CSI resources for multiple LTM candidate cells

Abstract

According to some embodiments there is provided a method performed by a user equipment for layer one / layer two triggered mobility, LTM. The method comprises receiving, from a network node, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells. The method further comprises measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set. The method further comprises transmitting a CSI report to the network node, based on the measured one or more CSI reference signals. According to a preferred embodiment, the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator. There is further provided a method performed by a network node, a user equipment and a network node.

Description

CSI Resources for Multiple LTM Candidate Cells BACKGROUND

[0001] Layer one / layer two (L1 / L2) triggered mobility (LTM) in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 18 is a procedure in which a gNB receives L1 measurement report(s) from a user equipment (UE), and on the basis of the reports, the gNB changes UE serving cell by a cell switch command signaled via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The cell switch command indicates an LTM candidate configuration that the gNB previously prepared and provided to the UE through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. Then the UE switches to the target configuration according to the cell switch command. See RP -234036, New WID: NR mobility enhancements Phase 4, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #102, Edinburgh, Scotland, December 11-15, 2023.

[0002] When configured by the network, it is possible to activate transmission configuration index (TCI) states of one or multiple cells that are different from the current serving cell. This is sometimes referred to as pre-activation of a candidate TCI state, because this is pre-activating a TCI state of an LTM candidate cell before the UE receives the LTM cell switch command, i.e. before the LTM cell switch procedure.

[0003] For example, the TCI states of the LTM candidate cells can be activated in advance before any of the cells become the serving cell. This enables the UE to be downlink (DL) synchronized with the cells (or DL pre-sync), thereby facilitating a faster cell switch to one of those cells when cell switch is triggered. Cell switch command is conveyed in a MAC CE, which contains the necessary information to perform the LTM cell switch. The overall procedure for LTM is illustrated in Figure 1.

[0004] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating a LTM cell switch. The procedure for LTM is as follows:

[0005] 1. The UE sends a MeasurementReport message to the gNB. The gNB decides to configure LTM and initiates LTM preparation.

[0006] 2. The gNB transmits an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE including the LTM candidate configurations.

[0007] 3. The UE stores the LTM candidate configurations and transmits an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB.

[0008] 4a. The UE performs downlink (DL) synchronization with the candidate cell(s) before receiving the cell switch command. This is triggered upon reception by the UE of a “Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE” for LTM candidate cell(s)configured in CandidateTCI-State and CandidateTCI-UL-State. Upon reception, in the UE’s MAC entity, the UE’s MAC entity receives a Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE on a Serving Cell, the UE indicate to lower layers the information regarding the Candidate Cell TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CE.

[0009] 4b. The UE may also perform uplink (UL) pre-synchronization with the LTM candidate cell(s) if it receives the PDCCH order for early timing advance (TA) acquisition for those candidate cells.

[0010] 5. The UE performs L1 measurements on the configured candidate cell(s) and transmits L1 measurement reports to the gNB. L1 measurement should be performed as long as RRC reconfiguration (step 2) is applicable.

[0011] 6. The gNB decides to execute cell switch to a target cell and transmits a MAC CE triggering cell switch by including the candidate configuration index of the target cell. The UE switches to the target cell and applies the configuration indicated by candidate configuration index.

[0012] 7. The UE performs the random-access procedure towards the target cell, if UE does not have valid TA of the target cell. Otherwise if the UE receives a valid TA value in LTM cell switch command using early TA acquisition method in step 4b, the UE is not required to perform random-access.

[0013] 8. The UE completes the LTM cell switch procedure by sending RRCReconfigurationComplete message to target cell. If the UE has performed a RA procedure in step 7, the UE considers that LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the random-access procedure is successfully completed. For random access channel (RACH)-less LTM, the UE considers that LTM cell switch execution is successfully completed when the UE determines that the network has successfully received its first UL data.Support for CSI-RS measurements for LTM in Release 19

[0014] LTM was introduced in Rel-18 and offers improvements in handover latency and interruption time compared to Layer 3 based mobility. However, LTM as introduced in Rel-18 also has a number of limitations compared to Layer 3 mobility. One limitation was that only measurements on SSBs were supported. The Rel-19 work item aims to remove a number of these limitations. One of the objectives for the Rel. 19 WID “NR mobility enhancements Phase 4” is as follows.

[0015] One objective is to specify measurement related enhancements for purpose of supporting LTM, such as specifying support for CSI-RS measurements for LTM proceduresand enabling CSI-RS based beam management and specifying CSI acquisition on candidate cell(s) based on CSI-RS before or during LTM cell switch. CSI report may be supported before and / or during the LTM cell switch, as part of the CSI acquisition procedure.

[0016] A number of agreements have already been reached to meet these objectives and support CSI-RS measurements. Some of the agreements are listed below.

[0017] Explicit configuration of CSI-RS resource(s) for candidate cell(s) for Ll-measurement is supported.

[0018] For gNB scheduled reporting and event triggered reporting, at least periodic CSI-RS is supported for L1-RSRP measurement for candidate cell, and at least CSI-RS for beam management is supported for L1-RSRP measurement for candidate cell.

[0019] The agreement “Rel-18 LTM CSI reporting framework is the baseline for CSI-RS based LI -measurement report by gNB scheduled measurement reporting” is further clarified for L1-RSRP as follows.

[0020] UCI format defined in Table 6.3.1.1.2-8C of TS38.212 can be used by replacing SSBRI with CRI. Whether the L1-RSRP(s) of serving cell is always included is configurable (in line with Rel-18). The quantization method defined in clause 5.2.1.4.3 of TS38.214 and bit width defined in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6 of TS38.212 can be used. No L1 specified filtering for time and spatial domain is introduced. No enhancement on how to report L cells x M beams. Periodic reporting on PUCCH is supported.

