission), but that both hardware supporting the first RAT and hardware supporting the second RAT are capable of using. As another example, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may encode the information 16-1, 16-2 conveyed with an encoding scheme (e.g., Manchester encoding) which differs from that used by either the first or the second RAT (at least for data transmission), but that both hardware supporting the first RAT and hardware supporting the second RAT are capable of using.

[0064] In these and other embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be transmitted in a way that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node 12-2 using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal 16. For example, the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be at least twice the receiver bandwidth used by a second communication node 12-2, and / or the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal 16 may be less than one-half of the receiver bandwidth used by a second communication node 12-2. In some embodiments, then, the spectrum coordination signal 16 is “bandwidth agnostic” in the sense that the carried information can be obtained using a receiver which does not know the bandwidth of the signal 16. In embodiments where the spectrum coordination signal 16 has the property that it contains information related to properties of a first communication node of a first communication standard, the spectrum coordination signal 16 may nonetheless be used by a second communication node 12-2 although the second communication node 12-2 is working according to a second communication standard.P112704W001

[0065] Accordingly, in one or more embodiments, the radio resources 18 on which the spectrum coordination signal 16 is transmitted span a transmission bandwidth that is wider than a signal bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal 16. Transmitting the spectrum coordination signal 16 in this case may entail repeating the spectrum coordination signal 16 in frequency across the transmission bandwidth.

[0066] In some embodiments, then, one characteristic feature of the spectrum coordination signal 16 is that it may be demodulated even if only a fraction of the signal’s bandwidth is used. This may allow even a narrowband receiver to demodulate the spectrum coordination signal 16 as sent from a wideband transmitter. Conversely, a wideband receiver may be able to demodulate the spectrum coordination signal 16 sent by a narrowband transmitter. In one or more such embodiments, a second communication node 12-2 need only know what symbol rate is used and how the different symbols of the spectrum coordination signal 16 should be used or interpreted.

[0067] Consider now some embodiments herein exemplified in certain contexts, e.g., where the first communication network 10-1 may be exemplified as a prioritized network that has priority use of the radio spectrum 14 and the second communication network 10-2 is exemplified as a non-prioritized network. In one such context, the first communication network 10-1 is a 3GPP-based network (e.g., LTE or NR) and the second communication network 10-2 is a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth network. In this case, if a base station in the 3GPP-based network were to have to rely on a shared broadcast channel for transmission of spectrum usage information, the base station have to perform a frequency scan to identify a suitable channel. However, due to the significantly different ranges there might be many different Wi-Fi networks in the base station's coverage area - in a downtown city deployment there could be easily more than 100 Wi-Fi Access Points. Most likely the base station would not be able to detect many of these Access Points due to their low transmit power, but they still interfere with the 3GPP user devices. Hence, finding a common broadcast channel would be impractical or impossible, especially considering that the amount of spectrum under consideration would be more than 500 MHz.

[0068] Even if a common channel could be established this would not be sufficient as the different standards targeting the 6 GHz band use very different modulations, encoding, as well as very different transmission bandwidths and channel rasters. As an example, Bluetooth may operate using channel bandwidths of 1 MHz or 2 MHz, whereas Wi-Fi operates on multiple 20 MHz channels, and NR may operate e.g., on 50 MHz or 100 MHz. In addition, Bluetooth uses Gaussian frequency shift keying (GFSK), which may be demodulated using a simple differential demodulator, whereas Wi-Fi and 3GPP NR uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which requires coherent demodulation including both channel estimation and equalization. Finally, the most commonly usedP112704W001

[0069] Bluetooth versions do not apply error correcting coding, whereas Wi-Fi relies on either convolutional coding or low density party check (LPDC) coding.

[0070] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Some embodiments introduce a less explicit spectrum coordination method to be applied between a primary radio technology and one or more secondary radio technologies, e.g., under the assumption that the primary technology's coverage area is significantly larger than the secondary technology's coverage areas.

[0071] One or more such embodiments exploit the ability of the primary radio technology to transmit a signal using a modulation and encoding that is sufficiently simple such that it can be received and decoded by all receivers of the secondary radio technology, given that they are listening on a frequency that overlaps the signal's frequency. A possible option, for example, is to Use On-Off keying with Manchester encoding.

[0072] Some embodiments accordingly introduce a spectrum coordination signal that is used to inform other nodes of other technologies about the spectrum usage. However, instead of using a dedicated broadcast channel, the signal is integrated into the primary technology's transmissions by using parts of its resources. Depending on the technology, the signal might cover the full spectrum of the primary technology or just a fraction. It might be separated in time to the technology's transmission, prefixed, or even overlap with a transmission. Furthermore, it might be integrated into the downlink, uplink, or even both.

[0073] In embodiments where the signal is using the same spectrum as the primary technology's transmissions, embodiments include a method for determining how many resources (time, frequency, and / or power) are spent to transmit the signal versus how many resources are left to transmit data within the network. Spending more resources on the signal will increase the probability that it is received by the secondary technologies and thus considerably reduce interference, enabling an efficient spectrum usage. Hence, some embodiments propose to adapt the amount of resources based on measured or expected interference.

[0074] While this integrated signal cannot exhibit the same guarantees as a signal on a dedicated channel, it will be much simpler to implement and also received by the secondary technologies as it is not necessary to observe the broadcast channel.

[0075] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Some embodiments enable signaling the occupancy of parts of the radio spectrum 14, although the different standards may be operating using very different radio parameters, such as modulation and signal bandwidth. In contrast to only detecting energy, the characteristics of the occupancy can be understood much more precisely.

[0076] Furthermore, some embodiments are opportunistic in that the signaling is adapted to the needs and benefits of the primary network (for example, when secondary networkP112704W001

[0077] activity is detected, and / or only in the directions where activity is detected, and / or only on part of the operating bandwidths where activity is detected). Alternatively or additionally, the content of the coordination message can be adapted to different needs.

[0078] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal 14 may be transmitted by either network node(s), communication device(s), or a combination of both. The likelihood of falsely identifying the radio spectrum 14 as idle due to a near / far problem is significantly reduced when communication devices are sending such signals.

[0079] The improved coexistence implies better spectrum efficiency in general, better support for low latency applications, and reduced power consumption.

[0080] Note that some embodiments herein are specifically exemplified with the case of coexistence between a prioritized technology which has higher access priority on the shared spectrum, and one or more non-prioritized technologies which have to adapt to the spectrum usage of the first technology if they detect it. In this example, the prioritized technology uses high transmit power and serves larger coverage areas, while the nonprioritized technologies use lower transmit power and serve smaller coverage areas. Exemplary prioritized technologies may be 4G / 5G networks, and exemplary non prioritized technologies may be Wi-Fi, UWB, and Bluetooth. Embodiments herein may nonetheless be applied in other situations where neither technology has priority over the other.

