Methods, communications devices, and infrastructure equipment

Abstract

A method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network is provided. The method comprises exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GIoT), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), detecting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, and transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

Description

[0001] METHODS, COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT BACKGROUND

[0002] Field of Disclosure

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and particularly to communications devices, infrastructure equipment and methods for the transmission and / or reception by a communications device of data in accordance with multiple radio access technologies in a wireless communications system. The present application claims the Paris Convention priority from European patent application number EP25150550.9, filed on 7 January 2025, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Description of Related Art

[0004] The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.

[0005] Previous generation mobile telecommunication systems, such as those based on the 3GPP defined UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, are able to support a wider range of services than simple voice and messaging services offered by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems. For example, with the improved radio interface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, a user is able to enjoy high data rate applications such as mobile video streaming and mobile video conferencing that would previously only have been available via a fixed line data connection. The demand to deploy such networks is therefore strong and the coverage area of these networks, i.e. geographic locations where access to the networks is possible, is expected to continue to increase rapidly.

[0006] Current and future wireless communications networks are expected to routinely and efficiently support communications with an ever-increasing range of devices associated with a wider range of data traffic profiles and types than existing systems are optimised to support. For example, it is expected future wireless communications networks will be expected to efficiently support communications with devices including reduced complexity devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, high resolution video displays, virtual reality headsets, Extended Reality (XR) and so on. Some of these different types of devices may be deployed in very large numbers, for example low complexity devices for supporting the “The Internet of Things”, and may typically be associated with the transmissions of relatively small amounts of data with relatively high latency tolerance. Other types of device, for example supporting high-definition video streaming, may be associated with transmissions of relatively large amounts of data with relatively low latency tolerance. Other types of device, for example used for autonomous vehicle communications and for other critical applications, may be characterised by data that should be transmitted through the network with low latency and high reliability. A single device type might also be associated with different traffic profiles / characteristics depending on the application(s) it is running. For example, different considerations may apply for efficiently supporting data exchange with a smartphone when it is running a video streaming application (high downlink data) as compared to when it is running an Internet browsing application (sporadic uplink and downlink data) or being used for voice communications by an emergency responder in an emergency scenario (data subject to stringent reliability and latency requirements).

[0007] In view of this there is expected to be a desire for current wireless communications networks, for example those which may be referred to as 5G or new radio (NR) systems / new radio access technology (RAT) systems, or indeed future 6G wireless communications, as well as future iterations / releases of existingsystems, to efficiently support connectivity for a wide range of devices associated with different applications and services and different characteristic data traffic profiles and requirements.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0009] The present disclosure can help address or mitigate at least some of the issues discussed above.

[0010] Embodiments of the present technique can provide a method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network. The method comprises exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), detecting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, and transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

[0011] Such embodiments of the present technique, which, in addition to methods of operating communications devices, relate to methods of operating infrastructure equipment of wireless communications networks, to such communications devices and infrastructure equipment, to circuitry for such communications devices and infrastructure equipment, to wireless communications systems, to computer programs, and to computer-readable storage mediums, can allow for the more efficient and effective transmission and / or reception by a communications device of data in accordance with multiple radio access technologies in a wireless communications system.

[0012] Respective aspects and features of the present disclosure are defined in the appended claims.

[0013] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive, of the present technology. The described embodiments, together with further advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0014] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 schematically represents some aspects of an LTE-type wireless telecommunication system which may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 schematically represents some aspects of a new radio access technology (RAT) wireless telecommunications system which may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example infrastructure equipment and communications device which may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 is reproduced from [3], and illustrates how In-Device Coexistence (IDC) may cause interference within a device;

[0020] Figures 5A and 5B are reproduced from [5], and illustrates how IDC interference can be reported by a device using the UEAssistancelnformation message;Figure 6 shows a part schematic, part message flow diagram representation of an example process of communications in a communications system in accordance with embodiments of the present technique; and

[0021] Figure 7 shows a flow diagram illustrating an example process of communications in a communications system in accordance with embodiments of the present technique.

[0022] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0023] Long Term Evolution Advanced Radio Access Technology (4G)

[0024] Figure 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating some basic functionality of a mobile telecommunications network / system 6 operating generally in accordance with LTE principles, but which may also support other radio access technologies, and which may be adapted to implement embodiments of the disclosure as described herein. Various elements of Figure 1 and certain aspects of their respective modes of operation are well-known and defined in the relevant standards administered by the 3GPP (RTM) body, and also described in many books on the subject, for example, Holma H. and Toskala A [1] . It will be appreciated that operational aspects of the telecommunications networks discussed herein which are not specifically described (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known techniques, for example according to the relevant standards and known proposed modifications and additions to the relevant standards.

[0025] The network 6 includes a plurality of base stations 1 connected to a core network 2. Each base station provides a coverage area 3 (i.e. a cell) within which data can be communicated to and from communications devices 4. Although each base station 1 is shown in Figure 1 as a single entity, the skilled person will appreciate that some of the functions of the base station may be carried out by disparate, inter-connected elements, such as antennas (or antennae), remote radio heads, amplifiers, etc. Collectively, one or more base stations may form a radio access network.

