Enhanced cell id (e-CID) positioning based on multi-TRP measurements

Abstract

Embodiments include methods for a positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network (RAN). Such methods include sending (1110) to a RAN node, an enhanced cell identity (E-CID) measurement initiation request message that includes an identifier of a target user equipment (UE) and an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points (TRPs) having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. Such methods include receiving (1120) the following from the RAN node: when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; and when the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

Description

[0001] ENHANCED CELL ID (E-CID) POSITIONING BASED ON MULTLTRP MEASUREMENTS TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication networks, and more specifically to techniques used to estimate locations of user equipment (UE) operating in a communication network.

[0003] BACKGROUND

[0004] The fifth generation (“5G”) of cellular systems has been standardized within the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G was developed for maximum flexibility to support a wide range of use cases including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several other use cases. 5G was initially specified in Release 15 (Rel-15) and continues to evolve through subsequent releases.

[0005] 3GPP standards provide various ways for positioning (e.g., determining the position of, locating, and / or determining the location of) user equipment (UEs) operating in 3GPP networks. In general, a positioning node configures a target device (e.g., UE) and / or a radio access network (RAN) node to perform one or more positioning measurements according to one or more positioning methods. For example, the positioning measurements can include timing (and / or timing difference) measurements on UE, RAN, and / or satellite transmissions, such as RAN-transmitted positioning reference signals (PRS), The positioning measurements are used by the target UE, the RAN node, and / or the positioning node to determine the target UE’s position.

[0006] In the cell identity (CID) positioning method, the position of a UE is estimated based on knowledge of its serving RAN node and cell. The information about the serving RAN node and cell may be obtained based on paging the UE, registration of the UE, or other methods. Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) uses additional UE and / or RAN measurements to improve accuracy of the UE position estimate relative to CID. For example, uplink (UL) E-CID may utilize measurements of NR and earlier generation 3GPP-specified radio interfaces, as well as measurements of wireless LAN (WLAN) signals. However, E-CID is generally based on “best-effort” reporting, such that the UE’s serving RAN node reports relevant measurements that are currently available rather than triggering new measurement collection.

[0007] CID may also be used in conjunction with non-E-CID positioning methods. For example, when a UE moves to the serving area of another RAN node, the UE’s previous serving RAN node may send the positioning node a message that includes the cell ID of the new serving cell for theUE. This is referred to as a Positioning Information Update procedure and is specified in 3GPP Technical Standard (TS) 38.455 (vl 8.4.0).

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] Currently, E-CID positioning in 5G is based on the positioning node (also referred to as “location management function” or LMF) requesting a RAN node to provide certain measurements for a target UE that it serves, and the RAN node responding with the requested celllevel measurements for the UE. Even so, a single cell may be served by multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) associated with the RAN node and these TRPs may have different measurements for that UE, e.g., due to the TRPs not being co-located. Thus, it may be desirable for the LMF to obtain all TRP measurements for the target UE in order to more accurately estimate location via E-CID. However, existing protocols between LMF and RAN nodes do not enable or facilitate this desirable result.

[0010] An object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to improve location estimation for UEs in a RAN based on E-CID techniques, such as by providing, enabling, and / or facilitating solutions to overcome exemplary problems summarized above and described in more detail below.

[0011] Some embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a positioning node configured to operate with a RAN.

[0012] These exemplary methods include sending, to a RAN node, an E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target UE, and an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points (TRPs) having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. These exemplary methods also include receiving the following from the RAN node:

[0013] • when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs that serve the first cell; and

[0014] • when the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

[0015] In some embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on-demand report of the requested measurements, the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message. In other embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, the successmessage is an E-CID measurement report message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

[0016] In some embodiments, when the failure message is received from the RAN node, these exemplary methods also include sending, to a second RAN node that provides the second cell, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: the identifier of the target UE, and a second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods also include receiving from the second RAN node a second success message that the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the second RAN node.

[0017] Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a RAN node configured to facilitate positioning of UEs served by the RAN node. In general, these embodiments are complementary to the exemplary methods for a positioning node summarized above.

[0018] These exemplary methods include receiving, from a positioning node, an E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target UE, and an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. These exemplary methods also include node sending the following to the positioning node:

[0019] • when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs that serve the first cell; and

[0020] • when the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

[0021] In some embodiments, these exemplary methods also include receiving from a second RAN node a context retrieval request including an indication that the target UE is served by the second cell provided by the second RAN node. The failure message is sent based on the indication.

[0022] In some embodiments, these exemplary method also include obtaining from the plurality of TRPs the available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements.

[0023] In some of these embodiments, obtaining the available measurements includes selecting, from among all TRPs associated with the RAN node, the plurality of TRPs based on the selected TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. In other of these embodiments, the method is performed by a CU of the RAN node and obtaining the available measurements includes the following operations:

[0024] • determining that the target UE is served by the first cell, which is provided by a DU of the RAN node; and• sending, to the DU, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: the identifier of the target UE, and a second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. In some variants of these embodiments, obtaining the available measurements also includes receiving from the DU a second success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the plurality of TRPs. The available measurements received in the second success message are sent to the positioning node in the success message.

[0025] Other embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for a DU of a RAN node. In general, these embodiments are complementary to the exemplary methods for a positioning node a RAN node, summarized above.

[0026] These exemplary methods include receiving, from a CU of the RAN node, an E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target UE, and an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. These exemplary methods also include selecting a plurality of TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. These exemplary methods also include obtaining the available measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs. These exemplary methods also include sending to the CU a success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

[0027] The following summary applies to all embodiments summarized above.

[0028] In some embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on-demand report of the requested measurements, the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message.

[0029] In other embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, the success message is an E-CID measurement report message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

[0030] In some embodiments, the positioning node is an LMF of a 5GC. In some embodiments, one or more of the following applies:

[0031] • the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element (IE); and

[0032] • the requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, uplink (UL) reference signal received power (RSRP), UL reference signalreceived path power (RSRPP), UL angle of arrival (AoA), and UL relative time of arrival (RToA).

[0033] Other embodiments, variants, and features of the exemplary methods summarized above are described herein. Other embodiments include positioning nodes (e.g., LMFs, SMLCs, SUPLs) and RAN nodes (e.g., base stations, eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, CUs, DUs, etc.) configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other embodiments include non-transitory, computer-readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, configure such positioning nodes or RAN nodes to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0034] These and other embodiments described herein may provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, embodiments may improve E-CID positioning accuracy by providing multiple measurements from different TRPs based on which a UE position may be determined, while maintaining “best-effort” approach of E-CID positioning by not requiring initiation of any new measurements. Moreover, embodiments may also enable RAN node flexibility in selection of TRPs whose measurements should be provided to the LMF. Furthermore, embodiments may reduce latency of E-CID positioning due to timely notifications of UE cell changes during ongoing positioning procedures.

[0035] These and other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description in view of the Drawings briefly described below.

[0036] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 shows an exemplary 5G network.

[0038] Figure 2 shows exemplary 5G user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol layers. Figure 3 shows a high-level architecture for UE positioning in 5G networks.

[0039] Figure 4 shows an example Positioning Information Exchange procedure.

[0040] Figure 5 shows an example Measurement procedure.

[0041] Figure 6 shows an example E-CID Measurement Initiation procedure.

[0042] Figure 7 shows an example E-CID Measurement Initiation procedure, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] Figure 8 shows an example E-CID Failure Indication procedure, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 9 shows an example E-CID Measurement Initiation procedure, according to other embodiments of the present disclosure.Figure 10 shows an example E-CID Measurement Report procedure, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 11 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a positioning node, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 12 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a RAN node, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] Figure 13 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a distributed unit (DU) of a RAN node, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] Figure 14 shows a communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 15 shows a network node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 16 shows a virtualization environment in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.