[0021] CSI-RS for beam management (BM) as the referenceSignal with QCL-TypeD is supported for an LTM TCI state, where TRS is configured as referenceSignal with QCL-TypeA

[0022] The agreements mention CSI-RS for beam management (BM), which is a CSI RS configured in a CSI-RS resource set with higher-layer parameter repetition. The CSI-RS resources (NZP-CSI-RS-Resource) in the set are all single-port or dual-port.

[0023] As per agreement, CRI will be used to identify the CSI-RS resources in the measurement report. (For SSBs, SSBRI is used). CRI is an index to a particular CSI-RS resource in a resource set.

[0024] The referenced table in TS 38.212 follows.Table 6.3.1.1.2-8C: Mapping order of CSI fields of one report for SSBRI / RSRP reporting for L1 / L2-triggered mobility>SSBRI #1 as in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6, if reported _ I SSBRI #2 as in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6 Jf reported j SSBRI # L × M as in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6, if reportedRSRP #1 as in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6, if reportedDifferential RSRP #2 as in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6, if reportedDifferential RSRP # L × M as in Table 6.3.1.1.2-6, if reportedNOTE: L is the number of reported cells provided by higher layer parameter noOfReportedCell and M is the number of reported SSBRI / RSRP pairs per cell and equal to the value provided by higher layer parameternrofReportedRSPerCell.

[0025] In the legacy RRC specification (3GPP TS 38.331, Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 18), V 18.3.0, 2024-09) the following IE is defined:— ASN1START—TAG-LTM-CS I -RESOURCECONFIG-STARTLTM-CSI-ResourceConf ig-rl8:: = SEQUENCE {Itm-C SI -Re sourceConf igld-rl8 LTM-CSI- ResourceConfigId-rl8,ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceSet-rl8 LTM-CSI-SSB- ResourceSet-rl8,LTM-CSI-SSB-ResourceSet-rl8:: = SEQUENCE {ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE( 1.,maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet-rl8 ) ) OF SSB-Index, ltm-CandidateIdList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE( 1.,maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet-rl8 ) ) OF LTM- Candidateld-rl8,}— TAG-LTM-CS I -RESOURCECONFIG-STOP—ASN1STOP

[0026] For LTM measurement reports of SSB measurements, the SSBRI points at an index in the ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList-rl8 shown above.

[0027] In the legacy RRC specification (3GPP TS 38.331, Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 18), V 18.3.0, 2024-09) the following IES are also defined: — ASN1START— TAG-NZP-CSI-RS-RESOURCESET-STARTNZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet:: = SEQUENCE {nzp-CSI-Re sourceSet Id NZP-CSI-RS- Re sourceSet Id,nzp-CSI-RS-Resources SEQUENCE (SIZE( 1..maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-ResourcesPerSet) ) OF NZP-CSI-RS-Resourceld,repetition ENUMERATED { on, off } OPTIONAL, — Need SaperiodicTriggeringOf f set INTEGER ( 0.. 6) OPTIONAL, — Need Strs-Info ENUMERATED { true } OPTIONAL, — Need R[ [aperiodicTriggeringOffset-rl 6 INTEGER ( 0.. 31 ) OPTIONAL — Need S] ],[ [pdc-Inf o-r 17 ENUMERATED { true } OPTIONAL, — Need RcmrGroupingAndPairing-rl7 CMRGroupingAndPairing-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need RaperiodicTriggeringOffset-rl7 INTEGER ( 0.. 124 ) OPTIONAL, — Need SaperiodicTriggeringOffsetL2-rl7 INTEGER ( 0.. 31 ) OPTIONAL — Need R] ],[ [resourceType-rl 8 ENUMERATED {periodic } OPTIONAL — Cond LTM] ]}NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet field descriptionsrepetitionIndicates whether repetition is on / off. If the field is set to off or if the field is absent, the UE may not assume that the NZP-CSI-RS resources within the resource set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter (see TS 38.214, clauses 5.2.2.3.1 and 5.1.6.1.2). It can only be configured for CSI-RS resource sets which are associated with CSI-ReportConfig with report of L1 RSRP, L1 SINR or "no report". This field is not present in case NZP-CSI-RS-ResourcesSet is received as part of an LTM-Candidate IE.— ASN1START— TAG-NZP-CSI-RS-RESOURCE-STARTNZP-CSI-RS-Resource:: = SEQUENCE {nzp-CSI-RS-Resourceld NZP-CSI-RS-Resourceld, resourceMapping CSI-RS- ResourceMapping,power Cont rolOf f set INTEGER (-8.. 15 ), powerControlOf f setSS ENUMERATED { db-3, dbO, db3, db6 } OPTIONAL, -- Need RscramblingID Scrambl ingid, periodicityAndOf f set CSI- ResourcePeriodicityAndOf f set OPTIONAL,Cond PeriodicOrSemiPersistentqcl-InfoPeriodicCSI-RS TCI-Stateld OPTIONAL, -- Cond Periodic[ [subcarrierSpacing-rl8 Subcarrier Spa ci ng OPTIONAL, — Cond LTMabsoluteFrequencyPointA-rl8 ARFCN-ValueNR OPTIONAL, — Cond LTMcyclicPrefix-rl8 ENUMERATED { extended} OPTIONAL — Cond LTM] ]}

[0028] From TS 38.214, Sec. 5.2.2.3.1: repetition in NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet is associated with a CSI-RS resource set and defines whether UE can assume the CSI-RS resources within the NZP CSI-RS Resource Set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter or not as described in Clause 5.1.6.1.2. and can be configured only when the higher layer parameter reportQuantity associated with all the reporting settings linked with the CSI-RS resource set is set to 'cri-RSRP', 'cri-SINR', 'cri-RSRP- Index', 'cri-SINR-Index' or 'none'.SUMMARY

[0029] There currently exist certain challenges. For example, to reuse the Rel. 18 report format for LTM measurement reports based on CSI-RS for beam-management, the CRI resource identifier needs to be clearly defined. The CRI should be able to identify a CSI-RS resource uniquely among all the explicitly configured CSI-RS resources across all different LTM candidates. The RRC configuration of CSI-RS for BM resources for LTM Candidate cells, i.e. LTM-CSI-Resource-Config, must enable this. This includes the configuration of the repetition parameter.