[0026] Data is transmitted from base stations 1 to communications devices 4 within their respective coverage areas 3 via a radio downlink (DL). Data is transmitted from communications devices 4 to the base stations 1 via a radio uplink (UL). The core network 2 routes data to and from the communications devices 4 via the respective base stations 1 and provides functions such as authentication, mobility management, charging and so on. Communications devices may also be referred to as mobile stations, user equipment (UEs), user terminals, mobile radios, mobile terminals, terminal devices, wireless transmit and receive units (WTRUs), and so forth. Services provided by the core network 2 may include connectivity to the internet or to external telephony services. The core network 2 may further track the location of the communications devices 4 so that it can efficiently contact (i.e. page) the communications devices 4 for transmitting downlink data towards the communications devices 4.

[0027] Base stations, which are an example of network infrastructure equipment, may also be referred to as transceiver stations, nodeBs, e-nodeBs, eNB, g-nodeBs, gNB and so forth. In this regard different terminology is often associated with different generations of wireless telecommunications systems for elements providing broadly comparable functionality. However, certain embodiments of the disclosure may be equally implemented in different generations of wireless telecommunications systems, and for simplicity certain terminology may be used regardless of the underlying network architecture. That is to say, the use of a specific term in relation to certain example implementations is not intended to indicate these implementations are limited to a certain generation of network that may be most associated with that particular terminology.New Radio Access Technology (5G)

[0028] Systems incorporating NR technology are expected to support different services (or types of services), which may be characterised by different requirements for latency, data rate and / or reliability. For example, Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services are characterised by high capacity with a requirement to support up to 20 Gb / s. The requirements for Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) services are for one transmission of a 32 byte packet to be transmitted from the radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU ingress point to the radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU egress point of the radio interface within 1 ms with a reliability of 1 - 10'5(99.999 %) or higher (99.9999%) [2], Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) is another example of a service which may be supported by NR-based communications networks. In addition, systems may be expected to support further enhancements related to Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in order to support services with new requirements of high availability, high reliability, low latency, and in some cases, high-accuracy positioning.

[0029] An example configuration of a wireless communications network which uses some of the terminology proposed for and used in NR and 5G is shown in Figure 2. In Figure 2 a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) 10 are connected to distributed control units (DUs) 41, 42 by a connection interface represented as a line 16. Each of the TRPs 10 is arranged to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface within a radio frequency bandwidth available to the wireless communications network. Thus, within a range for performing radio communications via the wireless access interface, each of the TRPs 10, forms a cell of the wireless communications network as represented by a circle 12. As such, wireless communications devices 14 which are within a radio communications range provided by the cells 12 can transmit and receive signals to and from the TRPs 10 via the wireless access interface. Each of the distributed units 41, 42 are connected to a central unit (CU) 40 (which may be referred to as a controlling node) via an interface 46. The central unit 40 is then connected to the core network 20 which may contain all other functions required to transmit data for communicating to and from the wireless communications devices and the core network 20 may be connected to other networks 25.

[0030] The elements of the wireless access network shown in Figure 2 may operate in a similar way to corresponding elements of an LTE network as described with regard to the example of Figure 1. It will be appreciated that operational aspects of the telecommunications network represented in Figure 2, and of other networks discussed herein in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, which are not specifically described (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known techniques, for example according to currently used approaches for implementing such operational aspects of wireless telecommunications systems, e.g. in accordance with the relevant standards.

[0031] The TRPs 10 of Figure 2 may in part have a corresponding functionality to a base station or eNodeB of an LTE network or gNodeB of an NR network. Similarly, the communications devices 14 may have a functionality corresponding to the UE devices 4 known for operation with an LTE network. It will be appreciated therefore that operational aspects of a new RAT network (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be different to those known from LTE or other known mobile telecommunications standards. However, it will also be appreciated that each of the core network component, base stations and communications devices of a new RAT network will be functionally similar to, respectively, the core network component, base stations and communications devices of an LTE wireless communications network.In terms of broad top-level functionality, the core network 20 connected to the new RAT telecommunications system represented in Figure 2 may be broadly considered to correspond with the core network 2 represented in Figure 1, and the respective central units 40 and their associated distributed units / TRPs 10 may be broadly considered to provide functionality corresponding to the base stations 1 of Figure 1. The term network infrastructure equipment / access node may be used to encompass these elements and more conventional base station type elements of wireless telecommunications systems. Depending on the application at hand the responsibility for scheduling transmissions which are scheduled on the radio interface between the respective distributed units and the communications devices may lie with the controlling node / central unit and / or the distributed units / TRPs. A communications device 14 is represented in Figure 2 within the coverage area of the first communication cell 12. This communications device 14 may thus exchange signalling with the first central unit 40 in the first communication cell 12 via one of the distributed units / TRPs 10 associated with the first communication cell 12.

[0032] It will further be appreciated that Figure 2 represents merely one example of a proposed architecture for a new RAT based telecommunications system in which approaches in accordance with the principles described herein may be adopted, and the functionality disclosed herein may also be applied in respect of wireless telecommunications systems having different architectures.

[0033] Thus, certain embodiments of the disclosure as discussed herein may be implemented in wireless telecommunication systems / networks according to various different architectures, such as the example architectures shown in Figures 1 and 2. It will thus be appreciated the specific wireless telecommunications architecture in any given implementation is not of primary significance to the principles described herein. In this regard, certain embodiments of the disclosure may be described generally in the context of communications between network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and a communications device, wherein the specific nature of the network infrastructure equipment / access node and the communications device will depend on the network infrastructure for the implementation at hand. For example, in some scenarios the network infrastructure equipment / access node may comprise a base station, such as an LTE-type base station 1 as shown in Figure 1 which is adapted to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein, and in other examples the network infrastructure equipment may comprise a control unit / controlling node 40 and / or a TRP10 of the kind shown in Figure 2 which is adapted to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein.