[0051] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0053] In general, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is expressly defined and / or implied from the context of use. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise or clearly implied from the context of use. The operations of any methods and / or procedures disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless an operation is explicitly described as following or preceding another operation and / or where it is implicit that an operation must follow or precede another operation. Any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein can apply to any other disclosed embodiment, as appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any embodiment described herein can apply to any other disclosed embodiment, as appropriate.

[0054] Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:

[0055] • Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node in a radio accessnetwork (RAN) that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station, a, gNB in a 5G network, an eNB in a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, base station distributed components (e.g., centralized units and distributed units), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., micro, pico, femto, or home base station), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit, and a relay node.

[0056] • Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), aPDN Gateway (P-GW), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a Charging Function (CHF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a location management function (LMF), or the like.

[0057] • Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” (or “WD” for short) is any type of device that is capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. Unless otherwise noted, the term “wireless device” is used interchangeably herein with the term “user equipment” (or “UE” for short), with both of these terms having a different meaning than the term “network node”.

[0058] • Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” can be either a “radio access node” (or equivalent term) or a “wireless device.”

[0059] • Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network (e.g., a radio access node or equivalent term) or of the core network (e.g., a core network node discussed above) of a cellular communications network. Functionally, a network node is equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the cellular communications network, to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device, and / or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communications network.

[0060] • Node: As used herein, the term “node” (without prefix) can be any type of node that can in or with a wireless network (including RAN and / or core network), including a radio access node (or equivalent term), core network node, or wireless device. However, theterm “node” may be limited to a particular type (e.g., radio access node, IAB node) based on its specific characteristics in any given context.

[0061] The above definitions are not meant to be exclusive. In other words, various ones of the above terms may be explained and / or described elsewhere in the present disclosure using the same or similar terminology. Nevertheless, to the extent that such other explanations and / or descriptions conflict with the above definitions, the above definitions should control.

[0062] Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system and can be applied to any communication system that may benefit from them.

[0063] Figure 1 shows a high-level view of an exemplary 5G network architecture, including a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN, 199) and a 5G core network (5GC, 198). The NG-RAN can include gNBs (e.g., 110a,b) and ng-eNBs (e.g., 120a,b) that are interconnected via respective Xn interfaces. The gNBs and ng-eNBs are also connected via NG interfaces to the 5GC, more specifically to the Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs, e.g., 130a, b) via respective NG-C interfaces and to the User Plane Functions (UPFs, e.g., 140a, b) via respective NG-U interfaces. Moreover, the AMFs can communicate with one or more policy control functions (PCFs, e.g., 150a, b) and network exposure functions (NEFs, e.g., 160a,b).

[0064] Each of the gNBs can support the New Radio (NR) radio interface including frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof. Each of ng-eNBs can support the LTE radio interface. Unlike conventional LTE eNBs, however, ng-eNBs connect to the 5GC via the NG interface. Each of the gNBs and ng-eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells (e.g., 211a-b, 221 a-b). Depending on the cell in which it is located, a UE (205) can communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively. Although Figure 2 shows gNBs and ng-eNBs separately, it is also possible that a single NG-RAN node provides both LTE and NR radio interfaces.

[0065] NG RAN logical nodes (e.g., gNBs) include a central unit (CU) and one or more distributed units (DUs). CUs are logical nodes that host higher-layer protocols and perform various gNB functions such controlling the operation of DUs. DUs are decentralized logical nodes that host lower layer protocols and can include, depending on the functional split option, various subsets of the gNB functions. Each CU and DU can include various circuitry needed to perform their respective functions, including processing circuitry, communication interface circuitry (e.g., transceivers), and power supply circuitry. A CU connects to one or more DUs over respective Fl logical interfaces. However, a DU can be connected to only a single CU.Figure 2 shows an exemplary configuration of 5G user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol layers between a UE (210), a gNB (220), and an AMF (230), such as those shown in Figure 1. Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers between the UE and the gNB are common to UP and CP. PDCP provides ciphering / deciphering, integrity protection, sequence numbering, reordering, and duplicate detection for both CP and UP. In addition, PDCP provides header compression and retransmission for UP data.

[0066] On the UP side, Internet protocol (IP) packets arrive to PDCP as service data units (SDUs), and PDCP creates protocol data units (PDUs) to deliver to RLC. The Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer handles quality-of-service (QoS) including mapping between QoS flows and Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) and marking QoS flow identifiers (QFI) in UL and DL packets.

[0067] When each IP packet arrives, PDCP starts a discard timer. When this timer expires, PDCP discards the associated SDU and the corresponding PDU. If the PDU was delivered to RLC, PDCP also indicates the discard to RLC. The RLC layer transfers PDCP PDUs to the MAC through logical channels (LCH). RLC provides error detection / correction, concatenation, segmentation / reassembly, sequence numbering, reordering of data transferred to / from the upper layers. If RLC receives a discard indication from associated with a PDCP PDU, it will discard the corresponding RLC SDU (or any segment thereof) if it has not been sent to lower layers.

[0068] MAC provides mapping between LCHs and PHY transport channels, LCH prioritization, multiplexing into or demultiplexing from transport blocks (TBs), hybrid ARQ (HARQ) error correction, and dynamic scheduling (in gNB). PHY provides transport channel services to MAC and handles transfer over the NR radio interface, e.g., via modulation, coding, antenna mapping, and beam forming.

[0069] On the CP side, the non-access stratum (NAS) layer between UE and AMF handles UE / gNB authentication, mobility management, and security control. RRC sits below NAS in the UE but terminates in the gNB rather than the AMF. RRC controls communications between UE and gNB at the radio interface as well as the mobility of a UE between cells in the NG-RAN. RRC also broadcasts system information (SI) and performs establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of DRBs and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) and used by UEs. Additionally, RRC controls addition, modification, and release of carrier aggregation (CA) and dual-connectivity (DC) configurations for UEs, and performs various security functions such as key management.

[0070] After a UE is powered ON it will be in the RRC IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which time the UE will transition to RRC CONNECTED state (e.g., where data transfer can occur). The UE returns to RRC IDLE after the connection with the network is released. In RRCJDLE state, the UE’s radio is active on a discontinuous reception(DRX) schedule configured by upper layers. During DRX active periods (also referred to as “DRX On durations”), an RRC IDLE UE receives SI broadcast in the cell where the UE is camping, performs measurements of neighbor cells to support cell reselection, and monitors a paging channel on PDCCH for pages from 5GC via gNB. An NR UE in RRC IDLE state is not known to the gNB serving the cell where the UE is camping. However, NR RRC includes an RRC_INACTIVE state in which a UE is known (e.g., via UE context) by the serving gNB.

[0071] In addition to providing coverage via cells as in LTE, gNBs also provide coverage via “beams.” In general, a downlink (DL, i.e., network to UE) “beam” is a coverage area of a network-transmitted reference signal (RS) that may be measured or monitored by a UE. In NR, for example, RS can include any of the following: synchronization signal / PBCH block (SSB), channel state information RS (CSI-RS), tertiary reference signals (or any other sync signal), positioning RS (PRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), phase-tracking reference signals (PTRS), etc. In general, SSB is available to all UEs regardless of the state of their connection with the network, while other RS (e.g., CSI-RS, DM-RS, PTRS) are associated with specific UEs that have a network connection.

[0072] Another change in 5G networks (e.g., in 5GC) is that traditional peer-to-peer interfaces and protocols found in earlier-generation networks are modified and / or replaced by a Service Based Architecture (SBA) in which Network Functions (NFs) provide one or more services to one or more service consumers. The services are composed of various “service operations”, which are more granular divisions of the overall service functionality. The interactions between service consumers and producers can be of the type “request / response” or “subscribe / notify” In the latter type, a service consumer NF (or equivalently, “consumer NF”) requests a service producer NF (or equivalently, “producer NF”) to establish a subscription for the service consumer NF to receive notifications from the service producer NF under conditions specified in this subscription.