[0030] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, particular embodiments provide a type of CSI Resource set that includes CSI RS resources from different LTM Candidate cells.

[0031] The resource set may additionally include the higher layer parameter repetition. However, because any two CSI-RS resources from different LTM Candidate cells cannot be repetitions, the repetition parameter should be interpreted per LTM Candidate cell. That is, with repetition ON, all resources from Cell 1 are repetitions and all resources from Cell 2 are repetitions etc., but one resource from Cell 1 and another resource from Cell 2 are not repetitions.

[0032] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, in particular embodiments a CSI-RS resource set including CSI-RS resources from multiple LTM Candidate cells enables a well-defined CSI-RS identity, CRI, which can be used in LTM measurement reports. This way, the report format that is already used for SSB measurements may also be used for measurements on CSI-RS.

[0033] Additionally, the repetition parameter and the interpretation that it applies per LTM Candidate cell in the resource set enables the configuration of CSI-RS for BM in the resource set.

[0034] According to an embodiment, there is provided a method performed by user equipment, UE for layer one / layer two triggered mobility, LTM. The method comprises receiving, from a network node, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells. The method further comprises measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set. The method further comprises transmitting a CSI report to the network node, based on the measured one or more CSI reference signals.

[0035] The CSI resource set may also be referred to as a CSI-Reference Signal, CSI-RS, resource set. In other words, the CSI resource set may comprise a CSI-RS resource set. The CSI resources may also be referred to as CSI-RS resources. In other words, the CSI resources may comprise CSI-RS resources.

[0036] According to a preferred embodiment, the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.

[0037] The repetition indicator may comprise a repetition parameter. The repetition parameter may be set to one of: OFF and ON.

[0038] Advantageously, the CSI resource set may comprise a single repetition parameter.

[0039] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to OFF, the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set may not be transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0040] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to ON, the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0041] According to an embodiment, the CSI resource set may comprise: a list of Non Zero Power - CSI - Reference Signal, NZP-CSI-RS, resource Identifiers, IDs, for the CSI resources from the two or more LTM candidate cells; and a corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs; wherein the corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs is of equal size to the list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs.

[0042] According to an embodiment, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node, a LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the LTM CSI resource configuration comprises the CSI resource set; and wherein an LTM CSI report configuration is associated with the LTM CSI resource configuration. The CSI report may be according to the LTM CSI report configuration.

[0043] The CSI report may be referred to as a LTM measurement report.

[0044] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals received on the one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0045] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises a CSI Resource Identifier, CRI, and a Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP, measurement value for each of the one or more of CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0046] According to an embodiment, there is also provided a method performed by a network node for layer one / layer two triggered mobility, LTM. The method comprises transmitting, to a user equipment, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells. The method further comprises receiving a CSI report from the user equipment, based on one or more CSI reference signals measured by the wireless device on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0047] The CSI resource set may also be referred to as a CSI-Reference Signal, CSI-RS, resource set. In other words, the CSI resource set may comprise a CSI-RS resource set. The CSI resources may also be referred to as CSI-RS resources. In other words, the CSI resources may comprise CSI-RS resources.

[0048] According to a preferred embodiment, the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.

[0049] The repetition indicator may comprise a repetition parameter; wherein the repetition parameter is set to one of: OFF and ON.

[0050] Advantageously, the CSI resource set may comprise a single repetition parameter.

[0051] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to OFF, the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set may not be transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0052] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to ON, the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0053] According to an embodiment, the CSI resource set may comprise: a list of Non Zero Power - CSI - Reference Signal, NZP-CSI-RS, resource Identifiers, IDs, for the CSI resources from the two or more LTM candidate cells; and a corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs; wherein the corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs is of equal size to the list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs.

[0054] According to an embodiment, the method may further comprise transmitting, to the user equipment, a LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the LTM CSI resource configuration comprises the CSI resource set; and wherein an LTM CSI report configuration is associated with the LTM CSI resource configuration. The CSI report may be according to the LTM CSI report configuration.

[0055] The CSI report may be referred to as a LTM measurement report.

[0056] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals received on the one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0057] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises a CSI Resource Identifier, CRI, and a Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP, measurement value for each of the one or more of CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0058] According to an embodiment, there is provided a user equipment. The user equipment comprises processing circuitry configured to perform: receiving, from a network node, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells. The processing circuitry is further configured to perform measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set. The processing circuitry is further configured toperform: transmitting a CSI report to the network node, based on the measured one or more CSI reference signals. The user equipment may further comprise power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0059] According to an embodiment, there is provided a network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform: transmitting, to a user equipment, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells. The processing circuitry is further configured to perform: receiving a CSI report from the user equipment, based on one or more CSI reference signals measured by the wireless device on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set. The network node may further comprise power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0060] Some embodiments will now be described in more detail below, with reference to the drawings in which:

[0061] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating a LTM cell switch;

[0062] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a method performed by a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0063] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a method performed by a network node according to some embodiments;

