SPS configuration in NTN system and method thereof

Abstract

A method for SPS configuration in NTN system is disclosed A UE is configured to communicate with a network node and perform the method. The UE is configured to cause uplink transmission following a downlink transmission within an SPS periodicity in a SPS configuration. The SPS configuration may provide a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities starting at different time points.

Description

[0001] SPS CONFIGURATION IN NTN SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to semi-persistence scheduling (SPS) for half-duplex user equipments (UEs).

[0004] BACKGROUND

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

[0006] In particular, 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) is working on Release 19, and is preparing for Release 20. As part of Release 20, it is anticipated that 3GPP will enhance the NTN design for NR and narrow band (NB)-intemet-of-things (loT) to support voice from a geostationary (GEO) satellite. One target for enhancement is the provision of voice calls as an emergency service.

[0007] Since Release 13, 3 GPP started to develop NB-IoT. This radio access technology provides connectivity to services and applications demanding qualities such as reliable indoor coverage and high capacity in combination with low system complexity and optimized power consumption.

[0008] The current minimum system bandwidth in NB-IoT is 200 kHz. In this basic setup, a NB-IoT anchor carrier is transmitted in the cell. The NB-IoT anchor carrier supports basic cellular functionality such as synchronization, broadcast of system information, paging, as well as random access and data transmission. A device may camp on a NB-IoT cell based on the anchor carrier transmissions.

[0009] To improve the system capacity, NB-IoT can be configured as a multi-carrier system where the anchor carrier is complemented by a set of non-anchor carriers, each of 200 kHz. The non-anchor carriers support data transmission and also paging and random access.

[0010] Data transmission can be performed both on the anchor and non-anchor carriers. A NB-IoT base station (BS) operates in full duplex mode, while as NB-IoT devices operatein half-duplex mode, a device can either transmit or receive at any given moment. For downlink (DL) data transmission, a Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH) schedules Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel (NPDSCH) to convey the data. The reception of the data is acknowledged using the Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel (NPUSCH) format 2 (F2). For uplink (UL) data transmission, a NPDCCH schedules NPUSCH format 1 (Fl) to convey the data while the reception of the data is acknowledged via a new NPDCCH transmission.

[0011] To inform the network about the need to send data in the uplink, the device sends a scheduling request (SR). 3GPP Release 15 introduced a few options supporting the transmission of a scheduling request. The first option allows a device in connected mode to send scheduling requests in the form of a buffer status report through periodic NPUSCH Fl resources. Such periodic NPUSCH resources can be activated and deactivated through dynamic signaling on NPDCCH. The second option allows a device to modify its NPUSCH F2 transmission by the application of a cover code on top of the Release 13 NPUSCH F2 waveform. The presence of the cover code indicates a scheduling request to the base station. Yet another option is for the device to send a scheduling request using a NarrowBand Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH) transmission that is specifically preconfigured for the device.

[0012] In Rel-16, transmissions using Pre-configured Uplink Resources (PUR) were introduced for NB-IoT including Dedicated-PUR, Shared-PUR, and Contention-Based Shared-PUR (CBS-PUR). However, NB-IoT does not support configured grant or semi-persistent scheduling.

[0013] Since Release 17, 3GPP supports NR, LTE-MTC and NB-IoT based NonTerrestrial Networks (NTN). NTN includes both satellite communication and communications using high-altitude platforms (HAPS). A satellite radio access network usually includes the following components:

[0014] • A satellite that refers to a space-bome platform.

[0015] • An earth-based gateway that connects the satellite to a base station or a core network, depending on the choice of architecture.

[0016] • Feeder link that refers to the link between a gateway and a satellite

[0017] • Service link that refers to the link between a satellite and a UE.

[0018] Depending on the orbit altitude, a satellite may be categorized as low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), or geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite:

[0019] • LEO: typical heights ranging from 500 - 1,500 km, with orbital periodsranging from 90 - 120 minutes.

[0020] • MEO: typical heights ranging from 5,000 - 25,000 km, with orbital periods ranging from 3 - 15 hours.

[0021] • GEO: height at about 35,786 km, with an orbital period matching the rotation of earth, i.e., of 24 hours.

[0022] A communication satellite typically generates several beams over a given area. The footprint of a beam on earth is usually in an elliptic shape. Each beam is typically providing coverage to cell in a 5G or 4G network. The footprint of a beam is also often referred to as a spotbeam. The footprint of a beam may move over the earth’s surface with the satellite movement or may be earth fixed by some beam pointing mechanism used by the satellite to compensate for its motion. The diameter of a spotbeam depends on the system design and may range from 100 kilometer, for a LEO satellite, to 3500 kilometers, for a GEO satellite 1.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows an example architecture of a satellite network with bent pipe transponders according to a “transparent architecture” where the base station is part of the gateway. Another popular architecture is the regenerative architecture where the BS is located on board the satellite. The depicted elevation angle of the service link is important as it impacts the distance between the satellite and the device, and the velocity of the satellite relative to the device.

[0024] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a satellite may support a set of beams for providing coverage to a set of cells on earth. To provide continuous coverage, adjacent beams are often configured to overlap which creates significant inter-cell interference.

[0025] The link budget in a GEO NTN is very demanding, especially for a regular smartphone. It has been shown that based on 3GPP assumptions in TR 38.821 that an loT device with 0 dBi antenna gain can expect a DL SNR in the range 0 - 1.3 dB, and in the UL -8 - -6.7 dB. A regular smartphone is, however, commonly assumed to have a negative antenna gain, and if instead assuming -5 dBi antenna gain, the DL SNR range starts at -5 dB while the UL SNR range starts at -13 dB.

[0026] For NB-IoT, state of the art link level simulations indicate that to deliver 256 bits of payload at a DL SNR of -5 dB calls for NB-IoT MCS0 transmitted across 40 subframes. NB-IoT first maps the 256-bit transport block (TB) across 10 subframes that are next repeated 4 times to, in total, require 40 ms transmission time.