[0081] More particularly, embodiments herein are exemplified for situations when two different technologies use different standards that (at least partly) share the same radio spectrum and thus need to coexist. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first technology has a priority over the second technology in accessing or making use of the spectrum, e.g., the first technology being licensed and the second technology being license-exempt. The second technology stops using the spectrum when it detects or becomes aware of the first technology being active in the spectrum or parts thereof. A “spectrum coordination signal" in some embodiments serves as indication of the spectrum usage by the primary technology. The coordination signal is sent by one or more nodes of the first technology.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first standard has similarities with 3GPP, and the second standard has similarities with Wi-Fi, UWB, or Bluetooth. The prioritized technology uses high transmit power and serves larger coverage areas, while the non-prioritized technologies use lower transmit power and serve smaller coverage areas, but are still able to interfere with nodes from the first technology if they are in close vicinity.

[0083] Embodiment 1: Opportunistic signaling and message content tuning

[0084] In a first embodiment, the prioritized wireless node transmits a spectrum coordination signal intended to inform the non-prioritized nodes of its presence. This signal exemplifies the spectrum coordination signal 16 herein.P112704W001

[0085] In its simplest form, the spectrum coordination signal is a predefined and static message and only conveys the presence information and simply works as an indication that any node that belongs to the second wireless network should vacate the spectrum where the signal is received.

[0086] The second node, after having received this spectrum coordination signal, is expected to vacate the spectrum for a certain duration. Additionally or alternatively, it may be established a priori that when the signal is detected the second node has to vacate from some additional spectrum outside of its sensing bandwidth.

[0087] Also within the scope of this embodiment, the prioritized node may also tune how often, i.e. , the interval between two successive signals, the spectrum coordination signal is sent depending on the harmful activities and may also tune the content of the spectrum coordination signal. In another flavor of this embodiment, it could indicate that transmissions may continue but with lower transmit power. In yet another flavor of this embodiment, it could indicate the time interval over which the secondary operations have to fulfill the requirements indicated in the coordination signal.

[0088] Embodiment 2: Embedded bandwidth information

[0089] In this embodiment, the node sending the spectrum coordination signal has additional capabilities to embed what frequency parts the evacuation corresponds to. This information can for example be signaled as one or more frequency ranges that need to be vacated. The frequency ranges to vacate could be the whole operating bandwidth, part of it, or other — potentially adjacent — frequency ranges where the node is capable to operate but not currently operating.

[0090] Alternatively, it could be signaled as a bitmap corresponding to some channel raster (e.g. in 20 MHz parts) over the band.

[0091] Additionally in this embodiment the spectrum coordination signal could either be signaled over the full part that is to be evacuated, partially covering the reserved part or outside of the reserved part. This can be beneficial if there are a priori established control channels where nodes are guaranteed to listen.

[0092] Embodiment 3: Detection threshold

[0093] In another embodiment the strength of the spectrum coordination signal is compared against a detection threshold. The detection threshold could either be contained within the spectrum coordination signal sent by the node of the first wireless standard or it could be known a priori. The detection threshold level can be used by a node belonging to the second wireless standard to decide whether or not it needs to vacate the indicated spectrum, as if the signal strength of the spectrum coordination signal would fall below the threshold it would deem its interference to not be harmful. In addition, the spectrum coordination signal could also indicate that the detection threshold is dependent on the transmit power of the nodeP112704W001

[0094] belonging to the second wireless standard, for example that a lower transmit power admits the use of a higher detection threshold.

[0095] Embodiment 4: Peer node echoing in the prioritized system

[0096] In this embodiment, the peer node of the first node may send an additional spectrum coordination signal. The first technology’s base station, central, master, or coordination node may instruct its associated or connected peer, device, repeater, client, or slave nodes to send this additional spectrum coordination signal. This instruction may be signaled in an explicit message from the base station to its peer nodes, e.g. using the first technology’s inherent capabilities to exchange data, management, or control information. Alternatively, by design of its protocol, the first technology may inherently mandate its peer nodes to repeat the spectrum coordination signal in case the peer nodes receive the coordination signal. This additional spectrum coordination signal may either be a duplicate of the first spectrum coordination signal, or it could contain alternative, or additional, or new information.

[0097] This additional spectrum coordination signal can be beneficial for cases where the range of the first spectrum coordination signal is not sufficient to reach all nodes belonging to the second wireless communication network that would cause harmful interference towards the peer node. Such situation could for example be in a hidden-node scenario, i.e. , when the spectrum coordination signal is received with insufficient reception power due to non-line-of-sight conditions (NLOS), but interference is caused with high power due to close vicinity and line-of-sight conditions.

[0098] Embodiment 5: Peer node echoing in the non-prioritized system

[0099] In another embodiment, when the secondary node (say Wi-Fi STA) receives / decodes the spectrum coordination signal, the secondary node propagates the spectrum coordination message across all its network, (say across other Wi-Fi BSS in its neighborhood using Wi-Fi specific frames or signaling).

[0100] In another embodiment, a node supporting multiple non-prioritized technologies (e.g., both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) spreads the spectrum coordination signal across both technologies, using respective technologies’ own signaling.

[0101] Embodiment 6: Spatial reuse

[0102] In yet another embodiment, the peer node of the first communication network may signal an allowed interference level. The allowed interference level may be used in conjunction with the received signal strength of the spectrum coordination signal by the node in the second communication network to calculate whether or not transmissions could occur in a lower transmit power mode without exceeding the allowed interference level.

[0103] This could potentially enable simultaneous transmissions in both communication networks and may be beneficial in, for example, the European 6 GHz band where nodes that are standard power and very low power are defined and as such one node category may atP112704W001

[0104] least be allowed to operate in some scenarios.

[0105] Embodiment 7: Signaling tradeoffs

[0106] The transmitter of the spectrum coordination signal could potentially choose to either use a narrow or a wide bandwidth for the transmission. Thus, in some embodiments, the transmitter chooses to transmit using a narrower bandwidth spectrum coordination signal in order to allocate more power per MHz and thus achieve a wider coverage area to provide better protection for itself or its peer node(s).

[0107] In some alternative of this embodiments, where wide area coverage is not desired, the transmitter of the spectrum coordination signal uses a wider bandwidth with less power per MHz in order to signal to nodes listening to different parts of the bandwidth simultaneously.

[0108] Additionally, one can tune the receiver sensitivity signal by changing the data rate. Thus, in this flavor of the embodiment, the transmitter of the spectrum coordination signal can choose to send spectrum coordination signals with different rates to achieve suitable coverage.

[0109] Embodiment 8: Security

[0110] In yet another embodiment, the variable portion of the signal might contain cryptographic information that protects the integrity of the coordination signal. This helps to avoid that the coordination signal may be spoofed. Additionally, it may be beneficial that only legitimate users may transmit the coordination signal. However, cryptographically protecting the coordination signal by a public-key infrastructure may be prohibitive for reduced complexity nodes using the band.

[0111] Embodiment 9: Harmful Activity

[0112] In this embodiment, the prioritized node sends the spectrum coordination signal upon detecting harmful activity in its operating bandwidth or parts of it. An exemplary harmful activity could be when the prioritized node observes an amount of interference above a predefined threshold.