[0064] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

[0065] Figure 5 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

[0066] Figure 6 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0067] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0069] The text refers to the term “L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility” as used in the Work Item Description in 3GPP, though it interchangeably also uses the terms L1 / L2 mobility, Ll-mobility, LI based mobility, Ll / L2-centric inter-cell mobility, L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility, Lower-layer triggered Mobility or LTM. The basic principle is that the UE receives a lower layer signaling (e.g. a MAC CE) from the network indicating to the UE a change (or switch or activation) of included serving cell (e.g. change of PCell, from a source to a target PCell), wherein a lower layer signaling is a message / signaling of a lower layer protocol (e.g., lower than RRC), which may be referred as a L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility execution command or LTM cell switch command. The change of serving cell (e.g., change of PCell) may also lead to a change in Scell(s) for the same cell group, e.g. when the command triggers the UE to change to another cell group configuration of the same type (e.g., another master cell group (MCG) configuration). Before the UE receives the LTM cell switch command, the UE is configured by the network with one or more LTM candidate cells (e.g., reception of an RRC Reconfiguration message, with at least one LTM candidate cell configuration). A candidate cell configuration may include parameters in the IE CellGroupConfig per candidate cell and / or an embedded RRC Reconfiguration per candidate cell.

[0070] The term LTM cell switch procedure refers to the process of a UE changing its cell from a source cell to a target cell (which may be referred to as a candidate cell or a neighbour cell), using L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM). In the context of L1 / L2 triggered mobility, an LTM cell switch procedure may sometimes also be known as dynamic switch, LTM switch, LTM cell switch, LTM serving cell change or LTM cell change. Even if the term change of cell is used, that may comprise a change of a whole cell group configuration, which includes a change in the SpCell (e.g., change of PCell, or change of PSCell) and a change in sCells of the cell group (e.g., addition, modification and / or release of one or more sCells). The LTM cell switch procedure may be triggered by the UE receiving an LTM cell switch command from the network. The source and target cells in a LTM cell switch procedure may be controlled by the same gNB, which sometimes is referred to as the intra-gNB case, or when the gNB uses a distributed CU / DU RAN architecture, the intra-CU inter-DU case or the intra-CU intra-DU case (depending on whether the cells are controlled by the same DU or different DUs). When the source and target cells in a LTM cell switch procedure are controlled by different gNBs, this is sometimes referred to as the inter-gNB case, or inter-CU case, or sometimes known as an inter-CU LTM cell switch procedure.

[0071] A LTM candidate cell configuration may also sometimes be referred to as a configuration of a LTM candidate cell, which may be an RRC configuration, such asencapsulated in an RRC Reconfiguration message, that the UE receives when being configured with L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility. An LTM candidate cell configuration comprises the configuration which the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when it performs an LTM cell switch procedure to that LTM candidate cell, e.g. upon reception of the LTM cell switch command indicating the UE to perform a LTM cell switch procedure to that LTM candidate cell, which becomes the target cell and the current (new) SpCell, or an sCell in a serving frequency. The LTM candidate cell configuration comprises parameters of a serving cell (or multiple serving cells, such as a cell group), comprising one or more of the groups of parameters, such as an RRCReconfiguration message, an IE CellGroupConfig or an IE SpCellConfig (or the IE sCellConfig, in the case of a Secondary Cell).

[0072] An LTM candidate cell configuration is associated with an identifier that is used in the signaling when referring to a certain LTM candidate cell configuration, such as when the UE receives the LTM candidate cell configuration and when the UE receives an LTM cell switch command indicating the UE to perform a LTM cell switch procedure to that LTM candidate cell. This identifier is sometimes known as the LTM candidate cell configuration identity or LTM candidate configuration index (or similar).

[0073] An inter-CU LTM cell switch procedure, sometimes also referred to as inter-CU LTM or inter-gNB LTM, is an LTM cell switch procedure resulting in a change of serving cell, e.g. change of SpCell, PCell, PSCell, to an LTM candidate cell controlled by a different gNB than the source gNB or serving gNB of the UE when the execution LTM cell switch procedure was triggered (e.g., upon reception of the LTM cell switch command). From UE point of view, the actions performed during an inter-CU LTM cell switch procedure may be the same type of actions of an LTM cell switch procedure, but may also include additional actions, such as change of security key(s).

[0074] The terms inter Master Node L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility, inter-MN LTM, configuration of inter-MN LTM, execution of inter-MN LTM and an inter-MN LTM cell switch procedure are used herein. In the context of this disclosure, inter-MN LTM refers to inter-CU LTM, sometimes also referred to as inter-gNB LTM, handover or MCG mobility, when the UE is configured with dual connectivity, such as NR-DC, and where the source cell and target cell are both part of the source and target MCG, respectively, and controlled by different CUs or different gNBs.

[0075] The term conditional LTM refers to L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility where the execution of the LTM cell switch is triggered by the UE when an execution condition, such as a layer 1,layer 2 or a layer 3 event, criterion or condition related to, for example, a radio measurement, is fulfilled. Upon the cell switch the UE applies a stored LTM candidate cell configuration.

[0076] An inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration is referred to herein. An inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration is a LTM candidate cell configuration that contains the configuration that the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when the UE performs an LTM cell switch procedure to an LTM candidate cell that is controlled by a different base station, e.g. gNB, from the current source base station, e.g. serving gNB of the UE. In some cases, the UE may receive an inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration during configuration of inter-MN LTM. In some cases, the UE may apply an inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration during execution of inter-MN LTM.

[0077] An inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration may be the same as an LTM candidate cell configuration, but it may also include additional information than what is included in the LTM candidate cell configuration used for inter-CU cell switch. This additional information may be, for example: information to perform security key refresh, e.g. the RRC IE MasterKeyUpdate or a RRC IE RadioBearerConfig that includes SecurityConfig with Security AlgorithmConfig; indication to perform Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) re-establishment; and / or indication to perform a full configuration, e.g. the RRC field fullConfig.

