Downlink control information (DCI) design for orthogonal cover code (OCC)-based transmissions in internet of things non-terrestrial network (IOT-NTN)

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16) via a network (12) includes: receiving (S110) an indication using downlink control information (DCI) associated with one or more orthogonal cover code (OCC) based transmissions, the DCI including a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field; and performing (S111) an OCC based transmission in accordance with the received indication.

Description

[0001] DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION (DCI) DESIGN FOR ORTHOGONAL COVER CODE (OCC)-BASED TRANSMISSIONS IN INTERNET OF THINGS NONTERRESTRIAL NETWORK (IOT-NTN)

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to downlink control information for transmissions that are based on orthogonal cover code and associated with internet of things non terrestrial networks.

[0004] BACKGROUND

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

[0006] Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) was introduced for LTE-MTC and NB-IoT in 3GPP Rel-17 (i.e., Internet of Things Non-Terrestrial Network (loT-NTN)), and further evolved in 3GPP Release 18 (Rel-18). In 3GPP Release 19 (Rel-19), one of the objectives for loT-NTN aims at increasing the uplink capacity through studying and implementing the support of Orthogonal Cover Codes (OCC) for the narrowband Physical Uplink shared Channel (NPUSCH Format 1) and possibly the narrowband Physical Random-Access Channel (NPRACH). The Work Item Description includes the following justification:

[0007] • Need for Uplink capacity enhancement: NB-IoT NTN is already being deployed live at this very moment. In these early and upcoming deployments, it is clearly emerging that loT-NTN, in particular NB-IoT, will have to support massive capacity in terms of number and types of UE, some of which with worse characteristics than others (e.g. low cost devices, wearables, etc.). Multiplexing of UEs by usage of orthogonal cover codes (OCC) for NPUSCH format 1 and NPRACH should therefore be studied and if beneficial being specified.

[0008] • Therefore, in order to unlock the additional UL capacity potential, there is a need to identify methods to de-couple the UL from the DL as much as possible.Moreover, the 3 GPP Rel-19 objective for increasing the uplink capacity for loT-NTN has been described as follows:

[0009] • Support of Capacity enhancements for uplink

[0010] o Study then specify, if beneficial, enhancements to enable multiplexing of multiple UEs (e.g. up to the min of 4 and the maximum allowed by the existing UL and DL signaling) in a single 3.75 kHz or 15 kHz subcarrier via orthogonal cover codes (OCC) for NPUSCH format 1 andNPRACH [RANI, RAN2]

[0011] ■ Multi-tone support for 15 kHz SCS should also be considered Note: Impact of impairment shall be taken into account In the case of NPUSCH Format 1 with 3.75 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), the legacy specification offers the possibility of multiplexing a non-negligible number of users. For example, if NPRACH and NPUSCH Format 1 with 3.75kHz subcarrier spacing were to co-exist, it would be possible to have NPRACH on 45 kHz and NPUSCH on 135 kHz for having up to 36 single-tone users simultaneously. Moreover, if NPRACH and NPUSCH were not simultaneously transmitted, then there may be room for 12 extra NPUSCH Format 1 UEs. Thus, up to 48 single-tone users could be simultaneously transmitting on 180 kHz using legacy.

[0012] In the case of NPUSCH Format 1 single-tone with 15 kHz SCS, the RU is 8ms and it is thus possible to schedule up to 12 UEs simultaneously, whereas for multi-tone the possible allocations are 3 -subcarriers, 6-subcarriers, and 12-subcarriers which have associated RUs equal to 4ms, 2ms, and 1ms respectively.

[0013] NPRACH preambles use a single-tone transmission with 3.75 kHz SCS and frequency hopping. NB-IoT supports two NPRACH formats (Format 0 using a CP of 66.7 us, and Format 1 using a CP of 266.67 us), and the basic NPRACH repetition unit consist of four symbol groups.

[0014] In 3GPP, the Rel-19 objective to “Support of Capacity enhancements for uplink” was kicked-off in RANI# 116, where discussions have taken place during RANI# 119. Several agreements have been reached, being among the most relevant ones those stating that up to two UEs will be allowed to be multiplexed using Orthogonal Cover Codes (OCC) i.e., at most OCC length 2, and that NPUSCH Format 1 with 3.75 kHz SCS will use an OCC-symbol level scheme, whereas NPUSCH Format 1 with 15 kHz SCS will use an OCC-slot level scheme. See summary of the relevant agreements below:

[0015]

[0016] Table 1. - Relevant agreements

[0017] One of the most recent topics under discussion refers to an agreement touching upon the DCI design as shown below:

[0018] Agreement

[0019] For support of single-tone OCC for NPUSCH format 1 for connected mode, the parameters that need to be signalled are:

[0020] • OCC sequence index• Enabling of OCC feature

[0021] • FFS: whether signaling is explicit or implicit

[0022] In NB-IoT, DCI Format NO is the one used to provide the uplink scheduling information as defined in TS 36.212 [6]:

[0023] 6.4.3.1 DCI Format NO

[0024] DCI format NO is used for the scheduling ofNPUSCH and operation on preconfigured UL resources in one UL cell.

[0025] The following information is transmitted by means of the DCI format NO:

[0026] - Flag for format NO / format N 1 differentiation - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates format NO and value 1 indicates format N1

[0027] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3], This field is only present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI.

[0028] If format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI and Modulation and coding scheme is set to '1110', the remaining fields are set as follows:

[0029] - ACK or Fallback indicator - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates ACK and value 1 indicates fallback as defined in clause 16.6.4 of [3]

[0030] - NPUSCH repetition adjustment - 3 bits refer to / Repin Table 16.5.1.1-3 of [3] - Timing advance adjustment - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.1.2 of

[0003] . The field is only present if ACK or Fallback indicator is set to 0.

[0031] - All the remaining bits in format NO are set to one

[0032] Otherwise

[0033] - Subcarrier indication - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]

[0034] - Resource assignment - 3 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]

[0035] - Scheduling delay - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1 of

[0003]

[0036] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3], This field is not present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI. Ifnpusch- 16QAM-Config is configured and the value is '1111', it functions as 16QAM indicator.

[0037] - Redundancy version - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3]

[0038] - Repetition number - 3 bits as definedin clause 16.5.1.1 of [3], If 16QAM is indicated, it functions as Modulation and coding scheme for 16QAM as defined in 16.5.1.2 of [3],

[0039] - New data indicator - 1 bit. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the first TB.- DCI subframe repetition number - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.6 in [3] - Number of scheduled TB for Unicast - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates a single TB is scheduled and value 1 indicates multiple TB are scheduled. This field is only present if higher layer parameter npusch-MultiTB-Config is enabled and the corresponding DCI is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], The field is set to 0 if the CRC of the DCI is scrambled by SPS C-RNTI.

[0040] - HARQ process number - 1 bit. This field is only present if 2 HARQ processes are configured and the corresponding DCI format is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], or if Number of scheduled TB for Unicast is present. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the second TB.

[0041] - Resource reservation - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5 of [3], This field is only present if higher layer parameter resourceReservationConfigUL is configured and the DCI is mapped onto the UE-specific search space given by C-RNTI as defined in [3],

[0042] If the number of information bits in format NO mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3] is less than that of format N1 in the same search space, zeros shall be appended to format NO until the payload size equals that of format Nl.

[0043] SUMMARY

[0044] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for DCI features / functions for transmissions that are based on OCC and associated with loT NTNs.

[0045] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network node is provided. The method includes providing an indication to the UE using DCI associated with one or more OCC based transmissions in the network, the DCI including a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field. The method includes receiving an OCC based transmission from the UE, according to the provided indication.