[0073] One 5GC NF of interest in the present disclosure is the Location Management Function (LMF), which facilitates location services including positioning of UEs and delivery of assistance data to UEs. The LMF may interact with a target UE’s serving RAN node (e.g., gNB or ng-eNB) to obtain positioning measurements for the UE, including uplink measurements made by the RAN node (or other RAN nodes) and downlink measurements made by the UE. The LMF may interact with a target UE in order to deliver assistance data (if requested) and / or to obtain a location estimate by the UE (if requested).

[0074] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a high-level architecture for supporting UE positioning in 5G networks. The NG-RAN (320) may include nodes such as gNBs (e.g., 322) andng-eNBs (e.g., 321), as described above. Each ng-eNB may control one or more transmissionpoints (TPs), such as remote radio heads. Similarly, each gNB may control one or more transmission / reception points (TRPs).

[0075] In addition, the NG-RAN nodes communicate with an AMF (330) in the 5GC via an NG-C interface, while the AMF communicates with an LMF (340) via an NLs interface. In addition, positioning-related communication between UEs (e.g., 310) and NG-RAN nodes occurs via the RRC protocol, while positioning-related communication between NG-RAN nodes and LMF occurs via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa). Optionally, the LMF can communicate with an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC, 350) and a secure user plane location platform (SLP, 360) in an LTE network.

[0076] In typical operation, the AMF receives a request for a location service associated with a particular target UE from another entity (e.g., a gateway mobile location center, GMLC), or the AMF can initiate a location service on behalf of a particular target UE (e.g., for an emergency call by the UE). The AMF then sends a location services (LS) request to the LMF. The LMF processes the LS request, which may include transferring assistance data to the target UE to assist with UE-based and / or UE-assisted positioning; and / or positioning of the target UE. The LMF then returns the result of the LS (e.g., a position estimate for the UE and / or an indication of any assistance data transferred to the UE) to the AMF or to another entity (e.g., GMLC) that requested the LS. Various other interfaces and protocols are used for, or involved in, NR positioning. The LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) is used between a target device (e.g., UE in the control-plane, or SET in the user-plane) and a positioning server (e.g., LMF in the control-plane, SLP in the userplane). LPP can use either CP or UP protocols as underlying transport. NRPP is terminated between a target device and the LMF.

[0077] NRPPa carries information between NG-RAN and LMF over NG-C interface and is transparent to AMF. As such, the AMF routes the NRPPa PDUs over NG-C interface without knowledge of the involved NRPPa transaction, based on a Routing ID corresponding to the involved LMF. More specifically, the AMF carries the NRPPa PDUs over NG-C interface either in UE associated mode or non-UE associated mode.

[0078] LPP / NRPPa are used to deliver messages such as positioning capability request, positioning measurements request, and assistance data to the UE from the LMF. LPP / NRPPa are also used to deliver messages from the UE to the LMF including UE capability, UE measurements for UE-assisted positioning, UE request for additional assistance data, UE configuration parameter(s) to be used to create UE-specific assistance data, etc. The NG application part (NGAP) protocol between the AMF and NG-RAN (e.g., gNB or ng-eNB) is used as transport for LPP and NRPPa messages over the NG-C interface. NGAP is also used to instigate and terminate NG-RAN-related positioning procedures.5G networks may support any of the following positioning methods:

[0079] • Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID). Utilizes information to associate the UE with the geographical area of a serving cell, and then additional information to determine a finer granularity position. The following measurements are supported for E-CID: Ao A (base station only), UE Rx-Tx time difference, timing advance (TA) types 1 and 2, reference signal received power (RSRP), and reference signal received quality (RSRQ).

[0080] • Assisted GNSS. The UE receives and measures Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, supported by assistance information provided to the UE from E-SMLC. ® DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDoA). The UE measures reference signal time differences (RSTD) between DL RS (e.g., PRS) transmitted by different RAN nodes. ® UL Relative Time of Arrival (UL-RToA). The UE is requested to transmit a specific waveform that is detected by multiple location measurement units (LMUs, which may be standalone, co-located or integrated into an eNB) at known positions. These measurements are forwarded to the E-SMLC for multilateration.

[0081] • Multi-Round Trip Time (RTT): The UE computes UE Rx-Tx time difference and gNBs compute gNB Rx-Tx time difference. The results are combined to find the UE position based upon round trip time (RTT) calculation.

[0082] • DL angle of departure (DL-AoD): gNB or LMF calculates the UE angular position based upon UE DL RSRP measurement results (e.g., of PRS transmitted by RAN nodes).

[0083] • UL angle of arrival (UL-AoA): gNB calculates the UL Ao A based upon measurements of aUE’s UL SRS transmissions.

[0084] Among the positioning methods listed above, RTT uses bidirectional timing measurements including UE Rx-Tx time difference, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, time advance (TA), etc. Other positioning methods listed above may use unidirectional timing measurements, such as the following:

[0085] • RSTD: measured by UE on the DL PRS signals transmitted by positioning node j and reference positioning node i. RSTD always involves two cells (also referred to as TRPs).

[0086] • UE Rx-Tx time difference: defined as TUE-RX -TUE-TX, where:

[0087] o TUE-RX is UE receive timing of DL subframe #z, defined by the first path detected in time, measured on PRS received from the gNB.

[0088] o TUE-TX is UE transmit timing of UL subframe #j closest in time to DL subframe #i. • gNB Rx-Tx time difference: define as T§NB-RX - T§NB-TX, where:

[0089] o TgNB-Rx is gNB received timing of UL subframe #z containing SRS transmitted by / received from the UE, defined by the first path detected in time, is measured on SRS signals received from the UE.o TgNB-Tx is gNB transmit timing of DL subframe #J closest in time to UL subframe #i.

[0090] • Timing advance (TADV), defined as TADV = (T§NB-RX - T§NB-TX), where:

[0091] o TgNB-Rx is TRP received timing of UL subframe #z containing PRACH transmitted by / received from the UE, defined by the first path detected in time.

[0092] o TgNB-Tx is TRP transmit timing of DL subframe #j closest in time to UL subframe #z. o Detected PRACH is used to determine the start of a subframe containing that PRACH.

[0093] • UL-RToA: gNB / TRP reception timing of beginning of subframe z containing SRS transmitted by / received from the UE, relative to a configurable reference time.

[0094] Other non-timing UL or DL positioning measurements may include RSRP, RS received path power (RSRPP), channel impulse response (CIR), angle of departure (AoD), angle of arrival (AoA), power delay profile (PDP), delay profile (DP), etc. In some cases, a UE may also perform positioning measurements on sidelink (SL) PRS transmitted by other UE(s). In this scenario, the UE performing the positioning measurement is called “target UE” and each UE transmitting the SL PRS is called “anchor UE” or “assisting UE.”

[0095] As mentioned above, multi-RTT positioning involves both UE measurements of DL PRS transmitted by RAN nodes and NG-RAN node (e.g., gNB) measurements of UL SRS transmitted by the UE. In particular, the UE measures the time difference between its reception of DL PRS and its transmission of SRS while the NG-RAN node measures the time difference between its reception of UL SRS and transmission of DL PRS. To facilitate these measurements, the LMF initiates a Positioning Information Exchange procedure to request NG-RAN node allocation of its UL SRS resources to be used by the UE.

[0096] Figure 4 shows an example Positioning Information Exchange procedure between an LMF (420) and an NG-RAN node (410, e.g., gNB). The LMF initiates the procedure by sending a POSITIONING INFORMATION REQUEST message to the NG-RAN node. If a Requested SRS Transmission Characteristics information element (IE) is included in the POSITIONING INFORMATION REQUEST message, the NG-RAN node may take this information into account when configuring UL SRS transmissions for the UE. The NG-RAN node responds by sending a POSITIONING INFORMATION RESPONSE message to the LMF, which includes the UL SRS configuration for the UE as well as other relevant information.

