Serving cell mo indication for the SSB-less scell

Abstract

Certain aspects of the disclosure introduce a new serving cell MO (measurement object) index related to the SSB-less SCell. Certain embodiments can achieve energy savings and more efficient operation of components within a network. Certain embodiments can comprise a method in a UE for performing SCell operations, wherein the UE is configured with a SSB- less SCell configuration which comprises a serving cell configuration for SCell, where the configuration of the SCell does not contain any frequency configuration for the SCell. Embodiments can comprise receiving from the network an indication of a frequency which identifies a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell. Publ.

Description

SERVING CELL MO INDICATION FOR THE SSB-LESS SCELLCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States of America priority application No. 63 / 755,876 filed on February 7, 2025, titled “Serving Cell MO Indication for the SSB-Less SCell.”TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for performing SCell operations.BACKGROUND

[0003] Energy consumption is a considerable challenge of 5G systems today where a major contributor to the energy consumption is the radio unit of RAN (Radio Access Network) system. The network (NW) power consumption for NR (New Radio) is said to be less compared to LTE (Long Term Evolution) because of its lean design, i.e., no CRS (Cell Specific Reference Signal) and the SSB (Synchronization Signal Block) periodicity is by default 20 ms. However, NR in the current implementation might consume more energy compared to LTE, partly due to larger BWs (bandwidths), shorter slot length / TTIs (Transmission Time Interval) and massive number of antennas. This is still evident even at times when cells and beams are lightly loaded or serve no traffic or no users at all. To enable an energy efficient NW, 3 GPP initiated a study item (SI) on Network energy savings in NR, which was concluded with the outcome captured in TR 38.864.

[0004] Following the SI phase, a new work item (WI) on Network Energy Savings (NES) for NR was approved at RAN 98. The WI aims to specify the following enhancements:• Specify SSB-less SCell (Secondary Cell) operation for inter-band CA (Carrier Aggregation) for FR1 (Frequency Range 1) and co-located cells, if found feasible by RAN4 study, where a UE measures SSB transmitted on PCell or another SCell for an SCell’ s time / frequency synchronization (including downlink AGC (automatic gain control)), and L1 / L3 (Layer 1 / Layer 3)measurements, including potential enhancement on SCell activation procedures if necessary [RAN4, RAN2];• Specify enhancement on cell DTX / DRX (discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception) mechanism including the alignment of cell DTX / DRX and UE DRX in RRC CONNECTED (Radio Resource Control Connected) mode, and inter-node information exchange on cell DTX / DRX [RAN2, RANI, RAN3],i. Note: No change for SSB transmission due to cell DTX / DRX.ii. Note: The impact to IDLE / INACTIVE UEs due to the above enhancement should be avoided.• Specify the following techniques in spatial and power domainsi. Specify necessary enhancements on CSI (Channel State Information) and beam management related procedures including measurement and report, and signaling to enable efficient adaptation of spatial elements (e.g. antenna ports, active transceiver chains) [RANI, RAN2] ii. Specify necessary enhancements on CSI related procedures including measurement and report, and signaling to enable efficient adaptation of power offset values between PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) and CSI-RS (CSI Reference Signal) [RANI, RAN2]1. Note: Above objectives are only for UE specific channel s / signals 2. Note: Legacy UE CSI / CSLRS capabilities applies when considering total number of CSI reports and requirements • Specify mechanism(s) to prevent legacy UEs camping on cells adopting the Rel-18 NES techniques, if necessary [RAN2]• Specify CHO (conditional handover) procedure enhancement(s) in case source / target cell is in NES mode [RAN2],• Specify inter-node beam activation and enhancements on restricting paging in a limited area [RAN3],• Specify the corresponding RRM / RF (Radio Resource Management / Radio Frequency) core requirements, if necessary, for the above features [RAN4],Carrier Aggregation

[0005] Carrier Aggregation is generally used in NR (5G) and LTE systems to improve UE transmit receive data rate. With carrier aggregation (CA), the UE typically operates initially on single serving cell called a primary cell (PCell). The PCell is operated on a primary component carrier (PCC) in a frequency band. The UE is then configured by the network with one or more secondary serving cells (SCell(s)). Each SCell can correspond to a component carrier (CC) in the same frequency band (intra-band CA) or different frequency band (inter-band CA) from the frequency band of the CC corresponding to the PCell. When the SCells are added by the Network (NW) node (e.g. serving base station), typically they will be in deactivated state for UE power saving purposes. Whenever there is a need for more data transmission to the UE, NW node can activate the SCells for the UE. When the data demand is reduced, to save UE power, the activated SCell(s) can also be deactivated by the network node. SCell activation / deactivation can be performed by NW as needed. The NW performs SCell activation or deactivation using a SCell activation / deactivation MAC (Medium Access Control) CE (Control Element) command.