[0027] NPDCCH requires a transmission time of 16 ms to be delivered in a reliable fashion. Similarly to the NPDSCH, in this case, 16 NPDCCH repetitions are used toprovide good coverage.

[0028] For the UL, delivery of 256 bits at SNR of -13 dB requires a transmission time of 320 ms. For this case, a TB is mapped to 12 subcarriers across 10 resource units, each 1 ms long that is repeated 32 times to get the 320 ms transmission time.

[0029] The long transmission time indicate how challenging it is to close the link for a regular smartphone that connects to a GEO based NTN.

[0030] SUMMARY

[0031] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for semi-persistence scheduling (SPS) for half-duplex user equipments (UEs).

[0032] As described above, to support operation in a GEO NTN, with very challenging coverage conditions, does, however, call for long transmission times to achieve a sufficiently high SNR for the transmission to be successful. This requirement stands in stark contrast to the limited available transmission times.

[0033] To solve the shortage of downlink and uplink radio resources, one or more embodiments described herein outlines one or more solutions comprising an SPS design that includes both UL and DL resources within a SPS periodicity for a UE that operate using half-duplex. The solution is not limited to NB-IoT UEs, but applies to any UEs that support half-duplex operation, such as NR RedCap UEs.

[0034] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a wireless device is provided. The wireless device is configured to communicate with a network node in a Non-Terrestrial Networks system. The wireless device is configured to operate in half-duplex mode. The method comprises receiving a semi-persistent scheduling configuration, wherein a semi-persistent scheduling periodicity comprises a downlink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel, an uplink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel, and a gap in-between. The gap comprises a time period for at least part of downlink-uplink switching. The method further comprises receiving a downlink transmission on the Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel and decoding the received downlink transmission. The method also comprises transmitting an uplink transmission on the Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel.

[0035] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a network node is provided. The network node is configured to communicate with a wireless device in a Non-Terrestrial Networks system. The wireless device is configured to operatein half-duplex mode. The method includes transmitting a semi-persistent scheduling configuration to the wireless device, in which an SPS periodicity comprises a downlink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel, an uplink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel, and a gap between the downlink transmission resource and the uplink transmission resource. The gap comprises a time period for at least part of downlink-uplink switching. The method further comprises transmitting a downlink transmission on the Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel to the wireless device. The method also comprises receiving an uplink transmission on the Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel from the wireless device.

[0036] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, a wireless device and a network node configured to perform the methods in the description is provided. The wireless device configured to communicate with a network node in a Non-Terrestrial Networks system operates in half-duplex mode, while the network node operates in full-duplex mode.

[0037] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0039] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example architecture of a satellite network with bent pipe transponders;

[0040] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

[0041] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a network node in communication with a user equipment over a wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example configuration for SPS according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of punctured transmission before the transmission start opportunity according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 10 is a table of an example of SPS-based transmission accounting for the processing time of the NPDSCH decoding, DL-to-UL and UL-to-DL switching, where the SPS periodicity encompasses one DL and UL transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0048] FIG. 11 is a diagram of an example of resource over-provisioning in some SPS periodicities according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] While some of the description below may focus on satellite communication, the provided description could also be applied to a HAPS network.

[0051] Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to semi-persistence scheduling (SPS) for half-duplex user equipments (UEs). Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0052] As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more otherfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0053] In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

[0054] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0055] The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a user equipment (UE) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

[0056] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The UE herein can be any type of user equipment capable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radio signals, such as a wireless device (WD). The UE may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable ofmachine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and / or low-complexity UE, a sensor equipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device etc.

[0057] Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell / multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

[0058] Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR) and / or 6G, may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. It is contemplated that other 3GPP systems may make use of the concepts and arrangements disclosed herein. For example, a disclosure relating to NR may also be implementable in a 6G system and / or an LTE system, a disclosure relating to 6G may also be implementable in a NR and / or LTE system, and a disclosure relating to LTE may also be implementable in a NR and / or 6G system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0059] Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a user equipment or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of user equipments and / or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and user equipment described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

[0060] Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0061] As above mentioned, there is long transmission time in NTN due to satellitecommunication and HAPS. The round-trip time (RTT) between the BS and a UE in an NTN can approach 600 ms. This introduces long delays in the NB-IoT NTN (NB-NTN) communication.

[0062] Assume that a first person A makes a voice call to a second person B, where the second person is connected via NB-NTN. After person A asks B a question, it will take at least 0.5 RTT before person B hears the question if, for simplicity, discarding scheduling delays and the transmission time of the data and control signaling is assumed. Person B will then start speaking, which generates uplink data in the transmitter buffer in Person Bs UE. From the time a device sends a scheduling request (SR), to ask the BS for permission to transmit, to the time it receives a NPDCCH scheduling the requested uplink transmission over the NPUSCH Fl will exceed 1 RTT. It will take 0.5 RTT for the uplink transmission to reach the BS and later Person A (if again, for simplicity, discarding the transmission time of the data is assumed). This means that there will be silent gap of more than 2 RTT, i.e. beyond 1.2 s, every time the speech changes direction during a conversation.

[0063] To reduce this unwanted gap, a straightforward solution would be introducing support for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), also known as configured grant (CG), in NB-IoT. With SPS a device is configured with a periodically occurring time-frequency resource to either receive or transmit a data packet. The device does not need to send a SR before obtaining a transmission opportunity. By configuring the periodicity of the reoccurring resource short, the waiting time between receiving data in the transmit buffer to the point where it is transmitted can be made short as well.

[0064] SPS can be configured using RRC signaling to remove the overhead and delays associated with PDCCH control signaling. To further reduce the control signaling, NB-IoT can support HARQ free operation. This means that no HARQ-ACK needs to be transmitted over the NPUSCH Format 2 in NB-IoT, and over the PUCCH in NR after reception of a DL data transmission. For facilitating voice in a GEO NTN, RRC configured SPS PDSCH and PUSCH resources periodically would reoccur for carrying the voice frames, with HARQ feedback disabled to maximize the PDSCH and PUSCH transmission times.