[0097] After the LMF receives the UL SRS configuration, the LMF may initiate a measurement procedure based on this configuration. Figure 5 shows an example Measurement procedure between an LMF (420) and an NG-RAN node (410, e.g., gNB). The LMF initiates the procedure by sending a MEASUREMENT REQUEST message to the NG-RAN node, including a TRP Measurement Request List IE that indicates the TRP(s) from which measurements are requested. The message also includes a TRP Measurement Quantities IE that indicates the particularmeasurements requested, such as gNB-RxTxTimeDiff, UL-SRS-RSRP, UL-AoA, UL-RTOA, Multiple UL-AoA, UL SRS-RSRPP, etc.

[0098] The NG-RAN node uses the included information to configure positioning measurements by the indicated TRP(s). After collecting these measurements, the NG-RAN node responds with a MEASUREMENT RESPONSE message these measurements made by the TRP(s). Note that the Measurement procedure shown in Figure 5 uses NG-AP non-associated signaling, which means that the NG-RAN node is not aware of the particular UE for which the UL SRS is configured and on which the measurements are made.

[0099] In conventional (or non-enhanced) CID positioning, aUE’s position is estimated based on knowledge of its serving RAN node and cell. E-CID uses additional UE and / or RAN measurements to improve accuracy of the UE position estimate relative to CID. For example, UL measurements used for E-CID may include AoA (azimuth and elevation), UE Rx-Tx time difference, TA types 1 and 2, RSRP, and RS received quality (RSRQ). Likewise, E-CID positioning may be based on various DL measurements made by a UE, including synchronization signal RSRP (SS-RSRP), SS-RSRQ, channel state information RSRP (CSI-RSRP), and CSI-RSRQ. These UE DL measurements may be aggregated at cell level or measured per SSB or CSI-RS resource.

[0100] Figure 6 shows an example E-CID Measurement Initiation procedure between an LMF (420) and an NG-RAN node (410, e.g., gNB). The LMF initiates the procedure by sending an E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message to the NG-RAN node. This message identifies the target UE and includes a Measurement Quantities IE that indicates the particular types of measurements requested, including CID, UL AoA, TA, RSRP, etc. If the NG-RAN node is able to initiate the requested E-CID measurements, it replies with a E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION RESPONSE message. A Measured Results sub-IE within a E-CID Measurement Result IE of this message includes any requested non-CID measurement results.

[0101] However, E-CID is generally based on “best-effort” reporting, such that the NG-RAN node reports measurements that are currently available rather than triggering new measurement collection, such as in the procedure shown in Figure 5. Various techniques may be used to estimate the target UE’s location based on these measurements and the location of the UE’s serving cell.

[0102] CID may also be used in conjunction with positioning methods other than E-CID. For example, when a UE moves to the serving area of another RAN node, the UE’s previous serving RAN node may send the positioning node a message that includes the cell ID of the new serving cell for the UE. This is referred to as a Positioning Information Update procedure and is specified in 3GPP TS 38.455 (v!8.4.0).The E-CID positioning procedure shown in Figure 6 is based on the NG-RAN node providing cell-level measurements for the target UE. Even so, a single cell may be served by multiple TRPs associated with the NG-RAN node and these TRPs may have different measurements for that UE, e.g., due to the TRPs not being co-located. Thus, it may be desirable for the LMF to obtain all TRP measurements for the target UE in order to more accurately estimate location via E-CID positioning. However, current protocols between LMF and RAN nodes do not enable or facilitate this desired enhancement.

[0103] It may be possible to include a “multi TRP level measurement” indicator in the E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message, based on which the NG-RAN node would collect and report measurements from its associated TRPs. This enhancement would likely improve the accuracy of E-CID positioning but may necessitate changes to the current “besteffort” reporting approach in which the NG-RAN node only reports currently available measurements.

[0104] For example, if the LMF indicates a list of TRPs to measure in the E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message, the NG-RAN node will be required to report only from these TRPs. As such, the report excludes measurements by non-indicated TRPs even if those measurements are better in some way than measurements from the indicated TRPs. This is likely to occur because the LMF is generally unaware of current radio conditions in the RAN and of which TRPs are capable of providing the “best” measurements for E-CID positioning.

[0105] Furthermore, at the time of initiating E-CID positioning for a target UE served by an NG-RAN node, the LMF may be unaware of the TRPs associated with the NG-RAN node. As such, requiring the LMF to indicate a list of TRPs to measure in the E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message require either another signaling procedure to obtain the associated TRPs, or alternatively configuration of the LMF with the TRP list by the operations / administration / maintenance (OAM) system of the 5G network. Both options are undesirable.

[0106] Another problem occurs when a UE moves to another serving NG-RAN node during an E-CID measurement process. In such case, the LMF has to wait for a failure message from the previous serving NG-RAN node and an update message from the AMF associated with the UE’s new serving NG-RAN node, after which the LMF may reinitiate the E-CID procedure. This lacks flexibility compared to non-E-CID methods.

[0107] Embodiments of the present disclosure may address these and other problems, issues, and / or difficulties with flexible and efficient techniques in which the LMF includes a new indication (or flag) in a E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message to a RAN node, specifically indicating that multiple measurement quantities are requested from the RANnode. Based on the received indication, the RAN node select TRPs that can report the requested measurement quantities.

[0108] In some embodiments, when a target UE moves to a new serving RAN node during an E-CID positioning procedure, and the UE’s previous serving RAN node receives a UE context retrieval from the new serving RAN node, the previous serving RAN node sends a notification to the LMF (e.g., E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION FAILURE and / or E-CID MEASUREMENT FAILURE INDICATION messages) that the UE moved out of the service area of this RAN node, and includes the cell ID of the target cell to which the UE moved.

[0109] Embodiments may provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, embodiments may improve E-CID positioning accuracy by providing multiple measurements (e.g., UL-AoA) from different TRPs based on which a UE position may be determined, while maintaining “best-effort” approach of E-CID positioning by not requiring initiation of any new measurements. Moreover, embodiments may also enable RAN node flexibility in selection of TRPs whose measurements should be provided to the LMF. Furthermore, embodiments may reduce latency of E-CID positioning due to timely notifications of UE cell changes during ongoing positioning procedures.

[0110] The following description of various embodiments may refer to a positioning node and one or more RAN nodes. An LMF is an example of a positioning node while gNBs, ng-eNBs, and NG-RAN nodes are examples of RAN nodes. Even more generally, both the positioning node and the RAN node are examples of network nodes.

[0111] In some embodiments, a RAN node receives from a positioning node (LMF) an indication that multi-TRP measurements are needed for a requested list of E-CID measurements. The indication may be part of an NRPPa message, such as an E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message as shown in Figure 6 and defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 (v!8.4.0). For example, the indication may be a flag encoded in ASN.l as ENUMERATED(true, ... ), with the NRPPa message also include a list of measurement quantities requested.

[0112] When the RAN node receives the indication (e.g., in the NRPPa message), it selects from its associated TRPs those with currently available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurement quantities (e.g., also in the NRPPa message). The RAN node prepares a report that includes a list of the selected TRPs together with these TRPs’ measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurement quantities, and sends this to the positioning node. In the case of an on-demand measurement request, this report may be sent in an NRPPa E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION RESPONSE message such as shown in Figure 6. In the case of a periodic measurement request, this report may be sent in an NRPPa E-CID MEASUREMENT REPORT message such as defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 (vl 8.4.0).Some of the embodiments described above may also be included in 3GPP specifications. The following is some example text for 3GPP TS 38.455, where underline indications additions to V18.4.0 of that document. Certain non-affected existing text has been omitted for brevity, as indicated by ellipses.

[0113] *** Beginexample text for 3GPP TS 38.455 ***

[0114] 9.1.1.1 E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST

[0115] This message is sent by LMF to initiate E-CID measurements.

[0116] Direction: LMF —> NG-RAN node.

[0117] < >

[0118]

[0119]

[0120] < ... >

[0121] 9,2,xl Multiple E-CID TRP measurement Request Info

[0122] This information element contains the requested E-CID multiple TRP measurement information.