[0113] In a flavor of this embodiment, if the harmful activity is detected only in a certain area / direction, the prioritized node may send the coordination signal only toward such area / direction by using, e.g., transmit beamformed transmissions.

[0114] In alternatives of this embodiment, there may exist a power difference between the prioritized network and the other network. In these cases, the peer nodes in the prioritized network may signal the presence of harmful activity to the first node. The first node may then send a spectrum coordination signal over the affected spectrum telling those nodes causing harmful activities to vacate the spectrum. This may allow the peer nodes to additionally signal identity information to the first prioritized node if such information is available and thus it may be possible to only signal those non-prioritized nodes that cause harmful activity,P112704W001

[0115] whilst leaving the other non-prioritized nodes to operate in this frequency part.

[0116] In view of the modifications and variations herein, Figure WW1 depicts a method for sharing use of radio spectrum 14 between first communication nodes 12-1 in a first communication network 10-1 and second communication nodes 12-2 in a second communication network 10-2. The method is performed by a first communication node 12-1, in accordance with particular embodiments. The method includes generating or receiving a spectrum coordination signal 16 that conveys information 16-1 about use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 and / or that conveys information 16-2 governing use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 (Block WW100). The method also comprises autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes 12-2, determining radio resources 18 on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal 16 (Block WW105). The method also comprises transmitting the spectrum coordination signal 16 to one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 on the radio resources 18 determined (Block WW110).

[0117] In some embodiments, said autonomously determining is performed as part of autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, adapting which radio resources, and / or how many radio resources, are used to transmit the spectrum coordination signal. In some embodiments, said autonomously adapting comprises autonomously adapting on which frequency resources, and / or on how many frequency resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted. In other embodiments, said autonomously adapting comprises autonomously adapting, additionally or alternatively, on which time resources, and / or on how many time resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted. In yet other embodiments, said autonomously adapting comprises autonomously adapting, additionally or alternatively, on which spatial resources, and / or on how many spatial resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted. In some embodiments, said adapting is performed based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes in the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, said autonomously adapting comprises adapting on which frequency resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on frequency resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes is measured or estimated. In other embodiments, said autonomously adapting comprises additionally or alternatively adapting on which spatial resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on spatial resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes is measured or estimated. In some embodiments, said autonomously adapting comprises adapting on which time resources the spectrum coordination signal isP112704W001

[0118] transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on time resources that coincide with when the measured or estimated interference exceeds an interference threshold. In some embodiments, said autonomously determining is performed based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes in the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving signaling indicating the measured or estimated interference from one or more other first communication nodes (Block WW120). In some embodiments, the received signaling identifies which of the second communication nodes are contributing to the measured or estimated interference.

[0119] In some embodiments, transmitting the spectrum coordination signaling comprises selectively transmitting the spectrum coordination signaling to one or more of the second communication nodes that are contributing to measured or estimated interference in the radio spectrum.

[0120] In some embodiments, said autonomously determining further comprises autonomously determining a transmit power with which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal. In other embodiments, said autonomously determining further comprises autonomously determining, alternatively or additionally, a modulation and / or coding scheme with which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal.

[0121] In some embodiments, the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially within the radio spectrum.

[0122] In some embodiments, the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially outside of the radio spectrum.

[0123] In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing data transmissions in the radio spectrum without monitoring for a spectrum coordination signal from one or more of the second communication nodes.

[0124] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the first communication nodes are using or will use at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0125] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0126] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating a duration in time for which one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0127] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of one or more portions of the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordinationP112704W001

[0128] signal also conveys information indicating the one or more portions.

[0129] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum if the spectrum coordination signal is received with a signal strength above a detection threshold. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the detection threshold.

[0130] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes must reduce transmit power as a condition for being allowed to continue using at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0131] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information that indicates and / or governs one or more conditions under which one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed, or are not allowed, to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes.

[0132] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if interference attributable to that use remains below an allowed interference level. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the allowed interference level.

[0133] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if a received strength of the spectrum coordination signal is above a detection level. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the detection level. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that and / or how the detection level varies with a transmit power of the one or more of the second communication nodes.

[0134] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating one or more characteristics of one or more transmissions that are performed, or will be performed, by one or more of the first communication nodes on the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include a portion of the radio spectrum occupied by the transmission. In other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a priority of the transmission. In yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a radio access technology or communication standard according to which the transmission isP112704W001

[0135] performed. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a carrier frequency of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a frequency bandwidth of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a timing and / or duty cycle of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a transmit power level of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0136] In some embodiments, generating or receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving the spectrum coordination signal from another first communication node in the first communication network, and said transmitting is performed as part of forwarding or relaying the received spectrum coordination signal.

[0137] In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, from a node in the first communication network, a command or instruction to transmit the spectrum coordination signal, and said generating or receiving, autonomously determining, and transmitting is performed according to the command or instruction.

[0138] In some embodiments, the method further comprises applying integrity protection to the spectrum coordination signal.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first communication nodes have priority to the radio spectrum over the second communication nodes.

[0140] In some embodiments, the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first communication network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network.

[0142] In some embodiments, the first communication network is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project, 3GPP, network, and the second communication network is a Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a first type of data channel. In some embodiments, the second communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a second type of data channel, and the first type and the second type of data channels have different physical layers.P112704W001

[0144] In some embodiments, the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first communication standard. In some embodiments, the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second communication standard, and the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that with which either of the first or the second communication standards specify for transmission of a data channel.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first radio access technology, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second radio access technology, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted according to a third radio access technology that is different from the first and second radio access technologies. In some embodiments, the third radio access technology employs a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or second radio access technologies.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first communication node is a radio network node in the first communication network.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first communication node is a communication device in the first communication network.

[0148] In some embodiments, the radio resources are radio resources of a channel that is not shared with the second communication nodes in the sense that the second communication nodes do not transmit any spectrum coordination signal on the channel.

[0149] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal is modulated with an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme.

[0150] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal encodes the information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes, and / or the information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes, using a Manchester encoding scheme.

[0151] In some embodiments, the radio resources determined span a transmission bandwidth that is wider than a signal bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein transmitting the spectrum coordination signal comprises repeating the spectrum coordination signal in frequency across the transmission bandwidth.

[0152] In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing a data transmission in the radio spectrum (Block WW130). In some embodiments, transmitting the spectrum coordination signal comprises transmitting the spectrum coordination signal as a prefix to the data transmission (Block WW140). In other embodiments, transmitting the spectrumP112704W001

[0153] coordination signal comprises transmitting the spectrum coordination signal overlaid in frequency with the data transmission (Block W150).

[0154] Figure WW2 depicts a method for sharing use of radio spectrum 14 between first communication nodes 12-1 in a first communication network 10-1 and second communication nodes 12-2 in a second communication network 10-2. The method is performed by a second communication node 12-2 in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method includes receiving, on radio resources 18 autonomously determined by a first communication node 12-1 without coordination with any of the second communication nodes 12-2, a spectrum coordination signal 16 that conveys information 16-1 about use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more of the first communication nodes 12-1 and / or that conveys information 16-2 governing use of the radio spectrum 14 by one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 (Block WW200). The method also comprises, based on the spectrum coordination signal 16, controlling use of the radio spectrum 14 by the second communication node 12-2 and / or relaying the spectrum coordination signal 16 towards one or more other second communication nodes 12-2 (Block WW210).

