Bandwidth-agnostic communications

Abstract

A communication node is configured to perform 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network. A first communication node transmits a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by the first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal and transmits data in association with the spectrum coordination signal.

Description

[0001] BANDWIDTH-AGNOSTIC COMMUNICATIONS

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] 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.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] 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.

[0006] With 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 this 180-MHz bandwidth, 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. , among different RLAN users), but also between multiple technologies. Note that “technology” or “radio technology” in this context refers to a specific combination of modulation and coding scheme (or group of modulation and coding schemes) and radio-related protocols employed by a radio transmitter and receiver, e.g., as specified by an industry standard. It can be noted that this 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.

[0007] Existing mechanisms for intra-technology spectrum sharing (e.g., Wi-Fi or 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), also referred to as carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA), and frequency hopping (FH). Both serve their purposes well when the sharing of the spectrum is among participants that use the same technology but are less efficient in more heterogeneous scenarios.

[0008] The working procedure of LBT is as the name suggests. Before a transmission canbe initiated, a device that intends to transmit first listens on the channel to determine whether it is idle or whether there is already another transmission ongoing. If the channel is found to be idle, the transmission can be initiated, whereas if the channel is found to be busy, the transmitter has to defer from transmission and essentially keep sensing the channel until it becomes idle. LBT is used by different flavors of IEEE 802.11, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi, operating in e.g. the 2.4 GHz ISM band as well as in the 5 and 6 GHz bands. LBT is also employed by standards developed by 3GPP operating in the 5 GHz band, e.g. NR-ll.

[0009] FH involves using only a small portion of the allocated bandwidth at a time, “hopping” from one portion to another at regular intervals, typically in a pseudorandom fashion.

[0010] Because transmissions from different users of the spectrum are not coordinated, collisions will occasionally occur. However, these collisions are infrequent enough that they do not substantially impair the throughput. FH is the approach used by Bluetooth.

[0011] The efficiency of LBT 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 in a fashion that is completely technology neutral, the received energy can be an inefficient metric to estimate the channel status, as known from "hidden node" or "exposed node" scenarios. Hence, the clear channel assessment is enriched by further information. For example, in the case of I EEE 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.

[0012] 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.

[0013] Although both LBT and FH can be viewed as effective spectrum sharing mechanisms for best effort applications, both typically work best when all devices are using the same spectrum sharing mechanism under the same licensing regime. That is, if all devices apply LBT, or if all devices use FH, then things work well. However, if some devices use LBT while others use FH, things may not work properly. As one example, a wideband system using LBT may detect a narrowband transmission from a device using FH and defer from transmitting even though such a transmission would have been successful without causing any noticeable harm to the narrowband system. Conversely, the narrowband system may ruin a wideband transmission even though only a small fraction of the wideband signal is interfered if the relative power of the NB system is sufficiently high compared to the wideband system.The fact that a narrowband (NB) system using FH may severely interfere with a wideband system is the reason why the Bluetooth standard, when extended to operation in the 6 GHz band, enhanced its FH operation by also adding LBT. Specifically, in addition to performing FH, a transmitting device also performs LBT before starting a transmission on a new hopping channel. In case the channel is found to be busy, the transmitter hops to another channel and once again performs LBT. This approach is found to significantly improve the coexistence with, e.g., Wi-Fi.

[0014] Co-channel sharing between licensed (3GPP) and unlicensed (IEEE, UWB, Bluetooth, etc.) is a next dimension problem. As an example, Europe is examining how both 3GPP and Wi-Fi could share the upper portion of the 6 GHz band (6425-7125 MHz). A similar problem will arise in the context of ITU-R WRC-27 (World Radiocommunication Conference) Agenda Item 1.7, which is looking at IMT identification of the band 7125-8400 MHz, where there has been a heavy investment on UWB technologies (7737 - 8236 MHz).

[0015] However, the solutions discussed above work less well when using 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 ECC 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.

[0016] 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 ITU-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.

[0017] United States Patent No. 7,480,490 B2 to Haartsen discloses one approach for achieving improved inter-technology spectrum coexistence. This approach relies on the establishment of a shared broadcast channel that is shared amongst transmitters of different technologies for broadcasting information regarding their respective spectrum usages. The transmitters must effectively coordinate establishment of the shared broadcast channel. Atransmitter 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.

[0018] The approach in Haartsen suffers from drawbacks under some circumstances, such 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.

[0019] SUMMARY

[0020] A problem with the various existing coexistence solutions arises from the fact that different standards (different radio technologies) use different physical layers and are not able to effectively share information. Instead, devices from one standard must try to detect the presence of an ongoing transmission from another standard through LBT, or perhaps attempt in some way to suppress the interference from other, uncoordinated transmitting devices.

[0021] Embodiments described herein address these problems by introducing a specific signal that is bandwidth agnostic in the sense that the information carried by this signal can be obtained using a receiver that does not know the bandwidth of the transmitted signal. Furthermore, the signal has the property that it contains information related to properties of a transmitting device of a first standard and which may be used by the receiving device even though the receiving device is operating according to a second standard.