[0006] Typically, the SCell activation procedure can take anywhere between a minimum activation delay (on order of a few milliseconds) and up to multiple 10’s or 100’s of milliseconds. Upon reception of an SCell activation command (e.g., via a MAC CE), a UE starts the activation procedure for the corresponding SCell, where in the activation delay includes a component related to a delay to receive first SSB after the slot in which the ACK is transmitted (in response to reception SCell activation MAC CE command). The activation procedure is assumed to be complete (i.e., the SCell is considered activated) when UE send a valid CSI report for the SCell. When a SCell is activated, it shall be able to receive data (e.g. PDSCH) from the NW node on that SCell.

[0007] The UE is supposed to complete the activation procedure based on certain minimum delay requirements specified in the 3GPP RAN4 specifications TS 38.133 vl8.10. RAN4 specified many scenarios for which different delay requirements are applicable. SCell activation timeline contains, UE acquiring all or subset of following procedures such as cell search, AGC settling (may typically require one or two samples), fine timing etc. The UE performs these procedures by using the reference signals such as SSB. RAN4 defined SCell activation requirements for two scenario such as the to be activated SCell is known and the to be activated SCell is unknown. If the SCell is known, delay required by the UE to activate the SCell is shorter and if the SCell is not known, delay required by the UE to activate the SCell is longer as the UE need to know the beams transmitted by SCell by performing receiver beamsweeping in all the direction. SCell activation delay for FR1 and FR2 (Frequency Range 2) varies as the UE need not acquire beam information for FR1 scenario.SCell Activation / De-activation MAC CEs

[0008] Figure 1 illustrates a SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE. The SCell Activation / Deactivation MAC CE of one octet is identified by a MAC subheader with LCID (Logical Channel Identifier) as specified in Table 6.2.1-1 of TS 38.321 vl7.4.0. It has a fixed size and consists of a single octet containing seven C-fields and one R-field (Reserve field). The SCell Activation / Deactivation MAC CE with one octet is defined as follows.• Ci: If there is an SCell configured for the MAC entity with SCelllndex i as specified in TS 38.331, this field indicates the activation / deactivation status of the SCell with SCelllndex i, else the MAC entity shall ignore the Ci field. The Ci field is set to 1 to indicate that the SCell with SCelllndex i shall be activated. The Ci field is set to 0 to indicate that the SCell with SCelllndex i shall be deactivated;• R: Reserved bit, set to 0.

[0009] There is another MAC CE of four octets that can support up-to 31 SCell. In this MAC CE signalling, the network has to indicate clearly the wanted activation status for each configured SCell.

[0010] There currently exist certain challenges in the state of the technology in the prior art. To achieve NW energy saving, an SSB-less SCell operation for inter-band CA is introduced in Rel-18. On a given carrier, NW may operate multiple cells and some of the cells may contain SSB and some may not contain SSB. If the cell which do not contain SSB is configured as a SCell, it is called as SSB less SCell. If there are other cells on the same carrier frequency of the serving cell, then those cells are called as the intra-frequency cells. From the measurement point of view, intra-frequency measurement is defined as following as per TS 38.133. “A measurement is defined as a SSB based intra-frequency measurement provided the center frequency of the SSB of the serving cell and the center frequency of the SSB of the neighbour cell indicated for measurement are the same, and the subcarrier spacing of the two SSBs are also the same.” When a NW configures the UE with a measurement object, whose SSB frequency is in the SSB less SCell BW, because the SSB-less SCell does not have an SSB configured (as per the existing definition of the intra-frequency measurement) all the cells on the SSB frequency of the measurement object will be measured as an inter-frequencymeasurement. Generally, inter-frequency measurements have longer measurement delay impacting the measurement performance.SUMMARY

[0011] One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for performing SCell operations related to SSBs. The method includes receiving, from a network node, an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of a SSB-less SCell.

[0012] Another embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a network node for performing SCell operations related to SSBs. The method includes transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of a SSB-less SCell. Method

[0013] Another embodiment under the present comprises a UE for performing SCell operations related to SSBs. The UE includes: processing circuitry; and a memory storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of: receiving, from a network node, an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of an SSB-less SCell.

[0014] Another embodiment under the present comprises a network node for performing SCell operations related to SSBs. The network node includes: processing circuitry; and a memory storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of: transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of an SSB-less SCell.

[0015] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an indication of the scope of the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Fig. 1 illustrates a SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE;

[0018] Fig. 2 illustrates other cells on the SSB-less SCell BW;

[0019] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0020] Fig. 4 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0021] Fig. 5 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0022] Fig. 6 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0023] Fig. 7 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig. 8 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0025] Fig. 9 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure;

[0026] Fig. 10 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure; and

[0027] Fig. 11 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the parameters of the particularly exemplified systems, methods, apparatus, products, processes, and / or kits, which may, of course, vary. Thus, while certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, with reference to specific configurations, parameters, components, elements, etc., the descriptions are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed embodiments. In addition, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments. Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0029] In this disclosure a term node is used which can be a network node or a user equipment (UE). Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSRBS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB ((Master Evolved NodeB), SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (CU) (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (DU) (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN (Centralized Radio Access Network), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. MSC (Mobile Switching Center), MME (Mobility Management Entity), etc.), O&M (Operations & Maintenance), OSS (Operation Support Systems), SON (Self-Organizing Networks), positioning node (e.g. E-SMLC),etc.