[0065] SPS has been supported by 3GPP systems to reduce control signaling overhead associated with dynamic scheduling, e.g., when supporting voice calls. In LTE, SPS is RRC configured for providing reoccurring UL or DL transmission opportunities. A UE configured with an UL or DL SPS regularly monitors the PDCCH scrambled by a SPS-C-RNTI to determine if the SPS resources are activated or deactivated. The PDCCH may also provide a radio configuration of the SPS that complements the RRC provided configuration. A UE may furthermore be provided with multiple SPS configurations.

[0066] SPS is also supported for LTE-MTC using coverage enhancement mode A, but not B. It has so far not been specified for NB-IoT, but is proposed to be introduced to support voice in later releases. An SPS resource can, at any given moment, be overridden by a dynamically scheduled resource.

[0067] SPS is also supported in NR in downlink. For the UL, it is known as Configured Grant (CG) which works in principle similar to SPS. Two CG types 1 and 2 are specified for NR. CG Type 2 includes, just as LTE, periodic PDCCH control signaling monitoring for activation, deactivation and partial configuration of the configured resource. CG type 1 does, on the other hand, fully rely on RRC -configured resources and activation / deactivation. Release-17 NR even supports CG usage in RRC inactive mode for delivering small payloads.

[0068] Voice is supported in 3GPP by IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and voice codecs such as Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) and Enhanced Voice Services (EVS). These typically deliver a speech frame every 20 ms. To reduce overhead, several voice frames can be bundled either by the application layer, or in the radio protocols to be transmitted less frequently. The lowest AMR mode that delivers a data rate of 4.75 kbps does, e.g., provide speech frames comprising 95 bits every 20 ms. Bundling 2 or 4 such frames leads to transmission of 190 or 380 bits every 40 or 80 ms.

[0069] While aNB-NTN BS supports full-duplex, the devices operate in half-duplex and can either receive or transmit at a given time point. To support both uplink and downlink transmissions in a relatively short period, e.g., defined by the inter-arrival interval of voice frames, implies that the time to transmit in the uplink or downlink is limited. If a voice frame is generated in each link direction every 20 ms, that would, as an example, leave only 10 ms for uplink transmission and 10 ms for downlink transmission.

[0070] Supporting operation in a GEO NTN with very challenging coverage conditions does, however, call for long transmission time to achieve a sufficiently high SNR for the transmission to be successful. This requirement stands in stark contrast to the limited available transmission time.

[0071] Referring to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 2 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as an NTN network that may supportstandards such as 3GPP LTE and / or NR (5G) and / or 6G, which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c can be part of the gateway that connect an NTN satellite to a regular base station in cellular network, or located on board the NTN satellite. Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first user equipment (UE) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second UE 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of UEs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as user equipments 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connected to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two UEs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more UEs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0072] Also, it is contemplated that a UE 22 can be in simultaneous communication and / or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a UE 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, UE 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0073] A network node 16 (eNB or gNB) is configured to include a configuration unit 24 which is configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions as described herein. A user equipment 22 is configured to include a SPS unit 26 which is configured to perform one or more UE 22 functions as described herein.

[0074] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE 22 and network node 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0075] The communication system 10 includes a network node 16 provided in an NTN communication system 10 and including hardware 28 enabling it to communicate with the UE 22. The hardware 28 may include a radio interface 30 for setting up and maintaining atleast a wireless connection 32 with a UE 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 30 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 30 includes an array of antennas 34 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0076] In the embodiment shown, the hardware 28 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and a memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) the memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0077] Thus, the network node 16 further has software 42 stored internally in, for example, memory 40, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16.

[0078] Processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 40 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 may include configuration unit 24 which is configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions as described herein.

[0079] The communication system 10 further includes the UE 22 already referred to. The UE 22 may have hardware 44 that may include a radio interface 46 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 32 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the UE 22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as or mayinclude, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 46 includes an array of antennas 48 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0080] The hardware 44 of the UE 22 further includes processing circuitry 50. The processing circuitry 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 50 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) memory 54, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0081] Thus, the UE 22 may further comprise software 56, which is stored in, for example, memory 54 at the UE 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the UE 22. The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuitry 50. The software 56 may include a client application 58. The client application 58 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 22.

[0082] The processing circuitry 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by UE 22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing UE 22 functions described herein. The UE 22 includes memory 54 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 56 and / or the client application 58 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50, causes the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50 to perform the processes described herein with respect to UE 22. For example, the processing circuitry 50 of the user equipment 22 may include SPS unit 26 which is configured to perform one or more UE 22 functions as described herein.

[0083] In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16 and UE 22 may be as shown in FIG. 3 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 2. The wireless connection 32 between the UE 22 and the network node 16 is inaccordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc. In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.

[0084] Although FIGS. 2 and 3 show various “units” such as configuration unit 24 and SPS unit 26 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

[0085] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the configuration unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to transmit (Block S401) a semi-persistence scheduling configuration to a UE 22, including a SPS periodicity comprising downlink resource for NPDSCH, uplink resource for NPUSCH, and a gap in-between as described herein. Network node 16 is configured to receive (Block S402) uplink transmission on the NPUSCH resource after its downlink transmission to the UE 22 on the NPDSCH resource.

[0086] In some embodiments, network node 16 may configure an SPS configuration that includes a number of HARQ processes for a wireless device, while configures the UE 22 with HARQ feedback disabled within the SPS configuration. The network node may determine an appropriate number of HARQ processes based on factors such as the periodicity of the SPS resources, the transmission duration requirements, and the processing capabilities of the wireless device.

[0087] In some embodiments, network node 16 may configure an SPS configuration where an NPDSCH spans multiple tones and an NPUSCH spans one or more tones. The network node may determine tone allocations based on coverage requirements and data transmission needs for half-duplex wireless devices operating in challenging link conditions.