[0022] Embodiments include methods for sharing use of radio spectrum between first communication nodes in a first communication network and second communication nodes in a second communication network employing a different radio technology from the first communication network. An example method is performed by a first communication node and comprises transmitting a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by the first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal. This example method further comprises transmitting data in association with the spectrum coordination signal.

[0023] Another example, is performed by a second communication node and comprises receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by a first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal ischaracterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in the second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal. This example method further comprises refraining from or modifying use of the radio spectrum, based on the spectrum coordination signal.

[0024] Other embodiments described herein include apparatuses and systems configured to carry out one or both of the methods summarized above and / or variants thereof.

[0025] As will be better understood after a review of the following description and of the attached figures, the disclosed techniques, apparatuses, and systems facilitate coexistence between different standards even though the different standards may be operating using very different radio parameters, such as modulation and signal bandwidth. Improved coexistence implies better spectrum efficiency in general, better support for low latency applications, and reduced power consumption. The solutions are applicable to standards operating in unlicensed as well as licensed bands.

[0026] Details of such embodiments and further embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed description.

[0027] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 schematically shows examples of signaling between first and second communication nodes for sharing use of radio spectrum according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 2 schematically illustrates examples of a signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 3 schematically illustrates another example of a signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 4 shows first and second communication networks according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] Figure YY1 schematically illustrates a communication device as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.Figure YY2 schematically illustrates a network node as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure QQ1 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure QQ2 schematically illustrates another example of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure QQ3 schematically illustrates structures of a wireless device configured to operate in communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Figure QQ4 schematically illustrates structures of a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure QQ5 shows a block diagram schematically illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.

[0040] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0042] LBT in its simplest form means that the intended transmitter simply detects whether there is an ongoing transmission on the channel. This detection is based on determining the received signal power on the channel and comparing this with a threshold. The channel is determined to be busy if the received signal power is above or equal to this threshold and determined to be idle if the received signal power is below this threshold. The fact that only detection is possible means that more detailed information cannot be obtained readily -information that may considerably improve the coexistence. Examples of such information include the (remaining) duration of the transmission, the bandwidth of such a transmission, the priority of such a transmission, and how much interference such a transmission would be able to withstand.

[0043] Sometimes even the detection part of LBT may not work well, in that a suitable detection level may not be found or agreed when different standards are involved.

[0044] While LBT works among Wi-Fi nodes, it does not work, for example, when looking at sharing between 3GPP licensed and Wi-Fi (upper 6 GHz), as concluded in ECG PT1(24)175. The main issue is the Wi-Fi detection threshold value connected to LBT.

[0045] A similar issue occurs in the spectrum 7125-8400 MHz, where simultaneous 3GPP licensed operation and UWB operation is expected to happen.

[0046] One reason why such information is not provided today is that different standards use very different modulations and signaling, and may use very different transmissionbandwidths - in other words, the different standards use different radio technologies. As an example, Bluetooth may operate using channel bandwidths of 1 or 2 MHz, while Wi-Fi may operate using 80 or 160 MHz and NR may operate using 100 MHz. In addition, Bluetooth uses Gaussian frequency shift keying (GFSK), which may be demodulated using a simple differential demodulator, while 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 used Bluetooth versions do not apply error correcting coding, while Wi-Fi relies on either convolutional coding or low-density parity check (LPDC) coding.

[0047] Another issue arises when mixing standards that rely on different authorization regimes (licensed, unlicensed). In this case, the differences in power may be extremely large and the detection thresholds applied by unlicensed devices may not be enough to detect any interference, even in the event of signaling the proper signal to be understood by the unlicensed system.

[0048] With respect to US 7,480,490 B2, although this approach addresses the problem, it also comes with some drawbacks. One drawback is that a dedicated broadcast channel must be defined. If not all standards operating in the band make room for this broadcast channel, the broadcast channel may be subjected to severe interference and thus potentially be useless.

[0049] As suggested above, the techniques, apparatuses, and systems described herein address these problems by introducing a specific signal that 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. Furthermore, this signal has the property that it contains information related to properties of a first transmitting device of a first standard and which may be used by the receiving second device although the receiving device is working according to a second standard.

[0050] To simplify the implementation of this, one characteristic feature of this signal in at least some embodiments is that it may be demodulated even if only a fraction of the signal’s bandwidth is used, which allows a narrowband receiver to demodulate a signal sent from a wideband transmitter. Conversely, a wideband receiver may be able to demodulate a signal sent by a narrowband transmitter. In order for the approach to work, the receiving device only needs to know what symbol rate is used and how the different symbols in a packet should be used or interpreted.