[0078] The terms mobility procedure, configuration of a mobility procedure or execution of a mobility procedure are used herein. In the context of this disclosure, a mobility procedure may be L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility, LTM, inter-CU LTM, inter-MN LTM, L3 handover, PCell handover, conditional handover (CHO), conditional LTM, PSCell change or conditional PSCell Addition or Change (CP AC). The embodiments described herein sometimes use the inter-MN LTM as the example. However, many of the examples may also be applied for other mobility procedures, for example, LTM, inter-CU LTM, conditional LTM or CHO.

[0079] The term mobility configuration is used herein. When the UE has been configured with a mobility configuration, the UE may use the mobility configuration during preparation of a mobility procedure, including measurements (such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) measurements on neighbor or serving cells), triggering and transmission of measurement reports, synchronization towards neighbor cells, evaluation of conditions (for conditional mobility, e.g. CHO), and during the execution of a mobility procedure (e.g. execution of an LTM cell switch procedure, execution of an inter-MN LTM cell switch procedure or execution of handover).

[0080] A mobility configuration may include one or multiple of the following type of elements where each element contains a configuration of one aspect of LTM, for example as follows:• LTM candidate cell configuration(s),• inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration(s),• lower layer information, such as physical layer configuration, MAC layer configuration or RLC layer configuration, Cell Group configuration, serving cell configuration.• higher layer information, such as RRC protocol parameters, such as timer values, PDCP layer configuration, radio bearer configuration or measurement configuration • Configuration of measurements for LTM• Configuration for measurement reports for LTM• CSI resource configuration(s) for LTM• CSI report configuration for LTM• Configurations of early synchronization procedures, such aso Configurations for DL pre-sync for LTM, such as configurations for early TCI state activationo Configurations for UL pre-sync for LTM, such as configurations for reception of PDCCH ordered triggered preamble transmission and reception of TA. • Configurations for the execution of an LTM cell switch procedure for a given LTM candidate cell configuration or inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration (e.g., whether to perform random access procedure, whether to perform RLC reestablishment, or MAC reset, or PDCP recovery), a timer value, configured UL grants, dedicated RA preambles.• A configuration which the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when it performs an LTM cell switch procedure to an LTM candidate cell which is controlled by a different base station, e.g. gNB, from the current source base station e.g. serving gNB of the UE.• Information to perform security key refresh, e.g. the RRC IE MasterKey Update or a RRC IE RadioBearerConfig that includes SecurityConfig withSecurity AlgorithmConfig.• Indication to perform a full configuration, e.g. the RRC field fullConfig.• Indication to perform L2 re-establishment, such as an indication to perform PDCP reestablishment for one or multiple bearers.

[0081] The term “subsequent LTM,” sometimes also referred to as “subsequent LTM cell switch (procedures)” refers to that the UE performs a first LTM cell switch procedure from a source cell to a first target cell, then performs a second LTM cell switch procedure from the first target cell (which is now the new source cell) to a second target cell, and between the first and second LTM cell switch procedures there is no RRC reconfiguration of the UE. This implies also that the network does not add / remove / modify the LTM candidate cell configuration(s) or inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration(s) in the UE between the two LTM cell switch procedures.

[0082] The term “cell” is used to identify a location (or coverage) on which the UE is located. However, the term “cell” can also be exchanged without any loss of meaning with the terms “radio resources”, “beams”, “TCI state”, or “TRS”. This is to clarify that the embodiments described herein do not target specifically a scenario where there is a cell, but rather when a UE uses a set of source radio resources and need to switch to a target set of radio resources. In such a case, radio resource can also identify a set of configurations, field, parameters, or ASN.l structures or IES. The term “early DL synchronization” is used to describe the action performed by the UE of pre-activating a TCI state of at least one LTM candidate cell configuration before performing an LTM cell switch execution. In this case, the TCI state on a given LTM candidate cell is “activated in advance”, or “pre-activated”. Therefore, the terms “early DL synchronization”, or “early TCI state activation”, or “early TCI state pre-activation” can be exchanged without any loss of meaning. Moreover, the terms “first network node” and “second network node” are used to refer to a source cell / serving cell / source gNB-DU / S-DU and a candidate cell / candidate gNB-DU / C-DU respectively.

[0083] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a method performed by a UE according to some embodiments. At 2000 the method comprises receiving, from a network node, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more layer one / layer two triggered mobility, LTM, candidate cells. At 2010 the method further comprises measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set. At 2020 the method further comprises transmitting a CSI report to the network node. The CSI report may be based on the measured one or more CSI reference signals.

[0084] The CSI resource set may also be referred to as a CSI-Reference Signal, CSI-RS, resource set. In other words, the CSI resource set may comprise a CSI-RS resource set. TheCSI resources may also be referred to as CSI-RS resources. In other words, the CSI resources may comprise CSI-RS resources.

[0085] According to a preferred embodiment, the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.

[0086] The repetition indicator may comprise a repetition parameter. The repetition parameter may be set to one of: OFF and ON.

[0087] Advantageously, the CSI resource set may comprise a single repetition parameter.

[0088] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to OFF, the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set may not be transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0089] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to ON, the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0090] According to an embodiment, the CSI resource set may comprise: a list of Non Zero Power - CSI - Reference Signal, NZP-CSI-RS, resource Identifiers, IDs, for the CSI resources from the two or more LTM candidate cells; and a corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs; wherein the corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs is of equal size to the list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs.