[0088] The network node may configure the NPDSCH to utilize multiple tones to enhancedownlink transmission robustness. In some cases, the multiple tone configuration for the NPDSCH may provide improved signal-to-noise ratio and coverage performance, particularly in satellite communication scenarios where link budgets are constrained. For uplink transmissions, the network node may configure the NPUSCH to span one or more tones depending on transmission requirements.

[0089] In some embodiments, a network node 16 may be configured to manage multiple uplink transmission opportunities for wireless devices operating in half-duplex mode. The SPS configuration may comprise a number of options for the uplink transmission resource for NPUSCH, differentiating in a starting resource unit in time domain. These multiple options may provide flexibility for wireless devices to initiate uplink transmissions at different time instances based on downlink decoding performance.

[0090] The network node 16 may configure the UE 22 with multiple starting resource units that are temporally distributed within an uplink resource allocation period. Each starting resource unit may represent a potential initiation point for NPUSCH transmission. The different starting resource units may be separated by predetermined time intervals, allowing wireless devices to select an appropriate transmission start time based on downlink processing completion.

[0091] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a UE 22 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 50 (including the SPS unit 26), processor 52, and / or radio interface 46. The User equipment 22 is configured to receive (Block S501) an SPS configuration, including a SPS periodicity comprising downlink resource for NPDSCH, uplink resource for NPUSCH, and a gap in-between as described herein. The User equipment 22 then receives (Block 502) downlink transmission on the NPDSCH resource when the SPS configuration is activated. The UE 22 may decode the received downlink transmission to extract the transmitted data. The User equipment 22 continues to transmit (Block 503) uplink data on the NPUSCH resource after switching from DL mode to UL mode.

[0092] In some embodiments, the SPS configuration may include a number of HARQ processes, and the UE 22 may be configured with HARQ feedback disabled. This configuration may provide several advantages for communication in NTN environments where round-trip times can be substantial. When HARQ feedback is disabled, the wireless device does not transmit acknowledgment signals after receiving downlink transmissions. This elimination of HARQ acknowledgment transmissions may reduce control signalingoverhead and may simplify the communication protocol. In NTN scenarios where roundtrip times can exceed 600 milliseconds, waiting for HARQ acknowledgments would introduce additional delays that could further degrade communication performance.

[0093] With HARQ feedback disabled, the wireless device may rely on the robustness of the transmission scheme rather than retransmission mechanisms. The SPS configuration may compensate for the absence of HARQ feedback by providing sufficient repetitions and appropriate modulation and coding schemes to achieve reliable delivery of data packets. This approach may be particularly suitable for voice applications where timely delivery may be more valuable than perfect reliability.

[0094] The combination of multiple HARQ processes and disabled HARQ feedback may optimize resource utilization in half-duplex operation. The wireless device may focus its limited transmission opportunities on data transmission rather than control signaling, thereby maximizing the effective use of available radio resources during each transmission interval.

[0095] In some embodiments, the gap between the downlink transmission resource and the uplink transmission resource may include additional time for decoding the downlink transmission received on NPDSCH. The gap may account for computational requirements of a wireless device when processing received downlink data. The gap may provide adequate processing duration to ensure successful decoding of the received data.

[0096] For NB-IoT implementations, the gap may include processing time for decoding transport blocks and performing switching between downlink and uplink modes. The time period for decoding may vary based on the size and complexity of the transport block received in the downlink transmission. The gap configuration may account for worst-case decoding scenarios to ensure reliable operation across different transmission conditions.

[0097] In some embodiments, the SPS configuration includes multiple options for uplink transmission resources for NPUSCH that differ in starting resource units in the time domain, which in fact provides multiple lengths for the gap. If an SPS periodicity that the uplink resource is not overlapped with the downlink resource, the gap in-between can be short than the processing time for decoding and switching, since the decoding can start earlier than the all the downlink repetitions are transmitted.

[0098] In some embodiments, the NPDSCH in the SPS configuration for the wireless device spans multiple tones, while the NPUSCH spans one or more tones. This tone allocation flexibility allows the communication system to adapt the NPDSCH and NPUSCH configurations based on the specific transmission requirements, coverageconditions, and data payload sizes. The multi-tone NPDSCH configuration may provide higher data rates for downlink transmissions, while the configurable NPUSCH tone allocation may balance between coverage enhancement and transmission efficiency for uplink communications.

[0099] In some embodiments, the wireless device may be configured with a NPUSCH format for uplink data transmission within the SPS periodicity. The NPUSCH format for control signaling, e.g., reception acknowledgement, format 2 may not apply to this SPS periodicity, or HARQ-ACK is disabled in some embodiments.

[0100] In some embodiments, the uplink transmission resource and downlink transmission resource in the SPS configuration may be specifically configured for voice applications in NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-IoT). The voice application configuration may support voice communication requirements through specialized timing and quality parameters tailored for speech transmission in satellite-based NTN deployment.

[0101] In some embodiment, another gap is located at the end of a SPS periodicity for uplink-downlink switching in the SPS design, following the Tx transmission opportunity / opportunities. Another possibility is that in case the uplink channel (e.g., NPUSCH) is in good condition, less uplink repetitions might be needed for UL decoding by the NB, thus the uplink-downlink switching can be done within the last resource unit(s) for UL repetitions

[0102] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another example process in a network node 16 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to transmit (Block SI 00) a semi-persistence scheduling configuration to a UE22, the SPS configuration providing a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities to the UE 22, as described herein. Network node 16 is configured to receive (Block SI 02) uplink transmission on an uplink resource that overlaps with a downlink transmission according to the SPS configuration where the uplink transmission occurs at one of the plurality of uplink transmission opportunities, as described herein.

[0103] In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities corresponds to an early transmission opportunity where the UE 22 early decodes the downlink transmission.

[0104] In some embodiments, the at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0105] In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunitiesdoes not overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0106] In some embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to transmit the SPS configuration to the UE 22, where the SPS configuration indicates radio parameters for downlink transmission and uplink transmission, the radio parameters comprising one or more of a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, a transport block size, TBS, a number of resource units, a frequency allocation, a redundancy version and a repetition number.