[0030] The non-limiting term UE refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC (machine type communication) UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA (personal digital assistant), tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles etc.

[0031] The term radio access technology, or RAT (Radio Access Technology), may refer to any RAT e.g. UTRA (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access), E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), 4G, 5G, 6G, future generation RAT etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the term node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0032] The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of DL (downlink) physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal), SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal), CSLRS, DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signals) signals in SS / PBCH block (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS (Cell-Specific Reference Signal), PRS (Primary Reference Signal), etc. RS may be periodic e.g. RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g. 20 ms, 40 ms etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs are transmit in one SSB burst which is repeatedwith certain periodicity e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. TheUEis configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset wrt reference time (e.g. serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. Examples of UL (uplink) physical signals are reference signal such as SRS, DMRS etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels are PBCH, NPBCH (narrow band PBCH), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), sPUCCH (short Physical Uplink Control Channel), sPDSCH (short PDSCH). sPUCCH (short PUCCH). sPUSCH (short PUSCH), MPDCCH (MTC PDCCH), NPDCCH (narrow band PDCCH), NPDSCH (narrow band PDSCH), E-PDCCH (Enhanced PDCCH), PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH (narrow band PUSCH), etc.

[0033] The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI (transition time interval), interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, etc.

[0034] As discussed above, there currently exist certain challenges in the state of the technology in the prior art. To achieve NW energy saving, an SSB-less SCell operation for inter-band CA is introduced in Rel-18. On a given carrier, NW may operate multiple cells and some of the cells may contain SSB and some may not contain SSB. If the cell which do not contain SSB is configured as a SCell, it is called as SSB less SCell. If there are other cells on the same carrier frequency of the serving cell, then those cells are called as the intrafrequency cells. From the measurement point of view, intra-frequency measurement is defined as following as per TS 38.133. “A measurement is defined as a SSB based intra-frequency measurement provided the center frequency of the SSB of the serving cell and the center frequency of the SSB of the neighbour cell indicated for measurement are the same, and the subcarrier spacing of the two SSBs are also the same.” When a NW configures the UE with a measurement object, whose SSB frequency is in the SSB less SCell BW, because the SSB-less SCell does not have an SSB configured, as per the existing definition of the intra-frequency measurement, all the cells on the SSB frequency of the measurement object will be measured as an inter-frequency measurement. Generally, inter-frequency measurements have longer measurement delay impacting the measurement performance. Figure 2 illustrates other cells onthe SSB-less SCell BW. As shown in Figure 2, cell2 and cell3 can be measured as intrafrequency measurement but as per existing definition, cell 2 and cell3 are classified as interfrequency measurements and thereby resulting in longer measurement delay.

[0035] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Certain embodiments can address certain of the abovedescribed problems by introducing a new serving cell MO (measurement object) index related to the SSB-less SCell.

[0036] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments can achieve energy savings and more efficient operation of components within a network. Energy savings can lead to greater expected lifetime for various components in a network.

[0037] Certain embodiments under the present disclosure can comprise a method in a UE for performing SCell operations. One possible embodiment 400 can comprise a method at a UE, which is configured with a SSB-less SCell configuration which comprises a serving cell configuration for SCell, where the configuration of the SCell does not contain any frequency (e.g., the field absoluteFrequencySSB in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) or any SSB-MTC (e.g., the field smtc in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) configuration for the SCell. Embodiment 400 is illustrated in Figure 3. The method 400 comprises, at 410, receiving from the network a further indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell. According to the method, this can mean that a UE which is configured with a SCell configuration which does not contain an absoluteFrequencySSB (fl) and does not contain the SSB-MTC configuration, it considers this SCell as a SSB-less SCell.

[0038] One variation of the embodiment 400 can comprise a further embodiment, wherein the receiving indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell is a serving cell measurement object identifier (e.g., the field servingCellMO of TS 38.331 vl8.4.0). In one optional variation of this embodiment, the indication is a new serving cell measurement object ID which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE (e.g., a field servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell). In this method, the indication can basically point at one of the measurement objects identifier configured at the UE. Further, the measurement objects identifier can point to a measurement object configuration which includes a frequency and this frequency can be the same frequency on which the SSB-less SCell is operating.

[0039] In certain variations of the preceding embodiments the UE receives two indications, one for an SCell which has SSB(s) broadcasted and one for an SCell which is a SSB-less SCell. This can mean that the UE may receive a servingCellMO and a servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell and it will use one or the other depending on whether the SCell is SSB-less or not.

[0040] In other variations of embodiment 400, upon receiving the indication related to a SSB-less SCell, the UE considers all the cells detected on the frequency which is within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, as intra-frequency cells. In one option of the preceding embodiment, for all the cells which are detected on the frequency which is within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing the UE consider intra-frequency requirements.

[0041] In another possible variation of embodiment 400, upon receiving the indication related to a SSB-less SCell, the UE considers all the cells detected on a different frequency with respect to the one within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, as inter-frequency cells. In one variation of this embodiment, for all the cells which are detected on a different frequency with respect to the one within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, the UE consider inter-frequency requirements.