[0051] This approach will be described here for a situation involving the use of two different standards, the first using a relatively large bandwidth and the second using a relatively narrow bandwidth. One may think of the first standard as having many similarities with IEEE 802.11, and the second standard as having many similarities with Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE). However, it should be noted that the techniques described herein also apply to systems of relatively equal bandwidth with no loss of generality. The techniques also apply independent of licensing regimes (license-exempt, e.g., as followed by IEEE - or licensed, e.g., as followed by 3GPP-)

[0052] The techniques may be used in situations where the coverage area for the two nodes involved are similar, so that essentially either of the two nodes may be the transmitting device and any of the two devices may be the receiving device. This would typically be the situation when devices using two different standards try to coexist within the same area. Note that the term “node” is used in its most general sense to refer to a transmitting device / apparatus or receiving device / apparatus - a cellular handset is one example of a node (which might in this case include transmitter and / or receiver technology capable of operating according to one or multiple radio technologies), while a wireless network base station or access point is another.

[0053] Alternatively, the techniques may be used in a situation where the coverage areas of the two devices are very different. Specifically, the second device may be able to receive a signal sent by the first device, whereas the first device may not be able to receive a signal transmitted by the second device. This situation would correspond to a situation, for example, where one system using a high transmit power sends the signal to make sure that devices using another standard vacate the spectrum if the signal can be received.

[0054] To more easily appreciate the techniques and to more easily describe the different steps and procedures, it is assumed for the purposes of illustrating the inventive concepts herein that an example wideband standard uses a bandwidth of 80 MHz whereas an example narrowband standard uses an instantaneous bandwidth of 2 MHz. In addition, the narrowband system uses FH. Both standards use LBT to avoid initiating a transmission in case the channel is not idle.

[0055] The wideband system performs LBT on a 20 MHz grid, in that it determines which one of the four 20 MHz sub-channels is idle and can be used for transmission. If a 20 MHz subchannel is found to be busy, the corresponding sub-channel must not be used for transmission. The sub-channels found to be idle may still be used for transmission by puncturing the total 80 MHz signal such that only the 20 MHz sub-channels found to be idle are used for transmission. If there is either a wideband or a narrowband transmission within a 20 MHz sub-channel received with sufficiently high power, this can be detected by the wideband receiver and consequently the wideband device will not transmit in the corresponding 20 MHz sub-channel.

[0056] The LBT is based on the received energy within the 20 MHz sub-channel, using well-known techniques for detecting signal energy, and no distinction is made between a narrowband transmission or a wideband transmission. In addition, in case of a narrowbandtransmission, no attempt is made to determine exactly where in the 20 MHz sub-channel that NB transmission took place.

[0057] The narrowband system is also using LBT in a similar way, but with a difference being that bandwidth over which the energy is detected is much smaller, as this is matched to the transmission bandwidth of the narrowband system. As for the wideband system, in the event the channel is found to be busy no attempt is made to determine whether this is due to a NB transmission or a WB transmission.

[0058] The reason for basing the LBT on received energy is that this approach is standards-agnostic in that a signal from any standard will be detected as long as the received energy is sufficiently high, and if the energy is above the threshold value where the channel should be declared as busy, the transmission will be deferred.

[0059] In IEEE 802.11, LBT has traditionally been based on two different means to determine whether the channel is idle or busy. The first is referred to as preamble detect (PD) and the second is referred to as energy detect (ED). For PD, the channel is declared as busy if a preamble is detected at a power of -82 dBm or more, whereas for ED, the channel is declared as busy if the received power is -62 dBm or more. The energy levels refer to a 20 MHz channel bandwidth.

[0060] A few additional points may be worth noting. First, a Wi-Fi device will defer for a Wi-Fi transmission at 20 dB lower received power than it would defer for a non-Wi-Fi transmission. That is, Wi-Fi will in this way favor transmissions from the Wi-Fi standard. Second, since the Wi-Fi preamble is transmitted with the same modulation as is used for data, it is possible to include additional information which may be useful for improved coexistence. In IEEE 802.11ax, improved coexistence is addressed by including so-called color bits, which indicates to what basic service set (BSS) the transmitter of the preamble belongs. Other information that may be signaled in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 ax standard is what interference level the transmitter of the preamble can tolerate upon receiving a signal. These more advanced features, i.e., color bits and signaling of the acceptable interference level, are of course only intended for other IEEE 802.11 devices.

[0061] It is readily understood that these sorts of advanced coexistence mechanisms are only useful for devices using the same standard and are not technology neutral. Specifically, such features may actually make coexistence with other standards less fair, since devices using another standard simply may be at a disadvantage.

[0062] However, even if PD may be viewed as unfair to other standards and not being technology neutral, it does come with certain advantages for the IEEE 802.11 devices. In short, one can improve performance by performing LBT not only using received energy. What is needed is a technique to achieve this when devices using different standards are sharing the same spectrum.In various embodiments of the techniques, apparatuses, and systems described herein, this is accomplished using a bandwidth-agnostic physical layer for signaling of certain information regarding transmission by devices using a shared bandwidth. As indicated in the discussion above, the reason why more efficient coexistence is possible when all the involved devices use the same standard is that they may share information which is relevant. Clearly this implies that the transmitted signal from one device is compliant with what can be received by another device, which typically is not the case for devices using different standards.