[0155] In some embodiments, the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially within the radio spectrum.

[0156] In some embodiments, the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially outside of the radio spectrum.

[0157] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the first communication nodes are using or will use at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0158] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0159] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating a duration in time for which one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0160] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of one or more portions of the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the one or more portions.

[0161] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum if the spectrum coordination signal is received with a signal strength above a detection threshold. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the detection threshold.P112704W001

[0162] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes must reduce transmit power as a condition for being allowed to continue using at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0163] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information that indicates and / or governs one or more conditions under which one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed, or are not allowed, to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes.

[0164] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if interference attributable to that use remains below an allowed interference level. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the allowed interference level.

[0165] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if a received strength of the spectrum coordination signal is above a detection level. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the detection level. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that and / or how the detection level varies with a transmit power of the one or more of the second communication nodes.

[0166] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating one or more characteristics of one or more transmissions that are performed, or will be performed, by one or more of the first communication nodes on the radio spectrum. In some embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include a portion of the radio spectrum occupied by the transmission. In other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a priority of the transmission. In yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a radio access technology or communication standard according to which the transmission is performed. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a carrier frequency of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a frequency bandwidth of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmissionP112704W001

[0167] include, alternatively or additionally, a timing and / or duty cycle of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a transmit power level of the transmission. In still yet other embodiments, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include, alternatively or additionally, a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0168] In some embodiments, the method further comprises checking an integrity of the spectrum coordination signal, and said controlling is performed based on an integrity of the spectrum coordination signal being intact according to said checking.

[0169] In some embodiments, the first communication nodes have priority to the radio spectrum over the second communication nodes.

[0170] In some embodiments, the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum.

[0171] In some embodiments, the first communication network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network.

[0172] In some embodiments, the first communication network is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project, 3GPP, network, and the second communication network is a Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

[0173] In some embodiments, the first communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a first type of data channel. In some embodiments, the second communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a second type of data channel, and the first type and the second type of data channels have different physical layers.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first communication standard. In some embodiments, the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second communication standard, and the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards. In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal is received with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that with which either of the first or the second communication standards specify for transmission of a data channel.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first radio access technology. In some embodiments, the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second radio access technology, and the spectrum coordination signal is received according to a third radioP112704W001

[0176] access technology that is different from the first and second radio access technologies. In some embodiments, the third radio access technology employs a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or second radio access technologies.

[0177] In some embodiments, the second communication node is a radio network node in the second communication network.

[0178] In some embodiments, the second communication node is a communication device in the second communication network.

[0179] In some embodiments, said controlling comprises vacating use of the radio spectrum based on the spectrum coordination signal.

[0180] In some embodiments, the radio resources are radio resources of a channel that is not shared with the second communication nodes in the sense that the second communication nodes do not transmit any spectrum coordination signal on the channel.

[0181] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal is modulated with an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme.

[0182] In some embodiments, the spectrum coordination signal encodes the information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes, and / or the information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes, using a Manchester encoding scheme.

[0183] In some embodiments, the radio resources span a transmission bandwidth that is wider than a signal bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal, and receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving at least one repetition of the spectrum coordination signal that is repeated in frequency across the transmission bandwidth.

[0184] In some embodiments, receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving the spectrum coordination signal as a prefix to a data transmission by one or more of the first communication devices. In other embodiments, receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving the spectrum coordination signal overlaid in frequency with a data transmission by one or more of the first communication devices.

[0185] In some embodiments, the method further comprises relaying the spectrum coordination signal to one or more other second communication devices (Block WW220) .

[0186] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a communication node 12-1, 12-2 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the first or second communication nodes 12-1, 12-2.

[0187] Embodiments also include a communication node 12-1, 12-2 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the first or second communicationP112704W001

[0188] nodes 12-1, 12-2. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the communication node 12-1, 12-2.

[0189] Embodiments further include a communication node 12-1, 12-2 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the first or second communication nodes 12-1, 12-2. In some embodiments, the communication node 12-1, 12-2 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0190] Embodiments further include a communication node 12-1, 12-2 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication node 12-1, 12-2 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the first or second communication nodes 12-1, 12-2.

[0191] Embodiments moreover include a user equipment (UE). The UE comprises an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE also comprises radio frontend circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the first or second communication nodes 12-1, 12-2. In some embodiments, the UE also comprises an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may comprise an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may also comprise a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0192] More particularly, the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and / or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions forP112704W001

[0193] carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.

[0194] Figure YY1 for example illustrates a communication node 12-1, 12-2 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the communication node 12-1, 12-2 includes processing circuitry YY110 and communication circuitry YY120. The communication circuitry YY120 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the communication node 12-1, 12-2. The processing circuitry YY110 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure WW1 or Figure WW2, such as by executing instructions stored in memory YY130. The processing circuitry YY110 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0195] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

[0196] A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

[0197] Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

[0198] In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.

[0199] Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

[0200] Figure QQ1 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0201] In the example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunications network QQ102 that includes an access network QQ104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network QQ106, which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes QQ110A and QQ110B are depicted (which may beP112704W001

[0202] collectively referred to as network nodes QQ110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network QQ104 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes QQ110 of access network QQ104 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs QQ112A, QQ112B, QQ112C, and QQ112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0203] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network QQ102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network QQ102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network QQ102, including one or more access network nodes QQ110 and / or core network nodes QQ108.

[0204] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.

[0205] The network nodes QQ110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs QQ112 to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or otherP112704W001

[0206] types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0207] The UEs QQ112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes QQ108, QQ110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network QQ102) with the UEs QQ112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network QQ102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network QQ102. More specifically, UEs QQ112 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes QQ108, QQ110 or other elements of the telecommunications network QQ102 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes QQ108, QQ110 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs QQ1122, other network nodes QQ108, QQ110, and other devices in telecommunications network QQ102 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE QQ112 by transmitting the message to an access network node QQ110 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE QQ112. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE QQ112 by receiving the message from an access network node QQ110 that itself received the message from the UE QQ112.

[0208] In the depicted example, the core network QQ106 connects elements of the access network QQ104 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes QQ110) to one or more host computing systems, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network QQ106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes QQ108. Network nodes QQ108 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts,P112704W001

[0209] such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node QQ108. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (ALISF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0210] The host QQ116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and / or the telecommunications network QQ102. The host QQ116 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host QQ116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0211] As a whole, the communication system QQ100 of Figure QQ1 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system QQ100 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system QQ100 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system QQ100 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0212] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network QQ104 may contain some access network nodes QQ110 that support 3GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes QQ110 support (or the same access network nodes QQ110 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network QQ102 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, asP112704W001

[0213] a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0214] Telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0215] In some examples, one or more of the UEs QQ112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network QQ104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0216] In the example, the hub QQ114 communicates with the access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE QQ112C and / or QQ112D) and network nodes (e.g., network node QQ110B). In some examples, the hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub QQ114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network QQ106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes QQ110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub QQ114.