[0042] In another variation of any of the preceding embodiment 400 variations, the UE performs (intra-frequency) measurements on one or more of the cells detected on the frequency which is within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, but the UE does not perform any measurement for the SSB-less SCell. In this method, if the SSB-less SCell has identifier 1 and then the UE detect two cells on the same frequency of the SSB-less SCell with identifier 2 and 3, respectively, this means that UE will perform measurements only on cell with identifier 2 and 3 but not of the (SSB-less SCell) cell with identifier 1. In one option of this method, for all the SCell in which the UE perform measurements, the UE considers intra-frequency measurement requirements.

[0043] One variation of any of the preceding embodiments can further comprise wherein the indication is delivered as part of the SCell configuration via an RRC message.

[0044] Certain variations of any of the preceding embodiments can further comprises indicating support of any of the methods, features, or functionalities described above. Certain variations of the preceding embodiment can comprise reusing existing fields. In this case, a field used currently to indicate support of another feature could be updated to also include support of the methods above. For instance, the field description of scellWithoutSSB-InterBandCA-rl8 in 38.306 can be updated to indicate that this capability also includes supportfor the low band CA switch pattern applicability. Certain variations of the preceding embodiments can comprise adding new fields. In this case, a new field is introduced in the UE capabilities to indicate support of the methods above. It could also define the relation between this new field and existing fields related to the support of inter-band CA SCell without SSB (scellWithoutSSB-InterBandCA-rl8) i.e. the UE might only indicate the support of this new field or it may also indicate support of scellWithoutSSB-InterBandCA-rl8. The granularity of this new field can be defined as per UE, per band, per band combination or per band per band combination (which includes per FeatureSet or per FeatureSetPerCC).NW Side Implementation

[0045] Certain embodiments under the present disclosure can comprise a method in a network node performing SCell operations. Certain embodiments can comprise an embodiment 600, a method at a network node, for a UE which is configured with a SSB less SCell configuration which comprises a serving cell configuration for SCell, where the configuration of the SCell do not contain any frequency (e.g., the field absoluteFrequencySSB in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) or any SSB-MTC (e.g., the field smtc in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) configuration for the SCell. Figure 4 illustrates embodiment 600. The method 600 can comprise, at 610, transmitting to the UE a further indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell.

[0046] One variation of embodiment 600 can comprise another variation embodiment, wherein the indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell is a serving cell measurement object identifier (e.g., the field servingCellMO of TS 38.331 vl8.4.0). In one option, the indication is a new serving cell measurement object which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE (e.g., a field servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell). In this method the indication basically point at one of the measurement objects identifier configured at the UE. Further, the measurement objects identifier points to a measurement objects configuration which include a frequency and this frequency is the same frequency on which the SSB Less SCell is operating.

[0047] One variation of embodiment 600 with the additional embodiments above can comprise another embodiment, wherein the network node transmits two indications, one for an SCell which has SSB(s) broadcasted and one for an SCell which is a SSB Less SCell. This can mean that the network node may transmit a servingCellMO and a servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell so that the UE can use one or the other depending on whether the SCell is SSB-less or not.Additional Embodiments

[0048] Figure 5 displays another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure. Method 800 comprises a method performed by a UE for performing SCell operations related to SSBs. Step 810 receiving, from a network node, an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of a SSB-less SCell. Method 800 can comprise a variety of additional, alternative, and / or optional steps and / or other variations or modifications. For example, in some variations the UE has a configuration for SSB-less SCell and / or SCell; and the configuration does not contain any frequency or any SSB-MTC, for a SCell. Some embodiments can further comprise measuring the frequency of the measurement object. In some embodiments, the UE is configured with a SCell configuration lacking an absoluteFrequencySSB and lacking a SSB-MTC; and the UE considers a / the SCell as a SSB-less SCell. In some variations, the indication comprises a SCell measurement object identifier which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE. In some embodiments, the UE receives two indications, one for an SCell which has one or more SSBs broadcasted, and one for an SCell which is a SSB-less SCell. In some variations, upon receiving the indication, the UE considers any cells detected on the frequency as intra-frequency cells. In some variations, upon receiving the indication the UE considers any cells detected on a different frequency with respect to the one included in the measurement object as inter-frequency cells. Some embodiments can further comprise performing intra-frequency measurements on one or more cells detected on the frequency; wherein the UE does not perform any measurement for the SSB-less SCell. In some embodiments the indication is delivered via a RRC message. In some embodiments, the indication is delivered via reusing one or more existing fields in a transmission.