[0046] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the subcarrier indication field includes four bits, the OCC sequence index field includes one bit, and the OCC enabler field includes one bit.According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

[0047] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and includes transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

[0048] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network is a nonterrestrial network, NTN.

[0049] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the NTN is an loT NB-NTN.

[0050] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is an NB-IoT device.

[0051] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is associated with a satellite communication.

[0052] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided. Network node is configured to provide an indication to the UE using DCI associated with one or more OCC based transmissions in the network, the DCI including a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field. Network node is configured to receive an OCC based transmission from the UE, according to the provided indication.

[0053] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the subcarrier indication field includes four bits, the OCC sequence index field includes one bit, and the OCC enabler field includes one bit.

[0054] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

[0055] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and includes transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network is a nonterrestrial network, NTN.

[0056] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the NTN is an loT NB-NTN.

[0057] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is an NB-IoT device.

[0058] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is associated with a satellite communication.

[0059] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a UE is provided. The method includes receiving an indication using DCI associated with one or more OCC based transmissions, the DCI including a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field. The method includes performing an OCC based transmission in accordance with the received indication.

[0060] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the subcarrier indication field includes four bits, the OCC sequence index field includes one bit, and the OCC enabler field includes one bit.

[0061] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

[0062] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and includes transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

[0063] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network is a nonterrestrial network, NTN.

[0064] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the NTN is an loT NB-NTN.

[0065] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is an NB-IoT device.

[0066] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a UE is provided. UE is configured to receive an indication using DCI associated with one or more OCC based transmissions, the DCI including a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence indexfield, and an OCC enabler field. UE is configured to perform an OCC based transmission in accordance with the received indication.

[0067] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the subcarrier indication field includes four bits, the OCC sequence index field includes one bit, and the OCC enabler field includes one bit.

[0068] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

[0069] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and includes transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

[0070] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network is a nonterrestrial network, NTN.

[0071] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the NTN is an loT NB-NTN.

[0072] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the UE is an NB-IoT device.

[0073] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0075] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

[0076] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a network node in communication with a user equipment over a wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0077] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

[0078] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0079] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0080] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0081] FIG. 8 shows example UEs with different repetition numbers which can be multiplexed together by OCC according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0082] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OCC-based transmissions are intended to be scheduled using dynamic signaling. This will require introducing one or more indications in the DCI associated with an uplink grant, in particular DCI Format NO. Recent 3GPP agreements include elements that would need to be signaled, e.g., “OCC sequence index,” but overall, the DCI design for OCC is still completely open.

[0083] One or more embodiments provide complementary solutions to support CDM DMRS for OCC-based transmission in loT-NTN.

[0084] Some embodiments may provide a DCI design using DCI Format NO for OCC-based uplink transmissions in NB-IoT NTN and one or both of:

[0085] A. An OCC-RNTI is used, such that when the CRC is scrambled with the OCC- RNTI, the "Subcarrier indication" field may consist of or include 5-bits (i.e., not 6-bit anymore), where the 1 -bit that is not being used anymore by the previously mentioned field may be used for creating a new 1 -bit field named "OCC sequence index" and the rest of the fields are kept unmodified. This solution allows not having to increase the size of DCI Format NO, i.e., a different interpretation of the contents of DCI Format NO is associated when CRC is scrambled with an OCC-RNTI.

[0086] B. Legacy fields are identified in DCI Format NO which may be associated with features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions, in which case those fields may become available for fields (e.g., a new field) intended to be used when DCI schedules an OCC-based transmission.

[0087] Some embodiments provide a DCI design using a hybrid of the two previous embodiments A and B.Some embodiments may provide a DCI design using DCI Format NO for OCC-based uplink transmissions in NB-IoT NTN, including:

[0088] A. A design that relies on introducing an OCC-RNTI to resize one or more existing fields as to free-up one or more bits that can be used to e.g., create a new field(s).

[0089] B. A design the relies on identifying legacy fields in DCI Format NO associated with features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions, in which case those fields would become available to e.g., create a new field(s). A hybrid design resulting from the combination of the two above approaches may be used.

[0090] The following are example advantages provided by one or more embodiments: (A) there will not be a need of increasing the DCI size of Format NO (and therefore no side effect on the size of Format N1 either); and (B) with respect to identifying legacy fields in DCI Format NO associated with features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions, there will not be a need of introducing a new RNTI (i.e., OCC-RNTI).

[0091] According to one aspect, a method performed by a network node configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via a network is described. The method includes determining downlink control information (DCI) associated with one or more orthogonal cover code (OCC) based transmissions in the network. The DCI has a DCI format. The DCI format is usable for the one or more OCC based transmissions in the network and uses one or both of: (A) an OCC radio network temporary identifier (OCC-RNTI); and (B) one or more legacy fields not intended to be used along with the one or more OCC based transmissions. The method also includes performing one or more actions based on the DCI.

[0092] In some embodiments, when the OCC-RNTI is used and if a cyclic redundance check, CRC, associated with the DCI format is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the one or more actions include transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC. The DCI format has a subcarrier indication field including five bits and one bit. The one bit is not being used by the subcarrier indication field and is used for creating an OCC sequence index one-bit field. One or more remaining fields are kept unmodified.

[0093] In some other embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are reserved.In some embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are configured by one or more higher layer parameters for the one or more OCC based transmissions using one or more preconfigured uplink resources.

[0094] In some other embodiments, when the one or more legacy fields are used: (A) the one or more actions include transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC; and (B) one or more of: (i) the one or more legacy fields include a number of scheduled transport blocks for unicast field usable for creating a new field; (ii) the one or more legacy fields are not present if one or more higher layer parameter associated to an OCC feature is enabled; and (iii) an OCC sequence index having a single bit is used.

[0095] In some embodiments, the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0096] In some other embodiments, the NTN is an internet of things NTN (loT NTN). In some embodiments, the UE is an internet of things (loT) device.

[0097] In some other embodiments, the DCI format is a DCI Format NO.

[0098] In some embodiments, the network node is associated with or is a satellite.

[0099] According to another aspect, a network node configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via a network is described. The network node is configured to perform one or more steps corresponding to one or more of the method embodiments implemented in the network node.

[0100] According to one aspect, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a network node via a network is described. The method includes receiving downlink control information (DCI) associated with one or more orthogonal cover code (OCC) based transmissions in the network. The DCI has a DCI format. The DCI format is usable for the one or more OCC based transmissions in the network and uses one or both of: (A) an OCC radio network temporary identifier (OCC-RNTI); and (B) one or more legacy fields not intended to be used along with the one or more OCC based transmissions. The method also includes performing one or more actions based on the DCI.

[0101] In some embodiments, when the OCC-RNTI is used and if a cyclic redundance check, CRC, associated with the DCI format is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the one or more actions include receiving, from the network node, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC. The DCI format has a subcarrier indication field including five bits and one bit. The one bit is not used by the subcarrierindication field and is used for creating an OCC sequence index one-bit field. One or more remaining fields being kept unmodified.

[0102] In some embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are reserved.

[0103] In some other embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are configured by one or more higher layer parameters for the one or more OCC based transmissions using one or more preconfigured uplink resources.

[0104] In some embodiments, when the one or more legacy fields are used: (A) the one or more actions include receiving, from the network node, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC; and (B) one or more of: (i) the one or more legacy fields include a number of scheduled transport blocks for unicast field usable for creating a new field; (ii) the one or more legacy fields are not present if one or more higher layer parameter associated to an OCC feature is enabled; and (iii) an OCC sequence index having a single bit is used.