[0217] As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub QQ114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, inP112704W001

[0218] particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0219] The hub QQ114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node QQ110B. The hub QQ114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112C and / or QQ112D), and between the hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In other examples, the hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network QQ104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes QQ110 while still connected via the hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node QQ110B. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node QQ110B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0220] Figure QQ2 is another example of a communication system QQ200 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system QQ200 includes multiple access points (APs) QQ210 (with four exemplary APs QQ210A, QQ210B, QQ210C, and QQ210D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system QQ200 as stations (STAs) QQ212 (referred to individually as STA QQ212A, STA QQ212B, STA QQ212C, STA QQ212D, and STA QQ212E). STA QQ212A is served by AP QQ210A in a first basic service set (BSS) QQ220A. STA QQ210B and STA QQ210C are served by AP QQ210B in a second BSS, BSS QQ220B. STA QQ212D is served by AP QQ210C in a third BSS, BSS QQ220C. STA QQ212E is served by AP QQ210D in a fourth BSS, BSS QQ220D. Stations QQ212 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations QQ212 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0221] Each of STAs QQ212 may connect through a radio link to one of APs QQ210. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA QQ212, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism,P112704W001

[0222] e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0223] Each AP QQ210 may provide data connectivity to STAs QQ212 connected to a particular AP QQ210. As illustrated, APs QQ210 may be connected to a data network QQ230. In this way, APs QQ210 may also provide data connectivity between STAs QQ212 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA QQ212 and its serving AP QQ210 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA QQ212, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA QQ212 and / or on a device linked to STA QQ212. By way of example, Figure QQ2 illustrates an application service platform QQ232 provided in data network QQ230. The application(s) executed on STA QQ212 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA QQ212 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA QQ212 and / or the application service platform QQ232, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA QQ212.

[0224] Figure QQ3 shows a wireless device QQ300, which may be configured to operate in communication system QQ100 of Figure QQ1 or in communication system QQ200 of Figure QQ20. The wireless device QQ300 may be alternatively referred to as a UE QQ300, like a UE QQ112 within the context of communication system QQ100, or as a station (STA) QQ300 or as a non-access-point station (non-AP STA) QQ300, like a STA QQ212 within the context of the communication system QQ200, in accordance with respective embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices.

[0225] Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0226] A wireless device QQ300 may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device QQ300 may not necessarilyP112704W001

[0227] have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, wireless device QQ300 may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, wireless device QQ300 may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0228] In particular embodiments, wireless device QQ300 includes processing circuitry QQ302 that is operatively coupled via a bus QQ304 to an input / output interface QQ306, a power source QQ308, a memory QQ310, a communication interface QQ312, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain embodiments of wireless device QQ300 may include all or a subset of the components shown in Figure QQ3. The level of integration between the components may vary from one embodiment of wireless device QQ300 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device QQ300, processing circuitry QQ302, input / output interface QQ306, power source QQ308, memory QQ310, and communication interface QQ312 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device QQ300. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices QQ300 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0229] The processing circuitry QQ302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory QQ310. The processing circuitry QQ302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry QQ302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0230] In the example, the input / output interface QQ306 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into wireless device QQ300. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presencesensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera,P112704W001

[0231] etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0232] In some embodiments, the power source QQ308 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. The power source QQ308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source QQ308 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of wireless device QQ300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power source QQ308 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device QQ300 to which power is supplied.

[0233] The memory QQ310 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory QQ310 includes one or more programs QQ314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ316. The memory QQ310 may store, for use by wireless device QQ300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0234] The memory QQ310 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory QQ310 may allow wireless device QQ300 to access instructions, programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memoryP112704W001

[0235] media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0236] The processing circuitry QQ302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or using the communication interface QQ312. The communication interface QQ312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna QQ322. The communication interface QQ312 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another wireless device or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ318 and / or a receiver QQ320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter QQ318 and receiver QQ320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0237] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface QQ312 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0238] In particular embodiments, wireless device QQ300 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface QQ312, via a wireless connection to a network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device QQ300 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wireless device QQ300. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0239] As another example, wireless device QQ300 comprises an actuator, a motor, or aP112704W001

[0240] switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device QQ300 may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0241] Wireless device QQ300, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. In particular embodiments, wireless device QQ300 represents an loT device that comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the example embodiment of wireless device QQ300 shown in Figure QQ3.

[0242] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device QQ300 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device QQ300 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, wireless device QQ300 may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device QQ300 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0243] In practice, any number of wireless devices QQ300 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device QQ300 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device QQ300 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device QQ300P112704W001

[0244] may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second wireless device QQ300 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device QQ300 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0245] Figure QQ4 shows a network node QQ400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node QQ400 may be configured to operate in communication system QQ100 of Figure QQ1, like network nodes QQ108 or QQ110, or in communication system QQ200 of Figure QQ2, like an AP QQ210 or a station QQ212. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., 0-Rll, 0-Dll, O-CU).

[0246] Network nodes QQ400 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. Network node QQ400 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes QQ400 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0247] Other examples of network nodes QQ400 include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0248] In particular embodiments, network node QQ400 includes a processing circuitry QQ402, a memory QQ404, a communication interface QQ406, and a power source QQ408. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node QQ400, processing circuitry QQ402, memory QQ404, communication interface QQ406, and power source QQ408 may, in wholeP112704W001

[0249] or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node QQ400.

[0250] The network node QQ400 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node QQ400 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node QQ400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories QQ404 or portions of memory QQ404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna QQ410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node QQ400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node QQ400, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node QQ400.

[0251] The processing circuitry QQ402 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory QQ404, to provide network node QQ400 functionality.

[0252] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry QQ412 and baseband processing circuitry QQ414. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry QQ412 and the baseband processing circuitry QQ414 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry QQ412 and baseband processing circuitry QQ414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0253] The memory QQ404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removableP112704W001

[0254] storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry QQ402. The memory QQ404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry QQ402 and utilized by the network node QQ400. The memory QQ404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry QQ402 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry QQ402 and memory QQ404 is integrated.

[0255] The communication interface QQ406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface QQ406 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) QQ416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node QQ300 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface QQ406 may also include radio front-end circuitry QQ418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna QQ410. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry QQ418 include filter(s) QQ420 and amplifier(s) QQ422. The radio front-end circuitry QQ418 may be connected to an antenna QQ410 and processing circuitry QQ402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna QQ410 and processing circuitry QQ402. The radio front-end circuitry QQ418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry QQ418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters QQ420 and / or amplifiers QQ422. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna QQ410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna QQ410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry QQ418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry QQ402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0256] In certain alternative embodiments, network node QQ400 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry QQ418, instead, the processing circuitry QQ402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna QQ410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry QQ412 is part of the communication interface QQ406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface QQ406 includes one or more ports or terminals QQ416, the radio front-end circuitry QQ418, and the RF transceiver circuitry QQ412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and theP112704W001

[0257] communication interface QQ406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0258] The antenna QQ410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna QQ410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry QQ418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna QQ410 is separate from the network node QQ400 and connectable to the network node QQ400 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0259] The antenna QQ410, communication interface QQ406, and / or the processing circuitry QQ402 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node QQ400. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ410, the communication interface QQ406, and / or the processing circuitry QQ402 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node QQ400. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0260] The power source QQ408 provides power to the various components of network node QQ400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source QQ408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node QQ400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node QQ400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source QQ408. As a further example, the power source QQ408 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0261] Embodiments of the network node QQ400 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure QQ4 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node QQ400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node QQ400 and to allow output of information from the network node QQ400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node QQ400.