[0049] Figure 6 displays another possible method embodiment under the present disclosure. Method 1000 comprises a method performed by a network node for performing SCell operations related to SSBs. Step 1010 is transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of a SSB-less SCell. Method 1000 can comprise a variety of additional, alternative, and / or optional steps and / or other variations or modifications. For example, in some embodiments, the UE has a configuration for SSB-less SCell and / or SCell; and the configuration does not contain any frequency or any SSB-MTC, for a SCell. In some variations,the UE is configured with a SCell configuration lacking an absoluteFrequencySSB and lacking a SSB-MTC; wherein the UE considers a / the SCell as a SSB-less SCell. In some embodiments, the indication comprises a SCell measurement object identifier which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE. In some embodiments, the network node transmits two indications, one for a SCell which has one or more SSBs broadcasted, and one for a SCell which is a SSB-less SCell. In some embodiments, upon receiving the indication, the UE considers any cells detected on the frequency as intra-frequency cells. In some embodiments, upon receiving the indication the UE considers any cells detected on a different frequency with respect to the one included in the measurement object as inter-frequency cells. In some embodiments, the UE performs intra-frequency measurements on one or more cells detected on the frequency; and / or the UE does not perform any measurement for the SSB-less SCell. In some variations, the indication is delivered via a RRC message. In some embodiments, the indication is delivered via reusing one or more existing fields in a transmission.

[0050] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 4100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0051] In the example, the communication system 4100 includes a telecommunications network 4102 that includes an access network 4104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 4106, which includes one or more core network nodes 4108. The access network 4104 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes 4110A and 4110B are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 4110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network 4104 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes 4110 of access network 4104 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 4112A, 4112B, 4112C, and 4112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 4112) to the core network 4106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0052] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 4102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 4102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, orany similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 4102, including one or more access network nodes 4110 and / or core network nodes 4108.

[0053] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.

[0054] The network nodes 4110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs 4112 to the core network 4106 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 4100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 4100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0055] The UEs 4112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 4110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 4108, 4110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network 4102) with the UEs 4112and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 4102 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network 4102. More specifically, UEs 4112 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes 4108, 4110 or other elements of the telecommunications network 4102 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes 4108, 4110 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs 41122, other network nodes 4108, 4110, and other devices in telecommunications network 4102 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE 4112 by transmitting the message to an access network node 4110 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE 4112. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE 4112 by receiving the message from an access network node 4110 that itself received the message from the UE 4112.

[0056] In the depicted example, the core network 4106 connects elements of the access network 4104 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes 4110) to one or more host computing systems, such as host 4116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 4106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 4108) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 4108. Network nodes 4108 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 4108. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0057] The host 4116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 4104 and / or the telecommunications network 4102. The host 4116 may be operated by the service provider oron behalf of the service provider. The host 4116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0058] As a whole, the communication system 4100 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 4100 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system 4100 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system 4100 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0059] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 4104 may contain some access network nodes 4110 that support 3 GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 4110 support (or the same access network nodes 4110 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network 4102 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0060] Telecommunications network 4102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 4102. For example, the telecommunications network 4102 mayprovide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0061] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 4112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 4104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 4104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0062] In the example, the hub 4114 communicates with the access network 4104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 4112C and / or 4112D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 4110B). In some examples, the hub 4114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 4114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 4106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 4114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 4110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 4114.

[0063] As another example, the hub 4114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 4114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 4114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 4114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 4114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0064] The hub 4114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 4110B. The hub 4114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 4114 and UEs (e.g., UE 4112C and / or 4112D), and between the hub 4114 and the core network 4106. In other examples, the hub 4114 is connectedto the core network 4106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 4114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 4104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 4110 while still connected via the hub 4114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 4114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 4110B. In other embodiments, the hub 4114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 4110B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0065] Figure 8 is another example of a communication system 4200 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 4200 includes multiple access points (APs) 4210 (with four exemplary APs 4210 A, 4210B, 4210C, and 4210D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 4200 as stations (STAs) 4212 (referred to individually as STA 4212A, STA 4212B, STA 4212C, STA 4212D, and STA 4212E). STA 4212A is served by AP 4210A in a first basic service set (BSS) 4220A. STA 4210B and STA 4210C are served by AP 4210B in a second BSS, BSS 4220B. STA 4212D is served by AP 4210C in a third BSS, BSS 4220C. STA 4212E is served by AP 4210D in a fourth BSS, BSS 4220D. Stations 4212 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. Further, stations 4212 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0066] Each of STAs 4212 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 4210. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 4212, 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.

[0067] Each AP 4210 may provide data connectivity to STAs 4212 connected to a particular AP 4210. As illustrated, APs 4210 may be connected to a data network 4230. Inthis way, APs 4210 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 4212 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 4212 and its serving AP 4210 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 4212, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 4212 and / or on a device linked to STA 4212. By way of example, Figure 8 illustrates an application service platform 4232 provided in data network 4230. The application(s) executed on STA 4212 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 4212 may use the radio link for data communication with one or more other STA 4212 and / or the application service platform 4232, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 4212.