[0105] In some other embodiments, the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some embodiments, the NTN is an internet of things NTN (loT NTN).

[0106] In some other embodiments, the UE is an internet of things (loT) device.

[0107] In some embodiments, the DCI format is a DCI Format NO.

[0108] In some other embodiments, the network node is associated with or is a satellite. According to another aspect, a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a network node via a network is described. The UE is configured to perform one or more steps corresponding to one or more of the method embodiments implemented in the UE.

[0109] Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to DCI features / functions for transmissions that are based on OCC and associated with loT NTNs. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0110] As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship ororder between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0111] In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

[0112] In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0113] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0114] The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON)node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), NTN network node, a satellite, a base station integrated with a satellite, a base station in communication with a satellite, etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a user equipment (UE) such as a wireless device or a radio network node.

[0115] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The UE herein can be any type of user equipment capable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radio signals, such as a wireless device. The UE may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and / or low-complexity UE, a sensor equipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device etc.

[0116] Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell / multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

[0117] Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR) and / or 6G, may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. It is contemplated that other 3GPP systems may make use of the concepts and arrangements disclosed herein. For example, a disclosure relating to NR may also be implementable in a 6G system and / or an LTE system, a disclosure relating to 6G may also be implementable in a NR and / or LTE system, and a disclosure relating to LTE may also be implementable in a NR and / or 6G system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a user equipment or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of user equipment and / or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and user equipment described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

[0118] In some embodiments, the term “legacy” is used and may refer to standardized features or characteristics. For example, a legacy field may refer to a field that is used in a DCI format and is based on standardized features. The legacy field may be modified to perform one or more functions described herein and / or provide the features described herein.

[0119] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0120] Referring to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 1 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3 GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G) and / or 6G, which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The core network 14 includes one or more network nodes 15. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first user equipment (UE) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second UE 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of UEs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as user equipment 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two UEs 22 and three networknodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more UEs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0121] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 12 may contain some access network nodes 16 that support 3 GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 16 support (or the same access network nodes 16 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, communication system 10 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G, 5G and 6G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 12 and / or a core network 14 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 12 and / or multiple core networks 14 with individual networks supporting different standards generations.

[0122] Also, it is contemplated that a UE 22 can be in simultaneous communication and / or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a UE 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, UE 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN, a gNB for NR / NG-RAN (i.e. being configured for multiradio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) and / or Wi-Fi.

[0123] A network node 16 is configured to include a node management unit 24 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., network node functions. A user equipment 22 is configured to include a UE management unit 26 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., UE functions.

[0124] In some embodiments, any of the components of system 10 may communicate (e.g., via wired or wireless connection 21) with network 11 (e.g., a NTN). In some embodiments, network 11 comprises one or more components of system 10 such as network nodes 15, network nodes 16, UEs 22, access network 12, network 14, etc. In some embodiments, network 11 is an NTN and comprises a network node 16 configured to communicate with a satellite. In some other embodiments, network 11 comprises a network node 16 which is a satellite.Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE 22 and network node 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0125] The communication system 10 includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 28 enabling it to communicate with the UE 22. The hardware 28 may include a communication interface 29 comprising a radio interface 30 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 32 with a UE 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 30 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 30 includes an array of antennas 34 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0126] In the embodiment shown, the hardware 28 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and a memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) the memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0127] Thus, the network node 16 further has software 42 stored internally in, for example, memory 40, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16.

[0128] Processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 40 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processingcircuitry 36 of the network node 16 may include a node management unit 24 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., network node functions.

[0129] The network node 16 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and a RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 16 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 16 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 40 or portions of memory 40 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna may be shared by different RATs). The network node 16 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 16, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 16.

[0130] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 16 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry, instead, the processing circuitry 36 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 34. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF receivers, transmitters and / or transceivers are part of the radio interface 30. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 29 includes one or more ports or terminals, the radio interface 30, and the RF receiver, transmitter and / or transceiver, and the communication interface 31 communicates with baseband processing circuitry, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0131] The antenna 34 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 34 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry in radio interface 30 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 34 isseparate from the network node 16 and connectable to the network node 16 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0132] Network node 15 can include one or more components described above with respect to network node 16, e.g., communication interface 29, radio interface 30, antenna 34, ports, processing circuitry 36, processor 38, memory 40 and software 42. These elements of network node 15 can be arranged such that network node 15 can perform various core network functions. Network node 15 can communicate wirelessly or via a wired connection with network nodes 16 via communication link 59.

[0133] The communication system 10 further includes the UE 22 already referred to. The UE 22 may have hardware 44 that may include a radio interface 46 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 32 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the UE 22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 46 includes an array of antennas 48 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0134] Communication functions of the radio interface 46 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0135] The hardware 44 of the UE 22 further includes processing circuitry 50. The processing circuitry 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 50 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to executeinstructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) memory 54, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0136] Thus, the UE 22 may further comprise software 56, which is stored in, for example, memory 54 at the UE 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the UE 22. The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuitry 50. The software 56 may include a client application 58. The client application 58 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 22.

[0137] The processing circuitry 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by UE 22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing UE 22 functions described herein. The UE 22 includes memory 54 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 56 and / or the client application 58 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50, causes the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50 to perform the processes described herein with respect to UE 22. For example, the processing circuitry 50 of the user equipment 22 may include a UE management unit 26 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., UE functions.

[0138] In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16 and UE 22 may be as shown in FIG. 2 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 1.

[0139] The wireless connection 32 between the UE 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc. In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show various “units” such as node management unit 24 and UE management unit 26 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

[0140] FIG. 3 is another example of a communication system 10 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 10 of FIG. 3 includes multiple access points (APs) 60 (with four example APs 60a, 60b, 60c, and 60d being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 10 of FIG. 3 as stations (STAs) 62 (referred to individually as STA 62a, STA 62b, STA 62c, STA 62d, and STA 62e). STA 62a is served by AP 60a in a first basic service set (BSS) 64a. STA 62b and STA 62c are served by AP 60b in a second BSS, BSS 64b. STA 62d is served by AP 60c in a third BSS, BSS 64c. STA 62e is served by AP 60d in a fourth BSS, BSS 64d. Stations 62 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like, including UEs 22 that are shown and described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. In other words, in some embodiment, STA 62 is a UE 22. Further, stations 62 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0141] Each of STAs 62 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 60. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 62, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0142] Each AP 60 may provide data connectivity to STAs 62 connected to a particular AP 60. As illustrated, APs 60 may be connected to a data network 66. In this way, APs 60 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 62 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like.

[0143] Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 62 and its serving AP 60 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 62, e.g., a voice service, amultimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 62 and / or on a device linked to STA 62. By way of example, FIG. 3 illustrates an application service platform 68 provided in data network 66. The application(s) executed on STA 62 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 62 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 62 and / or the application service platform 68, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 62.

[0144] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the node management unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to determine (Block SI 00) downlink control information (DCI) associated with one or more orthogonal cover code (OCC) based transmissions in the network. The DCI has a DCI format. The DCI format is usable for the one or more OCC based transmissions in the network and uses one or both of: (A) an OCC radio network temporary identifier, OCC-RNTI; and (B) one or more legacy fields not intended to be used along with the one or more OCC based transmissions. The network node is also configured to perform (Block S102) one or more actions based on the DCI.

[0145] In some embodiments, when the OCC-RNTI is used and if a cyclic redundance check, CRC, associated with the DCI format is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the one or more actions include transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC. The DCI format having a subcarrier indication field including five bits and one bit. The one bit is not being used by the subcarrier indication field and is used for creating an OCC sequence index one-bit field. One or more remaining fields are kept unmodified.