[0262] Figure QQ5 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 inP112704W001

[0263] 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 QQ500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment QQ500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0264] Applications QQ502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0265] Hardware QQ504 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 QQ506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM QQ508A and VM QQ508B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs QQ508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs QQ508.

[0266] The VMs QQ508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer QQ506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs QQ508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0267] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs QQ508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-P112704W001

[0268] virtualized machine. Each of the VMs QQ508, and that part of hardware QQ504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs QQ508 on top of the hardware QQ504 and corresponds to an application QQ502.

[0269] Hardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware QQ504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware QQ504 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 QQ510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications QQ502. In some embodiments, hardware QQ504 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 QQ512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0270] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of suchP112704W001

[0271] components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0272] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0273] EMBODIMENTS

[0274] Group A Embodiments

[0275] A1. A method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network, the method performed by a first communication node and comprising:

[0276] generating or receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes;

[0277] autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, determining radio resources on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal; and

[0278] transmitting the spectrum coordination signal to one or more of the second communication nodes on the radio resources determined.

[0279] A2. The method of embodiment A1 , wherein said autonomously determining is performed as part of autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, adapting which radio resources, and / or how many radio resources, are used to transmit the spectrum coordination signal.

[0280] A3. The method of embodiment A2, wherein said autonomously adapting comprises autonomously adapting:

[0281] on which frequency resources, and / or on how many frequency resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted;P112704W001

[0282] on which time resources, and / or on how many time resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted; and / or

[0283] on which spatial resources, and / or on how many spatial resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted.

[0284] A4. The method of any of embodiments A2-A3, wherein said adapting is performed based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes in the radio spectrum.

[0285] A5. The method of embodiment A4, wherein said autonomously adapting comprises: adapting on which frequency resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on frequency resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes is measured or estimated; and / or

[0286] adapting on which spatial resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on spatial resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes is measured or estimated.

[0287] A6. The method of any of embodiments A4-A5, wherein said autonomously adapting comprises adapting on which time resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on time resources that coincide with times when the measured or estimated interference exceeds an interference threshold.

[0288] A7. The method of any of embodiments A2-A6, wherein said autonomously determining is performed based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes in the radio spectrum.

[0289] A8. The method of any of embodiments A4-A7, further comprising receiving signaling indicating the measured or estimated interference from one or more other first communication nodes.

[0290] A9. The method of embodiment A8, wherein the received signaling identifies which of the second communication nodes are contributing to the measured or estimated interference.

[0291] A10. The method of any of embodiments A1-A9, wherein transmitting the spectrumP112704W001

[0292] coordination signaling comprises selectively transmitting the spectrum coordination signaling to one or more of the second communication nodes that are contributing to measured or estimated interference in the radio spectrum.

[0293] A11. The method of any of embodiments A1-A10, wherein said autonomously determining further comprises autonomously determining:

[0294] a transmit power with which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal; and / or a modulation and / or coding scheme with which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal.

[0295] A12. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially within the radio spectrum.

[0296] A13. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the radio resource include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially outside of the radio spectrum.

[0297] A14. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, further comprising performing data transmissions in the radio spectrum without monitoring for a spectrum coordination signal from one or more of the second communication nodes.

[0298] A15. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the first communication nodes are using or will use at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0299] A16. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0300] A17. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating a minimum duration in time for which one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0301] A18. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of one or more portions of the radio spectrum, wherein the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the one or more portions.P112704W001

[0302] A19. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum if the spectrum coordination signal is received with a signal strength above a detection threshold, wherein the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the detection threshold.

[0303] A20. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes must reduce transmit power as a condition for being allowed to continue using at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0304] A21. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information that indicates and / or governs one or more conditions under which one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed, or are not allowed, to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes.

[0305] A22. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if interference attributable to that use remains below an allowed interference level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the allowed interference level.

[0306] A23. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if a received strength of the spectrum coordination signal is above a detection level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the detection level.

[0307] A24. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that and / or how the detection level varies with a transmit power of the one or more of the second communication nodes.

[0308] A25. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating one or more characteristics of one or moreP112704W001

[0309] transmissions that are performed, or will be performed, by one or more of the first communication nodes on the radio spectrum.

[0310] A26. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include one or more of:

[0311] a portion of the radio spectrum occupied by the transmission;

[0312] a priority of the transmission;

[0313] a radio access technology or communication standard according to which the transmission is performed;

[0314] a carrier frequency of the transmission;

[0315] a frequency bandwidth of the transmission;

[0316] a timing and / or duty cycle of the transmission;

[0317] a transmit power level of the transmission; and / or

[0318] a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0319] A27. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein generating or receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving the spectrum coordination signal from another first communication node in the first communication network, and wherein said transmitting is performed as part of forwarding or relaying the received spectrum coordination signal.

[0320] A28. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, further comprising receiving, from a node in the first communication network, a command or instruction to transmit the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein said generating or receiving, autonomously determining, and transmitting is performed according to the command or instruction.

[0321] A29. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, further comprising applying integrity protection to the spectrum coordination signal.

[0322] A30. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication nodes have priority to the radio spectrum over the second communication nodes.

[0323] A31. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum.

[0324] A32. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communicationP112704W001

[0325] network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network.

[0326] A33. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication network is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project, 3GPP, network, and the second communication network is a Wi-Fi, Ultra- Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

[0327] A33. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a first type of data channel, wherein the second communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a second type of data channel, and wherein the first type and the second type of data channels have different physical layers.

[0328] A34. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first communication standard, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second communication standard, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards.

[0329] A35. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that with which either of the first or the second communication standards specify for transmission of a data channel.

[0330] A36. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first radio access technology, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second radio access technology, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted according to a third radio access technology that is different from the first and second radio access technologies.

[0331] A37. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein the third radio access technology employs a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or second radio access technologies.

[0332] A38. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication nodeP112704W001

[0333] is a radio network node in the first communication network.

[0334] A39. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the first communication node is a communication device in the first communication network.

[0335] A40. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the radio resources are radio resources of a channel that is not shared with the second communication nodes in the sense that the second communication nodes do not transmit any spectrum coordination signal on the channel.

[0336] A41. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is modulated with an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme.

[0337] A42. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal encodes the information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes, and / or the information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes, using a Manchester encoding scheme.