[0068] Figure 9 shows a wireless device 4300, which may be configured to operate in communication system 4100 of Figure 7 or in communication system 4200 of Figure 8. The wireless device 4300 may be alternatively referred to as a UE 4300, like a UE 4112 within the context of communication system 4100, or as a station (STA) 4300 or as a nonaccess-point station (non-AP STA) 4300, like a STA 4212 within the context of the communication system 4200, in accordance with respective embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0069] A wireless device 4300 may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device 4300 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, wireless device 4300 may represent a device that is intended for saleto, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, wireless device 4300 may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0070] In particular embodiments, wireless device 4300 includes processing circuitry 4302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4304 to an input / output interface 4306, a power source 4308, a memory 4310, a communication interface 4312, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain embodiments of wireless device 4300 may include all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 9. The level of integration between the components may vary from one embodiment of wireless device 4300 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device 4300, processing circuitry 4302, input / output interface 4306, power source 4308, memory 4310, and communication interface 4312 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device 4300. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices 4300 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0071] The processing circuitry 4302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 4310. The processing circuitry 4302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general -purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 4302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0072] In the example, the input / output interface 4306 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into wireless device 4300. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, asmartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0073] In some embodiments, the power source 4308 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. The power source 4308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 4308 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of wireless device 4300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power source 4308 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 4300 to which power is supplied.

[0074] The memory 4310 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 4310 includes one or more programs 4314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 4316. The memory 4310 may store, for use by wireless device 4300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0075] The memory 4310 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external microDIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICCcommonly known as ‘ SIM card.’ The memory 4310 may allow wireless device 4300 to access instructions, programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 4310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0076] The processing circuitry 4302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or using the communication interface 4312. The communication interface 4312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 4322. The communication interface 4312 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another wireless device or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 4318 and / or a receiver 4320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 4318 and receiver 4320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 4322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0077] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 4312 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 / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0078] In particular embodiments, wireless device 4300 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface 4312, via a wireless connection to a network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 4300 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wireless device 4300. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the loadfrom reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0079] As another example, wireless device 4300 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device 4300 may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0080] Wireless device 4300, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Nonlimiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. In particular embodiments, wireless device 4300 represents an loT device that comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the example embodiment of wireless device 4300 shown in Figure 9.

[0081] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device 4300 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device 4300 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, wireless device 4300 may implement the 3GPPNB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device 4300 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment thatis capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0082] In practice, any number of wireless devices 4300 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 4300 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 4300 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 4300 may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second wireless device 4300 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device 4300 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0083] Figure 10 shows a network node 4400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node 4400 may be configured to operate in communication system 4100 of Figure 7, like network nodes 4108 or 4110, or in communication system 4200 of Figure 8, like an AP 4210 or a station 4212. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR. NodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g, 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0084] Network nodes 4400 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. Network node 4400 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes 4400 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0085] Other examples of network nodes 4400 include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi -standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers(BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0086] In particular embodiments, network node 4400 includes a processing circuitry 4402, a memory 4404, a communication interface 4406, and a power source 4408. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node 4400, processing circuitry 4402, memory 4404, communication interface 4406, and power source 4408 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node 4400.

[0087] The network node 4400 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 4400 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 NodeB s. 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 4400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 4404 or portions of memory 4404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 4410 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 4400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 4400, 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 4400.

[0088] The processing circuitry 4402 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory 4404, to provide network node 4400 functionality.

[0089] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 4402 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 4402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 4412 and baseband processing circuitry 4414. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 4412 and the baseband processing circuitry 4414 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 4412 and baseband processing circuitry 4414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0090] The memory 4404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 4402. The memory 4404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 4402 and utilized by the network node 4400. The memory 4404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 4402 and / or any data received via the communication interface 4406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 4402 and memory 4404 is integrated.

[0091] The communication interface 4406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface 4406 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 4416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node 4300 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface 4406 may also include radio front-end circuitry 4418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna 4410. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry 4418 include filter(s) 4420 and amplifier(s) 4422. The radio front-end circuitry 4418 may be connected to an antenna 4410 and processing circuitry 4402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 4410 and processing circuitry 4402. The radio front-end circuitry 4418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 4418 may convert the digital data into aradio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 4420 and / or amplifiers 4422. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna 4410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 4410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 4418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 4402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0092] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 4400 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 4418, instead, the processing circuitry 4402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 4410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 4412 is part of the communication interface 4406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 4406 includes one or more ports or terminals 4416, the radio front-end circuitry 4418, and the RF transceiver circuitry 4412, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 4406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 4414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0093] The antenna 4410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 4410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 4418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 4410 is separate from the network node 4400 and connectable to the network node 4400 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0094] The antenna 4410, communication interface 4406, and / or the processing circuitry 4402 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 4400. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 4410, the communication interface 4406, and / or the processing circuitry 4402 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node 4400. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0095] The power source 4408 provides power to the various components of network node 4400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 4408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of thenetwork node 4400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 4400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 4408. As a further example, the power source 4408 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0096] Embodiments of the network node 4400 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 10 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 4400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 4400 and to allow output of information from the network node 4400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 4400.