[0034] A more detailed diagram of some of the components of the network shown in Figure 2 is provided by Figure 3. In Figure 3, a TRP10 as shown in Figure 2 comprises, as a simplified representation, a wireless transmitter 30, a wireless receiver 32 and a controller or controlling processor 34 which may operate to control the transmitter 30 and the wireless receiver 32 to transmit and receive radio signals to one or more UEs 14 within a cell 12 formed by the TRP10. As shown in Figure 3, an example UE 14 is shown to include a corresponding transmitter 49, a receiver 48 and a controller 44 which is configured to control the transmitter 49 and the receiver 48 to transmit signals representing uplink data to the wireless communications network via the wireless access interface formed by the TRP10 and to receive downlink data as signals transmitted by the transmitter 30 and received by the receiver 48 in accordance with the conventional operation.

[0035] The transmitters 30, 49 and the receivers 32, 48 (as well as other transmitters, receivers and transceivers described in relation to examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may include radio frequency filters and amplifiers as well as signal processing components and devices in order to transmit and receive radio signals in accordance for example with the 5G / NR standard. The controllers 34, 44 (aswell as other controllers described in relation to examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may be, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU, or a dedicated chipset, etc., configured to carry out instructions which are stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-volatile memory. The processing steps described herein may be carried out by, for example, a microprocessor in conjunction with a random access memory, operating according to instructions stored on a computer readable medium. The transmitters, the receivers and the controllers are schematically shown in Figure 3 as separate elements for ease of representation. However, it will be appreciated that the functionality of these elements can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s), or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s) / circuitry / chip(s) / chipset(s). As will be appreciated the infrastructure equipment / TRP / base station as well as the UE / communications device will in general comprise various other elements associated with its operating functionality.

[0036] As shown in Figure 3, the TRP 10 also includes a network interface 50 which connects to the DU 42 via a physical interface 16. The network interface 50 therefore provides a communication link for data and signalling traffic from the TRP 10 via the DU 42 and the CU 40 to the core network 20.

[0037] The interface 46 between the DU 42 and the CU 40 is known as the F 1 interface which can be a physical or a logical interface. The Fl interface 46 between CU and DU may operate in accordance with specifications 3GPP TS 38.470 and 3GPP TS 38.473, and may be formed from a fibre optic or other wired or wireless high bandwidth connection. In one example the connection 16 from the TRP 10 to the DU 42 is via fibre optic. The connection between a TRP 10 and the core network 20 can be generally referred to as a backhaul, which comprises the interface 16 from the network interface 50 of the TRP 10 to the DU 42 and the Fl interface 46 from the DU 42 to the CU 40. The core network 20 is connected to the CU 40 via the N2 (also called NG-C) interface for carrying control data and via the N3 (also called NG-U) interface for carrying user data.

[0038] 6G Wireless Communications

[0039] As described above, several generations of mobile communications have been standardised globally up to now, where each generation took approximately a decade from introduction before the development and introduction of another new generation. For example, generations of mobile communications have moved from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (2G) to Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) (3G), from WCDMA (3G) to UTE (4G), and most recently from LTE (4G) to NR (5G).

[0040] The latest generation of mobile communications is 5G, as discussed above with reference to the example configurations of Figures 2 and 3, where a significant number of additional features have been incorporated in different releases to provide new services and capabilities. Such services include eMBB, IIoT and URLLC as discussed above, but also include such services as 2-step Random Access (RACH), Unlicensed NR (NR-U), Cross-link Interference (CLI) handling for Time Division Duplexing (TDD), Positioning, Small Data Transmissions (SDT), Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBS), Reduced Capability UEs, Vehicular Communications (V2X), Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), UE power saving, Non Terrestrial Networks (NTN), NR operation up to 71GHz, loT over NTN, Non-public networks (NPN), and Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing.

[0041] Nevertheless, as in every decade, a new generation (e.g. 6G) is expected to be developed and deployed in the near future (around the year 2030), and will be expected to provide new services and capabilities that the current 5G cannot provide. There are discussions on technologies beyond 5G, i.e. 6G, which are expected to have significantly higher throughput, lower latency and higher reliability than 5G services,which are also expected to utilise sub-THz frequencies. In the case of 6G, base stations, which are an example of network infrastructure equipment, may also referred to as 6G NB (6G Node B), 6G RAN node, and so forth. In 6G, the core network 20 as shown in the examples of Figures 2 and 3 may be one or more network functions.

[0042] It is expected that for 6G-compatible devices, 6G will coexist with other technologies such as 5G, navigation systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), and more recently developed features and services such as Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), and Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) in the same form factor. UWB enables short-range but high-bandwidth (i.e. higher than Bluetooth) communications for applications in sensing and tracking, for example. ISAC is a system which combines sensing and communication functionalities by reusing the same hardware on the network side (and potentially on the UE side) in order to save resources and reduce power consumption. An A-IoT device is essentially a zero power communications device, where it is considered that the communications device can harvest energy to power its communication with a base station (such as a gNB). For example, the energy can be harvested from solar or kinetic energy such as vibrations. Alternatively, the energy to power the communications device can come from incident radio frequency (RF) energy, either directly from a base station or from a carrier wave emitter (CWE).