[0338] A43. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, wherein the radio resources determined span a transmission bandwidth that is wider than a signal bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein transmitting the spectrum coordination signal comprises repeating the spectrum coordination signal in frequency across the transmission bandwidth.

[0339] A44. The method of any of Group A Embodiments, further comprising performing a data transmission in the radio spectrum, and wherein transmitting the spectrum coordination signal comprises:

[0340] transmitting the spectrum coordination signal as a prefix to the data transmission; or transmitting the spectrum coordination signal overlaid in frequency with the data transmission.

[0341] AA. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

[0342] providing user data; and

[0343] forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

[0344] Group B EmbodimentsP112704W001

[0345] B1. A method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network, the method performed by a second communication node and comprising:

[0346] receiving, on radio resources autonomously determined by a first communication node without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes; and

[0347] based on the spectrum coordination signal, controlling use of the radio spectrum by the second communication node and / or relaying the spectrum coordination signal towards one or more other second communication nodes.

[0348] B2. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially within the radio spectrum.

[0349] B3. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the radio resource include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially outside of the radio spectrum.

[0350] B4. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the first communication nodes are using or will use at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0351] B5. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0352] B6. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating a duration in time for which one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0353] B7. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of one or more portions of the radio spectrum, wherein the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the one or more portions.

[0354] B8. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordinationP112704W001

[0355] signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum if the spectrum coordination signal is received with a signal strength above a detection threshold, wherein the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the detection threshold.

[0356] B9. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes must reduce transmit power as a condition for being allowed to continue using at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

[0357] B10. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information that indicates and / or governs one or more conditions under which one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed, or are not allowed, to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes.

[0358] B11. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if interference attributable to that use remains below an allowed interference level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the allowed interference level.

[0359] B12. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if a received strength of the spectrum coordination signal is above a detection level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the detection level.

[0360] B13. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that and / or how the detection level varies with a transmit power of the one or more of the second communication nodes.

[0361] B14. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating one or more characteristics of one or more transmissions that are performed, or will be performed, by one or more of the first communication nodes on the radio spectrum.P112704W001

[0362] B15. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include one or more of:

[0363] a portion of the radio spectrum occupied by the transmission;

[0364] a priority of the transmission;

[0365] a radio access technology or communication standard according to which the transmission is performed;

[0366] a carrier frequency of the transmission;

[0367] a frequency bandwidth of the transmission;

[0368] a timing and / or duty cycle of the transmission;

[0369] a transmit power level of the transmission; and / or

[0370] a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0371] B16. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, further comprising checking an integrity of the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein said controlling is performed based on an integrity of the spectrum coordination signal being intact according to said checking.

[0372] B17. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication nodes have priority to the radio spectrum over the second communication nodes.

[0373] B18. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum.

[0374] B19. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network.

[0375] B20. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication network is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project, 3GPP, network, and the second communication network is a Wi-Fi, Ultra- Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

[0376] B21. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a first type of data channel, wherein the second communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a second type of data channel, and wherein the first type and the second type of data channels haveP112704W001

[0377] different physical layers.

[0378] B22. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first communication standard, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second communication standard, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards.

[0379] B23. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal is received with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that with which either of the first or the second communication standards specify for transmission of a data channel.

[0380] B24. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first radio access technology, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second radio access technology, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is received according to a third radio access technology that is different from the first and second radio access technologies.

[0381] B25. The method of the previous Embodiment, wherein the third radio access technology employs a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or second radio access technologies.

[0382] B26. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the second communication node is a radio network node in the second communication network.

[0383] B27. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the second communication node is a communication device in the second communication network.

[0384] B28. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein said controlling comprises vacating use of the radio spectrum based on the spectrum coordination signal.

[0385] B29. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the radio resources are radio resources of a channel that is not shared with the second communication nodes in the sense that the second communication nodes do not transmit any spectrum coordination signal onP112704W001

[0386] the channel.

[0387] B30. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is modulated with an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme.

[0388] B31. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the spectrum coordination signal encodes the information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes, and / or the information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes, using a Manchester encoding scheme.

[0389] B32. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein the radio resources span a transmission bandwidth that is wider than a signal bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving at least one repetition of the spectrum coordination signal that is repeated in frequency across the transmission bandwidth.

[0390] B33. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, wherein receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises:

[0391] receiving the spectrum coordination signal as a prefix to a data transmission by one or more of the first communication devices; or

[0392] receiving the spectrum coordination signal overlaid in frequency with a data transmission by one or more of the first communication devices.

[0393] B34. The method of any of Group B Embodiments, further comprising relaying the spectrum coordination signal to one or more other second communication devices.

[0394] BB. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

[0395] obtaining user data; and

[0396] forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0397] Group C Embodiments

[0398] C1. A communication node configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0399] 02. A communication node comprising processing circuitry configured to any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.P112704W001

[0400] C3. A communication node comprising:

[0401] communication circuitry; and

[0402] processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0403] 04. A communication node comprising:

[0404] processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments; and

[0405] power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the communication node.

[0406] 05. A communication node comprising:

[0407] processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication node is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0408] 06. The communication node of any of embodiments 01-05, wherein the communication node is a wireless communication device.

[0409] 07. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

[0410] an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;

[0411] radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;

[0412] the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments;

[0413] an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and

[0414] a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0415] 08. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication node, causes the communication node to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.P112704W001

[0416] C9. A carrier containing the computer program of embodiment C8, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

[0417] Group D Embodiments

[0418] 1. A method for a spectrum coordination mechanism for a first node operating according to a first wireless standard, where the first node transmits a spectrum coordination signal containing information related to its operation parameters

[0419] to be received by one or more other nodes operating according to a second wireless standard, characterized of that the signal is agnostic to both the first and the second wireless standard in that it does not follow the format of data transmissions of any of the standards with respect to, for example, bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure.

[0420] 2. As in 1, where the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted in the first node's operating band, and further characterized of that the amount of resources spent on the transmission of the spectrum coordination signal is adapted.

[0421] 3. As in 1 and 2, where the amount of resources refers to

[0422] the fraction of bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal versus the complete bandwidth of the first wireless technology;

[0423] the center frequency where the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted;

[0424] the interval between two successive spectrum coordination signals;

[0425] the transmit power used to transmit the spectrum coordination signal; and / or

[0426] the directions towards which the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted.

[0427] 4. As in 1 and 2, where the amount of resources refers to the amount of information contained in the spectrum coordination signal transmission.

[0428] 5. As in 1-4, where the amount of resources is adapted based on the measured amount of interference by one or more other wireless technologies and / or based on the expected amount of interference by one or more other wireless technologies.

[0429] 6. As in 1 and 2, where the amount of resources is indicated to the first node by another second node belonging to the first wireless technology.P112704W001

[0430] 7. As in 1 where the signal is transmitted also on bandwidth where the node is not currently operating nor listening but where it has capability to operate.

[0431] 8. As in 1, where the spectrum coordination message indicates a reception power threshold that indicates to a node receiving said message if it will create harmful interference or not.

[0432] 9. As in 1, where other nodes repeat the coordination signal using different resources.