[0146] In some other embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are reserved.

[0147] In some embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are configured by one or more higher layer parameters for the one or more OCC based transmissions using one or more preconfigured uplink resources.

[0148] In some other embodiments, when the one or more legacy fields are used: (A) the one or more actions include transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC; and (B) one or more of: (i) the one ormore legacy fields include a number of scheduled transport blocks for unicast field usable for creating a new field; (ii) the one or more legacy fields are not present if one or more higher layer parameter associated to an OCC feature is enabled; and (iii) an OCC sequence index having a single bit is used.

[0149] In some embodiments, the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0150] In some other embodiments, the NTN is an internet of things NTN (loT NTN). In some embodiments, the UE is an internet of things (loT) device.

[0151] In some other embodiments, the DCI format is a DCI Format NO.

[0152] In some embodiments, the network node is associated with or is a satellite.

[0153] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 50 (including the UE management unit 26), processor 52, and / or radio interface 46. User equipment 22 such as via processing circuitry 50 and / or processor 52 and / or radio interface 46 is configured to receive (Block SI 04) downlink control information (DCI) associated with one or more orthogonal cover code (OCC) based transmissions in the network. The DCI has a DCI format. The DCI format is usable for the one or more OCC based transmissions in the network and uses one or both of: (A) an OCC radio network temporary identifier, OCC-RNTI; and (B) one or more legacy fields not intended to be used along with the one or more OCC based transmissions. The user equipment 22 is also configured to perform (Block SI 06) one or more actions based on the DCI.

[0154] In some embodiments, when the OCC-RNTI is used and if a cyclic redundance check, CRC, associated with the DCI format is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the one or more actions include receiving, from the network node, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC. The DCI format has a subcarrier indication field including five bits and one bit. The one bit is not used by the subcarrier indication field and is used for creating an OCC sequence index one-bit field. One or more remaining fields being kept unmodified.

[0155] In some embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are reserved.

[0156] In some other embodiments, one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are configured by one or more higher layer parameters for the one or more OCC based transmissions using one or more preconfigured uplink resources.In some embodiments, when the one or more legacy fields are used: (A) the one or more actions include receiving, from the network node, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC; and (B) one or more of: (i) the one or more legacy fields include a number of scheduled transport blocks for unicast field usable for creating a new field; (ii) the one or more legacy fields are not present if one or more higher layer parameter associated to an OCC feature is enabled; and (iii) an OCC sequence index having a single bit is used.

[0157] In some other embodiments, the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In some embodiments, the NTN is an internet of things NTN (loT NTN).

[0158] In some other embodiments, the UE is an internet of things (loT) device.

[0159] In some embodiments, the DCI format is a DCI Format NO.

[0160] In some other embodiments, the network node is associated with or is a satellite. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the node management unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. Network node 16 is configured to provide (Block SI 08) an indication to the UE 22 using DCI associated with one or more OCC based transmissions in the network, the DCI comprising a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field. Network node 16 is configured to receive (Block SI 09) an OCC based transmission from the UE 22, according to the provided indication.

[0161] In some embodiments, the subcarrier indication field comprises four bits, the OCC sequence index field comprises one bit, and the OCC enabler field comprises one bit.

[0162] In some embodiments, the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

[0163] In some embodiments, the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and comprises transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

[0164] In some embodiments, the network 12 is a non-terrestrial network, NTN.

[0165] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more ofprocessing circuitry 50 (including the UE management unit 26), processor 52, and / or radio interface 46. UE 22 is configured to receive (Block SI 10) an indication using DCI associated with one or more OCC based transmissions, the DCI comprising a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field. UE 22 is configured to perform (Block Sill) an OCC based transmission in accordance with the received indication.

[0166] In some embodiments, the subcarrier indication field comprises four bits, the OCC sequence index field comprises one bit, and the OCC enabler field comprises one bit.

[0167] In some embodiments, the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

[0168] In some embodiments, the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and comprises transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

[0169] In some embodiments, the network 12 is a non-terrestrial network, NTN.

[0170] In some embodiments, the NTN is an loT NB-NTN.

[0171] In some embodiments, the UE 22 is an NB-IoT device.

[0172] Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for DCI features / functions for transmissions that are based on OCC and associated with loT NTNs. One or more functions described herein may be performed by one or more components of system 10, such as network node 16, UE 22, etc.

[0173] One or more embodiments provide a DCI format, e.g., DCI Format NO, for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN using an OCC-RNTI. One or more embodiments provide DCI Format NO for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN relying on identifying legacy fields of features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions. One or more embodiments provide DCI Format NO for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN using an OCC-RNTI and identified legacy fields of features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions.

[0174] Some embodiments provide an alternative to defining a new OCC-RNTI that the UE 22 may search for when decoding PDCCH. The regular C-RNTI can be used insteadof a new OCC-RNTI in the UE 22 specific search space when the UE 22 has been RRC configured to interpret the DCI as described in the respective section.

[0175] Although the term “DCI Format NO” is used, the embodiments are not limited to DCI Format NO, i.e., the embodiment may be applicable to any other DCI.

[0176] DCI Format NO for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN using an OCC-RNTI

[0177] In one embodiment, a UE 22 receives scheduling information via DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink using an orthogonal cover code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN. If the CRC associated with the received DCI Format NO is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the "Subcarrier indication" field may consist of (or include) 5-bits (i.e., not 6-bit as prior to Rel-19), whereas the 1-bit that is not being used anymore by the "Subcarrier indication" field may be used for creating anew 1-bit field named "OCC sequence index" and the rest of the fields are kept unmodified.

[0178] In one dependent embodiment, the following are example modifications (shown in bold italic fonts) to DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink using an orthogonal code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN described in 3GPP TS 36.212 V18.1.0:

[0179] 6.4.3.1 DCI Format NO

[0180] DCI format NO is used for the scheduling ofNPUSCH and operation on preconfigured UL resources in one UL cell.

[0181] The following information is transmitted by means of the DCI format NO:

[0182] - Flag for format NO / format N1 differentiation - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates format NO and value 1 indicates format N1

[0183] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of

[0003] . This field is only present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI.

[0184] If format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI and Modulation and coding scheme is set to '1110', the remaining fields are set as follows:

[0185] - ACK or Fallback indicator - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates ACK and value 1 indicates fallback as defined in clause 16.6.4 of [3]

[0186] - NPUSCH repetition adjustment - 3 bits refer to / Repin Table 16.5.1.1-3 of [3] - Timing advance adjustment - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.1.2 of [3], The field is only present if ACK or Fallback indicator is set to 0.

[0187] - All the remaining bits in format NO are set to one

[0188] Otherwise- Subcarrier indication - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3], This field is 5 bits ifDCI format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI.

[0189] - OCC sequence index - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5.1 of [3 J. This field is only present if format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI.

[0190] - Resource assignment - 3 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]

[0191] - Scheduling delay - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1 of

[0003]

[0192] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of

[0003] . This field is not present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI. If npusch-16QAM- Config is configured and the value is 'HIT, it functions as 16QAM indicator.

[0193] - Redundancy version - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3]

[0194] - Repetition number - 3 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3], If 16QAM is indicated, it functions as Modulation and coding scheme for 16QAM as defined in 16.5.1.2 of [3].

[0195] - New data indicator - 1 bit. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the first TB.

[0196] - DCI subframe repetition number - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.6 in [3]

[0197] - Number of scheduled TB for Unicast - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates a single TB is scheduled and value 1 indicates multiple TB are scheduled. This field is only present if higher layer parameter npusch-MultiTB-Config is enabled and the corresponding DCI is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], The field is set to 0 if the CRC of the DCI is scrambled by SPS C-RNTI.