[0107] In some embodiments, each one of the plurality of transmission opportunities is associated with a respective number of transmission repetitions.

[0108] In some embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to terminate the downlink transmission based on the uplink transmission on the uplink resource.

[0109] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of another example process in a user equipment 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. User equipment 22 is configured to receive (Block SI 03) a semi-persistence scheduling, SPS, configuration, the SPS configuration providing a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities, and then cause (Block SI 04) uplink transmission on an uplink resource that overlaps with a downlink transmission where the uplink transmission occurs at one of the plurality of uplink transmission opportunities.

[0110] In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities corresponds to an early transmission opportunity where the UE 22 early decodes the downlink transmission.

[0111] In some embodiments, the at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0112] In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities does not overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0113] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to receive the SPS configuration where the SPS configuration indicates radio parameters for downlink transmission and uplink transmission, the radio parameters comprising one or more of a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, a transport block size, TBS, a number of resource units, a frequency allocation, a redundancy version and a repetition number.

[0114] In some embodiments, each one of the plurality of transmission opportunities is associated with a respective number of transmission repetitions.

[0115] In some embodiments, the downlink transmission is terminated based on the uplink transmission on the uplink resource.

[0116] In some embodiments, the telecommunication system 10 includes one or moreOpen-RAN (ORAN) network nodes 16. An ORAN network node 16 is a node in the telecommunication system 10 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication system 10, including one or more network nodes 16 in the access network 12 and / or core network nodes 14.

[0117] Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for semi-persistence scheduling (SPS) for half-duplex user equipments (UEs).

[0118] Some embodiments provide SPS for half-duplex UEs. One or more UE 22 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 50, processor 52, SPS unit 26, radio interface 46, etc. One or more network node 16 functions described below may be performed by one or more processing circuitry 36, processor 38, configuration unit 24, radio interface 30, etc.

[0119] In anembodiment, a half-duplex UE 22 is RRC configured with a pair of periodically reoccurring downlink and uplink radio resources. Besides the periodicity, the configuration indicates the start and length of a downlink time-frequency resource within the period. The downlink allocation is followed by the start and length of an uplink timefrequency resource, again within the period where the start of the uplink resource may begin before the end of the downlink resource.

[0120] A UE 22 is assumed to monitor the reoccurring downlink resource for the reception of a downlink transmission, e.g., a PDSCH transmission, and to use the uplink resources for transmission, e.g., of aPUSCH.

[0121] While the start of a downlink reception coincides with the start of the downlink resource, an uplink transmission (TX) may have several potential starting points. FIG. 8 is a diagram of the configuration of the SPS according to one or more SPS parameters, with 3 TX starting opportunities -2, -1 and 0 for the UE 22. The UE 22 may use one of the early TX starting opportunities -1 or -2 if it manages to early decode the DL transmission received in the DL resources. For the TX starting opportunity 0, the UE 22 may also start decoding its DL reception not necessarily waiting for all DL repetitions to be received. After successfully decode the DL reception, the UE 22 starts to switch from DL to UL. The gap between the DL end and UL start of the TX starting opportunity 0 may includetime period for DL-UL switching, or further include a part of DL decoding and DL-UL switching, or only a part of DL-UL switching. Network node 16 that is providing multiple TX start opportunities may need to monitor the start of uplink for transmissions across all provided opportunities.

[0122] In an embodiment, a UE 22 always ends its UL transmission at the end of the UL resource. An early UL transmission start consequently allows a longer UL transmission for improving UL performance in terms of coverage or data rate. There can be some alternatives for UL transmission adaptation.

[0123] In an embodiment, the additional resources for UL transmission made available due to an early UL transmission start are utilized to perform additional retransmissions of a packet (e.g., transport block or TB). For example, if the UE 22 starts the UL transmission in “TX start opportunity 0” (see FIG. 9), then the UE 22 performs N transmissions (i.e., a transmission followed by N-l repetitions) of the packet. If the UE 22 starts the UL transmission in the “TX start opportunity -1” (see FIG. 9), then the UE 22 performs N+K transmissions of the packet. If the UE 22 starts the UL transmission in “TX start opportunity -2” (see FIG. 9), then the UE 22 performs N+2K transmissions of the packet, etc.

[0124] In another embodiment, the additional resources for UL transmission are utilized to perform transmissions of additional packets. For example, if the UE 22 starts the UL transmission in “TX start opportunity 0” (see FIG. 9), then the UE 22 transmits 1 packet. If the UE starts the UL transmission in “TX start opportunity -1” (see FIG. 9), then the UE 22 may transmit 2 packets, etc.

[0125] In an embodiment, the early starting points for UL transmission are used for initiating the transmission of a packet earlier, without modifying the number of retransmissions or using the additional resources for transmitting other packets. In this case, the duration of the UL transmission does not depend on the “TX starting opportunity” that is used. In this way, resources are freed up at the end of the UL resource for other transmissions (by other UEs 22) or allowing for earlier transmissions in the DL for half-duplex UEs 22.

[0126] In an embodiment, a network node 16 detects that a UE 22 is continuously performing late TX start, and consequently shortens the UL resource and the potential transmission length, e.g., by means of removing one or more early TX start opportunities to free up UL radio resources. And there can be some alternatives for DL transmission adaptation by the network node 16.In an embodiment, network node 16 detects that a UE 22 used an early TX start opportunity before network node 16 has completed its DL transmission, and consequently terminates its ongoing DL transmission to reduce DL interference.

[0127] In an embodiment, network node 16 detects that a UE 22 is continuously performing early TX start, and consequently shortens the DL transmission length, e.g., by means of reducing the number of PDSCH transmissions to free up DL radio resources.

[0128] A SPS configuration for half-duplex UEs will provide radio parameters for the DL transmission as well as the uplink transmission, e.g., MCS, TBS, # resource units, frequency allocation, redundancy version, and repetition number.