[0063] According to these embodiments, the transmitted signal intended to be used by other devices for LBT has the property that it may be correctly received even if the used bandwidth of the receiver is not matched to the bandwidth of the signal. As an example, the bandwidth of the transmitted signal may be 20 MHz and the receiver bandwidth may be 2 MHz.

[0064] Alternatively, the transmitted signal may be 2 MHz and the receiver bandwidth may be 20 MHz.

[0065] Figure 1 exemplifies possible operations according to this approach. On the lefthand side of the figure is shown the case where a transmission according to a first standard, referred to herein as “standard 1,” occurs over a larger bandwidth (for example 80 MHz) while a receiver operating according to a second standard, “standard 2,” operates on a smaller bandwidth (for example 20 MHz). In the center of Figure 1 is shown the situation where the transmitter operates on a smaller bandwidth than the receiver. Finally, the right-hand side of Figure 1 illustrates a situation in which both devices operate on the same bandwidth but only a portion of their operating bandwidths overlaps.

[0066] One example of a bandwidth-agnostic signal that can be used in any of these scenarios is an on-off-keying (OOK) signal. The OOK signal may, for example, be generated by means of an IFFT as is the case in IEEE 802.11 ba and referred to as multicarrier (MC)-OOK. Using MC-OOK effectively decouples the bandwidth used for the OOK signal with the symbol rate, allowing for a simple way to allow for a very large bandwidth also when the data rate is low. (For single-carrier (SC) transmission, the occupied bandwidth is proportional to the symbol rate and approximately the same as twice the symbol rate depending on the pulse shaping). It is apparent that if, for example, the MC-OOK signal is 20 MHz wide, a narrowband receiver with 2 MHz receiver bandwidth as in the left-hand side of Figure 1 will only be able to receive 10% of the sent signal, but since the modulation is OOK the received 2 MHz signal will contain exactly the same information as the transmitted signal. Of course, the performance for a 2 MHz receiver may be inferior compared to what can be achieved with a 20 MHz receiver, as the received signal energy will be lower, but the important part is that under reasonably good channel conditions it is possible to correctly receive the signal. It can here be added that today the threshold used in relation to LBT isnot intended to be close to the sensitivity of the receiver, but possibly 10-20 dB above.

[0067] Conversely, if the transmitted signal is 2 MHz wide and the receiver bandwidth is 20 MHz as in the center part of Figure 1, the receiver can still correctly receive the signal. In case the receiver has a bandwidth larger than the transmitted signal, the receiver may either process the entire bandwidth as if the signal would have had the full bandwidth and in this case degrade the performance, or the receiver may try to identify the location of the narrowband signal and may then achieve similar performance as if the receiver would have been using the same bandwidth as the signal. Again, since LBT is not intended to operate close to the sensitivity of the receiver, it can be expected that the receiver performance will be sufficiently good also for the former case.

[0068] The reason why OOK works for different bandwidths is because it may be viewed as though a narrowband signal is repeated over a larger bandwidth. Thus, any signal that may be viewed as a narrowband signal that is repeated in frequency could be used as a bandwidth-agnostic signal according to these techniques. Manchester-coded OOK could be used, for example.

[0069] As an alternative to OOK, differential phase modulation may be used at the desired symbol rate and then repeated in frequency. In this case, the symbol rate may be selected such that it is matched to the bandwidth of the narrowband system. The wideband system can then simply transmit this narrowband signal repeatedly in frequency, e.g., using an IFFT, and simply sending the very same information on all the sub-carriers. The IFFT size and sampling rate can be properly chosen to match the bandwidth of the narrowband system.

[0070] Although the receiver of the signal does not need to know the bandwidth of the signal or from what kind of device the signal is sent, the receiver is still assumed to know the symbol rate of the signal as well as how to interpret the received data. As an example, the signal may consist of three fields, starting with a sync field, followed by a control field, and ending with the actual data.

[0071] The same packet structure can then preferably be used irrespectively of whether the signal is transmitted by a wideband transmitter and has a large bandwidth or if it is transmitted by a narrowband transmitter and has a small bandwidth. For example, the sync field may consist of 16 symbols, the header of 32 symbols, and the data part may be of varying length between 32 and 256 symbols, the length indicated in the header.

[0072] In some embodiments or instances, a bandwidth-agnostic signal as described above may be sent as a preamble. When PD is used in IEEE 802.11, the LBT may be based on the preamble of the packet. In these embodiments, the bandwidth agnostic signal may be sent as a preamble to the packet it is intended to protect. Figure 2 shows examples of this approach. As can be seen in Figure 2(a) the signal is added as an additional preamble in a narrowband signal. With this approach, newer devices may take advantage of this signal,while older (legacy) devices can simply discard this signal and process the remaining part of the packet as usual. As an example, if the legacy device receives the bandwidth agnostic signal at sufficiently high power it would defer just as it defers for the remaining part of the packet. As another example, if the legacy device receives the bandwidth agnostic signal at a power level below where it has to defer, it will transmit. In the latter case, a device understanding the bandwidth agnostic signal may still defer even if would be allowed to transmit.