[0198] - HARQ process number - 1 bit. This field is only present if 2 HARQ processes are configured and the corresponding DCI format is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], or if Number of scheduled TB for Unicast is present. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the second TB.

[0199] - Resource reservation - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5 of [3], This field is only present if higher layer parameter resourceReservationConfigUL is configured and the DCI is mapped onto the UE-specific search space given by C-RNTI as defined in [3]- If the number of information bits in format NO mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3] is less than that of format N1 in the same search space, zeros shall be appended to format NO until the payload size equals that of format Nl.In one dependent embodiment, when the “Subcarrier indication” field has a size of 5 bits and the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 15 kHz for NPUSCH Format 1, then in Table 16.5.1.1-1 of 3 GPP TS 36.213, only 32 entries remain available, from which only singletone entries can be scheduled for OCC-based transmissions whereas the entries associated to multi-tone transmissions remain reserved. One example of an update (shown in bold italic fonts) that can be made to 3GPP TS 36.213 procedures when the “Subcarrier indication” field is 5-bits and the subcarrier spacing of NPUSCH Format 1 is 15 kHz is as follows:

[0200] 3GPP TS 36.213

[0201] For NPUSCH transmission with subcarrier spacing \f = 15kHz, the subcarrier indication field ( Isc) in the DCI or npusch-SubCarrierSetlndex in PUR-Conflg-NB for NPUSCH transmissions using preconfigured uplink resources determines the set of contiguously allocated subcarriers ( nsc) according to Table 16.5.1.1-1. If DCI format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC- RNTI then lsc= 12, 13, ...31 are reserved.

[0202] Table 16.5.1.1-1: Allocated subcarriers for NPUSCH with Af = 15kHz.

[0203]

[0204] In one embodiment, for a UE 22 that receives scheduling information via DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink with 15 kHz SCS using an orthogonal cover code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN, the "Subcarrier indication" field can consists of (or include) 4-bits (i.e., not 6-bit as prior to Rel-19), where the 2 -bits that are not being used anymore by the "Subcarrier indication" field may be used for creating anew 1 -bit field named "OCC sequence index," and 1 -bit, for example, to increase the size of the “Scheduling delay” field, whereas the rest of the fields are kept unmodified.

[0205] In one dependent embodiment, when the “Subcarrier indication” field has a size of 5 bits and the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 3.75 kHz for NPUSCH Format 1, then singletone can only be allocated on 32 subcarriers instead of 48 subcarriers spanning the 180kHz bandwidth of NB-IoT (3.75 KHz * 48 = 180 kHz). One example of an update (shown in bold italic fonts) that can be made to 3GPP TS 36.213 procedures when the “Subcarrier indication” field is 5-bits and the subcarrier spacing of NPUSCH Format 1 is 3.75 kHz is shown below:

[0206] 3GPP TS 36.213

[0207]

[0208] where Iscis the subcarrier indication field and Isc= 48, 49,...,63 is reserved, unless DCI format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI in which case lsc= 0, 1, ...31, or nscis configured by higher layers parameter npusch- SubCarrierSetlndex in PUR-Conflg-NB for NPUSCH transmissions using preconfigured uplink resources.

[0209] In one dependent embodiment, the new “OCC sequence index” field is used for assigning to the UE 22 that received the DCI Format NO, one “OCC sequence index” out of the two available indices associated with two OCC codewords / sequences i.e.,

[0011] or [1 -1].

[0210] In one dependent embodiment, the new “OCC sequence index” is obtained from a Table introduced to 3GPP TS 36.213 like the one shown in the example below:

[0211] Table X: Allocated OCC sequence for NPUSCH with Nsc= 1 .

[0212]

[0213] DCI Format NO for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN reiving on identifying legacy fields of features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions

[0214] In one embodiment, a UE 22 receives scheduling information via DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink using an orthogonal cover code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN, where one or more than one legacy fields in DCI Format NO associated with features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions become available to, e.g., create a new field(s).

[0215] In one dependent embodiment, one field not expected to be used along with OCC-based transmissions is the legacy field in DCI Format NO “Number of scheduled TB for Unicast,” which will make 1 -bit available to e.g., create a new field(s).In one dependent embodiment, the field(s) not expected to be used along with OCC-based transmissions is not present if higher layer parameter associated to the OCC feature, e.g., npusch-OCC-Config is enabled.

[0216] In one dependent embodiment, the following are example modifications (shown in bold italic fonts) to DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink using an orthogonal code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN described in 3GPP TS 36.212 V18.1.0:

[0217] 6.4.3.1 DCI Format NO

[0218] DCI format NO is used for the scheduling ofNPUSCH and operation on preconfigured UL resources in one UL cell.

[0219] The following information is transmitted by means of the DCI format NO:

[0220] - Flag for format NO / format N1 differentiation - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates format NO and value 1 indicates format N1

[0221] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of

[0003] . This field is only present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI.

[0222] If format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI and Modulation and coding scheme is set to '1110', the remaining fields are set as follows:

[0223] - ACK or Fallback indicator - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates ACK and value 1 indicates fallback as defined in clause 16.6.4 of [3]

[0224] - NPUSCH repetition adjustment - 3 bits refer to / Repin Table 16.5.1.1-3 of [3] - Timing advance adjustment - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.1.2 of [3], The field is only present if ACK or Fallback indicator is set to 0.

[0225] - All the remaining bits in format NO are set to one

[0226] Otherwise

[0227] - Subcarrier indication - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]

[0228] - Resource assignment - 3 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]

[0229] - Scheduling delay - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1 of

[0003]

[0230] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of

[0003] . This field is not present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI. If npusch-16QAM- Config is configured and the value is '1111', it functions as 16QAM indicator.

[0231] - Redundancy version - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3]

[0232] - Repetition number - 3 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3], If 16QAM is indicated, it functions as Modulation and coding scheme for 16QAM as defined in 16.5.1.2 of [3].- New data indicator - 1 bit. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the first TB.

[0233] - DCI subframe repetition number - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.6 in [3]

[0234] - Number of scheduled TB for Unicast - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates a single TB is scheduled and value 1 indicates multiple TB are scheduled. This field is only present if higher layer parameter npusch-MultiTB-Config is enabled and the corresponding DCI is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in

[0003] . The field is set to 0 if the CRC of the DCI is scrambled by SPS C-RNTI. This field is not present if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled - OCC sequence index - 1 bit, e.g., as defined in clause 16.5.1 of [3]. This field is only present if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled.

[0235] - HARQ process number - 1 bit. This field is only present if 2 HARQ processes are configured and the corresponding DCI format is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], or if Number of scheduled TB for Unicast is present. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the second TB.

[0236] - Resource reservation - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5 of [3], This field is only present if higher layer parameter resourceReservationConfigUL is configured and the DCI is mapped onto the UE-specific search space given by C-RNTI as defined in [3]- If the number of information bits in format NO mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3] is less than that of format N1 in the same search space, zeros shall be appended to format NO until the payload size equals that of format Nl.

[0237] In one dependent embodiment, the “OCC sequence index” is obtained from a table (e.g., Table X) introduced to 3GPP TS 36.213.

[0238] Alternatively, in one embodiment, unused or reserved entries associated with combinations produced from the bits associated with a legacy field can be used to provide indications associated with OCC-based uplink transmissions.