[0129] In an embodiment, each UL TX start opportunity is associated with a separate configuration that includes at least parameters impacting the transmission time such as, for example, MCS, TBS, # resource units, redundancy version, frequency allocation and repetition number. An earlier TX start facilitates longer transmission and may, e.g., use a lower MCS, more repetitions, or contain more payload.

[0130] In an embodiment, all UL TX start opportunities are associated with the same configuration. The UE 22 generates bits for UL transmission assuming that it will use the earliest TX start opportunity (e.g., TX start opportunity -2 in FIG. 9). In case the UE 22 uses a later TX start opportunity, it punctures all transmissions that are between the first TX start opportunity and the used TX start opportunity, while the transmissions that are after the used TX start opportunity are transmitted. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 9 that is a diagram of punctured transmissions before the TX start opportunity. In this example, the full UL transmission consists of 13 repetitions, numbered 1 to 13. If TX start opportunity -2 is used, the UE 22 transmits all repetitions. If TX start opportunity -1 is used, the UE 22 punctures repetition 1 and 2 and transmits repetitions 3 to 13 such that they are aligned with repetitions 3 to 13 that would be transmitted if TX start opportunity -2 was used. If TX start opportunity 0 is used, the UE 22 punctures repetition 1 to 5 and transmits repetitions 6 to 13 such that they are aligned with repetitions 6 to 13 that would be transmitted if TX start opportunity -2 or -1 were used.

[0131] From a network node 16 perspective, this will ensure that the format of the received transmissions (e.g., the redundancy version of each received repetition) is determined by their location, regardless of the TX start opportunity, which can be useful if it is difficult for the network node 16 to detect the TX start opportunity in low SNR. In an embodiment, a network node 16 that detects that a UE 22 used an early TX start opportunity (i.e., a TX start opportunity that implies that the UE 22 managed to earlydecode the DL transmission) interprets this as an implicit HARQ-ACK, for that the transport block of the preceding DL transmission was correctly received.

[0132] In LTE, for UL transmissions using SPS, the UE 22 determines the HARQ process ID as a function of the subframe in which the UL transmissions starts. For example, using a formula for example, in 3GPP TS 36.321 V18.3.0 Clause5.4.1,

[0133] HARQ Process ID = [floor(CURRENT_TTI / semiPersistSchedIntervalUL)] modulo numberOfConfUlSPS-Processes,

[0134] where CURRENT_TTI=[(SFN * 10) + subframe number] and it refers to the subframe where the first transmission of a bundle takes place.

[0135] In an embodiment, the HARQ Process ID is determined based on transmission time interval (TTI) which is a subframe, corresponding to a specific “TX start opportunity” (e.g., the first one, the last one, etc.). For example, CURRENT TTI may be replaced by the subframe corresponding to the start of the TX start opportunity. In this way, irrespective of the “TX start opportunity” that is used, the same HARQ process ID is used.

[0136] There could be several ways for SPS configuration. In an embodiment, the SPS periodicity accounts for the largest possible number of schedulable NPDSCH subframes on which a DL transport block can be mapped, the minimum processing time that an NB-loT requires to decode a transport block, the largest possible number of schedulable Resource Units on which an UL transport block can be mapped, and the time the NB-IoT UE requires for switching from UL-to-DL and vice versa. In addition, more than one HARQ process can be configured, as well as the use of repetitions.

[0137] In an embodiment, an NB-IoT UE 22 with HARQ feedback disabled and with SPS preconfiguring downlink and uplink resources within a period, receives first an NPDSCH spanning one or more NPDSCH subframes and after a processing time of X ms used to decode NPDSCH and switching from DL-to-UL, the NB-IoT UE 22 transmits NPUSCH Format 1 spanning one or more Resource Units.

[0138] In an example, X is an integer number which can be equal to or greater than 12 (i.e., X > 12 ms).

[0139] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example table of a SPS-based transmission accounting for the processing time of the NPDSCH decoding, DL-to-UL and UL-to-DL switching, where the SPS periodicity encompasses one DL and UL transmission. The arrow pointing downwards “J,” refers to the start of the DL data transmission or UL data transmission respectively.In an embodiment, NPUSCH Format 1 for SPS-based transmissions can be used along with single-tone transmissions wherein 1 subcarrier (also called as tone in NTN) allocation with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) spans in the time-domain 8 ms, i.e., 1 Resource Unit occupies 8 ms, and wherein 1 subcarrier allocation with 3.75 kHz SCS spans in the time-domain 32 ms for 1 Resource Unit with in bandwidth compared with the 15kHz scenario.

[0140] In one embodiment, NPUSCH Format 1 for SPS-based transmissions can be used along with multi-tone transmissions wherein 12 subcarriers allocated in the frequencydomain span 1 ms in the time-domain for 1 Resource Unit , 6 subcarriers allocated in the frequency-domain span 2 ms in the time-domain for 1 Resource Unit, 3 subcarriers allocated in the frequency-domain span 4 ms in the time-domain for a Resource Unit.

[0141] In an embodiment, an SPS periodicity in the SPS configuration for voice application encompasses both DL and UL, including at least: The duration of the SPS window (e.g., in ms or subframes). A DL configuration including at least a StartTime with respect to the beginning of the window, the subframe index (ISF) related to the number of allocated NPDSCH subframes, number of repetitions, etc. An offset between DL and UL that is at least the minimum possible gap of 12 ms allowing for TBS decoding and DL-to-UL switching. An UL configuration including at least the number of allocated subcarriers, the resource unit index (IRU) related to the allocated number of RUs, number of repetitions, followed by a guard subframe (used for UL-to-DL switching). The RRC-configuration used to configure SPS, can be provided to the UE 22 through NPDCCH scheduling NPDSCH where the latter is the one carrying the SPS configuration.

[0142] In an embodiment, the SPS configuration for voice application can be provided to the UE 22 through system information (e.g., system information block). For example, through SIB2-NB.