[0073] When the signal is transmitted by a wideband transmitter, e.g., as shown in Figure 2(b), it can be repeated in frequency such that the same information can be obtained by a narrowband receiver, irrespectively of where in the wideband signal the narrowband receiver is located.

[0074] PD is often preferred as this simply means that a non-interfered version of the specific signal is received by the device performing LBT. However, sometimes the device performing LBT may start listening on a channel in the middle of a packet, and thus miss the preamble. In IEEE 802.11, when this situation occurs, one would have to rely on ED to not initiate a transmission that potentially would cause detrimental interference. Clearly, one then would have to use the 20 dB higher threshold, i.e. , one would require that the signal’s power is 20 dB higher to declare the channel as busy and therefore the probability of initiating a transmission that will cause detrimental interference is significantly increased.

[0075] Since it is advantageous that the signal contains information, it is desirable to send the signal in a way that this information can be received also when not sent as a preamble. According to some embodiments, then, the signal intended to be used for LBT is therefore sent overlaid with the actual data signal. That is, the signal intended for LBT is added to the data signal.

[0076] The working procedure may be largely the same whether the information is overlaid or sent as a preamble. In the case where the information is sent in the preamble, the receiver of the preamble will process this information before determining whether to defer or initiate a transmission. If the information is sent overlaid with the packet, the receiver of the overlaid information will have to receive a sufficient part of the packet to process this information before determining whether to defer or initiate a transmission. The overlaid information may only contain a small number of bits (e.g., what threshold should be used, the priority of the transmission), and thus this information can be repeated during the packet. As a specific example, if the packet is 5ms in duration, the bandwidth-agnostic signal that is overlaid may consist of 10 repetitions of the same information, each message being 500us. Thus, a device may start to perform LBT anytime during this 5ms long packet, and once the 500us long information has been decoded it can determine whether to defer or initiate a

[0077] transmission.One way to add the bandwidth-agnostic signal is to transmit it on (some of) the resources also used to send a second signal, i.e., the signal carrying the data. Since the information carried in the first signal would typically only be a few bytes, this information can be sent at a very low rate and therefore the relative power of the second signal can be made very small compared to the power of the first signal. This may be the preferred approach, at least for wideband transmissions.

[0078] As can be seen in Figure 3, another way to add the bandwidth-agnostic signal is to transmit it frequency-multiplexed with the resources used to send the second signal. In case of a wideband receiver, this means that both the first and the second signal will be received, and although the signals could be separated in frequency, given that the receiver know the locations of them, the signal could also be processed jointly and the information in the bandwidth agnostic signal can still be extracted provided the information rate is sufficiently low. This could be a preferred approach for narrowband transmission, as a wideband receiver will receive both signals and also be able to separate the two. In “Spectrum efficient support of IEEE 802.11 ba in and IEEE 802.11 ax network”, by L. Wilhelmsson and M. Lopez, published in 2019 Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC)-Fall, it was shown that even if the OOK signal is not filtered out, it can still be detected and decoded by a simple envelope detector. This approach is not so suitable in case the target is to reach a NB receiver, however, as there is then a risk that the OOK signal will fall outside the receiver bandwidth of the NB receiver.

[0079] In the several illustrative examples discussed above, the purpose has been that a second device should be able to receive information sent by a first device even if the bandwidth used by the second device was different than then bandwidth of the signal sent from the first device. That is, the communication at issue is to be from the first device, i.e., a device that is already transmitting, to a second device that is considering whether it may transmit in the shared bandwidth.

[0080] In some embodiments, the second device also sends information to the first device as a response to receiving the information from the first device. The signal sent from the second device may have a different bandwidth than the signal sent from the first device.

[0081] As an example, a Wi-Fi device may send a 20 MHz signal using OOK. A 2 MHz Bluetooth device being able to receive this OOK signal can respond using a 2 MHz OOK signal. As an example of the contents of such a signal, the first signal may be a channel reservation signal where the Wi-Fi device requests other devices to not use the 20 MHz channel for a specific time duration, and the response may be an acknowledgement that this signal is received and that the Bluetooth device will not initiate a transmission in this 20 MHz channel for the requested reservation time.

[0082] Figure 4 shows first and second communication networks 10-1 and 10-2 accordingto some embodiments. First communication nodes 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1 may include communication device(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) to which the second communication network 10-2 provides communication service and / or may include network node(s) that support such communication service.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] 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 nodes 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 radiospectrum 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 better share use of the radio spectrum 14. Some embodiments 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.

[0086] Towards this end, Figure 4 shows that a first communication node 12-1 in the first communication network 10-1 transmits a spectrum coordination signal 16 to one or more of the second communication nodes 12-2 in the second communication network 10-2. The spectrum coordination signal 16 conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by the first communication node, where the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal. The 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. The first communication node 12-1 may transmit data in association with the spectrum coordination signal, e.g., where the spectrum coordination signal forms all or part of a preamble to the transmitted data or where the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted such that it overlaps at least partly in time and / or frequency with the transmitted data. A second communication node 12-2 may receive the spectrum coordination signal 16 and, based on this reception and / or the information conveyed by the spectrum coordination signal 16, refrain from using the spectrum for transmissions (e.g., for a predetermined period of time) and / or modify its use of the radio spectrum for transmissions, e.g., by deferring transmission for a period of time and / or selecting alternative resources for transmitting.