[0123] > <>

[0124]

[0125]

[0126] *** End example text for 3GPP TS 38.455 ***

[0127] In some embodiments, when a target UE moves to a new serving RAN node during an E-CID positioning procedure, and the UE’s previous serving RAN node receives a UE context retrieval from the new serving RAN node, the previous serving RAN node sends to the positioning node a notification that the UE moved out of the service area of this RAN node, and includes the cell ID of the target cell to which the UE moved. For example, the notification / cell ID may be included in an NRPPa E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION FAILURE message when the E-CID positioning procedure is on-demand, or in an NRPPa E-CID MEASUREMENT FAILURE INDICATION message when the LMF has requested periodic measurements for the E-CID positioning procedure. Upon receiving this notification / cell ID, the positioning node continues or reinitiates the E-CID positioning procedure for the target UE with the new serving RAN node.

[0128] Figure 7 shows an example E-CID Measurement Initiation procedure between an LMF (420) and anNG-RAN node (410, e.g., gNB), according to some of these embodiments. The LMF initiates the procedure by sending an E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message to the NG-RAN node, in a similar way as shown in Figure 6. When the target UE moves to a new serving NG-RAN node during an E-CID positioning procedure, and the NG-RAN node receives a UE context retrieval from the new serving NG-RAN node, the NG-RAN node sendsthe LMF an E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION FAILURE message that includes the cell ID of the target cell to which the UE moved.

[0129] Figure 8 shows an example E-CID Failure Indication procedure between an LMF (420) and an NG-RAN node (410, e.g., gNB), according to other of these embodiments. This procedure may be used, for example, when the LMF previously requested periodic measurements for an E- CID positioning procedure. When the target UE moves to a new serving NG-RAN node during the E-CID positioning procedure, and the NG-RAN node receives a UE context retrieval from the new serving NG-RAN node, the NG-RAN node sends the LMF an E-CID MEASUREMENT FAILURE INDICATION message that includes the cell ID of the target cell to which the UE moved.

[0130] Some of the embodiments described above may also be included in 3GPP specifications. The following is some example text for 3GPP TS 38.455, where underline indications additions to v 18.4.0 of that document.

[0131] *** Begin example text for 3GPP TS 38.455 ***

[0132] 9.1.1.3 E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION FAILURE

[0133] This message is sent by NG-RAN node to indicate that the requested E-CID measurement cannot be initiated.

[0134] Direction: NG-RAN node —> LMF.

[0135]

[0136] 9.1.1.4 E-CID MEASUREMENT FAILURE INDICATION

[0137] This message is sent by NG-RAN node to indicate that the previously requested E-CID measurement can no longer be reported.

[0138] Direction: NG-RAN node —> LMF.

[0139]

[0140] *** End example text for 3GPP TS 38.455 ***

[0141] The embodiments described above may also be utilized with distributed gNBs. In such case, the gNB-CU communicates with the positioning node (e.g., LMF) via the NRPPa protocol while the gNB-DU is responsible for serving cells via the associated TPRs. As such, the gNB-CU must collect the requested TRP measurements via the gNB-DU. Thus, some embodiments may involve additional signaling between a CU of a RAN node and a DU of the RAN node, e.g., via Fl-AP protocol.

[0142] In some embodiments, the DU of the RAN node receives from the CU of the RAN node an indication that multi-TRP measurements are needed for a list of E-CID measurements, e.g., requested of the CU by a positioning node. The indication may be part of an Fl-AP message, such as an E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message as defined in 3GPP TS 38.473 (vl 8.4.0). For example, the indication may be a flag encoded in ASN.l as ENUMERATED(true,... ), with the Fl-AP message also including a list of measurement quantities requested.

[0143] When the DU receives the indication (e.g., in the Fl-AP message), it selects from its associated TRPs those with currently available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurement quantities (e.g., also in the Fl-AP message). The DU prepares a report that includes a list of the selected TRPs together with these TRPs’ measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurement quantities, and sends this to the CU. In the case of an on-demand measurement request, this report may be sent in an Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION RESPONSE message such as defined in 3GPP TS 38.473 (v!8.4.0). In the case of a periodic measurement request, this report may be sent in an Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT REPORT message such as defined in 3GPP TS 38.473 (vl 8.4.0).Figure 9 shows an example E-CID Measurement Initiation procedure between a gNB-DU (910) and a gNB-CU (920), according to some of these embodiments. The gNB-CU initiates the procedure by sending an Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message to the gNB-DU. This message may include a Multiple E-CID TRP measurement Request Info IE, such as shown in the example 3 GPP text above. When the gNB-DU receives this message), it selects from its associated TRPs those with currently available measurements that match or correspond to those indicated by the Multiple E-CID TRP measurement Request Info IE. The DU prepares a report that includes these TRPs’ measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurement quantities, and sends this to the CU in an Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION RESPONSE message.

[0144] Figure 10 shows an example E-CID Measurement Report procedure between a gNB-DU (910) and a gNB-CU (920), according to other of these embodiments.. This procedure may be used, for example, when the gNB-CU previously requested periodic measurements for an E-CID positioning procedure. The gNB-DU initiates the procedure by sending an Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT REPORT message, which includes E-CID measurement results according to the measurement configuration in the corresopnding Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT INITIATION REQUEST message from the gNB-CU. For example, the Fl-AP E-CID MEASUREMENT REPORT message includes various TRP measurements that match or correspond to those indicated by the Multiple E-CID TRP measurement Request Info IE.

[0145] Various features of the embodiments described above correspond to various operations illustrated in Figures 11-13, which show exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a positioning node, a RAN node, and a DU, respectively. In other words, various features of the operations described below correspond to various embodiments described above. Furthermore, the exemplary methods shown in Figures 11-12 can be used cooperatively to provide various benefits, advantages, and / or solutions to problems described herein. Although Figures 11-12 show specific blocks in particular orders, the operations of the exemplary methods can be performed in different orders than shown and can be combined and / or divided into blocks having different functionality than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0146] In particular, Figure 11 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a positioning node configured to operate with a RAN, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by any appropriate positioning node (e.g., LMF, E-SMLC, SLP, etc.) such as described elsewhere herein.

[0147] The exemplary method includes the operations of block 1110, where the positioning node sends, to a RAN node, an E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target user equipment (UE), and an indication of requestedmeasurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points (TRPs) having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. The exemplary method also includes the opreations of block 1120, where the postioning node receives the following from the RAN node:

[0148] • when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs that serve the first cell; and

[0149] • when the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

[0150] In some embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on-demand report of the requested measurements, the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message.

[0151] In other embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, the success message is an E-CID measurement report message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

[0152] In some embodiments, when the failure message is received from the RAN node in block 1120, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1130, where the positioning node sends, to a second RAN node that provides the second cell, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: the identifier of the target UE, and a second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1140, where the positioning node receives from the second RAN node a second success message that the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the second RAN node.

[0153] In some embodiments, the positioning node is a location management function (LMF) of a 5G core network (5GC). In some embodiments, one or more of the following applies:

[0154] • the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info IE; and

[0155] • the requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, UL reference signal received power (RSRP), UL reference signal received path power (RSRPP), UL angle of arrival (AoA), and UL relative time of arrival (RToA). In addition, Figure 12 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a RAN node configured to facilitate positioning of UEs served by the RAN node, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by any appropriate RAN node (e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, CU, etc.) such as described elsewhere herein.

[0156] The exemplary method includes the operations of block 1220, where the RAN node receives, from a positioning node, an E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target UE, and an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. The exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1250, where the RAN node sends the following to the positioning node:

[0157] • when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs that serve the first cell; and

[0158] • when the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

[0159] In some embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on-demand report of the requested measurements and the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message. In other embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements and the success message is an E-CID measurement report message.

[0160] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1210, where the RAN node receives from a second RAN node a context retrieval request including an indication that the target UE is served by the second cell provided by the second RAN node. The failure message is sent in block 1250 based on the indication.

[0161] In some of these embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on-demand report of the requested measurements and the context retrieval request is received prior to receiving the E-CID measurement initiation request message in block 1220.