[0143] In an embodiment, the SPS configuration makes use of Koffsetwhen transmitting NPUSCH Format 1. Koffsetis defined in 3GPP NR Technical Specification 38.300 18.4.0, section!6.14.2 Timing and Synchronization for NTN as “a configured scheduling offset that needs to be larger or equal to the sum of the service link RTT and the Common Timing Advance (TA). The scheduling offset Koffsetis used to allow the UE sufficient processing time between a downlink reception and an uplink transmission.” The UE can use the obtained Koffsetto calculate the timing of transmitting NPUSCH Format lin order to compensate for propagation and / or processing delay.

[0144] An overview of possible solutions can be seen in FIG. 11 which is a diagram of anexample of resource configuration where a UE is provided with a periodically preconfigured DL resource, and a periodically pre-configured UL resource that, in parts, overlaps the DL resource according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The PUSCH transmissions may start anywhere in the UL resource. If the UE demands a PDSCH transmission in the full DL resource to decode the PDSCH, the UE will start the PUSCH transmission after the end of the DL resource. If the UE can decode a PDSCH transmission in a DL resource early, the UE can also make an early switch from reception to transmission to start the PUSCH transmission early while the DL PDSCH transmission is still ongoing.

[0145] Since the network node operates in full duplex, the network node will be able to start monitoring the PUSCH uplink resource while transmitting the PDSCH in the downlink and can thus support both described alternatives. As understood by an ordinary skilled, this solution is not limited to NTN and NB-IoT UEs, but applies to any UEs that support half-duplex such as NR RedCap UEs in cellular systems. The SPS design allows over-provisioning of UL and DL resources for UEs that operate using half-duplex. The solution is not limited to NB-IoT UEs, but applies to any UEs that support half-duplex operation, such as NR RedCap UEs.

[0146] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the NB-IoT prefix “N” has, in most cases, been dropped from all physical channel names. The prefix “N” in e.g., NPUSCH, NPDSCH in some embodiments are described under NB-IoT NTN circumstances.

[0147] Embodiments described herein provide for opportunistic overprovisioning of UL and DL resource, which when early decoding of a DL PDSCH transmission is possible, enables a UE to early switch to the UL to perform an early start of the PUSCH transmission while the DL transmission is still ongoing.

[0148] One or more embodiments described herein advantageously optimizes the use of radio resources and allows the UE to start uplink transmissions early to prolong the UL transmission interval. An extended UL transmission can, e.g., be used to support more repetitions of the PUSCH to improve its robustness or to support a larger pay load in the PUSCH to deliver more data, implying and / or providing higher speech quality.

[0149] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and / or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and / or functionality described herein may be performed by, and / or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0150] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0151] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and / or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

[0152] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.

[0153] There are some example embodiments:Embodiment Al . A method implemented in a user equipment (UE) that is configured to communicate with a network node, the UE configured to operating in halfduplex mode, the method comprising:

[0154] causing uplink transmission on an uplink resource that overlaps with a downlink transmission according to a semi-persistence scheduling, SPS, configuration, the SPS configuration providing a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities; and

[0155] the causing of the uplink transmission occurring at one of the plurality of uplink transmission opportunities.

[0156] Embodiment A2. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities corresponds to an early transmission opportunity where the UE early decodes the downlink transmission.

[0157] Embodiment A3. The method of Embodiment A2, wherein the at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0158] Embodiment A4. The method of Embodiment Al, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities does not overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0159] Embodiment A5. The method of any one of Embodiments A1-A4, further comprising receiving the SPS configuration, the SPS configuration indicating radio parameters for downlink transmission and uplink transmission, the radio parameters comprising one or more of a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, a transport block size, TBS, a number of resource units, a frequency allocation, a redundancy version and a repetition number.

[0160] Embodiment A6. The method of any one of Embodiments A1-A5, wherein each one of the plurality of transmission opportunities is associated with a respective number of transmission repetitions.

[0161] Embodiment A7. The method of any one of Embodiments A1-A6, wherein the downlink transmission is terminated based on the uplink transmission on the uplink resource.Embodiment Bl . A user equipment, UE, configured to communicate with a network node, the UE configured to, and / or comprising a radio interface and / or processing circuitry configured to cause uplink transmission on an uplink resource that overlaps with a downlink transmission according to a semi-persistence scheduling, SPS, configuration, the SPS configuration providing a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities; and the causing of the uplink transmission occurring at one of the plurality of uplink transmission opportunities.

[0162] Embodiment B2. The UE of Embodiment Bl, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities corresponds to an early transmission opportunity where the UE early decodes the downlink transmission.

[0163] Embodiment B3. The UE of Embodiment B2, wherein the at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0164] Embodiment B4. The UE of Embodiment Bl, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities does not overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0165] Embodiment B5. The UE of any one of Embodiments B1-B4, further comprising receiving the SPS configuration, the SPS configuration indicating radio parameters for downlink transmission and uplink transmission, the radio parameters comprising one or more of a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, a transport block size, TBS, a number of resource units, a frequency allocation, a redundancy version and a repetition number.

[0166] Embodiment B6. The UE of any one of Embodiments B1-B5, wherein each one of the plurality of transmission opportunities is associated with a respective number of transmission repetitions.

[0167] Embodiment B7. The UE of any one of Embodiments B1-B6, wherein the downlink transmission is terminated based on the uplink transmission on the uplink resource.Embodiment Cl . A method implemented in a network node that is configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, the method comprising:

[0168] operating according to a semi-persistence scheduling, SPS, configuration, the SPS configuration providing a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities to the UE; and receiving uplink transmission on an uplink resource that overlaps with a downlink transmission according to the SPS configuration, the uplink transmission occurring at one of the plurality of uplink transmission opportunities.

[0169] Embodiment C2. The method of Embodiment Cl, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities corresponds to an early transmission opportunity where the UE early decodes the downlink transmission.