[0091] According to an embodiment, receiving the CSI resource set at 2000 may comprise receiving, from the network node, a LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the LTM CSI resource configuration comprises the CSI resource set. Further, an LTM CSI report configuration may be associated with the LTM CSI resource configuration. The CSI report, transmitted at 2020 may be according to the LTM CSI report configuration.

[0092] The CSI report may be referred to as a LTM measurement report.

[0093] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals received on the one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0094] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises a CSI Resource Identifier, CRI, and a Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP, measurement value for each of the one or more of CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0095] According to some embodiments, a method in a UE to perform beam management on one or more LTM candidate cells is based on a CSI-RS resource set, where the UE mayassume at least some of the CSI-RS resources in the CSI-RS resource set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain filter.

[0096] In particular embodiments, the CSI-RS Resource set includes: a list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs, the resources belonging to one or more LTM candidate cells; a corresponding list of equal size with the LTM Candidate cell IDs; and a repetition parameter, which may take the values {ON, OFF}.

[0097] In particular embodiments, the CSI-RS Resource set is implemented with an ASN.l information element (IE) with the name LTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet, not precluding other names.

[0098] In particular embodiments, setting the repetition parameter to OFF implies that the UE may assume that all CSI-RS resources within the CSI-RS Resource Set are not transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0099] In particular embodiments, the repetition parameter applies per LTM candidate cell. If repetition = on, the UE may assume the CSI-RS resources within the CSI-RS Resource Set and for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0100] In particular embodiments, the CSI-RS Resource set includes: a list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs, the resources belonging to one or more LTM candidate cells; a corresponding list of equal size with the LTM Candidate cell IDs; and a corresponding list of equal size with the {ON, OFF} to indicate whether the CSI-RS resource is repetition ON or OFF.

[0101] In particular embodiments, the repetition parameter applies per LTM candidate resource. If repetition = on for contiguous set of CSI-RS resources, and if they are from the same cell, the UE may assume that they are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0102] In particular embodiments, the CSI-RS Resource set includes one or more lists of CSI-RS resources, where each list of CSI-RS resources is associated with an LTM Candidate cell ID and a repetition parameter.

[0103] In particular embodiments, the UE may assume that the CSI-RS resources in one list of CSI-RS resources that are configured with repetition ON, are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain filter.

[0104] In particular embodiments, the CSI-RS Resource set includes a list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs, the resources belonging to one or more LTM candidate cells; a corresponding list of equal size with the LTM Candidate cell IDs; and a corresponding list of equal size withrepetition group IDs. The repetition group Id may, for example, take integer values between 0 andN.

[0105] In particular embodiments, the UE may assume that CSI-RS resources that are associated with the same repetition group Id are transmitted with the same downlink spatial transmit filter.

[0106] An example ASN.1 config is added below for reference.Listof CSI-RS-withRepititionON SEQUENCE (SIZE( 1.., maxNrofLTM-CSI-ResourceSetsrepition-rl9) ) OF CSI-RS-withRepititionONCSI-RS-withRepititionON: = SEQUENCE {CSI resource IDs SEQUENCE (Size ( 1... MaxNrof CS I-RS-per-RepetitionSet ) OF NZP-CSI-RS-Resourceld}

[0107] In particular embodiments, the UE sends LTM measurement reports to the first network node according to an LTM CSI report configuration. The report configuration is associated with an LTM CSI Resource Configuration with a CSI-RS Resource Set. The measurement report includes pairs of CRI and L1-RSRP measurement values. The CRI is the index of the NZP-CSI-RS resource in the CSI-RS Resource set for which the measurement was done. The NZP-CSI-RS resource is a CSI-RS for beam management.

[0108] In one example, the CSI RS Resource set can be implemented in TS. 38.331 as a member of LTM-CSI-ResourceConfig as per below. In this example, the CSI RS Resource set is an IE named LTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-rl9, but other names are not precluded. LTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-rl9 has two lists: one with CSI-RS Resource IDs and another with the corresponding LTM Candidate IDs. Finally, there is the repetition parameter. — ASN1START—TAG-LTM-CS I -RESOURCECONFIG-STARTLTM-CSI-ResourceConf ig-rl8:: = SEQUENCE {Itm-CS I -Re sourceConf igld-rl8 LTM-CSI- ResourceConfigId-rl8,Itm-CS I-SSB-ResourceSet-r 18 LTM-CSI-SSB- ResourceSet-rl8,Itm-CS I-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-r 19 LTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-rl 9,}LTM-CSI-SSB-ResourceSet-rl8:: = SEQUENCE {ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE( 1.,maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet-rl8 ) ) OF SSB-Index, ltm-CandidateIdList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE( 1.,maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet-rl8 ) ) OF LTM-Candidateld-rl8,}LTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-rl9:: = SEQUENCE {ltm-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceList-rl 9 SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1.,maxNrofLTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourcesPerSet-rl9) ) OF NZP-CSI-RS-Resourceld,Itm-CandidateldList-rl 9 SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1.,maxNrofLTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourcesPerSet-rl9) ) OF LTM-Candidateld-rl8,repetition ENUMERATED { on, off } OPTIONAL, — Need S— TAG-LTM-CS I -RESOURCECONFIG-STOP—ASN1STOP

[0109] Another specification impact may be in TS 38.214, Sec. 5.2.2.3.1 in the description of the higher layer parameter repetition:

[0110] Current formulation:

[0111] - repetition in NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet is associated with a CSI-RS resource set and defines whether UE can assume the CSI-RS resources within the NZP CSI-RS Resource Set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter or not as described in Clause 5.1.6.1.2. and can be configured only when the higher layer parameter reportQuantity associated with all the reporting settings linked with the CSI-RS resource set is set to 'cri-RSRP', 'cri-SINR', 'cri-RSRP- Index', 'cri-SINR- Index' or 'none'.