[0239] In one dependent embodiment, the 6-bits “Subcarrier indication” field comprises 64 possible combinations, which has 45 reserved combinations in case of NPUSCH Format 1 with 15 kHz (i.e., indices 19 to 63 in Table 16.5.1.1-1 of 3GPP TS 36.213), where in case of supporting only single-tone allocations for OCC, then 24 of those reserved combinations are used to indicate a single-tone subcarrier allocation for OCC.Specifically, 12 of those reserved combinations indicate the allocation of either subcarrier 0, 1, 2 , ... 11 along with OCC sequence / codeword

[0011] , whereas 12 other reserved combinations indicate the allocation of either subcarrier 0, 1, 2 , ... 11 along with OCC sequence / codeword [1 -1],

[0240] In one dependent embodiment, an example of an update that can be made to 3GPP TS 36.213 is as follows:

[0241] 3GPP TS 36.213

[0242] For NPUSCH transmission with subcarrier spacing \f = 15kHz, the subcarrier indication field ( Isc) in the DCI or npusch-SubCarrierSetlndex in PUR-Conflg-NB for NPUSCH transmissions using preconfigured uplink resources determines the set of contiguously allocated subcarriers ( nsc) according to Table 16.5.1.1-1. If higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Conflg is enabled, I_sc=19,20, ... 30 are used with OCC codeword

[0011] , I_sc=31,32, ... 42 are usedwith OCC codeword [1 -1], and I_sc=31,32, ... 42 are reserved according to Table 16.5.1.1-1.

[0243] Table 16.5.1.1-1: Allocated subcarriers for NPUSCH with Af = 15kHz.

[0244]

[0245] * Applicable only if the higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled. In one embodiment provide support to both single-tone and multi-tone for NPUSCH Format 1 using a 15 kHz SCS, wherein 38 out of the 45 reserved combinations are utilized as follows:

[0246] • 24 combinations for single-tone (12 of them allocating single-tone transmissions in either subcarrier 0, 1, ... 11 using the OCC codeword

[0011] , whereas the other 12 of them would be used for allocating single-tone transmissions in either subcarrier 0, 1, ... 11 using the OCC codeword [1 -1]).• 8 combinations for 3 subcarrier allocation (4 of them allocating multi-tone transmissions on 3 subcarriers in either of the subcarrier sets {0, 1, 2}, ... {9, 10, 11} using the OCC codeword

[0011] , whereas the other 4 of them would be used for allocating multi-tone transmissions on 3 subcarriers in either of the subcarrier sets {0, 1, 2}, ... {9. 10, 11} using the OCC codeword [1 -1]).

[0247] • 4 combinations for 6 subcarrier allocation (2 of them allocating multi-tone transmissions on 6 subcarriers in either of the subcarrier sets {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, ... {6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} using the OCC codeword

[0011] , whereas the other 2 of them would be used for allocating multi-tone transmissions on 6 subcarriers in either of the subcarrier sets {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, ... {6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} using the OCC codeword [1 -1]).

[0248] • 2 combinations for 12 subcarrier allocation (1 of them allocating multi-tone transmissions on 12 subcarriers {0, 1, 11} using the OCC codeword

[0011] , whereas the other one would be used for allocating multi-tone transmissions on 12 subcarriers {0, 1, 11} using the OCC codeword [1 -1]).

[0249] In one embodiment, the same approach can be applied to NPUSCH Format 1 using a 3.75 kHz SCS. However, there are only 16 unused / reserved combinations, which will only allow using 8 of those reserved combinations indicate the allocation of either subcarrier 48, 49, 50 , ... 55 along with OCC sequence / codeword

[0011] , whereas 12 other reserved combinations indicate the allocation of either subcarrier 56, 57, 58 , ... 63 along with OCC sequence / codeword [1 -1],

[0250] In one embodiment, aiming at using less reserved values when allocating OCC-based transmissions for single-tone and multi-tone with 15 kHz SCS or single-tone with 3.75 kHz, one possibility is inferring that the legacy allocations for single-tone and / or multi-one are implicitly associated to the OCC codeword

[0011] , in which case reserved values are only needed for single-tone and / or multi-tone allocation associated to the OCC codeword [1 -1], This can be applicable when the higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Conflg is enabled.

[0251] PCI Format NO for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN using an OCC-RNTI and identified legacy fields of features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions

[0252] In one embodiment, a UE 22 receives scheduling information via DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink using an orthogonal cover code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN, where the CRC associated to the received DCI Format NO is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI andone or more than one legacy fields in DCI Format NO associated with features not intended to be used along with OCC-based transmissions become available to e.g., create a new field(s).

[0253] In one dependent embodiment, the resulting DCI design is a hybrid or combination of the DCI design strategies described in sections 2.7.1.2 and 2.7.1.3. The following shows example modifications (shown in bold italic fonts) that can be made to DCI Format NO for transmitting in uplink using an orthogonal code (OCC) in NB-IoT NTN described in 3GPP TS 36.212 V18.1.0:

[0254] 6.4.3.1 DCI Format NO

[0255] DCI format NO is used for the scheduling ofNPUSCH and operation on preconfigured UL resources in one UL cell.

[0256] The following information is transmitted by means of the DCI format NO:

[0257] - Flag for format NO / format N 1 differentiation - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates format NO and value 1 indicates format N1

[0258] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3], This field is only present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI.

[0259] If format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI and Modulation and coding scheme is set to '1110', the remaining fields are set as follows:

[0260] - ACK or Fallback indicator - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates ACK and value 1 indicates fallback as defined in clause 16.6.4 of [3]

[0261] - NPUSCH repetition adjustment - 3 bits refer to 7Repin Table 16.5.1.1-3 of [3] - Timing advance adjustment - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.1.2 of

[0003] . The field is only present if ACK or Fallback indicator is set to 0.

[0262] - All the remaining bits in format NO are set to one

[0263] Otherwise

[0264] - Subcarrier indication - 6 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]. This field is 5 bits if DCI format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI and if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled.

[0265] - Resource assignment - 3 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.1 of [3]

[0266] - Scheduling delay - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1 of [3], This field is 3 bits if DCI format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI and if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled.

[0267] - Modulation and coding scheme - 4 bits as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3], This field is not present if format NO CRC is scrambled by PUR-RNTI. Ifnpusch-16QAM-Config is configured and the value is '1111', it functions as 16QAM indicator.

[0268] - Redundancy version - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5.1.2 of [3]

[0269] - Repetition number - 3 bits as definedin clause 16.5.1.1 of [3], If 16QAM is indicated, it functions as Modulation and coding scheme for 16QAM as defined in 16.5.1.2 of [3],

[0270] - New data indicator - 1 bit. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the first TB.

[0271] - DCI subframe repetition number - 2 bits as defined in clause 16.6 in [3] - Number of scheduled TB for Unicast - 1 bit, where value 0 indicates a single TB is scheduled and value 1 indicates multiple TB are scheduled. This field is only present if higher layer parameter npusch-MultiTB-Config is enabled and the corresponding DCI is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], The field is set to 0 if the CRC of the DCI is scrambled by SPS C-RNTI. This field is not present if format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI and if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled.

[0272] - OCC sequence index - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5.1 of [3]. This field is only present if format NO CRC is scrambled by OCC-RNTI and if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Config is enabled.

[0273] - HARQ process number - 1 bit. This field is only present if 2 HARQ processes are configured and the corresponding DCI format is mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3], or if Number of scheduled TB for Unicast is present. If multiple TB are scheduled, it functions as New data indicator for the second TB.