[0170] Embodiment C3. The method of Embodiment C2, wherein the at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0171] Embodiment C4. The method of Embodiment Cl, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities does not overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0172] Embodiment C5. The method of any one of Embodiments C1-C4, further comprising transmitting the SPS configuration to the UE, the SPS configuration indicating radio parameters for downlink transmission and uplink transmission, the radio parameters comprising one or more of a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, a transport block size, TBS, a number of resource units, a frequency allocation, a redundancy version and a repetition number.

[0173] Embodiment C6. The method of any one of Embodiments C1-C5, wherein each one of the plurality of transmission opportunities is associated with a respective number of transmission repetitions.

[0174] Embodiment C7. The method of any one of Embodiments C1-C6, further comprising terminating the downlink transmission based on the uplink transmission on the uplink resource.

[0175] Embodiment DI . A network node that is configured to communicate with auser equipment, UE, the network node configured to, and / or comprising a radio interface and / or processing circuitry configured to:

[0176] operate according to a semi-persistence scheduling, SPS, configuration, the SPS configuration providing a plurality of uplink transmission opportunities to the UE; and receive uplink transmission on an uplink resource that overlaps with a downlink transmission according to the SPS configuration, the uplink transmission occurring at one of the plurality of uplink transmission opportunities.

[0177] Embodiment D2. The network node of Embodiment D 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities corresponds to an early transmission opportunity where the UE early decodes the downlink transmission.

[0178] Embodiment D3. The network node of Embodiment D2, wherein the at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0179] Embodiment D4. The network node of Embodiment D 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of transmission opportunities does not overlap with the downlink transmission.

[0180] Embodiment D5. The network node of any one of Embodiments D1-D4, wherein the network node is further configured to transmit the SPS configuration to the UE, the SPS configuration indicating radio parameters for downlink transmission and uplink transmission, the radio parameters comprising one or more of a modulation and coding scheme, MCS, a transport block size, TBS, a number of resource units, a frequency allocation, a redundancy version and a repetition number.

[0181] Embodiment D6. The network node of any one of Embodiments D1-D5, wherein each one of the plurality of transmission opportunities is associated with a respective number of transmission repetitions.

[0182] Embodiment D7. The network node of any one of Embodiments D1-D6, wherein the network node is further configured to terminate the downlink transmission based on the uplink transmission on the uplink resource.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method implemented in a wireless device, WD, configured to communicate with a network node in in a Non-Terrestrial Networks, NTN, system, the WD being configured to operate in half-duplex mode, the method comprising:receiving a semi-persistent scheduling, SPS, configuration, in which a SPS periodicity comprises downlink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel, NPDSCH, uplink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel, NPUSCH, and a gap between the downlink transmission resource and the uplink transmission resource, wherein the gap comprises a time period for at least part of downlink-uplink switching;receiving downlink transmission on the NPDSCH and decoding the received downlink transmission; andtransmitting uplink transmission on the NPUSCH.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the SPS configuration comprises a number of HARQ processes, and the WD is configured with HARQ feedback disabled.

3. The method of Claims 1 or 2, wherein the gap further comprises a time period for decoding at least part of the downlink transmission received by the WD on the NPDSCH.

4. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the NPDSCH in the SPS periodicity for the WD spans multiple tunes, and the NPUSCH spans one or more tunes.

5. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the WD is configured with a NPUSCH format which is for uplink data transmission in the SPS periodicity.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein a length of the gap is indicated by Koffset in the SPS configuration.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the uplink transmission resource and downlink transmission resource in the SPS configuration is for voice application in NarrowBand Internet of Things, NB-IoT.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the downlink transmission resourcein the SPS configuration comprising: a starting time with respect to beginning of the SPS periodicity, subframe index related to a number of allocated NPDSCH subframes, and a number of repetition(s); and the uplink transmission resource in the SPS configuration comprising: a number of allocated tune(s), resource unit index, IRU, related to a number of RUs allocated, a number of repetition(s), followed by a guard subframe.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the NPUSCH in the SPS periodicity occupies a number N of RUs allocated, and when the NPUSCH spans N tunes, a time domain length occupied by the NPUSCH is reduced by a factor of N compared to a length when the NPUSCH spans one tune.

10. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the SPS configuration comprises a number of options for the uplink transmission resource for NPUSCH, differentiating in a starting RU in time domain; and the transmitting uplink transmission on the NPUSCH comprising: choosing an earlier starting RU when the received downlink transmission is successfully decoded before all repetitions of the downlink transmission are received.

11. A method implemented in a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD, in a Non-Terrestrial Networks, NTN, system, the WD being configured to operate in half-duplex mode, the method comprising:transmitting a semi-persistent scheduling, SPS, configuration to the WD, wherein a SPS periodicity comprises a downlink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared Channel, NPDSCH, an uplink transmission resource on Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel, NPUSCH, and a gap between the downlink transmission resource and the uplink transmission resource, wherein the gap comprises a time period for at least part of downlink-uplink switching;transmitting a downlink transmission on the NPDSCH to the WD; and receiving an uplink transmission on the NPUSCH from the WD.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the SPS configuration comprises a number of HARQ processes, and the WD is configured with HARQ feedback disabled.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the NPDSCH in the SPS configuration for the WD spans multiple tones, and the NPUSCH spans one or more tones.

14. The method of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the WD is configured with a NPUSCHformat which is for uplink data transmission in the SPS periodicity.

15. The method of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the SPS configuration comprises a number of options for the uplink transmission resource for NPUSCH, differentiating in a starting resource unit in time domain, and wherein the receiving an uplink transmission on the NPUSCH comprises receiving the uplink transmission from the WD using an earlier starting resource unit when the downlink transmission is successfully decoded by the WD.

16. A wireless device, WD, in a Non-Terrestrial Networks, NTN, system, the WD being configured to operate in half-duplex mode, the WD comprising:a processor;an air interface; anda memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the WD to perform any method of claims 1 to 10.

17. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD, in a NonTerrestrial Networks, NTN, system, the WD being configured to operate in half-duplex mode, the network node comprising:a processor;an air interface; anda memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network node to perform any method according to claims 11 to 15.

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