[0112] New formulation:

[0113] - repetition in LTM-CSI-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet is associated with a CSI- RS resource set and defines whether UE can assume the CSI-RS resources within the NZP CSI-RS Resource Set and for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter or not as described in Clause 5.1.6.1.2. and can be configured only when the higher layer parameter reportQuantity associated with all the reporting settings linked with the CSI-RS resource set is set to 'cri-RSRP', 'cri-SINR', 'cri-RSRP- Index', 'cri-SINR- Index' or 'none'.

[0114] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a method performed by a network node according to some embodiments. At 3000 the method comprises transmitting, to a user equipment, UE, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells. At 3010 the method further comprises receiving a CSI report from the user equipment. The CSI report may be based on one or more CSI reference signals measured by the wireless device on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0115] The CSI resource set may also be referred to as a CSI-Reference Signal, CSI-RS, resource set. In other words, the CSI resource set may comprise a CSI-RS resource set. The CSI resources may also be referred to as CSI-RS resources. In other words, the CSI resources may comprise CSI-RS resources.

[0116] According to a preferred embodiment, the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.

[0117] The repetition indicator may comprise a repetition parameter; wherein the repetition parameter is set to one of: OFF and ON.

[0118] Advantageously, the CSI resource set may comprise a single repetition parameter.

[0119] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to OFF, the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set may not be transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0120] According to an embodiment, for example when the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter set to ON, the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

[0121] According to an embodiment, the CSI resource set may comprise: a list of Non Zero Power - CSI - Reference Signal, NZP-CSI-RS, resource Identifiers, IDs, for the CSI resources from the two or more LTM candidate cells; and a corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs; wherein the corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs is of equal size to the list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs.

[0122] According to an embodiment, transmitting the CSI resource set to the UE at 3000 may comprise transmitting, to the UE, a LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the LTM CSI resource configuration comprises the CSI resource set. A LTM CSI report configuration may be associated with the LTM CSI resource configuration. The CSI report may be according to the LTM CSI report configuration.

[0123] The CSI report may be referred to as a LTM measurement report.

[0124] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals received on the one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0125] According to an embodiment, the CSI report comprises a CSI Resource Identifier, CRI, and a Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP, measurement value for each of the one or more of CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

[0126] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0127] In the example, the communication system 100 includes a telecommunication network 102 that includes an access network 104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 106, which includes one or more core network nodes 108. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 110a and 110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (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. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 102, including one or more network nodes 110 and / or core network nodes 108.

[0128] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). 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 accessnode may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 112a, 112b, 112c, and 112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 112) to the core network 106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0129] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0130] The UEs 112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 102.

[0131] In the depicted example, the core network 106 connects the network nodes 110 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 108) 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 generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 108. 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 MobilityManagement 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).

[0132] The host 116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 104 and / or the telecommunication network 102. The host 116 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.

[0133] As a whole, the communication system 100 of Figure 1 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) 802.11 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.

[0134] In some examples, the telecommunication network 102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 102. For example, the telecommunications network 102 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)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0135] In some examples, the UEs 112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 104. 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).

[0136] In the example, the hub 114 communicates with the access network 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 112c and / or 112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 110b). In some examples, the hub 114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 114 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 110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 114. As another example, the hub 114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0137] The hub 114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 110b. The hub 114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 114 and UEs (e.g., UE 112c and / or 112d), and between the hub 114 and the core network 106. In other examples, the hub 114 is connected to the core network 106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 110 while still connected via the hub 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 110b. In other embodiments, the hub 114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 110b, but which isadditionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0138] Figure 5 shows a UE 200 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 200 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 112 of Figure 4. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0139] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0140] The UE 200 includes processing circuitry 202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 204 to an input / output interface 206, a power source 208, a memory 210, a communication interface 212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 2. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0141] The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructionsstored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210. The processing circuitry 202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0142] In the example, the input / output interface 206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0143] In some embodiments, the power source 208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 200 to which power is supplied.

[0144] The memory 210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks,removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 210 includes one or more application programs 214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 216. The memory 210 may store, for use by the UE 200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0145] The memory 210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 210 may allow the UE 200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0146] The processing circuitry 202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 212. The communication interface 212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 222. The communication interface 212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 218 and / or a receiver 220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 218 and receiver 220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0147] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication,short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0148] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0149] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0150] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, asensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 200 shown in Figure 5.

[0151] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0152] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0153] Figure 6 shows a network node 300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0154] 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).

[0155] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O& M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0156] The network node 300 includes a processing circuitry 302, a memory 304, a communication interface 306, and a power source 308. The network node 300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., aNodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 300 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, the network node 300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 300, 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 300.

[0157] The processing circuitry 302 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 logicoperable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 300 components, such as the memory 304, to provide network node 300 functionality.

[0158] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and the baseband processing circuitry 314 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 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0159] The memory 304 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 computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 302. The memory 304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 302 and utilized by the network node 300. The memory 304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 and memory 304 is integrated.

[0160] The communication interface 306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 310. Radio front-end circuitry 318 comprises filters 320 and amplifiers 322. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may be connected to an antenna 310 and processing circuitry 302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 310 and processing circuitry 302. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may convert the digital data into a radio signalhaving the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 320 and / or amplifiers 322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0161] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 318, instead, the processing circuitry 302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 312 is part of the communication interface 306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 306 includes one or more ports or terminals 316, the radio front-end circuitry 318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0162] The antenna 310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 310 is separate from the network node 300 and connectable to the network node 300 through an interface or port.

[0163] The antenna 310, communication interface 306, and / or the processing circuitry 302 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, the antenna 310, the communication interface 306, and / or the processing circuitry 302 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.