[0087] Either way, 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 / orduty cycle of the transmission, a transmit power level of the transmission, and / or a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] No matter the particular type of information 16-1, 16-2 conveyed by the spectrum coordination signal 16, 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. Some embodiments may thereby advantageously enable radio spectrum sharing even in scenarios where establishment of a shared broadcast channel would provedifficult or impossible, e.g., even where the first communication network 10-1 has a greater coverage area than the second communication network 10-2.

[0091] In view of the modifications and variations herein, Figure WW1 depicts 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network, the method being performed by a first communication node in accordance with particular embodiments. As shown at block WW100, the method includes the step of transmitting a spectrum coordination signal that where information about use of the radio spectrum by the first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal. By “substantially different” is meant that there is more than a nominal or minor difference - one bandwidth exceeding the other by more than about 25% comprises a substantial difference. As shown at block WW110, the method further comprises transmitting data in association with the spectrum coordination signal. Finally, as shown at block WW120, the method may in some embodiments or instances comprise the step of receiving, from the second communication node, an acknowledgement of the spectrum coordination signal.

[0092] Figure WW2 depicts another 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network, this method being performed by a second communication node in accordance with other particular embodiments. The method includes, as shown at block WW200, the step of receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by a first communication node, where the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in the second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal. As shown at block WW210, the method further comprises the step of refraining from or modifying use of the radio spectrum for transmissions, based on the spectrum coordination signal. Finally, as shown at block WW220, the method may in some in embodiments or instances comprise the step of transmitting, to the second communication node, an acknowledgement of the spectrum coordination signal.

[0093] Many variations of the methods shown in Figures WW1 and WW2 are possible. According to some embodiments or instances of either method, the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal is at least twice the receiver bandwidth used by the secondcommunication node. According to some others, the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal is less than one-half of the receiver bandwidth used by the second communication node.

[0094] The spectrum coordination signal may be modulated using on-off-keying, in various embodiments or instances, or using differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) in others. In some of the latter, the modulation may be differential bipolar phase-shift keying (D-PSK). In some embodiments or instances of either method, the data transmitted in association with the spectrum coordination signal is modulated using a different modulation scheme than used for the spectrum coordination signal.

[0095] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted prior to the data, using substantially the same bandwidth. In some of these embodiments or instances, the spectrum coordination signal forms all or part of a preamble to the transmitted data.

[0096] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the spectrum coordination signal is frequency-multiplexed with the transmitted data and transmitted at least partly overlapping in time with the transmitted data. In some embodiments or instances of either method, the transmitted spectrum coordination signal overlaps in frequency and time with the transmitted data and is transmitted with a symbol rate less than half the symbol rate used for the transmitted data.

[0097] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the transmitted spectrum coordination signal comprises a synchronization (sync) field, a header part, and a spectrum coordination data part.

[0098] The spectrum coordination signal may convey information indicating any one or more of the following, according to some embodiments or instances: a bandwidth occupied or to be occupied by the data transmitted in association with the spectrum coordination signal; a duration of transmission for the data transmitted in association with the spectrum coordination signal; a power level for the transmission of data in association with the spectrum coordination signal; an indication of a type of the transmission of data in association with the spectrum coordination signal; 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; 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; 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; and 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 attributableto that use remains below an allowed interference level, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating the allowed interference level.

[0099] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the spectrum coordination signal may convey information indicating any one or more of the following: 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; a transmit power level of the transmission; and / or a modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

[0100] In various embodiments or instances, the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum. In some of these and in some other embodiments or instances, the first communication network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network. For example, the first communication network may be a 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP, network, and the second communication network may be a Wi-Fi, Ultra- Wideband, or Bluetooth network.

[0101] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the first communication devices are configured to transmit and receive data on a first type of data channel, while 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.

[0102] In some embodiments or instances of either method, 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.

[0103] In some embodiments or instances of either method, 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.

[0104] In some embodiments or instances of either method, 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.

[0105] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the third radio accesstechnology employs a bandwidth, modulation, coding, and / or frame structure different from that of either the first or second radio access technologies.

[0106] In some embodiments or instances of either method, the first communication node is a radio network node in the first communication network. In some other embodiments or instances of either method, the first communication node is a user equipment in the first communication network.

[0107] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a communication device configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device.

[0108] Embodiments also include a communication device 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 communication device. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the communication device.

[0109] Embodiments further include a communication device comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device. In some embodiments, the communication device further comprises communication circuitry.

[0110] Embodiments further include a communication device comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device.

[0111] 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 communication device. 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.

[0112] Embodiments herein also include a network node configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node.

[0113] Embodiments also include a network node comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any ofthe embodiments described above for the network node. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the network node.