[0274] - Resource reservation - 1 bit as defined in clause 16.5 of [3], This field is only present if higher layer parameter resourceReservationConfigUL is configured and the DCI is mapped onto the UE-specific search space given by C-RNTI as defined in [3],

[0275] If the number of information bits in format NO mapped onto the UE specific search space given by the C-RNTI as defined in [3] is less than that of format N1 in the same search space, zeros shall be appended to format NO until the payload size equals that of format Nl.In one dependent embodiment, when the “subcarrier indication” field is 5-bit, the updates that can be made to 3GPP TS 36.213 (described in “DCI Format NO for OCC-based transmissions for NB-IoT NTN using an OCC-RNTI” embodiments) also apply, for which only the following additional conditional statement may be added: “and if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Conflg is enabled”.

[0276] In one dependent embodiment, the “OCC sequence index” is obtained from a table (Table X) introduced to 3GPP TS 36.213.

[0277] In one dependent embodiment, if the CRC is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI and if higher layer parameter npush-OCC-Conflg is enabled, the “Scheduling delay” field consists of (or includes) 3-bits (i.e., not 2 -bit as prior to Rel-19), where the 1 -bit added to the “Scheduling delay” field obtained from having identified that the 1 -bit legacy field “Number of scheduled TB for Unicast” is not usable along with OCC-based transmissions, which made available that 1 -bit for other purposes.

[0278] In one embodiment, the usage of an OCC-RNTI can also be applicable in NR-NTN for OCC-based uplink transmissions.

[0279] In one embodiment, network node 16 may indicate to UE 22 the OCC enabler using dynamic signaling through Downlink Control Information or using semi-static signaling through a Radio Resource Control configuration.

[0280] In one dependent embodiment, the DCI size can be increased by one or more bits for introducing a new field indicating enabler or not.

[0281] In one dependent embodiment, the DCI size is not increased and one or more bits from an existing DCI filed is re-used or repurposed for indication OCC enabler.

[0282] In one embodiment, network node 16 may indicate to UE 22 the OCC length using dynamic signaling through Downlink Control Information or using semi-static signaling through a Radio Resource Control configuration. The indication can be implicitly or explicitly made.

[0283] In one dependent embodiment, the DCI size can be increased by one or more bits for introducing a new filed indicating OCC length 2 or 4.

[0284] In one dependent embodiment, the DCI size is not increased and one or more bits from an existing DCI filed is re-used or repurposed for indication OCC length.

[0285] In one example, in DCI format 0 1, it contains the following field to indicate OCC information:

[0286] OCC enabler -1 bit, 0 for disabled or disabling OCC, 1 for enabled or enabling OCC.• OCC length - 1 bit, 0 for OCC length 2, 1 for OCC length 4 when OCC is enabled. Otherwise, 0, no meaning.

[0287] In one embodiment, network node 16 may indicate OCC starting position in PUSCH repetitions and the number of OCC groups using dynamic signaling through Downlink Control Information or using semi-static signaling through a Radio Resource Control configuration.

[0288] In another example, PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation information element may include following field:

[0289] PUSCH-Allocation-rl6 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0290] mappingType-rl6 ENUMERATED {typeA, typeB} OPTIONAL, — CondNotFormat01-02-Or-TypeA

[0291] startSymbolAndLength-r!6 INTEGER (0..127)

[0292] OPTIONAL, — CondNotFormat01-02-Or-TypeA

[0293] startSymbol-r!6 INTEGER (0..13)

[0294] OPTIONAL, - Cond RepTypeB

[0295] length-r!6 INTEGER (L.14) OPTIONAL, — Cond RepTypeB

[0296] numberOfRepetitions-rl 6 ENUMERATED {nl, n2, n3, n4, n7, n8, n!2, n!6} OPTIONAL, - Cond Format01-02

[0297] [[

[0298] numberOfRepetitionsExt-r 17 ENUMERATED {nl, n2, n3, n4, n7, n8, nl2, nl6, n20, n24, n28, n32, spare4, spare3, spare2,

[0299] sparel} OPTIONAL, - Cond Format01-02-For-TypeA

[0300] numberOfSlotsTBoMS -r 17 ENUMERATED {nl, n2, n4, n8, spared, spare3, spare2, sparel} OPTIONAL, - Need R

[0301] extendedK2-r!7 INTEGER (0..128)

[0302] OPTIONAL - Cond MultiPUSCH

[0303] ]]

[0304] PUSCH-OCC-enabler-rl9 ENTUMERATED {enable, disable} PUSCH-OCC-length-rl9 ENTUMERATED {n2, n4} PUSCH- OCC-start-position-rl 9 ENUMERATED {nl,n2,n3,n4,n5, n6, n7,n8,nl2,nl6),n20,n24,n28}PUSCH-OCC-nrof-groups-rl9 ENUMERATED {nl,n2,n3,n4,n 7,n8}

[0305]

[0306] This way, the UE 22 with different repetition numbers can be multiplexed by OCC together. FIG. 8 shows example UEs 22 with different repetition numbers which can be multiplexed together by OCC. UE 22a (UE 1) and UE 22b (UE 2) have 4 repetition, UE 22c (UE 3) has 8 repetition, UE 22d (UE 4) has 12 repetition. UE 22a (UE 1) and UE 22d (UE 4) use OCC length 4 for multiplexing. For UE 22c (UE 3), the starting position is n5. That is, OCC will start from repetition 5, and the number of OCC groups is nl that means it contains one OCC group across repetition 5-8.

[0307] One or more embodiments can be applicable to both Terrestrial and NonTerrestrial Networks.

[0308] One or more embodiments can be applicable to TDD.

[0309] In some embodiments, the DCI size associated with DCI Format NO and / or DCI Format Nl is unchanged.

[0310] In some other embodiments, the DCI size associated with DCI Format NO and / or DCI Format Nl may alternatively be increased by one or more bits to introduce e.g., additional DCI fields for OCC-based uplink transmissions.

[0311] One or more of the embodiments are applicable to or used on one or more beams transmitted from a given satellite.

[0312] One or more of the embodiments are applicable to or used in a deployment having one beam per cell.

[0313] One or more of the embodiments are applicable to or used in a deployment having more than one beam per cell.

[0314] One or more of the embodiments are applicable to a non-terrestrial network scenario based on transparent payload or regenerative payload.

[0315] One or more of the embodiments are applicable to different satellite orbits such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO).

[0316] Example Embodiments:

[0317] Example 1. A method in a network node 16 configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, 22 via a network, the method comprising: determining downlink control information, DCI, associated with one or more orthogonal cover code, OCC, based transmissions in the network, the DCI having a DCI format, the DCI format being usablefor the one or more OCC based transmissions in the network and using one or both of: an OCC radio network temporary identifier, OCC-RNTI; and one or more legacy fields not intended to be used along with the one or more OCC based transmissions; and performing one or more actions based on the DCI.

[0318] Example 2. The method of Example 1, wherein when the OCC-RNTI is used and if a cyclic redundance check, CRC, associated with the DCI format is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the one or more actions include: transmitting, to the UE 22, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC, the DCI format having a subcarrier indication field including five bits and one bit, the one bit not being used by the subcarrier indication field and being used for creating an OCC sequence index one-bit field, one or more remaining fields being kept unmodified.

[0319] Example 3. The method of Example 2, wherein one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are reserved.

[0320] Example 4. The method of any one of Examples 2 and 3, wherein one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are configured by one or more higher layer parameters for the one or more OCC based transmissions using one or more preconfigured uplink resources.

[0321] Example 5. The method of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein when the one or more legacy fields are used: the one or more actions include transmitting, to the UE 22, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC; and one or more of: the one or more legacy fields include a number of scheduled transport blocks for unicast field usable for creating a new field; the one or more legacy fields are not present if one or more higher layer parameter associated to an OCC feature is enabled; and an OCC sequence index having a single bit is used.