[0043] Given the number of coexisting technologies and systems within a 6G device, it can therefore be anticipated that some of these technologies are likely to cause interference to 6G, or that 6G is likely to cause interference to the transmitters / receivers being used for these technologies which are housed in the same form factor as those used for the 6G communications. This type of interference is known as InDevice Coexistence (IDC) interference.

[0044] In-Device Coexistence (IDC)

[0045] In-Device Coexistence (IDC) is a well-known framework introduced from 4G onwards to indicate the interference problem experienced within a device due to the accessing by the device of radio resources for multiple radio access technologies at the same time and / or within the same or adjacent frequency bands, even when filtering techniques are used and there is appropriate separation in allocated resources.

[0046] Generally, IDC interference is a problem which a device such as a UE cannot solve by itself, and requires network intervention. Thus, a device will report IDC interference to the network, for example via an RRC message. IDC interference is generally considered more severe than inter-device interference, because of the immediate proximity of the transceiver circuitry associated with the different radio access technologies within the device. This means that the transmit power level associated with one service or system can be higher than the received power level of another, which is very unlikely to be the case in inter-device interference.

[0047] Figure 4, which is reproduced from [3], illustrates the IDC problem at a device which houses, in the same form factor, separate RF transceivers and basebands for each of four different radio access technologies; one for LTE, one for GPS, and one for both Bluetooth and WiFi. The device uses separate antenna arrays for each technology; a first antenna 61 for LTE, a second antenna 62 for GPS, and a third antenna 63 for Bluetooth and WiFi. As can be seen in the example of Figure 4, LTE transmission and reception using the first antenna 61 may cause IDC interference 64 which is experienced at both the second antenna 62 and the third antenna 63. Similarly, Bluetooth / WiFi transmission and reception using the third antenna 63 may cause IDC interference 65 which is experienced at the first antenna 61.

[0048] In [3], 3GPP has initially studied the interference between LTE, Bluetooth and WiFi, and GPS signals. Based on the IDC indication transmitted from the UE to the network, the network may solve the IDC problem by, for example, configuring a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) solution (e.g. bymoving either the victim or aggressor system to another frequency) or configuring a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) solution (e.g. by configuring a time division pattern between the aggressor and victim systems) for the UE.

[0049] Technical Problem

[0050] In 4G, IDC is reported via RRC signalling carrying the InDeviceCoexIndication message, as described in [4] for example. In 5G, IDC is reported as via RRC signalling carrying the UEAssistancelnformation (UAI) message, as described in [5] for example. This UAI message is shown in Figures 5A and 5B, which are reproduced from [5], with the portions relating to IDC interference being highlighted in Figures 5A and 5B. The parameters used in the UEAssistancelnformation message as shown in Figures 5A and 5B are also defined in [5], as well as in Table I below.

[0051] > > &

[0052] > > > &&

[0053]

[0054] 5G supports interference indication from the UE where it cannot solve the interference issues by itself towards following systems: navigation systems like GPS, Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), Galileo, and Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), and radio access technologies such as Wireless Local Areas Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, and UWB. As can be understood from Table I above, the UEAssistancelnformation message indicates the affected carrier frequency in respect of both the frequency range and the interference direction, with the message furthermore indicating the victim system (i.e. indicating whether NR or whether other system(s) are impacted by the IDC interference, or whether both NR and the other system(s) are impacted).

[0055] UWB offers a secure low power positioning technology operating on the 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz frequency band and using a Time of Flight (ToF) approach to detect nearby devices. UWB uses a larger bandwidththan both Bluetooth and WiFi. During Rel-18, UWB was added as a victim system, where NR signals can interfere with UWB signals.

[0056] As described above, 5G will introduce the Ambient loT (A-IoT) system which is a low power indoor solution. If a device supports both A-IoT and macro cell deployment, then coexistence issues may exist. A-IoT may experience interference either on the same frequency, on an adjacent channel, or due to second harmonics. In this case, some indication from the UE may be required to solve the IDC interference issue on the network side, and the network may configure an FDM or TDM solution as described above.

[0057] In addition, UWB signals could be interfered with by A-IoT signals and vice versa. Alternatively, UWB or A-IoT may interfere with any of the navigation systems as described above, and vice versa. In one deployment, A-IoT and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) may coexist in the same device. In this case A-IoT signals could interfere with RFID signals or vice versa.

[0058] Integrated Sensing and Communication (IS AC) will use its own positioning and sensing signals. These will most likely be designed based on Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) or similar. ISAC signals may be interfered with by UWB or A-IoT signals and vice versa. PRS may be transmitted by a gNB or by another device. In a scenario in which a gNB broadcasts PRS, any interference sources could be generalised as being 6G. But if PRS being transmitted by a UE is considered, then ISAC could be either a victim or an aggressor to this.

[0059] Thus, moving forward to 6G, a number of new sources and victims of IDC interference will be introduced, with devices able to operate in accordance with a number of new and different systems which coexist within such devices. A technical problem to solve then is how to enable these devices to report and thus solve detected IDC interference - as is possible in 4G and 5G - in view of these new systems and technologies.

[0060] In-Device Coexistence in 6G

[0061] Figure 6 shows a part schematic, part message flow diagram representation of a wireless communications system comprising a communications device 101 (e.g. a UE 14) and an infrastructure equipment 102 (e.g. a gNB / TRP 10) forming part of a wireless communications network in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present technique.