[0164] The power source 308 provides power to the various components of network node 300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 300 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 suppliespower to power circuitry of the power source 308. As a further example, the power source 308 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.

[0165] Embodiments of the network node 300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 6 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 300 and to allow output of information from the network node 300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 300. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 4, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 318 and the RF transceiver circuitry 312 may be omitted.

[0166] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 400 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 400 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0167] Applications 402 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0168] Hardware 404 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 406 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 408a and 408b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 408), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 408.

[0169] The VMs 408 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 406. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 402 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 408, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0170] In the context of NFV, a VM 408 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 408, and that part of hardware 404 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 408 on top of the hardware 404 and corresponds to the application 402.

[0171] Hardware 404 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 404 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 410, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 402. In some embodiments, hardware 404 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. Insome embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 412 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0172] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0173] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0174] Some embodiments are described in the following numbered clauses.Group A Embodiments1. A method performed by a user equipment for layer one / layer two triggered mobility (LTM), the method comprising:receiving, from a network node, a channel state information (CSI) resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells;measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set; andtransmitting a CSI report to the network node, the CSI report comprising an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals.2. The method of the previous embodiment, wherein the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.3. The method of the previous embodiment, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.4. The method of embodiment 2, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set and for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.5. A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising:any of the wireless device steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.6. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional wireless device steps, features or functions described above.Group B Embodiments7. A method performed by a network node for layer one / layer two triggered mobility (LTM), the method comprising:transmitting, to a wireless device, a channel state information (CSI) resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells;receiving, from the wireless device, a CSI report comprising an indication of themeasured one or more CSI reference signals.8. The method of the previous embodiment, wherein the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.9. The method of the previous embodiment, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.10. The method of embodiment 8, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set and for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.11. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising:any of the steps, features, or functions described above with respect to a network node, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.12. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above.Group C Embodiments13. A user equipment comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; andpower supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.14. A network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments;power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.15. A user equipment (UE) comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, andconfigured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments;an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry;an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; anda battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment for layer one / layer two triggered mobility, LTM, the method comprising:receiving, from a network node, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells (2000);measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set (2010); andtransmitting a CSI report to the network node, based on the measured one or more CSI reference signals (2020).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the repetition parameter is set to one of: OFF and ON.

5. The method of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the CSI resource set comprises a single repetition parameter.

6. The method of any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set may not be transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

7. The method of any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

8. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the CSI resource set comprises: a list of Non Zero Power - CSI - Reference Signal, NZP-CSI-RS, resource Identifiers, IDs, for the CSI resources from the two or more LTM candidate cells; and a corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs; wherein the corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs is of equal size to the list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs.

9. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising receiving, from the network node, a LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the LTM CSI resource configuration comprises the CSI resource set; and wherein an LTM CSI report configuration is associated with the LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the CSI report is according to the LTM CSI report configuration.

10. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the CSI report comprises an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals received on the one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

11. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the CSI report comprises a CSI Resource Identifier, CRI, and a Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP, measurement value for each of the one or more of CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

12. A method performed by a network node for layer one / layer two triggered mobility, LTM, the method comprising:transmitting, to a user equipment, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells (3000); andreceiving, from the user equipment, a CSI report based on a measured one or more CSI reference signals received by the user equipment on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set (3010).

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the CSI resource set further comprises a repetition indicator.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the repetition indicator comprises a repetition parameter.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the repetition parameter is set to one of: OFF and ON.

16. The method of any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the CSI resource set comprises a single repetition parameter.

17. The method of any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that all CSI resources within the CSI resource set may not be transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

18. The method of any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the repetition indicator indicates that the CSI resources within the CSI resource set for the same LTM candidate cell are transmitted with the same downlink spatial domain transmission filter.

19. The method of any of claims 12 to 18, wherein the CSI resource set comprises: a list of Non Zero Power - CSI - Reference Signal, NZP-CSI-RS, resource Identifiers, IDs, for the CSI resources from the two or more LTM candidate cells; and a corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs; wherein the corresponding list of LTM candidate cell IDs is of equal size to the list of NZP-CSI-RS resource IDs.

20. The method of any of claims 12 to 18, further comprising transmitting, to the user equipment, a LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the LTM CSI resource configuration comprises the CSI resource set; and wherein an LTM CSI report configuration is associated with the LTM CSI resource configuration; wherein the CSI report is according to the LTM CSI report configuration.

21. The method of any of claims 12 to 20, wherein the CSI report comprises an indication of the measured one or more CSI reference signals received on the one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

22. The method of any of claims 12 to 21, wherein the CSI report comprises a CSI Resource Identifier, CRI, and a Layer 1 - Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP, measurement value for each of the one or more of CSI resources in the CSI resource set.

23. A user equipment (200) comprising:processing circuitry (202) configured to perform:receiving, from a network node, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells;measuring one or more CSI reference signals received on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set; andtransmitting a CSI report to the network node, based on the measured one or more CSI reference signals; andpower supply circuitry (208) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry (202).

24. The user equipment (200) according to claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry (202) is further configured to perform the method of any of claims 2 to 11.

25. A network node (300) comprising:processing circuitry (302) configured to perform:transmitting, to a user equipment, a channel state information, CSI, resource set, wherein the CSI resource set comprises CSI resources from two or more LTM candidate cells; andreceiving, from the user equipment, a CSI report based on a measured one or more CSI reference signals received by the user equipment on one or more of the CSI resources in the CSI resource set; andpower supply circuitry (308) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry (302).

26. The network node (300) according to claim 25, wherein the processing circuitry (302) is further configured to perform the method of any of claims 13 to 22.

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