[0322] Example 6. The method of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the network is a non-terrestrial network, NTN.

[0323] Example 7. The method of Example 6, wherein the NTN is an internet of things NTN, loT NTN.

[0324] Example 8. The method of any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the UE 22 is an internet of things, loT, device.

[0325] Example 9. The method of any one of Examples 1-8, wherein the DCI format is a DCI Format NO.

[0326] Example 10. The method of any one of Examples 1-9, wherein the network node 16 is associated with or is a satellite.Example 11. A network node 16 configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, 22 via a network, the network node 16 being configured to perform one or more steps corresponding to one or more of Examples 1-10.

[0327] Example 12. A method in a user equipment, UE, 22 configured to communicate with a network node 16 via a network, the method comprising: receiving downlink control information, DCI, associated with one or more orthogonal cover code, OCC, based transmissions in the network, the DCI having a DCI format, the DCI format being usable for the one or more OCC based transmissions in the network and using one or both of: an OCC radio network temporary identifier, OCC-RNTI; and one or more legacy fields not intended to be used along with the one or more OCC based transmissions; and performing one or more actions based on the DCI.

[0328] Example 13. The method of Example 1, wherein when the OCC-RNTI is used and if a cyclic redundance check, CRC, associated with the DCI format is scrambled with the OCC-RNTI, the one or more actions include: receiving, from the network node 16, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC, the DCI format having a subcarrier indication field including five bits and one bit, the one bit not being used by the subcarrier indication field and being used for creating an OCC sequence index one-bit field, one or more remaining fields being kept unmodified.

[0329] Example 14. The method of Example 13, wherein one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are reserved.

[0330] Example 15. The method of any one of Examples 13 and 14, wherein one or more values of the subcarrier indication field are configured by one or more higher layer parameters for the one or more OCC based transmissions using one or more preconfigured uplink resources.

[0331] Example 16. The method of any one of Examples 12-15, wherein when the one or more legacy fields are used: the one or more actions include receiving, from the network node 16, scheduling information via the DCI format for transmitting in uplink using an OCC; and one or more of: the one or more legacy fields include a number of scheduled transport blocks for unicast field usable for creating a new field; the one or more legacy fields are not present if one or more higher layer parameter associated to an OCC feature is enabled; and an OCC sequence index having a single bit is used.

[0332] Example 17. The method of any one of Examples 12-16, wherein the network is a non-terrestrial network, NTN.Example 18. The method of Example 17, wherein the NTN is an internet of things NTN, loT NTN.

[0333] Example 19. The method of any one of Examples 12-18, wherein the UE 22 is an internet of things, loT, device.

[0334] Example 20. The method of any one of Examples 12-19, wherein the DCI format is a DCI Format NO.

[0335] Example 21. The method of any one of Examples 12-20, wherein the network node 16 is associated with or is a satellite.

[0336] Example 22. A user equipment, UE, 22 configured to communicate with a network node 16 via a network, the UE being configured to perform one or more steps corresponding to one or more of Examples 12-21.

[0337] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and / or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and / or functionality described herein may be performed by, and / or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0338] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0339] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0340] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0341] It is to be understood that the functions / acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality / acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

[0342] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0343] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be undulyrepetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and / or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

[0344] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings and following claims.

Claims

44CLAIMS1. A method performed by a user equipment, UE, (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16) via a network (12), the method comprising:receiving (SI 10) an indication using downlink control information, DCI, associated with one or more orthogonal cover code, OCC, based transmissions, the DCI comprising a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field; andperforming (SI 11) an OCC based transmission in accordance with the received indication.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the subcarrier indication field comprises four bits, the OCC sequence index field comprises one bit, and the OCC enabler field comprises one bit.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

4. The method of any one of Claims 1-3, wherein the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and comprises transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

5. The method of any one of Claims 1-4, wherein the network (12) is a nonterrestrial network, NTN.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein the NTN is a Narrowband Internet of things NTN Radio Access Technology, loT NB-NTN.

7. The method of any one of Claims 1-6, wherein the UE (22) is a Narrowband Internet of things, NB-IoT, device.

458. A method performed by a network node (16) configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, (22) via a network (12), the method comprising:providing (SI 08) an indication to the UE (22) using downlink control information, DCI, associated with one or more orthogonal cover code, OCC, based transmissions in the network, the DCI comprising a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field; andreceiving (SI 09) an OCC based transmission from the UE (22), according to the provided indication.

9. The method of Claim 8, wherein the subcarrier indication field comprises four bits, the OCC sequence index field comprises one bit, and the OCC enabler field comprises one bit.

10. The method of Claim 9, wherein the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

11. The method of any one of Claims 8-10, wherein the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and comprises transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

12. The method of any one of Claims 8-11, wherein the network (12) is a nonterrestrial network, NTN.

13. The method of Claim 12, wherein the NTN is a Narrowband Internet of things NTN Radio Access Technology, loT NB-NTN.

14. The method of any one of Claims 8-13, wherein the UE (22) is a Narrowband Internet of things, NB-IoT, device.

15. The method of any one of Claims 8-14, wherein the network node (16) is associated with a satellite communication.4616. A user equipment, UE, (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16) via a network (12), the UE (22) comprising processing circuitry (50) configured to:receive an indication using downlink control information, DCI, associated with one or more orthogonal cover code, OCC, based transmissions, the DCI comprising a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field; and, perform an OCC based transmission in accordance with the received indication.

17. The UE (22) of Claim 16, wherein the subcarrier indication field comprises four bits, the OCC sequence index field comprises one bit, and the OCC enabler field comprises one bit.

18. The UE (22) of Claim 17, wherein the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

19. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 16-18, wherein the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and comprises transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

20. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 16-19, wherein the network (12) is a non-terrestrial network, NTN.

21. The UE (22) of Claim 20, wherein the NTN is a Narrowband Internet of things NTN Radio Access Technology, loT NB-NTN.

22. The UE (22) of any one of Claims 16-21, wherein the UE (22) is a Narrowband Internet of things, NB-IoT, device.

23. A network node (16) configured to communicate with a user equipment, UE, (22) via a network (12), the network node (16) comprising processing circuitry (36) configured to:provide an indication to the UE (22) using downlink control information, DCI, associated with one or more orthogonal cover code, OCC, based transmissions in the network, the DCI comprising a subcarrier indication field, an OCC sequence index field, and an OCC enabler field; andreceive an OCC based transmission from the UE (22), according to the provided indication.

24. The network node (16) of Claim 23, wherein the subcarrier indication field comprises four bits, the OCC sequence index field comprises one bit, and the OCC enabler field comprises one bit.

25. The network node (16) of Claim 24, wherein the DCI corresponds to DCI format NO, where fields of the DCI format NO other than the subcarrier indication field, the OCC sequence index field, and the OCC enabler field are unmodified from a DCI for scheduling a non-OCC based transmission.

26. The network node (16) of any one of Claims 23-25, wherein the OCC based transmission is scheduled by the DCI Format NO and comprises transmitting in uplink using narrowband physical uplink shared channel, NPUSCH, Format 1 with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, SCS, using an OCC.

27. The network node (16) of any one of Claims 23-26, wherein the network (12) is a non-terrestrial network, NTN.

28. The network node (16) of Claim 27, wherein the NTN is a Narrowband Internet of things NTN Radio Access Technology, loT NB-NTN.

29. The network node (16) of any one of Claims 23-28, wherein the UE (22) is a Narrowband Internet of things, NB-IoT, device.

30. The network node (16) of any one of Claims 23-29, wherein the networknode (16) is associated with a satellite communication.

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