[0162] In other of these embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, and the context retrieval request is received after sending the success message in block 1250. In other words, the indication that the target UE is served by the second cell provided by the second RAN node is received after the RAN node sends one of the periodic reports, which causes the RAN node to send a failure message instead of a next one of the periodic reports.

[0163] In some embodiments, the positioning node is an LMF of a 5GC. In some embodiments, the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP MeasurementRequest Info IE. In some embodiments, the requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, UL RSRP, UL RSRPP, UL AoA, and UL RToA.

[0164] In some embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1240, where when the target UE is served by the first cell, the RAN node obtains from the plurality of TRPs the available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements.

[0165] In some of these embodiments, obtaining the available measurements in block 1240 includes the operations of sub-block 1241, where the RAN node selects, from among all TRPs associated with the RAN node, the plurality of TRPs based on the selected TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. In other embodiments, the method is performed by a CU of the RAN node and obtaining the available measurements in block 1240 includes the following operations, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:

[0166] • (1242) determining that the target UE is served by the first cell, which is provided by a DU of the RAN node; and

[0167] • (1243) sending, to the DU, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: the identifier of the target UE, and a second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. In some variants of these embodiments, obtaining the available measurements in block 1240 also includes the operations of sub-block 1244, where the RAN node (i.e., CU) receives from the DU a second success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the plurality of TRPs. The available measurements received in the second success message of subblock 1244 are sent to the positioning node in the success message of block 1250. In some of these embodiments, the second indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info IE.

[0168] In addition, Figure 13 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a DU of a RAN node, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by any appropriate DU (e.g., gNB-DU, ng-eNB-DU, etc.) such as described elsewhere herein.

[0169] The exemplary method includes the operations of block 1310, where the DU receives, from a CU of the RAN node, an E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target UE, and an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. The exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1320, where the DU selects a plurality of TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements. The exemplary methodalso includes the operations of block 1330, where the DU obtains the available measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs. The exemplary method also includes the operations of block 1340, where the DU sends to the CU a success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

[0170] In some embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on-demand report of the requested measurements and the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message. In other embodiments, the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements and the success message is an E-CID measurement report message.

[0171] In some embodiments, selecting the plurality of TRPs, obtaining the available measurements, and sending the success message are based on the target UE being served by a first cell provided by the DU. In some embodiments, the positioning node is an LMF of a 5GC.

[0172] In some embodiments, the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info IE. In some embodiments, the requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, UL RSRP, UL RSRPP, UL Ao A, and UL RToA.

[0173] Although various embodiments are described above in terms of methods, techniques, and / or procedures, the person of ordinary skill will readily comprehend that such methods, techniques, and / or procedures can be embodied by various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, computer program products, etc.

[0174] Figure 14 shows an example of a communication system 1400 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, communication system 1400 includes a telecommunication network 1402 that includes an access network 1404 (e.g., RAN) and a core network 1406, which includes one or more core network nodes 1408. Access network 1404 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1410a-b (one or more of which may be referred to as network nodes 1410), or any other similar 3GPP access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor.

[0175] Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, telecommunication network 1402 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in telecommunication network 1402 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or togetherwith other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in telecommunication network 1402, including one or more network nodes 1410 and / or core network nodes 1408.

[0176] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e. g. , r App), or any combination thereof (the adj ective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node.

[0177] Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. Network nodes 1410 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UEs, such as by connecting UEs 1412a-d (one or more of which may be referred to as UEs 1412) to core network 1406 over one or more wireless connections.

[0178] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, communication system 1400 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 1400 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar system.

[0179] UEs 1412 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes 1410 and other communication devices. Similarly, network nodes 1410 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs 1412 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in telecommunication network 1402 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in telecommunication network 1402.In the depicted example, core network 1406 connects network nodes 1410 to one or more hosts, such as host 1416. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. Core network 1406 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., 1408) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are applicable to the corresponding components of core network node 1408. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0180] Host 1416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of access network 1404 and / or telecommunication network 1402, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1416 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0181] As a whole, communication system 1400 of Figure 14 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.14 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0182] In some examples, telecommunication network 1402 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, telecommunication network 1402 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected totelecommunication network 1402. For example, telecommunication network 1402 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0183] In some examples, UEs 1412 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1404 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from access network 1404. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0184] In the example, hub 1414 communicates with access network 1404 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., 1412c and / or 1412d) and network nodes (e.g., 1410b). In some examples, hub 1414 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, hub 1414 may be a broadband router enabling access to core network 1406 for the UEs. As another example, hub 1414 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1410, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in hub 1414. As another example, hub 1414 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, hub 1414 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, hub 1414 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which hub 1414 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, hub 1414 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0185] Hub 1414 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to network node 1410b. Hub 1414 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between hub 1414 and UEs (e.g., 1412c and / or 1412d), and between hub 1414 and core network 1406. In other examples, hub 1414 is connected to core network 1406 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, hub 1414 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over access network 1404 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with network nodes 1410 while still connected via hub 1414 via awired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1414 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to network node 1410b. In other embodiments, hub 1414 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1410b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0186] In some embodiments, any of network nodes 1410 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a RAN node, a CU, or a DU in various methods or procedures described above, including the exemplary methods shown in Figures 12-13. In some embodiments, core network node 1408 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a positioning node in various methods or procedures described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 11.

[0187] Figure 15 shows a network node 1500 in accordance with some embodiments. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs), and O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0188] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0189] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0190] Network node 1500 includes processing circuitry 1502, memory 1504, communication interface 1506, and power source 1508. Network node 1500 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTScomponent and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 1500 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 1500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1510 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1500, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1500.

[0191] Processing circuitry 1502 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1500 components, such as memory 1504, to provide network node 1500 functionality.

[0192] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1512 and baseband processing circuitry 1514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0193] Memory 1504 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 1502. Memory 1504 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computerprogram, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions (collectively denoted computer program 1504a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1502 and utilized by network node 1500. Memory 1504 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 1502 and / or any data received via communication interface 1506. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1502 and memory 1504 is integrated.

[0194] Communication interface 1506 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, communication interface 1506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. Communication interface 1506 also includes radio frontend circuitry 1518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 1510. Radio front-end circuitry 1518 comprises filters 1520 and amplifiers 1522. Radio front-end circuitry 1518 may be connected to an antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1510 and processing circuitry 1502. Radio front-end circuitry 1518 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 1518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1520 and / or amplifiers 1522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1510. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1518. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0195] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1518, instead, processing circuitry 1502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 1510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 1512 is part of communication interface 1506. In still other embodiments, communication interface 1506 includes one or more ports or terminals 1516, radio front-end circuitry 1518, and RF transceiver circuitry 1512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 1506 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0196] Antenna 1510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1510 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, antenna 1510 is separate from network node 1500 and connectable to network node 1500 through an interface or port.Antenna 1510, communication interface 1506, and / or processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 1510, communication interface 1506, and / or processing circuitry 1502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0197] Power source 1508 provides power to the various components of network node 1500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 1508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of network node 1500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 1500 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of power source 1508. As a further example, power source 1508 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0198] Embodiments of network node 1500 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 15 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 1500 and to allow output of information from network node 1500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 1500.

[0199] In some embodiments, network node 1500 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a positioning node (e.g., LMF) in various methods or procedures described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 11. In some embodiments, network node 1500 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a RAN node, a CU, or a DU in various methods or procedures described above, including the exemplary methods shown in Figures 12-13.

[0200] Figure 16 shows a virtualization environment 1600 in which some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, orcomponents thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1600 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1600 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0201] Applications 1602 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1600 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. For example, one or more virtual nodes or network functions 1602 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a positioning node (e.g., LMF) in various methods or procedures described above, including the exemplary method shown in Figure 11. As another example, one or more virtual nodes or network functions 1602 may be configured to perform operations attributed to a RAN node, a CU, or a DU in various methods or procedures described above, including the exemplary methods shown in Figures 12-13.