[0114] Embodiments further include a network node comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node. In some embodiments, the network node further comprises communication circuitry.

[0115] Embodiments further include a network node comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node.

[0116] 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 for 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.

[0117] Figure YY1 for example illustrates a communication device YY100 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the communication device YY100 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 device YY100. The processing circuitry YY110 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure WW1, such as by executing instructions stored in memory YY130. The processing circuitry YY110 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0118] Figure YY2 illustrates a network node YY200 as implemented in accordance with oneor more embodiments. As shown, the network node YY200 includes processing circuitry YY210 and communication circuitry YY220. The communication circuitry YY220 is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry YY210 is configured to perform processing described above, e.g., in Figure WW2, such as by executing instructions stored in memory YY230. The processing circuitry YY210 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0119] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

[0120] 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.

[0121] 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.

[0122] 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.

[0123] 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.

[0124] Figure QQ1 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0125] 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 be 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 begenerally referred to as UEs QQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0126] 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.

[0127] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (0-Dll), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CLI-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.

[0128] 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 other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 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.

[0129] 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.

[0130] 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, 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 (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge ProtectionProxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF). 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.

[0131] 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.

[0132] 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, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0133] Telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications networkQQ102. 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.

[0134] 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).

[0135] 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.

[0136] 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, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0137] 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 wiredconnection. 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.

[0138] 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.

[0139] 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, 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.

[0140] 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.

[0141] 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.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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 necessarily 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 powermeter).

[0144] 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.

[0145] 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).

[0146] 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, 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 UniversalSerial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0147] 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.

[0148] 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.

[0149] 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 memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory QQ310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0150] 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 andmay 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.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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).

[0153] As another example, wireless device QQ300 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device 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.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.

[0154] 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.

[0155] 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 QQ300 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.

[0156] 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).

[0157] 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).

[0158] 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).

[0159] 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 whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node QQ400.

[0160] 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 moreof 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 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 beingexecuted 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.

[0164] 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.

[0165] 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 the communication interface QQ406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry QQ414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0166] 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 isseparate from the network node QQ400 and connectable to the network node QQ400 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0167] 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.

[0168] 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.

[0169] 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.

[0170] Figure QQ5 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions describedherein 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.

[0171] 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.

[0172] 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.

[0173] 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.

[0174] 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, nonvirtualized 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.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.

[0175] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0176] 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 maybe 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.ABBREVIATIONS

[0177] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).

[0178] 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0179] 5G 5th Generation

[0180] 6G 6thGeneration

[0181] ABS Almost Blank Subframe

[0182] ACK Acknowledgement

[0183] AP Access Point

[0184] ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

[0185] AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

[0186] BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

[0187] BCH Broadcast Channel

[0188] CA Carrier Aggregation

[0189] CC Carrier Component

[0190] CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU

[0191] CDMA Code Division Multiplex Access

[0192] CGI Cell Global Identity

[0193] CIR Channel Impulse Response

[0194] CP Cyclic Prefix

[0195] CPICH Common Pilot Channel

[0196] CQI Channel Quality Information

[0197] C-RNTI Cell RNTI

[0198] CSI Channel State Information

[0199] CSMA / CA Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance

[0200] DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

[0201] DL Downlink

[0202] DM Demodulation

[0203] DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0204] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0205] DTX Discontinuous Transmission

[0206] DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

[0207] DUT Device Under Test

[0208] E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

[0209] Ec / No Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services

[0210] ECGI Evolved CGI

[0211] eNB E-UTRAN NodeB

[0212] ePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0213] E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

[0214] E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0215] FDD Frequency Division Duplex

[0216] FFS For Further Study

[0217] gNB Base station in NR

[0218] GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

[0219] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0220] HO Handover

[0221] HSPA High Speed Packet AccessHRPD High Rate Packet Data

[0222] LBT Listen-Before-Talk

[0223] LOS Line of Sight

[0224] LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

[0225] LTE Long-Term Evolution

[0226] MAC Medium Access Control

[0227] MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

[0228] MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

[0229] MIB Master Information Block

[0230] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0231] MSC Mobile Switching Center

[0232] NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0233] NR New Radio

[0234] OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator

[0235] OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0236] OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0237] OSS Operations Support System

[0238] OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival

[0239] O&M Operation and Maintenance

[0240] PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

[0241] P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel

[0242] PCell Primary Cell

[0243] PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

[0244] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0245] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0246] PDP Power Delay Profile

[0247] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0248] PGW Packet Gateway

[0249] PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel

[0250] PHY PHYsical Layer

[0251] PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

[0252] PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator

[0253] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0254] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0255] PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

[0256] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0257] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0258] RACH Random Access Channel

[0259] QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

[0260] RAN Radio Access Network

[0261] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0262] RLC Radio Link Control

[0263] RLM Radio Link Monitoring

[0264] RNC Radio Network Controller

[0265] RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0266] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0267] RRM Radio Resource Management

[0268] RS Reference Signal

[0269] RSCP Received Signal Code Power

[0270] RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR

[0271] Reference Signal Received Power

[0272] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR

[0273] Reference Symbol Received Quality

[0274] RSSI Received Signal Strength IndicatorRSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