[0062] The communications device 101 may be configured to communicate with the wireless communications network, for example with the infrastructure equipment 102, via a channel between the communications device 101 and the infrastructure equipment 102. Specifically, the communications device 101 may be configured to transmit data to and / or receive data from the wireless communications network (e.g. to / from the infrastructure equipment 102) via a wireless radio interface provided by the wireless communications network (e.g. a Uu interface between the communications device 101 and the Radio Access Network (RAN), which includes the infrastructure equipment 102). The communications device 101 and the infrastructure equipment 102 each comprise a transceiver (or transceiver circuitry) 101.1, 102.1, and a controller (or controller circuitry) 101.2, 102.2. Each of the controllers 101.2, 102.2 may be, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU, or a dedicated chipset, etc. The controllers 101.2, 102.2 may also each be equipped with a memory unit (which is not shown in Figure 6).

[0063] As shown in the example of Figure 6, the controller 101.2 of the communications device 101 is configured to control the transceiver 101.1 of the communications device 101 to exchange 104 signals with the infrastructure equipment 102 in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, whereinat least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), to detect 106 in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged 104 in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, and to transmit 108, to the infrastructure equipment 102, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference 106.

[0064] Here, the assistance information message 108 may comprise, the indication of the detected IDC interference 106 may comprise an indication of the direction of the interference, and may comprise an indication of one or more of the at least two technologies involved in the IDC interference. Specifically, this indication of one or more of the at least technologies involved in the IDC interference may indicate which one (or more) of the technologies is the victim system - i.e. in accordance with which technology is the communications device 101 unable to transmit and / or receive signals due to the IDC interference. The indication of one or more of the at least technologies involved in the IDC interference may alternatively or additionally indicate which one (or more) of the technologies is the aggressor system -i.e. in accordance with which technology are the signals transmitted / received by the communications device 101 causing the IDC interference with signals transmitted / received in accordance with another (victim) radio access technology.

[0065] Here, the IDC interference may be caused by a first set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a first of the at least two radio access technologies at least partially overlapping in time and / or frequency with a second set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a second of the at least two radio access technologies. That is, the first and second sets of resources may be adjacent frequency channels, or may be overlapping frequency channels. The interference may in other examples be caused by the second or third harmonics of a signal transmitted or received in the first set of resources interfering with the signal transmitted or received in the second set of resources.

[0066] Essentially then, embodiments of the present disclosure, as exemplified by the example wireless communications system of Figure 6 for example, propose the introduction of assistance information for the cases where a device (e.g. a UE) experiences interference due to the presence of technologies AIoT, 6GI0T, ISAC, UWB, and RFID in coexistence with 6G and each other. The solutions according to embodiments of the present technique are proposed in view of the expectation that the UE’s implementation is such that the UE cannot solve by itself the interference caused by the coexistence of these technologies.

[0067] In particular, embodiments of the present technique propose the introduction of new victim types for 6G. These include, but are not limited to:

[0068] A-IoT signals being interfered with by 6G

[0069] A-IoT, as described above, it a low power system. Thus, if a device supports both 6G communication and A-IoT communication then signals associated with the high power 6G system may interfere with those associated with the A-IoT system. Even if an A-IoT device does not itself support the 6G system, or indeed a 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G system, A-IoT transmission / reception could be affected due to the high power transmissions of these signals. This could be due to the 6G or other signals being transmitted in an adjacent channel, or due to second / third harmonics of 6G signals causing interference to A-IoT. The A-loT system may not use particularly high quality filters, due to the requirement for A-IoT to be a low cost system, and so the UE may find it difficult to suppress adjacent channel or co-channel interference from a strong source such as 6G.Here, such adjacent channel or co-channel interference from 6G (or one of 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) may be from an external source; i.e. the interference source is not within the A-IoT (or, for example, 6G-I0T) device itself. Such an A-IoT or 6G-I0T device may not support 6G or other generations of cellular networks. However, due to the high power transmissions of these systems, the A-I0T / 6G-I0T signals may still suffer from interference from these systems as described above when they are transmitted or received by another device (e.g. UE). Here, because both A-I0T / 6G-I0T and the interfering 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G / 6G systems are both 3GPP technologies, the IDC reporting framework described above with respect to the example wireless communications system of Figure 6 can still be used to handle such interference.

[0070] In other words, the communications device may be configured to exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), to detect interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, and to transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

[0071] A-IoT signals causing interference to UWB and vice versa

[0072] A-IoT and UWB may coexist in the same device. A-IoT may be used for inventory / command procedures whereas UWB may be used to detect other devices in proximity. Both systems are low power, and so interference could be experienced in either direction depending on the frequency of operation of both systems.

[0073] A-IoT signals causing interference to RFID and vice versa

[0074] A-IoT is generally seen as an alternative to RFID, but in some implementations A-IoT and RFID may coexist in a device. Both systems operate as low power, and so interference could be experienced in either direction.

[0075] 6G causing interference to UWB

[0076] As described above, UWB is already defined as a victim type in NR. However, the prospect of 6G signals causing interference to UWB might be more likely than in 5G because 6G and UWB may operate on the same frequency range (i.e. 6-13 GHz). Thus, UWB may be understood to be a new victim type in view of the specific scenario of 6G causing interference to UWB.