[0097] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 4500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 4500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 4500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0098] Applications 4502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0099] Hardware 4504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 4506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM 4508A and VM 4508B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs 4508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 4506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs 4508.[000100] The VMs 4508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer 4506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 4502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 4508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.[000101] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 4508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 4508, and that part of hardware 4504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs 4508 on top of the hardware 4504 and corresponds to an application 4502.[000102] Hardware 4504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 4504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 4504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 4510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 4502. In some embodiments, hardware 4504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtualcomponents to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 4512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.[000103] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.[000104] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but areenjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.Example Embodiments[000105] Below are provided a number of possible example embodiments under the present disclosure.[000106] Group A Embodiments[000107] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a wireless device for performing SCell operations, the method comprising: receiving from the network a further indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell; wherein the wireless device is configured with a SSB less SCell configuration which comprises a serving cell configuration for SCell, where the configuration of the SCell do not contain any frequency (e.g., the field absoluteFrequencySSB in TS 38.331 V18.4.0) or any SSB-MTC (e.g., the field smtc in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) configuration for the SCell.[000108] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein a wireless device which is configured with a SCell configuration which do not contain an absoluteFrequencySSB (fl) and do not contain the SSB-MTC configuration, it considers this SCell as a SSB less SCell.[000109] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the receiving indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell is a serving cell measurement object identifier (e.g., the field servingCellMO of TS 38.331 vl8.4.0).[000110] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 3, wherein the indication is a new serving cell measurement object ID which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE (e.g., a field servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell).[000111] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 3 or 4, wherein the indication basically point at one of the measurement objects identifier configured at the UE, and wherein the measurement objects identifier points to a measurement objects configuration which include a frequency and this frequency is the same frequency on which the SSB Less SCell is operating.[000112] Embodiment 6: The method of any of embodiments 3 to 5, wherein the UE receives two indications, one for an SCell which has SSB(s) broadcasted and one for an SCell which is a SSB Less SCell.[000113] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6, wherein the UE may receive a servingCellMO and a servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell and it will use one or the other depending on whether the SCell is SSB Less or not.[000114] Embodiment 8: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein upon receiving the indication related to a SSB Less SCell, the UE considers all the cells detected on the frequency which is within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, as intra-frequency cells.[000115] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 8, wherein for all the cells which are detected on the frequency which is within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing the UE consider intra-frequency requirements.[000116] Embodiment 10: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein upon receiving the indication related to a SSB Less SCell, the UE considers all the cells detected on a different frequency with respect the one within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, as inter-frequency cells.[000117] Embodiment 11 : The method of embodiment 10, wherein for all the cells which are detected on a different frequency with respect the one within the measurement obj ect, to which the indication is pointing the UE consider inter-frequency requirements.[000118] Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the UE performs (intra-frequency) measurements on one or more of the cells detected on the frequency which is within the measurement object, to which the indication is pointing, but the UE does not perform any measurement for the SSB Less SCell.[000119] Embodiment 13: The method of embodiment 12, wherein if the SSB Less SCell has identifier 1 and then the UE detect 2 cells on the same frequency of the SSB Less SCell with identifier 2 and 3, respectively, then the UE will perform measurements only on cell with identifier 2 and 3 but not of the (SSB Less SCell) cell with identifier 1.[000120] Embodiment 14: The method of embodiment 12 or 13, wherein for all the SCell in which the UE perform measurements, the UE considers intra-frequency measurement requirements.[000121] Embodiment 15: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the indication is delivered as part of the SCell configuration via an RRC message.[000122] Embodiment 16: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein the method further comprises indicating support of any of the methods above.[000123] Embodiment 17: The method of embodiment 16, wherein the method comprises reusing existing fields (e.g., a field used currently to indicate support of another feature could be updated to also include support of the methods above, for instance, the field description of scellWithoutSSB-InterBandCA-rl8 in 38.306 can be update to indicate that this capability also includes support for the low band CA switch pattern applicability).[000124] Embodiment 18: The method of embodiment 16, wherein the method comprises adding new fields (e.g. a new field is introduced in the UE capabilities to indicate support of the methods above).[000125] Embodiment 19: The method of embodiment 18, wherein the relation is defined between this new field and existing fields related to the support of inter-band CA SCell without SSB (scellWithoutSSB-InterBandCA-rl8) (e.g., the UE can only indicate the support of this new field is it also indicates support of scellWithoutSSB-InterBandCA-rl8).[000126] Embodiment 20: The method of embodiment 18 or 19, wherein a granularity of this new field can be defined as per UE, per band, per band combination or per band per band combination (which includes per FeatureSet or per FeatureSetPerCC).[000127] Embodiment 21: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.[000128] Group B Embodiments[000129] Embodiment 22: A method performed by a network node for performing SCell operations, the method comprising: transmitting to the UE a further indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell; wherein a UE which is configured with a SSB less SCell configuration which comprises a serving cell configuration for SCell, where the configuration of the SCell do not contain any frequency (e.g., the field absoluteFrequencySSB in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) or any SSB-MTC (e.g., the field smtc in TS 38.331 vl8.4.0) configuration for the SCell.[000130] Embodiment 23 : The method of embodiment 22, wherein the indication of a frequency which identify a measurement object which indicate to the UE that the frequency which is included in that measurement object is the serving SCell frequency of the SSB less SCell is a serving cell measurement object identifier (e.g., the field servingCellMO of TS 38.331 V18.4.0).[000131] Embodiment 24: The method of embodiment 23, wherein the indication is a new serving cell measurement object which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE (e.g., a field servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell).[000132] Embodiment 25: The method of embodiment 23 or 24, wherein the indication basically point at one of the measurement objects identifier configured at the UE, and wherein the measurement objects identifier points to a measurement objects configuration which include a frequency and this frequency is the same frequency on which the SSB Less SCell is operating.[000133] Embodiment 26: The method of any of embodiments 22 to 25, wherein the network node transmits two indications, one for an SCell which has SSB(s) broadcasted and one for an SCell which is a SSB Less SCell.[000134] Embodiment 27: The method of embodiment 26, wherein the network node may transmit a servingCellMO and a servingCellMO-SSB-LessSCell so that the UE can use one or the other depending on whether the SCell is SSB Less or not.[000135] Embodiment 28: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.[000136] Group C Embodiments[000137] Embodiment 29: A wireless device for performing SCell operations, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; and a power source configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.[000138] Embodiment 30: A network node for performing SCell operations, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments; a power source circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.[000139] Embodiment 31 : A wireless device for performing SCell operations, the wireless device comprising: one or more antennas; communication interface connected to the one or more antennas and to processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processingcircuitry; and a power source connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A method (800) performed by a user equipment, UE (4300), for performing Serving Cell, SCell, operations, related to Synchronization Signal Blocks, SSBs, the method comprising:receiving (810), from a network node (4400), an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of a SSB-less SCell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE has a configuration for SSB-less SCell and / or SCell; andwherein the configuration does not contain any frequency or any S SB -Measurement Timing Configuration, MTC, for a SCell.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising measuring the frequency of the measurement object.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the UE is configured with a SCell configuration lacking an absoluteFrequencySSB and lacking a SSB-MTC; andwherein the UE considers a / the SCell as a SSB-less SCell.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the indication comprises a SCell measurement object identifier which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the UE receives two indications, one for an SCell which has one or more SSBs broadcasted, and one for an SCell which is a SSB-less SCell.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein upon receiving the indication, the UE considers any cells detected on the frequency as intra-frequency cells.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein upon receiving the indication the UE considers any cells detected on a different frequency with respect to the one included in the measurement object as inter-frequency cells.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, further comprising performing intra-frequency measurements on one or more cells detected on the frequency;wherein the UE does not perform any measurement for the SSB-less SCell.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the indication is delivered via a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the indication is delivered via reusing one or more existing fields in a transmission.