[0275] SCH Synchronization Channel

[0276] SCell Secondary Cell

[0277] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0278] SDU Service Data Unit

[0279] SFN System Frame Number

[0280] SGW Serving Gateway

[0281] SI System Information

[0282] SIB System Information Block

[0283] SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

[0284] SON Self-Organizing Network

[0285] SS Synchronization Signal

[0286] SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

[0287] STA (Wireless) Station

[0288] TDD Time Division Duplex

[0289] TDMA Time-Division Multiple Access

[0290] TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

[0291] TOA Time of Arrival

[0292] TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

[0293] TTI Transmission Time Interval

[0294] TXOP Transmission Opportunity

[0295] UE User Equipment

[0296] UL Uplink

[0297] UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival WCDMA Wideband CDMA

[0298] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

Claims

1. CLAIMS1. 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network, the method being performed by a first communication node and comprising:transmitting a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by the first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal; andtransmitting data in association with the spectrum coordination signal.

2. 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network, the method being performed by a second communication node and comprising:receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by a first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in the second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal; andrefraining from or modifying use of the radio spectrum for transmissions, based on the spectrum coordination signal.

3. The method of claims 1 or 2, wherein the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal is at least twice the receiver bandwidth used by the second communication node.

4. The method of claims 1 or 2, wherein the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal is less than one-half of the receiver bandwidth used by the second communication node.

435. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is modulated using on-off-keying.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is modulated using differential phase-shift keying (DPSK).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the modulation is differential bipolar phase-shift keying (D-PSK).

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the data transmitted in association with the spectrum coordination signal is modulated using a different modulation scheme than used for the spectrum coordination signal.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is transmitted prior to the data, using substantially the same bandwidth.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the spectrum coordination signal forms all or part of a preamble to the transmitted data.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is frequency-multiplexed with the transmitted data and transmitted at least partly overlapping in time with the transmitted data.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the transmitted spectrum coordination signal overlaps in frequency and time with the transmitted data and is transmitted with a symbol rate less than half the symbol rate used for the transmitted data.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the transmitted spectrum coordination signal comprises a synchronization (sync) field, a header part, and a spectrum coordination data part.

14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating any one or more of the following:a bandwidth occupied or to be occupied by the data transmitted in association with the spectrum coordination signal;a duration of transmission for the data transmitted in association with the spectrum coordination signal;44a power level for the transmission of data in association with the spectrum coordination signal;an indication of a type of the transmission of data in association with the spectrum coordination signal;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;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; 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; andinformation 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.

15. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the spectrum coordination signal conveys information indicating any one or more of the following: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;a transmit power level of the transmission; and / ora modulation and / or coding scheme of the transmission.

16. The method of claim 1 or any of claims 3 to 15 when depending from claim 1, further comprising receiving a signal from the second communication node, the signal from the second communication node acknowledging reception of the spectrum coordination signal.4517. The method of claim 2 or any of claims 3 to 15 when depending from claim 2, further comprising transmitting a signal to the first communication node, the signal to the first communication node acknowledging reception of the spectrum coordination signal.

18. The method of any of claims 1 to 17, wherein the first communication nodes have licensed access to the radio spectrum and the second communication nodes have unlicensed access to the radio spectrum.

19. The method of any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the first communication network is a wide area network, and the second communication network is a radio local area network.

20. The method of any of claims 1 to 19, 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.

21. The method of any of claims 1 to 20, 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.

22. The method of any of claims 1 to 21 , 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.

23. The method of claim 22, 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.

24. The method of any of claims 1 to 23, 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 accesstechnology, 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.

25. The method of claim 24, 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.

26. The method of any of claims 1 to 25, wherein the first communication node is a radio network node in the first communication network.

27. The method of any of claims 1 to 26, wherein the first communication node is a user equipment in the first communication network.

28. A communication node configured to perform 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network, the method being performed by a first communication node and comprising:transmitting a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by the first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in a second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal; andtransmitting data in association with the spectrum coordination signal.

29. A communication node configured to perform 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 employing a different radio technology from the first communication network, the method being performed by a second communication node and comprising:receiving a spectrum coordination signal that conveys information about use of the radio spectrum by a first communication node, wherein the spectrum coordination signal is characterized in that it can be detected and demodulated by a receiver in the second communication node using a receiver bandwidth substantially different from the bandwidth occupied by the spectrum coordination signal; andrefraining from or modifying use of the radio spectrum for transmissions, based on the spectrum coordination signal.

30. A communication node configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1 to 27.

31. A communication node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1 to 27.

32. A communication node comprising:communication circuitry; andprocessing circuitry configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1 to 27.

33. A communication node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform a method according to any of the claims 1 to 27; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the communication node.

34. 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 to 27.

35. The communication node of any of the claims 28 to 34, wherein the communication node is a wireless communication device.

36. 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 to 27;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 output48information 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.

37. 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 to 27.

38. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 37, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

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