[0077] ISAC signals causing interference to UWB / A-IoT and vice versa

[0078] ISAC and UWB are both low power systems. For a scenario where ISAC does not involve a gNB (e.g. a UE uses ISAC to sense nearby passive objects) then the interference could be experienced in either direction (i.e. ISAC signals interfering with UWB or UWB signals interfering with ISAC). If the gNB is involved in ISAC sensing procedures, then sensing signals from the gNB may interfere with UWB at the UE. ISAC and UWB may be competing solutions, but it is envisaged that ISAC may be used for 3GPP sensing while UWB may be used for non-3GPP sensing, and could be targeted by different applications than ISAC.

[0079] 6G-I0T causing interference to victim types including UWB and A-IoT

[0080] 6G-I0T can be understood as encompassing 4G and 5G Machine Type Communication (MTC) and Narrowband loT (NB-IoT) devices which are migrated to 6G. These are different to A-IoT devices as some of the 6G-I0T devices operate with a coin cell battery rather than relying on ambient power sources.UWB may use a similar batery, and so signals from 6G-I0T and UWB can potentially cause interference to each other. Coin cell bateries provide low power and short bursts of power so the transmissions are of low power and for shorter durations. These overlapping durations may cause interference to each other, as well as to signals associated with other similarly low-power technologies such as A-IoT or RFID.

[0081] In the example cases above, both for the cases where the two interfering systems are within the UE itself and the cases where the interference source is external to the (A-IoT or 6G-I0T) UE, the UE reports an indication of the detected interference to the gNB as described above with respect to the example wireless communications system of Figure 6. This indication could be sent in an RRC message or in any of PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY control signalling. In other words, the assistance information message may transmited via any one of: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) signalling, Radio Link Control (RLC) signalling, a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), or Uplink Control Information (UCI) carried by a physical layer channel.

[0082] Alternatively, a configuration may be provided by the network in RRC or other higher layer like RLC / MAC, and the UE may indicate activation / deactivation at lower layers in RLC / MAC / PHY depending on the architecture split. In other words, the communications device may be configured to receive, from the infrastructure equipment, configuration information for the transmission of the assistance information message, wherein the assistance information message may be transmited based on the received configuration information. Here, the assistance information message may specifically be transmited as an activation signal indicating that the IDC interference is currently ongoing, and the communications device may later transmit a deactivation signal indicating that the IDC interference is no longer being experienced.

[0083] As described above in view of the IDC interference problem in 4G and 5G, the gNB’s action could be to perform an FDM or TDM solution. In other words, the communications device may be configured to receive, from the infrastructure equipment in response to the assistance information message, an indication of a solution to be applied by the communications device to alleviate the IDC interference, where here, this solution may comprise either performing a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies or performing a time division multiplexing (TDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0084] Figure 7 shows a flow diagram illustrating an example process of communications in a communications system in accordance with embodiments of the present technique. The process shown by Figure 7 is specifically a method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network.

[0085] The method begins in step S 1. The method comprises, in step S2, exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). In step S3, the process comprises detecting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies. Then, in step S4, the method comprises transmiting, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference. The process ends in step S5.

[0086] Those skilled in the art would appreciate that the method shown by Figure 7 may be adapted in accordance with embodiments of the present technique. For example, other intermediate steps may beincluded in such a method, or the steps may be performed in any logical order. Though embodiments of the present technique have been described largely by way of the example communications system shown in Figure 6, it would be clear to those skilled in the art that they could be equally applied to other systems to those described herein, provided that these are within the scope of the claims.

[0087] Those skilled in the art would further appreciate that such infrastructure equipment and / or communications devices as herein defined may be further defined in accordance with the various arrangements and embodiments discussed in the preceding paragraphs. It would be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that such infrastructure equipment and communications devices as herein defined and described may form part of communications systems other than those defined by the present disclosure, provided that these are within the scope of the claims.

[0088] The following numbered paragraphs provide further example aspects and features of the present technique:

[0089] Paragraph 1. A method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the method comprising

[0090] exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),

[0091] detecting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, and

[0092] transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

[0093] Paragraph 2. A method according to Paragraph 1, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling.

[0094] Paragraph 3. A method according to Paragraph 1 or Paragraph 2, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) signalling.

[0095] Paragraph 4. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 3, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Radio Link Control (RLC) signalling.

[0096] Paragraph 5. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 4, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0097] Paragraph 6. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 5, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Uplink Control Information (UCI) carried by a physical layer channel.

[0098] Paragraph 7. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 6, comprising

[0099] receiving, from the infrastructure equipment, configuration information for the transmission of the assistance information message,

[0100] wherein the assistance information message is transmitted based on the received configuration information.

[0101] Paragraph 8. A method according to Paragraph 7, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted as an activation signal indicating that the IDC interference is currently ongoing.

[0102] Paragraph 9. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 8, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of a direction of the detected IDC interference.

[0103] Paragraph 10. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 9, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are victims of the detected IDC interference.Paragraph 11. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 10, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are causing the detected IDC interference.

[0104] Paragraph 12. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 11, wherein the IDC interference is caused by a first set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a first of the at least two radio access technologies at least partially overlapping in time and / or frequency with a second set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a second of the at least two radio access technologies.