12. A method (1000) performed by a network node (4400) for performing Serving Cell, SCell, operations related to Synchronization Signal Blocks, SSBs, the method comprising: transmitting (1010), to a user equipment, UE (4300), an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of a SSB-less SCell.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the UE has a configuration for SSB-less SCell and / or SCell; andwherein the configuration does not contain any frequency or any S SB -Measurement Timing Configuration, MTC, for a SCell.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the UE is configured with a SCell configuration lacking an absoluteFrequencySSB and lacking a SSB-MTC; andwherein the UE considers a / the SCell as a SSB-less SCell.

15. The method of any of claims 12 to 14, wherein the indication comprises a SCell measurement object identifier which is only used when a SSB SCell is configured at the UE.

16. The method of any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the network node transmits two indications, one for a SCell which has one or more SSBs broadcasted, and one for a SCell which is a SSB-less SCell.

17. The method of any of claims 12 to 16, wherein upon receiving the indication, the UE considers any cells detected on the frequency as intra-frequency cells.

18. The method of any of claims 12 to 17, wherein upon receiving the indication the UE considers any cells detected on a different frequency with respect to the one included in the measurement object as inter-frequency cells.

19. The method of any of claims 12 to 18, wherein:the UE performs intra-frequency measurements on one or more cells detected on the frequency; and / orthe UE does not perform any measurement for the S SB-less SCell.

20. The method of any of claims 12 to 19, wherein the indication is delivered via a Radio Resource Control, RRC, message.

21. The method of any of claims 12 to 19, wherein the indication is delivered via reusing one or more existing fields in a transmission.

22. A user equipment, UE (4300), for performing Serving Cell, SCell, operations, comprising:processing circuitry (4302) configured to perform any of the operations of any of claims 1 to 11 ; anda power source (4308) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

23. A network node (4400) for performing Serving Cell, SCell, operations, the network node comprising:processing circuitry (4402) configured to perform any of the operations of any of claims 12 to 21; andpower source circuitry (4408) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

24. A user equipment, UE (4300), for performing Serving Cell, SCell, operations related to Synchronization Signal Blocks, SSBs, comprising:processing circuitry (4302); anda memory (4310) storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of:receiving, from a network node (4400), an indication of a measurement object,wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of an SSB-less SCell.

25. A network node (4400) for performing Serving Cell, SCell, operations related to Synchronization Signal Blocks, SSBs, the network node comprising:processing circuitry (4402); anda memory (4404) storing instructions whereby the processing circuitry is operable to perform the steps of:transmitting, to a user equipment, UE (4300), an indication of a measurement object, wherein a frequency included in the measurement object comprises a SCell frequency of an SSB-less SCell.

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