[0202] Hardware 1604 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions (collectively denoted computer program 1604a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1608a-1608b (one or more of which may be referred to as VMs 1608), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1608.

[0203] VMs 1608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1606. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1602 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1608, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume serverhardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0204] In the context of NFV, each VM 1608 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1608, and that part of hardware 1604 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1608 on top of the hardware 1604 and corresponds to the application 1602.

[0205] Hardware 1604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1604 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1604 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration function 1610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1602. In some embodiments, hardware 1604 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0206] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various exemplary embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

[0207] The term unit, as used herein, can have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices and can include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and / or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for performing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0208] As described herein, device and / or apparatus can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution or being run on a processor. Furthermore, functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and / or apparatuses, whether functionally in cooperation with or independently of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered as known to a skilled person.

[0209] 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.

[0210] In addition, certain terms used in the present disclosure, including the specification and drawings, may be used synonymously in certain instances (e.g., “data” and “information”). Although such terms may be used synonymously in some instances, there may be other instances where such terms are not intended to be used synonymously.Embodiments of the techniques and apparatus described herein also include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples:

[0211] Al. A method for a positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising:

[0212] sending, to a RAN node, an enhanced cell identity (E-CID) measurement initiation request message that includes the following:

[0213] an identifier of a target user equipment (UE), and

[0214] an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points (TRPs) that serve a cell in which the target UE is located;

[0215] receiving one of the following messages from the RAN node:

[0216] a success message that includes the following: an identifier of a first cell in which the target UE is located, and the requested measurements obtained from a plurality of TRPs that serve the first cell; or

[0217] a failure message that includes an identifier of a second cell to which the UE has moved, wherein the second cell is not served by the RAN node.

[0218] Ala. The method of embodiment Al, wherein:

[0219] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements,

[0220] the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message.

[0221] Alb. The method of embodiment Al, wherein:

[0222] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements,

[0223] the success message is an E-CID measurement report message, and

[0224] the failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

[0225] A2. The method of any of embodiments Al-Alb, wherein when the failure message is received from the RAN node, the method further comprises sending, to a second RAN node that provides the second cell, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following:

[0226] the identifier of the target UE, anda second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs that serve the second cell.

[0227] A2a. The method of embodiment A2, further comprising receiving from the second RAN node a second success message that includes the requested measurements obtained from a plurality of TRPs that serve the second cell.

[0228] A3. The method of any of embodiments Al-A2a, wherein one or more of the following applies:

[0229] the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element (IE); and

[0230] the requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, uplink (UL) reference signal received power (RSRP), UL reference signal received path power (RSRPP), UL angle of arrival (AoA), and UL relative time of arrival (RToA).

[0231] A4. The method of any of embodiments Al -A3, wherein the positioning node is a location management function (LMF) of a 5G core network (5GC).

[0232] BL A method for a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, the method comprising:

[0233] receiving, from a positioning node, an enhanced cell identity (E-CID) measurement initiation request message that includes the following:

[0234] an identifier of a target user equipment (UE), and

[0235] an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points (TRPs) that serve a cell in which the target UE is located;

[0236] obtaining the requested measurements from a plurality of TRPs that serve a first cell in which the target UE is located; and

[0237] sending to the positioning node a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the requested measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

[0238] Bia. The method of embodiment B 1 , wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements, and

[0239] the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message.

[0240] Bib. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein:

[0241] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, and

[0242] the success message is an E-CID measurement report message.

[0243] B2. The method of any of embodiments Bl-Blb, wherein obtaining the requested measurements and sending the success message is based on the target UE being served by a cell provided by the RAN node.

[0244] B2a. The method of embodiment B2, further comprising, prior to sending the success message:

[0245] receiving, from a second RAN node, a context retrieval request that indicates the target UE is being served by a second cell served by the second RAN node; and based on the context retrieval request, sending to the positioning node a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

[0246] B2b. The method of embodiment B2a, wherein:

[0247] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements, and

[0248] the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message.

[0249] B2c. The method of embodiment B2a, wherein:

[0250] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, and

[0251] the failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

[0252] B3. The method of any of embodiments Bl-B2c, wherein one or more of the following applies:

[0253] the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element (IE); andthe requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, uplink (UL) reference signal received power (RSRP), UL reference signal received path power (RSRPP), UL angle of arrival (AoA), and UL relative time of arrival (RToA).

[0254] B4. The method of any of embodiments B1-B3, wherein the positioning node is a location management function (LMF) of a 5G core network (5GC).

[0255] B5. The method of any of embodiments B1-B4, wherein obtaining the requested measurements comprises:

[0256] selecting the plurality of TRPs based on the selected TRPs having currently available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; and obtaining the requested measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs.

[0257] B6. The method of any of embodiments B1-B4, wherein the method is performed by a central unit (CU) of the RAN node and obtaining the requested measurements comprises:

[0258] determining that the target UE is served by the first cell, which is provided by a distributed unit (DU) of the RAN node; and

[0259] sending, to the DU, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following:

[0260] the identifier of the target UE, and

[0261] a second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs that serve the first cell.

[0262] B6a. The method of embodiment B6, wherein obtaining the requested measurements further comprises receiving from the DU a second success message that includes the requested measurements obtained from the plurality of TRPs that serve the first cell, wherein the requested measurements received in the second success message are sent to the positioning node in the success message.

[0263] B6b. The method of any of embodiments B6-B6a, wherein the second indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element (IE).Cl. A method for a distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, the method comprising:

[0264] receiving, from a central unit (CU) of the RAN node, an enhanced cell identity (E-CID) measurement initiation request message that includes the following:

[0265] an identifier of a target user equipment (UE), and

[0266] an indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points (TRPs) that serve a cell in which the target UE is located;

[0267] selecting a plurality of TRPs that serve a first cell in which the target UE is located, the plurality of TRPs being selected based on having currently available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; obtaining the requested measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs; and sending to the CU a success message that includes the requested measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

[0268] Cl a. The method of embodiment Cl, wherein:

[0269] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements, and

[0270] the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message.

[0271] Clb. The method of embodiment Cl, wherein:

[0272] the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, and

[0273] the success message is an E-CID measurement report message.

[0274] C2. The method of any of embodiments Cl-Clb, wherein selecting the plurality of TRPs, obtaining the requested measurements, and sending the success message is based on the target UE being served by a cell provided by the DU.

[0275] C3. The method of any of embodiments C1-C2, wherein one or more of the following applies:

[0276] the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element (IE); andthe requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference, uplink (UL) reference signal received power (RSRP), UL reference signal received path power (RSRPP), UL angle of arrival (AoA), and UL relative time of arrival (RToA).

[0277] C4. The method of any of embodiments C1-C3, wherein the positioning node is a location management function (LMF) of a 5G core network (5GC).

[0278] DI. Positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network (RAN), the positioning node comprising:

[0279] communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with RAN nodes; and processing circuitry operably coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Al- A4.

[0280] D2. Positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network (RAN), the positioning node being configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A4.

[0281] D3. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with a positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network (RAN), configure the positioning node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A4.

[0282] D4. Computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with a positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network (RAN), configure the positioning node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A4.

[0283] EL Radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, the RAN node comprising:

[0284] communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with a positioning node;

[0285] andprocessing circuitry operably coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl- B5b.

[0286] E2. Radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, the RAN node being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl-B5b.

[0287] E3. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, configure the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl-B5b.

[0288] E4. Computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, configure the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl-B5b.

[0289] Fl. Distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, the DU comprising:

[0290] communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with a central unit (CU) of the RAN node; and

[0291] processing circuitry operably coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Cl- C4.

[0292] F2. Distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, the DU being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C4.

[0293] F3. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RANnode, configure the DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C4.