[0105] Paragraph 13. A method according to any of Paragraphs 1 to 12, comprising

[0106] receiving, from the infrastructure equipment in response to the assistance information message, an indication of a solution to be applied by the communications device to alleviate the IDC interference. Paragraph 14. A method according to Paragraph 13, wherein the solution comprises performing a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0107] Paragraph 15. A method according to Paragraph 13 or Paragraph 14, wherein the solution comprises performing a time division multiplexing (TDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0108] Paragraph 16. A communications device comprising

[0109] a transceiver configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, and

[0110] a controller configured in combination with the transceiver

[0111] to exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (IS AC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),

[0112] to detect in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, and

[0113] to transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

[0114] Paragraph 17. Circuitry for a communications device, the circuitry comprising

[0115] transceiver circuitry configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, and

[0116] controller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitry

[0117] to exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),

[0118] to detect in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, and

[0119] to transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

[0120] Paragraph 18. A method of operating an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network configured to communicate with a communications device, the method comprising

[0121] exchanging signals with the communications device in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), andreceiving, from the communications device, an assistance information message comprising an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0122] Paragraph 19. A method according to Paragraph 18, wherein the assistance information message is received via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling.

[0123] Paragraph 20. A method according to Paragraph 18 or Paragraph 19, wherein the assistance information message is received via Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) signalling.

[0124] Paragraph 21. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 20, wherein the assistance information message is received via Radio Link Control (RLC) signalling.

[0125] Paragraph 22. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 21, wherein the assistance information message is received via a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0126] Paragraph 23. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 22, wherein the assistance information message is received via Uplink Control Information (UCI) carried by a physical layer channel.

[0127] Paragraph 24. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 23, comprising

[0128] transmitting, to the communications device, configuration information for the transmission of the assistance information message by the communications device,

[0129] wherein the assistance information message is received based on the transmitted configuration information.

[0130] Paragraph 25. A method according to Paragraph 24, wherein the assistance information message is received as an activation signal indicating that the IDC interference is currently ongoing.

[0131] Paragraph 26. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 25, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of a direction of the IDC interference.

[0132] Paragraph 27. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 26, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are victims of the IDC interference.

[0133] Paragraph 28. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 27, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are causing the IDC interference.

[0134] Paragraph 29. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 28, wherein the IDC interference is caused by a first set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a first of the at least two radio access technologies at least partially overlapping in time and / or frequency with a second set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a second of the at least two radio access technologies.

[0135] Paragraph 30. A method according to any of Paragraphs 18 to 29, comprising

[0136] transmitting, to the communications device in response to receiving the assistance information message, an indication of a solution to be applied by the communications device to alleviate the IDC interference.

[0137] Paragraph 31. A method according to Paragraph 30, wherein the solution comprises performing a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0138] Paragraph 32. A method according to Paragraph 30 or Paragraph 31, wherein the solution comprises performing a time division multiplexing (TDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0139] Paragraph 33. An infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising

[0140] a transceiver configured to communicate with a communications device, and

[0141] a controller configured in combination with the transceiver

[0142] to exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet ofThings (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and

[0143] to receive, from the communications device, an assistance information message comprising an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0144] Paragraph 34. Circuitry for an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the circuitry comprising

[0145] transceiver circuitry configured to communicate with a communications device, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitry

[0146] to exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and

[0147] to receive, from the communications device, an assistance information message comprising an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

[0148] Paragraph 35. A wireless communications system comprising a communications device according to Paragraph 16 and an infrastructure equipment according to Paragraph 33.

[0149] Paragraph 36. A method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the method comprising exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T),

[0150] detecting interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, and

[0151] transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

[0152] Paragraph 37. A communications device comprising

[0153] a transceiver configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, and

[0154] a controller configured in combination with the transceiver

[0155] to exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T),

[0156] to detect interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, and

[0157] to transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

[0158] Paragraph 38. Circuitry for a communications device, the circuitry comprising

[0159] transceiver circuitry configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, and

[0160] controller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitry

[0161] to exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T),to detect interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, and

[0162] to transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

[0163] Paragraph 39. A method of operating an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network configured to communicate with a communications device, the method comprising

[0164] exchanging signals with the communications device in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), and

[0165] receiving, from the communications device, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology.

[0166] Paragraph 40. An infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising

[0167] a transceiver configured to communicate with a communications device, and

[0168] a controller configured in combination with the transceiver

[0169] to exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), and

[0170] to receive, from the communications device, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology.

[0171] Paragraph 41. Circuitry for an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the circuitry comprising

[0172] transceiver circuitry configured to communicate with a communications device, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitry

[0173] to exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), and

[0174] to receive, from the communications device, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology.

[0175] Paragraph 42. A wireless communications system comprising a communications device according to Paragraph 37 and an infrastructure equipment according to Paragraph 40.

[0176] Paragraph 43. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to any one of Paragraphs 1 to 15, Paragraphs 18 to 32, Paragraph 36, or Paragraph 39.Paragraph 44. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to Paragraph 43.

[0177] It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments with reference to different functional units, circuitry and / or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, circuitry and / or processors may be used without detracting from the embodiments.

[0178] Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Described embodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors. The elements and components of any embodiment may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed, the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuitry and / or processors. Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Additionally, although a feature may appear to be described in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in the art would recognise that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner suitable to implement the technique.References

[0179] [1] Holma H. and Toskala A, “LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA based radio access”, John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

[0180] [2] TR 38.913, “3rdGeneration Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Study on Scenarios and Requirements for Next Generation Access Technologies (Release 14)”, 3GPP, vl4.3.0, August 2017.

[0181] [3] TR 36.816, “3rdGeneration Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Study on signalling and procedure for interference avoidance for in-device coexistence (Release 11)”, 3GPP, vl 1.2.0, December 2011.