Claims

P112704W001CLAIMS1. A method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network, the method performed by a first communication node and comprising:generating or receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes;autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, determining radio resources on which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal; andtransmitting the spectrum coordination signal to one or more of the second communication nodes on the radio resources determined.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said autonomously determining is performed as part of autonomously, without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, adapting which radio resources, and / or how many radio resources, are used to transmit the spectrum coordination signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said autonomously adapting comprises autonomously adapting:on which frequency resources, and / or on how many frequency resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted;on which time resources, and / or on how many time resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted; and / oron which spatial resources, and / or on how many spatial resources, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted.

4. The method of any of claims 2-3, wherein said adapting is performed based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes in the radio spectrum.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said autonomously adapting comprises:adapting on which frequency resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on frequency resources in which interference to one or more of the firstP112704W001communication nodes is measured or estimated; and / oradapting on which spatial resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on spatial resources in which interference to one or more of the first communication nodes is measured or estimated.

6. The method of any of claims 4-5, wherein said autonomously adapting comprises adapting on which time resources the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted, as needed to selectively transmit the spectrum coordination signal on time resources that coincide with times when the measured or estimated interference exceeds an interference threshold.

7. The method of any of claims 2-6, wherein said autonomously determining is performed based on measured or estimated interference to one or more of the first communication nodes in the radio spectrum.

8. The method of any of claims 4-7, further comprising receiving signaling indicating the measured or estimated interference from one or more other first communication nodes.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the received signaling identifies which of the second communication nodes are contributing to the measured or estimated interference.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein transmitting the spectrum coordination signaling comprises selectively transmitting the spectrum coordination signaling to one or more of the second communication nodes that are contributing to measured or estimated interference in the radio spectrum.

11. The method of any of claims 1-10, wherein said autonomously determining further comprises autonomously determining:a transmit power with which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal; and / or a modulation and / or coding scheme with which to transmit the spectrum coordination signal.

12. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the radio resources include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially within the radio spectrum.P112704W00113. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the radio resource include one or more frequency resources that are at least partially outside of the radio spectrum.

14. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising performing data transmissions in the radio spectrum without monitoring for a spectrum coordination signal from one or more of the second communication nodes.

15. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the first communication nodes are using or will use at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

16. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

17. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating a minimum duration in time for which one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum.

18. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of one or more portions of the radio spectrum, wherein the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the one or more portions.

19. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes are to vacate use of at least a portion of the radio spectrum if the spectrum coordination signal is received with a signal strength above a detection threshold, wherein the spectrum coordination signal also conveys information indicating the detection threshold.

20. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that one or more of the second communication nodes must reduce transmit power as a condition for being allowed to continue using at least a portion of the radio spectrum.P112704W00121. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information that indicates and / or governs one or more conditions under which one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed, or are not allowed, to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes.

22. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if interference attributable to that use remains below an allowed interference level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the allowed interference level.

23. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information governing a condition that one or more of the second communication nodes are allowed to use the radio spectrum at the same time as one or more of the first communication nodes if a received strength of the spectrum coordination signal is above a detection level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the detection level.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating that and / or how the detection level varies with a transmit power of the one or more of the second communication nodes.

25. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating one or more characteristics of one or more transmissions that are performed, or will be performed, by one or more of the first communication nodes on the radio spectrum.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein, for each of the one or more transmissions, the one or more characteristics of the transmission include one or more of:a portion of the radio spectrum occupied by the transmission;a priority of the transmission;a radio access technology or communication standard according to which the transmission is performed;a carrier frequency of the transmission;a frequency bandwidth of the transmission;a timing and / or duty cycle of the transmission;P112704W001a transmit power level of the transmission; and / ora modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

27. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein generating or receiving the spectrum coordination signal comprises receiving the spectrum coordination signal from another first communication node in the first communication network, and wherein said transmitting is performed as part of forwarding or relaying the received spectrum coordination signal.

28. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising receiving, from a node in the first communication network, a command or instruction to transmit the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein said generating or receiving, autonomously determining, and transmitting is performed according to the command or instruction.

29. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising applying integrity protection to the spectrum coordination signal.

30. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication nodes have priority to the radio spectrum over the second communication nodes.

31. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum.

32. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network.

33. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication network is a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project, 3GPP, network, and the second communication network is a Wi-Fi, Ultra- Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

34. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a first type of data channel, wherein the second communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a second type of data channel, and wherein the first type and the second type of data channels have different physical layers.P112704W00135. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first communication standard, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second communication standard, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is agnostic to both the first and second communication standards in the sense that the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted with a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that with which either of the first or the second communication standards specify for transmission of a data channel.

37. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication devices are configured to operate according to a first radio access technology, wherein the second communication devices are configured to operate according to a second radio access technology, and wherein the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted according to a third radio access technology that is different from the first and second radio access technologies.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the third radio access technology employs a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or second radio access technologies.

39. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication node is a radio network node in the first communication network.

40. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first communication node is a communication device in the first communication network.

41. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the radio resources are radio resources of a channel that is not shared with the second communication nodes in the sense that the second communication nodes do not transmit any spectrum coordination signal on the channel.P112704W00142. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is modulated with an On-Off Keying, OOK, modulation scheme or a differential phase modulation scheme.

43. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spectrum coordination signal encodes the information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes, and / or the information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes, using a Manchester encoding scheme.

44. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the radio resources determined span a transmission bandwidth that is wider than a signal bandwidth of the spectrum coordination signal, and wherein transmitting the spectrum coordination signal comprises repeating the spectrum coordination signal in frequency across the transmission bandwidth.

45. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising performing a data transmission in the radio spectrum, and wherein transmitting the spectrum coordination signal comprises:transmitting the spectrum coordination signal as a prefix to the data transmission; or transmitting the spectrum coordination signal overlaid in frequency with the data transmission.

46. A method for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network, the method performed by a second communication node and comprising:receiving, on radio resources autonomously determined by a first communication node without coordination with any of the second communication nodes, a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the first communication nodes and / or that conveys information governing use of the radio spectrum by one or more of the second communication nodes; andbased on the spectrum coordination signal, controlling use of the radio spectrum by the second communication node and / or relaying the spectrum coordination signal towards one or more other second communication nodes.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein said controlling comprises vacating use of the radio spectrum based on the spectrum coordination signal.P112704W00148. The method according to claim 46 or 47, further comprising relaying the spectrum coordination signal to one or more other second communication devices.

49. A communication node configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1-48.

50. A communication node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1-48.

51. A communication node comprising:communication circuitry; andprocessing circuitry configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1- 48.

52. A communication node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1- 48; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the communication node.

53. A communication node comprising:processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication node is configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1-48.

54. The communication node according to any of the claims 49-53, wherein the communication node is a wireless communication device.

55. A user equipment (UE) comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1-48;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;P112704W001an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; anda battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

56. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication node, causes the communication node to perform a method according to any of the claims 1-48.

57. A carrier containing the computer program according to claim 56, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

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