[0294] F4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment (UEs) served by the RAN node, configure the DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C4.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method for a positioning node configured to operate with a radio access network, RAN, the method comprising:sending (1110), to a RAN node, an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; andreceiving (1120) the following from the RAN node:when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; andwhen the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements,the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements,the success message is an E-CID measurement report message, andthe failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein when the failure message is received from the RAN node, the method further comprises sending (1130), to a second RAN node that provides the second cell, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following:the identifier of the target UE, anda second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving (1140) from the second RAN node a second success message that includes the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the second RAN node.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein one or more of the following applies:the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element, IE; andthe requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference; uplink, UL, reference signal received power, RSRP; UL reference signal received path power, RSRPP; UL angle of arrival, AoA; and UL relative time of arrival, RToA.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the positioning node is a location management function, LMF, of a 5G core network, 5GC.

8. A method for a radio access network, RAN, node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs, the method comprising:receiving (1220), from a positioning node, an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; andsending (1250) the following to the positioning node:when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; andwhen the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements,the success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message, and the failure message is an E-CID measurement initiation failure message.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements,the success message is an E-CID measurement report message, andthe failure message is an E-CID measurement failure indication message.

11. The method of any of claims 8-10, further comprising receiving (1210) from a second RAN node a context retrieval request including an indication that the target UE is served by the second cell provided by the second RAN node, wherein the failure message is sent based on the indication.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein one of the following applies:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements, and the context retrieval request is received prior to receiving (1220) the E-CID measurement initiation request message; orthe E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, and the context retrieval request is received after sending (1250) the success message.

13. The method of any of claims 8-12, wherein one or more of the following applies:the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element, IE; andthe requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference; uplink, UL, reference signal received power, RSRP; UL reference signal received path power, RSRPP; UL angle of arrival, AoA; and UL relative time of arrival, RToA.

14. The method of any of claims 8-13, wherein the positioning node is a location management function, LMF, of a 5G core network, 5GC.

15. The method of any of claims 8-14, further comprising, when the target UE is served by the first cell, obtaining (1240) from the plurality of TRPs the available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein obtaining (1240) the available measurements comprises selecting (1241), from among all TRPs associated with the RAN node, the plurality of TRPs based on the selected TRPs having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the method is performed by a central unit, CU, of the RAN node and obtaining (1240) the available measurements comprises:determining (1242) that the target UE is served by the first cell, which is provided by a distributed unit, DU, of the RAN node; andsending (1243), to the DU, a second E-CID measurement initiation request message that includes the following:the identifier of the target UE, anda second indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein obtaining (1240) the available measurements further comprises receiving (1244) from the DU a second success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the plurality of TRPs, wherein the available measurements received in the second success message are sent to the positioning node in the success message.

19. The method of any of claims 17-18, wherein the second indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element, IE.

20. A method for a distributed unit, DU, of a radio access network, RAN, node configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs, served by the RAN node, the method comprising:receiving (1310), from a central unit, CU, of the RAN node, an enhanced cell identity, E- CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following: an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements;selecting (1320) a plurality of TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; obtaining (1330) the available measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs; and sending (1340) to the CU a success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for an on- demand report of the requested measurements, andthe success message is an E-CID measurement initiation response message.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein:the E-CID measurement initiation request message also includes a request for periodic reports of the requested measurements, andthe success message is an E-CID measurement report message.

23. The method of any of claims 20-22, wherein selecting (1320) the plurality of TRPs, obtaining (1330) the available measurements, and sending (1340) the success message are based on the target UE being served by a first cell provided by the DU.

24. The method of any of claims 20-23, wherein one or more of the following applies: the indication of requested measurements is included in a Multiple E-CID TRP Measurement Request Info information element, IE; andthe requested measurements include one or more of the following: gNB RxTx time difference; uplink, UL, reference signal received power, RSRP; UL reference signal received path power, RSRPP; UL angle of arrival, AoA; and UL relative time of arrival, RToA.

25. The method of any of claims 20-24, wherein the positioning node is a location management function, LMF, of a 5G core network, 5GC.

26. Positioning node (340, 420, 920, 1408, 1500, 1602) configured to operate with a radio access network, RAN (199, 320, 1404), the positioning node comprising:communication interface circuitry (1506, 1604) configured to communicate with RAN nodes (110, 220, 322, 410, 920, 1410, 1500, 1602); andprocessing circuitry (1502, 1604) operably coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to:send, to a RAN node, an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; andreceive the following from the RAN node:when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; andwhen the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

27. The positioning node of claim 26, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 2-7.

28. Positioning node (340, 420, 920, 1408, 1500, 1602) configured to operate with a radio access network, RAN (199, 320, 1404), the positioning node being further configured to:send, to a RAN node (110, 220, 322, 410, 920, 1410, 1500, 1602), an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; andreceive the following from the RAN node:when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; andwhen the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

29. The positioning node of claim 28, being further configured perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 2-7.

30. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium (1504, 1604) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1502, 1604) of a positioning node (340, 420, 920, 1408, 1500, 1602) configured to operate with a radio access network, RAN (199, 320, 1404), configure the positioning node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-7.

31. Computer program product (1504a, 1604a) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1502, 1604) of a positioning node (340, 420, 920, 1408, 1500, 1602) configured to operate with a radio access network, RAN (199, 320, 1404), configure the positioning node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-7.

32. Radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410, 920, 1410, 1500, 1602) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), the RAN node comprising:communication interface circuitry (1506, 1604) configured to communicate with a positioning node (340, 420, 920, 1408, 1500, 1602); andprocessing circuitry (1502, 1604) operably coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to:receive from the positioning node an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; andsend the following to the positioning node:when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; andwhen the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

33. The RAN node of claim 32, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 9-19.

34. Radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410, 920, 1410, 1500, 1602) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), the RAN node being further configured to:receive, from a positioning node (340, 420, 920, 1408, 1500, 1602), an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; andsend the following to the positioning node:when the target UE is served by a first cell provided by the RAN node, a success message that includes the following: an identifier of the first cell, and the available measurements from a plurality of TRPs associated with the RAN node; andwhen the target UE is served by a second cell not provided by the RAN node, a failure message that includes an identifier of the second cell.

35. The RAN node of claim 34, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 9-19.

36. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium (1504, 1604) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1502, 1604) of a radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410, 920, 1410, 1500, 1602) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), configure the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 8-19.

37. Computer program product (1504a, 1604a) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1502, 1604) of a radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410, 920, 1410, 1500, 1602) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), configure the RAN node to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 8-19.

38. Distributed unit, DU (910, 1410, 1500, 1602) of a radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), the DU comprising:communication interface circuitry (1506, 1604) configured to communicate with a central unit, CU (920, 1410, 1500, 1602) of the RAN node; andprocessing circuitry (1502, 1604) operably coupled to the communication interface circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to:receive from the CU an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements;select a plurality of TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements;obtain the available measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs; and send to the CU a success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

39. The DU of claim 38, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 21-25.

40. Distributed unit, DU (910, 1410, 1500, 1602) of a radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), the DU being configured to:receive, from a central unit, CU (920, 1410, 1500, 1602) of the RAN node, an enhanced cell identity, E-CID, measurement initiation request message that includes the following:an identifier of a target user equipment, UE, andan indication of requested measurements that should be obtained from all transmission reception points, TRPs, having available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements;select a plurality of TRPs that are associated with the DU and have available measurements that match or correspond to the requested measurements; obtain the available measurements from the selected plurality of TRPs; andsend to the CU a success message that includes the available measurements obtained from the selected plurality of TRPs.

41. The DU of claim 40, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 21-25.

42. Non-transitory, computer-readable medium (1504, 1604) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1502, 1604) of a distributed unit, DU (910, 1410, 1500, 1602) of a radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), configure the DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 20-25.

43. Computer program product (1504a, 1604a) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1502, 1604) of a distributed unit, DU (910, 1410,1500, 1602) of a radio access network, RAN, node (110, 220, 322, 410) configured to facilitate positioning of user equipment, UEs (105, 210, 310, 1412), configure the DU to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 20-25.

Images