[0182] [4] TS 36.331, “3rdGeneration Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol specification (Release 18)”, 3GPP, vl8.4.0, December 2024.

[0183] [5] TS 38.331, “3rdGeneration Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 18)”, 3GPP, vl8.4.0, December 2024.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the method comprising exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),detecting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, andtransmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling.

3. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) signalling.

4. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Radio Link Control (RLC) signalling.

5. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

6. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted via Uplink Control Information (UCI) carried by a physical layer channel.

7. A method according to Claim 1, comprisingreceiving, from the infrastructure equipment, configuration information for the transmission of the assistance information message,wherein the assistance information message is transmitted based on the received configuration information.

8. A method according to Claim 7, wherein the assistance information message is transmitted as an activation signal indicating that the IDC interference is currently ongoing.

9. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of a direction of the detected IDC interference.

10. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are victims of the detected IDC interference.

11. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are causing the detected IDC interference.

12. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the IDC interference is caused by a first set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a first of the at least two radio access technologies at least partially overlapping in time and / or frequency with a second set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a second of the at least two radio access technologies.

13. A method according to Claim 1, comprisingreceiving, from the infrastructure equipment in response to the assistance information message, an indication of a solution to be applied by the communications device to alleviate the IDC interference.

14. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the solution comprises performing a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

15. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the solution comprises performing a time division multiplexing (TDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

16. A communications device comprisinga transceiver configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, anda controller configured in combination with the transceiverto exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),to detect in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, andto transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

17. Circuitry for a communications device, the circuitry comprisingtransceiver circuitry configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, andcontroller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitryto exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),to detect in-device coexistence (IDC) interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies, andto transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected IDC interference.

18. A method of operating an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network configured to communicate with a communications device, the method comprising exchanging signals with the communications device in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet ofThings (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), andreceiving, from the communications device, an assistance information message comprising an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

19. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message is received via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalling.

20. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message is received via Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) signalling.

21. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message is received via Radio Link Control (RLC) signalling.

22. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message is received via a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

23. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message is received via Uplink Control Information (UCI) carried by a physical layer channel.

24. A method according to Claim 18, comprisingtransmitting, to the communications device, configuration information for the transmission of the assistance information message by the communications device,wherein the assistance information message is received based on the transmitted configuration information.

25. A method according to Claim 24, wherein the assistance information message is received as an activation signal indicating that the IDC interference is currently ongoing.

26. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of a direction of the IDC interference.

27. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are victims of the IDC interference.

28. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the assistance information message comprises an indication of which one or more at least two radio access technologies are causing the IDC interference.

29. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the IDC interference is caused by a first set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a first of the at least two radio access technologies at least partially overlapping in time and / or frequency with a second set of resources used for the signals exchanged in accordance with a second of the at least two radio access technologies.

30. A method according to Claim 18, comprisingtransmitting, to the communications device in response to receiving the assistance information message, an indication of a solution to be applied by the communications device to alleviate the IDC interference.

31. A method according to Claim 30, wherein the solution comprises performing a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

32. A method according to Claim 30, wherein the solution comprises performing a time division multiplexing (TDM) operation on the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

33. An infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprisinga transceiver configured to communicate with a communications device, anda controller configured in combination with the transceiverto exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), andto receive, from the communications device, an assistance information message comprising an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

34. Circuitry for an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the circuitry comprisingtransceiver circuitry configured to communicate with a communications device, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitryto exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with at least two radio access technologies, wherein at least one of the radio access technologies is one of: 6G, Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT), 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), andto receive, from the communications device, an assistance information message comprising an indication of in-device coexistence (IDC) interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the at least two radio access technologies.

35. A wireless communications system comprising a communications device according to Claim 16 and an infrastructure equipment according to Claim 33.

36. A method of operating a communications device configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the method comprising exchanging signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T),detecting interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, andtransmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

37. A communications device comprisinga transceiver configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, anda controller configured in combination with the transceiverto exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T),to detect interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, andto transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

38. Circuitry for a communications device, the circuitry comprisingtransceiver circuitry configured to communicate with an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, andcontroller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitryto exchange signals with the infrastructure equipment in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T),to detect interference between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology, andto transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of the detected interference.

39. A method of operating an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network configured to communicate with a communications device, the method comprising exchanging signals with the communications device in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), andreceiving, from the communications device, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology.

40. An infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprisinga transceiver configured to communicate with a communications device, anda controller configured in combination with the transceiverto exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), andto receive, from the communications device, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signalsexchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology.

41. Circuitry for an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the circuitry comprisingtransceiver circuitry configured to communicate with a communications device, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transceiver circuitryto exchange signals with the communications device in accordance with a first radio access technology, wherein the first radio access technology is either Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) or 6G Internet of Things (6GI0T), andto receive, from the communications device, an in-device coexistence (IDC) assistance information message comprising an indication of interference detected by the communications device between the signals exchanged in accordance with the first radio access technology and signals exchanged between the infrastructure equipment and a second communications device in accordance with a second radio access technology, the second radio access technology being one of a 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G cellular network technology.

42. A wireless communications system comprising a communications device according to Claim 37 and an infrastructure equipment according to Claim 40.

43. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to any one of Claim 1, Claim 18, Claim 36, or Claim 39.

44. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to Claim 43.

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